November 13-17

Happy Friday!

This week we (and next week we will): 

*Focused on the letter Ss
*Introduced word families
*Practiced our sight words
*Learned about Thanksgiving!
*Practiced patterns
*Worked on numbers through 10
*Learned about pumpkins!
*Talked about Veteran's Day

After Thanksgiving break we will: 

*Focus on the letter Pp
*Read a story called "Baby Animals in Grasslands" and work on main idea
*Learn the words yellow and we
*Practice counting by 10

Things to ask your Kinder: 

*What are some words that start with Ss?
*Tell me about veteran's day and why we celebrate.
*Count backwards from 20
*Count by 10 to 100
*Have him/her show you how to play Sparkle  (Make a circle, can play with sight words or numbers. Count/spell one number/letter at a time. The last number/letter is "Sparkled" and must sit down. Last one standing is the winner. Example: Count by 1 to 10. Person A says "one", the next person says "two", next says "three" etc. The person who says "ten" is now out. You can also do this with sight words. The word blue, each person says a letter in order and the person who says 'e' is out.)
*What did we do in Den Day this month?
*What are some interesting facts about pumpkins?

News and Other Reminders: 

*As the weather gets colder, we are struggling with coats in Kindergarten. Please help your child practice zipping up his or her own coat and getting out the sleeves if they are inside out. This will really happen transition times go much quicker! Thank you.
*Now is also a great time to practice working on putting on snow pants and boots independently. The snow will be here before we know it.


Important Dates: 

*November 22-24- NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving Break
*December 5- Donuts with Dad in the cafeteria
*December 14- LATE START (school will begin at 10:58)
*December 14- Den Day
*December 15- NO SCHOOL for students (Staff Development Workshops)
*December 25-January 7- NO SCHOOL Winter Break


Have a fabulous weekend!

October 30-November 8

This week (and last week) we: 

*Worked on telling the difference between fiction and nonfiction stories.
*Focused on the letter Aa and reviewed the letter Tt
*Learned about and created diagrams
*Learned the word purple and practiced 'is'
*Talked about and practiced using prepositions
*Studied spiders and celebrated Spider Day!
*Worked on creating and extending AB, ABB, ABC, and AAB patterns
*Introduced the SeeSaw app and practiced uploading work to show our families!
*Read a story with Mr. Radel!

After conferences we will: 

*Read a story called "Nature Spy" and learn about setting
*Focus on the letter Ss and review Aa
*Learn words in the -ap and -at word families
*Practice the words purple and yellow
*Work on counting by 10
*Learn about Thanksgiving and complete a mini Science unit all about pumpkins!

Things to ask your Kinder: 

*Ask your student to identify if a story is fiction or nonfiction and explain his/her thinking
*Break apart the words: mop, tap, cat, chat (ex. cat would be c-a-t)
*Practice counting forward and backward
*Tell you some facts about spiders

News and Other Reminders: 

*I am looking forward to meeting with all of you at conferences! We are blessed to have such a wonderful group of students and I am lucky to be their teacher! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or just want to check in. If you need a quick response, email is best.

*Thank you for making sure to send warm gear with your Kinder. Recess can be very unpredictable and it's best to be prepared. Please make sure to label ALL winter gear (hats, mittens, boots, snow pants, jackets, etc) so we can return lost items to their owner as soon as possible.

*If you have not yet turned in your October reading list, please do so. Pizza Hut Certificates will go home in Friday folders.

*Book orders will be due on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15. You are welcome to order online or turn in the paper copy to me. Thank you for supporting your reader and our classroom!

Important Dates: 

*November 15-Den Day
*November 16- LATE START (school will begin at 10:58)
*November 16- Turkey Bingo in the gym!! (Begins at 6:30)
*November 17- Kindergarten Fall Party (please let me know if you'd like to join us!)
*November 22-24- NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving Break
*December 5- Donuts with Dad in the cafeteria
*December 14- LATE START (school will begin at 10:58)
*December 14- Den Day
*December 15- NO SCHOOL for students (Staff Development Workshops)
*December 25-January 7- NO SCHOOL Winter Break

Have a great weekend!

October 23-27

This week we: 

*Read a story called "Smash, Crash" and learned about 'sh' and 'th' words
*Read a story called "Dig, Dig, Digging" and learned about big machines!
*Listened for ending sounds
*Worked on the words a, to, red, blue and color words
*Continued to work on trees and did some great tree projects
*Practiced counting and matching numbers through 10
*Worked on breaking apart and putting numbers together
*Learned all about Fire Safety with the Hopkins Fire Department!
*Donated socks during Den Day for Socktober!

Next week we will: 

*Review our sight words
*Focus on the letters Tt and Aa
*Practice reading color words
*Celebrate Spider Week!!
*Introduce the -at word family
*Work on comparing and contrasting
*Learn about diagrams and labels

News and Other Reminders: 

*Conference sign ups have been sent out via email. Please make sure you sign up as soon as possible as these are the only times conferences are offered. Please let me know if you need help signing up or have any questions. Kindergarten students are not required to come to conferences.

*We are looking for parent volunteers for Spider Day centers on Tuesday, October 31 from 9:30-11:10. Please let me know if you are interested-thanks!

*The weather is getting very unpredictable. Please send a jacket with your student every day and label it to make sure it comes back to us if misplaced. Thank you! Please also practice zipping jackets at home. Kindergarten students should be able to zip their own jackets (for the most part). Thank you for your help with this.

*The November reading log is in your child's Friday Folder today. Please return the October book log by Monday, November 6 for a fun prize!

Have a fun and safe weekend!

October 9-13

This week we: 

*Focused on the letter Mm
*Started our ABC journals
*Reviewed the words I, am, the, little
*Learned the words to, a, red
*Worked on subitizing and number sense
*Continued our work on trees

Next week we will: 

*Read the story "SMASH! CRASH!" and learn about punctuation and words with sh
*Work on activities with the words to, a, red, blue
*Continue with our Science unit about trees and leaves
*Meet our 5th grade buddies
*Celebrate 2nd place in the Walk-a-Thon with our Ice Cream party

After the break we will: 

*Read a story called "Dig, Dig, Digging" and work on compare and contrast
*Focus on the letter Tt
*Finish our Science unit on trees and leaves
*Learn about Fire Safety
*Review shapes and practice number words


Things to ask your Kinder: 

*Name the parts of a tree
*What is a leafy tree called? (Deciduous!)
*What is a pine tree called? (Coniferous!)
*Name words that start with Mm
*Tell you about the dot math games we learned this week

News and Other Reminders

*Thank you to all who ordered books this month! The order has been placed and we are hoping they get here by Wednesday before the break.


*Please help your child practice tying his or her own shoes. We have a lot of untied shoes throughout the day and this will help our day move more smoothly. Thanks!

*A conference sign up will be sent out in an email on Monday or Tuesday morning. Please sign up for a time as soon as possible. The slots usually fill quickly. Conferences will be held Wednesday, November 8th (4:00-8:00), Thursday, November 9 (12:00-8:00) and Friday, November 10 (8:00-12:00). These are the only times that conferences will be held. Please only sign up for one time slot per student. If there is a split household and you do not want conferences together, you may share a time slot with 15 minutes each. Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Minnetonka Fire Department Open House!

Tomorrow, October 10 is the Minnetonka Fire Department and Community Event from 5:00-8:00pm. This is a great free event full of fun and information!

Here's the link to check out all the details: https://eminnetonka.com/city-calendar/518

September 25-29

This week we: 

*Read the story "We Are So Proud"
*Learned about settings in stories and reviewed characters
*Learned the words "the" and "little"
*Practiced color words
*Made a birthday graph and an age graph
*Practiced sorting shapes and reviewed shape names (like trapezoid, hexagon, and rhombus)
*Worked on reading, writing, and manipulating numbers 1-5

Next week we will: 

*Read the story "Plaidypus Lost" and talk about sequence
*Review the words "the" and "little"
*Work on the letters Tt-Zz
*Practice the 3 ways to read a book
*Begin Read to Self and start working on Reading Stamina


Reminders and other news: 

*Your child has another paper book (Decodable Reader) in his/her backpack this week. This is a book that we have read and practiced in class, so your Kinder should be able to read the book with minimal support. Please encourage reading at home and practice this book with your child at least 3 times. 

*It's October! Please send the yellow September reading log back to school with your child on Monday. The new October reading log went home in Friday folders. 

*If you have not done so already, please send $10 to school for your child's party fund. This money goes towards the cost of our celebrations throughout the school year. If you are unable to cover this cost, please let me know. Thank you. 

*Please help your child practice tying his or her shoes. Laces frequently come undone during the day and this can be a very big distraction for some kiddos. Thanks!

*Our GL Walk-a-thon is this Friday, October 6th! We'd love to see you there if you are able! (Kindergarten will walk at 10:00 am)

Class Needs: 

A huge THANK YOU to all who have donated extra items to our classroom. Your generosity is greatly appreciated! 

What to ask your Kinder: 

*Name 2 friends in our classroom
*Count to 25 by 1's
*How to play Sparkle
*Tell about a Morning Meeting activity we have done
*What is the special name for a diamond? (It's a rhombus!)
*What are "Dorito Words" or "spicy words"? 


Important Upcoming Dates: 

*October 6: Walk-a-thon (Kindergarten wears purple)
*October 16: Picture Retake Day
*October 19-20: MEA NO SCHOOL
*October 23: PTO Meeting 6:30
*October 26: Late Start (School begins at 10:58)

Have a Fabulous weekend!!! 

September 18-22

Happy Friday!

This week we:

*Read stories and talked about how we get to school
*Learned about cooperation and ways to be kind
*Made TWO classroom books!
*Learned to read and spell the words "I" and "am"
*Practiced writing and matching the letters Ff-Kk
*Read our first Decodable Reader
*Started our Social Studies unit "All About Me"
*Made self-portraits
*Took a number walk and learned a new math game called "Sparkle"
*Practiced shapes and made 2 types of graphs
*Celebrated TWO birthdays!

Next week we will:

*Practice the letters Ll-Ss
*Continue reading and writing the words "I" and "am"
*Learn the words "the" and "little"
*Practice three ways to read a book
*Get Book Boxes!
*Practice sequencing a story
*Make a birthday graph
*Work on sorting

News and Other Reminders:

*Scholastic Book Orders were due on Wednesday. A few people have had trouble with the orders so I will be submitting it first thing tomorrow morning. Please let me know if you are having problems or if you want to make sure the order went through. We so appreciate your orders and helping our class earn FREE books for our library!

*If you have not yet done so, please bring $10 to school for our classroom party fund. This helps fund all of our celebrations throughout the year.

*Next week, we will be talking more about ourselves and our families. Please send in a baby picture with your child (make sure his/her name is on it so we can return it to you!) Talk to your child about the picture and a funny thing you remember about him/her when s/he was little. The students will get to practice talking in front of the class and showing their pictures on the ActivBoard! Thank you!

*Walk-a-thon information went home with your student today. This is a GREAT way to help our school!! Please let me know if you have any questions about this.


Upcoming dates:

*September 28: Late start (School begins at 10:58)
*October 6: Walk-a-thon (Kindergarten wears purple)
*October 16: Picture Retake Day
*October 19-20: MEA NO SCHOOL
*October 23: PTO Meeting 6:30
*October 26: Late Start (School begins at 10:58)



Have a fabulous weekend! Enjoy the weather while we still can =)