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School T-Shirts: Passing these out to kids has been postponed for a few weeks due to lack of larger sizes. Breakfast: Kids are getting better at remembering to go to the cafeteria for breakfast before coming to class. I still ask if anyone needs to go. Be sure to remind your child each day to eat breakfast if you want them to. Homework: The new math series provides a homework page with every lesson. I've been offering a prize for returning these completed. The additional practice at home has already proven to benefit kids - I can see it in following lessons. Any time you can read homework directions for your child and help with number writing is appreciated and will help your child become more successful. Specials Expectations: Teachers in Art, PE, Music, Computer, and Library hold the class to the same expectations used on classroom behavior boards. When a few kids misbehave, the class moves to yellow and the Tiger Token is forfeited. Our class has been having a really tough time in specials. The kids went to "red" in Music yesterday because several would not stop playing to listen, and others simply chose to ignore directions. We had a serious discussion about working together so everyone can be successful. Today, with three kids absent and a pep talk, the kids were able to pull "green" in PE - the first token our class has received in specials! Again, several kids had a tough time, but not as many, and those kids were moved individually to a color below green. Their actions lost the "blue" rating the kids had earned when they entered PE which moved them back to "green". We will work toward earning "green" every day by making wise choices as individuals and goals for the class. You are already helping by talking with your child about your expectations. Library Books: Mr. Stockton let kids check out books Wednesday. Please be sure books are returned each Wednesday. Kids are allowed to get a new book if the previous book is returned. Handwriting: I care very much about handwriting, but at this time the kids need to be trying their best without fear their best is "wrong". They are being shown the correct way to form letters and numbers. Strength will come with practice. Each day I coax for just a little better. Learning this week: Weekly Theme: Nursery Rhymes - Focus rhyme: "Jack and Jill". Tracking words by pointing to the word being read. If only four words are on a page and six words are read, you run out of words to point to while you are still speaking! Students analyzed the characters to determine who they were and why they were fetching a pail of water. Students also heard several rhyming books chiming in the predict the rhyming word. Reading: Our second Daily 5 structure: Work on Writing. We practiced building "stamina" and Friday were finally able to complete 15 minutes without interruption! Read to Self is at 11 minutes without interruption. Our goal is 15 minutes for each. Their book bags now hold their My Letter Aa Book, My Letter Bb Book, the A-Z Reader Jack and Jill , and two books from our classroom library. Writing: Carrying on independently as writers and practiced saying a word slowly, stretching the word, and writing down the sounds heard. Kids have learned that "When we are done, we have just begun" which reminds them to add more to their picture, their coloring, and their words. Word Work: We are thoroughly enjoying Navigating Readiness lessons. Kids have learned that vowels are letters that open our mouths and consonants are letters that block our mouths by our tongue, teeth, or lips. The mouth chart in the behavior folder is read using "open" or "closed" depending on the mouth pictured. There is another chart with lines. These are prepping us for naming letters and handwriting. Line names are: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, open-curve, closed-curve. Your child has practiced these at school. Use the charts as homework to practice reading left to right, tracking, return sweep. Kids will become fluent readers with practice. We've worked with rhyming words and discussed that they sound different at the beginning and the same at the end. We used a segmented worm and sound chips to count the words in a sentence, then take away a chip to read the sentence again leaving that word out. This is more practice in becoming fluent and noticing that print flows left to right. We've also visited syllables as kids try to break words into syllables and call each part a word. The kids' understanding of words through this program has ignited excitement in me! Math: Counting items 0-5 by pointing to the objects one at a time,, then recording the number. Zero can be tricky because we don't need any counters or a picture. The kids write "zero" to show that they did follow directions and didn't skip the problem. Morning calendar routine and the features of a calendar were also explored. Skills to Work on at Home (Learning Targets)
Important Dates: *Don't forget early dismissal Mondays at 3:10 *Friday, September 2nd – No School – Teacher Workday *Monday, September 5th – No School – Labor Day *Thursday, September 15th – Picture Day *Friday, September 16th – Fundraiser Kickoff *Friday, September 23rd – Willard South Day of Service *Tuesday, September 27th – Tiger Pride Assembly @ 2:45 What a busy week! There are so many things to learn at the beginning of the school year. We have tremendous potential for a fun year together. Thank you for everything you have done to prepare your child for this adventure. I appreciate the communication I've already experienced. Please remember that I am always willing to talk with you about any concerns or questions.
Learning this week: The Leader In Me (7 Habits): We read several stories that depict the habits in motion: How Full is Your Bucket?, Howard B Wigglebottom Learns to Listen, Yes We Can! We've discussed what each habit means and how they can help us make better choices. Next week we will review Habit #1 Be Proactive. We've talked quite a bit about being in charge of our own actions and making our own weather. Each of us has the power to change the outcome of our day. This is the most important habit. If the kids can take charge of their behaviors and choices, they will be successful. Weekly Theme: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - we explored how letters are alike since they are all made of circles or curves and lines, Students' names were used to explore likenesses in words and sounds, then added names to our word wall under the correct beginning sound. Word Work: Kids have worked with a complete set of capital letters and a letter mat to play "Letter Look". They match their letters to the mat in order of the alphabet. The kids are trying to beat the one or two minute timers. When removing the letters, they take them off in order while saying the letter name. They've learned that there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet. A is at the beginning, Z is at the end, M and N are in the middle. They've also enjoyed using our senses to learn how to listen. Continue reading the "Eyes Open Chart A" for fluency and comprehension practice. Sight Words: Kids learned "I," "see," and "the" while reading My Aa Book. The words repeat on every page while adding a picture of an object that begins with Aa. We discussed what Aa looks like and the sound it makes. The books were colored and placed in book bags for reading practice in Daily 5. Reading: We are working toward 15 minutes of total silence and on task behaviors for our first Daily 5 structure: Read to Self. Students learned expectations of themselves that must be in place for me to teach. They learned three ways to read a book - read the pictures, read the words, reread a familiar story. And they learned where their choices are for seating. Kids need to be sure they have their own bubble space for working productively. They will have many options for books to place in their book bags to read at during this time. They know to read and reread to become strong readers. We practiced building "stamina" and were able to complete 2 minutes (out of 15) without interruption. Our goal is 15 minutes. Tickets are being sent home today that tell you if your child had perfect stamina or broke stamina several times. Those with perfect stamina received a sucker at Rest and Read. We will continue working toward the 15 minute goal with Read to Self, and we will add Work on Writing. Math: Students practiced counting objects, recording the number on a bar graph, and writing numbers 1-3 correctly. We counted around the circle to practice one-to-one correspondence and double-checking our count. Writing numbers correctly was frustrating for many kids without prior experience. If you can see on the pages sent home that your child struggled, please help your child practice over the weekend. We will focus on counting and writing 4 and 5 next week. Writing: Students are writers because they can tell a story with pictures. They began writing by thinking about a story they want to tell, then drawing a picture. They learned the phrase "When you are done, you have just begun". They can always add details, color, more information, more words, and more pages. We are moving into "visualizing," adding more, stretching out words to write them, and labeling pictures to help tell the story. Skills to Work on at Home (Learning Targets)
Notes: *Don't forget early dismissal Mondays at 3:10 *Kids will get Tiger T-Shirts (free) Tuesday to wear. Please send your child in shorts or jeans and a shirt that can be changed easily. These will be worn every Tuesday to show school unity and spirit. This is a terrific way to teach responsibility as well. *Friday, September 2nd – No School – Teacher Workday *Monday, September 5th – No School – Labor Day *Thursday, September 15th – Picture Day *Friday, September 16th – Fundraiser Kickoff *Friday, September 23rd – Willard South Day of Service *Tuesday, September 27th – Tiger Pride Assembly @ 2:45 Math pages that are being sent home were completed together because I have to read the directions to the kids. We discuss the concept and the directions, then we work pages on the board together. The kids are then asked to complete the pages by themselves (I roam to help as needed). Please review the pages with your child to strengthen the concept.
An "Eyes Open Chart A" in the behavior folder today. Leave the chart in the folder for reading practice daily. They are to say what the body part helps us do. For example "hear, taste, smell, see, touch" is how the first line will read. Be sure your child is touching the picture as they "read" it. We have been learning about the five senses and how they help us learn about everything else. Reading the "Eyes Open" chart is an easy yet beneficial way to learn how to read fluently, left to right, and return sweep to the left again when a line ends. Kids also have to really think about what they are reading. Too often kids attack individual words without internalizing what they are reading with all of the words connected. Book orders are in folders. Ordering is optional! Scholastic is very inexpensive and a fun way to collect books to read. If you choose to order on-line and need help, please let me know. The due date is September 2. The class as a whole is having a difficult time with talking and playing while I'm teaching. Reminders are given constantly. Up to this point I haven't marked yellow, orange, or red in folders hoping that having writing would help the kids without the negativity of these colors. I'll start marking colors tomorrow. Maybe doing so will help those having the most trouble. Thank you for all you do! Math workbook pages that look like "teacher" pages were sent home Friday. I was going to throw these away, but thought parents might like to see our scope and sequence and the math practices we will be referring to as we progress through the school year. The kids brought home their first piece of homework tonight from this workbook. Those who return it tomorrow will get a treat. Homework won't be sent home routinely, but as the book provides it. Be sure to check your child's folder everyday.
My email has been exploding with questions. Keep it up! I love knowing that parents are involved and talking with their children. Tomorrow is PE day. Please let your child wear tennis shoes to participate more easily.
Today kids sang Pizza Hut and learned to read "I go to". Your child became a reader on the first day of Kindergarten! The song and a sheet your child can read was sent home today. Kids also traced their name in "rainbow writing" with three colors. The same name page is in a clear sheet in the behavior folder. If your child needs practice, this can be used to trace letters with a finger and say letter names. We will leave it in the folder for a couple of weeks for practice. Check out the Pictures page for a glimpse of our day! Click Volunteer Form to volunteer for School-wide activities as well as classroom opportunities.
This Kindergarten Kick-Off was the best I've experienced! Meeting my families and students has pumped my enthusiasm to get started. Your sweeties were a joy. Our time together seemed really short. I promise to give you more information as you need it. We'll take it one week at a time together. Thursday morning, please stop at the classroom door if bringing your child. I will help the kids with whatever they need. There will be several staff members roaming the halls to guide kids who ride the bus or are dropped off at the front. The after-school necklaces (bus, car, Tiger Tales) should be worn to and from school everyday through the first full week. Once I feel secure about the kids getting to the correct place, I'll let them know necklaces are no longer needed. These will be sent home for you to keep or throw away. If you have ANY questions, email or write a note. I will check for notes for several weeks before asking the kids to be responsible for turning them in. Rest easy, we've got this! Mrs. Bailey Quick Reference Guide to Mrs. Bailey's' Classroom
I have my class list, and I'm pumped to meet my students and families! Kindergarten Kick-Off begins at 5 pm Tuesday night. Students will be taken to the library at 5:00 so parents have an opportunity to complete paperwork and learn about our classroom. You need to know what size your child needs in our school t-shirt (sizes will be available to see), what lunch choice your child will choose the first day, and how your child will be going home the first day. These are the most important questions you can answer for me Tuesday. Students will be returned to classrooms at 5:30. At that time supplies can be labeled and unwrapped if needed and placed in cubbies. If you are in doubt where to leave items, just place them in a cubby. Backpacks can go home. I will be sorting cubby items Wednesday. When students have had a chance to look around our classroom, a scavenger hunt sheet is available to learn about our building. Tiger Tales staff will be available to register kids needing before and after school childcare. The bus barn staff will be available to help with bus numbers for those who ride buses. Parents can sign up for an October conference date in the library. You are not expected to stay from 5:30 to 6:00! This time is flexible time for you. Grades 1-4 meet their teachers from 6:00 to 7:00. Tuesday night is a special night. Enjoy, take pictures, share in your child's excitement. I try to be available for every family for several minutes between 5:30 and 6:00. If you need to speak with me at length, please email or leave a note that you need me to call you. You can also leave a note about specific concerns (ex: potty concerns, fears, parent worries, home situations). See you soon! Mrs. Bailey |
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