Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and enjoying this beautiful fall weather! It was another busy week in Room 202! Please enjoy a few of the highlights below.
Important Dates:
November 11th:
No School
Veteran's Day
November 12th:
Teddy Bear and PJ Day!
Turkey in Disguise Projects Due
November 24th:
Early Release Day
November 25th and 26th:
No School
Thanksgiving Break
Announcements:
Library Tomorrow!
A friendly reminder that our class visits the library/media center on Mondays. Please have your child return their book so that they are able to select a new one. Please also return your child's clean quiet time towel as well. Thanks so much for all of your help! :)
iReady
This week in class we will be taking the iReady assessment on our Chrombooks. iReady is a diagnostic reading assessment which screens for reading difficulties such as dyslexia, and is new to Boyden School this year. Since the program will read certain words, sentences, and passages to your child, it will be helpful for them to use headphones. While I have a small number of headphones already in the classroom, any child who would like to bring their own from home are welcome to. If possible, please have your child bring their headphones to school tomorrow (Monday). Headphones will be returned home after testing has been completed. Thanks so much in advance for your help!
Happy Birthday Teddy Bears!
On Friday, November 12th the kindergarten classes will celebrate the 119th birthday of the teddy bear! The children are invited to wear their comfy pjs and bring a teddy bear (or other furry friend) to school on this day to celebrate. We will also be participating in many fun teddy-themed activities in class. It is sure to be a beary fun day!
Curriculum Update:
This Week's Sight Words: at, up
Reader's Workshop
This week in Reader's Workshop we enjoyed the nursery rhyme The Itsy Bitsy Spider! We discussed as a class that while many children may have heard or recited this rhyme at home or in preschool, in Kindergarten we are now learning to read the words of this childhood classic. We also began to explore the components of "Read to Self", an important and consistent element of Reader's Workshop. We learned that during Read to Self each child is expected to stay in one spot, start reading right away, read the whole time, and use a quiet voice. We practiced all of these expectations during our first Read to Self session on Friday. We also practiced building our stamina by following these expectations for one whole minute! We will continue to build our reading stamina over the next few weeks and will track our progress on our stamina chart in the classroom. Our ending goal is to be able to read to ourselves for 10-15 whole minutes!
The students above practice reading The Itsy Bitsy Spider during Read to Self time.
Fundations
In Fundations last week we learned about the letters e and r. We also practiced reading the sight words "if" and "on".
Centers
We have been putting a great deal of effort into our independent working and problem solving skills since the first days of school, and the students were ready to finally apply those skills as we started centers last week! Center time will take place on Tuesday-Friday each week in our classroom, and will consist of a wide range of hands on letter, sight words, reading, and craft activities. The children will complete one center or table a day, and then can choose a fun early finisher center which gives them the opportunity to practice their letters and/or sounds through the use of playdoh, pegs, letters beads, and so much more! Center time is often a favorite time for many kindergarten students and I am so glad that we have begun this routine in our classroom!
The students above work hard to complete a sight word practice paper.
These students enjoy listening to an Elmer story on their Chromebooks as part of Listening Center.
The students above make their own Elmer the Patchwork elephants at the Creation Station!
Early finishers practice making their letters and sight words with Playdoh, pegs, and letter beads!
Writer's Workshop
It was an exciting time in Writer's Workshop as we began our Show and Tell unit! Before writing about the items we brought from home, we spent some time perfecting our labeling skills. Good thing we had a very brave (or crazy ;) volunteer who allowed us to label them!
The class then began drawing a labeling the Show and Tell items they brought from home. At this age drawing can be a very challenging task for many children. I continue to encourage them to start with simple shapes they know (circle, square, triangle, etc.) and go from there. We will continue to practice our drawing skills frequently throughout the year.
It was a great time for Social Studies last week as we learned about the holiday Diwali! Through read alouds and video clips we discovered that Diwali is also known as The Festival of Lights and is celebrated over five days. This very special holiday originated in India and one of the most recognizable symbols of Diwali is the diya, or small oil lamp.
A friend shares a diya she was given by her preschool teacher with the class.
We then tried making our own diyas using Model Magic Clay! We can't wait for our diyas to dry so that we can add many beautiful colors to them!
Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to see all that is new in Room 202!
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