Happy 2015!! Welcome Back!!
It's been an awesome first week back in Kindergarten! It AMAZED me how excited the kids were to be back on that first day after break. Typically when I taught second grade, the first day back the kids were pretty mellow and quiet. Most wished they were still home. Kindergarten kids are a way different breed! They were so excited to see everyone, there was lots of hugging and lots of stories being told. It has been SUPER!
Reader's Workshop
The kids continue to build their book drawers of familiar books. It is great to see how quickly they are picking up new words and patterns in texts. This week we talked about words vs. letters and practiced finding words and practiced finding letters.
Currently I am working on Language Arts Assessments. The kids will be doing a series of mid-year testing including: letter ID and sound recognition, rhyming, sight word recognition, a writing sample and then a reading assessment. Reading groups will begin for ALL students in the next few weeks. Some have had a chance to meet in a group and take a book or two home. This will be happening for ALL soon and is VERY exciting!! A colored book bag will come home with your child and need to be returned on the days indicated in the bag. Those are the days I will see your child's group. Most often you'll have a book for two nights so don't feel like you need to send it back immediately if your child doesn't have reading group that next day. Play with the text, the words, the letters, etc. for a couple of days. There will be a form in there for you to sign and leave any comments, questions or concerns! This is an exciting time!!
Writer's Workshop
We are just wrapping up a unit on Pattern Books. Pattern Books have a repeating line throughout each page... I like ______ . I like ______. to start each page. We have written a few different pattern books and we have fabulous writers in our class!! Please look for Writing Folders to start coming home as well in the next few weeks. There are directions inside the front pocket for how we will use these folders for the rest of the year. Yes, your child will have writing homework too! It's a great way to reinforce the concepts we are working on in school at home.
Math Workshop
1...2...3...4...5.... We have spent a LOT of time this week working on counting!! We have been filling out a hundreds grid daily and you should be seeing these come home. I'm not concerned with how much the kids get through here as each child is working at their own pace and ability. Already though, I've seen huge growth! The first day we just worked on counting up. The second day we counted by 10s and highlighted those on our charts. Today we have been working on counting by 5s. These charts do not need to be returned however I would like them to be completed at home. Many of our kids will need help with this and it's a great time to spend one-on-one with your child helping them to sharpen their counting skills. Once the grid is filled you can use it to play a simple counting game like a "Chutes and Ladders" minus the chutes and ladders. Familiarity and fluency with numbers is a huge developmental milestone in kindergarten and the goal is to have ALL of our kids writing to 100 by June.
Upcoming Dates:
Friday, January 16 - NO SCHOOL - Professional Development for Teachers
Monday, January 19 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Observance
Wednesday, January 28 - Report Cards Available on Skyward**
**If you are not sure how to view your child's report card on Skyward, please let me know! I would be glad to help you get this set up now. Skyward will follow your child through their entire K-12 career and you need to be able to use this tool now for report cards and later for daily grades, attendance, lunch accounts, and teacher communication.
