Weekly Update 1-17-20

Dear Families,

Happy Friday to you all! We are just finishing up another fun week in room 14. Check out these pictures of the students having fun with our morning tubs.

This week we enjoyed listening to stories about SNOW. We worked really hard on explaining: What do you predict will happen next?  What clues helped you? Did it happen? We are also working on blending one syllable words. We practiced finding sight words: have, fun, and do.  Math this week, we recognized and described with fluency part-whole relationships for numbers up to 3. Science, we continued to learn about about magnets.

Check out the videos to help review what we have learned at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ySmRKu3PY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pizrNdwc8nk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COmqNGmeyZg

We also learned a cool new song called “Vowel Bat” to help review the long and short sounds of the 5 vowels. The children loved this song. Click below to listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2hXa8dbK3o

Check out these cool math videos to help review number bonds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLuoYNmxkkU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfzLt3oFev0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh481gFiqQk

Next week we will be learning the following:

Reading:

Sight words: review

Word Study: short vowels a/i/o/u

Comprehension Focus: We are going to research about animals that hibernate.

Math:

We are going to continue recognizing and describing with fluency part-whole relationships for numbers up to 3.

Social Studies:

We are going to identify and describe Martin Luther King Jr. and his contributions to our way of life.

Please remember to  read to your child or have your child read to you every night!

Thank you for all of your help at home.  I hope you all have a wonderful three day weekend.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

January 20th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday

January 27th: Student Holiday

Mrs. Smith 🙂

Weekly Update 1-10-20

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! I can’t believe that we are beginning a new decade. I hope everyone enjoyed our winter break. I know the kiddos were glad to have time off from school.

This week we enjoyed listening to stories by Jan Brett. We worked really hard on explaining: How can you use the pictures to help your understanding? What is a prediction? How can I use the story to guess what will happen next? We are also working on blending one syllable words. We practiced finding sight words: come, your. Math this week, we worked on counting by 1’s to 50. Science, we started to learn about magnets!

Click on these videos for extra practice with sight words and counting to 50!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG3yhheaqq8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ldYkMtZcM

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s236Q1nuWXg&t=10s

 

Next week we will be learning the following:

Reading:

Sight words: have, fun, do

Word Study: short vowels /a/, /i/, /o/, /u/

Comprehension Focus:

What do you predict will happen next?  What clues helped you? Did it happen?

Math:

We are going recognize and describe with fluency part-whole relationships for numbers up to 3.

Science:

We are going to continue learning about magnets.

Please read to your child or have your child read to you every night!

Thank you for all of your help at home.  If you have any questions, please email me!

Upcoming Events:

January 20th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday

January 27th: Student Holiday

February 17th: Student Half Day

Parent referrals for gifted identification will be accepted from January 6 to January 24, 2020.  As you consider your decision to refer your child, please be sure to speak with his/her teacher to discuss any gifted qualities being observed in the classroom on a consistent basis.  Referrals should be submitted in writing (email is acceptable) to Jennifer Rhoden at jmrhoden1@henrico.k12.va.us during these designated dates.  No referrals will be accepted after January 24.  Subject line of email should state Gifted Referral, and the email should include student’s first and last name, grade level, teacher, and area of referral (English, Math or Both areas).  An email confirmation will be sent within 48 hours.  If you do not receive an email confirmation, please call the school.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Mrs. Smith 🙂

Weekly Update 12-20-19

Dear Families,

Happy Friday!  We had a week full of fun and learning in room #14.  We read LOTS of holiday stories and made some special crafts.  Our Associate Principal, Mrs.Rhoden, acted as our conductor and read us “The Polar Express”.  We even got to drink hot chocolate like the kids in the story.  We ended our week with a spirit-filled day of winter fun!  Today, we had relay races in the gym and even a dance party!  Then, we had even more fun back in our classroom for our WINTER PARTY!  We decorated gingerbread houses, made adorable snowmen, made reindeer dust, and ate yummy treats.  Santa and Mrs. Claus even came by for a quick visit before heading back to the North Pole.   Please check out these pictures from our fun day!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make our winter  party a huge success by either sending in items or helping with our stations. I know the students had a great time today. Please remember to check your child’s daily folder today.  The students had fun making two gifts to share with you all. I hope everyone has a great winter break and  an even better holiday season. May you all enjoy time with your families as you create new memories for your little ones. I look forward to welcoming your children back in the New Year.

The students will be receiving new homework packets when they return on January 6th.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Smith 🙂

Weekly Update 12-13-19

Dear Families,

Happy Friday! The students began the week with our STEAM Giving Challenge. The students worked hard to make items for our Great Giving Market. Check out the pictures below of our STEAM day.

Thanks to all of the parents who sent in items and cans for us to use for our projects. The students had a great time working with our 4th grade friends from Mrs. Diaz’ class.

We are getting ready for our winter break next week. Our winter party is next Friday beginning around 12:30. Thanks so much to everyone who signed up to send in items for our party. I know the students are excited about our party.

This week and next we are going to listen to Holiday Stories. We are working really hard on explaining: Who is the most important character? What did he or she do?  Why did he or she do that?  We practiced finding sight words: play, you. Math this week and next week, we are going to work on counting objects to 20. Social Studies this week and next week, we learned how to identify and describes items that are needs and wants.

We are continuing to work on sight words and word families. Please check out these videos to help your child at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkUunCjP3Hs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei3dsyr8A20&list=RDei3dsyr8A20&start_radio=1

January 6-10 we will be learning the following:

Reading:

Sight words: come, your, where

Comprehension Focus:

How can you connect this text with another story?  How can you connect this text with yourself? How can you connect this text with the world?

Math:

We are going to rote count to 50..

Science:

We are going to learn about magnets!

Please read to your child or have your child read to you every night!

Thank you for all of your help at home.  If you have any questions, please email me!

Upcoming Events:

December 20th: Pajama Day and Winter Party at 12:30pm

December 23rd-January 3nd: Winter Break

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mrs. Smith 🙂

 

 

Weekly Updates 12-6-19

Dear Families,

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving break with your families. The children seemed eager to be back at school on Monday.

This week we  have enjoyed reading stories about the gingerbread man. There are so many different ones-The Gingerbread Cowboy, The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Baby and more! Ask your child which was his/her favorite! We continue to practice telling the beginning, middle, and end of stories. You can do this at home as well while reading books at night.

In math, we have been counting objects to 20. We have also been learning to write numbers from 1-20.

For Fun Friday we continued our gingerbread theme by eating gingerbread cookies. The students were asked to take their first bite and then we recorded on a graph whether they ate the head, arm, or leg first. Don’t forget to ask your child which part of their cookie did they eat first. We finished up our Fun Friday as we watched another gingerbread story called “The Gingerbread Girl.”

Below are some pictures from our Thanksgiving Feast. Thanks so much for sending in items to help with our feast. The students were excited to see so many parents and grandparents at our feast. Please enjoy these photos.

Next week:

Language Arts: Retelling with Story Elements (Holiday Stories)

Poem: I’m a Little Dreidel

Words: play, you

Phonics:  short a/o/i medial sounds

Essential Questions: 

Who is the most important character? What did he or she do?  Why did he or she do that?

Math:  Count Sets Up to 20

The student will

  1. a) tell how many are in a given set of 20 or fewer objects by counting orally; and
  2. b) read, write, and represent numbers from 0 through 20. 

Social Studies:  Needs/Wants/Goods

The student will

  1. a) recognize that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want; 
  2. b) explain that people work to earn money to buy the things they want.

Essential Terms

  • basic needs: things people need to live (food, clothing, and shelter)
  • choice: choosing between two or more things
  • money: coins and paper bills people use to buy the things they want 
  • wants: things people would like to have but do not really need 

 

Dates to remember:

December 9- HALF DAY OF SCHOOL-STEAM  Students are dismissed at 11:00 am

December 20- Winter party- Please sign up to send in items for the winter party below!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0548aaab2ea4f58-winter

December 23-January 3- Winter Break

January 6th-Student return to school

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Mrs. Smith

 

Weekly Update 11-21-19

Dear Families,

We have had another busy week in kindergarten. We began the week with our Great Giving STEAM Challenge. We read a book called  “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”, a true story about William Kamkwamba who turned trash into a windmill to bring an electric water pump to his village of Malawi.  Then our students brainstormed ideas for  their own ways to turn trash into a gift that solves a problem for someone else. With the help of Mrs. Diaz’ fourth graders, our class came up with some great ideas. Please enjoy these pictures from our STEAM DAY.

In reading this week, we read books related to Thanksgiving. The students enjoyed listening to these books. One of their favorites was called “A Turkey for Thanksgiving” by Eve Bunting. The students enjoyed the surprise ending of this book. If you would like to listen to this book again, please click the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEnP0S7PEhA

In math, we learned about graphing. The students had fun learning about pictographs. Please click on the following youtube video to review pictographs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi7rDyIXwW0

Finally, in social studies we learned about Thanksgiving and why we celebrate this special holiday in the United States. We learned about how we celebrate Thanksgiving now and how the first Thanksgiving was celebrated many years ago. Please check out the pictures below of the turkeys we made to show what we are thankful for.

NEXT WEEK’S AGENDA:

 

Language Arts: K.8e s Retell stories sequentially using beginning, middle and ending

Poem: Mr.Turkey

Words: look, not

Phonemic Awareness:  Heggerty

 

Essential Questions: 

JR Module 8 Green Questions

What’s happening at the beginning of the story?

What happened in the middle of the story?

What happened at the end of the story?

 

Math:  Graphing and Data

SOL :K.11 The student will
a)   collect, organize, and represent data; and
b)  read and interpret data in object graphs, picture graphs, and tables. 

Vocabulary:data, graph, object graph, picture graph, table, greatest, least, same, category

Essential questions:

  • What is data?
  • What are some ways to represent data?
  • Why represent data in a graph?

 

Social Studies:  Thanksgiving 

K.11  The student will develop an understanding of how communities express patriotism through events and symbols by
d)    recognizing the holidays and people associated with Thanksgiving Day.

Essential Questions

  • Why is Thanksgiving Day commemorated?
  • What are some ways that communities commemorate Thanksgiving Day?
  • Where was the first Thanksgiving held in Virginia?  Who was there and why did they give thanks?
  • Where was the first Thanksgiving held in Massachusetts?  Who was there and why did they give thanks?

Vocabulary

  • commemorate: to honor or preserve the memory of
  • contribution: the act of giving of doing something to help others
  • holiday: a day to honor or commemorate a special person or event

tradition: a way of doing something that has been used by people for a long time

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to send in items for our Thanksgiving Feast next Tuesday at 1:00 pm in our cafeteria. You may send in the items on Monday, November 25th if you would like. I hope to see many of you at our feast.

Also, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. May you enjoy time with your families as you reflect on the many things that we are thankful for.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Smith 🙂

Weekly Update 11-15-19

Dear Families,

Happy Friday! We have just finished up another fantastic week in room #14. It’s hard to believe that today was the 53rd day of kindergarten. This week the students learned about the different types of weather, how to compare numbers from greatest to least, the ending sounds of words, and why we celebrate Veteran’s Day.

On Thursday, we recognized our veterans with a program from our first graders. Mr. Pattie, our music teacher, led our first graders as they helped to celebrate our country and our veterans. Below are some pictures from that program:

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT NEXT WEEK:

Language Arts: k.8d Questioning

Poem: Mr.Turkey

Words: look, not

Phonics:  short a/o medial sounds

 

Essential Questions: 

JR Module 8 Green Questions

Who…?

What…?

When…?

Where…?

How…?

Which…?

 

Math:  Graphing and Data

SOL :K.11 The student will
a)   collect, organize, and represent data; and
b)  read and interpret data in object graphs, picture graphs, and tables. 

Vocabulary:data, graph, object graph, picture graph, table, greatest, least, same, category

Essential questions:

  • What is data?
  • What are some ways to represent data?
  • Why represent data in a graph?

 

Social Studies:  Thanksgiving 

K.11  The student will develop an understanding of how communities express patriotism through events and symbols by
d)    recognizing the holidays and people associated with Thanksgiving Day.

Essential Questions

  • Why is Thanksgiving Day commemorated?
  • What are some ways that communities commemorate Thanksgiving Day?
  • Where was the first Thanksgiving held in Virginia?  Who was there and why did they give thanks?
  • Where was the first Thanksgiving held in Massachusetts?  Who was there and why did they give thanks?

Vocabulary

  • commemorate: to honor or preserve the memory of
  • contribution: the act of giving of doing something to help others
  • holiday: a day to honor or commemorate a special person or event

tradition: a way of doing something that has been used by people for a long time

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, November 18th- 1/2 day dismissal, STEAM DAY 8:00-9:30, Awards in the classroom from 7:45-8:00

Friday, November 22nd- Make up picture day

Tuesday, November 26th- Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast 1:00-1:30 pm

Wednesday-Friday, November 27th-29th- Thanksgiving Holiday

If you would like to help donate items for our Thanksgiving Feast please click on the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094AAFAB28A1FC1-kindergarten

Thanks for your help with our feast Thanksgiving Feast.

I hope everyone has a super weekend.

Mrs. Smith

Weekly Update 11-8-19

Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe that we are now in the second nine weeks of school already. I guess time does fly by when you’re having fun. Speaking of fun, the students had a great time at our PAW celebration on Monday. We began the day with an assembly in the cafe with a some fun games and a dance off. The children were able to continue the fun with free choice during our station time along with extra recess. We finished up our day with a movie and popcorn. Please enjoy these pictures from our PAW celebration.

In reading this week, the students learned that good readers ask questions to help them understand what they have read. These questions include: who, why, what, where, how, and when. We also began working on ending sounds as well. Click on the following link for extra practice on ending sounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOba3SXVLcc&feature=youtu.be

For more practice on ending sounds please click this link. https://www.education.com/game/ending-sounds-hopper/

In math, the students learned how to compare sets using the terms same or equal, less or fewer, more or greater. We will continue to compare sets next week using these terms. To help your child review these concepts, please click on the following link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llqTVVXzPPY

Here’s another song to help your child review less than, greater than, and equal to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Efzu2slaI

In social studies, the students learned how to sequence events and how things begin to change over time. The students also learned how things have changed over time in our communities and our schools. Please click on the following for more examples of how things have changed from the past to the present. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sZ_9hkeDic

I would like to thank everyone who was able to come out to our fall student-led parent/teacher conferences on Monday evening. I enjoyed getting to meet with many of you. If you were unable to attend on Monday, please email me and we can try and schedule another time for us to meet and discuss your child’s progress.

Next Week’s Learning Goals Are:

Language Arts: k.8d Questioning (Mercer Mayer Books)

Poem: The Family

Words: mom, dad, we

Phonics:  ending sounds/final consonants 

 

Essential Questions: 

JR Module 8 Green Questions

Who…?

What…?

When…?

Where…?

How…?

Which…?

 

Math:  Compare and Order Sets

K.2   The student, given no more than three sets, each set containing 10 or fewer concrete objects, will

  1. a) compare and describe one set as having more, fewer, or the same number of objects as the other set(s); and
  2. b) compare and order the sets from least to greatest and greatest to least. 

Vocabulary:more, fewer, same, compare, order, greatest, least, set

Essential question:

  • How do we compare two sets to tell whether they have the same number of items?
  • How can we make a set that has the same number of items as another set?
  • What do the words fewer, more, and the same mean?

 

Science/Social Studies:  Weather 

K.9 The student will investigate and understand that there are simple repeating patterns in his/her daily life. Key concepts include

  1. a) weather observations;

 

Essential Questions
• What do you see in the sky? How does it feel outside? What kinds of activities can you do in this weather?
• Someone says, “It is going to rain today.” What do you think they might have seen to make them say this?
• Why should we use a chart to record our weather predictions?
• What patterns can we see on a weather chart?

Essential Terms

  • cloud — a group of tiny liquid water droplets hanging in the air (or ice crystals)
  •  change — when an object goes from one “look” to another over time 
  • cycle — a repeated pattern 
  • season — one of the four different time periods in a year (spring, summer, fall, and winter) 
  • pattern — predictable events that happen in life (get up, go to work, go to sleep) 
  • precipitation — water falling from the air (The falling water can be in various forms such as rain, ice, or snow.)
  •  thermometer — a device or instrument used to measure temperature (tool)
  •  wind — moving air

Upcoming Dates:

November 18th- STEAM DAY, Classroom awards, 1/2 day dismissal for students

November 20th-Report cards go home

November 26th- Thanksgiving Feast (More info will be coming soon)

November 27-29- Thanksgiving Break 

I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend.

Mrs. Smith:)

Weekly Update 11-1-19

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween yesterday. I am sure that they children enjoyed going out in their costumes in search of candy. I miss going out with my own children now that they are all grown up.

We are just finishing another fabulous week in kindergarten. I hope the students enjoyed all of our fun activities that we had for our spirit week. On Monday, the students worked in four different stations for our STEAM DAY challenge. All of stations centered around the poem called “The Five Little Pumpkins.”

https://www.google.com/search?q=poem+the+5+little+pumpkins&rlz=1CATATK_enUS746US748&oq=poem+the+5+little+pumpkins&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.9800j0j7&sourceid=chrome&i

A big thank you goes out to all of the parents and relatives who were able to come out and help with our STEAM DAY activities. Please enjoy these pictures from Monday.

On Tuesday, we had a wonderful turnout at our first “Book or Treat” event at Trevvett. It was great to see so many families who were able to come out and enjoy this event. The kindergarten teachers had fun dressing up as Pete the Cat and decorating our classroom doors. Check out these pictures of our door and yours truly as Pete the Cat.

On Wednesday, the children were able to have fun at the Big Blast fundraiser celebration. The students were able to enjoy thirty minutes of fun activities including a bouncy house and slide. Check out these pictures from the Big Blast.

Next week we will be learning about:

 

Language Arts: k.8d Questioning

Poem: 5 Little Speckled Frogs

Words: it, and

Phonics:  ending sounds/final consonants  

 

Essential Questions: 

JR Module 8 Green Questions

Who…?

What…?

When…?

Where…?

How…?

Which…?

 

Math:  Compare and Order Sets

K.2   The student, given no more than three sets, each set containing 10 or fewer concrete objects, will

  1. a) compare and describe one set as having more, fewer, or the same number of objects as the other set(s); and
  2. b) compare and order the sets from least to greatest and greatest to least. 

Vocabulary:more, fewer, same, compare, order, greatest, least, set

Essential question:

  • How do we compare two sets to tell whether they have the same number of items?
  • How can we make a set that has the same number of items as another set?
  • What do the words fewer, more, and the same mean?

 

Science/Social Studies: Past/Present

K.3  The student will sequence events in the past and present and begin to recognize that things change over time.

 

Essential Questions

  • What changes have recently occurred in the classroom or school community?
  • Which events can be shown on a timeline to show change over time?
  • How can people learn about the past?

 

Vocabulary

  • past: something that has already happened  

present: what is happening now

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, November 4th  Parent/Teacher Conferences 

Tuesday, November 5th Teacher Workday/ No School for students

Book Fair in the Library begins on Monday, November 4th

If you still haven’t signed up for a parent/teacher conference, I still have some spaces available. Please click the following link to sign up:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0548aaab2ea4f58-november

Please remember to sign and return your child’s blue PAW sheet that will be coming home today. Also, please review the red sight words that came home with your child earlier in October. I will be checking to see if your child knows these words. Some students  have already mastered the red rainbow words and have moved on to the orange sight word list. If you have misplaced the red sight word list, please email me or write a note and I will send home another word list with your child. Finally, your child will be bringing home new homework today in their yellow Trevvett folder.

Thanks for sending in your child’s turkey project. The students did a wonderful job on this project. These turkey projects are displayed in our hallway sleeves right outside of our classroom.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Mrs. Smith:)

 

Weekly Update 10-25-19

Dear Families,

We have just finished up another busy week in Room #14. The students have been busy learning the letters J, E, and Y this week along with their beginning sounds. In reading, the children have been enjoying fictional stories about pumpkins. Our  main focus in reading has been recognizing that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. In math, we have been looking for patterns. The students have done a great job recognizing what comes next in a specific pattern. In science, we have been learning all about the life cycle of a pumpkin.

Last week the students were introduced to our morning tubs. When the students arrive each morning they are able to work with a partner using a tub that contains activities that help to promote fine motor skills and creative thinking. The students are enjoying using our new morning tubs. Please enjoy these pictures of the students working with these new tubs.

Reminders for next week:

Monday- 10/28  1/2 day dismissal for students at 11:00  Join us from 8:00-9:30 for our STEAM DAY I am still in need of parent volunteers to help make our STEAM DAY a success!

Tuesday- 10/ 29   Crazy Hair or Hat Day  Join us for Book or Treat from 6:00-8:00 pm. Students can wear their Halloween costumes and leave with a free books.

Wednesday-10/30  Crazy Sock Day  Big Blast Fundraiser Bounce Party

Thursday- 10/31  Wear Orange for Positively Pumpkin Day

Friday-11/1 Pajama Day

WHAT WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT NEXT WEEK:

 

Language Arts: K.8e Retelling with Beginning, Middle, and End

Poem: 5 Little Acorns

Words: little, on

Letters:  Z, Q, U

 

Essential Questions: 

What’s happening at the beginning of the story?

What happened in the middle of the story?

What happened at the end of the story?

 

Math:  Patterns

SOL: K.13  The student will identify, describe, extend, create, and transfer repeating patterns.

 

Vocabulary

core, extend, create, transfer, repeating, pattern, next, compare

Essential question:

  • What is a pattern?
  • How can we identify and describe the core of a repeating pattern?
  • Patterns exist in many forms (common objects, sounds, movements, and pictures).  How can we create patterns in different forms?
  • How do we use the part of a pattern that repeats (the core) to extend the pattern?
  • How can we compare and contrast patterns?
  • How can we transfer a repeating pattern from one representation to another?

 

Science/Social Studies: Patriotism

K.11  The student will develop an understanding of how communities express patriotism through events and symbols by:
a)       recognizing the American flag;
b)       recognizing the Pledge of Allegiance; and
c)       knowing that the president is the leader of the United States. 

 

Essential Questions

  • Which colors and shapes are used on the American flag?
  • Recognize the words to the Pledge of Allegiance when spoken by an adult.
  • What title is given to the top leader of government in the United States?

 

Vocabulary

  • patriotism: feeling of respect for and love of country and state

respect: a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, or important

Parent conferences are being scheduled for Monday, November 4th. Please click on the link below if you haven’t already signed up. I still have several spots available. I would love to meet with all of you. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0548aaab2ea4f58-november

Also, I am checking to see if students know their red rainbow words. Please review these words that were sent home at the beginning of October. If your child knows these words, please send in your child’s red word list so I can quiz them. If they know all of the words, I will give them the orange sight word list. Helping your child learn these sight words is a great way to help them be successful readers. Thanks so much for your help. 

Here are the sight words on the red list just in case you have misplaced them:

 

he can red words
am here I
see me a
my to up
the at in

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Mrs. Smith 🙂