Updates

Burr!  It is bitterly cold outside. We couldn't go outside for recess today because the temperature was too cold.  The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't looking so good either.  I predict the kids will be playing indoors.  Below are some winter theme bulletin boards to get you in the spirit.  Thank you Mrs. McCarthy and your talented brother for creating the cutest Olaf bulletin board!

We read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  Afterwards, we graphed our favorite winter activities.  Finally, we wrote about our favorite winter activities using the sight words "I", "like" and "in".  Look closely, and you might be able to see your kindergartener's adorable face in the snowsuit!

We did want to build a snowman.  We took black & white pictures of ourselves and put them on snowman bodies.  Everyone walks by our room and giggles  at our boards.  So much fun!

________________________________________________________________________

This week in reading, we will delve deeper into characters.  Students will learn how to describe what characters look like and act like.  The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett is a great story to teach students about main character.  It is really important for students reading comprehension to describe characters during and after reading.

The sight words for the week are "on" and "can".  We will have fun rainbow writing the words, clapping the words, searching for the words in texts, and reading the words in a poem.  At home to help learn these words, kindergartners can look for sight words in books, on labels, and in store flyers. Here are some other fun ways to practice sight words at home.

Our new Lively Letters for the week are /l/, /r/ and /u/.  Every day we use the letter sounds we've learned to read CVC words (or consonant-vowel-consonant words).  Here are some words we read (these are actually "word families, or CVC words that end with the same two letters):

cat          hot
mat         pot
fat           not
pat          lot
bat          got
rat           dot



Just an FYI about RAZ-Kids:  I am waiting for the teacher login information for the AM class.  I should be sending the information home this week.  


In writing this week, we will focus on labeling our stories with beginning sounds and/or sounding out words.  Many kids are already doing this, but I thought we could use a more direct lesson on it so they begin labeling on their own without prompting.  We will label our Writer's Workshop stories and the gingerbread baby.  


Many fun activities are happening in math this week.  We will be playing subtraction games, working in our addition word problem books, playing math games, and matching numbers to sets.


This link will take you to a sight where you can watch how to play "Disappearing Train" at home.  We will not play until later on in the week, but you are welcome to try it with your kindergartner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2wse2QzhBc


Concepts for the Car ride:

• Practice same 2 ending sounds in words (-at, -it, -ot, -en)
• Oral addition stories
• Looking for objects that have similar shapes (this helps with sorting or categorizing)
• Take family members' names (for example "John").  Think of words that begin with each letter in the name.  J~ jelly, o~octopus, h~ hello, n~nose
• Discuss family holiday traditions (we share these in school)

FYI: We will visit the holiday shop on Friday.  If you are interested in your kindergartner purchasing gifts, please send in money.  You can also check prices online.

One More Tens Frame Game

This is similar to the tens frame game we play with cards in school.  Love this!
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=75

Five Frame

Below is an interactive five frame game.  When you get to the sight, you may have to give it a minute.  I didn't think it was working at first, but then it appeared.  Make sure you have your volume up.  Your child can put the cursor over words so the text is read to them. Also, the activities vary in difficulty.  Make sure your child goes through all activities first.  Have fun!


Five Frame

DRA Correlation Chart

Here is a correlation chart to help you select books at your child's "just right" reading level.  We use the DRA, but you may find it easier to find books leveled alphabetically.

Thanks for Helping with the Thanksgiving Centers!

I want to thank Mrs. Gilmore, Mrs. Panesse, Mrs. Holmes, and Mrs. Wilhelm for helping out with our Thanksgiving centers. The kids seemed to enjoy the day, and it is always fun to have parents in the classroom.  We had fun making crafts and playing games.  Before we knew it, the day was over and it was time for dismissal.  

We are looking forward to more celebrations this year!

AM Kindergarten Volunteer

I am looking for one more parent volunteer to help with our Thanksgiving centers this Friday, November 21st.  The centers will go from 10:15-11:20.  Email me asap if you are interested!

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

STAR STUDENTS

Congratulations to 

Rosalie~ AM
Arjun~ PM

POM Bottles

I am kindly asking for students to bring in empty POM bottles by the first week of December.  I will send out a hard copy reminder as well.  I am aware of the fact the POM beverages are not cheap.  You can also send in a Gatorade bottle.  It is a little more difficult to work with, however, they are less expensive.  I can't tell you what this is for, but you won't be disappointed!!!

This Week

Please forgive me for not posting any detailed information this week.  Preparing for 39 conferences is quite time consuming.  

I just wanted to bullet the most important information:

Lively Letters:

n/g

l/r

Sight Words:

in

to

it

Read Aloud:

Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross

Nonfiction Text:

"Pilgrims' First Year" in our Let's Find Out magazine.  Here is the class code to view at home with your child.

 Classroom Code: mrsdolchkindy1

Math:

Addition number stories: if you notice, I use number lines as a strategy to solve addition problems.

Math addition games

Monster Squeeze game:    Monster Squeeze (here is the game we will be playing on the number line in  our classroom)

FYI: 

On Friday, we will be having fun and educational Thanksgiving centers.  I am looking forward to getting some help from some parent volunteers.  I will be sure to post pictures of the activities.  

We will visit the Book Fair during library tomorrow.  Make sure to stop by during conferences!

Volunteers:

A few parents came forward to offer help in the classroom.  I am putting a schedule together and will send it out to those who are interested (this does NOT include parties). I am trying my best to accommodate to everyone.  If you are still interested, I can put you down on the schedule later on in the year.

NO NOVEMBER HOMEWORK MENU THIS WEEK!!!

I will be sending home individual assignments tonight and tomorrow night.  Please encourage your child to bring in good deed feathers to share with the class!

A.M. Kindergarten Class Mystery Reader

If your child is in the morning kindergarten class, please email me if you are interested in being a Mystery Reader.  A Mystery Reader is someone who is scheduled to visit our classroom with a special book to read to the class.  The best part is, the students do not know who you are.  I try to schedule Mystery Readers on Fridays at 11:10.  Also, Mystery Readers must be CORI'd.

In the email to me, please include the month you prefer (I will try my best to accommodate) and three clues about yourself.

Updates

I’d like to start off this blog post by thanking all veterans and active duty military.  Thank you for serving our country and protecting our freedom.

Math:

In math this week, we are continuing to work on writing numbers.  We have been spending time on the “tricky teens”.  Counting to 19 is relatively simple for many kindergarteners.  The tricky part is understanding what the teen numbers mean.  For example, the number 12 is a group of 10 and 2 ones.  We worked with unifix cubes and tens frames to learn this concept.  In addition, I found a great math song about teen numbers.  We have fun singing and dancing to this song.  Here is the link below in case you want to sing it for reinforcement with your child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uedvwH6Ay18

Language Arts:

In Language Arts, I have introduced  letter sounds from our Lively Letters Program.  The sounds are /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /f/, /v/, /k/, /g/, and /qu/, /th/, short /a/, and /o/.  This week will work on the /m/ sound and continue decoding cvc words.  Now that we learned two vowels, we can make words. Here are some questions you can ask your kindergartener at home:

Who is the character that makes the quiet tongue dancing sound?

(Answer: /t/ is the Quiet Tongue Dancer)

Who is the character that makes the noisy tongue dancing sound?

(Answer: /d/ is the Noisy Tongue Dancer)

      Who makes the quiet choking sound?

      (Answer: /k/ he is going to a wedding and his mother

      tied his bowtie too tight.  It made him choke a little, so      

      now he makes a quiet choking sound)

      Who is the character that is big and juicy?  When you

      open your mouth really wide, you say what?

(Answer: /a/ the apple)

Who is the cute and hungry character.  Every time you see her, you tilt your head and say “o” (sound like awww).

(Answer: The baby who is opening her mouth wide to eat from her mom’s spoon)

In reading, I am excited to say we are diving into the “Daily 5”. Below is a link that will give you information about this

Literacy framework.

         https://www.thedailycafe.com/daily-5

This week, we will continue to learn how to read to self.  We will make a chart about what it looks like and sounds like to read to yourself.  We have more printable sight word books to read as a class and in small groups to practice this reading habit.  Please read the books with your kindergarten at home to review reading the pictures, reading the words, and retelling the story.

This week we will read To Town with different objectives each time.  We will first read the pictures to infer what the book is about.  Then we will read the book looking for sight words.  Finally we will read the book from beginning to end and do a retell with dramatic enactment. 

When you are reading at home, encourage your kindergartener to read the pictures to tell what is happening in the story.

This week, we will learn two more ways to read a book: reading the words and retelling the story.

Writing:

In writing, we will read a variety of texts without words.  We will add words to the text through a writing skill called “labeling”.  Labeling is such an important beginning reading and writing skill.  Labels give readers information about the picture or story.  One activity I know the students will enjoy is labeling the teacher.  I will have to post pictures of that one after the lesson. 

Concepts for the Car ride or home:

Generating Rhymes is still such an important phonemic awareness.  Please work on having your child think of words that rhyme with your words.

“Slap It!”

As your kindergartener is learning more and more sights, use the sight words placemat (created by Mrs. McCarthy) to practice sight words.  You call out a sight word, and your child tries to find it and slap it as quick as possible.  Another alternative to this game is called “Bounce”.  You post sight words on sticky notes on the wall or your fence.  Your child has a bouncy ball in his/her hand.  You call out a sight word, and your child tries to bounce the ball off of that word. 

Review the sight words:

I, am, is, the, go, like, see, the, do

Fun Family Turkey Project

Here is a website to give you an idea of the ways you can disguise a turkey.  Below that are a couple of pictures I found online that I thought were cute.  I can't wait to display these outside of our classroom!

Websites with examples of disguised turkeys

No turkey here!
It's a World Champion St. Louis Cardinals baseball player!

And those of you out there that are lovin' that zebra print...

 

Star Students

Sorry I haven't updated this list, but we have had a few Star Students.


Ava ~ A.M.
Sammy ~ P.M.
Dhyan ~ A.M.
Richard L. ~ P.M.

The following students are the Star Students for next week:

Amelia ~ A.M.
Nipun ~ P.M.

Halloween Parade Info.

Just a reminder that the morning kindergarten parade is at 10:05, and the afternoon kindergarten is at 1:35.  Please send your child's Halloween costume to school in a bag.  The morning and afternoon kindergarteners will change into their costumes after gym class.  Ms. Frost will be dressed as a pirate and will lead the class in fun pirate theme activities, therefore she requested we not wear costumes to wellness tomorrow.  Thank you!

Happy Halloween! 

Updates

BOO! Did I surprise you? I know I am surprised that it is already the week of Halloween.   What a fun week for kindergartners! There are so many different crafts, games, nonfiction activities about pumpkins, songs, and much more. 

Math:

In math this week, we are continuing to work on writing numbers, matching numbers to sets, estimating measurements of cartoon monsters with unifix cubes, and beginning story problem.  We will review tally marks during morning and afternoon meeting, and we will play a math game called Roll-a-Pumpkin.

Language Arts:

In Language Arts, I have introduced the letter sounds /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /f/, /v/, /k/, /g/, /qu/, /th/, and /a/. I told my class that the most exciting day in kindergarten, for me, is the day we learn the first Super Star Vowel.  Short /a/ is the first Super Star Vowel.  Now that we know /a/, we can make words.  Now is the time when reading starts to take flight for many students.  Here are some questions you can ask your kindergartener at home:

      What sound is made of 2 letters?

      Why do these letters always stay together?

      (Answer: /qu/ the q looks like the momma duck, and the

      u looks like the baby who always rides on her mother’s

      back)

      What sound does the /t/ and the /h/ make together? /th/

      Remember to stick out your tongue a little bit, and then blow.  

      Just like how "t" is sticking his tongue out at "h".  

      What sound does the short vowel sound /a/ make?

      What words begin with /a/?

Can you sound out these words? Don’t worry if it is a little tricky!  This is just the beginning.

                  at        pat      fat         bat     

Reading:

We will be practicing the three ways to read a book during Reader’s Workshop this week.  Skeleton Hiccups, by Margery Cuyler, is a great book for kids to practice reading the pictures and retelling.  It is so important for readers to look closely at details in the pictures.  I even hide the words to make sure my kiddos are really trying to tell the story by just looking at the pictures.  After the story, we use the 5 finger retell.  I use the image like the one below.  If a story does not have a problem or solution, I just ask what happened in the beginning, middle, and end.  

I encourage you to read a short book to your kindergartener at night, close the book, and then ask what happened in the story.

This week, a sight word game called "BOO!" will be coming home.  We have been working hard on this DIY learning game. I realize many kids do not know the majority of their sight words.  This game will hopefully be a fun way for you and your child to learn the words.  

Directions:  Open up the pumpkin bag and lay the (pumpkin seeds) cards face down on the table.  Player one turns over a card.  He/she tries to read the word (parents you can help).  Player one gets to keep the card.  Continue taking turns until someone gets "BOO!"  When someone gets "BOO!" he/she must put all of their sight words back in the pile face down.  That player keeps the "BOO!" card.  The object of the game is to collect the most sight word cards.  Remember: Do not get discouraged if your child doesn't know most of the words.  With more practice, it will come.  

Writing:

Today in writing, we read one of my favorite mentor texts, Ralph Tells a Story, by Abby Hanlon.  This is a book about a little boy who thinks he has no good ideas to write about.  All of his classmates are writing stories around him, but he tries everything and anything to avoid beginning his story.  Students can relate to Ralph because generating ideas to write about is not easy.  Like Ralph’s teacher, I tell my students that stories are all around us.  Good writers write about what they know.  After the story, we made lists of ideas to write about during Writing Workshop.  Immediately following, we each filled out our own heart map.  Throughout the year during Writing Workshop, we will use our heart maps to write stories about things we know and love.  What a productive day we had during writing today!

Concepts for the Car ride:

Rhyming continues to be one of those things that kids lose when they don’t use.  Please emphasize ending sounds with your kindergartener.

Looking for sight words everywhere is a great way for students to learn them (I, a, the, go, like, see)

Thinking of words that begin with the sounds we have learned.

Talking like robots to review syllables.

Coming up with ideas to write about in Writer’s Workshop

“I Spy Words that Begin with Short Vowel /a/”

Counting to 30 or higher (especially the tricky teens).

Counting by 10s to 100.

Sight Word Songs

I have received a few questions about what sight word songs I am playing for the kids at school.  The website is below.  Not all of our sight words are made into videos.  Maybe you can make your own with your kindergartener!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXCGjkNwT7Y

I get the videos on youtube, but they come from a site called "Have Fun Teaching".


Reminder: Please empty your child's "Take Home Folder" daily. 

Thanks!

Calling All Volunteers

I would like to hold a parent volunteer meeting in my classroom on Thursday, November 6th, at 3:30.  This meeting is for anyone who is interested in helping me organize classroom parties and/or volunteer at classroom parties.  If you cannot make it and would still like to be involved, please email as soon as possible so we can include your names on our sign up sheets.

I am looking forward to a fun year with your help!

Updates

As I write this post, I actually have my fireplace on.  Can you believe it?  Last week temperatures were close to 80 degrees, and this week they are in the mid fifties.  I also predict a few indoor recess days this week due to the weather. We shall see.

Math:

In math this week, we are continuing to work on writing numbers, matching numbers to sets, sorting shapes, and describing shapes by our sense of touch.  During our circle time, I polled my classes to see who played outside this past weekend and who did not.  I recorded the data on a chart using tally marks.  I explained that tally marks stay together in groups of 5.  Tally marks stand straight like a stick, but the fifth one always leans.  We even pretended we were tally marks.  Maybe you can find things to count around the house and represent the number with tally marks.  My son has a mini basketball hoop on our playroom door.  Every time he makes a basket, he records his points using tallies on a small dry erase board. 

Language Arts:

In Language Arts, I have introduced 9 letter sounds from our Lively Letters Program.  The sounds are /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /f/, /v/, /k/, /g/, and /qu/.   We will also learn /th/. We will spend a lot of time reviewing each sound this week and sounding out words that begin with these sounds.  Here are some questions you can ask your kindergartener at home:

Who is the character that makes the quiet tongue dancing sound?

(Answer: /t/ is the Quiet Tongue Dancer)

Who is the character that makes the noisy tongue dancing sound?

(Answer: /d/ is the Noisy Tongue Dancer)

      Who makes the quiet choking sound?

      (Answer: /k/ he is going to a wedding and his mother

      tied his bowtie too tight.  It made him choke a little, so     

      now he makes a quiet choking sound)

      Who is the /k/ sounds noisy partner? Hint: she gulps

      grape juice.

(Answer: /g/ she is the noisy girl who gulps grape juice.

      When she gulps, she holds her glass under her head just

      like the hook on the letter “g”)

      What sound is made of 2 letters?

      Why do these letters always stay together?

      (Answer: /qu/ the q looks like the momma duck, and the

      u looks like the baby who always rides on her mother’s

      back)

In reading, I am excited to say we are diving into the “Daily

5”. Below is a link that will give you information about this

Literacy framework.

      https://www.thedailycafe.com/daily-5

The first reading habit we teach is Reading to Self.  This

week, we are learning the 3 ways to read a book.  I hope the sheet attached to the homework packet was a helpful visual.  On Monday, we learned how to read pictures.  Reading the pictures is an effective strategy for emergent readers to fluent readers.

We read the pictures in the book No, David! By David Shannon.  What a perfect text to teach reading the pictures.  It sparked so many conversations about feelings, expectations, and cause and effect. 

When you are reading at home, encourage your kindergartener to read the pictures to tell what is happening in the story.

This week, we will learn two more ways to read a book: reading the words and retelling the story.

Writing:

In writing, we are going to be reading mentor texts to learn about what writers write about.  We will learn that writers write about things they know, care about, and favorite things.  We will make lists of ideas we want to write about this year.  Eventually, students will create heart maps.  Heart maps are graphic organizers that writers use to jot down ideas about all of the things they love.  The organizers are kept in their Writer’s Workshop folders for the future.  They will then have ideas to write about. 

F.Y.I

Some finished/corrected work will be sent home this week.  Please take a look.

Information on the Halloween party will be coming tonight. Stay tuned!

Concepts for the Car ride:

Rhyming continues to be one of those things that kids lose when they don’t use.  Please emphasize ending sounds with your kindergartener.

Looking for sight words everywhere is a great way for students to learn them.

Thinking of words that begin with the sounds we have learned.

Talking like robots to review syllables.

“I Spy” focusing on shapes, colors, sizes, and things that rhyme.

Fun with Syllables

Below is a youtube video we watched today about syllables.  When students are able to break words into chunks or parts, it helps speed the process of decoding.  Have fun talking like robots at home!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvcgVRULaWw

Our First Star Students

I am excited to announce that we have our first Star Students of the school year!  

Ethan ~ A.M.
Aidan ~ P.M.

For one week, these two students will have their posters, photos, and schoolwork displayed in the classroom for us to learn more about them.  

On Monday, we will draw two more names for the following week.

Try It Again!

I received feedback that the "Flipped Lessons" tab is not working.  I went on and signed out of my account. Sorry about that.  If it still doesn't work, please let me know.  If your kindergartner needs more time to complete the homework, it is not a problem.

Have a great Thursday!
Mrs. Dolch

Updates

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend.  It was wonderful to meet my new A.M. kindergarten families.  I am truly looking forward to a magical year. 

Math:

In math we are learning attributes of different shapes, how to sort, how to write numbers correctly, and the relationship between numbers and quantities.

Everyday we sing and dance to the song “I Can Count to 100”.  It gets us moving and reinforces counting.  In addition, we continue to play math games for students to apply their understanding of math skills.

Language Arts:

In Language Arts, I have introduced 6 letter sounds from our Lively Letters Program.  The sounds are /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /f/, and /v/. We will review these sounds this week and move on the /f/ and /v/.  Here are some questions you can ask your kindergartener at home:

Who is the character that makes the quiet tongue dancing sound?

(Answer: /t/ is the Quiet Tongue Dancer)

Who is the character that makes the noisy tongue dancing sound?

(Answer: /d/ is the Noisy Tongue Dancer)

What do you do with your head when you make the /f/ sound?

What do you do with your teeth when you make the noisy lip biting sound?

What words begin with the /f/ and /v/?

Writing:

In writing, we are beginning to use writing supplies independently.  We will continue to write very short stories using words and/or illustrations.  One way to get students sounding out words and labeling their illustrations is to read stories and have students illustrate different characters.  We did just that using the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat.

Sight Words:

We have learned the words I, A, and see.  Please encourage your kindergartener to look for these words in texts at home.

Handwriting:

In handwriting we are learning how to correctly form capital letters “E”, “D”, and “P”.

Mentor Text:

The mentor text I read this week was Spookley The Square Pumpkin. The story’s message is “you can never judge a pumpkin or a book by its cover”.  We discussed how being different makes us special and unique. Our classes created different geometric pumpkins for the bulletin boards outside of the classroom. When I return on Wednesday, I will take a picture and post it on my site.

In science, we are recording daily temperatures and making comparisons. We continue to explore our five senses. We will learn about the seasons through various texts and activities.

Concepts for the Car Ride:

(Concepts for the Car Ride is a section of my blog that gives you tips on what to practice with your kindergartener in the car, before bed, in the bath, or at the dinner table.

•   Rhyming words and Nursery Rhymes
• Words that begin with /t/,/d/, and /f/
• Counting from 0-20 (or higher without any errors)
• Counting backwards from 10-0 (or begin higher if your child can)
• How can you use the words (I, A, and see) in a sentence?
• Look out of the window and count 10 trees. (5 red houses)     (11 trucks) etc.
• 
  
• ****Challenge: Start having your kindergartener try to decompose numbers.  For example: how can you break apart 3? A 2 and a 1.  How can we break apart 5? 2 and a 3 or 4 and 1.  (Please note that this may be very tricky without concrete objects like cheerios, Legos, or other manipulatives).  My son loves to stack Legos and break them down.  I tell him to stack 8 Legos.  Then he has to break them apart any way he chooses into 2 piles.  Finally, he tells me how many Legos he has in each pile.  Eventually, we break the stack of Legos into 3 different piles.  In our house Legos = fun, so he doesn’t really even know we are working on math!!! Sneaky mom.

FYI:

Homework reminder. Students must complete 2 of the homework choices by Friday.  There are 6 homework choices on the menu.  When your child completes 2 out of the 6 activities, he/she can color in those squares, and return the menu and all work back to school on Friday.  The same menu will come back for the next week. Students should choose 2 more assignments.  In addition, there will be new worksheets attached to the menu for students to complete. (Students always have a week to complete the work).

You may also receive work that was not completed in school.  It doesn’t necessarily mean your child doesn’t finish his/her work on time.  Our day is so short and students work at very different rates.  I thought it would be helpful if some unfinished work went home with students to complete for practice.  Unless noted on the work, students do not need to return it. 

Star Student of the Week

We are beginning our Star Student of the Week.  Each week, students are chosen at random to be the Star Student of the week.  Star Student of the Week gives us the opportunity to get to know one another better, is a confidence builder, and strengthens our speaking and listening skills.  Below is a letter that will come home with your kindergartener when he/she is chosen for Star Student of the Week.  Note that the poster and activities will take the place of homework for the week.  Please have fun with this!

Star Student of the Week

Date:

 ___________________ has been chosen as Star Student of the Week. A poster will hang in the classroom highlighting your kindergartener.  Below is a list of things to complete at home and return back to school on _____________________.

·     Complete the poster with your child. Your Star Student can be as creative as possible. I suggest the poster be broken down by days so it is not too overwhelming.  In addition, this will take the place of homework for the week. 

·     Send in your child’s favorite book, name of your child’s favorite book, or a picture of the book.

·     Send in between 1-4 special photos of your Star Student

·     Optional: Write a letter to your Star Student and place it in the folder with the photos and poster.

Thank you for helping make this week so special!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Dolch