Week of Jan. 23-27th

It’s been all penguins in kindergarten lately and we’ve learned some great new vocabulary words!  Have they told you about the word regurgitate?  Well, that’s what penguins do!  We are writing an awesome book that they will share with you at conferences with all kinds of interesting information about penguins.

We have also learned the state symbols of Kansas and have a book about that to share too!

We added the sight words for and here and the letter Qq and now we have done all the letters!

In math, we’ve gone through all the teen numbers and will continue to practice.    Please practice these at home.  They are a skill learned by repetition and practice!  They will be expected to recognize it, count it, and be able to match the number to the same number in a ten frame.  I hope you saw the math fun sheet come home.  The kids were told that they had to teach YOU all about teen numbers and ten frames.  Have them sing you the teen number song.  You can find it on youtube under Harry Kindergarten (Numbers in the Teens, they start with a 1)

Library checkout is Monday and I know Ms. Hodgson put out some fun penguin books, so be sure to bring them back!

We are collecting new toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste for Grandma Sandy to take with her on a medical mission trip to Guatamala.  We go to church together and sell pumpkins each year to earn the money to fund the trips.  Each year, two teams go and serve the poorest of the poor.  We will collect them from 1/30-2/8.  Thanks for considering!

Conference notes came home today.  Please sign, cut, and return them on Monday.  Most everyone has the same time, or very close to it.  Please keep in mind that they are difficult to switch around due to the number of kids and that we try and keep siblings back to back.  In the Fall, I really got behind and that messes everyone up, so I’m going to try and be much more aware of the time.  If we don’t cover what you need, we’ll have to meet again later.  Your child is welcome to come for part of it.  I will have them share their penguin and KS books, and then I will be sharing MAP test scores and other info.

The 100th day is next Thursday.  Please remember 100 posters are due by then and please send in a 100 pieces of a nut free snack on Wed. so I can get them ready for  Thurs.   I can’t wait to see everyone dressed like they’re 100!  Thanks to all who volunteered to help!  You’re welcome to dress up too!  After all, they’re only in kindergarten once, come join the fun! 🙂  Just promise not to laugh at me as I am a scary old lookin granny! 🙂

Just looking ahead a little for February:

• Feb. 2nd  100th day  and STEM night  (please return RSVP’s if you haven’t already!)
• Feb. 3rd  Book orders due  (professional day, no school for kids)
• Feb. 8th and 9th Conferences
• Feb. 10th no school for anyone
• Feb. 14th Valentine party  (please send in boxes and valentines that day and NOT before.  A note will come home Monday with info. and names.)
• Feb. 16th I will be gone for a Science training
• Feb. 20th President’s day  no school
• Feb. 23rd  Kindergarten Round up for all Olathe schools.  1-6pm  Current kindergarteners do NOT have school that day.  Please tell neighbors if they have upcoming kindergarteners!
• Looking a little bit ahead:  March 2nd is Read Across America Day and that week, we will have themes.  More info. later.

I think that’s it for now.  I hope you all have a great weekend and everyone gets well.  I’ve had at least one student gone for the past two weeks with fevers, it’s certainly going around.  My husband has had it all week too and boy….let me just say, he’s not the best sick person.  The world seems as if it might end, or I may just get rid of him first! 🙂  Jack and I are staying FAR away from him!  Hoping you have  a safe and well rested weekend!

 

Short week of Jan. 18th-20th

Well, the snow day was great, but it sure threw everyone off when we came back!  We’ve done lots of practicing this week on our listening skills, walking in the halls quietly etc.  We are revisiting our above the line behaviors that we want to see.  Remember that it’s helpful if you give your child a specific skill to work on when you drop them off at school.  “make sure you keep your hands to yourself, make sure you participate appropriately” etc.

I gave you a little update on Tuesday, but here’s a few upcoming things and review of the week.  We added the sight words that and go and did some practice with the star words books that are coming home.  Those are great books to continue reading.  Even if they’re easy, it’s great because their sight words are in context instead of just a single word.

In math, we’re starting teen numbers and today we’ll do different ways to make 10.  Any extra practice with teen numbers at home is a HUGE help!!  Make it fun and make a game out of it just like you do with sight words and they’ll want to work on it.

We are also starting our penguin unit which is lots of fun.  We started with several fiction books about a silly penguin named Tacky by Helen Lester.  (Several kids asked for the author so they could check them out at the library!  That always makes me smile when they do that!)  We made Tacky the penguin and then we learned about describing words and wrote words to describe him.  We will be writing our own non-fiction book about penguins and will share it with you at conferences.  We will also be starting a book about the symbols of Kansas.

We have library checkout on Monday so be sure to return books.

Our 100th day will be Thurs. Feb. 2nd.  Please be sure to read the note I sent home with the posters.  I will need the posters back by the 2nd, but they can be returned whenever they’re done.  Please make sure your child is the one doing the poster.  I told them you could help only if they need items hot glued on (and most items won’t stick with regular glue).  Please send the 100 pieces of a snack by Wed. of that week.  Please have it counted and in a baggie and do not send anything with nuts or made in a factory with nuts.  If you’re unsure, please send in the label.  On Monday, I will send home a note about how to dress like you’re 100.  Please encourage your child to participate, even if it’s just baby powder in their hair.  They will be able to bring canes, but only for the picture and then I will have them put away until pick up.  I have 5 helpers for 100th day which is enough, but if someone wants to come, we can use an extra hand, just let me know.

STEM night is that night too from 6:30-8.  It’s a really fun night where we have activities all over the building for the kindergarteners and first graders and their parents to try out.  It’s come and do what you want, so if you needed to be late, that’s okay.  It’s not a presentation like literacy night was.  We have had parents ask why families can’t come and why siblings are not invited.  It’s strictly a supplies issue.  It’s not that we don’t want them here.  We had a grant last year that paid for lots of supplies.  Mrs. Smith is using the rest of a grant to purchase supplies for this year and then we’ll have to figure something out for next year.  We just simply don’t have the materials for siblings to come.  We do like to have a head count though, so if you could return the rsvp with a yes or no, that’d be great.

Major savor information comes home today.  Note that on the form it says they’ll get an emoji keychain and some of them are poop emojis.  Dr. McDonald said no to that, so it’s on the form, but will be replaced with something else.  Please tell your child to give me the form if you return it with money in it to buy cards.  Sometimes they sit in backpacks because they don’t get them out.  The cards will be put in the envelope and returned to you to deliver.

Book orders are due today.  We have a staff holiday party after school, so I won’t get it done until tomorrow.  Please order today if you plan to.

I have 3 kids out today with fevers and colds.  PLEASE keep reminding your child to use a Kleenex and hand sanitizer.  If I had a dollar for every time someone picked their nose and I sent them to use sanitizer….We keep talking about spreading germs!  I have a bad cold now which is no surprise given the amount of times a day I’m coughed and sneezed on.  I promise you that I AM using Kleenex and washing my hands so I’m not spreading it! 🙂

That being said, I hope you have a great weekend!