Winter Wonderland: Week of December 4th Newsletter

December 4, 2015

Hello Parents of the Kindergarten class of room 138!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break! The students had a packed week and got right back into swing of things. I have to start out by saying that I had so much fun watching the students perform at the winter concert last night!  They were spectacular and so cute.  The kids have been practicing those songs for months now, and they were pumped up for the big day.  It is so special for the class to see that our community comes together as a whole, to support and cheer on the learning that happens at our school. 

The students have been hard at work outside and inside of the classroom. If you pick up or drop off your child at school, stop down to see our latest bulletin board for this month.  The students just finished creating silly snowmen and beautiful winter candles (which took students many days to color) that we put on display.  It looks like a winter wonderland and the class is very pleased with their art projects.  The students are seeing the subtle changes in their final products even just from the beginning of the year; and they are taking more time to admire their talent! It is fantastic!

Now that we are back from the break our social studies themes have changed from learning about Pilgrim and Native American life style to learning about all the different holidays and traditions from around the world that are celebrated during this winter season. We will be learning about how some celebrations are similar or different than the traditions our families partake in.

 

Our class is also continuing our science study of the Moon, Sun and Earth.  In the communication folders that went home today, you will see some of the crafts, puzzles, and vocabulary work that the students have been building.  Next week we will be brainstorming ideas of what we see in the sky in the day time and nighttime and how they compare to each other.  We have been incorporating writing sentences every chance that we get during the day.  Next week the children will start building their own daytime and nighttime sentences in their journals. 

In writing and foundations the students have been so speedy at identifying letters and sounds that we have been sounding out small words to create sentences like “I want a dog.”  Today’s sentence was “A cat sat.”  As the students become more confident in their skills the sentence will include more words, for example: “A cat sat on a red mat.”  The class is so proud of their achievements.  Reading with or to your child and asking them to sound out words at home is always encouraged! They will be so excited to show you what they know!

In math the students are continuing to work on their number formation and number sense involving more or less.  Each day we do a red and green bean equation.  I pick five volunteers and they pick a bean out of the jar.  The class explains if there are more red beans or green beans.  Then the class makes an equation with the sum of five.  This is just one of the many activities that the students have made into their daily routine.  It is a fun way to get students up and moving and doing math along the way.

If there are any questions or concerns about the report cards that went home in the communication folders today, please feel free to contact me.

I hope everyone has a restful and fun weekend.

Sincerely,

Tara MacCallum

Gingerbread Gathering Part 2

Gingerbread Gathering

Jen Krom and Kelly French volunteered to help the students decorate our class gingerbread house which was also on display last night at the winter concert.

Crackling Candles

The students were hard at work using their fine motor skills to color the very small design areas of their winter candles-that are now on display.

Timing Rhyming

The students were matching pictures that were rhyming pairs. After completing the craft, they would practice saying the rhyming pairs fast as a tongue twister! 

Large Lengths

The class was watching to see if this student's string was longer, shorter, or the same length as mine. Each child put their string in the category they thought would come closest and got to come up to see if their prediction was correct.

Prideful Pilgrims

The class was learning about the types of clothing pilgrim girls and boys wore.  The students were also learning about the chores and responsibilities pilgrim children had back then.

Fire Fighters

The class had fun trying on fire fighter gear!

Reading Rocks

The class finished their work early and earned the privilege to have buddy reading time!

Fantastic Phases of the Moon

The students are working on their drawings of different phases of the moon that they have observed.

Popular Productions!

The students are patiently waiting to see The Run Away Bunny and Goodnight Moon at the Lebanon Opera House.

Week of November 13th Newsletter

November 13^th, 2015

Ms. Mac’s Newsletter

Hello families of the Kindergarten class in room 138!

Happy Friday the 13^th! The month of November is flying by.  The students have taken home a lot of fall projects in their communication folders today.   As we get closer to Thanksgiving, we are going to touch upon the traditions of Pilgrims and Native Americans. I love the turkey projects that families have completed.  Please send in your turkey as soon as you can, so that the students have a chance to see all the wonderful designs from our class.

In science, the students have been learning about the relationship between the sun, moon, and Earth.  The students have made charts putting those objects in order from largest to smallest.  The class came to realize that when the sun is shining on our side of the Earth, it is nighttime for people on the other side of the Earth. The class also learned that the Earth is spinning even though we do not feel it.  The students have an understanding that when it is a cold season we are not receiving as much heat or light from the sun.

In language arts, the students have been zooming in their letter and sound game of “Around the World”. I see so much progress in their recognition of letters and sounds.  Everyone does a fantastic job forming their letters and words as well.  Their fine motor skills are improving and students are very proud of their work. Today’s sentence was, “Maria has brown hair.” The students are making sure they have a capital in the beginning of the sentence and a period at the end of the sentence.  The class is learning that letters make up words, words make up sentences, and sentences make up stories.  The students are excited to become writers!

Our field trip to see Goodnight Moon and Run Away Bunny was a success.  The students loved the sets, and enjoyed following along to the stories they knew. The class was also excited about having special Fire Fighters come into our classroom during the past two weeks to teach our class about fire safety.  We discussed that it is important to have a plan of where to meet outside of there was ever a fire in the house.  The students have also given great examples of staying safe by letting mom and dad handle the oven, a woodstove, lighters or matches. The students in this class have great ideas and are hard workers!  It has been a packed couple of weeks with lots of fun!

 I hope everyone has restful weekend.

Sincerely,

Tara MacCallum

Jumping Jack-O-Lanterns

The students are making their Jack-O-Lanterns while we learn about fall traditions.

Checking our Charts

The students are matching pictures to their beginning sound chart.

Perfect Pumpkins

The class is practicing sorting their pumpkins from smallest to tallest.

Stylish Scarecrows

The students are hard at work creating their own paper scarecrows.