Sept. 4-6

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend. The kids came back refreshed and ready to learn!

This week began the introduction of our kindergarten high frequency words (also known as sight words or popcorn words.) This week's word was "a". We learn how to write the word, and action to remember the spelling, and this week we made a class book using this NAMING word to make short phrases like a fan, a cat, a flag, a desk.

We completed our Sound Book 1 for Jolly Phonics. If you haven't already, ask your child to review the six sounds performing the action to go with them.

Language arts and math have continued to center around names. We read Chrysanthemum and Tikki Tikki Tembo and discovered the lengths of our own names. We counted, compared and graphed our names along with our classmates. Another class book was made!

We also explored junk boxes this week. Junk boxes are boxes made of many different items such as buttons, soda caps, keys, barrettes. The students can count, sort, make patterns and think mathematically with the items. We will do more with junk boxes next week.

We continue to learn and review expectations in the classroom and school. We have a special time designated to Citizenship to read books and discuss a variety of ways we can be good citizens of May Watts. We have read books about the pledge of allegiance, following school rules,and listening, thinking and learning.

PLEASE remember to take ALL papers out of your child's folder every day after school to help your child stay organized. If you are interested in beginning hot lunch, please look at lunch calendar on our May Watts website or edline and CHOOSE WITH YOUR CHILD so he/she knows the choice before school.

I look forward to seeing all parents on Wednesday, September 11th for Curriculum Night. Have a great weekend!

Aug 26-30

Well, it's official!  Your child is a kindergartner!  What a successful (albeit hot) first full week we had!

Much time was spent going over classroom and building expectations.  A few of the rules were sent home hard copy.  I hope you can refer to them as the school year progresses to check in with your child.

Our big focus this week has been centered around the names of each student.  We read From Anne to Zach and created our first class book.  We have sung songs that incorporated each child's name and we have sorted them according to the first letter.

We are beginning our Jolly Phonics program.  Each day a new sound is presented with a story, a song ,and a practice sheet.  The practice sheet will come home daily.  Have your child say the sound and practice the action that goes with it.  Seven small books will be brought home in the next couple of months.  Please look for them and have your child practice the sounds for you.

Math has been full of explorations.  We are getting to know some of the materials we will use often such as the pattern blocks and unifix cubes.  As the children explore and create with the materials, I am encouraging "math talk" among each other.  It is exciting to share with and learn from your peers.  We are talking about numbers:  different ways they can be represented, what the number amount looks like, and how they differ from other numbers.  Laying this foundation is extremely important to build a strong number sense.

Thank you for sending your child rested and prepared for the school day.  I am noticing quite a lot of folders coming back to school with papers in them from the day before.  Please take the papers out DAILY even if you set them aside to read later.  This will help keep the students more organized with that day's work.  Also, please make sure that snack is packed in a pocket of your child's backpack, separate from lunch.  Your child can quickly put his or her lunch in the bin at arrival time.  I really appreciate your help with this.

I hope you all have a great long weekend and look forward to cooler temperatures next week!

Aug 25

Well, we (parents, teacher, and students) all survived the first full DAY of Kindergarten! Things went REALLY well! The first day is hard, but sometimes the first week is harder! So don't be surprised if there are some tears or worries as Monday (or even Wednesday) approaches. Eventually we all settle into the routine and flourish. On Friday we heard a lot about our class rules. In Kindergarten our  5 rules are.... Listen when the teacher is talking, raise your hand to talk, follow directions quickly, keep your hands and feet to yourself, and be safe and be honest. The children can recite these rules with motions. We try and follow these rules everywhere we go at May Watts. We talk a lot about respecting ourselves, others, and the environment too. At May Watts we are continually striving to be good citizens.

This week we will begin our jolly phonics program. Your child will learn the motions/sounds for several letters. Please have your child show you the motions and review the sounds at home. The motions are pictured on the side of the jolly phonics worksheet your child will bring home. We also will read lots of books about kindergarten. We will compare the classes in these books to our own classroom and see what we discover. Students also will explore unfix cubes and pattern blocks as we begin to be introduced to our math tools. In addition, this week we will spend  a lot of time learning routines. The Kindergarten classroom runs very smoothly when routines are in place. We practice everything together, slowly, and then gradually release control. We aim to produce independent thinkers and learners. My goal is to help your child feel confident with their own abilities and comfortable enough to express themselves and explore their interests.

 

Please remember to remove the items each night from your child's take home folder. (Send the empty folder back to school each day) By looking over these papers, you can learn a little bit about what we are doing in class. Be sure to review the jolly phonics sounds and motions with your child as well. Remember the first few weeks of school are all about learning how our classroom functions, you may see lots of coloring pages and simple worksheets. That is ok and things will change quickly once we get our routines down.

Snack is an important part of the day :). It is easiest for your child if you pack their snack in a separate container from their lunch. The lunch boxes and snacks go in two different places so it is best to already have them apart. The children can not have juice during snack. Only water is allowed in the classroom. Please do not send juice boxes to school for snack. They can drink juice during lunch.

I look forward to getting to know your child better next week as we tackle our first five day week of school. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions/concerns as the week progresses.

June 4

Our class has been on an amazing journey this year. We became a school "family." Each student has grown socially and academically in their own way! I feel excited to know that they are well prepared for first grade! It has been a pleasure to get to know each and every student and their families. I look forward to watching them grow and change throughout the years here at May Watts. Thank you to ALL of you for your continued support and partnership for your child. Our year would not have been as successful without your help! Have a fabulous summer, students and parents!!!

May 20-24

The final full week is here...

It's hard to believe that our time together is coming to an end.  Yet, when I see the growth each and every child has made this year, I know it was time well spent!  I am amazed at how your child's academic and social skills have strengthened and I feel lucky to have been a part of that.  I thank you all for the dedication and support you have given your child and me throughout the year.  Our team effort, along with that of each enthusiastic learner, has made a difference.  I am so fortunate to work with a fantastic team:  Mrs. Benyo, Mrs. Doranski, and Mrs. Wilke.  During the course of the year they have also had an impact on your child's learning...what a wonderful learning community we have!  I hope you feel that your child's first year at May Watts is the beginning of a great things to come!  I will miss our class but I welcome visitors or a little hello when the kids get a chance!

This last week we will continue to read and enjoy fairy tales as well as do a short science unit on water. Students will learn about the properties of water during experiments and discussions. They will explore the idea of water as a solid, liquid, and gas. We will also take a look at the water cycle. If we have time, we will talk about careers and discuss what we might want to be when we grow up.

In math we will review many of the games we learned this year as well as do a quick review of the most important concepts we have covered. In your child's report card, that you will get on June 5, there will be directions to some great math games you can play this summer. Being prepared for first grade is all about practicing the skills we learned this year, engaging in math talk, and seeing how math connects to your every day world!

Soon your child will be bringing home their writing binder from the year. The binders were our class journals and this will show their growth as writers throughout kindergarten....although many pages have fallen out :(. It also contains pages from our class books and some writing samples from the year. I hope you find this to be a cherished keepsake of your child's tremendous growth. In the back of the journal are our letter poems. These poems are a fun way to practice reading during the summer.

Even though we are winding down, we are still very busy. I will update you during next week with any important information you need to know!

 

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

May 14-17

With Z week over, we have now covered all the letters of the alphabet. We have discussed if the letter is a consonant or a vowel, we have learned vocabulary words that start with each letter, and we have learned to correctly form the letter when writing (always start at the top). It is important to continue to review letter sounds and practice letter writing with your child so this remains a fluent skill.

Lat week each child took the district writing assessment. This week we completed our final monthly assessment for numeral writing and writing a response. WOW.... I was very impressed with the results. Almost every student was able to use the TTQA strategy (turn that question around) and were able to give a reason to support their opinion. The use of capital letters to start sentences and the proper use of conventions is coming along as well. It is so rewarding to see their growth!

This week we started to talk about plants. We focused on the things a plant needs to grow, the parts of a flower, and how certain plants are used to help us. Each child planted their own seeds and will (hopefully) watch them grow. If you plant a garden at home, this might be a good time to enlist the help of your kindergartner. Take them into the garden and talk to them about the things you need to do so that your garden grows successfully.

In math we will continue to look at the 100's chart and discuss the patterns we see. It is important for your child to understand how the 100's chart is set up. Your child brought home one earlier this week. You should ask them to identify numbers that are 1 more/less and 10 more/less than a given number. This skill will help them start the 1st grade year off on the right foot. We will also be looking at decomposing/composing the numbers 6-10. Each student will be asked to show the different ways to make these numbers by coloring in a chart. Our goal is be truly fluent with the numbers 1-10 in addition and subtraction.

Our ABC countdown continues next week with letters P-T.  Your child will need to bring a few favorite books for our Read In Day on Wednesday.

Our field trip to the Children's Museum was a success!  Thank you to Mr. Cadena, Bilal's aunt Humna, Mrs. Cowan, Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Chandak for your much appreciated help!  I hope your enjoyed the 3 D creations your child made!

Next Thursday is our LAST LMC time!  Please make sure ALL BOOKS ARE RETURNED BY THURSDAY, MAY 23RD!  Mrs. May will be so thankful!

Have a great weekend!

May 6 - 10

This week we learned about the letter Z. During the week we read both ficiton and non-ficiton books about the zoo. Students were able to talk about their own trips to the zoo and shared stories about their favorite animals. We also learned some interesting facts about zebras when we read non-fiction books about them and write an informational. Our skill work will include lessons on singular vs. plural nouns as well as an introduction to putting words into alphabetical order.

In math we will continue to work on the structure of 5 and 10, multiple step problem solving, simple addition/subtraction facts, and the pattern of the 100's board. We will also review 3-D shapes as we prepare for our upcoming field trip. The students have made a lot of progress when it comes to their mathematical thinking. KP students are getting better at explaining their thinking and are learning to count things in efficient ways. I think a lot of exciting things are happening in our math class right now.

This week students worked on writing their very own books that will then be published with the help of our Kinderpress Volunteers! Can't wait to see the final products. Thanks so much to all the parents who are helping to make this project a success.

Students took their final CBM tests last week. WOW....what progress we have made this year. Thanks so much for your help and support. It is exciting to see the growth that has been made!

Dont' forget!  No school on Monday.  On Tuesday, we will be going to the Children's Museum.  PLEASE SEND A LUNCH, WE WILL NOT BE BACK IN TIME FOR HOT LUNCH!

Next week's letter countdown day is L-O.  Have your child bring a favorite NON FICTION BOOK on Thursday for N day.

Mothers, enjoy your day on Sunday!  You deserve it!!!!

April 30-May 3

This week talked about the letter Q and its best friend U. Each day looked for q words to see if we could find one that does not begin with the qu combination. (We also talked about the letter u and how it can be found in other places besides just next to the q!). Students  worked on forming words in the 'ug' and 'um' word families. During the week read books about quilts. Do you have a quilt at home? If you do, please show it to your child-maybe there is even a special story behind it that you can share with them. You may find some fun "quilt" squares coming home as we are introduced to some quilt square writing during writer's workshop.

In math we have been engaging in a LOT of "math talk". During "math talk", students have to explain how they grouped objects, solved a problem, or figured out how to orally answer a question. The most amazing thing about this is how much we learn from each other. The students have been enjoying a math series by Greg Tang that is filled with mind-stretching riddles and LOTS of opportunities for "math talk". This would be a great series to have at home. You might want to check it out so you can engage in mathematical discussions this summer. We will also be spending time composing and decomposing the number 10. Students need to be able to solve addition/subtraction problems FLUENTLY up to 10. They should also be able to find the missing addend and understand what that means.

 

As always we will continue to work on reading strategies and reading independently, as we prepare for the year to end, and for your child to become a FIRST GRADER! It is amazing how your child has grown with all the learning that has taken place this year and I am grateful to all of you for your continued support and efforts at home! THANK YOU!

Our ABC COUNTDOWN continues as well. Next week represents the letters H-K....please refer to the left side of the blog for what needs to be brought in this week.

 

Our Volunteer Tea has been rescheduled for Monday May 6.  Please come to allow us to say THANK YOU for your help this year!

On a final note...our field trip is quickly approaching. We will be going to the Children's Museum on Tues. May 14. We will be attending a classroom program on 3-D shapes as well as exploring the museum. I am still in need of 2 parent volunteers to attend this trip. A new school policy is that volunteers also have to pay for the trip (sorry). If you are available to come with us, please email me. Please return permission slips as well as school registration forms if you have not already done so!

Have a great weekend!

Last week we learned about the letter J. Students During the week we will hear several versions of Jack and The Beanstalk. This is a familiar story and it is fun to share elements of different versions with each other. The class also began to write "How To" papers in writer's workshop.  This week our letter was Y.  However, our language arts and science focus was on Earth Week.  We read many books about ecology which emphasized recycling, saving water, reusing materials, conserving energy, and protecting our environment.  Several activities and writing responses came from wonderful class discussions.  We also enjoyed a great play put on by our school's EcoClub about our namesake May Watts who led the way in environmental awareness.

Our main focus in math right now is subtraction. The class will learn some new games and work on their fluency on math subtraction facts 1-10. Fluent means they can solve subtraction equations without having to use fingers, objects, etc. But they also must be able to EXPLAIN what subtraction is. We will continue to focus on problem solving in math but will begin to solve more multiple step problems. When we work on multiple step problems we often try to solve them in small groups. Students work together and learn from each other's "math talk". Our goal is to help our students become problem solvers who understand there are multiple ways to solve a problem.


During these last few weeks we will be busy preparing for first grade. The students will be asked to read and write more independently and they will be expected to complete some more difficult tasks. At this time of year we really want to be sure that each child is using capital/lowercase letters appropriately in both their names and in their writing. Students should also have spaces between their words and be experimenting with punctuation. We hope all children will be reading at level C by the end of the year and that they begin to read and write the 1st grade sight words. As the year winds down, you will be getting some ideas for things you can do at home to help with the transition to first grade. In the meantime, you can be working through the jolly phonics spelling lists and the math homework sheets. As always, thanks for your support at home.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

April 8-12

During this week we introduced the letter V. We reviewed verbs and vowels. Your child has been introduced to nouns, verbs, and adjectives this year. They may not be able to recall those names (nouns, verbs, adjectives) but when we talk about them in regards to their writing, they understand how to use them to make their writing more interesting. Vowels are tricky in Kindergarten. It is typical for your child to mix up e/i, and o/u....but we really want to do a push this last quarter to see if they can master the vowel sounds (this will be an expectation when common core LA is adopted). It would be helpful if you have a chance to practice this skill at home. A good way to practice it is by showing them a list of nonsense words and having them sound them out. For example, have them sound out words like vej, zop, dev, faz, etc. Our goal would be to have them able to "read" these words without having to sound them out first.( They should always use the short vowel sound.) It is ok if your child needs to say the individual sounds first, but encourage them to then blend the sounds together. Another way to practice vowels is to have them sort pictures of things that have the same middle vowel sounds ( cat, cap, jam, mat, and jet, red, bed, set). Having a good grasp of vowels will help your child be more prepared for first grade! Students will also learn about how to use a venn diagram to compare things.

In math this week we will continue to work on problem solving and subtraction. The kindergarten students need to be fluent in subtraction facts up to 10. This means they should not have to use their fingers, objects, or drawings to solve problems within 10. This is a new expectation for a K student. We are working on this through exploration, games, and continued practice. We also want them to understand WHAT subtraction is and not just have memorized the facts. You can work on this at home using real world examples. For example...have your child put away groceries with you...count how many objects are in the bag. Put away 4 and ask how many are left...check and see if they are correct. Students should be able to generate their own problems too. Ask them to come up with a subtraction problem that has a difference (answer) of a specific number...example....7...students can write 10-3=7 or 9-2=7. They should be able to draw a picture or use fingers/objects to show you what this problem "means".

Thank you to Mrs. Karellas for leading the Art Awareness lesson on Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night.  The kids were very creative in their own interpretations of this famous painting.

Please read below for a volunteer opportunity!!!

Calling all Kindergarten Parents!

Kinderpress will be kicking off in May this year and we are in need of at least 25 volunteers to make the project a success for our Kindergarteners. Kinderpress is a PTA sponsored activity in which the kids create stories. The stories are transferred to a hard cover book and illustrated by the kids. It is such a great project and keepsake! As you can imagine, their little fingers need a lot of help to make their books special.

The big day in the classroom is the morning of May 10. After that, we'll need parents to help assemble the books at home. It is helpful if the volunteers can both spend time at school on May 10, and work with the same books at home. However, if you are only able to help out at school or at home, we would still appreciate your help. Detailed instructions and materials will be provided. If working at home, you will need access to a computer and printer.

Please sign up via signup genius:

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0B4BAFA62AA20-kinderpress

If you are unable to access Sign Up Genius, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you in signing up.

Some of you may have already indicated you would volunteer for this program on the PTA form at the beginning of the year. Even if you did, please sign up via signup genius to confirm that you are still able to help out.

If you have any questions please can contact Kanela Afshari (630-369-7061 -nkafshari@aol.com) or Tamara Stamenkovic (630-848-1324 - tamaroza@yahoo.com).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Kanela Afshari and Tamara Stamenkovic

Co-Chairs, Kinderpress

 

Please read information about the upcoming Book Exchange.  You will find it in my latest email.

 

We hope to see all volunteers at the dessert tea on Thursday , April 18 2:00-3:30.

 

Have a great weekend!

April 1 - 5

This week we did not introduce a new letter.  We will resume next week with the letter V.  We spent the week focusing on ELEPHANTS!!!! We read both fiction and nonfiction stories about elephants and again focus on the retelling of fiction stories. When retelling stories we are looking for a clear beginning, middle, and end and also want the students to mention characters, setting, and any problem/solution that moves the story along. With repeated practice of this important skill, students will begin to understand how to WRITE a story with these elements. At this time of year we really begin to do a lot of independent reading. We want all students to be able to read at a C level by the end of the school year. At home reading practice (and celebration) is very important in obtaining this goal. Thank you so much for doing your part at home.

In math this week we worked on estimation with a focus on reasonable/unreasonable guesses. Students got to collect data, make graphs, and then interpret their graphs with a peer. Being able to draw conclusions based on a graph is very important. Something you can work on at home is coin naming and knowing the amount a coin is worth. Children are not exposed to coins like they were in the past. Please try and find opportunities for your child to interact with money. This is a tricky skill to master in K and not something common core focuses on but something that is still important.

We are back to having recess after lunch and in the afternoon.  Make sure your child is dressed for the weather.

We have a new classmate joining us this week.  Welcome to May Watts, Divya!

Our Voulnteer Appreciation Tea is just around the corner. If you have been a volunteer in our school/class this year (LMC volunteer, computer lab helper, art awareness volunteer, class party planner, literacy center helper, at home projects, room moms, 100 day helper, etc) please come and be celebrated! May Watts is a wonderful place because of all of you! THANK YOU! Please read the upper right hand of the blog for the information!

Have a great weekend!

March 18-22

We had an EGGxellent time reading stories and doing activities involving eggs.  We took a look at the inside of eggs and discovered that not all eggs look the same. We read both fiction and non-fiction books about eggs during week. We read Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, The Easter Egg Farm, The Egg Book, The Talking Eggs, and more. Art activities and writing followed many of these books. We saw two interesting videos. One was about different kinds of eggs and who lays them. Another was about the process egg painting with author Patricia Polacco.

In math we continued to work on measurement and graphing. The students explored capacity, area, and weight through hands on activities and group discussions. We are always working on building our number sense, developing math vocabulary, and solving problems. Please refer to the new set of vocabulary words on the right hand side of the blog. Although they may seem easy, we want our students to be able to APPLY them in the real world. Ask them to go on a measurement hunt in your house. Perhaps they can bring you two objects that are SHORTER than a fork, or two objects that are TALLER than a cup. I am sure you can come up with many fun ideas to "test" their understanding of these mathematical concepts!

As we begin to prepare for first grade, you may notice some comments written on your student's work papers. I will be noting on them if your child needed assistance to complete something or if they are having difficulty understanding a concept. Although I will be working with your child to help them meet their goals, it would also be helpful if you spent some time reviewing these things at home as well. We want all our students to be ready for 1st grade! You may also receive emails from me from time to time with updates about your child's reading level or fluency (or math skills). It is my goal just to keep you informed as the final weeks of school approach and to do my best to have your child reach all our K goals!

Please read the following announcements from the LMC:

1   The Young Author’s Breakfast for all participants will be on Friday, April 12^th before school. Manuscripts and certificates will be passed out at that time. Watch for the permission slip to come home this Friday. 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place winners were announced in school and will be posted to the Edline LMC page.

2     If you are cleaning out your closets over break, please save your used children’s books for our 5^th Annual Book Exchange to be held the last week in April. More information will come home after Spring Break.

 Thank you for your support of the Book Fair! We will be able to purchase many new books for the library!

 

Please come to the Volunteer Celebration on Thursday, April 18 @ 2:00-3:30.

On Friday, our district celebrated Read Across America.  We had a special guest reader, Mr. LeCrone, who shared a family favorite with us.  We were also lucky to have Lucas' grandparents join us again as guest readers!  Thank you all!

 

We have no school from March 25-March 31 for Spring Break.  School Resumes April 1.

Happy a restful and happy break!

 

 

 

Mar. 11-17

What an eXciting week in kindergarten!

The letter of the week was X.  We looked at different x-rays and guessed what animals they were.  We read about things that are extinct in the Extinct Alphabet book.  But a largest focus was on mapping and pirates...because X marks the spot!
The kids had a great time learning about the country of the United States, our nation's flag, the national anthem and the song The Star Spangled Banner.  We read the book L is for Lincoln and made our own book about the symbols of the state of Illinois.  We read Me on the Map and made our own connections.  All week, we shared the maps showing the places that the class visited and we wrote a class book about it on Friday.
In math, we continued our unit on measurement.  We realized that we often determine size and length by comparing two or more items.  We also discovered that the best way to measure is by using a standard method of measurement (inches and feet) in order to be consistent.  We noticed that if a measurement tool is small, it takes more to measure than if the tool is large.
We had fun making Leprechauns and listening to our guest reader, Mr. McDonagh read with an Irish brogue.
Congratulations to Arth and Morwena for participating in Young Authors.  Congratulations to Morwena for winning first place in kindergarten for her story The Great Antarctic Friends.

I hope to see you tomorrow for the Fun Fair and Book Fair!  Have a great weekend!

March 4-8

"W"ow what a week!

This  week we focused on the letter W. Where the Wild Things Are, Mrs. Wishy Washy, and Wacky Wednesday are some of the great books we read during the week. Students worked on predicting and retelling stories as they picked out details from the beginning, middle, and end of our stories. It is important for your child to be able to identify the characters, setting, and details from each story we read. It would be beneficial to ask them about these things while reading to them at home. We want to eventually have the kindergarten students able to write their own stories with a beginning, middle, and end. Having conversations with your child DURING reading will help them to "notice" important details and become better at comprehending what they read. You can ask them if the story reminds them of any experiences they have had, or any other book they have read. Making connections while they read is an important skill.

In writer's workshop we will continue to focus spacing and conventions (capital letters where needed and punctuation at the end). I will also talk to them about revisiting stories and adding details to make them longer. When your child brings home books or papers they have written during writer's workshop, please ask them to read them to you. It gives you a great opportunity to celebrate their writing and encourage them to take more writing risks. At this time in the year we expect to see more writing, than drawing. If your child's work seems to be more drawing, try to encourage them to add details to their writing at home.

In math this week we will begin to learn about measurement. Students will compare objects. We will discuss which items are longer, shorter, or about the same length. Students will get a chance to explore height, weight, area, and capacity over the course of this unit. Report cards are right around the corner...we will spend some time assessing math skills this week and next as well.

Please read following about Fun Fair, March 16th:

The Fun Fair is the PTA's biggest fund raising event of the year and it cannot happen without volunteers to work the various attractions. We need over 85 volunteers on the day and with only 2 weeks to go, we are still short over 15 people.

Think how much your child would enjoy seeing you being involved in the Fun Fair. There are 2 shifts: the first from 11-1 and the second from 1-3 so there will be time for you to help and still enjoy going round the Fun Fair with your family.

We will struggle to run the Fair with such a deficit of help on the day. Please, consider giving just 2 hours of your time to help the PTA bring in thousands for the school.

If you can help out, please use the SignUpGenius form to do so, found at this link:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A48ABA92BAA8-maywatts2

If you have any questions, please contact Debs McDonagh (deborah.e.mcdonagh@gmail.com), Volunteer Coordinator.

The Book Fair will also be held on March 16th.  Today you received a flyer that shows a sample of some of the great books available.  I will not be ordering online through Scholastic this month.  The Book Fair is a great opportunity to help our school.  See a fun book that you would like to donate to the class?  Not only will you be adding to your child's classroom library, part of the money spent on books will be given back to the May Watts LMC.   Thank you, in advance for participating.

Thank you to Mrs. Sajja, Mrs. Kalota, Mrs. Ashish, and Mrs. Cowan for helping with Literacy Centers this week.  It's always a fun time!  Finally, we welcome new student Eshal to our classroom.  Glad to have you at May Watts!

Have a great weekend!

Feb. 25-28

This week we officially introduced our last kindergarten sight word "little."  We will now focus on number words.  We  learned about things that start with the letter O... octopus, opposites, and the 'op word family. During the week we read a book called Otto Is Different and talked about the things that make us different from our friends. Each child will get to talk about something that makes them "different" as we celebrate what makes us unique. Students also spent time learning about the habits of an octopus when we read nonfiction books about this amazing animal and wrote a factual report about one. The class will also continue to enjoy the entertaining author Mo Willems as we wrap up our current author study.

In math we began building our fluency of subtracting within 5. We recently have learned some new games to work on this skill and will be playing them with partners during the week. Our collaborative problem solving will continue as well. We need to remember to listen for the important words in a problem, ask our selves what we are trying to figure out, and then draw a picture to show how we solved the problem. At the end there almost always is an equation and a labeled answer. Many students are getting very good with this.

There are several exciting May Watts events coming up in March....like the FUN FAIR and the book fair. Hopefully you will get to join in the fun! Have a super weekend!

Feb. 11- Feb. 15

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day!  Thank you to Ms. Favela and Mrs. Laird for organizing and running a fun party!  This week we said hello to a new student to our classroom.  Welcome to May Watts, Mary!

The letter of the week was "K" and our sight words were "come" and "one."  We read the story Kind Bidgood in the Bathtub and imagined and wrote about what we would do in the bathtub if we were like King Bidgood.  We read many watched many different versions of King Midas.  In this folklore, we learned that it is not good to be greedy but to be happy with the little things.  One student said, "If you have love, you ARE rich."  I love that!

A few activities we did we centered around Valentine's Day.  We read a book about adjectives and went on a heart hunt.  We wrote adjectives to describe where certain hearts were found in the classroom.  We worked cooperatively to solve a valentine math problem.  We realize that not ALL math problems need for us to write an equation to get the answer.  We practiced our counting by ones, twos, fives, and tens in our heart sequence paper.

Also in math, we practiced numeral writing, solving word problems by showing our thinking and picture, writing an equation, and labelling the answer, and recognizing more and less.  We played a challenging game on the website abcya (see link to the left).  Go to 1st, math, and click on the owl 100 grid.  This reinforces numbers in relation to other numbers.  Notice what strategies your child uses to find the numbers on the grid.

We learned a little bit about our first president, George Washington and made a silly craft to decorate our room.

We had a GREAT Poetry Assembly put on by our PTA.  The children enjoyed experiencing the rhythm and rhyme AND FUN in poetry.

Remember that there is NO SCHOOL on Monday and Tuesday of next week!  Enjoy the long weekend!

Feb. 4-8

Our kindergartners are 100 times smarter!  Happy 100 Days of school!

The letter of the week was H and are sight words were "have" and "here."

We read Animals in Winter and learned about animals who migrate, hibernate, gather and hunt. We played a fun sorting game to recall what each animal from our story did in the winter.   We read Abe Lincoln's Hat. We made a fun art project and wrote what WE would like to keep under a large, black hat if we had one! We read Hector the Hermit Crab and retold the beginning, middle, and end.  We read a few 100 Day books, and wrote about 100 things we would like to have and 100 things we are glad we don't have. We are really taking off in writer's workshop! We had a share day to celebrate writing and inspire the other authors in our room. We can learn from each other. I have sent some of the students writing home.  Please celebrate their successes!

In science, we conducted a few experiments. The first was to see if magnets can attract to each other through a variety of objects. As we discussed our results, we found that our answers varied depending on the strength of our magnets. We also read a magnet book about the north and south poles. We had a blast discovering what happens when two north poles or two south poles are put together. do they magically move? NO! They repel!

Math involved addition and subtraction stories using dice, manipulatives, and dry erase boards. We have a daily math journal that provides the opportunity to use essential math vocabulary, engage in math talk to explain our thinking and learn from each other that math problems can be solved in a variety of ways.  For each problem we include 1. Drawing our thinking and picture 2. Writing the math equation  3. Labelling our answer. 

Please send your child with valentines for 27 students in a bag labeled with your child's name. Make sure they are signed and ready for passing out.  This means that I should not be pulling apart Valentines and helping your child to sign them.  Also, if you decide to send something extra, like a sticker, pencil, or eraser, they should be ATTACHED TO THE CARD so that your child makes one round of passing out.  Your help with this is truly appreciated.

Thank you to Mrs. Thippisetty, Mrs. Ashish, Mrs. Lee, Mrs. Swanson, and Mrs. Yack for running the 100 Day Celebration centers. The kids had a great time!

Please check your child's backpack for a white letter addressing conferences.

Have a great weekend!

Jan. 28 - Feb. 1

100 days SMARTER!

It was really great to see that almost every family was able to attend our Open House. I hope you found the evening to be enjoyable and that you learned a little about your child's school day. We are very busy in Kindergarten, as I am sure you could tell, but never too busy to also have fun.

Next week we have a special celebration! Tuesday is the 100th day of school! Your child will officially be 100 days SMARTER! We will celebrate with centers that are filled with fun 100's day activities. Thank you to the flexible and helpful parents willing to come in and help. I would not be able to do these types of things without parent helpers. 100's day will be exciting!

The letter of the week was L and the sight word was "what."   We visited a website about lions to learn facts and watch video clips about lions. We made long lions by writing sentences about facts that we learned.

In math we practiced number equations, graphing, comparing amounts fewest to greatest.

Our science unit is magnets! We began with exploring magnets in the classroom. We concluded that magnets stick to certain kinds of metal and not wood, plastic and paper. We predicted, experimented and recorded the data we collected to find out what objects stick to magnets. We will continue our magnet unit next week.

Some important events are coming up in the next few weeks. Valentine's Day will be celebrated at school on Thurs. Feb. 14th. Please have your child bring in a Valentine for EACH child in the class. Please have them address their cards to MY FRIEND. I know this may seem impersonal, but when they are passing out the cards and they can't read the names it takes a looooooong time. Imagine 25 kids having to ask you how to read a name on a card 25 different times-that is 625 names! Now do you get it? :) Also, please remember that the May Watts school rule is that no food items can be attached to the Valentine cards.

Conferences are also coming up in February. Conference notices will be coming home at the end of next week. We only have one day of conferences this time around (Feb. 19th) so that does not allow me time to meet with every parent. This round of conferences is usually reserved for students that there is a specific concern about (could be anything). If I do not request a conference with you nor I haven't already met or talked with your recently, you can assume that things are going great with your child and they are progressing satisfactorily. If you still feel the need to meet, we can do a phone conference, a quick check through email, or set up a conference time. Thanks for your understanding.

Have a great weekend!

Jan. 22-25

Let It Snow!!!

Our letter of the week was "I". Our sight word was "will."  Students will be introduced to poetry when we read the poem "If I was One Inch Tall" by Shel Silverstein. All week we read poems and enjoyed their rhythmic flow. We also worked on the "turn that question around" strategy when answering writing prompts. Practicing this at home when reading/writing/speaking will help your child grasp this concept. For example.....if I ask my students-would you like to be a giant? They should reply...I would want to be a giant because....we want them to learn to recycle the words in the question.  We also enjoyed stories about snowman and  created writing and projects to decorate our room and halls for Open House.

In math we worked cooperatively to solve a problem about snowmen. Real life problem solving is a big part of common core. Most students are becoming fluent with the basic addition facts of 5 and 10 so we are beginning to build our understanding of subtraction. Remember our goal is get the answer correct but we also want them to truly understand the concept. When solving problems it is important to be able to explain what you did and why you did it.

100's Day is right around the corner (Tuesday, Feb. 5th). I will need 5-6 parents to come in and help with 100 day centers. These centers will have simple activities that celebrate the number 100. At this time I am not 100% sure of the time I will need volunteers, but I will send out an email next week with the information.

The following letter is from Mr. LeCrone in regards to Valentine's Day.

Dear Parents,

Valentine’s Day is not far off and prior to your shopping for this day, I am taking this opportunity to remind you of the guidelines in our Parent Handbook regarding Valentine’s and treats:

 “Please do not attach any treats on Valentine’s cards (i.e. candy bars, etc.), due to the possibility of a child with a deadly peanut/nut/food allergy receiving the items.  Valentine’s with candy attached will not be permitted in any classroom.”   We want this day to be special for all students by keeping everyone safe and we do not want to disappoint any child who may bring items to school to give out and then is not permitted to do so.

 The PTA will be providing the students with cupcakes and a Capri Sun during the party.  The cupcakes are from * Whole Foods Market in Naperville.  The ingredients are as follows for the cupcakes:    

 CAKE: SUGAR, FLOUR, CANOLA OIL, BAKING POWDER, TAPIOCA FOOD STARCH, DEXTROSE, SALT, SOY FLOUR, XANTHUM GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, BETA CAROTENE, VANILA EXTRACT, EGGS, CANOLA OIL, WATER, FROSTING: POWDERED SUGAR, BUTTER, PALM OIL, SALT, COLOR (BEET JUICE, MALTODEXTRIN, SUNFLOWER OIL). (CONTAINS: WHEAT, EGGS, SOY, MILK).  The pink buttercream frosting consists of powdered sugar, palm oil shortening, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, sea salt and annatto (natural plant based food color).    Please be aware the cupcakes may be made in an area where tree nuts are available. 

 If your child is unable to have the treat provided because of allergies, you should have already notified the school nurse of this situation.  You are asked to provide your child with a treat that he/she can have if they have allergies to the cupcakes being served. 

 Finally, alternative activities will be planned for children whose families choose not to participate in this event beginning at 2:30 p.m.  Please contact Mr. LeCrone through email in order that appropriate activities can be arranged.  His email is: brian_lecrone@ipsd.org.

 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

 Sincerely,

Brian LeCrone

In addition to the above information, it would be helpful for you to know that on the day of the Valentine party we will have 27 students in the class.  Please have your child either leave the envelope blank your simply write "To My Friend."  That will make passing out cards run more smoothly.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday, January 30th at Open House.  You are encouraged to come during the suggested times:  A-L 6:30-7:30, M-Z 7:30-8:30.  You do not need to stay the entire time.  Enjoy the classroom and school and come and go as you please.  See you then!

Have a great weekend!

 

 

We had a GGGGGREAT week in kindergarten!

Our letter of the week for this week was letter G. Our sight words were "for" and "are".  We read books by Julia Donaldson (our new author study-check out the link on the right) and did some prediciting, and recalling of details. Students also worked on retelling a story with a beginning, middle, and end. They will brought home the characters from the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Your child should retell the story to you using the stick puppets. It is important for them to be able to tell the story in order, but not important to tell you EVERYTHING that happened. They should focus on the main ideas and mention the characters, setting, problem and solution. Being able to tell a story orally will help them to transition to writing stories with a beginning, middle, and end during Writer's Workshop.

In math we continued our first addition/subtraction unit. Students are working on understanding the underlying concepts of these skills. We do want students to solve problems accurately....but we want then to know WHY that is the answer and be able to explain WHAT they did. To accomplish this we do a lot of hands on activities and games as well as a lot of talking about what we are doing.

We read a story about Martin Luther King.  We discussed the importance of accepting and celebrating differences in all people and how all people deserve equal rights.

Just a reminder about winter recess. We are now no longer going outside during lunch recess. We will go out every day that it is above 5 for recess at the end of the day. Students need to dress for the weather. It is helpful if you label your children's hats and gloves. Everyday I have a HUGE pile of unclaimed items on my classroom floor! Most of the children can get dressed by themselves and that saves me a lot of time so thank you for working on that at home.

Today your child brought home their first report card. There is lots of information inside that gives you a glimpse of your child's performance at school and some handouts to read-including a new optional at home spelling/writing program that we encourage you to have your child participate in. Over the last few weeks, your child has been given several assessments which have been combined with my knowledge of your child, to form a snapshot of how your child is doing in Kindergarten. Please remember that all children develop at different rates and that success comes in small steps as well as in big leaps! Celebrate your child's accomplishments! I am proud of all my students and the progress they are making. It will be exciting to watch them continue to grow as learners during the coming months. Please sign and return the report card ENVELOPE only! Thanks! Conferences are in February. This round of conferences is usually reserved for students that I have concerns about. If you need to ask me questions about your child's report card or their progress at this time, please feel free to email or call me.

 

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break! The two weeks off were filled with family, fun, and rest! I was geared up to start the new year with my kindergarten friends! We are off to a great start! The children seem to return from break more mature and ready to take on the challenge of becoming prepared for first grade. The kids were excited to see their new desk and rug spots.  We welcome a new friend, Lucas, to our classroom!

January brings BIG changes in Kindergarten. During the first few weeks back we will spend a good amount of time assessing the children as we prepare for report cards and begin to change up our flex groups. Each child will be assessed for their 2nd quarter math skills as well as on our Kindergarten sight words. Students will also take our winter CBM tests. In order to do these assessments, the children may be doing more seat work or independent reading/writing for a few days. But once we get our new scores, it will be full speed ahead! When we pull all this information together, we will look at what your child's needs are. We will place them in a flex group that works on the skills they need to build upon or that provides them with enrichment. We will also begin to differentiate within the classroom more during centers and writers workshop. We strive to provide the very best education for each and every one of our May Watts kids.

This week we focused on the letter F. We read non-fiction books and articles about frogs and wrote wonderful fact pages about what we learned and discussed. We will begin making books in writer's workshop.  It will be exciting! We will share our books every once and a while in class. The kids will get great ideas from each other! After sharing the writer's workshop items will come home for you to celebrate your child's writing.

This week we talked about New Year's resolutions and read a story about a squirrel who could decide what resolution to make...only to discover that he was being a helpful friend to everyone he saw.  THAT is a great resolution for all of our friends in our class! 

We practiced math concepts with the math wall, math stations, and math games.

If you are interested in placing an order for Scholastic go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. Our class activation code is HVN79.  If you would like me to send a flyer home to you please let me know.  I will place orders by Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Please notice the January calendar to the right.  We have no school this or next Monday.  Our Open House is scheduled for Wednesday January 30th.  I will give you times as I receive them.  This night is for parents AND students.

When or IF snow arrives, please make sure boots and snow pants are labeled and PLEASE have your child practice dressing independently! What a big help that will be. Thank you!

Have a great weekend!