The Week Ahead.....

Hello Families,

I hope everyone had a fun weekend.  We finally have a 5 day week ahead of us, and hopefully no snow interferes this time!  Here's what we're getting into this week:  

In Language Arts, we will:
- Continue learning sight words, focusing on the words: came, look, her 

- Make predictions about a text and revise our predictions as we read.
- Use the title, cover, pictures or photographs of a book to help us with our predictions.
- Use the "five-finger retell" to learn how to summarize and retell a familiar story. 

In Science, we will: 

- Begin our "Earth" unit by talking about weather and seasons.
- Start tracking the weather and look for patterns, similarities and differences in the weather.
- Be able to use resources to predict the weather.  

In Writing, we will: 

- Identify a problem we see in our classroom and brainstorm ways to solve it.
- Write a "persuasive" sentence about why we should solve the problem in a certain way. 

- Identify ways we can tell other people about the problem we have identified and how they can help us solve it.  

In Math, we will: 

- Explore and understand positional words (over, under, next to, etc...) 

- Use 2D and 3D shapes to make another shape.
- Explore geoboards as a tool to help us make shapes. 

- Use shapes to create a monster, and then talk about the shapes we used, and their attributes.  

Other important information: 

***Valentine's Day***

We will have our Valentines day party on Thursday February 12 from 2-3 pm.  Papers went home in Thursday folders about this, but if you need another form, or have any questions, please let me know.  We are asking for monetary donations, and then I will go out and buy the supplies we need for our party.  If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know!  Thanks! 

***Spirit Week***

This week is spirit week, and there's fun way to dress for each day.  See below for the list:
Monday- Wear purple for Alzheimers Awareness or Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness
Tuesday- Twin day- dress like another student so you look like twins!
Wednesday- Jersey day- wear your favorite sports team's jersey. 

Thursday- Throwback Thursday- dress like someone from another decade- 70s, 80s, 90s... be creative! 

Friday- School Spirit Day- Wear red, white and blue to show your Whittier School spirit!  

K teachers love spirit week!!!

***Book Swap***

We are having a school book swap and we need your gently used books!  If you have books that your children are no longer using, you can donate them to the book swap.  The goal of the book swap is for every child in the school to take home a book to keep.  If you have any questions about this, please let me know. 

***ABC/123 Team***

If you are a trained parent volunteer, and you would like to come in to school and help out on a regular basis, then the ABC/123 team is for you!  We have students that are working on learning their letters and numbers and we would like you to help them out.  It requires just a small amount of time (5-10 minutes) with each student, and you can work with as few or as many students from the list as you'd like.  If this is an opportunity you would like to be a part of, please email me and I will get you on the list of parents to be trained specifically for the ABC/123 Team.  If you have already talked to me about it, then someone will be contacting you soon!  

***Book Fair***

This Friday, February 6 is the kick off for our Technology Book Fair!  The Book fair will be open from 4:00-7:00 and will also be paired with the PTA Sock Hop.  Stop by the book fair and pick up some great books at a low price.  The money we raise from the book fair will go towards purchasing technology for our school!  Come and support a great cause and the love of reading! 

***Finding Nemo***

Movie day was a success!  The kids loved relaxing and eating popcorn.  Note to self - kids do not sit still for longer than 20 minutes while watching a Disney movie : ) 

Important Dates:
Monday 02/02- Pink and Purple Day, Library Lesson and book exchange!
Tuesday 02/03- Twin Day
Wednesday 02/04- Jersey Day

Thursday 02/05- Decade Day  

Friday 02/06- School Spirit Day, Book Fair Kickoff and PTA Sock Hop! (6-8)

Thank you for all you do to support your child's learning at home.  As always, please feel free to let me know of any questions or concerns you may have.  Have a great week!  :)

Pictures to share...

Using counters to solve story problems!

Acting out story problems!

Mixing the primary colors on coffee filters!

The finished product : ) 

Sketching our visualizations (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs)

The Week Ahead....

Hello Families! 

This is another 4-day week, but full of meaning and learning!  I hope you are all staying safe and warm and ready for another round of snow!  Here's what we're getting into this week in Kindergarten: 

In Language Arts, we will: 

- Read fiction books and make and revise predictions using the pictures, title, and text features to help us. 

- Learn a new poem and practice reading fluently, identifying sight words, and finding rhyming words.

- Continue learning new Kindergarten sight words.  This week our words will be:  said, play, where

In Social Studies, we will: 

- Begin learning about the difference between wants and needs. 

- Sort items into categories labeled wants and needs. 

- Distinguish between a good that is grown and one that is made.  

- Talk about the difference between a good (a tangible product) and a service (a job, not an object).  

- Be able to hear a text and distinguish between a good and a service.  

In Writing, we will: 

- Use a checklist to evaluate our writing and make improvements. 

- Continue to brainstorm ideas for writing, including telling a story with multiple related ideas.  

- Encourage independent sounding out of words while writing, and using the word wall and other resources in the classroom to help you write words correctly.  

In Math, we will: 

- Review 2D shapes and talk about their attributes. 

- Identify 2D shapes in the environment- "shapes in real life". 

- Introduce 3D shapes and how they are the same and different from 2D shapes.  

- Find 3D shapes in our classroom and compare their attributes.  

Other important information...

***Spirit Week***
Next week (the first week in February), Whittier will be having spirit week to help celebrate the book fair being in town!  See the dates to remember for all of the important spirit wear days coming up!  

***Scholastic Book Fair***

The second week in February is the Scholastic Book Fair!  The library will be closed for student book exchanges and will only be open for the book  fair.  Part of the proceeds from the book fair will be used to purchase new technology for our school!  If you would like your student to be able to purchase a book from the book fair, you can write down the title and send the appropriate amount of money with them, and they will be allowed to visit the book fair.  There will be additional information coming home soon about the book fair.  

***100th Day of School!***

It's hard to believe, but the 100th day of school is fast approaching.  There will be more information coming home about this, but start making a collection of 100 things to bring in to school.  Some examples could include:  buttons, stickers, crayons, paperclips, pins, bobbypins, pompoms.... The possibilities are endless! The 100 objects must be able to fit inside of a gallon size ziploc baggie.  More information to come!!

***Valentine's Day***

Information about Valentine's Day parties will start to come home this week and next week.  We will be providing a list of the students in our class (just first names).  Our Valentine's Day party will be on Friday February 13 and you are more than welcome to send in Valentines for the entire class.  More information to come.... 

***Finding Nemo***

A quick reminder, Friday is  our Warm Fuzzy Reward day!  We will watch Finding Nemo as a class.  If your student does not want popcorn, please remember to send in an alternative snack.  Thank you!  

Dates to Remember:

Mon. 01/26- No school for students- Teacher Work day

Tues. 01/27- First day of Quarter 3 and library book exchange (I will be out all day for a training)

Wed. 01/28 I will be out half day

Fri. 01/30 Finding Nemo movie reward!!!

Mon. 02/02- Spirit Week:  Awareness Day (wear purple or pink)

Tues. 02/03- Spirit Week:  Twin Day
Wed. 02/04- Spirit Week:  Sports Jersey Day

Thurs. 02/05- Spirit Week:  Throwback Day (dress from the 70s, 80s or 90s)

Fri. 02/06- Spirit Week:  Whittier Spirit Wear (wear red, white and blue)

Fri. 02/06- Report Cards sent home

Have a great week and please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!  

P.S. I have been very bad about taking/uploading pictures.  I have a few pictures I will add tonight.  Please check them out!!

The Week Ahead.....

Hi Families,

I hope you had a nice 3 day weekend!  Here’s what’s happening in kindergarten during this 4 day week at Whittier.

***If you haven't signed up for FindOutFirst it is an excellent way to be notified of closing and cancellations. Also, the GROW WITH SNOW site offers some fun activities to do on snow days.***

 

In Language Arts we will: 

-continue to grow our sight word knowledge as we focus on: an, here, go

-read and locate rhyming words, sight words, ending/medial sounds, syllables, etc. in the poem Little Polar Bear

-read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs without using the illustrations.  As we read we will stop and have students visualize the page using the author’s descriptive words and their imagination.

(Example: “Across an ocean, over lots of huge bumpy mountains, across three hot deserts, and one smaller ocean...there lay the tiny town of Chewandswallow).  We will sketch our visualizations.  This is a super fun lesson!!

-re-read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and identify the story elements: Characters, setting, problem, solution, major events. 

 

In Science we will:

-develop reasonable explanations for observations made, investigations completed and information gained by sharing ideas and listening to others’ ideas.

-grow and observe crystals

-keep journals describing our crystals

 

In Writing we will:  

- produce writing that is legible.

-complete our informational books about an Arctic Animal using effective details, words, and figurative language.

-create a winter word wall

-share our writing and celebrate all our hard work!!

 

In Math we will: 

-solve and represent addition and subtraction problems using manipulatives, our fingers, drawings, sounds, acting out situations, mental images, and equations. 

-use math vocabulary such as "plus", "minus", "adding to" and "taking from".

-solve math word problems. 

-write math equations using "+", "-" and "=" signs. 

-play Shake and Spill with a partner…ask your student how to play this game!

-generate many ways to make 10.

-play Magic Beans…it is a lot like Shake and Spill.  All you need is kidney beans and spray paint.  Paint one side of the bean…ask your student how to play!

 

***Library***

Our next library book exchange (and lesson) will be Tuesday, January 20th. Please ensure your child returns their library book Friday morning.

 

***Book Swap***

Whittier will be holding its annual book swap. If you have any books your family no longer enjoys or has out grown please consider donating them so that another child can enjoy these stories!

***Finding Nemo***

Our Warm Fuzzy Reward was approved!  We will watch the movie Finding Nemo and have a popcorn snack on Friday, January 30th.  Please send your student's permission slip back to school as soon as possible.  Thank you in advance!

 

Dates to Remember: 

1/19- No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday)

1/23- Last day of Quarter Two

1/22- Cici's Pizza Night

1/26- No School (Teacher Work Day)

1/30- January Scholastic Orders Due and FINDING NEMO day!!!!

 

Another BIG THANK YOU for participating in your child’s education!  I am literally blown away by the growth in your students’ reading/writing skills!  Keep up the good work : )

Ms. Grimes 

The Week Ahead....

Hello Families,

 

We survived our first snow day! Hopefully we won't have many more so we can get out of school early in June. I didn't mention in last weeks post that I'm getting married. I've been debating on whether or not tell the kids because I probably won't change my name until next year (we haven't set a date).  Exciting times ahead!!  

***If you haven't signed up for FindOutFirst it is an excellent way to be notified of closing and cancellations. Also, the GROW WITH SNOW site offers some fun activities to do on snow days.***

 

In Language Arts we will: 

- continue to grow our sight word knowledge as we focus on: at, was & he.

-read a variety of Jan Brett stories to make connections and review story elements (characters, setting, problem and solution.)

 

In Science we will:

-review different forms of H2O and describe its properties. 

- learn about primary colors and conduct a coffee filter experiment to make secondary colors.

-learn what colors combine to make the color black. 

 

In Writing we will:  

- produce writing that is legible.

- review what we learned about arctic animals.  

-write an informational book about an Arctic Animal using effective details, words, and figurative language.

 

In Math we will: 

-solve and represent addition and subtraction problems using manipulatives, our fingers, drawings, sounds, acting out situations, mental images, and equations. 

-use math vocabulary such as "plus", "minus", "adding to" and "taking from".

-solve math word problems. 

-write math equations using "+", "-" and "=" signs. 

 

***Science Fair***

Information about our school science fair went home electronically last week. If you need a paper copy please let me know.

If you and your child are interested in completing and entering a science fair project please return your paper work ASAP. 

Our class will complete a science fair project. Stay tuned for more information!! Whittier's science fair will be held on March 19th. 

 

*** Budget Hearing***

Thank you to all families that were able to support education by attending the budget hearing. 

 

***Library***

Our next library book exchange will be Tuesday, January 13th. Please ensure your child returns their library book Friday morning.

 

***Book Swap***

Whittier will be holding its annual book swap. If you have any books your family no longer enjoys or has out grown please consider donating them so that another child can enjoy these stories!

Dates to Remember: 

1/16- FCPS kindergarten Vision and Hearing Screening

1/19- No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday)

1/23- Last day of Quarter Two

1/22- Cici's Pizza Night

1/26- No School (Teacher Work Day)

1/30- January Scholastic Orders Due

Lastly, thank you for participating in your child's education.  After an almost full week of reading groups, I can see that very little knowledge was lost over our 12 day break! Thank you allowing your child to read their little books to you.  Have a super week!

Welcome Back!!

Hello Families!

Happy 2015! I hope you had a relaxing break! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the cards, gifts and sweet treats I received before break.  They were all very thoughtful and delicious. 

Here's what's happening this week.....

In Language Arts we will: 

 - Study arctic animals such as whales, penguins, seals and polar bears.  We will record details from informational books about each animal.  We will discuss similarities and differences among the animals.  

- Review our sight words in various forms such as a game called Fiddlesticks and Sight Word Parking Lot!

In Social Studies we will: 

- Learn about the Chinese New Year and discuss traditions in China.

 In Science we will:

- Begin our Matter and Heat Unit and talk about the most efficient way to melt ice.

 In Writing we will:  

- Use effective details, words, and figurative language in our writing.

-Produce writing that is legible.

 In Math we will: 

-Identify whether a number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group.

-Introduce number lines and number placement.

 

***Recess***

Please make sure your child has a heavy coat for recess. It’s starting to get cold outside and we want everyone to be able to go out.

 

 ***Library***

We go to the library every Tuesday (unless there is a schedule change in the calendar).  At this point in the year, students are responsible for getting their library books out of their bookbags and putting them into the library bin.  I will not be going through their backpacks, but will give them several reminders to get their books out.  Thanks for your support and understanding in helping our Kindergarteners become independent in any way they can be!  

 

***Attendance***

Thank you so much for making sure your students are here at school and on time every day!  We are able to get started right away because everyone is here and ready to learn!  THANK YOU for making that happen! 

 

Dates to Remember: 

1/5- Continue to collect homework journals & visit the center room 

1/6- Library Lesson with Ms. Datolli 

1/7- Science fair kick off! Visit the center room 

1/8- 

1/9-

Make it a great week!

The very short week ahead : )

Hello Families!

I hope you had a relaxing weekend! We may have a short week ahead, but it will be filled with learning!  

In Language Arts we will: 

- Read The Polar Express and describe the importance of illustrations in a story.

-incorporate poetry to practice fluency and expression.

In Social Studies we will: 

- Compare and contrast winter holidays from around the world.

- Compare American families to other family cultures.

In Writing we will:  

- Use effective details, words, and figurative language in our writing.

-Produce writing that is legible.

In Math we will: 

-Write numbers from 0-20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20.

-use a variety of counting strategies. Which strategy/tool is more helpful to you?  

Math was very interesting last week.  We introduced rekenreks as a tool used for counting, composing and decomposing numbers.  I was so cool to see how our friends saw numbers differently.  Exploration with counting has been a major focus this quarter.  

***Recess***

Please make sure your child has a heavy coat for recess. It’s starting to get cold outside and we want everyone to be able to go out.

 ***Attendance***

Thank you so much for making sure your students are here at school and on time every day!  We are able to get started right away because everyone is here and ready to learn!  THANK YOU for making that happen! 

***Winter Break***

Although our week is short, we will have 2 full instructional days. We are all very excited for our winter break!  The kiddos have worked so hard and they deserve it.  Please send homework journals to school this Tuesday, so I can look over them during break.  I am very impressed with all the student work that comes back to school!  Please take time to read books...have your student read, or simply read to them.  We have class that LOVES books this year.

 ***Homework Idea***

Over break, write about something exciting that you did with family or friends.  Illustrate your story using labels and speech bubbles.  Don't forget to add lots of details and try very hard to recreate those "hard to make ideas!"  Write about what you did.  Remember to check for.....

-punctuation

-uppercase/lowercase letters

-spaces

-Does it make sense?

-Can you read what you wrote? 

Please bring your writing to school on January 5th!  I can't wait to read about all the fun things you did over break!!!

Dates to Remember: 

12/22- Library Lesson with Ms. Dattoli (no book exchange) 

12/22 - Visit the center room 

12/23-

12/24-1/4 Winter Break

1/5- Students return to school

Enjoy the holiday season!

Jaime 

Retelling The Three Billy Goats Gruff 

Our Gingerbread door!!

Sharing with Ms. S's class.  We learned about Italy...they learned about China!

Exploring numbers with the  Rekenrek