I feel like singing that old song- Rain Rain go away, come again another day. But on the other hand I don't really want the rain to go away because I am afraid that it may not come back. I am of the philosophy that as long as it's not flooding I'd rather get more rain then not enough.
We had a a great assembly provided by our box top earnings. Yeah! We watched BMX riders do tricks and stunts. One man by then name of Sean jumped his bike over three other teachers and me. I might add that he didn't even need to use a ramp! WOW! He made it look so easy and impressed us all!
We have continued our work with money. Thank you so much for all of the kids who have gone above and beyond to research money on the internet and bring the information back to class. I think we are personally keeping the US Mint website in business! There are a lot of great resources out there.
I sent home the sunflower plants the kids were growing in class. If they didn't arrive home- well I don't know what to tell you. Their plant journals were also in their back packs.
I worn you ahead of time that this week's Friday Folder is going to be HUGE! We have started taking down our walls and getting things ready for the summer/next year.
Tomorrow is crazy hair day. I told the kids they could do anything as long as it was okay with you and they had your permission.
Monday is Memorial Day and there will be no closed. We have been talking about why we celebrate or acknowledge this holiday or special day.
Next week will be OUR LAST WEEK OF CENTERS!
The year end picnic is on Friday, June 4th from 5:30 to 8:30.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
May 20th
Tomorrow will be a fabulous day for a picnic! I want to say thank you again to our fabulous room parents Nicole and Donna. I know I couldn't have gotten through this year without you!
So we're down to 14 days of school. Did you hear that sound? It's the school year flying by. This week you will find the kids Open Court workbooks in your child's Friday Folder.
We have been working on money this week. Tonight I told them that if they brought information back about the quarter from the internet they could get an eagle card. Thank you to all of the kids, Ryan, Lily, and Genevieve who brought in research on the dime. We discovered that FDR is on the front or head of the coin. On the back or tail of the coin are three pictures: a torch representing liberty, olive leaves representing peace, and oak leaves representing strength. Below the picture are the words e pluribus unum meaning, "United we stand." We also learned that the word dime is derived from the Latin word decimus meaning one tenth. Today in our review of the dime many kids were able to earn an eagle card for being a "smarty pants" and remembering some of this information about a dime.
We also learned a song about money in order to remember which coin is which. I remember that many of my second graders had a hard time remembering which coin was which so I thought I would make up a little song to remind them and give them clues. That way when they needed to identify coins they could recall this song.
Money Song
(to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell)
A penny's worth one cent!
A penny's worth one cent!
It's small and brown
and smooth around
A penny's worth one cent!
A nickel's worth five cents!
A nickel's worth five cents!
It's a silver coin
and smooth around
A nickel's worth five cents!
A dime is worth ten cents!
A dime is worth ten cents!
It's small and silver
with bumps around
A dime is worth ten cents!
A quarter's twenty-five cents!
A quarter's twenty-five cents!
It's large and round
with bumps around
A quarter's twenty-five cents!
I also introduced some of the parts of speech this week. We talked about a noun being a person, place, or thing, an adjective being a describing word, a verb being an action word, and a prepositional phrase being where everything took place. After introducing the terms the kids brainstormed words to fit into each category. Then using this pattern
adj, adj, noun
adj, adj, noun
adj, adj, adj, noun, verb, prepositional phrase.
We then sang it to the tune of Farmer in the Dell (I really like that tune). You might have heard songs about ladybugs and butterflies. We wrote a song for Officer Anton for career day yesterday.
The brave, friendly police officer
The brave, friendly police officer
The brave, friendly, caring police officer rode a motorcycle on the road.
You can use this model and have your child make up all kinds of cool sentences. I got all of these great ideas from the GLAD conference I went to last Thursday and Friday. It's always so great when you can apply the strategies you learned right away!
This week was our last library check out. Please return the books on Monday!
So we're down to 14 days of school. Did you hear that sound? It's the school year flying by. This week you will find the kids Open Court workbooks in your child's Friday Folder.
We have been working on money this week. Tonight I told them that if they brought information back about the quarter from the internet they could get an eagle card. Thank you to all of the kids, Ryan, Lily, and Genevieve who brought in research on the dime. We discovered that FDR is on the front or head of the coin. On the back or tail of the coin are three pictures: a torch representing liberty, olive leaves representing peace, and oak leaves representing strength. Below the picture are the words e pluribus unum meaning, "United we stand." We also learned that the word dime is derived from the Latin word decimus meaning one tenth. Today in our review of the dime many kids were able to earn an eagle card for being a "smarty pants" and remembering some of this information about a dime.
We also learned a song about money in order to remember which coin is which. I remember that many of my second graders had a hard time remembering which coin was which so I thought I would make up a little song to remind them and give them clues. That way when they needed to identify coins they could recall this song.
Money Song
(to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell)
A penny's worth one cent!
A penny's worth one cent!
It's small and brown
and smooth around
A penny's worth one cent!
A nickel's worth five cents!
A nickel's worth five cents!
It's a silver coin
and smooth around
A nickel's worth five cents!
A dime is worth ten cents!
A dime is worth ten cents!
It's small and silver
with bumps around
A dime is worth ten cents!
A quarter's twenty-five cents!
A quarter's twenty-five cents!
It's large and round
with bumps around
A quarter's twenty-five cents!
I also introduced some of the parts of speech this week. We talked about a noun being a person, place, or thing, an adjective being a describing word, a verb being an action word, and a prepositional phrase being where everything took place. After introducing the terms the kids brainstormed words to fit into each category. Then using this pattern
adj, adj, noun
adj, adj, noun
adj, adj, adj, noun, verb, prepositional phrase.
We then sang it to the tune of Farmer in the Dell (I really like that tune). You might have heard songs about ladybugs and butterflies. We wrote a song for Officer Anton for career day yesterday.
The brave, friendly police officer
The brave, friendly police officer
The brave, friendly, caring police officer rode a motorcycle on the road.
You can use this model and have your child make up all kinds of cool sentences. I got all of these great ideas from the GLAD conference I went to last Thursday and Friday. It's always so great when you can apply the strategies you learned right away!
This week was our last library check out. Please return the books on Monday!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Then end is coming...
The end is coming... of the school year that is. It is with bittersweet feelings that I report to you that as of this moment there are only 24 days of school left. 24 days until our kindergartners are in first grade. May I say the best part in that fact is, is that they're ready. They are ready for a longer day, new kids, a new classroom, a new teacher, and a new learning adventure. They are getting to that place we have all worked so hard to get them to. They are ready for first grade and I am so proud of each and every one of them.
I will give you this advice- keep practicing over the summer. Summer comes and automatically pulls us backwards before going on to the next challenge. Let us all make it an easier transition by practicing our reader, sight words, and math facts a little each week. I will help in the effort by sending a packet and a paper for a reading list. Plus I will give an added bonus of an eagle card at the start of the next school year if you bring the packet and the list back to me.
As the school year ends we are winding up all of our business and getting ready for summer. Today was our last movement class with Mrs. Comfort. I have to report that your children wrote beautiful and heartfelt letters of their love for Mrs. Comfort and her curriculum. We ended the class with the parachute- something we all love to do and will treasure in our kindergarten memories.
I know as the days warm up we tend to slow down and take a little more time to get to school. I find myself rushing most mornings these days more then I did in the beginning of the year. We are really trying to enforce and reinforce getting to school on time and ready to learn. That means not rolling in after the bell rings and instruction is already started. If your child is late to school please take them to the office and get them a tardy slip. We are trying to tell them what to do for next year. If your child forgets there backpack please leave it on the bench or take it to the office.
In the Friday Folder many of you will find a volunteer luncheon form. Please fill it out and return it if you are coming- don't tell me verbally or send me an e-mail. I have to turn the form into the committee so that they can do an accurate head count.
As the weather warms up we break out those oh so cute summer clothes. Please remember our school dress code policy. If you are unfamiliar with it you can refresh your memory by reading it in the school handbook portion attached to the directory. Basically please remember no flip flops open back or toes sandals. Also tank top straps need to be one inch in width. Tank tops can not be oversized with large are holes.
I would like to thank all of you and your children for the beautiful flowers and the wonderful cards. They were such a bright spot in my day.
Our last library book check out will be on Wednesday, May 19th and all of the books will need to be turned in the following Monday, May 24th.
We will be ending our classroom reader program on June 2nd. I will send reminders and let you know your child's reader level so that you can find appropriate books at the library this summer. The rule of thumb I like to use for a just right reader is if your child struggles with five or more words on a page that are NOT proper nouns then the book is too hard and they should look for another one. When we read for pleasure we choose books that are easier then our reading level. Remember that as you help your child dive into the world of reading adventures. It doesn't have to be a traditional book in order for them to be getting something out of it- it just matters that they are reading, and doing it by choice.
I will give you this advice- keep practicing over the summer. Summer comes and automatically pulls us backwards before going on to the next challenge. Let us all make it an easier transition by practicing our reader, sight words, and math facts a little each week. I will help in the effort by sending a packet and a paper for a reading list. Plus I will give an added bonus of an eagle card at the start of the next school year if you bring the packet and the list back to me.
As the school year ends we are winding up all of our business and getting ready for summer. Today was our last movement class with Mrs. Comfort. I have to report that your children wrote beautiful and heartfelt letters of their love for Mrs. Comfort and her curriculum. We ended the class with the parachute- something we all love to do and will treasure in our kindergarten memories.
I know as the days warm up we tend to slow down and take a little more time to get to school. I find myself rushing most mornings these days more then I did in the beginning of the year. We are really trying to enforce and reinforce getting to school on time and ready to learn. That means not rolling in after the bell rings and instruction is already started. If your child is late to school please take them to the office and get them a tardy slip. We are trying to tell them what to do for next year. If your child forgets there backpack please leave it on the bench or take it to the office.
In the Friday Folder many of you will find a volunteer luncheon form. Please fill it out and return it if you are coming- don't tell me verbally or send me an e-mail. I have to turn the form into the committee so that they can do an accurate head count.
As the weather warms up we break out those oh so cute summer clothes. Please remember our school dress code policy. If you are unfamiliar with it you can refresh your memory by reading it in the school handbook portion attached to the directory. Basically please remember no flip flops open back or toes sandals. Also tank top straps need to be one inch in width. Tank tops can not be oversized with large are holes.
I would like to thank all of you and your children for the beautiful flowers and the wonderful cards. They were such a bright spot in my day.
Our last library book check out will be on Wednesday, May 19th and all of the books will need to be turned in the following Monday, May 24th.
We will be ending our classroom reader program on June 2nd. I will send reminders and let you know your child's reader level so that you can find appropriate books at the library this summer. The rule of thumb I like to use for a just right reader is if your child struggles with five or more words on a page that are NOT proper nouns then the book is too hard and they should look for another one. When we read for pleasure we choose books that are easier then our reading level. Remember that as you help your child dive into the world of reading adventures. It doesn't have to be a traditional book in order for them to be getting something out of it- it just matters that they are reading, and doing it by choice.
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