If I were to pick one word to summarize our week, it would be SNOW! Wow! The early arrival of winter weather was truly exciting for many kindergarten students. Though there wasn't a lot of accumulation, it certainly made for a different experience on the playground and getting ready for going outside. Independence with snow gear Students are already getting more efficient with putting on snow gear, but please continue to encourage your child to put his/her gear on independently at home too. I know it can be hard to make this happen with everyone's busy schedules, but it makes things so much easier for your child at school. Also encourage your child to be responsible for his/her belongings. I am constantly reminding students to put everything in their lockers and then to take it home again at the end of the day, but inevitably, my reminders sometimes are not heard or are even ignored. I know first hand how frustrating it is to lose hats, mittens, boots, etc. or to have them left at school on a snowy day when they are needed at home. Thanks for your help! Self Portraits Students spent time this week creating wonderful self portraits which will be displayed above their lockers in the hallway. They are FANTASTIC! I can't believe I didn't take any photos, but don't worry--a slideshow set to music will be coming out soon, with each child pictured holding his/her self portrait. I have always done self portraits with my classes as a part of an "All About Me" unit of study, but this year's portraits were done a bit differently then I've ever done before. Stay tuned! | Letters/Sight Words Students have now been formally introduced to letters Aa-Pp. To be considered as "meeting grade level expectations" in letter/sound identification, students should know 18-25 uppercase letters, 16-21 lowercase letters, and 16-21 letter sounds. They should also be able to read 10-15 of the sight words that have been taught. I have sent home our sight word/letter calendar, but it's linked here in case you need another copy. Also, I will send sight word, letter, and number flash cards in the red folder next Friday for extra practice at home. Having a solid foundation of letter/sounds and sight words helps tremendously with a child's development as a reader and a writer. |
Math
Our focus in math last week was counting and comparing numbers, and this will continue to be the focus next week. Students learned many ways to count and record their counting on paper, organize groups of objects in order to count accurately, and how to compare two groups of objects to determine which is larger/smaller. Students were introduced to new math vocabulary--greater than, less than, and equal to. Though we usually do structured math stations each day, Fun Friday Math Choice was very popular on Friday. I was proud of how well children self selected stations to visit. A new math game--Compare--was a popular activity choice.
Please note: Many children are accurately counting groups of objects up to 10, but many still struggle with identifying numbers. For example, if a student were to count and determine they had nine cubes, many are unsure of how to form the number 9/what 9 looks like (or another number). We will soon turn our focus to the "tricky teen" numbers, so being able to identify digits 0-9 will be important to helping children understand teen numbers. Teen numbers will be explained as "10 and some more." For example, to make 15, you need 10 and 5 more; to make 17, you need 10 and 7 more, and so forth.
Below are some photos from math time during the week:
Please note: Many children are accurately counting groups of objects up to 10, but many still struggle with identifying numbers. For example, if a student were to count and determine they had nine cubes, many are unsure of how to form the number 9/what 9 looks like (or another number). We will soon turn our focus to the "tricky teen" numbers, so being able to identify digits 0-9 will be important to helping children understand teen numbers. Teen numbers will be explained as "10 and some more." For example, to make 15, you need 10 and 5 more; to make 17, you need 10 and 7 more, and so forth.
Below are some photos from math time during the week:
Book Bags and Fostering Independence in Reading
Students now have book bags for independent reading (Read to Self) time! They were so excited to choose which style of bag they'd like and to discover that their bags were filled with wonderful books to read the next day. I sent home the bag of books on Friday for students to read over the weekend. Don't worry if your child needed help to read them. These books offer a perfect opportunity for students to practice the skills they are learning at school--recognizing sight words they've learned and reading them in continuous text, using the picture to solve the unknown words, etc. t's very important that the book bags are returned each Monday so students can use them during our Reading Workshop. Thank you!
Have a great week, and as always, please stay in touch!