Conference Week

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of March 28-31

Upcoming Events:

JApril 1 No School, Conferences

JApril 20 Early Out at 11:10

JApril 21, 22, 25 No School

Notes:

JThank you to everyone who attended their child’s conference. 

JOn Thursday we had an assembly about the pillar of responsibility.  Students will now be trying to earn green tickets for showing that they are responsible.  If they get 10 green tickets they will get a green bracelet.

JWe have finished learning about all the lowercase letters in handwriting.  We are still practicing correct formation of these letters.  Please help encourage your child at home to use lowercase letters in their writing.

Things to Work on:

JOrdinal Numbers: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, etc.  Students are struggling with finding the numbers when they are out of order.  Example: Point to the first block, point to the fifth block, point to the tenth block. 

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we are working on the word families at, et, and ot.  We have practiced finding words with these endings in poems as well as listened to songs with some of these words in them.  On Thursday we were able to sort words into these categories.  We have also continued our learning of words with the book A Pocket for Corduroy. 

Math:  Our math centers this week involved writing addition number sentences with dice.  We practiced using the strategy of counting on.  Example: The number 3 was rolled and then the number 4.  Students would start at 3 and count 4,5,6,7.  3+4=7.  We also had a number matching activity as well as played domino top-it.  We took a break from our problem solving and played an addition game with frogs. 

Science:  We have finished our study on spring. This week we talked about what people and animals do in spring.  We also were able to review the other seasons and an attribute of each to help us remember. 

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of February 7- 11

Upcoming Events:

J February 14 Valentine’s Day

J February 17 Early Out at 11:10

J February 18 No School

J February 21 No School

J February 25 Character Counts Assembly (wear yellow)

Notes:

J We will soon start talking about 3-D shapes.  I sent home a homework sheet on Monday asking for 3-D shapes.  Please read that and send in the appropriate items. 

J I will be gone on Tuesday, February 22 for a meeting. 

J As long as there is snow on the ground students need to bring all their snow stuff: snow pants, gloves, hats, and boots. 

Things to Work on:

JReading numbers past 10.  I have started assessing students on their number identification and some students are misreading numbers in the teens for numbers in the twenty’s. 

J We still have a few students who do not know there address or phone numbers.  We are over halfway through the third quarter, please work with them at home.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we have been learning about the word families et, en, and ed.  We practiced sorting words with these endings into categories.  Part of our Book Club Plus plans involved the word companion.  This week we wrote about we like to do with our companion in our class. 

Math:  In math this week we had math centers that involved us doing some problem solving, playing a domino game, and exploring patterns with manipulatives.

Science:  This week we started our new unit of study on seasons.  We have started to talk about the seasons of spring and summer.  With each season we are decorating a tree how it would look in that season.

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com

Groundhog Reports Spring Is Near

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of January 31- February 4

Upcoming Events:

JFebruary 2 Groundhog Day

JFebruary 3 Zach’s Birthday

Notes:

J We are in need of more glue sticks or glue bottles.

JFriday we started decorating our Valentine’s Day bags.  Students may bring their Valentine’s in anytime between now and Valentine’s Day.  There is a class list below.

J Tuesday’s snow day will be made up May 31

Things to Work on:

J A new skill for third quarter is identifying opposites.  Please work with your child at home on this skill.  Examples: happy/ sad, fast/ slow, above/ below, and dirty/ clean.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we are learning about the sounds sn, sc, and st.  On Friday we practiced sorting words by these beginning sounds.  On Wednesday we listened to a book about Groundhog Day called Substitute Groundhog.  We also learned what the groundhog does on Groundhog Day.

Math:  This week learned two new math games: domino sort and domino path.  The domino path game was sent home as homework.  I attached copied dominoes, if you do not have dominoes at home.  This week we had more problem solving problems.  Students are really getting good at figuring out how to answer the problems by drawing pictures or using manipulatives. 

PWIM: This week we started a new unit called Book Club Plus.  We will be using the book A Little Bit of Winter to learn about making predictions, re-predictions, answering questions using the text in the book or using what you know in our head, and completing a story map (characters, setting, events, problem, and solution).

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com

Class List:

Samantha	Dol	Yahir	Andrew	Andrea
Jane	Nickolas	Keanan	Brookelyn	Taylor
Sermaya	Masin	Lisa	Oscar	Eduardo
Edith	Felipe	Zach	Karissa	Tae
Htoo Htoo

Character Counts, Caring

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of January 24- 28

Upcoming Events:

JJanuary 24 Andrew’s ½ Birthday

J January 27 100^th Day of School

Notes:

J I have had a few egg cartons brought in.  Please continue to send more to school so that every student will have one.

J We are in need of more glue sticks.

J I had a sub on Monday so there were no take home books on that day.

J We have started new learning centers.  Some of the highlights are making a snowman graph with our names, matching mittens to upper and lower case letters as well as rhyming words, and put the months of the year in order.

JOn Friday we had a Character Counts Assembly on Caring.

Things to Work on:

JThis week in guided reading we practiced the Boehm concept of left and right.  Please continue to practice this at home with your child.

J A new skill for third quarter is counting by 5s.  We have learned this with a song; ask them to sing it to you.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we are learning about the sounds sw, sp, and sl.  On Wednesday we practiced sorting words that started with those sounds.  On Thursday we read books about the 100^th day of school.   

Math:  On Monday in math the sub did some problem solving problems with the class.  They also practiced writing the number 20.  On Tuesday and Wednesday we continued our problem solving problems with centers.  Some of the math centers were gummy bear graphing, clock matching, and a dot-to-dot of Martin Luther King.  On Thursday we celebrated the 100^th day of school with rotating centers with all kindergarten classes.  Some of the centers were 100 piece puzzles, 100 exercises, building with 100 blocks, and creating 100 with marshmallows and pretzels.  On Friday we reviewed nonstandard measurement with our stuffed animals that we had brought to school.

Social Studies: We continued our study about winter and focused on animals and what they do in winter: hibernate, migrate, and stay awake.

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com

Character Counts

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of January 17-21

Upcoming Events:

JJanuary 18 Karissa’s Birthday

J January 20 Buena Vista County Naturalist talks to us about Hibernation

J January 25 100^th Day of School

Notes:

J On Monday we had an assembly that introduced Character Counts.  Character Counts focuses on six pillars of character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship.  Students will learn more about each pillar of character throughout the year.

Things to Work on:

JThis week the number six sight word was introduced.  I can really tell who has been practicing words at home, keep up the good work! J

J We have about half of the class knowing their phone number, please continue to work on phone numbers and address at home.

JA new skill for third quarter is saying the months of the year.  Many students are able to do this with a song that we have learned.  Help them remember them by asking them to sing you the song.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week we read about Martin Luther King and were able to make a picture of him.  On Monday we also had a service learning project where we created placemats to give to Methodist Manor.  Three new word families were also introduced: -it, -in, and -ip.  On Friday we practiced sorting words into these word families.  This week we have started to write sentences about our PWIM poster.

Math:  In math this week had centers which involved a new game with beads.  We practiced writing addition number sentences with beads in a bag.  We also were able to complete a dot-to-dot of the Statue of Liberty.

Social Studies: We have started a new unit of study on winter.  We began by reading about winter and learning about what happens to plants and animals during winter.

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com

Snow Days

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of January 12-14

Upcoming Events:

JJanuary 12 Skills Checklists sent home, Masin’s Birthday

J January 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Early Out at 11:10, Kindergarteners wear Red for Character Counts Assembly

Notes:

J This week we had two snow days.  The first snow day will be made up May 26 and the second will be made up Friday May 27. 

J We have started new learning centers.  Some of the new centers are: ABC (search in magazines for a specific letter), Smart Board (matching appropriate winter clothing to people), and Writing (making a paper chain of sight words).

Things to Work on:

JThis week three new sight words were introduced: zero, six, and ten.  A sight word game called Going Bananas was sent home on Wednesday.  Please play this game with your child to help them practice sight words.  This game does not need to be returned to school.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week three word families were introduced: -at, -an, and -ap.  On Friday we practiced sorting words into these word families.  This week we continued to share/ shake-out words from our PWIM poster and started to title our poster.

Math:  In math this week had centers which involved a new game with egg cartons.  Please send egg cartons to school so we can make this game for everyone.  We also practiced our problem solving strategies.  We wrapped up the week with learning about more than, less than, and equal (same as).

Social Studies: We have finished our study on US Symbols and Presidents.  We talked about the White House and who lives there.  We also discussed what pets have been at the White House and wrote about what pet we would like to take to the White House.  The Statue of Liberty and Pledge of Allegiance were also discussed. 

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com

Welcome Back!

News from Mrs. Straw’s Kindergarten

Week of January 5-7

Upcoming Events:

JJanuary 10 Skills Checklists sent home

J January 17 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Early Out at 11:10

Notes:

J Take home books have started to come home again.  Please take time to have your child read their book to you.

Things to Work on:

JWe have started learning how to make some of our lowercase letters.  Please help your child at home with learning these new letter formations.

What we have been up to:

Reading: This week the sounds sh, ch, and th were introduced.  On Friday we practiced sorting these new sounds.  This week we also started a new PWIM poster.   We have started to shake out words.  Please watch for a picture with the words to come home soon so you can practice them.

Math:  In math this week learned about nonstandard measurement with unifex cubes.  We compared items in the classroom to a six cube train and later to a three cube train.  On Thursday we measured a line in the classroom with a variety of shoes.  We compared how large shoes need fewer steps and small shoes need more.  This week we were also able to review our problem solving skills and practiced writing our numbers.

Social Studies: Our new PWIM unit focus is on Presidents and US Symbols.  This week we talked about what a symbol is and how our flag and the bald eagle our symbols of our country.  We were able to make a flag that described us, just like the United States flag describes our countries history.   

Please contact me if you have any questions (712) 732-8074 or email sstraw@slcsd.org.

http://mrsstrawskindergartenclass.blogspot.com