Good Afternoon JK Parents!

This week has been lovely as we have shown our school spirit by dressing up according to our theme of the day.  Our class has had such a fun-filled time celebrating each day.  I mean, who doesn't love wearing PJ's to school?!

Centers this week:

Language Arts:
We have read such fun books, including:  Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School, Ms. Bindergartens 100th Day of Kindergarten, Pajama Party, I don't Wanna Go!, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose, Honey, I love, The Day it Rained Hearts, Queen of Hearts, Color Dance, Tar Beach, Creepy Carrots, Pete the Cat's Groovy Guide to Love.  We practiced our sight (popcorn, high frequency) words with pieces of popcorn in our turn and talk exercise.  We practiced sounds at the beginning of words while we read our morning message and looked around the classroom while playing "Eye Spy" for words that begin with a particular sound.  We practiced our zoo phonics and danced to the letter sound song.

The children completed a name book where they practiced writing, saying and spelling their name in various ways, including cutting out each letter for letter boxes.  Every child is encouraged to continue working on their tripod hold and letter formation, as it's less natural to start in the "air" on the page so must constantly fight that urge to begin on the line by encouraging children to start from the top when writing their letters.  It is an every single time they write struggle, so please assist me when you see them beginning to write their letters from the bottom.

Math/Science:
The children played our rainbow rug game where we sequentially count to 100 around the circle. The children love anticipating their number as well as assisting friends for the tricky teen numbers and at each new tens number.  We are also practicing counting by tens.  We played number bingo and all practiced writing our numbers on the white board.  We discussed numbers and which is higher, lower, bigger and smaller.  We begin counting at different random numbers to break up the sing song and work on the actual one-to one correspondence of the number sequence.

We are discussing the science of icicles, and will continue to study ice and snow for the next couple of weeks, along with Black History Month and Caring and Sharing for Valentine's Day.

Fine Arts:
The children have been busy creating all kinds of Valentine pictures, making beaded bracelets, coloring with pastels and water colors, cutting out different shapes for Valentines, and using stamps to create collages.

Please be thinking about your items for the 100th day of school next week.  There will be no school this friday for parent teacher conferences as well as no school Monday for President's Day.  I look forward to discussing your child's progress as we meet for our conference!

Ms. Massey

Good afternoon JK parents!  Happy Groundhog Day!

We have been singing and dancing to our Zoo Phonics letters this week.  The children love mimicking all of the motions and it's very helpful for the children who are still learning their letter sounds or those who have a couple they confuse.  Most all of the children are mixing up the "W" and "Y" sounds and need help with their vowel sounds, because there are so many exceptions when making words and blending each letter with others.  I am so pleased with their progress and all they have already learned this year, and we still have half the school year to go!  This is the time where it is so much fun because the routines are in place so we can move at a faster pace with all of our activities, focusing on the material and not the logistics of routines!

We have continued our study of the Inuit people this week.  It has been fun creating igloos and exploring the Arctic world.

Be sure to sign up for a conference time if you have not already, or contact me for another time not listed!  I am here early and available most mornings to meet 7:45-8:15 am.

Language Arts Center:
We have been building different words with letter blocks and playing a game where we fill in the consonant at the beginning of a word based on the picture clue and the remainder of the word. Breaking words into syllables is helpful too.  We clap as we practice counting syllables in words in our morning meeting, along with rhyming words and popcorn/sight words.  The children LOVE writing in their word books and feel so grown up to have their own books to work in, and it provides great letter formation practice for them.  ANY writing they do is beneficial, so writing centers at home with various pens, markers, pencils, crayons etc. are great!  Whenever you can excite them and make it interesting for them to color, sound out words and use their inventive spelling, label their illustrations, etc. I encourage you to.  If you are looking for helpful activities to do at home, just writing and going over each letter in their name and the letter sound or exception is extremely beneficial.  If they have mastered their first and last names, add their middle name, street address or phone number to discuss and practice writing.  The letters Ww, Uu, Ii, A, Ee, Oo, Yy, Qq, Bb, and Dd are the most troublesome for the class, with confusion about the recognition as well as the sounds each makes.

Our third grade reading buddies came to visit, read and help us create our journal page this week. They love having the older kids read with them!  It's such a great way to deepen our sense of the school community.  The children used inventive spelling to label or write about the story they read together.

We have read many higher level stories this week, breaking them up as we do our chapter books. The children are becoming more interested in more intricate plots and are able to sit for longer periods of time while they enjoy being read to.  Chapter books at home are wonderful at this age too! Introducing new vocabulary to them through literature is an amazing way to improve their reading comprehension skills.  We continue to discuss the characters, settings, and sequence of events when reading.

Math and Science Centers:
We use manipulatives in our games to make adding and subtracting fun.  Counting and stressing the one first on teen numbers, and even calling "10" "ten-teen" is helpful for some children to remember which number comes first.  They are learning that the one comes first in teen numbers, but the 10, 11 and 12 can be tricky since they are exceptions to the "ending in teen" rule.  Please reach out to me for further explanation if this is confusing.  We are also practicing counting by 10's.  This is another Kindergarten skill but I love introducing this to the children early and for those who are ready it's another fun counting rhyme and also begins to build the basis of their numerology understanding. For the students who are still practicing their counting to 100, it will be familiar when they begin their Kindergarten math.

We have discussed many science-related concepts, about the animals and how they survive in the arctic to different plants and animals and what is able to grow and flourish in cold temperatures.  We read a story about a lost polar bear who has never seen a butterfly before.  This provided a great basis to discuss different regions and climates and things that are specific to those.

Fine Arts Center:
We finished constructing our igloos and inuit people, and practiced our scissor skills and writing skills while creating February calendars.  We also discussed the concept of symmetry when creating hearts and how they are symmetrical.  I apologize for the glitter.  We sprayed them all to set the glitter, but it still finds a way to get everywhere!  We colored, cut out, and made grass fringe for groundhogs in celebration of groundhog day!

Please check to be sure your child has seasonal clothing in their cubby, as many times they will get wet when playing in the snow.

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Massey

Good afternoon JK parents!

This week we began studying the Inuit people.

"The Inuit tribe were a hardy people who were nomadic fishermen and hunters. The Inuit tribe lived on the western and northern coasts along the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The Inuit survived the harsh climate in Igloos made of snow bricks or in the temporary tepee-shaped tents that were used on hunting trips."
-https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/indian-tribes/inuit-tribe.htm

Math/Science Center:
We made predictions of how many sugar cubes or mini marshmallows it would require to cover each igloo.  The children watched videos of the Inuit people cutting snow blocks and then layering them carefully to build snow houses.  The structure of these depends upon the base, so we discussed the importance of beginning with a solid foundation.  These cracks between the snow blocks are filled in with snow to prevent the wind from penetrating, much like we filled in with glue.  The tunnel serves a purpose as well for protection from animals as well as the wind.  We left out the window feature as well as the hole at the top for air and smoke ventilation.  Each child counted numerous times as they constructed their igloo to see how much their prediction was different from the actual usage.  Most predictions were around 13-20, with the actual number being closer to 100-150.

Some of the children have joined the "Coin Club" as they are able to identify the quarter, nickel, dime and penny.  This is a part of our meeting so is a fun and casual way to familiarize them with coins.

Fine Arts/Art Center:
We began constructing a life size igloo in our classroom which some of the children assisted with, as well as pastel on paper igloo pictures.

Literacy/Language Arts:
We are searching for the letter P in our reading, and some children are practicing blends and digraphs in reading groups.  We have read many stories about the Artic and Inuit people, including:  Building an Igloo, Wild Eggs, Kamik's First Sled, Igloo/Native American Homes, Indians of the Arctic and Subarctic, Cub's Big World, The Inside Story-Igloo, Kumak's Fish, Snow Happy, and also read more in our chapter book Oliver and Amanda and the Big Snow.    We responsively read high frequency word books in reading groups, and hunted for letter families in books and magazines.

The children all love our Solo cups and building towers most mornings.  I love that two of them were actually playing chess with the cups!

The fourth grade boys came to our classroom to read a story, and after the JK students created an illustration of what their imaginary friend would look like.  Most had striking similarities to their real life friends!  The fourth grade girls also presented a skit they have been practicing since before winter break and then helped our class color and cut out their own gingerbread friends.  Both were fun and another opportunity for our class to see the bigger children and socialize with them.  It creates such a sense of community for them to be a part of our students' lives.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Massey