Week of Sept. 26-29

I am updating a little early since we don’t have school Friday (well kids don’t, but I have to do a Science presentation for other K teachers) and I wanted to be sure and get it done.

This week, we added the word see and the letters B and F.  In math, we are continuing to work on addition.

We are starting our apple unit which will cross all parts of the curriculum.  We will read lots of good books, both fiction and expository (non-fiction is the old term for that!), do art, science experiments, labeling, tasting, graphing…you name it we probably do it with apples.  Thanks to all who said they could send in items for apple day on the 12th.  I’ll get a note back to you with what I need you to buy early next week.  Thanks for your help!

Please send in your craft/art items for the Fall Festival.  And thanks to those who have already sent them in.

You might consider buying your child an extra box of crayons.  I have a bunch of kids this year who are missing colors, and I have NO idea why.  We pick them up when they’re on the floor and the custodian does too so I don’t know where they’re going.  I did catch a few a couple of weeks ago throwing them away because they had broken, but we talked about that.  Everyone sent in an extra box, but I’m not getting those out until Dec.  Not sure what’s happening with the crayons!

I wanted you to be aware of a site we use in class for brain breaks and that you can use at home.  It’s called gonoodle.com  It has all kinds of dance/movement/song breaks and even some yoga.  The kids love it and now they’re starting some that the kids can do at home first before we can do them in the classroom.  They especially like the Koo Koo Kangaroo ones.

I think that’s it for now.  On a personal note, we made the decision to have our dog’s leg amputated today.  She’s in pain and we’re hoping this takes the pain/cancer/arthritis away and gives her some good quality time.  I know in my heart and head it’s the best thing for her, but it sure was hard to leave her this morning.  I’m ready for life at my house to calm down!  On the other hand, the kids have been doing a great job listening and following directions lately which I really appreciate!

Enjoy your long weekend!

Week of Sept. 19th-23rd

This week our literacy skills were focused on environmental print and words and signs around us that we can read.  It was fun to hear the kids come in and tell me what signs they found and could read!  We added the letters/sounds/actions of N and P.  We also added the sight word and.  We started our Brown Bear book as well and each day we used a different medium to do a page.  We used tissue paper for the red bird, we “painted” the green frog with licked marshmallows dipped in food coloring, used oil pastels for the blue horse, painted with orange koolaid for the fish and today we will finger paint the brown bear with chocolate pudding.  (Saved that one for a Friday! 🙂

We are working on the skill of retelling.  They should’ve brought home their brown bear retelling last week and this week we did The Little Red Hen.  We acted it out in class and did a retelling strip.  We read lots of different versions, so they should be able to retell you the story.  We are also learning the meaning of the words, characters, setting, problem, and solution and working on finding these in the stories we read.  This would be great to practice at home when you read to them.

Thanks for coming to literacy night!  I was glad to see such a great turnout.  I will be grouping kids soon for guided reading and it’s so fun to watch those light bulbs go on and those ah ha! moments!  Keep in mind that everyone learns at a different time!

In math, we have started basic addition.  We have done it several different ways and a fun way to practice at home is to roll a die and write the #. Then add the plus sign and roll it again or used two die and it’s easier!  Write down that number and then they can draw circles or use counters or fingers to add them up.  Dominoes are great to use because they can do one side, do the other and then count all the dots for the answer.  This is a great thing to practice at home!  Right now we’re mostly doing numbers 0-5.

We visited the Science Museum this week too.  You should’ve had a paper come home explaining what they did.

Second Step is a social/emotional program we work on at school.  We are focusing on listening skills (and will all year)!  Congrats to Owen for the getting the first great listener award.  Ms. Kennicott, our counselor, came in today and is working with the kids on great breathing strategies through the Conscious Discipline program and will send home a copy once they’ve learned them all.  We’ve talked a lot in our room about little problems and how we can solve them so that they don’t turn in to big problems.

The Fall Festival will be on Friday night Oct. 7th.  It’s a fun night filled with inflatables, food, and raffle baskets.   Kindergarten is collecting arts/crafts supplies for our raffle basket.  I did explain it to the kids but that’s a hard concept when one person wins…It’s a great fun night and there’s a flyer in the oldest/only folders today.  Unfortunately, if I can come, it won’t be long.  That’s the day my husband is having knee surgery, so I’ll be gone that day from school.

Our Field trip will be on Oct. 13th and a permission slip will come home on Monday.  Please sign and return it as soon as possible.  It’s a great fun trip where we get to pick apples and pumpkins, go on a hayride, feed the goats, learn about bees, and feed the chickens.  It’s a long bus ride,  but the field trip is a great one, so it’s worth it.  I do have more parents than we can take, so I will draw names and email you soon with that info.

Our school used to collect tab tops off of pop cans and still does.  We used to recycle them for the school, but now I collect them and give them to my daughter, Hannah, who recycles them for the Ronald McDonald house.  If you drink a lot of pop tab drinks, would you take a minute and just pull those off and start saving them for us?  You can just put them in a plastic bag and send it in when full.

We’ve had LOTS of box tops turned in too!  We will collect these all year, so keep sending them in!  Thank you so much!  It’s an easy fundraiser for our school.

This is the part where I give up a little glimpse of my life and weekend.  Unfortunately, we just found out that Abby’s (my dog) cancer is back in the exact same spot on her elbow.  She’ll have an x-ray next week to see if it’s spread.  If not, we are considering amputation as the vet thinks she’s in great shape and could handle it.  However, that’ll change our lives for awhile and it’s just such an unknown.  We’re just having a hard time at our house right now.  Hopefully this too shall pass!

I do hope you enjoy the beautiful weather and get to spend some fun time with your child this weekend.  Both mine are home this weekend and for that I’m grateful!  Take care!

 

Week of Sept. 12th-16th

We finished up our colors this week and have worked on all the color words now.  Keep practicing those at home!  This week, we added the letter Aa and the sight words, brown, black, white, and the.  In math, we are working one 1 or 2 more and 1 or 2 fewer.  We also did an experiment this week to see what types of items sink and what items float when placed in water.

Midterms are coming home today.  Keep in mind that I tested kids at the end of August, so while they may be missing some letters then, hopefully, now that we’ve reviewed up to T, they should have the missing ones filled in.  However, if they only knew 20 or less out of 52, I would say the need to be working on them daily.  I have been pulling those kids as often as I can to practice, but I am also working on reading testing as well.  They should know the numbers up to 5 and be able to write them.  Keep working on 2 and 3, those are the hardest to write.  I do correct reversals even though it’s developmentally appropriate.  I don’t want them to get in the wrong habit though.

Watch dog signs ups are on the BE website.  I encourage the Dads to go on and find a day that you can come and spend at school.  You’ll get to spend time in your child’s classroom and other classrooms in the building.  You’ll also eat lunch with your child.  The kids loving having the Dads in the building.  (Moms too 🙂  Dads just seem to be more of a novelty!)

If you plan on a vacation during the school year, please email Dr. McDonald and run it through her to be excused.

Math tests came home this week.  Usually I will pull kids after a test and have them correct what’s wrong so if you see it come home circled but has the right answer, that’s usually why.  At this point, learning to follow along and mark the right answer is half the battle!

School pictures are next Thursday and forms came home this week.  Please return those even if you order online.

Next Thursday from 6:30-7:45 is our K-1 Literacy night.  I hope you all can come, play some fun games with your child, and learn all about guided reading.  Even if this is not your first kindergartener, I encourage you to come.

I saw on Facebook a new shoe tying video that people are raving about.  I would encourage you to look it up and be working on it.  I told them that at the end of the month, I’m done tying shoes! 🙂

A note for volunteers is coming home on Monday for our field trip on Oct. 13th.  We go to Alldredge Apple Farm in Platte City.  We are only able to take 5 parents per class and you will need to drive.  If you’re interested in going, please fill out the form and send it in by next Friday.  If we have more than 5 volunteers, we will draw names.  We do another one in the spring and try to take different people if possible.

Please make sure you’re sending in a healthy snack for your child and that it’s labeled with their name.  Please don’t send in cookies, chips, or sugary cereal.  Thanks for your help on this!

Library checkout is on B days which will be Monday next week.

Reading folders were filled with books this week.  They will need to return those each Wed.  Please write the title of the book, just one time and whether or not it was too easy, too hard, or just right.  Remember too that I’m still testing, so your child may be reading harder books and I just don’t know yet.

I tried to update early so I can leave right after school.  However, don’t be surprised when you get an email with what I forgot! 🙂

We have a busy weekend!  Jack got his brace off Monday but will still be in PT until Dec.  He has homecoming tomorrow night.  Today we celebrate our dog, Abby’s 11th birthday. She’s had a rough month and a half, but is a trooper!  Last night we walked all the way to the top of the street!  Sunday, I’ll head to Lawrence for an ADPi meeting and get to see Hannah for a bit.  I need a day after the weekend to rest up!  Have a great weekend!

Week of September 6th-9th

There’s lots of info. to share today, so try and stick with me until the end! 🙂

This week, we added the letters C and T and the sight words green, blue, like, and pink.  We made some more class books and read some fun stories, lots to do with colors words.  Several color word books came home for their star words bags.  I am beginning to test kids on reading levels so that we can put them in groups and get started, but this takes awhile.

In math, we’re working on 1 and 2 more and 1 and 2 fewer.  Fewer is really hard even though I say it means the same as less.  We’ll keep hitting this concept next week as well.

Today we became scientists and did our first experiment!  We put on our lab coats and tried to figure out how to get a marble down a line of tape using only the materials in our bags and without using any body parts.  As scientists, we made a plan, and then tested it out.  We learned that scientists often try and try again before they get a plan to work and then even sometimes, it doesn’t.  They did an AWESOME job working together to solve their problem.  Be sure to ask your child what their plan was and what their group did to make it work.  We got to the point of discussing the concepts of push/pull.  Every group did a sort of push, so we decided we’d have to try it again and see if a pull would work as well.

Folders are full today!  There is a baggie to collect box tops that you often find on cereal boxes, crescent rolls etc.  If you will cut those out and send them in, it is an easy way to earn money for our school.

Next week we are collecting boxes of fun bandaids for Noah’s Bandage project.  There is a note about that as well.

Sumdog is an awesome computer math program for your kids and info. is coming home about that and about a contest that starts today.  PLEASE keep the paper with their unique log in and password at the top.  I told the kids that when they start to play it will give them questions they can’t answer.  Tell them to keep playing!  It will take a couple of times and then the computer figures out what level they’re at and will adjust the games to their level.  It’s a great program to practice math skills at home.

Please make sure reading folders are in backpacks.  On Wed., we will be putting books in folders.  Unless I have tested your child, they will have a pretty easy book until I get everyone tested.  On the reading log, please record the title of the book only once and whether or not the book was too easy, just right, or too hard on the first try.  That way, each week when the books are switched out, we’ll know which ones they’ve already had.  These books should stay in their folders except for when you’re reading them.  Each week, on Wed., they’ll be switched out if they are in their backpack.  If they’re not, they will have to wait until the next week.  I have a parent volunteer coming in to do this.  Please help her out by remembering to record the titles of the books once and have patience and grace if a book is put in twice.  We’ll start next Wed.

Tardies have started.  Your child has to be in the room when the bell rings.  I have been out in the hall having them come in, but they need to hustle in right to the room so they are not late.  I’ve had quite a few stragglers late and a few have been tardy as they weren’t even in the hall when the bell rang. I would also like them to be walking themselves in.  They are doing a great job remembering their morning jobs and I’d like to see them be independent to get themselves to the room.

School picture day is on the 22nd.  Forms will come home next week with ordering information.  Our literacy night will also be on the 22nd.  This is a fun night for a parent and child to come and play some literacy games and learn about how we do guided reading.  If you’re not here, we will send the games home, but it’s much more fun if they can come and learn how to play.  We will have a snack, a book walk where they get to pick a book to take home, and come in pj’s!

Library return and checkout day is on B days.  This does not fall on the same DAY of the week each week because of the A-E schedule.  I would recommend you look at the schedule I gave you at parent night and just write it on a calendar.  It’s getting hard to send kids as they straggle in with books on other days, so please try and get them back on B days.

We met with Bluejay Families for the first time this week.  Once a month, we meet in family groups which are made up of an adult and kids from each grade level.  We would like the kids to be able to name at least 3 adults at the end of the year that they could go to if they had a problem.  This is a fun team-building activity for the whole school.  Your kids have a 5th grade buddy who comes and gets them and takes them to their family meeting spot and then walks them back.

I will be gone Monday afternoon to take Jack to a follow up appt. with the surgeon.  We’re hoping he’ll be out of his brace soon, it’s been 3 months now and needless to say, he’s a little sick of it!  Please remind your child to have above the line behavior as it’s a new sub they haven’t met yet.

Headed to KU tomorrow for Family Day at ADPi!  Hope you all have a great weekend!

Week of Aug. 29th-Sept. 2

Week two: check!  I hope you enjoy a nice long weekend.  Know that Tues. might be tough for everyone coming back! (Myself included 🙂

Book orders are due today.  I won’t do the order until tomorrow morning, so if you’re going to order, please do so by tonight.

STAR words bags and reading folders have come home.  In the next couple of weeks, I will start adding books.  For now, they can practice letters and sounds (and actions) and sight words and read their STAR words books.  Anytime a paper book comes home that they have highlighted, it should go in their star words bag.  I will be sending a paper home on Tuesday that lists the sight words for this quarter.  I’d keep it on the fridge so you know which ones we’re working on.

This week, we added the sight words orange, I, yellow, am, and green.  A sight word means that they can look at it and read it within 3 seconds without having to sound it out.  We also added the letters/sounds/actions of M and S.  Be sure to have your child show you the action and sound for those letters.

In math, we’re working on numbers and writing numbers to 5.  Today I bounced a ball, they had to listen, count, and write the number.  They thought that was really fun!  Easy to practice at home too!

We’ve read lots of good books this week and have two class books that will be coming home.  We should be able to add a few new ones next week too.  Please make sure you read and return them the next day so we can get them out to everyone.

This past week, we also practiced a fire drill which we do once a month and a severe weather drill.

Next week we will continue our color days and start talking about Science and answer the question, “what is science?”

We continue and will continue to talk about above the line behavior.  That means following directions, keeping our hands to ourselves and being respectful.  Today we turned in gotchas and I think that may have been a bit of an eye opener to some.  Some didn’t have enough to turn in at all, quite a few saved theirs because they wanted something that cost more and some turned them in.  If they turn them in for wear a hat or bring a small stuffed animal, there will be a paper taped in their folder.  If there’s no paper and they tell you they can, (they can’t) remind them about behavior and hopefully they’ll earn enough for next week’s turn in.

This was posted in the school newsletter from Ms. Kennicott, the counselor, and I wanted to be sure you saw it:

Olathe Public Schools offers classes to help parents improve their parenting skills. “Becoming a Love and Logic Parent” is the title of the six-week course based on the Cline/Fay Institute philosophy of raising and teaching children and is designed to help parents increase their children’s level of responsibility. Sessions are held each fall and spring. The courses each take place on six Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m., with fall courses beginning on October 27.  Cost is $20 per person/couple for the entire course. Call (913) 780-7049 to make reservations. Childcare is not provided for these classes.  You can find more information on the Olathe Schools website, or contact me at ekennicottbe@olatheschools.org for a brochure.

I think that’s it for now.  I’m very happy to report that my dog Abby is doing much better and making good progress.  We’re headed to KU for the football game this weekend and to bring Hannah home for the weekend.  Hope you and your family enjoy this extra time together this weekend!