Whittier Kindergarten

Whittier Kindergarten

Monday, May 25, 2015

Important Dates!

Hi Families,

Happy Memorial Day!  I hope you  have a wonderful long weekend!  I can't believe June is approaching.  Here are a few important dates to remember, as the school year comes to a close...

Tuesday, May 26th - last library book exchange (all books will be returned the following week)

Wednesday, May 27th - Volunteer Reception

Friday, May 29th - K concert rehearsal 2-3 pm

Friday, May 29th - Whittier Carnival 6 - 8 pm!! I will be at the carnival working our class game.  If you're interested in volunteering please sign up electronically ASAP!  Last year, I let the kids throw pie in my face...I think I am going to relax this year : ) I hope to see you there! 

Tuesday, June 2nd - Whittier Talent Show 1:30 pm 

Friday, June 5th - Kindergarten Concert 2-3 pm 

Friday, June 5th - Carnival Rain-date

Wednesday, June 17th - Awards Ceremony 10:35 am 

Thursday, June 18th - Last day for students, flag lowering ceremony and report cards are sent home. 

Enjoy these pictures from field day and the classroom!













































Taking a little rest...



Miss Ally's Last Day : (


Memorial Day Weekend Color Run!








Sunday, May 17, 2015

The Week Ahead....

Hello Families,
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Check out our focus for this week…
In Language Arts we will:
-read non-fiction text about athletes
-identify text features and discuss their importance
-continue to learn about long vowels and the “Super E”
Check out this YouTube clip of Super E 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD9dwkrUf8s 
In Social Studies:
 
We are going to talk about reducing and reusing next week in social studies.  One of the goals is for students to realize that people can use old materials/objects to make something new or for a new use.  We are going to be providing students with many materials to create something from toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  Here is where we need some help! 
 
We are asking if you have any toilet paper or paper towel rolls lying around over the next week, to please send them in!  Students will be using these to make a new creation.  Thank you for your continued support in your child's education!
 
In Writing we will: 
-discuss writing styles of a few authors
-choose a favorite author to write to and draft a letter to them
-discuss the components of a great letter
 In Math we will: 
-compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones
-count forward, beginning from a given number within the known sequence.
-write numbers from 0 to 20
-take our Quarter 4 Fact Assessment
 Important Information:
 **Concert Correction**
The Kindergarten concert is Friday, June 5th. Please send in your pink form to indicate how many family members plan to attend. Thank you!
 Dates to Remember: 
Wednesday May 20:  Market Day Pick Up
Thursday May 2: Art Show (6pm)
Friday May 22: Field Day, Talent Show Try Outs
Monday May 25: Memorial Day- Schools Closed
I hope you enjoy these pictures from the field trip!



















Sunday, May 10, 2015

A quick Sunday update

Hello Families,
 
I hope everyone had a great weekend!  To all the Mothers out there, I hope you have a beautiful Mother's Day!  Here is a quick Sunday post for you, following our newsletter.  Check out our focus for this week…
In Language Arts we will:
-read non-fiction text about insects (ladybugs)
-identify texts that have the same topic
-continue to identify and decode words with short/long vowels
In Social Studies we will: 
-begin our “Drug Unit” and discuss things that are healthy for our body
-we will learn about healthy and unhealthy choices
-learn about safety when it comes to strangers
In Writing we will: 
-write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events
-begin an author study and compare different styles of authors
-write a letter to the author we like best
 In Math we will
-solve addition and subtraction mixed practice word problems 
-be able to determine when to add or subtract based on keywords in the word problem
-subtraction within 10
-continue to build fact fluency
 Important Information: 
**Concert Correction**
The Kindergarten concert is Friday, June 5th. Please send in your pink form to indicate how many family members plan to attend. Thank you!
 Dates to Remember: 
Monday, May 11th- visit the center room
Tuesday, May 12th-  Library lesson and book exchange 
Wednesday, May 13th- visit the center room 
Thursday, May 14th- Talent show sign-ups end and the Chorus Concert 
Friday, May 15th-
 Have a great week!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have!  

Sunday, May 3, 2015

The week ahead....

Hi Families,

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the beautiful spring weather this weekend!  Can you believe it’s May already?  We have a lot of fun things planned for the month of May.  Here’s what’s happening this week:


In Language Arts we will:
-review sight words
-read poems to identify short and long vowels.
-identify story elements.
-compare characters that have similar adventures and experiences.
-compare stories that have similar themes.
-read the books Piggy Pie and Zoom Broom.

In Social Studies we will:
-compare past and present (ex: Communication and schools now and then)

In Writing we will:
- write about our field trip using our 5 senses.
-use published Fairy Tales as a mentor text and model.
-use an organizer to generate ideas for our own Fairy Tale (beginning, middle, end)
-discuss a “happily ever after” for our stories
-write and share our fairy tales

In Math we will:
-make ten with different combinations of numbers
-solve word problems using facts to 10.
-practice subtraction strategies
-solve story problems for a missing addend (ex: There were 4 bunnies in the garden.  Some more bunnies came to the garden.  Now there are 8 bunnies.  How many bunnies joined the first group?) 4+___ = 8

Important Information:

***Fountain Rock Field trip***
On Monday May 4th, we will visit Fountain Rock Nature Center in conjunction with our Science Alive Unit. We will leave at 9:30 am from Whittier. Please ensure your child has a good breakfast before coming to school, is dressed in clothing that can get dirty and has a bagged lunch if not purchasing from the school cafeteria. If your are chaperoning the field trip please try to be at school by 9:10 am. 

***Recess***
Please send your child to school with a light jacket if the weather will be below 65 degrees. We go to recess in the morning and it's still chilly. Often students complain about being cold. Thank you for your help with this!

***Homework Journals****
I am still accepting homework journals!  Please send them to school as soon as possible to receive the May calendar : )

***Reading Log***
When reading logs are returned, students will get to pick a prize from the prize box.  

Dates to Remember:
Friday, May 1st - 6th - BOGO PTA Scholastic Book Fair
Monday, May 4th – Teacher appreciation week
Monday, May 4th - Field Trip to Fountain Rock
Tuesday, May 5th Visit the center room
Thursday, May 7th - Cici's Pizza Night and visit the center room
Friday, May 8th - Two hour early dismissal


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

Sharing Writing Folders: 





Battleship Shapes!




Whittier Spring Clean-up with Mrs. Collins' little one!


Being "Incredible" at work!


My kids made me this bouquet for my wedding : ) 

PS - I have gotten one every day this week!


Thank you soooo much for writing back to your child!  We had a blast reading, laughing and discussing your letters. 



Observing corn....



Mrs. Brohawn's Roddle Challenge!  Ask your student about this task...




Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Week Ahead....

Hi Families,
 
Where did spring go? Hopefully it returns soon! I apologize for not sending out a weekly email last week. I believe I am back on track now...
 
In Language Arts we will:
-review sight words
-continue learning about word families (examples: pig, wig, fig) we will also learn about and generate/sort words from the –at, -ug, and –en families
- read fairy-tales to identify story elements.
-Compare different versions of fairy tales. Discuss the similarities and differences in their story elements .

In Science we will:
-make observations about our plants and tadpoles. Ask your child what changes they have witnessed with our new class pets?
- learn about camouflage and why it is important for some animals.
-discuss different habitats and adaptations animals have.

In Writing we will:
- write a persuasive piece to our teacher about what we should choose for our next warm fuzzy reward.
-review:
  1. Tell your opinion
  2. Tell a little story- about a time that you played this game or did this activity
  3. Give LOTS of supporting reasons
  4. Don’t forget to be polite. Use kind words like “please’ and ‘thank you”
- use a checklist to edit our work.
 
In Math we will:
-make ten with different combinations of numbers
-solve word problems using facts to 10.
-work on addition strategies such as counting on, drawing a picture, acting it out, and using our fingers.
- build our addition fact fluency to 10. 
 
Important Information:
 
***Fountain Rock Field trip***
On Monday May 4th, we will visit Fountain Rock Nature Center in conjunction with our Science Alive Unit. We will leave at 9:30 am from Whittier. Please ensure your child has a good breakfast before coming to school, is dressed in clothing that can get dirty and has a bagged lunch if not purchasing from the school cafeteria. All field trip forms and money are due on Monday, April 27th.
 
***Recess***
Please send your child to school with a light jacket if the weather will be below 65 degrees. We go to recess in the morning and it's still chilly. Often students complain about being cold. Thank you for your help with this!
 
***Homework Journals****
Our April homework journals will be due on May 1st. May will be the last month students have optional homework to complete before summer vacation.
 
***Reading Log***
April Reading logs will be due on May 1st. All students who read at least 20 times will be able to pick a prize from the treasure chest. Thank you for taking the time to read with your child!
 

Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, April 28 - Library Lesson and Book Exchange
Friday, May1st-6th - BOGO PTA Scholastic Book Fair
Monday, May 4th - Field Trip to Fountain Rock
Thursday, May 7th - Cici's Pizza Night
Friday, May 8th - Two hour early dismissal

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

PS - I promise to take and post pictures next week : ) 

Friday, April 17, 2015

Box Top Reward!

Our class won the box top collection challenge.  Today we enjoyed our reward...Popsicles and extra recess!  It was the perfect day to spend time outside!