Dear Parents,
It's so nice being back into our routine! Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks:
On Thursday, January 15th, all the Kindergarten classes attended the Animals and the Environment assembly. Here we viewed animals up close and learned about their natural environments. I posted pictures of these animals, so you can see exactly what WE saw.:)
Sledding was a favorite for many of us! Photos of this fun event are posted, as well. Thank you so much for sending in all the winter gear...it was well worth it. I'll email you the day before we go out for recess, so you know when to send in boots and snow pants. If your child stays for lunch and recess on Wednesdays, please ALWAYS send your child to school with winter gear. We don't know if recess is going to be cancelled until the last minute.
On Tuesday, January 20th, the Kindergarten teachers attended an all day writing workshop at Sprague School. Jen Burton (the presenter) used our classroom to introduce the children to our new unit of study--How-to Books. This type of writing seems to come naturally to the children. Here's what I've learned from reading the completed books: how to make a jelly sandwich, how to play tennis, how to play basketball, how to pet a dolphin, how to be a friend, and how to make a snowman. Most children are still working on their first How-to Books. By studying other how-to books, we discovered authors number the steps, use words to explain the steps, and use pictures to show what it looks like.
Our class went on our winter trip to Rivershire Nature Center on Friday, January 23rd. We looked for patterns in the snow and in nature. The kids were most excited about looking for animal tracks (deer, coyote, and raccoon). After a chilly walk outside, the kids enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate, before boarding the bus back to Sprague. Thanks to our parent helpers: Mrs. Abern, Mrs. Beatty, Mrs. Horak, and Mrs. Timones.
In math we have been studying flat and solid shapes. We are learning to recognize solid shapes (sphere, cylinder, cube, rectangular prism, and cone). We can name the basic flat shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon, rhombus, and trapezoid). This week we are going to look for the relationship between solid and flat shapes. We'll be able to see a cone has a circle base, a cube has a square base, etc. On Wednesday, from 9:15-10:30, the children will create shape dioramas out of their shoe boxes. If you are interested in helping out, please send me email. It's such a fun project, that I look forward to every year!
Jolly Phonics Focus: ch, sh, and th
Sight Words: do, you, look, one, and see
I hope your new year is off to a great start! Please let me know if you have questions about all our kindergarten happenings.
Keep in touch,
Becky Clay
It's so nice being back into our routine! Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks:
On Thursday, January 15th, all the Kindergarten classes attended the Animals and the Environment assembly. Here we viewed animals up close and learned about their natural environments. I posted pictures of these animals, so you can see exactly what WE saw.:)
Sledding was a favorite for many of us! Photos of this fun event are posted, as well. Thank you so much for sending in all the winter gear...it was well worth it. I'll email you the day before we go out for recess, so you know when to send in boots and snow pants. If your child stays for lunch and recess on Wednesdays, please ALWAYS send your child to school with winter gear. We don't know if recess is going to be cancelled until the last minute.
On Tuesday, January 20th, the Kindergarten teachers attended an all day writing workshop at Sprague School. Jen Burton (the presenter) used our classroom to introduce the children to our new unit of study--How-to Books. This type of writing seems to come naturally to the children. Here's what I've learned from reading the completed books: how to make a jelly sandwich, how to play tennis, how to play basketball, how to pet a dolphin, how to be a friend, and how to make a snowman. Most children are still working on their first How-to Books. By studying other how-to books, we discovered authors number the steps, use words to explain the steps, and use pictures to show what it looks like.
Our class went on our winter trip to Rivershire Nature Center on Friday, January 23rd. We looked for patterns in the snow and in nature. The kids were most excited about looking for animal tracks (deer, coyote, and raccoon). After a chilly walk outside, the kids enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate, before boarding the bus back to Sprague. Thanks to our parent helpers: Mrs. Abern, Mrs. Beatty, Mrs. Horak, and Mrs. Timones.
In math we have been studying flat and solid shapes. We are learning to recognize solid shapes (sphere, cylinder, cube, rectangular prism, and cone). We can name the basic flat shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon, rhombus, and trapezoid). This week we are going to look for the relationship between solid and flat shapes. We'll be able to see a cone has a circle base, a cube has a square base, etc. On Wednesday, from 9:15-10:30, the children will create shape dioramas out of their shoe boxes. If you are interested in helping out, please send me email. It's such a fun project, that I look forward to every year!
Jolly Phonics Focus: ch, sh, and th
Sight Words: do, you, look, one, and see
I hope your new year is off to a great start! Please let me know if you have questions about all our kindergarten happenings.
Keep in touch,
Becky Clay