January 27, 2006

January 27, 2006

Dear Families,

It has been a jam packed week! We read the books I Am Not Jenny and The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. The kindergartners started recognizing and writing their last names. The children tasted jam and jelly and learned how jam and jelly are different. The kindergartners sang the song “John Jacob Jinglehimerschmitt.” We practiced filling out a January calendar and pretended jelly beans were magic and let us do things we cannot do now. This week we celebrated our 100th day of school on Thursday. We did many activities that included the number 100 including making a necklace. Centers included graphing jelly beans, the card game UNO, beans in the sensory table, blocks, sorting “junk”, counting objects into jars, and playdough.

Next week we will be learning about the letter Yy. Since there aren’t many items that start with the letter Yy, sharing is free choice. Notice the sharing list at the bottom of the sheet!

“Redhawks Reading” month will begin on Friday, January 27th. (This used to be called Read - A- Million- Minutes month.) Please make sure that you read the “Redhawks Reading” explanation note! Please keep track of the minutes read at home! Fill out the record sheet and send the correct portion to school on the dates listed in the explanation letter.

There is some special homework again this week. Attached is a paper with several sentences written on it. We want families to practice reading with their kindergartners. The kindergartners need to read each sentence to a family member 3 times, and an adult needs to sign the sheet. Children that bring in the note saying they did their homework may pick out a sticker.

Keep working on those valentines! Valentines may be brought to school between Monday, Feb. 6 and Tuesday, February 14th. Our party will be on the 14th. We contacted volunteers to provide treats and napkins this week.

On Saturday there is a 4-H carnival being held at the Reinig Center in Toledo. Games start at 6:00 and end at 8:30. There is a nominal fee for each game. Supper may be purchased in the lunchroom from 5:30 - 8:00. This event is open to the public.

Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Owens, and Mrs. Herink

February Sharing
January 31 - February 3: Free choice (Yy week)
February 6 - 10: An item that begins with Rr
February 13 - 17: No Sharing due to a crazy week! (Vv Week)
(Let us know if you already had a person or thing that begins with a Vv planned and we will try to schedule this in!)
February 20 - 24: Free Choice (Qq week)

January 20, 2006

January 20, 2006

Dear Families,

What a week! We learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. and dictated two facts we learned about him on a paper. We talked about water, where it comes from, and its uses. The kindergartners learned about whales. We took our scheduled winter walk and noticed that the ground doesn’t look too winterish. Not much snow could be found! We read the book Weekend With Wendell and laughed at all the wild things Wendell did when he stayed at a friend’s house. Then they told us what they would do with Wendell if he were able to stay overnight. We had centers again this week. During center time, the kindergartners rotated through 7 different activities. The children spent between 10 and 15 minutes at each center and moved when the timer rang. Centers included War the card game, ABC Bingo, the store in the dramatic play center, water in the sensory table, a shapes and color word worksheet, writing in our journals, and a watermelon counting activity.

Next week we will be studying the letter Jj. For sharing, the boys and girls should bring an object that starts with Jj.

Some families are thinking about Valentine’s Day already. Children can choose to have a valentine for each child in their particular group or one for each child in the class. (This means that reds could give a valentine to only the reds, or the reds and the blues. The blues could give a valentine only to the blues, or the the blues and the reds.) Attached to this newsletter is the list of names for each group. We encourage children to start working on them early. Writing their own name 18 to 37 times takes a long time. Families can help write the students’ names that the valentines will be given to.

PLEASE SEND BOOTS, HATS, AND MITTENS EVERYDAY TO SCHOOL!!!!!!

We have had a lot of colds in the classroom. We try to keep germs spreading to a minimum, but that is difficult. We wash hands often, clean the toys, tables, and pencils, and encourage students to cough and sneeze into their elbows instead of their hands. You will be called to pick up your child if we believe that he/she is too sick to be at school. We hope that you understand.

We hope you can keep warm this winter weekend!

Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Owens, and Mrs. Herink

SOME UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:
February 14th - Valentine’s Day (Right now parties are scheduled for this day.)
February 14th - School dismisses at 12:25
February 17th - NO SCHOOL
February 20 - NO SCHOOL (Presidents’ Day)

January 13, 2006

January 13, 2006

Dear Families,

What a super week! We worked on report card evaluations and enjoyed all the secret sack sharing. The boys and girls enjoyed Ms. S because she had super socks that give her the ability to solve problems. We pretended that we our own pair of super socks and wrote in our new journals about the “powers” the super socks gave us. We learned about spiders. The kindergartners were taught 2 new words: is, said. (Yellow flashcards have been attached to this newsletter. Please cut them apart and review them with your kindergartner frequently!) The kindergartners read and brought home 2 more little booklets to practice reading with their families. The booklets were entitled “Sid Said” and “Is Sam Mad?”. This week we started something new. We started centers. During center time, the kindergartners rotated through 7 different activities. The children spent approximately 10 minutes at each center and moved when the timer rang. Centers included straw painting, the store dramatic play center, a sink/float activity, the story Seven Silly Eaters, counting with sunflower seeds and soybeans, making snowflakes, and drawing a person.

Ww is the letter that we will be studying next week. The sharing is to bring something that begins with the letter Ww or a winter item. We hope to work a winter walk into the Wednesday afternoon schedule next week.

The quarter ended on January 12th. We believe that report cards will go home on January 20th. Our last parent/teacher conference will be held in the middle of February. If you have a concern about your child’s progress that you would like to discuss before the conferences, please contact us. We are willing to meet with families that have questions or concerns.

There is no school on Monday, January 16th. The teachers have many important meetings to attend.

Have a super and safe weekend!

Mrs. Howard, Mrs. Owens, and Mrs. Herink

January 6, 2006

January 6, 2006

Dear Families,

This has been an unique week! During this short week we worked on writing the letters U and u. We worked in our workbooks with the u sound. The kindergartners also worked on evaluations for their report cards. The kindergartners had fun listening to underwear stories. Those stories always make us giggle.

Next week we will be learning about the letter Ss. Sharing for next week is to bring in something that starts with the letter Ss in a secret sack. Please help your child think of clues that would assist the other kindergartners in guessing the sharing item.

Next week we will be turning the playhouse in our room into a grocery store. We would like families to send in empty boxes or containers that used to hold food so that the children have things to “purchase.” Please do not send anything glass or tin cans with sharp edges. We would like to have these containers brought to school ONLY next week. We usually collect more than enough in one week! Thanks for your help!

The end of the quarter is currently January 12th. Our school does not have scheduled conferences at the end of the second quarter, but we would be happy to set a time to meet with or call anyone who has questions or concerns.

Please make sure that your child is prepared to go outside every day. The boys and girls need something for their heads/ears, boots (when there is snow or a lot of mud), gloves or mittens, snow pants (when there is snow), and warm coats. It is important that every item is marked with a name. An extra pair of socks put in the school bag would be appreciated!

We hope that you have an enjoyable weekend!
Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Howard, and Mrs. Herink