Monday Mailer

Hello Families,

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL spring weather this weekend.  I went to see the Cherry Blossoms in DC.  It was wall to wall people but worth the wait!!  Here’s what’s happening in kindergarten this week. 

In Language Arts we will:

-read The Tiny Seed and generate a list of questions about the life cycle of a plant

-read informational books about plants and record the facts we learn

-learn a new poem, focusing on the –ig word family (examples: pig, wig, fig) we will also learn about and generate/sort words from the –at, -ug, and –en families

-continue to learn new sight words:  what, that, new

In Science we will: 

-ask: What do you think an organism is?

-ask: What tools do we need to care for our critters?

-learn about the life cycle of a tadpole.

-take care of our tadpoles.

-keep a journal detailing our observations.

In Writing we will: 

-discuss our purpose for writing.

-continue working on our letters to the community (telling our community members to not feed the ducks…your student may have discussed this with you already!)

-create a post office in our classroom.

-look at a 2^nd grade persuasive writing piece and discuss the strategies we would like use in our writing

-work on editing and giving writing feedback to a buddy…these are the things we’re look for:

-spaces (in words)

-neatness

-Pictures that help tell the story

-hear lots of sounds in a word

-leave spaces between words

-capitalization 

-punctuation 

In Math we will: 

-sort shapes – without giving students categories.

-identify the number of side, vertices and faces of specific 2D and 3D shapes.

-compare shapes.

-explore shapes though Geoboards and tangrams!

-ask your student to tell you about shapes : )

Important Information: 

***Library Book Exchange and Lesson***

Oops!  We had a library lesson and book exchange this morning.  I forgot to send out a reminder email.  If your student did not get a new book today, they may exchange their book any morning this week.  They just need to remind me : )

***Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Reading Program***

Every day, we will listen to a story that has been chosen by a local school system.  We will have a challenge that goes with each book, and at the end, we will get to vote for our favorite book as a class.  Ask your child about what book they heard Ms. Dattoli read!  

***THANK YOU***

Thank you for your participation in your child's education!  As I collect reading logs and homework journals at the end of each month, I can see how hard you and your student are working at home.  You all have taken time to thank me, so I would like to now thank you!  Keep up the good work.  It is making a difference : ) Also - I know for many of us, it has been since November since we have chatted about your student's progress.  I am always willing to conference via phone or in person.  Please let me know if you're interested in discussing your child's yearly progression.  Thanks again! 

Dates to Remember: 

Monday April 6^th - No School 

Wednesday April 15^th – Tornado Drill (we will review procedures on Tuesday)

Thursday April 16^th - Cici's Pizza Fundraiser Night

Friday April 17^th – Report Cards are sent home!

Have a great week!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have!

The week ahead...

Hello Families,

I hope everyone had a happy and relaxing spring break.  I spent my Saturday at the pre-season Nationals Game and Yesterday with family.  I can't wait to hear what the kiddos did over break : ) We are glad to be back and starting the last quarter of the Kindergarten year.  My how time flies!!  Here's how we're kicking off quarter 4: 

In Language Arts we will:

-continue to participate in "close reads" - The Pirate of Kindergarten

-learn a new poem, focusing on the wh- diagraph.  

-continue to learn new sight words:  what, give, his

In Social Studies we will: 

-Begin our "Personal Body Safety" unit.  This will be a week-long lesson where we will talk about keeping ourselves safe, what to do if someone is bothering you, and stranger danger.  If you have questions or concerns about this unit, please call or email me.   

In Writing we will: 

-discuss our purpose for writing.

-demonstrate how authors write their opinions to help solve a problem. 

-begin a writing piece that shares our opinion on how to solve a problem we see in our community.

In Math we will: 

-use various resources to answer the question "how many more do I need to make 10?"

-continue to persevere in solving word problems using various strategies.

-identify the differences between adding and subtracting and practice both skills. 

-practice solving word problems and number sentences using subtraction.  

Important Information: 

***Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Reading Program***
This week is the kick off for the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Reading Program.  Every day, we will listen to a story that has been chosen by a local school system.  We will have a challenge that goes with each book, and at the end, we will get to vote for our favorite book as a class.  Ask your child about what book they heard Ms. Dattoli read!  

***Frederick Keys***

Our honors chorus, the "Whittier Music Makers" will be singing the National Anthem at the opening night of the Frederick Keys on Friday April 10th!  This group includes fourth and fifth grade students from our school.  We hope you will come out to support them and enjoy a great evening of baseball, singing, and fireworks!  

***THANK YOU***

Thank you for your participation in your child's education!  As I collect reading logs and homework journals at the end of each month, I can see how hard you and your student are working at home.  You all have taken time to thank me, so I would like to now thank you!  Keep up the good work.  It is making a difference : ) Also - I know for many of us, it has been since November since we have chatted about your student's progress.  I am always willing to conference via phone or in person.  Please let me know if you're interested in discussing your child's yearly progression.  Thanks again! 

Dates to Remember: 

Monday April 6th- No School 

Tuesday April 7th- First day back from Spring Break! Library book exchange - I have many student books from last week...we did not have an exchange due to the short week. 

Friday April 10th- Whittier Music Makers sing at Frederick Keys opening night! 

Thursday April 16th- Cici's Pizza Fundraiser Night

Have a great week!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have!

Sunday Post

Hi Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Where did spring go? Hopefully it will appear over spring break: )!!  I'm sorry my weekly posts have been a little inconsistent.  I hope to be better about getting it to you each Sunday!  Here is what’s happening in kindergarten during this short week…..

In Language Arts, we will:

* learn the following sight words: give, his, & what.

* learn about the "th" digraph. Ask your child if they can generate a list of "th" words.  Some examples include: this, the, thumb, Beth, bath, etc.

*begin learning about close reading. Close reading is when a student delves deeper into a text to answer higher level questions and examine the author’s craft. Some things we will be discussing include: vocabulary/word choice, character's feelings/reactions and themes found within the story.  

In Science, we will:

* finish up our weather unit. We took a break from this unit to complete our science fair projects.

* learn about clouds. Specifically stratus, cumulus, and cirrus.

In Writing, we will:

* review how to edit our writing.

* learn what makes reading our writing easy- spacing, punctuation, pictures, remembering to write the sounds we hear in words and capitalization.

*create personal word walls to add to our writing folders.

In Math, we will: 

*In Math we will continue learning different strategies that help us solve addition and subtraction problems. 

*work on learning to count-on when adding two numbers together. This means if a student saw the problem, "7+2" They would first identify the bigger number "7" and then count on two from seven. They would say, " seven, ---eight, ---nine" to get the correct total.

*Ask your child what strategy they find helpful to solve addition and subtraction problems? (Draw a picture, use their fingers, use a manipulative, counting on, acting it out etc."

 *   Yearbooks are on sale!  They are 20 dollars.  Order forms came home two weeks ago in Thursday folders.  I have extra order forms, if you need one.  This is a great way to remember your child's Kindergarten year! You can order your child's yearbook online by visiting 

:ybpay.lifetouch.com use the code: 11045615

  *   The Board of Education has met and decided on our snow day make-ups.  Students WILL attend Wednesday, April 1st, Tuesday, June 16th, Wednesday, June 17th and Thursday, June 18th being the last day of school for students.  Mark your calendars!

***Homework Journals and Reading Logs***

As the month comes to an end on Tuesday, March 31st please have your child return their homework journals and reading logs. This is the last month Pizza Hut is offering book-it slips. In April, any child that reads at least 20 times will get to pick a prize from the class treasure chest. When students return from spring break I will return their homework journals. 

Important Dates to note:

Tuesday, March 31st: Library Book Exchange 

Wednesday, April 1st: End of Quarter 3

Thursday, April 2nd-April 6th: No School, SPRING BREAK!!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!! Have a great spring break!!! 

Game Day!

Hi Families!

We filled our Warm Fuzzy Jar again!  The kiddos have been working really hard to follow directions the first time, participate in all activities and try their best!!!  We are really excited to have another game day.  On Friday, March 27, 2015 we will spend 40 minutes playing games.  If you would like your child to participate in game day, please allow them to bring a game of their choice to school.  Please do not send electronics to school.  We don’t want them to get lost!  If you have any questions or concerns, please call or email.  Thank you, Ms. Grimes

Science Fair!

Thank you for coming out to support the science fair!  I know the kids were very excited to share our project. Unfortunately, we did not get to visit as a class because of the snow day.  Here are a few pictures of kindergarten projects.  Enjoy!

The Week Ahead...

Hi Families,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Although it was rainy, we still had some warmer weather! I can’t wait for the spring sunshine : ) Here is what’s happening in kindergarten this week…..

In Language Arts, we will:

 -“read between the lines” by making inferences about the main character in a book

-discuss why making inferences is useful

-make connections from what you know about your life to what the character does in the story

-use a “feeling tracker” to identify the main character’s feelings throughout the story

In Science, we will:

-continue to work on our science project (Egg drop)

-build our design and test its effectiveness by dropping it from the highest slide on the playground. 

***The only materiel we still need is straws***

***The Science Fair is this Thursday, March 19^th.  Please come check out all the interesting science projects.  We should have a section with all the Kindergarten projects together.  Science Fair viewing begins at 6 pm.  STEM night is from 6:30 – 7:30.  We hope to see you there!***

In Writing, we will:

-Write about what we would do if we found a pot of gold!

-Research facts about animals and begin an informational piece about one animal

-create a topic sentence that tells the reader what they will learn about it your book

***I just have to brag – our how-to-books are amazing!  The students were able to pick their own topic.  We have how-to ride a bike, brush your teeth, make a pizza, ice skate, make a card, make a bracelet, etc!!!  I am so impressed with their creativity, organization and confidence.***

In Math, we will: 

-order numbers

-compare written numerals

-draw a picture to represent addition and subtraction

-review addition and subtraction strategies (part-part-whole, manipulatives, draw a picture, use your fingers, act it out)

***We are working on fluently adding and subtracting within 5.  Students will be given the number sentence (ex: 2+2=4) and asked to solve this problem in their head.  This is something we will work on throughout the remainder of the school year.***

***Literacy Night***

Has been cancelled

 *   Yearbooks are on sale!  They are 20 dollars.  Order forms came home two weeks ago in Thursday folders.  I have extra order forms, if you need one.  This is a great way to remember your child's Kindergarten year! 

  *   The Board of Education has met and decided on our snow day make-ups.  Students WILL attend Wednesday, April 1st, Tuesday, June 16th and Wednesday, June 17th being the last day of school for students.  Mark your calendars!

  *   Students in our class are making frequent visits to the school store in the mornings.  I love that our class is supporting our school!  However, I have noticed that many of these purchases have become distractions.  Almost daily I am taking an eraser, play-doh, or other item bought at the school store for a period of the day to reduce distractions.  Please reinforce to your children that these purchases need to stay in their cubby and be taken home!  Also, there are no toys allowed at school.  Unless they have a stuffed animal day, or it is a designated toy and game day for the class.  Thank you for supporting your child's education and reinforcing these policies at home!

Important Dates to note:

Thursday, March 19^th – Science Fair (6-7:30)

Friday, March 20^th – 2 hour early dismissal

Enjoy these pictures…..

Sharing How-To-Books

Reading Scholastic News! 

The week ahead.....

Hi Families,

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  I'm hoping for no more snow days, so we can have our full spring break! We have a fun week of learning ahead of us! Let's take a look...

In Language Arts, we will:

-Discuss how the illustrator helps the author tell their story.

-Discuss characteristics of different genres (poetry, nursery rhymes, drama, etc.)

- Compare fiction and nonfiction stories to discuss their similarities and differences. 

In Science, we will:

-Continue to work on our science project (Egg drop)

-We will begin to talk about our procedures 

-For example, what is the first step to making a sandwich? What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?

***If you have any small to medium size cardboard boxes you are willing to donate, please send them to school.  We will also need bubble wrap, foam, really anything you think would help protect an egg, when dropped from the tallest slide on our playground!***

In Writing, we will:

-Review what we can do if we don't know how to spell a word. Some possible ideas include: stretching out the word and writing down the sounds we hear, using the word wall, listening for little words in the word we are trying to spell, using the room as a resource and thinking about and making sure to include the vowel sound(s) they hear.

-Complete a personal "How To" book (students will pick their topic)

-Practice using transitional words such as first, then, next.

In Math, we will: 

-Practice using strategies to identify the next number in a sequence (use a number line, count in your head, counting backwards...)

-Sort buttons and other objects by different attributes.

-Revisit "subitizing", which is automatically recognizing a group of dots or other objects without counting.

***Literacy Night***

Literacy night has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 5th at 6:30 pm.

Whittier will be holding its annual literacy night. Our theme this year is, "Lights, Camera, Action"! Families will be offered popcorn and cookies as they enjoy two stories of their choosing. The books being showcased this year were picked by the students in each class. 

***Homework Journals***

Please have your child turn in their homework journal by Monday, March 2nd. The new homework menu will be went home this week!

***Book- It Calendars***

Please have your child bring back their February Book-It calendar by Monday so they may receive a Pizza Hut coupon.

 

 

Important Dates to note:

Monday, March 2nd - Homework journals and Book It due

Tuesday, March 3rd - Visit the center room - library book exchange

Thursday, March 5th - Visit the center room - Whittier Literacy Night

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.   I will have pictures to share next Sunday!