Curriculum Connections This Week

Science:
Sorting objects using five senses---Fun, fun, fun!  We will use the scientific method and our taste buds to explore:  sweet, salty and sour tastes with our theme of apples.

Social Studies:
The importance of being a good citizen--We are reading the story Swimmy by Leo Lionni to demonstrate community, caring and sharing.  We will be making a fish in a pond jello treat to give us a common experience on which we can use to write about good citizenship.

Math:
We will continue to explore numbers 0-5 (Topic 3).

Reading:
We are reading The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood to help us with the concepts of story elements and retelling a story with details.
We are working with blending syllables and using nursery rhymes to help us with identifying rhymes.

Homework:
Thanks for being patient with me while I get this together.  I know I am asking the children to practice sight words and mathematics at home.  I will be sending more this week with Reading to be practiced over the next couple of weeks.

Thank you families so very much for coming to Open House!

Open House September 20th, 6:30-7:30

Scientific method exploration

Hello, families!

Much of what I employ in the classroom is the brain child of someone else.  I found this blog and became enthralled with this teacher's methodologies and care for her kids.  I attempted to replicate her lessons on scientific method.  All credit goes to Deanna Jump, teacher, blogger extraordinaire for these kid friendly posters:

I explained to the children simply:

• Scientists observe (look)
• Scientists ask a question
• Scientists make a guess
• Scientists do an experiment
• Scientists record data
• Scientists come to a conclusion

 We began this unit of study by painting a rainbow, one color at a time.  I didn't want the kids to get their uniforms dirty, so.....I emptied out my drawers and gave them my clean shirts to wear.  I don't think it bothered them at all...

I tried to explain that science is observing change.  So, using color we formulated a question; what happens if we mix two colors?  We mixed water with yellow food dye and water with red food dye. 
I thought they would change to orange. 

No such luck!  But, I told the children that as scientists we could not give up!  We tried again.
This time, we used water with yellow food dye and water with green dye. 
Oh!  How the children's faces lit up when the water turned green!! Yay!!
Next week, we will explore with sorting and graphing.

Enjoy!
Mrs. C.

Fun in math class this week

We began our study of two dimensional shapes this weeks.  Your child will be responsible for being able to recognize the following shapes:  rectangle, square, triangle, circle, trapezoid, and hexagon.  They will also need to be able to describe the shapes attributes, such as sides and corners.
We had fun, let me tell you!  Better yet, let me show you.

Math manipulatives at the carpet

 

 

 

And the exploration continues this week with triangles, hexagons and trapezoids!

Warmly,
Mrs. C.

Math homework

Hello, families!

I am making an effort to differentiate homework so that your child receives extra practice at a level where they are comfortable.  Our math series provides tutorials, audio, videos and worksheets for you to practice with your child.  I do have usernames and passwords for each child, so please feel free to contact me if you are interested in using this very rich resource for math practice.

The school also purchased for our use IXL.com, which is great fun math practice.  You will need a username and password which I have available.

Happy counting and computation!

Sight word homework

Dear families,

We are working diligently to pair letters and sounds to create words.  Children are eager to learn to read.  In an effort to gain as much practice as possible in easily recognizable words, I am sending home a list of sight words.  They are laminated and can even go on the refrigerator after practice.  These words are known as sight words, or words that are known by sight.  We do not sound them out or even think about them--remember back when you memorized math facts?  Very similar concept.
How long you study with your child is completely up to you.  I would like to suggest if your child is resistant, stop for a little while and come back to it at a later time.  I have the words available on
http://www.spellingcity.com/mllc04/ where games are available for the sight words.

Other activities you can do at home to practice would be:

• for your child to try spelling the words with their eyes shut

• circling them in the newspaper  

• finding them in the books you read every day with your child

I have a volunteer that will assess the words your child has learned once a week.  I will expect your child to use the words they have learned between home and school in their writing.

You will receive the first list this week.

There are some 80 or so sight words the children are expected to know upon entering first grade.
I believe you know your child best and will use your own discretion as to the amount of time you dedicate on sight words.  I feel between the two of us, we will have your learner ready to meet and even exceed that expectation.

No More Letter of the Week Homework

Hello, families!

My thanks to those families who have completed the Home-School Assignment sheet for our Reading Wall.  For those families who have yet to receive it, you will, I promise!
Each child becomes a "letter-sound" expert for a designated letter and help his/her classmates in becoming experts throughout the year.

The assignment entails for you to help your child to:

1. Recognize the letter in both uppercase and lowercase.
2. Write the letter in uppercase and lowercase.
3. Tell what sound the letter makes.
4. Read a sentence provided by me, touching each word while reading.
5. Bring in items that will fit in a sandwich baggie that starts with your child's letter (for example: Ss:  sugar, sand, etc.).

I feel there are definite advantages to using this framework instead of concentrating on one letter a week.  First, I feel that it fits perfectly into our design of differentiation, which is, making sure each learner is receiving what they need.  While one student may only be grasping what sound a letter makes, another might notice spelling patterns within a sentence where the letter is featured.  Also, it is important to note that the children become the letter-experts and are involved in peer teaching.  The students will learn to become dependent on one another which helps in promoting social and active learning.

This is the foundation to build even more activities with reading, writing and fluency.
I so appreciate the support in keeping the home-school bond stronger everyday.

Warmly,
Mrs. C.

Curriculum connections this week

Hello, families!

This week we are:

• Assessing what we know about positional words in Math and beginning to talk about two-dimensional shapes
• Continuing to explore why rules are important and what it means to be a good citizen in Social Studies
• Becoming scientists and performing hands-on experiments with color in Science
• Learning sight words:  I, see, a, like, in come
• Understanding rhyme, letter/sound recognition through Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes 
• In P.E. with Coach Duchon for the next two weeks (please have your learner bring gym shoes)

Whew!  We are busy learning and loving it!

Warmly,
Mrs. C.

Adventures in gingerbread

The children had so much fun with our gingerbread man theme. 
They searched for the Gingerbread Man in key locations of our school.

The children received clues from our principal, Paula St. Francis.

The children went to the front desk where Debbie Sia gave them clues to their next destination.

Rachel Block Stewart is the guidance counselor for Kindergarten.

We have only been in school 13 days and some of our friends have had to go to the nurse.  It is nice to know where Debbie Palazzo is to make our boo-boo's better!

We had searched and searched, we even made it to the Media Center to Jackie Lehtonen and we still hadn't found our gingerbread cookies.

 

We went back to our school work dutifully.  

All of a sudden, our classroom door opened and who comes in to deliver our cookies but Mr. McDonald and Awilda Alvarez with the Gingerbread Man!

 

The children were so happy!

 

 I love Kindergarten!

Brrr!!!

Hello Families,
It may not feel like it outside, but it gets down right chilly in our classroom.  Often during our mini-lessons, I observe the children putting their hands inside their shirts because they are cold.
Please pack outerwear that is in compliance with the district's uniform code.