I have two reminders! There is a stomach bug going around our school. If your child throws up they must not get sick for 24 hours before they can return to school. The same goes for a fever. They have to be fever free for 24 hours before they can come back to class. I know many times they feel fine but to make sure the least number of students are sick we like to take these precautions.
Also tomorrow is Movement class. Please send your child to school in running and jumping shoes. Crocs or boots are not good PE shoes.
Thanks!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Scholastic Book Orders
I sent a mass e-mail via my g-mail account to the class today about scholastic book orders. I gave directions on how you can order scholastic books online. I sent our user name and our password. If you do not receive the e-mail please e-mail me directly and I will forward it to you. If you would still like to order the old fashioned way and not online you may do that too. Whatever works for your family!
E-mail me at sarahrichrancho@gmail.com or srich@nusd.org
E-mail me at sarahrichrancho@gmail.com or srich@nusd.org
Friday, September 25, 2009
Week 6
Here we are into almost October and it looks like next week might be a little cooler! Soon we will be wishing for warmer days again once winter is fully upon us.
The weeks seem to be flying by. I can't believe that we have finished the sixth week of school. They have already matured and learned so much in such a short period of time. I am very proud of them and know that much of it is a testament to their wonderful parents. Thank you for your continuous support both in and outside of the classroom.
Overview of this week:
Centers:
Orange Table: Math! Math! Math... and gummi bears? After listening to a tasty counting story about gummi bears, the kids sorted gummi bears by color, counted them, recorded the results and then graphed the results. Oh yes and the best part they ate 5 gummi bears after they were finished! Who knew math could be so tasty and fun. You should have found their results in the backpack.
Yellow Table: Art! Art! Art! All of you have seen their paper plate faces by now. The kids worked on coloring a plate with a "people" colored crayon, cutting hair, a nose, and a smile. They sorted through buttons to find two that were the color of their eyes.
Green Table: Math! Math! Math... ten apples up on top! After listening to the story Ten Apples On Top, the kids drew a picture of themselves. Then they traced numbers on apples and colored them in an ab pattern. They glued the apples on top of their heads. The work will be hung up in the classroom so come by and check it out!
Red Table: Handwriting! Handwriting! Handwriting! The kids worked with the salt boxes to work on review their letter and numbers.
Handwriting: Our letter of the week was Aa. Please remind your child that the capital A always starts from the top to the bottom and then they make a bridge to connect the two lines. For a lower case a remind your child to make a magic c from the belt line (or the dot dot line) go up to the belt line and dive back down to the grass.
Monday: Aa white board practice and an Aa worksheet
Tuesday: Alphabet Books- read an Aa story, brainstormed Aa words, wrote Aa words in their alphabet book, illustrated their Aa words and did Aa practice in their alphabet book.
Thursday: Sentence Book- wrote an Aa sentence in their best handwriting.
Friday: Drew a directed draw picture of an A word using the letter a
Worked on the A cut and paste page for their own ABC book.
Next weeks letter of the week is Dd.
Open Court:
Rhyming: Put rhyming picture puzzles together as a class
Letter of the Day: Worked on the letter of the day-Gg,Hh,Ii,Jj,Kk, and Ll. We practice the letters on white boards and in the handwriting work book to give the kids more experience with the letters before we get to the letter of the week.
Alphabet Work: Worked on letter sounds and the ABC book. The kids were given a plastic bag with the letters A-G in them.They had to put them in alphabetical order from left to right.
Sight Words: We introduced our first three "star words" to the kids. The words are the, a, I. You should find small white books that they made. Please keep them so that the kids can read them and work with them. We call these words star words because the kids are expected to be able to read and write them by the end of the year.
Math:
The kids started in the math books this week. We continued working on patterns and shapes. Some of the kids are still having difficulty with the different kinds of patterns. Everyone seems to AB,ABC, AAB, or ABB patterns with colors and shapes but they are having some real difficulties with size patterns. The standard for patterning in identifying, extending, and creating their own.
Homework Next Week:
In the homework folder is a letter with the first star word list. This is a self paced program between now and the end of the year. Your child is expected to complete all 7 lists between now and June. Don't worry if they are not ready right now we have plenty of time. On the other hand if your child is ready to read the first list of sight words please send them back and we will read them together in class. They need to know them on sight not sounding them out, and you should mix up the words to make sure the kids know them and don't just have them memorized in order. Every time your child brings in a new list they will have to read all the old lists as well so keep practicing all of the words. Save your half of the star word sheet.
Please sign-up to volunteer for the Rancho Round-Up if you haven't. It would be sad if games had to be pulled because their weren't enough volunteers.
Also you may send one check no matter which order forms you order from. Please send them in by Friday.
I will be at the Novato Rotaract booth at Blues by the Lake all day if you are going tomorrow. Please stop by and say hello!
Sarah
The weeks seem to be flying by. I can't believe that we have finished the sixth week of school. They have already matured and learned so much in such a short period of time. I am very proud of them and know that much of it is a testament to their wonderful parents. Thank you for your continuous support both in and outside of the classroom.
Overview of this week:
Centers:
Orange Table: Math! Math! Math... and gummi bears? After listening to a tasty counting story about gummi bears, the kids sorted gummi bears by color, counted them, recorded the results and then graphed the results. Oh yes and the best part they ate 5 gummi bears after they were finished! Who knew math could be so tasty and fun. You should have found their results in the backpack.
Yellow Table: Art! Art! Art! All of you have seen their paper plate faces by now. The kids worked on coloring a plate with a "people" colored crayon, cutting hair, a nose, and a smile. They sorted through buttons to find two that were the color of their eyes.
Green Table: Math! Math! Math... ten apples up on top! After listening to the story Ten Apples On Top, the kids drew a picture of themselves. Then they traced numbers on apples and colored them in an ab pattern. They glued the apples on top of their heads. The work will be hung up in the classroom so come by and check it out!
Red Table: Handwriting! Handwriting! Handwriting! The kids worked with the salt boxes to work on review their letter and numbers.
Handwriting: Our letter of the week was Aa. Please remind your child that the capital A always starts from the top to the bottom and then they make a bridge to connect the two lines. For a lower case a remind your child to make a magic c from the belt line (or the dot dot line) go up to the belt line and dive back down to the grass.
Monday: Aa white board practice and an Aa worksheet
Tuesday: Alphabet Books- read an Aa story, brainstormed Aa words, wrote Aa words in their alphabet book, illustrated their Aa words and did Aa practice in their alphabet book.
Thursday: Sentence Book- wrote an Aa sentence in their best handwriting.
Friday: Drew a directed draw picture of an A word using the letter a
Worked on the A cut and paste page for their own ABC book.
Next weeks letter of the week is Dd.
Open Court:
Rhyming: Put rhyming picture puzzles together as a class
Letter of the Day: Worked on the letter of the day-Gg,Hh,Ii,Jj,Kk, and Ll. We practice the letters on white boards and in the handwriting work book to give the kids more experience with the letters before we get to the letter of the week.
Alphabet Work: Worked on letter sounds and the ABC book. The kids were given a plastic bag with the letters A-G in them.They had to put them in alphabetical order from left to right.
Sight Words: We introduced our first three "star words" to the kids. The words are the, a, I. You should find small white books that they made. Please keep them so that the kids can read them and work with them. We call these words star words because the kids are expected to be able to read and write them by the end of the year.
Math:
The kids started in the math books this week. We continued working on patterns and shapes. Some of the kids are still having difficulty with the different kinds of patterns. Everyone seems to AB,ABC, AAB, or ABB patterns with colors and shapes but they are having some real difficulties with size patterns. The standard for patterning in identifying, extending, and creating their own.
Homework Next Week:
In the homework folder is a letter with the first star word list. This is a self paced program between now and the end of the year. Your child is expected to complete all 7 lists between now and June. Don't worry if they are not ready right now we have plenty of time. On the other hand if your child is ready to read the first list of sight words please send them back and we will read them together in class. They need to know them on sight not sounding them out, and you should mix up the words to make sure the kids know them and don't just have them memorized in order. Every time your child brings in a new list they will have to read all the old lists as well so keep practicing all of the words. Save your half of the star word sheet.
Please sign-up to volunteer for the Rancho Round-Up if you haven't. It would be sad if games had to be pulled because their weren't enough volunteers.
Also you may send one check no matter which order forms you order from. Please send them in by Friday.
I will be at the Novato Rotaract booth at Blues by the Lake all day if you are going tomorrow. Please stop by and say hello!
Sarah
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Rancho Roundup!
This is a letter from PTA asking for more volunteers for games etc. Please look at the note below! If you haven't donated for the gift basket and you still want to please send in your donation ASAP! We hope you are able to volunteer! I will be at check in and can't wait to see all of you!
Hello Rancho Families,
Our Rancho Round-Up Family Dinner is fast approaching, and we hope you have your calendars marked and your RSVPs turned in for the shindig on Friday, October 2nd. This event is an annual favorite where our families come out to have fun and support our school.
The Round-Up team thanks those of you who have already stepped up to volunteer for the night. However, we are currently still short many volunteers.
Please consider sparing an hour of the evening to help us make this a successful event. If we don't get enough volunteers, we will have to cut some of the games, which would be a shame for our kids.
Below are the volunteer slots we need filled. To volunteer, please email the Round-Up Volunteer Coordinator, Monica Thompson, at momicathompson@yahoo.com.
Thank you so much for helping out. The Round-Up team looks forward to your support (and a great night)!
Games
8 volunteers from 6 PM - 7 PM
9 volunteers from 7 PM - 8 PM
Prize Table
1 volunteer from 6 PM - 7 PM
2 volunteers from 7 PM - 8 PM
Food Clean-Up
3 volunteers from 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Decorations Clean-Up (move hay bales to breezeway, etc.)
6 volunteers from 8 PM - 9 PM
Hello Rancho Families,
Our Rancho Round-Up Family Dinner is fast approaching, and we hope you have your calendars marked and your RSVPs turned in for the shindig on Friday, October 2nd. This event is an annual favorite where our families come out to have fun and support our school.
The Round-Up team thanks those of you who have already stepped up to volunteer for the night. However, we are currently still short many volunteers.
Please consider sparing an hour of the evening to help us make this a successful event. If we don't get enough volunteers, we will have to cut some of the games, which would be a shame for our kids.
Below are the volunteer slots we need filled. To volunteer, please email the Round-Up Volunteer Coordinator, Monica Thompson, at momicathompson@yahoo.com.
Thank you so much for helping out. The Round-Up team looks forward to your support (and a great night)!
Games
8 volunteers from 6 PM - 7 PM
9 volunteers from 7 PM - 8 PM
Prize Table
1 volunteer from 6 PM - 7 PM
2 volunteers from 7 PM - 8 PM
Food Clean-Up
3 volunteers from 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Decorations Clean-Up (move hay bales to breezeway, etc.)
6 volunteers from 8 PM - 9 PM
Monday, September 21, 2009
Picture Day
Say Cheese! Tomorrow is picture day! Please remember to send your child to school with their picture money. We will be taking pictures first thing so please don't be late!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Week 5
Just another reminder about Pajama Day tomorrow. Please leave all stuffed friends at home! I know it's tempting but all blankies and stuffed animals need to stay at home.
Another great week of learning! Here is an overview what has been going on in the classroom.
Centers:
Orange Table: Bear Books
Kids learned about bears and made their own bear book with a parent or teacher. The kid learned facts about bears and then wrote them in their book under the guidance of an adult. They illustrated a picture on each page to go with the sentence. The kids learned about mammals, what they eat, where they live, and about how the animals change during the seasons. The bear book went home in the backpack!
Yellow Table: Shape Patterns
Kids worked fairly independently on choosing two shapes and creating an ab pattern strip. They colored them, cut the shape out, and then glued it down. It should have been in the backpack.
Green Table:
Kids worked with Mrs. Bondanza on alphabet board where they matched letters tiles with pictures. The second step was to match the letter tiles to the a picture with a word written underneath. The first letter was missing so they had to figure it out based on the picture which tile went in the slot.
Red Table:
Kids worked with a parent to one to one number correspondence for the numbers 1-6 with noodles or buttons. They also did a patterning page and practiced writing the number 6.
Open Court:
We began working on the letter of the day this week. This is an overview of the sound and form of the letters in the alphabet. We also go through the alphabet doing a letter of the week and that goes into more detail then the letter of the day does. This week we covered Bb,Cc,Dd,Ee, and Ff. Rarely will our letter of the week and our letter of the day overlap but this week it did.
We practiced the whisper game again where the kids worked on listening skills. They hear a word whispered in their ear and they have to pass it around the circle like in operator. Only they can't ask for someone to repeat it.
Handwriting:
We continued with the letter of the week. This week it is Cc. We refer to it as a magic Cc because it's the foundation of other letters. Please remind your child to always start at the top. We are really working on best handwriting practices but are only really looking at the letters we have covered in the letter of the week. So far we have covered Ll, Ii, Tt, and Cc. Next weeek our letter will be the letter Aa.
Science:
We discussed what a person needs to live and grow. Then we talked about what a tree would need to live and grow. We will be going on a walk next week to collect leaves. Please have your child bring in things from the trees in your yard (fruit, leaves, nuts, acorns, bark, roots, sticks, etc) for our science discovery center.
Next Tuesday is Picture Day. We are having our picture taken first thing so please don't be late. There are makeups for the individual pictures but not the class picture.
Wednesday is a minimum day which does not do anything to our schedule but it does mean the afternoon kindergarten will be with us all day.
Another great week of learning! Here is an overview what has been going on in the classroom.
Centers:
Orange Table: Bear Books
Kids learned about bears and made their own bear book with a parent or teacher. The kid learned facts about bears and then wrote them in their book under the guidance of an adult. They illustrated a picture on each page to go with the sentence. The kids learned about mammals, what they eat, where they live, and about how the animals change during the seasons. The bear book went home in the backpack!
Yellow Table: Shape Patterns
Kids worked fairly independently on choosing two shapes and creating an ab pattern strip. They colored them, cut the shape out, and then glued it down. It should have been in the backpack.
Green Table:
Kids worked with Mrs. Bondanza on alphabet board where they matched letters tiles with pictures. The second step was to match the letter tiles to the a picture with a word written underneath. The first letter was missing so they had to figure it out based on the picture which tile went in the slot.
Red Table:
Kids worked with a parent to one to one number correspondence for the numbers 1-6 with noodles or buttons. They also did a patterning page and practiced writing the number 6.
Open Court:
We began working on the letter of the day this week. This is an overview of the sound and form of the letters in the alphabet. We also go through the alphabet doing a letter of the week and that goes into more detail then the letter of the day does. This week we covered Bb,Cc,Dd,Ee, and Ff. Rarely will our letter of the week and our letter of the day overlap but this week it did.
We practiced the whisper game again where the kids worked on listening skills. They hear a word whispered in their ear and they have to pass it around the circle like in operator. Only they can't ask for someone to repeat it.
Handwriting:
We continued with the letter of the week. This week it is Cc. We refer to it as a magic Cc because it's the foundation of other letters. Please remind your child to always start at the top. We are really working on best handwriting practices but are only really looking at the letters we have covered in the letter of the week. So far we have covered Ll, Ii, Tt, and Cc. Next weeek our letter will be the letter Aa.
Science:
We discussed what a person needs to live and grow. Then we talked about what a tree would need to live and grow. We will be going on a walk next week to collect leaves. Please have your child bring in things from the trees in your yard (fruit, leaves, nuts, acorns, bark, roots, sticks, etc) for our science discovery center.
Next Tuesday is Picture Day. We are having our picture taken first thing so please don't be late. There are makeups for the individual pictures but not the class picture.
Wednesday is a minimum day which does not do anything to our schedule but it does mean the afternoon kindergarten will be with us all day.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Spirit Day Friday!
FYI- Friday is Pajama Day! Kids can wear pajamas with their sneakers. Please no slippers! The dress code is still being enforced so please no spaghetti straps!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Week 4
Four day weeks are harder then regular ones. You still have the same amount to do but less time to do it in. Yikes!
I have to tell you again how much I love being your students' teacher. It is such a great honor and they are wonderful people to get to know. As I tell them often they are great kids!
Here is a review of our wonderful week in kindergarten
Centers:
Listening Center:
The story was The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall. The kids drew a picture of their favorite part using five different colors. A teacher wrote the words and the kids practiced tracing over them. We read other versions of the story through out the week.
Orange Table:
The kids worked with Mrs. Bondanza to practice writing a T sentence: "Tilly Turtle came to tea." in their sentence writing book. This is a place to practice handwriting and for a teacher to help direct the proper grip and writing direction. The kids worked on Ii, Ll, and Tt practice before getting a quiet activity.
Yellow Table:
This was a parent directed table where the kids did a directed drawing portrait of themselves and made a pattern picture frame. This will be laminated and hung in the classroom to put the kids work on. After the kids were done the worked on a rectangle page before doing a quiet activity.
Green Table:
This table was the high light of the week for both kids and adults alike! The kids worked on primary colors. First they dripped red, yellow and blue food color into karo syrup and they mixed it together. They talked about the colors that were being made as the syrup mixed together. Once they through it away they got white frosting with two colors of their choice. They mixed it up and frosted a graham cracker with their "new color" on it. It was a very tasty way to learn about the colors! You should have found the worksheets to go with this center in their backpacks!
Handwriting:
Our letter of the week was Tt. We make the capital T by going down for the stem first and over from the left for the top. For a lower case t they start just below the sky line and make the line down to the grass. Then just about the dot dot line they make a line or they cross their t.
The kids did Tt practice on the white boards, a Tt practice page, a Tt alphabet book with Tt words and pictures, a Tt sentence, a directed drawing using the letter Tt, and they will do a cut and paste picture on Friday. The letter of the week next week will be Cc.
Science:
The kids started their science journal this week where the kids drew a picture of a tree. Tomorrow they will be drawing a picture of a tree that gives us food. We had a great teachable moment when we visited the garden earlier this week and found an apple. The kids were able to each eat a piece of it! Yum!
Math:
Practicing numbers can be hard work but your students are working hard! We worked on four and five this week in class.
Movement: Today in movement the kids played with the parachute.
If you are signed up for centers and your child is sick please let me know that you're not coming. I would appreciate it if you would find your own substitute but I understand that is not always possible. Don't leave a voice mail! Call the office and speak to someone directly.
Check the blog for any upcoming events!
I have to tell you again how much I love being your students' teacher. It is such a great honor and they are wonderful people to get to know. As I tell them often they are great kids!
Here is a review of our wonderful week in kindergarten
Centers:
Listening Center:
The story was The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall. The kids drew a picture of their favorite part using five different colors. A teacher wrote the words and the kids practiced tracing over them. We read other versions of the story through out the week.
Orange Table:
The kids worked with Mrs. Bondanza to practice writing a T sentence: "Tilly Turtle came to tea." in their sentence writing book. This is a place to practice handwriting and for a teacher to help direct the proper grip and writing direction. The kids worked on Ii, Ll, and Tt practice before getting a quiet activity.
Yellow Table:
This was a parent directed table where the kids did a directed drawing portrait of themselves and made a pattern picture frame. This will be laminated and hung in the classroom to put the kids work on. After the kids were done the worked on a rectangle page before doing a quiet activity.
Green Table:
This table was the high light of the week for both kids and adults alike! The kids worked on primary colors. First they dripped red, yellow and blue food color into karo syrup and they mixed it together. They talked about the colors that were being made as the syrup mixed together. Once they through it away they got white frosting with two colors of their choice. They mixed it up and frosted a graham cracker with their "new color" on it. It was a very tasty way to learn about the colors! You should have found the worksheets to go with this center in their backpacks!
Handwriting:
Our letter of the week was Tt. We make the capital T by going down for the stem first and over from the left for the top. For a lower case t they start just below the sky line and make the line down to the grass. Then just about the dot dot line they make a line or they cross their t.
The kids did Tt practice on the white boards, a Tt practice page, a Tt alphabet book with Tt words and pictures, a Tt sentence, a directed drawing using the letter Tt, and they will do a cut and paste picture on Friday. The letter of the week next week will be Cc.
Science:
The kids started their science journal this week where the kids drew a picture of a tree. Tomorrow they will be drawing a picture of a tree that gives us food. We had a great teachable moment when we visited the garden earlier this week and found an apple. The kids were able to each eat a piece of it! Yum!
Math:
Practicing numbers can be hard work but your students are working hard! We worked on four and five this week in class.
Movement: Today in movement the kids played with the parachute.
If you are signed up for centers and your child is sick please let me know that you're not coming. I would appreciate it if you would find your own substitute but I understand that is not always possible. Don't leave a voice mail! Call the office and speak to someone directly.
Check the blog for any upcoming events!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Week 3
School is officially in full swing and we are loving every minute of it! Another great week with your kids and I am looking forward to what the rest of the year has to bring.
Here is a brief overview of the week!
Centers:
Listening Center:
The kids listened to Clifford the Big Red Dog, drew a picture of their favorite part of the story, and then dictated a sentence to a teacher about the picture.
Orange Table:
The kids worked with a parent to make a Corduroy puppet that will be coming home in the Friday Folder. Your child worked on their fine motor skills.
Yellow Table:
The kids worked with Mrs.Bondanza on handwriting and the letter of the week. They wrote a sentence using the letter Ii in their alphabet sentence book. This was an opportunity to work on penmanship, practice listening skills, and following directions. The kids also practiced writing their names in "kindergarten handwriting".
Green Table:
The kids work with me making animal patterns. They used the animals that are found in the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. This center worked on math skills, motor skills, and direction following. They also practiced tracing the numbers two and three. Most of this center was done independently.
Red Table:
With a parent the kids painted a picture using watercolors of an animal from the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear. They also colored a bear the color of their choice and practiced tracing their name in kindergarten handwriting.
Handwriting:
Our letter of the week this week was Ii. The kids are experts on writing the letter Ii and are expected to do it all the time in their best kindergarten handwriting. Sometime your child will need extra practice so you will find a practice sheet in their homework folder. We are working on writing our names using only one upper case letter and the rest lower case. We call this "kindergarten handwriting". Your child will be expected to write their name in "kindergarten handwriting" from now on. It won't be perfect and we don't expect it to be. There will probably be a mix of letters from time to time but we would like them to "try" it and do there best at it from now on. Please practice this at home.
Social Studies:
You should have found a newspaper in the back pack this week about classroom rules. Those are what we use to guide our social studies lessons. We talked about why we need rules both in and outside of the classroom.
Science:
Today we kicked off our science lesson about trees. We will begin studying trees next week. We took a walk and looked at different trees and their leaves. Your child is more then welcome to bring things in from trees around their house. We will be talking about what we use trees for and what grows on trees. They can bring in things that aren't just leaves such as acorns, fruit, nuts, etc.
Math:
We continued to work on patterning making AB patterns (red,blue,red,blue) and making AAB (red, red,blue,red,red,blue) or ABB patterns (red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue).
We also worked on identifying shapes and drawing shapes. We worked on number writing practice as well.
Language Arts:
In Open Court your child has been working on finding rhyming words. We have been doing this through games and song. We have been singing "Down by the Bay" all week. We have also been working on sorting things. We have been listening to stories about being in school and starting kindergarten.
Movement:
On Thursday Winnie Comfort came to lead a PE class for the kindergartners. It was a great time. It will be every Thursday from 10:55 to 11:25. Please remember to send your child in sneakers on Thursday.
Buddy Classes:
On Wednesday we met with our buddy class. We are paired up with Mrs.Dees fifth grade class. Your child was assigned to a buddy for the year. This week we read stories together and then played.
Classroom Announcements:
The Rancho Roundup is on October 2nd. Each year the classes collect items to put in a basket. Our basket theme is Boys Box of Fun. We hope everyone will donate to the basket. The baskets will be sold at the Family Dinner.
Every Friday is Rancho Spirit Day. Your child can wear a Rancho shirt (order forms were sent out today) or blue and white!
Thank you to all the families who volunteered in the classroom. The kids loved seeing you! Keep up the great work!
Upcoming Events:
Please check out the calendar of upcoming events on the actual blog!
ranchok-1am.blogspot.com
Have a wonderful weekend! If you haven't gotten all your paper work in please do it by Tuesday.
Here is a brief overview of the week!
Centers:
Listening Center:
The kids listened to Clifford the Big Red Dog, drew a picture of their favorite part of the story, and then dictated a sentence to a teacher about the picture.
Orange Table:
The kids worked with a parent to make a Corduroy puppet that will be coming home in the Friday Folder. Your child worked on their fine motor skills.
Yellow Table:
The kids worked with Mrs.Bondanza on handwriting and the letter of the week. They wrote a sentence using the letter Ii in their alphabet sentence book. This was an opportunity to work on penmanship, practice listening skills, and following directions. The kids also practiced writing their names in "kindergarten handwriting".
Green Table:
The kids work with me making animal patterns. They used the animals that are found in the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. This center worked on math skills, motor skills, and direction following. They also practiced tracing the numbers two and three. Most of this center was done independently.
Red Table:
With a parent the kids painted a picture using watercolors of an animal from the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear. They also colored a bear the color of their choice and practiced tracing their name in kindergarten handwriting.
Handwriting:
Our letter of the week this week was Ii. The kids are experts on writing the letter Ii and are expected to do it all the time in their best kindergarten handwriting. Sometime your child will need extra practice so you will find a practice sheet in their homework folder. We are working on writing our names using only one upper case letter and the rest lower case. We call this "kindergarten handwriting". Your child will be expected to write their name in "kindergarten handwriting" from now on. It won't be perfect and we don't expect it to be. There will probably be a mix of letters from time to time but we would like them to "try" it and do there best at it from now on. Please practice this at home.
Social Studies:
You should have found a newspaper in the back pack this week about classroom rules. Those are what we use to guide our social studies lessons. We talked about why we need rules both in and outside of the classroom.
Science:
Today we kicked off our science lesson about trees. We will begin studying trees next week. We took a walk and looked at different trees and their leaves. Your child is more then welcome to bring things in from trees around their house. We will be talking about what we use trees for and what grows on trees. They can bring in things that aren't just leaves such as acorns, fruit, nuts, etc.
Math:
We continued to work on patterning making AB patterns (red,blue,red,blue) and making AAB (red, red,blue,red,red,blue) or ABB patterns (red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue).
We also worked on identifying shapes and drawing shapes. We worked on number writing practice as well.
Language Arts:
In Open Court your child has been working on finding rhyming words. We have been doing this through games and song. We have been singing "Down by the Bay" all week. We have also been working on sorting things. We have been listening to stories about being in school and starting kindergarten.
Movement:
On Thursday Winnie Comfort came to lead a PE class for the kindergartners. It was a great time. It will be every Thursday from 10:55 to 11:25. Please remember to send your child in sneakers on Thursday.
Buddy Classes:
On Wednesday we met with our buddy class. We are paired up with Mrs.Dees fifth grade class. Your child was assigned to a buddy for the year. This week we read stories together and then played.
Classroom Announcements:
The Rancho Roundup is on October 2nd. Each year the classes collect items to put in a basket. Our basket theme is Boys Box of Fun. We hope everyone will donate to the basket. The baskets will be sold at the Family Dinner.
Every Friday is Rancho Spirit Day. Your child can wear a Rancho shirt (order forms were sent out today) or blue and white!
Thank you to all the families who volunteered in the classroom. The kids loved seeing you! Keep up the great work!
Upcoming Events:
Please check out the calendar of upcoming events on the actual blog!
ranchok-1am.blogspot.com
Have a wonderful weekend! If you haven't gotten all your paper work in please do it by Tuesday.
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