Tuesday, September 13

Tuesday, September 13 

Letter Focus: Aa
Every letter has a hand gesture that I am teaching with the sounds. Not all children hear the sound alone. Some children need to 'see & feel' the sound in order to make a connection to the letter/sound symbol. Below is a link that will bring you to a short YouTube video that you can do with your child. If your child is needing some extra support, I encourage you to do this video with your child at least 4 times a week. Just click on the words 'Visual Phonics Chant' and it will bring you to the video.
Visual Phonics Chant
 Handwriting: Uppercase A

Name Focus: Anthony

SMART Room: Look for pictures of all the stations in the coming days...

                                              Music Today
                                                    
              The children will meet their Irish Connections teacher this afternoon. They are meeting between 2:15-2:45. I will send a note home in their folder today stating who their IC teacher is.
                                                  

~The book order is due tomorrow.~The children made human tallies to represent the number 5...

Monday, September 12

Monday, September 12 

Our alphabet journey begins today: Letter Aa

 Name Focus: Aliana

Each day, one of our friends will be featured in a name focus. We will count how many letters are in it, how many syllables it has, and how to reassemble it out of order. It is important to use children's names as they embark on learning about literacy. "Names are a valuable resource in becoming literate. Important networks of understanding can be built around children's names. Making things meaningful for children and connecting it to their world is very important in helping children learn." (Kusak, 2002) 

Math: Same-Different Sort
Using our shoes, we will compare how they are the same/different.

PhyEd Today

The children are continuing to learn about the calendar routine that is presented every day.

SMART Room: The kids will be introduced to this room today. We spend 1/2 hour a day in this room designed for movement while incorporating small and large motor movements with academic skills. The kids will be learning the Helicopter Spin and Alligator Crawl today.

Irish PrideA few moments from the Irish Pride celebration on Friday...

~Mr. Sawatzke welcomes us.

 ~We were introduced as the 'new students' to the school.

 ~Simply said...Irish Pride.

~Late start tomorrow. School begins at 10:15 and your child should wear their Irish Pride shirt.
~Our first 'Trash to Cash' collection is tomorrow. Please send in any boxtops, ink cartridges, or qualifying labels to earn cash for our school...thank you for helping!

~If you haven't done so, please return your framed family photo soon to complete our 'homey' room. We also need your scrapbook page and baby photo. Thank you!

Friday, September 9

                                                   Friday, September 9

   Story: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and making a project related to the story.

                                                     Music class today!

Irish Pride

 Be Respectful-Be Safe-Be Responsible
We are kicking off the school year with a school-wide assembly at 9:00 to learn about Irish Pride. You will hear a lot about this strong character-building initiative in our school!

The children will meet Wiggles the Dog to learn about our classroom rules. At the conclusion of the lesson, they are making a Wiggles puppet!

We have computer class with Miss Casebolt today from 1:50-2:20. 
Modeling: Scissor Use
As adults, we assume children "just know" how to operate scissors safely. Digging deeper into understanding what the expectations for scissor use is helpful for the children to understand this tool for learning. What do we use scissors for? How can it help our learning?
**ASSUME NOTHING. TEACH EVERYTHING**

 Irish Pride: Cafeteria Expectations
Some of the teaching points are:
~Eat first, talk last.
~Be sure to keep your food to yourself.
~Clean up after yourself.
~Stay seated at the lunch table until an adult tells you to empty your tray.
~Controlled voices.

**If you can remind your child of these points, the expectations become internalized quicker.

**Take a look our little cuties on their first day!

 

 They are searching for Pete the Cat on our school tour...

~What a FANTASTIC launch to their Kindergarten year! We have covered so many new things in such a short time and have already settled into some routines. Next week we begin our letter/sight word study.
~PLEASE return any paperwork, your child's 4 x 6 photo, and your framed family photo/scrapbook page on Monday if you haven't done so already-thank you.
~The book order is due Wednesday, September 14.

Have a fabulous weekend!