What are we learning this week? (December 6-10)

Things to Remember:
-Holiday Concert: December 14th at 8:30 am
-Classroom Supplies Needed: Glue Sticks, Fat pencils, Hand Sanitizer
-Book Fair: Send money on Wednesday December 8th
-Pajama/Polar Express Day: Thursday, December 16th
-NUT Pass Day: Friday, December 17th
-December Volunteers: Please visit the Writeboard if you can sign up to volunteer for any of our days in December http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158 PW: imagine


This week's skills:

Language Arts-
Letters of the Week: Y, V (Review previous letters)
Sight Words: did, get, six, as, help
Reading skills: Story Elements, Summaries, Sounding out words
Writing: Building Narrative Sentences
Word Families: _en (hen, pen)

Math-
Daily calendar routines
Addition/Number Stories
Ordinal Numbers
Numerical Order



IB Unit of Inquiry-
Unit 3: Celebrations
Focus: Why do some people celebrate Kwanzaa? What are some symbols of Kwanzaa? What makes day and night? What things do we do differently in the morning, during the day, and at night?

What Are We Learning This Week? (Nov 29-Dec 3)

I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving break! Time to work hard for 3 more weeks, then we will have some more time to rest and relax! :)

Classroom Needs: Right now, we could use some more pencils and glue sticks. The pencils we use are the brand "Ticonderoga" and they are fatter than regular pencils to allow for better grip. If you can supply some, that would be very appreciated! They can be found at School Box. We also are in need of more glue sticks. Thanks!

December Volunteers: Please visit the Writeboard if you can sign up to volunteer for any of our days in December http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158 PW: imagine


This week's skills:
Language Arts-
Letters of the Week: W, Q (Review previous letters)
Sight Words: yes, do, has, five, was
Reading skills: Story Elements, Summaries, Sounding out words
Writing: Autobiographies
Word Families: _et (net, pet)



Math:
Daily calendar routines
Graphing
Shapes
Introduction to Subtraction

IB Unit of Inquiry:
Unit 3: Celebrations
Focus: Why do some people celebrate Hanukkah? What are some symbols of Hanukkah?

What are we learning this week? (November 15-19)

 Tuesday, November 16th will be an EARLY RELEASE DAY for staff development. Please make carpool plans accordingly!

Field Trip: Wednesday is our trip to see the Chinese acrobat group. Please be sure to wear Field Trip attire, and send a lunch in a labeled DISPOSABLE bag!

If you signed up to send in corn on Tuesday the 23rd for our Kindergarten feast, thanks so much! :)

November Volunteers: Please visit the Writeboard if you can sign up to volunteer for any of our days in November http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158, PW: imagine

This week's skills:
Language Arts-
Letters of the Week: N,E (Review previous letters)
Sight Words: will, on, or, four, my (Review previous: want, play, two, be, three)
Reading skills: Summarizing stories (Beginning, middle, and end)
Writing: Autobiographies
Word Families: _ox (fox, box)

Math:
Daily calendar routines
Correct numerical order
Estimation
Measurement with objects
Addition and number stories
Probability

IB Unit of Inquiry:
Unit 3: Celebrations
Focus: What is Thanksgiving? Who celebrated the first Thanksgiving? How was Thanksgiving then different from the way it is now?

What are we learning this week? (October 25th-29th)

My apologies!!!
When I started working on the Blog for this week, I realized that I never updated last week! So sorry!!! And please feel free to let me know if you notice that I do that in the future! :)

Farm Celebration... Is this Friday! Don't forget to wear your "farmer" clothes (jeans, hat, boots, etc) and please send in any items that you signed up to bring by Thursday morning. Special thanks to all of you who volunteered to help out that day!

Novermber Volunteers: Please visit the Writeboard if you can sign up to volunteer for any of our days in November http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158, PW: imagine
Don't forget, Field Trip money for Noah's Ark is due FRIDAY!

This week's skills:
Language Arts-
Letters of the Week: K, P (Review previous letters: C,O, A, D, G, M, L,H, T, I, J)
Sight Words: want, play, two, be, three (Review previous: can, us, one, come, no)
Reading skills: Summarizing stories (Beginning, middle, and end)
Writing: Correct letter formation, writing sentences with correct spacing and punctuation, using sounds to write words independently
Word Families: _ip (sip, hip, ship)

Math:
Daily calendar routines
Correct numerical order
Estimation
Measurement with objects
Addition and number stories
Intro to probability
IB Unit of Inquiry:
Unit 2: It Takes a Village
Focus: What is the job of a farmer? Where do we find farms? What kind of animals are on farms? What type of crops grow on farms?

What are we learning this week? (October 4-8)

Shout Outs!!!
Our first class social at Grant-Ormond Park was a huge success! Thanks to all the families who came out, and a special thanks to our room mom, Mittie Fox, for organizing it. Hope to see ALL of you at our next social! :)

Don't forget, next week is FALL BREAK! Have a safe and restful week!


This week's skills:

Language Arts-
Letter of the Week: T (Review previous letters: C,O, A, D, G, M, L,T)
Sight Words: can, us, one, come, no (Review previous: is, this, you, and, to)
Reading skills: Summarizing stories (Beginning, middle, and end)
Writing: Correct letter formation, writing sentences with correct spacing and punctuation, using sounds to write words independently
Word Families: _it (sit, hit, kit)

Math:
Daily calendar routines
Recognizing, writing and counting with numbers (focus on "teens")
Estimation
Using body parts for measuring objects (finger length, width of hand, etc)
Recognizing and naming coins
Introduction to addition and number stories

IB Unit of Inquiry:
Unit 2: It Takes a Village
Focus: How do we get from here to there in our community? What type of things sink and float? What type pt things are attracted to magnets, and what do we use them for?

Shout Outs!!! :)

A HUGE thank you to all of our field trip chaperones: Mr. and Mrs. Kemp, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Darien, and Mrs. Wedderburn!! We had a fun day at Panola Mountain, and we could not have done it without all of your help!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Kemp (grandparents to Quinn E.) made and donated a beautiful coat rack for our dramatic play area! We are using it to hang the dress shirts that the boys love wearing when they play in that area. The Kemps are also creating a new table for that play area as well. Thanks SO much for those additions to our class!

Thanks to our room mom, Mittie Fox, for organizing our class social coming up this Saturday. Hope to see you all there! Mrs. Fox has also been working hard to organize "community helpers" to visit our class and share all about their job. This will kick-off on Friday with a police officer from our local K-9 unit! Thanks, and I know the boys are going to LOVE it!!! :)

What are we learning this week? (Sept 27-Oct 1)

Important News and Notes:

Shout Outs!!!
Thanks so much to Tracy Carter and her mother for making that adjustment on our new chair packs! That helped a lot! I told my stepmother (she made them) about all of the compliments those chair packs have been getting and she couldn't be more thrilled! :)
Another big THANK YOU! to all of the parents who have helped out with take-home projects this week: Angela Russell, Tracy Carter, Keshia Booker and Ty Wedderburn. Several others volunteered to help, and I ran out of things to do! Thanks for all of your willingness to help :) 
Also,  I am ever thankful for our volunteers during station time! We get so much more done with all your help!

FIELD TRIP: Our class date for the field trip is this Tuesday, September 28th. Please read ALL of the information below and follow these guidelines on our field trip day!
-Lunches: There are NO school lunches on field trip days! ALL STUDENTS must bring a sack lunch from home. Please put the lunch in a bag that can be thrown away, and please label that bag with your child's name.
-Uniform: Please wear a uniform or spirit shirt with jeans, khakis, or shorts (please check the weather!!!). Also, we will do a lot of walking so please send your child in SNEAKERS.
-Eat breakfast!!!
-Chaperones: Please be IN the classroom by 8:45, ready to leave!

VOLUNTEER SIGN UP (October): Please visit our class write board to sign up for any days you can come in and help with literacy stations. It is great to have people who can commit to one day each week, but any time you can help out with is great!!! Class Writeboard: http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158


This week's skills:

Language Arts-
Letter of the Week: H (Review previous letters: C,O, A, D, G, M, L)
Sight Words: is, this, you, and, to (Review previous: it, for, are, he, she)
Reading skills: Review characters, setting, problem/solution
Writing: Correct letter formation, Name in title case (First letter capital, rest lowercase), Writing sentences with correct spacing and punctuation
Word Families: _ip (zip, hip, chip)

Math:
Daily calendar routines
Recognizing, writing and counting with numbers 0-9
Patterns
Shapes
Recognizing and naming coins

IB Unit of Inquiry:
Unit 2: It Takes a Village
Focus: What is a community? What are community helpers? What are goods and services? What is the difference between wants and needs? How do we earn wages/salary?


Reading book tip: Echo reading... You read a page and have your child follow along by looking at the words as you read them. Let them read the same page after you. Always remind him to use his finger to point to each word as you read!

What are we learning this week? (Sept 20-24)

Important News and Notes:

CONFERENCES: Went great!!!! Thanks so much to all of you for taking the time to come out and chat with me about your little one. If you EVER have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email! sara.khel@imagineschools.com

LUNCHES: A few of you mentioned that you don't think your son has been eating all of his lunch. We are in the lunch room for 30 minutes, but not finishing could be due to the boys doing more talking than eating... We are trying a solution to this! The first 10 minutes of lunch every day from now forward will be silent time for eating only. Please let me know if you think this seems to be working!

FIELD TRIP: Our class date for the field trip is Tuesday, September 28th (next week). Please read ALL of the information below and follow these guidelines on our field trip day!
-Lunches: There are NO school lunches on field trip days! ALL STUDENTS must bring a sack lunch from home. Please put the lunch in a bag that can be thrown away, and please label that bag with your child's name.
-Uniform: Please wear a uniform or spirit shirt with jeans, khakis, or shorts (please check the weather!!!). Also, we will do a lot of walking so please send your child in SNEAKERS.
-Eat breakfast!!!
-Chaperones: Please be IN the classroom by 8:45, ready to leave!

VOLUNTEER SIGN UP (October): Please visit our class write board to sign up for any days you can come in and help with literacy stations. It is great to have people who can commit to one day each week, but any time you can help out with is great!!! Class Writeboard: http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158


This week's skills:

Language Arts-
Letter of the Week: L (Review previous letters: C,O, A, D, G, M)
Sight Words: is, this, you, and, to (Review previous: it, for, are, he, she)
Reading skills: Review characters, setting, problem/solution
Writing: Correct letter formation, Name in title case (First letter capital, rest lowercase), Writing sentences with correct spacing and punctuation
Word Families: Review _am, _at, _ap

Math:
Daily calendar routines
Recognizing, writing and counting with numbers 0-9
Patterns
Shapes

IB Unit of Inquiry:
Unit 2: It Takes a Village
Focus: What is a community? What are community helpers?


Reading book tip: Retell the story! After you read the story, have your child retell the story to you in his own words. Have him draw pictures of the important events, then mix them up, and put them in the correct order! Maybe you could even create a "comic strip" version of the story using pictures.

What are we learning this week? (September 13-17)

First.... Shout Outs!!!
-I want to say a BIG thank you to all of the parents who have been coming in to the classroom so far this month to help with station time! (Mittie Fox, Shawanna Darien, Angela Russell, Rachel Quartarone, Holly Elrod, Ty Wedderburn) I know others of you area signed up to help later this month, and still others will be signing up later in the year. The boys LOVE having parents come in and help, and of course I love having the extra hands! Our room mom (Mittie Fox) will be organizing our volunteer schedule for October later this month, so be on the lookout for an email from her if you would like to volunteer!
-Another big thanks to everyone who has been sending in materials as we need them. I will continue to send emails as we could use "extras", and I truly appreciate that I have such a giving group of families to help make sure we have all we need in the classroom!

This week's skills:
     Language Arts-
          Letter of the Week: M (Review previous letters: C,O, A, D, G)
          Sight Words: it, for, are, he, she (Review previous: me, go, see, in, the)
          Reading skills: Problem & Solution (Review characters, setting)
          Writing: Correct letter formation, Name in title case (First letter capital, rest lowercase), Writing        sentences with correct spacing and punctuation
          Word Families: _ap (Review _at, and _am)

     Math:
          Daily calendar routines
          Recognizing, writing and counting with numbers 0-9
          Comparing heights

     IB Unit of Inquiry:
          Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I
          Focus: Our Five Senses and Reflection on the past 6 weeks

Reading book tip: Go on a sight word hunt! The books your children are reading contain some of the sight words we have been learning in class and with our homework. Take time as you read to point them out! You can also hunt for sight words at the grocery store, on restaurant menus, and in your church bulletins!

Conference Sign-Up Writeboard: Don't forget to visit our class Writeboard to sign up for your conference time! Conferences are September 15th and 16th, and everyone should have chosen their conference time no later than TUESDAY (September 14)
       Writeboard Instructions:
       -Click this link: http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158
       -Enter the password, "Imagine"
       -At the top, click "Edit this page"
       -Type your first and last name next to your preferred time slot
       -Choose "Save as newest version" at the bottom
Please sign up for your time as soon as possible so you can have your first choice!

Early Release: Please note that both conference days are early dismissal (NOON). Please make carpool arrangements, or let me know of any students who will be staying with after care who do not normally stay.


I can't wait to see you all at conferences to let you know about the progress of your little men! See you later this week!  :)

Weekend Updates: September 10th

We have finished another successful week of learning! I am so proud of all your little gentlemen and the things they are accomplishing. I can't wait to share all the good news with you at conferences next week!
Don't forget to visit our Writeboard and sign up for your conference time! Otherwise, I will have to choose one for you, and ALL students are expected to have a parent attend. Don't forget that Wednesday and Thursday are both EARLY RELEASE days due to conferences. Conference Sign-Up: http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158 (Password: Imagine)

Due to our shortened week (b/c of Labor Day) we did not get around to our new Poem for this week. Please look for poetry journals to come home again NEXT Friday.

Homework: Don't forget to have all homework completed in its entirety and return it to school in the homework folder (with hte reading book) on Monday.

Field Trip: I have only received 2 forms with money so far! Please try to get those in ASAP (preferably Monday!) so we can have everything squared away for that trip to Panola Mountain

Scholastic book orders were due to be turned in today, but I only received two of these. If you would like to order form that catalog, I will extend the deadline to Monday. Please have all forms and money turned in by then so I cn place that order.

Thanks for all you do, and have a GREAT weekend! :)

What are we learning this week? (September 7-10)

This week's skills:
     Language Arts-
          Letter of the Week: G (Review previous letters: C,O, A,D)
          Sight Words: it, for, are, he, she (Review previous: me, go, see, in, the)
          Reading skills: Setting (Review characters)
          Writing: Correct letter formation, Name in title case (First letter capital, rest lowercase), Writing     sentences with correct spacing and punctuation

     Math:
          Daily calendar routines
          Recognizing, writing and counting with numbers 0-9
          Simple AB patterns (i.e. circle, square, circle, square, etc)
          Sorting Coins

     IB Unit of Inquiry:
          Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I
          Focus: Our Five Senses

Homework: Homework completion has gotten so much better! Everyone had their homework folder with their reading book to turn in from last week. Now, please be sure you are completing ALL homework in the packet. Please read the front instructions page and all other pages completely to be sure you are doing everything correctly. This homework will benefit your child if done in its entirety!

Reading book tip: Try echo reading. You read a page, then have your child read that page. Be sure to have your child use their "magic pointer finger" to point to each word as they read. This will help make the connection between print and spoken sounds.

Conference Sign-Up Writeboard: Don't forget to visit our class Writeboard to sign up for your conference time! Conferences are September 15th and 16th.
       Writeboard Instructions:
       -Click this link: http://123.writeboard.com/ab9d810a811fde158
       -Enter the password, "Imagine"
       -At the top, click "Edit this page"
       -Type your first and last name next to your preferred time slot
       -Choose "Save as newest version" at the bottom
Please sign up for your time as soon as possible so you can have your first choice!

What are we learning this week? (August 30-September 3)

This week's skills:
     Language Arts-
          Letter of the Week: D (Review previous letters: C,O, A)
          Sight Words: me, go, see, in, the (Review previous: I, am, at, a, like)
          Reading skills: Characters, Predicting, Title/Author/Illustrator
          Writing: Correct letter formation, Name in title case (First letter capital, rest lowercase), Writing     sentences with correct spacing and punctuation

     Math:
          Daily calendar routines
          Recognizing, writing and counting with numbers 0-9
          Review from last week: Pattern blocks

     IB Unit of Inquiry:
          Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I
          Focus: Our Five Senses
Reminders: Homework continues this week! Your child will bring home his homework folder on Monday, and it will be due back to school completed by the following Monday. Weekly homework will contain a Reading book (to practice every night), Sight words (also to practice nightly), a phonics activity, and a Math activity. Sometimes additional work may be added to this list. Please make sure Reading books stay IN the homework folder when they are not being read! Books belong to the school, and lost books will result in a fine. I reccommend leaving the homework folder at home, on a kitchen table or another prominent place, so you will remember to work each night. But PLEASE remember to send these back to school the following Monday! (Next week though, it will be due Tuesday, since there is no school Monday)

Rest towels will come home Friday, please wash and return them next week. Poetry journals will also continue to come home on Fridays... Read the poem over the weekend, then return on Monday with the homework folder.

What are we learning this week? (August 23rd-27th)

Every week, I will try to make a post letting you know what skills we will be working on in class. This will allow you to discuss and work on these skills at home as well. This website: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/ is an amazing resource for at home practice! On the top, click on "Grade Level Help", then go to Kindergarten skills and browse. There are interactive sites for almost all of the skills we will be working on this year! Most of the activities are in a "game" format, so the children will love practicing.

This week's skills:
Language Arts-

      Letter of the Week: A (Review previous letters: C,O)
      Sight Words: me, go, see, in, the (Review previous: I, am, at, a, like)
      Reading skills: Predicting, Title/Author/Illustrator
      Writing: Correct letter formation, Name in title case (First letter capital, rest lowercase)
Math:
      Daily calendar routines
      Introduction to Pattern blocks
      Comparing lengths
      Number sense (Focus on numbers 1,2, & 3)
      Review from last week: Sorting by attributes
IB Unit of Inquiry:
      Unit 1: Me, Myself, and I
      Focus: Why do we have rules? Why do we need to follow them? How can I be a good citizen? How can I show good character?

Reminder: Formal homework will begin this week! Your child will bring home his homework folder on Monday, and it will be due back to school completed by the following Monday. Weekly homework will contain a Reading book (to practice every night), Sight words (also to practice nightly), a phonics activity, and a Math activity. Sometimes additional work may be added to this list. Please make sure Reading books stay IN the homework folder when they are not being read! Books belong to the school, and lost books will result in a fine.

Week Two has been GREAT!

News and Notes:
•Please make sure you have turned in all school supplies (especially the $5 for communication folders and pencils, primary notebooks and 4 plastic folders).
•Thank you for making sure that the communication folders are checked and returned each day.
•Please remember to send labeled rest towels back on Monday.
•Homework folders will go home next MONDAY. Please read the info page, complete all homework during the week, and return the folder the following MONDAY.
Academic Update
We had another full week of learning! We have been practicing the correct formation and sounds of C and O, reviewed our 5 sight words (I, a, am, at, like) and used them in our writing, wrote our first names in title case (a first capital letter and the rest lowercase), completed daily math routines for calendar, daily count, temperature, attendance and weather and had many discussions and read many stories related to our Unit of Inquiry (UOI), "Me, Myself and I".

Next week, look for: Letter Aa; 5 new sight words (me, go, in, see, the); Reading groups to begin; discussions, stories, poems and songs about family, following rules, and being a good friend;  math practice with number formation and correspondence (1, 2, and 3)



You can help at home by: completing reading homework and sight word practice at home (more info to come home in homework folders on Monday); helping your child to learn his address and phone number; counting forwards to 50 and backwards from 20 with your child; and remembering to READ, READ, READ! :)

We are off to an AMAZING start!

Our first two days of school have been full of learning new rules, procedures and routines. All of the boys seem excited to be a part of our class, and are doing their best to follow directions. So far we have already started our Daily Calendar routines, begun practicing our first set of sight words (I, a, am, like, at), and have spent lots of time learning about our letter of the week (C). You can help at home by reviewing these sight words and the letter of the week with your child.

Some things to remember:
-Carpool: It will get better every day, especially if you help your child to learn his carpool number! Please practice your carpool number until your child has it memorized.
-Communication folders: Continue to check these and sign the behavior log every night. Any papers that do not appear to need to be signed/filled out and returned may stay at home.
-Handwriting: Many of our boys are struggling to hold their pencil correctly, and this is affecting the formation of their letters. Before the real homework starts (3rd week of school), please spend time EVERY night practicing to hold a pencil, write his name, and form/trace the upper and lowercase of every letter. I will do my best to have a laminated practice page home to every student by the end of the week.
-Supplies: If you have not already sent in all of your child's supplies from the supply list, please do so by the end of the week. All signed forms (from the manila Meet & Greet folder) must be turned in by Friday as well.
-Behavior: Please remember that ANY of the "sunny" days mean acceptable behavior. Please do not expect your child to always come home on a Silver or Gold sun, as this is usually rare and only for role-model type behavior. Please do follow through with your child if they have any White or Gray cloud days.

I can already tell this is going to be an amazing year, with some HUGE academic and social gains! Each of your children has already found a special place in my heart, and I am looking forward to spending the year with them.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can always email me at: sara.khel@imagineschools.com

Thanks for all you do! We have such great students because of great parents like YOU!!!

Welcome to our class blog!

I will be updating this site at least once a week, so it is important that you check it frequently! I will use it to post reminders, notes about what we have been learning in the classroom, and ways you can be helping your child at home.

Please start by making note of these important First Day items:
    -Students may be dropped off between 7:40 and 8:00.  Students will be marked tardy after 8:00.
    -Please make sure your child’s backpack and lunchbox are labeled and that your child’s carpool number is on his backpack.
    -I would prefer that all supplies are placed in a large plastic bag labeled with your child’s name.  Labeling individual supplies is unnecessary.
    -Please prepare your child for his first day by helping him to recall his carpool number, discussing the need for asking to use the restroom before it is an emergency and making sure he’s had a great night’s sleep.
    -Remember to send your child with a change of uniform in a labeled ziptop bag.

Don’t forget about Kindergarten Kiss & Cry Monday from 7:30-8:30 in the Multipurpose Room! Have some tea or coffee, and spend some time with some other Kindergarten parents to make the transition to the first day of school just a little bit easier.

Wish List:
These are a few things I would love to have still for our classroom. If you have or would like to purchase any of these items, I thank you in advance!
-coat rack
-Primary writing paper (with large lines and space for picture)
-basic board games (such as Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders)
-educational games and puzzles
-non-perishable snack items
-colored tissue paper for crafts
-used men’s dress shirts (for painting and dramatic play)
-Gift Cards to Target, Wal-Mart, or The School Box are always appreciated!

Contact Mrs. Khel: sara.khel@imagineschools.com