MARCH 2020
February 2020
February went by in a flash and the rate at which Room 102 is growing and learning is staggering!
English Language Arts Updates:
We have read and decorated many more poems and songs for Valentine’s Day. We continue to read Ramona Quimby Age 8.
In Fundations, we continue to learn about trick words. A Trick Word is a word that does not play by the rules. It is a word containing at least one part that cannot be read correctly via blending or cannot be spelled correctly using the code knowledge taught so far. So far we have talked about the trick words a, am, and, as, can, for, I, go, is, the, like, my, play, see, said, to, you, we, was, went and are. You can practice recognizing, reading and writing these words at home!
In writing, we brainstormed lists of things we did over the February vacation, and wrote and illustrated stories to go with them. We continue to work on leaving spaces between words, stretching out words to hear sounds, and using our best handwriting. We have begun writing in our Fundations journals. I look forward to sharing this writing with you at the parent conferences. We have begun opinion writing.
Math: This month we have continued to work on addition and subtraction. We have learned more fun math games. We played an addition and subtraction game with Legos. We have started math RTI (Response to Intervention), a multi-tiered approach to teaching math that targets instruction based on individual needs. We are working on building number sense, counting skills, and more and less.
Science: We have begun talking about our next unit materials and motion. We have been learning about the properties of wood. The children had a chance to try and make a piece of wood sink in a tub of water. Ask your child to tell you about this fun experiment!
Open Circle: In Open Circle this month we are talking about how to solve problems. We use a traffic signal as a visual. Ask your student what each color means for solving a problem. We are talking about expected and unexpected behavior, particularly in the lunchroom and at recess. We are working out how to join play, how to included others, and what to do if someone is not being kind or inclusive.
English Language Arts Updates:
We have read and decorated many more poems and songs for Valentine’s Day. We continue to read Ramona Quimby Age 8.
In Fundations, we continue to learn about trick words. A Trick Word is a word that does not play by the rules. It is a word containing at least one part that cannot be read correctly via blending or cannot be spelled correctly using the code knowledge taught so far. So far we have talked about the trick words a, am, and, as, can, for, I, go, is, the, like, my, play, see, said, to, you, we, was, went and are. You can practice recognizing, reading and writing these words at home!
In writing, we brainstormed lists of things we did over the February vacation, and wrote and illustrated stories to go with them. We continue to work on leaving spaces between words, stretching out words to hear sounds, and using our best handwriting. We have begun writing in our Fundations journals. I look forward to sharing this writing with you at the parent conferences. We have begun opinion writing.
Math: This month we have continued to work on addition and subtraction. We have learned more fun math games. We played an addition and subtraction game with Legos. We have started math RTI (Response to Intervention), a multi-tiered approach to teaching math that targets instruction based on individual needs. We are working on building number sense, counting skills, and more and less.
Science: We have begun talking about our next unit materials and motion. We have been learning about the properties of wood. The children had a chance to try and make a piece of wood sink in a tub of water. Ask your child to tell you about this fun experiment!
Open Circle: In Open Circle this month we are talking about how to solve problems. We use a traffic signal as a visual. Ask your student what each color means for solving a problem. We are talking about expected and unexpected behavior, particularly in the lunchroom and at recess. We are working out how to join play, how to included others, and what to do if someone is not being kind or inclusive.
January 2020
From Claypit Hill's morning message: "Celebration or Other Announcements: Two kindergarten students from Room 102 have been going above and beyond to care for our school. Claire M. and Avery S. have been picking up trash during recess. Thank you, Claire and Avery, for being such caring Cubs!"
Dear Families, What a busy and fun month we have had in Kindergarten!
Happy Groundhog Day! Ask your child about our groundhog graph. Phil did NOT see his shadow this morning!
**OPTIONAL-Please send in a package of Valentine stickers with your child to share with the class. We will be having Valentine Centers on 2/14. Thanks to those families who have donated tissues and paper towels, it is appreciated!
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we learned how to form our uppercase letters. We have been practicing blending and segmenting words. We have been tapping out sounds in words, focusing on 3 sound cvc words with short vowels. We have read and decorated more poems, including January, Snow, Chubby Snowman and many more.
In reading, we are building our understanding of concepts of print. We are reading the chapter book Ramona Quimby, Age 8. We have read many other stories too, including Snowflake Bentley, Alexander and the Wind Up Mouse, Families, Families, Families, and It's Mine. We are reading independently with our books bins every week. For some children this means reading pictures, others are beginning to read sight words and trick words, and others are beginning leveled books. We all read from our song and poetry folders. We will be beginning reading groups soon.
In writing we continue to write tricks words and sounds we hear. We read stories and write about our favorite parts. We have begun work in our new writing journals.
Math: This month we have begun addition and subtraction. We have told number stories about adding and subtracting, and written and illustrated number stories. We have learned some fun math games; BUMP, Die Minus One, Die Plus 2, and Addition Cross Out. We have met the characters GUS the PLUS, who is so nice and always giving more, and LINUS THE MINUS, who isn’t so nice, taking things away.
Open Circle: We have been reviewing what we have learned about so far in Open Circle. We learned about speaking up and why it's important to speak slowly and carefully and look at the people you are talking to. We have been talking about problems at school and will soon learn some more tricks to help us solve problems.
Science and Technology:
On the interactive whiteboard we are practicing handwriting, reading our morning message, learning about tally marks, and learning how to write number sentences, like 5+2=7. We are also reading short books and talking about concepts in print. We continue to enjoy “brain breaks” movement and dance during indoor recess and transition times. The class is working on Symphony Math on the classroom ipads and in Skills Lab.
In STEAM this month we have been building cup towers and it has been very exciting. Julia, Avery M., and Mikaela built a sturdy cup tower that was 39 cup levels tall and reached the classroom ceiling. (I helped with the last few levels:). The structure lasted overnight and the kids knocked it down in a video that I will share via email.
We continue to observe trees and have drawn a sketch of our class tree in winter. Our tree is a deciduous sugar maple. Right now it doesn't have any leaves, but it does have something interesting hanging from it's branches, ask your student what that is!
Upcoming Dates:
-February 11th-The 100th Day of School- be on the lookout for a note home soon about sending in a collection of 100 things!
-February 14th, Valentine's Day, we will all exchange cards, details coming soon!
-School Vacation February 17-21st
Dear Families, What a busy and fun month we have had in Kindergarten!
Happy Groundhog Day! Ask your child about our groundhog graph. Phil did NOT see his shadow this morning!
**OPTIONAL-Please send in a package of Valentine stickers with your child to share with the class. We will be having Valentine Centers on 2/14. Thanks to those families who have donated tissues and paper towels, it is appreciated!
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we learned how to form our uppercase letters. We have been practicing blending and segmenting words. We have been tapping out sounds in words, focusing on 3 sound cvc words with short vowels. We have read and decorated more poems, including January, Snow, Chubby Snowman and many more.
In reading, we are building our understanding of concepts of print. We are reading the chapter book Ramona Quimby, Age 8. We have read many other stories too, including Snowflake Bentley, Alexander and the Wind Up Mouse, Families, Families, Families, and It's Mine. We are reading independently with our books bins every week. For some children this means reading pictures, others are beginning to read sight words and trick words, and others are beginning leveled books. We all read from our song and poetry folders. We will be beginning reading groups soon.
In writing we continue to write tricks words and sounds we hear. We read stories and write about our favorite parts. We have begun work in our new writing journals.
Math: This month we have begun addition and subtraction. We have told number stories about adding and subtracting, and written and illustrated number stories. We have learned some fun math games; BUMP, Die Minus One, Die Plus 2, and Addition Cross Out. We have met the characters GUS the PLUS, who is so nice and always giving more, and LINUS THE MINUS, who isn’t so nice, taking things away.
Open Circle: We have been reviewing what we have learned about so far in Open Circle. We learned about speaking up and why it's important to speak slowly and carefully and look at the people you are talking to. We have been talking about problems at school and will soon learn some more tricks to help us solve problems.
Science and Technology:
On the interactive whiteboard we are practicing handwriting, reading our morning message, learning about tally marks, and learning how to write number sentences, like 5+2=7. We are also reading short books and talking about concepts in print. We continue to enjoy “brain breaks” movement and dance during indoor recess and transition times. The class is working on Symphony Math on the classroom ipads and in Skills Lab.
In STEAM this month we have been building cup towers and it has been very exciting. Julia, Avery M., and Mikaela built a sturdy cup tower that was 39 cup levels tall and reached the classroom ceiling. (I helped with the last few levels:). The structure lasted overnight and the kids knocked it down in a video that I will share via email.
We continue to observe trees and have drawn a sketch of our class tree in winter. Our tree is a deciduous sugar maple. Right now it doesn't have any leaves, but it does have something interesting hanging from it's branches, ask your student what that is!
Upcoming Dates:
-February 11th-The 100th Day of School- be on the lookout for a note home soon about sending in a collection of 100 things!
-February 14th, Valentine's Day, we will all exchange cards, details coming soon!
-School Vacation February 17-21st
December News 2019
Dear Families,
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a restful and joyful time with family. Peace was present in Room 102 this December. I wanted to thank you all again for the very generous gifts. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for a new sign up for volunteer opportunities in the new year. We will be looking for STEAM, games and art volunteers.
A note about STEAM: Children LOVE going to the STEAM center every Friday and parents have been gracious in their time cutting, taping, gluing and offering design advice. What you may see as a pile of trash is actually a thoughtfully created project by a future engineer! To date countless projects have been built including: a hat, a candy hider, a game, a penguin, a boat, a house, a music maker, a bunny, a robot, a kitty cat, binoculars, a jewelry box, glasses, a design, and a candy holder to name a few.
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we finished learning sounds for all consonants and the short vowels. We are beginning to build cvc words, stretch out words to hear more sounds, and isolate beginning, middle and end sounds. We have been practicing reading skills including sentence structure, rhyming and counting syllables. In handwriting we have finished learning how to form all the lowercase letters. In writing, we continued to write and draw about our weekends. We wrote about ways to get calm when we are upset.
In reading, we are building our stamina in Reading Workshop, spending more and more time reading independently. We now spend about 15 minutes with our book bins, reading books, poems and songs. We finished Beezus and Ramona, and are about halfway through Ramona the Brave. Ask your child if Ramona has a hole in her house!!
Math: This month we began to learn about measuring. We continue to practice counting and number sense to 20. We have been talking about patterns. We are working on greater than, less than, and equal to when answering our question of the day. Ask your child if they can draw you a < or > sign between 2 numbers.
Ms. Lepow, our math curriculum specialist, came in and taught us how to use Rekenreks! Developed by mathematics education researchers in the Netherlands (although similar models were used in ancient cultures) the Rekenrek combines various strengths of other manipulatives (e.g., number lines, base-10 blocks, counters, etc.) in one accessible tool.
The Rekenrek is comprised of two strings of ten beads each, strategically broken into two groups: five red beads, and five white beads. Readily apparent in this model is an implicit invitation for children to think in groups of five and ten. The strings of red and white beads (in groups of 5) provide a visual model that encourages young learners to subitize, i.e., to build numbers based on groups of five and ten.
(http://www.therekenrek.com/2013/)
Open Circle: In Open Circle this month we have talked about the whirly burly snowstorm in our brains and practiced ways to calm down when we are feeling overwhelmed.
Science and Technology:
On the interactive whiteboard we have played measuring and sorting games. We are enjoying “brain breaks” -movement and dance during indoor recess and transition times. The class is working on Symphony Math during skills lab, and Lexia on the classroom ipads.
We have been taking a closer look at weather. The children have a weather graph and they visit the classroom thermometer every day to fill in their graph. We talked about a tool for measuring the wind and are building our own wind socks.
Most excitingly, we participated in the global movement, the Hour of Code. We introduced coding to the kindergarten through the Bee Bots. Ask your kids about the Bee Bots!
Of note:
Symphony Math is an “at school tool” for math growth. The math curriculum specialists ask that you do not use this program at home!
Buddies: We are buddies with Ms. Paratore’s 3th grade class. So far we have gathered 3 times, once the students made a getting to know you book, once we made feelings pumpkins and then we made cards!
Volunteers: A reminder that if you are coming into the classroom to volunteer, you must complete a CORI form. Stop in the office and request a form to fill out before coming to the classroom. A new sign up for STEAM, art and game volunteer will be coming out soon, of course if you have another date that you would like to come in, just send me an email and we can arrange something.
Upcoming Dates:
Friendly Reminders and Favors:
Please remember to teach your child to dress themselves for outdoor winter play, especially zipping coats and tucking in mittens and snowpants. I recommend sending your child’s snow gear in a separate bag, typically a grocery recycle bag works well. LABEL LABEL LABEL!!!!!
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a restful and joyful time with family. Peace was present in Room 102 this December. I wanted to thank you all again for the very generous gifts. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for a new sign up for volunteer opportunities in the new year. We will be looking for STEAM, games and art volunteers.
A note about STEAM: Children LOVE going to the STEAM center every Friday and parents have been gracious in their time cutting, taping, gluing and offering design advice. What you may see as a pile of trash is actually a thoughtfully created project by a future engineer! To date countless projects have been built including: a hat, a candy hider, a game, a penguin, a boat, a house, a music maker, a bunny, a robot, a kitty cat, binoculars, a jewelry box, glasses, a design, and a candy holder to name a few.
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we finished learning sounds for all consonants and the short vowels. We are beginning to build cvc words, stretch out words to hear more sounds, and isolate beginning, middle and end sounds. We have been practicing reading skills including sentence structure, rhyming and counting syllables. In handwriting we have finished learning how to form all the lowercase letters. In writing, we continued to write and draw about our weekends. We wrote about ways to get calm when we are upset.
In reading, we are building our stamina in Reading Workshop, spending more and more time reading independently. We now spend about 15 minutes with our book bins, reading books, poems and songs. We finished Beezus and Ramona, and are about halfway through Ramona the Brave. Ask your child if Ramona has a hole in her house!!
Math: This month we began to learn about measuring. We continue to practice counting and number sense to 20. We have been talking about patterns. We are working on greater than, less than, and equal to when answering our question of the day. Ask your child if they can draw you a < or > sign between 2 numbers.
Ms. Lepow, our math curriculum specialist, came in and taught us how to use Rekenreks! Developed by mathematics education researchers in the Netherlands (although similar models were used in ancient cultures) the Rekenrek combines various strengths of other manipulatives (e.g., number lines, base-10 blocks, counters, etc.) in one accessible tool.
The Rekenrek is comprised of two strings of ten beads each, strategically broken into two groups: five red beads, and five white beads. Readily apparent in this model is an implicit invitation for children to think in groups of five and ten. The strings of red and white beads (in groups of 5) provide a visual model that encourages young learners to subitize, i.e., to build numbers based on groups of five and ten.
(http://www.therekenrek.com/2013/)
Open Circle: In Open Circle this month we have talked about the whirly burly snowstorm in our brains and practiced ways to calm down when we are feeling overwhelmed.
Science and Technology:
On the interactive whiteboard we have played measuring and sorting games. We are enjoying “brain breaks” -movement and dance during indoor recess and transition times. The class is working on Symphony Math during skills lab, and Lexia on the classroom ipads.
We have been taking a closer look at weather. The children have a weather graph and they visit the classroom thermometer every day to fill in their graph. We talked about a tool for measuring the wind and are building our own wind socks.
Most excitingly, we participated in the global movement, the Hour of Code. We introduced coding to the kindergarten through the Bee Bots. Ask your kids about the Bee Bots!
Of note:
Symphony Math is an “at school tool” for math growth. The math curriculum specialists ask that you do not use this program at home!
Buddies: We are buddies with Ms. Paratore’s 3th grade class. So far we have gathered 3 times, once the students made a getting to know you book, once we made feelings pumpkins and then we made cards!
Volunteers: A reminder that if you are coming into the classroom to volunteer, you must complete a CORI form. Stop in the office and request a form to fill out before coming to the classroom. A new sign up for STEAM, art and game volunteer will be coming out soon, of course if you have another date that you would like to come in, just send me an email and we can arrange something.
Upcoming Dates:
- January 6nd, school is open!
- January 20, NO SCHOOL, Martin Luther King Day.
Friendly Reminders and Favors:
Please remember to teach your child to dress themselves for outdoor winter play, especially zipping coats and tucking in mittens and snowpants. I recommend sending your child’s snow gear in a separate bag, typically a grocery recycle bag works well. LABEL LABEL LABEL!!!!!
November News 2019
Dear Families,
November flew right by and we are having great fun in room 102. The weather is changing! Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor play everyday. It is rare that we stay in inside! Please remember to teach your child to dress themselves for outdoor winter play, especially zipping coats. I recommend sending your child’s snow gear in a separate bag, typically a grocery recycle bag works well. We already have had some items go missing, it happens more often that you think. The best way for your items to return to us is if you label them. I recommend Mabel's labels, they go on anything from water bottles to mittens and are dishwasher and washing machine durable. PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!!!! Extra socks and mittens in backpacks are great ideas. As is a change of shoes so kids don't have to wear boots all day.
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we learned the sounds and lowercase letter formations of many letters including a, g, d, s, e, r, p, and j. We are isolating sounds as beginning, middle or ending in words. We have read and decorated many more poems and songs for our black folders including Albuquerque Turkey, Thanksgiving Dinner, and 5 Green and Speckled Frogs.
In writing, we continue to write and draw about our weekends and things we like.
We talked about what it means to be thankful and wrote about it on leaves for a kindergarten tree on display outside the gym. We read a Native American story about Giving Thanks. We finished the book Ramaona and Beezus and have begun (by class vote 18-2) to read Ramona the Brave. Ask your child why Ramona is getting a hole chopped in her house.
Math: This month we learned about greater than, less than, and equal to. We continue to practice counting and number sense and have been comparing numbers. We have been talking about attributes and built attribute block trains where we change only one attribute from car to car. We played math games including Guess My Rule, What’s Missing, and Die Plus One.
Open Circle: In Open Circle this month we have talked about ganging up on someone, including each other, and listening when someone asks you to stop.
Science and Technology:
On the interactive whiteboard we are learning to use tally marks to keep track of numbers when we answer our question of the day. We are also learning to make the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols. We are using flipcharts to practice writing letters and numbers.
Of note:
We have begun RTI (Response to Intervention) early intervention groups. These groups are flexible and will change over the course of the year. Jen Socha, the reading specialist, and Julie Cote, the kindergarten special educator, are involved in meeting with small groups in the classroom for more targeted practice in specific literacy and math skills.
Birthdays: We have had several birthdays so far this year. On (or near) your child’s birthday, we read a birthday book, perform a birthday chant and sing “Happy Birthday”. We also have the class stand together in a circle representing the sun. The class holds the “sun” (a yellow beach ball). The birthday child holds the “earth” (a globe). The birthday child walks around the sun for each year of their life. They also bring a birthday bag home with books, a journal, and a small gift.
Upcoming Dates:
-SAVE THE DATE! ROOM 102 Open House will be Wednesday, December 18th, from 8:00-8:30am. This is a chance for you to come in and see your child’s busy classroom and all their work!
- Winter Recess begins December 21st.
November flew right by and we are having great fun in room 102. The weather is changing! Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor play everyday. It is rare that we stay in inside! Please remember to teach your child to dress themselves for outdoor winter play, especially zipping coats. I recommend sending your child’s snow gear in a separate bag, typically a grocery recycle bag works well. We already have had some items go missing, it happens more often that you think. The best way for your items to return to us is if you label them. I recommend Mabel's labels, they go on anything from water bottles to mittens and are dishwasher and washing machine durable. PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!!!! Extra socks and mittens in backpacks are great ideas. As is a change of shoes so kids don't have to wear boots all day.
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we learned the sounds and lowercase letter formations of many letters including a, g, d, s, e, r, p, and j. We are isolating sounds as beginning, middle or ending in words. We have read and decorated many more poems and songs for our black folders including Albuquerque Turkey, Thanksgiving Dinner, and 5 Green and Speckled Frogs.
In writing, we continue to write and draw about our weekends and things we like.
We talked about what it means to be thankful and wrote about it on leaves for a kindergarten tree on display outside the gym. We read a Native American story about Giving Thanks. We finished the book Ramaona and Beezus and have begun (by class vote 18-2) to read Ramona the Brave. Ask your child why Ramona is getting a hole chopped in her house.
Math: This month we learned about greater than, less than, and equal to. We continue to practice counting and number sense and have been comparing numbers. We have been talking about attributes and built attribute block trains where we change only one attribute from car to car. We played math games including Guess My Rule, What’s Missing, and Die Plus One.
Open Circle: In Open Circle this month we have talked about ganging up on someone, including each other, and listening when someone asks you to stop.
Science and Technology:
On the interactive whiteboard we are learning to use tally marks to keep track of numbers when we answer our question of the day. We are also learning to make the greater than, less than, and equal to symbols. We are using flipcharts to practice writing letters and numbers.
Of note:
We have begun RTI (Response to Intervention) early intervention groups. These groups are flexible and will change over the course of the year. Jen Socha, the reading specialist, and Julie Cote, the kindergarten special educator, are involved in meeting with small groups in the classroom for more targeted practice in specific literacy and math skills.
Birthdays: We have had several birthdays so far this year. On (or near) your child’s birthday, we read a birthday book, perform a birthday chant and sing “Happy Birthday”. We also have the class stand together in a circle representing the sun. The class holds the “sun” (a yellow beach ball). The birthday child holds the “earth” (a globe). The birthday child walks around the sun for each year of their life. They also bring a birthday bag home with books, a journal, and a small gift.
Upcoming Dates:
-SAVE THE DATE! ROOM 102 Open House will be Wednesday, December 18th, from 8:00-8:30am. This is a chance for you to come in and see your child’s busy classroom and all their work!
- Winter Recess begins December 21st.
October News 2019
Dear Families, I have enjoyed meeting with many of
you at conferences this October and look forward to
the rest in the next 2 weeks! The first 6 weeks of school
are behind us and we are in the full swing of learning and well into
our established classroom routines.
Be sure to read to the bottom for important upcoming dates! Also check out the photos page for many new photos!
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we have read and decorated more poems and songs for our black folders including 5 Little Pumpkins, I Like, My Pumpkin Seed, and many more. We have learned many lowercase letter sounds and how to write them. We are learning about sentences, punctuation, first sounds in words, and rhyming.
In writing we continue to write and draw about our weekends and things we like. We have talked about ways to write in kindergarten. In reading we have introduced individual book bins that have small readers and the song and poetry folders. We have read many of the book donations from the book fair (thank you!), and more books about Fall/Autumn and trees. We finished reading the chapter book Ramona the Pest and have begun reading Beezus and Ramona. Ask your child what happened to Ribsy the dog.
Math:
In addition to continuing number sense and counting this month, we have explored sorting and classifying. We have played math games including What’s Missing, Guess my Rule, and One More. We read “Tally O’Malley” and learned about making tally marks. We explored blocks and talked about their attributes (color, size, shape). We did pumpkin math, measuring our pumpkins height, weight and circumference and determining whether pumpkins sink or float.
Open Circle:
We have practiced “whole body listening”, ask your child to explain what this means. We have been practicing ways to calm down when we get upset, ask your child about calm breathing. We have learned about the part of our brain involved in learning and feelings. Ask your child about the frontal cortex or the amygdala.
Science and Technology:
We are continuing to talk about trees. We have talked about the lifecycle of the apples and pumpkins. We have explored leaves and talked about their role for trees and what happens in fall/winter. We have drawn scientific pictures of our class tree in summer and fall. We have done drawings of our pumpkins through a scientist's eyes, and painted a pumpkin from an artist's eyes.
We have begun using programs in Skills Lab including Starfall and Lexia.
Of note:
Library falls on Fridays. We say to children that it is no big deal if they forget their book. However, we are unable to bring children down to exchange their books at other times during the school week. If they forget their books on Friday, they can just hang onto it for another week. Thanks for your understanding!
Please do NOT use Lexia or Symphony Math at home, these are at-school tools :).
Children will be bringing home what may appear to be trash over the course of the school year. These creations are coming from the STEAM center, and children often work very hard designing and creating these projects. This year children have built things from a fishing tackle box to a dinosaur house using recycled materials and string and tape. Check out the picture book Rosie Revere Engineer which speaks more about this wonderful process.
Upcoming Dates:
-November 11th, No School, Veteran's Day
-November 20th, 11:30am dismissal-no lunch
November 27th - 11:30am dismissal-no lunch
LOOK AHEAD-December 18, 8:00am- 8:30am Room 102 Open House.
Dear Families, I have enjoyed meeting with many of
you at conferences this October and look forward to
the rest in the next 2 weeks! The first 6 weeks of school
are behind us and we are in the full swing of learning and well into
our established classroom routines.
Be sure to read to the bottom for important upcoming dates! Also check out the photos page for many new photos!
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we have read and decorated more poems and songs for our black folders including 5 Little Pumpkins, I Like, My Pumpkin Seed, and many more. We have learned many lowercase letter sounds and how to write them. We are learning about sentences, punctuation, first sounds in words, and rhyming.
In writing we continue to write and draw about our weekends and things we like. We have talked about ways to write in kindergarten. In reading we have introduced individual book bins that have small readers and the song and poetry folders. We have read many of the book donations from the book fair (thank you!), and more books about Fall/Autumn and trees. We finished reading the chapter book Ramona the Pest and have begun reading Beezus and Ramona. Ask your child what happened to Ribsy the dog.
Math:
In addition to continuing number sense and counting this month, we have explored sorting and classifying. We have played math games including What’s Missing, Guess my Rule, and One More. We read “Tally O’Malley” and learned about making tally marks. We explored blocks and talked about their attributes (color, size, shape). We did pumpkin math, measuring our pumpkins height, weight and circumference and determining whether pumpkins sink or float.
Open Circle:
We have practiced “whole body listening”, ask your child to explain what this means. We have been practicing ways to calm down when we get upset, ask your child about calm breathing. We have learned about the part of our brain involved in learning and feelings. Ask your child about the frontal cortex or the amygdala.
Science and Technology:
We are continuing to talk about trees. We have talked about the lifecycle of the apples and pumpkins. We have explored leaves and talked about their role for trees and what happens in fall/winter. We have drawn scientific pictures of our class tree in summer and fall. We have done drawings of our pumpkins through a scientist's eyes, and painted a pumpkin from an artist's eyes.
We have begun using programs in Skills Lab including Starfall and Lexia.
Of note:
Library falls on Fridays. We say to children that it is no big deal if they forget their book. However, we are unable to bring children down to exchange their books at other times during the school week. If they forget their books on Friday, they can just hang onto it for another week. Thanks for your understanding!
Please do NOT use Lexia or Symphony Math at home, these are at-school tools :).
Children will be bringing home what may appear to be trash over the course of the school year. These creations are coming from the STEAM center, and children often work very hard designing and creating these projects. This year children have built things from a fishing tackle box to a dinosaur house using recycled materials and string and tape. Check out the picture book Rosie Revere Engineer which speaks more about this wonderful process.
Upcoming Dates:
-November 11th, No School, Veteran's Day
-November 20th, 11:30am dismissal-no lunch
November 27th - 11:30am dismissal-no lunch
LOOK AHEAD-December 18, 8:00am- 8:30am Room 102 Open House.
SEPTEMBER NEWS-9/30/19
Dear Families, It was a pleasure to meet and see so many of you at Curriculum Night! I look forward to working with you in the months ahead and hope to see you in the classroom for a variety of activities. Our classroom volunteer schedule is quickly filling up. Please remember to sign up only one time for this fall session so that other families can have a chance to come into the classroom. We will soon open it up for people to sign up for more times.
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we have been listening to beginning, middle, and ending sounds, playing listening games, and learning about rhyming. We have read and decorated many poems and songs for our black folders including The Incy Wincy Spider, Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and many more. Many children can recite these poems and songs by heart and we call this reading!
In writing we have been writing and drawing about our weekends and learning step-by-step drawing in our drawing journals. In reading we have read about the Pigeon, Piggie and Elephant, and books about trees. We are listening to the chapter book Ramona the Pest. Ask your child to tell you something about this story, like what happened with Ramona and her new red boots.
Math: Much of this month’s math has been exploring the manipulatives we will be using this year. We have played with tiles, pattern blocks, rods, exploragons, attribute blocks, 10 frames, number shapes and unifix cubes. We have played math games including match one die and cross out. We have talked about ways to count carefully. We are charting the days we have been in school by both grouping straws into place values of ones, tens, and hundreds, and by showing days in ten frames. Every day we have a question of the day, where we count and track the number of yes and no answers, write those numbers, and discuss more and less. We are practicing our handwriting with numeral writing. See if your child remembers any of the numeral songs for #1-10.
Open Circle: We are learning about being safe, quiet and cooperative. We established our classrooms rules- “1. be kind and friendly 2. be safe and helpful 3. be good listeners 4. be good sharers and 5. always try our best”. Please take a minute to discuss these rules with your child and what rules fit into those 5 categories. We have been finding out what we have in common with other children in the classroom.
Science and Technology: We are learning about trees, deciduous and conifer, and the changes that trees go through during the seasons. We have had a chance to explore on the classroom ipads, playing Starfall. We play many counting and story sequencing games on the whiteboard.
Of note:
We read about “Whole Body Listening”. We show we are listening using our whole body, our ears, eyes, mouths, hands, feet, bodies, brains and hearts!
Ms. Lepow, the math curriculum specialist for Claypit, came in to read Over in the Ocean, which is a picture book focused on increasing the number of sea creatures to count.
We are learning our way around Claypit Hill! We have had Library with Ms. Burman, Music with Ms. Davis, Art with Ms. Martinez, Skills Lab with Ms. Bachman, and Physical Education with Ms. LeBaron.
During choice time we have explored with blocks and trains, dined in the kitchen, created with playdough, constructed with legos, poked with “push pins” and colored.
Be sure to check out the website’s Photos page for lots of pictures.
Upcoming Dates:
Conferences begin Wednesday October 16th!
NO SCHOOL Wednesday, October 9th or Monday, October 14th.
Friendly Reminders and Favors:
Morning snack is meant to be a short, 15 minute affair. Please send in something small, but perhaps with some protein to help them last until lunch.
Arrival and dismissal are very busy times for teachers, please email Ms. Root if you have questions or concerns as we can’t really stop and talk during that time. Thank you!
Please call or email the office if your child will be sick or late! Also let BASE know if that pertains to you
Please email me with any questions!
[email protected]
Dear Families, It was a pleasure to meet and see so many of you at Curriculum Night! I look forward to working with you in the months ahead and hope to see you in the classroom for a variety of activities. Our classroom volunteer schedule is quickly filling up. Please remember to sign up only one time for this fall session so that other families can have a chance to come into the classroom. We will soon open it up for people to sign up for more times.
English Language Arts Updates:
In ELA this month, we have been listening to beginning, middle, and ending sounds, playing listening games, and learning about rhyming. We have read and decorated many poems and songs for our black folders including The Incy Wincy Spider, Jack and Jill, Humpty Dumpty, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and many more. Many children can recite these poems and songs by heart and we call this reading!
In writing we have been writing and drawing about our weekends and learning step-by-step drawing in our drawing journals. In reading we have read about the Pigeon, Piggie and Elephant, and books about trees. We are listening to the chapter book Ramona the Pest. Ask your child to tell you something about this story, like what happened with Ramona and her new red boots.
Math: Much of this month’s math has been exploring the manipulatives we will be using this year. We have played with tiles, pattern blocks, rods, exploragons, attribute blocks, 10 frames, number shapes and unifix cubes. We have played math games including match one die and cross out. We have talked about ways to count carefully. We are charting the days we have been in school by both grouping straws into place values of ones, tens, and hundreds, and by showing days in ten frames. Every day we have a question of the day, where we count and track the number of yes and no answers, write those numbers, and discuss more and less. We are practicing our handwriting with numeral writing. See if your child remembers any of the numeral songs for #1-10.
Open Circle: We are learning about being safe, quiet and cooperative. We established our classrooms rules- “1. be kind and friendly 2. be safe and helpful 3. be good listeners 4. be good sharers and 5. always try our best”. Please take a minute to discuss these rules with your child and what rules fit into those 5 categories. We have been finding out what we have in common with other children in the classroom.
Science and Technology: We are learning about trees, deciduous and conifer, and the changes that trees go through during the seasons. We have had a chance to explore on the classroom ipads, playing Starfall. We play many counting and story sequencing games on the whiteboard.
Of note:
We read about “Whole Body Listening”. We show we are listening using our whole body, our ears, eyes, mouths, hands, feet, bodies, brains and hearts!
Ms. Lepow, the math curriculum specialist for Claypit, came in to read Over in the Ocean, which is a picture book focused on increasing the number of sea creatures to count.
We are learning our way around Claypit Hill! We have had Library with Ms. Burman, Music with Ms. Davis, Art with Ms. Martinez, Skills Lab with Ms. Bachman, and Physical Education with Ms. LeBaron.
During choice time we have explored with blocks and trains, dined in the kitchen, created with playdough, constructed with legos, poked with “push pins” and colored.
Be sure to check out the website’s Photos page for lots of pictures.
Upcoming Dates:
Conferences begin Wednesday October 16th!
NO SCHOOL Wednesday, October 9th or Monday, October 14th.
Friendly Reminders and Favors:
Morning snack is meant to be a short, 15 minute affair. Please send in something small, but perhaps with some protein to help them last until lunch.
Arrival and dismissal are very busy times for teachers, please email Ms. Root if you have questions or concerns as we can’t really stop and talk during that time. Thank you!
Please call or email the office if your child will be sick or late! Also let BASE know if that pertains to you
Please email me with any questions!
[email protected]
Kindergarten Nuts and Bolts
ARRIVAL
If you are dropping your child off at school, please do so after 7:45am as there is no supervision before then. Please have your child at school by 8 am so we can begin the day together promptly. On our first day of school (Tues., Sept. 3) we will be waiting outside of the school where children are dropped off. Today we will show your child our “Pigeon” sign. On Tuesday when your child gets off the bus or out of the car, your child will look for one of us holding the “Pigeon” and then we’ll all enter the school together once everyone has arrived. We will gather outside like this for a couple of days to greet children and guide them into the classroom. The following week we will encourage the children to come into the school on their own.
DISMISSAL
Dismissal at Claypit Hill is a big operation and your child’s safety is our top priority. Please review all information and make sure we have the correct information.
Bus: If your child takes the bus home, they will be dropped off at the designated bus stop near your home. A parent, guardian or caregiver must be at the bus stop in order for your child to be dropped off. Please check the bus route on the Wayland Public Schools website. If a parent, guardian or caregiver is not waiting at the bus stop, your child will be brought back to the school and arrangements will have to be made for the parent, guardian or caregiver to pick up the child. Please expect delays during the first week or so as it takes time to work out the bus routes.
Car Pick Ups: Parents, guardians and caregivers wait in a supervised line at the stop sign at the end of the traffic circle and login to PikMyKid. They will stay in their car and follow the queue of cars until their car reaches the circle and a staff member helps your child to get into the car. Families will be given an identification card for their car. This should be displayed on the dashboard to expedite car pick up.
Walkers: If your child is going to walk or ride a bike home with you, you will meet your child child on the grassy area outside the end of the Kindergarten wing. Walkers are defined as students who can walk or ride a bike home. ‘Walkers’ will be brought outside during the dismissal time. Please let us know in writing who will be meeting your child as a walker.
BASE: If your child is going to BASE after school, please confirm with us which days they will be going.
We must be informed through PikMyKid each time there is a change in departure, transportation, destination or car pick up. If your child is getting off their bus with a friend (i.e. at a different stop), please send a note indicating this and the name of the friend We will always adhere to the procedure you designate on PikMyKid.
Absence or Tardiness
Please contact the office by phone or email if your child will be out sick or late to school.
Each child will need to bring a nutritious snack and beverage to school each day. The snack should be something that does not need to be refrigerated and is peanut/nut free. Please check the ingredients of snacks as they can contain traces of peanuts or nuts. No glass containers please.
We will be eating lunch at 11:45 each day. Menus can be found on the Claypit Hill website under “Families” and “Food Services”. Students can buy hot lunch, bagel, cereal or a sandwich (price includes milk), or they can order milk only. Lunch is ordered at arrival time and is paid for with a pre-paid lunch card. Students can also bring a lunch from home in a lunch box. Lunch boxes need to be labeled with your child’s name. Morning snacks should be packed in a separate container or bag.
SCHOOL ROUTINES:
Monday: Music with Ms. Davis
Tuesday: Gym with Ms. LeBaron (wear sensible shoes!!)
Wednesday: Art with Ms. Martinez
Thursday: Skills Lab with Ms. Bachman
Friday: Library with Ms. Burman (remember your books!!)
HOME-SCHOOL FOLDER
Today you will be provided with a home-school folder. PLEASE make sure this comes to school with your child everyday in their backpack. We have lots of important work and notices that will be going home each day. Also any notes for us should be put in this folder. We will check them every morning.
Nametags
Today your child’s folder has a pigeon nametag. Please have your child wear this to school for the first 2 weeks or so until we collect them.
TOYS
We ask that the children NOT bring in toys from home. Thank you for your help with this.
CLOTHES
We will be going outside mostly every day in all seasons. Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather each day. And please label everything you can! Be sure to update their spare clothes as the weather changes.
BIRTHDAYS
We have many special activities at school to celebrate your child’s special day (even summer birthdays!). We will not be celebrating with food in the classroom. Please mail birthday invitations and thank you notes directly to the homes of the children to insure delivery.
NEWSLETTERS
Expect a monthly newsletter via the class webpage (located on Claypit Hill’s website) to keep you informed of classroom happenings.
Also be sure to sign up for eNews (Listserv) found on the Wayland Public School webpage under the Superintendent’s office.
SAVE THE DATE
Curriculum Night: Thurs., Sept. 19, 6:30-7:45 pm. Parents and guardians are invited to visit the classroom and learn about the curriculum and activities for the year. This is an adult only evening. A parent conference sign-up for fall conferences will be available.
Picture Day: -Fri. Sept. 27.
VOLUNTEERS
We welcome volunteers in the classroom in many ways. Once our schedule is firm we will be sending signs up for various opportunities to get involved! Fill out a CORI form today if you would like to volunteer.
There are also some volunteer activities that are possible outside of the classroom through the Claypit Hill PTO and the library (Lani Camacho, [email protected]).
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to an exciting year of learning!
[email protected]
We are so excited for this year!!
-Jen Root and Kristin Trump
ARRIVAL
If you are dropping your child off at school, please do so after 7:45am as there is no supervision before then. Please have your child at school by 8 am so we can begin the day together promptly. On our first day of school (Tues., Sept. 3) we will be waiting outside of the school where children are dropped off. Today we will show your child our “Pigeon” sign. On Tuesday when your child gets off the bus or out of the car, your child will look for one of us holding the “Pigeon” and then we’ll all enter the school together once everyone has arrived. We will gather outside like this for a couple of days to greet children and guide them into the classroom. The following week we will encourage the children to come into the school on their own.
DISMISSAL
Dismissal at Claypit Hill is a big operation and your child’s safety is our top priority. Please review all information and make sure we have the correct information.
Bus: If your child takes the bus home, they will be dropped off at the designated bus stop near your home. A parent, guardian or caregiver must be at the bus stop in order for your child to be dropped off. Please check the bus route on the Wayland Public Schools website. If a parent, guardian or caregiver is not waiting at the bus stop, your child will be brought back to the school and arrangements will have to be made for the parent, guardian or caregiver to pick up the child. Please expect delays during the first week or so as it takes time to work out the bus routes.
Car Pick Ups: Parents, guardians and caregivers wait in a supervised line at the stop sign at the end of the traffic circle and login to PikMyKid. They will stay in their car and follow the queue of cars until their car reaches the circle and a staff member helps your child to get into the car. Families will be given an identification card for their car. This should be displayed on the dashboard to expedite car pick up.
Walkers: If your child is going to walk or ride a bike home with you, you will meet your child child on the grassy area outside the end of the Kindergarten wing. Walkers are defined as students who can walk or ride a bike home. ‘Walkers’ will be brought outside during the dismissal time. Please let us know in writing who will be meeting your child as a walker.
- If your child has an afterschool engagement that requires your child to leave school before the car pick up queue is done, you may have your child dismissed early. This requires notification on my PikMyKid. A note is also helpful to let us know the change in dismissal. The parent/guardian/caregiver must pick up the child at the office by 1:50 (or 12:50 on Weds.).
BASE: If your child is going to BASE after school, please confirm with us which days they will be going.
We must be informed through PikMyKid each time there is a change in departure, transportation, destination or car pick up. If your child is getting off their bus with a friend (i.e. at a different stop), please send a note indicating this and the name of the friend We will always adhere to the procedure you designate on PikMyKid.
Absence or Tardiness
Please contact the office by phone or email if your child will be out sick or late to school.
- Children returning to school after an absence should have a note explaining the absence.
- Children who arrive after the start of school (8 am) must first check in at the office to get a late slip.
Each child will need to bring a nutritious snack and beverage to school each day. The snack should be something that does not need to be refrigerated and is peanut/nut free. Please check the ingredients of snacks as they can contain traces of peanuts or nuts. No glass containers please.
We will be eating lunch at 11:45 each day. Menus can be found on the Claypit Hill website under “Families” and “Food Services”. Students can buy hot lunch, bagel, cereal or a sandwich (price includes milk), or they can order milk only. Lunch is ordered at arrival time and is paid for with a pre-paid lunch card. Students can also bring a lunch from home in a lunch box. Lunch boxes need to be labeled with your child’s name. Morning snacks should be packed in a separate container or bag.
SCHOOL ROUTINES:
Monday: Music with Ms. Davis
Tuesday: Gym with Ms. LeBaron (wear sensible shoes!!)
Wednesday: Art with Ms. Martinez
Thursday: Skills Lab with Ms. Bachman
Friday: Library with Ms. Burman (remember your books!!)
HOME-SCHOOL FOLDER
Today you will be provided with a home-school folder. PLEASE make sure this comes to school with your child everyday in their backpack. We have lots of important work and notices that will be going home each day. Also any notes for us should be put in this folder. We will check them every morning.
Nametags
Today your child’s folder has a pigeon nametag. Please have your child wear this to school for the first 2 weeks or so until we collect them.
TOYS
We ask that the children NOT bring in toys from home. Thank you for your help with this.
CLOTHES
We will be going outside mostly every day in all seasons. Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather each day. And please label everything you can! Be sure to update their spare clothes as the weather changes.
BIRTHDAYS
We have many special activities at school to celebrate your child’s special day (even summer birthdays!). We will not be celebrating with food in the classroom. Please mail birthday invitations and thank you notes directly to the homes of the children to insure delivery.
NEWSLETTERS
Expect a monthly newsletter via the class webpage (located on Claypit Hill’s website) to keep you informed of classroom happenings.
Also be sure to sign up for eNews (Listserv) found on the Wayland Public School webpage under the Superintendent’s office.
SAVE THE DATE
Curriculum Night: Thurs., Sept. 19, 6:30-7:45 pm. Parents and guardians are invited to visit the classroom and learn about the curriculum and activities for the year. This is an adult only evening. A parent conference sign-up for fall conferences will be available.
Picture Day: -Fri. Sept. 27.
VOLUNTEERS
We welcome volunteers in the classroom in many ways. Once our schedule is firm we will be sending signs up for various opportunities to get involved! Fill out a CORI form today if you would like to volunteer.
There are also some volunteer activities that are possible outside of the classroom through the Claypit Hill PTO and the library (Lani Camacho, [email protected]).
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to an exciting year of learning!
[email protected]
We are so excited for this year!!
-Jen Root and Kristin Trump
Welcome Makinley, Sadie, Talia, Julia,Mikaela, Avery M., Claire, Lillie,
Ella, Eleni, Avery S., Bianca, Gunnar, Connor, Colin, Owen, Ryan,
William, Henry, and Luke!
I am gearing up to go back to Claypit soon to turn a pile of furniture
and boxes into a warm and welcoming classroom. I am excited for
you to see it! -Ms. Root
and boxes into a warm and welcoming classroom. I am excited for
you to see it! -Ms. Root
9/26/17 I found the following page left on the copier at Claypit and thought it was terrific, I copied it to use with my own kids, but thought some of you might like to see it too.