A Peek At Our Week!

 I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and is looking forward to the spring-like weather in the week ahead! Please enjoy a few pictures and updates from Room 115! 🌞💮

Important Dates:

March 10th:

Parent/Teacher Conferences (5-7pm)

March 12th:

Parent/Teacher Conferences (5-7pm)

March 13th:

Early Release

Parent/Teacher Conferences (1-3pm)

March 27th:

Early Release

Staff Professional Development

Announcements:

Parent/Teacher Conferences

It's hard to believe but spring parent/teacher conferences start this week! I'm looking forward to meeting with everyone who signed up and discussing your child's progress! Please note that the conference scheduler is now closed, so if you need to change or cancel your appointment please email me directly. I realize life happens, so I'm more than happy to reschedule if needed!

Guest Readers Wanted!

Did you know that March is National Reading Month? We will be celebrating our love of reading all month long in Room 115, and would like to open our door to parents, grandparents, neighbors, or siblings who would like to share their love of reading as well! Below you will find a link to sign up to be a guest reader in our classroom. On the day of, please bring a book of your choice to read aloud OR contact me ahead of time and I'll happily select one for you! In order to ensure everyone gets an opportunity, please sign up for only one slot. If the dates and/or times available don't work for you, please reach out and I will do my best to find a more convenient time. I am looking forward to welcoming guest readers into our classroom! Sign Up to be a Guest Reader Here!

It's Time for Lunch!

A new month brought new seats in the cafeteria! 

Curriculum Update:

Reader's Workshop

Last week in Reader's Workshop we kicked off module (unit) 6 in our Into Reading program! This module is titled "Home of the Free and the Brave" and poses the essential question: "What makes the USA special?". We began to answer this question by reading the books America the Beautiful: Together We Stand by Katherine Lee Bates, and In Our Country by Susan Canizares. During our lessons we also explored the genres of poetry and songs, and were introduced to the comprehension strategy of visualizing. 

Phonics

It was an exciting time in phonics last week as the students learned about open and closed syllables! The class discovered that when a word has an open syllable like no, go, or so, the vowels says its long sound. In words with closed syllables such as map, hot, and tug the vowel makes it's short sound. The children also practiced reading the new sight/heart words my and by.

Math

In math we have spiraled back to learning about 3D/solid figures, a concept that was introduced in November through Number Corner! During last week's lessons the children sorted 3D shapes by their attributes, explored cylinders and spheres, and even became shape detectives!

A Peek Inside Specials 👀

The class enjoyed showing off their gymnastics moves in P.E. and kicking off March Music Madness with Mrs. Cassani!

Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🍎📖🚌

A Peek At Our Week!

 I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and is doing well after the blizzard! I'm looking forward to the full week of school ahead as we will be getting back to our old routines and even starting some new ones! 😊

Important Dates:

March 10th:

Parent/Teacher Conferences (5-7pm)

March 12th:

Parent/Teacher Conferences (5-7pm)

March 13th:

Early Release

Parent/Teacher Conferences (1-3pm)

March 27th:

Early Release

Staff Professional Development

Announcements:

Parent/Teacher Conferences

It's hard to believe but spring parent/teacher conferences are right around the corner! The conference scheduler closes today, so please make sure to book your appointment ASAP (a link was provided in Mr. Dearborn's SMORE).  I'm looking forward to discussing your child's progress!

March Specials

Please note that tomorrow our class with have media/stem as our special. It is a book check out week, so please have your child return their previous selection to school if they have not already done so. Click Here to view the full March special calendar. A hard copy will be sent home tomorrow! 

Curriculum Update:

Reading

Although last week was a short one, is was also exciting as the students were introduced to our brand new Read to Self Shelf! This additional classroom library provides students with the opportunity to apply the phonics skills we have been learning in class while reading decodable texts. The Read to Self Shelf will always be a choice for students who finish their work early, and will also be a station during our reading center time.

So many exciting titles just waiting to be read! 📖🩷

In addition to our hardcopy books, the students also enjoyed reading digital decodable texts! These books are posted in our Google Classroom and will also be a station during center time.

Math

In math the children continue to learn about two dimensional shapes. In last weeks lessons we were sorting, comparing, composing, and decomposing shapes using pattern blocks. This week we will spiral back to review three dimensional figures and their attributes!

The class had a fun time picking a two dimensional shape and writing clues about it in an activity we called "Guess My Shape". 

Ms. Lemmler Visits!

It was so nice to have Ms. Lemmler back to teach her February SEL lesson which focused on friendship! The students listening to the story Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry, and discussed the qualities of a good friend. 

Thanks for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🍎📖🚌

A Peek At Our Week!

 I hope your child is enjoying their February break so far! Please enjoy a few pictures and updates from Room 115! ❄

Important Dates:

February 16th-20th

No School

February Vacation

Announcements:

Valentine's Day 💘

Room 115 was filled with lots of love on Friday as we celebrated Valentine's Day! Each child got the chance to sit in a special Valentine chair, and collect Valentines from their classmates. This provided each student with a personal experience, as kind words were also shared as Valentines were delivered. Please enjoy a few pictures from our celebration below!

The children also enjoyed completing a valentine themed math activity last week! 💝🍫

Curriculum Update:

Reader's Workshop

In Reader's Workshop last week we continued to discuss the essential question: "What does it mean to try hard?". To help deepen our understanding of this question we read the story Ish by Peter H. Reynolds. While we read we practiced comparing characters, identifying character traits, and making inferences. In phonics, we reviewed all of the short vowel sounds and practiced reading the sight/heart words have and love.

The class enjoyed identifying the missing vowel in cvc words using the interactive Touchview last week!

Math

In math we continue to work in module (unit) 5 and explore geometry concepts. During last week's lessons the children practiced constructing and drawing 2D shapes through hands-on partner games.

Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🍎📖🚌

A Peek At Our Week!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Please enjoy updates and announcements from Room 115. GO PATS! ❆🏈💕

Important Dates:

February 13th:

Valentines Day Celebration

(See below for details)

February 16th-20th

No School

February Vacation

Announcements:

Valentine's Day 💘

Our class will be celebrating Valentines Day on Friday, February 13th! As part of our celebration we will be exchanging valentines. Please click here for some helpful hints and tips for making our celebration an enjoyable one for your child. Please note food and candy is not allowed. A hard copy of this notice was sent home last week.

Happy 100th Day!

Although Friday was a short day for students, it was packed with 100th day fun! The class enjoyed completing self-selected 100th day themed activities which included necklace and crown making, cup stacking, and lots of counting to, of course, 100! Our fashion show was also a HUGE success!

Fashion Show Part 1

Fashion Show Part 2

Curriculum Update:

Morning Bins

Last month the students enjoyed starting their day with morning bins! These bins provide hands on, STEM based activities that reinforce the skills taught in class in a fun and engaging way. The bins provide a nice "soft start" to our morning and are a great way for the students to socialize as they get settled in for the day. I look forward to providing new morning bin activities for the students each month. Take a peek at two of February's activities below! 

In the activity above, the students enjoy playing a Jenga type game with heart shaped pieces! Each piece contains a letter that can be used to make a CVC word. This open ended game provides students practice opportunities with fine motor dexterity, concentration skills, word building and reading practice, as well as strengthens the ability to distinguish between real and nonsense words. 

This month the students also have the opportunity to practice their sight/heart words using fun writing boards. After reading and writing each word, they put it in the Valentine mailbox! 📪🩷

Reader's Workshop

In Reader's Workshop last week we continued to discuss the essential question: "What does it mean to try hard?". To help deepen our understanding of this question we read the stories The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza by Philemon Sturges and The Little Red Hen on Stage by Karen Knapstein. While we read we practiced comparing characters, identifying character traits, and making inferences. In phonics, we learned about the letters v and z and continued to practice reading the sight/heart word see. 

Math

In math we continue to work in module (unit) 5 and explore geometry concepts. During last week's lessons the children sorted and graphed shapes by name, and also sorted shapes by the number of sides and corners.

Writing

Our sentence writing practice was still going strong last week! In order to deepen their understanding of the importance of word order, the students were tasked with unscrambling the words in sentences, then writing them in the correct order. This proved to be a challenging, but fun activity for the class! 

Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🍎📖🚌

A Peek At Our Week!

 It was a short and chilly week last week! My fingers are crossed that warmer days are ahead!! ⛄

Important Dates:

February 6th:

The 100th day of school 😎

Early Release 

11:55am Dismissal

February 14th:

Valentines Day

(See below for details)

February 16th-20th

No School

February Vacation

Announcements:

The 100th Day of School! 

The 100th day of school will now fall on Friday, February 5th. To celebrate, our class will be having a t-shirt fashion show! Please refer to the notice that was sent home with your child last week for specific details. You can also click here to view the notice. In need of an idea? Try one of these!

*Although the notice asks your child to bring their t-shirt to school ahead of time, if it's easier for them to wear it to school on Friday the 6th that's fine with me! Please don't hesitate to let me know if you need help purchasing a plain t-shirt. A shirt you already have around the house is ok too!

Valentine's Day 💘

Our class will be celebrating Valentines Day on Friday, February 13th! As part of our celebration we will be exchanging valentines. Please click here for some helpful hints and tips for making our celebration an enjoyable one for your child. Please note food and candy is not allowed. A hard copy of this notice was sent home last week.

Curriculum Update:

Reader's Workshop

In Reader's Workshop last week the children were introduced to a new module (unit) of stories and asked the essential question: "What does it mean to try hard?" We began to explore this question by enjoying the books Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall and All by Myself by Mercer Mayer. We also used picture and text clues to identify character's feelings, and continue to practice making and checking predictions. In phonics the students learned all about the letter w, and practiced reading the sight/heart word see.

Math

In math we continued to explore two dimensional shapes. The class enjoyed playing a partner called Circle and Squares Race you to 20 which incorporated both shape and number identification. They also compared circles vs. spheres and sorted and counted pattern blocks!

Writing

Our sentence writing was in full swing last week! The students were introduced to a checklist which remind them that a sentence needs to start with a capital letter, end with puncutation or an ending mark, include finger spaces, and tell a complete thought or idea. We also enjoyed a fun song that helped remember these important elements. Click here to listen at home! 

Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🚌📖🍎