Counting down the days to summer

We continue to countdown the days to summer! This week we celebrated by wearing hats, wearing our clothes inside out, sharing jokes with our friends, watching a kids choice movie (minions) and eating a lollipop!

Here is what we focused on this week

Phonics

Our word family sounds of the week:  -um word family

Sounds we know: s, a, t, i, p, n, ck, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v. y, x, oo, OO, ch, sh, ng, th, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar

Words Families we know: at, an, am, ap, ad, et, en, ed, it, in, ig, ip, ot, op, ob, og

Popcorn Words

This week we learned:  blue, yellow, red (we only have 5 words left!)

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too. little, and, yes, go, no, so,  the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one ,two, three, four, nine, said, this that new, soon, went, come, do, all, there, who, what, where, say, away, play, they,eat, please, want, with, came, make, ate, ride, was, saw, are, well, pretty, funny, under, find

Reading 
This week in reading we focused on features of fiction and non fiction texts while reading books about Elephants. We specifically read the book National Geographics Elephants in which we learned about Mali Elephants. We learned facts such as their trunks are used like our noses and fingers, they are herbivores (plant eaters) and travel in herds. Then we read the book Elmer the Elephant by David Mckee and discussed how we are unique in many different ways just like the elephant in the story. 

Math

In math we have continued practicing adding and subtracting. In our centers we practiced ancient addition (dinosaurs). We had to put together puzzle pieces to find the correct answers to the problems. We also read number  sentences and decided if they were true or false statements. We used snap cubes, dominoes, and ten sticks to help us count. With our partners we played a game helping us build numbers from 11-100! Last week we played this game exchanging pennies and dimes, this week we made our own counters using pipe cleaners and beads to play. In addition to operations and algebraic thinking problems we are working on counting on from any given number (between 1 & 100)

Important Reminders

ABC Countdown- Calendar was sent home with the students for each days theme

Next week:
Monday- Music Day
Tuesday- Neon Day
Wednesday- Occupation Day
Thursday- Partner and Puzzle Day
Friday- Quiet Day

May 26th- Kindergarten Musical in the evening

May 30th- No School

May 31st- Zoo Field Trip 

Life in the Ocean

Phonics

This weeks word family was - og. We also practiced 3 letter s blends squ-, str-.

Popcorn Words

Don't forget to help your child bring their popcorn word ring to school everyday so that we can continue to add more words as we learn them. These words should be practiced as quickly as possible to help the students with their fluency and recognition of the words.

We learned: pretty, funny, under

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three, four, five, said, this, that, new, soon, went, come, who, what, where, say, away, play, eat, please, want, with, came, make, ate, ride,was, saw, are, well

Reading

During our reading time this week we read the Rainbow Fish and Sharks. Rainbow Fish was a fiction story that tied in friendship. Sharks was a nonfiction book all about sharks. We compared the different text features of the fiction and non fiction stories. We also compared sharks and fish using a venn diagram.

Math

In math this week we continue to work on addition and subtraction in our centers. These centers will help us become more fluent with our adding and subtracting. We are getting really fast at solving problems. During our whole group lessons we are working on building larger numbers like 37 or 59. We have been playing a game with pennies and dimes to practice counting and trading in a group of ten ones (pennies) for a ten (dime).  

Important Reminders:

May 13th- Half Day

May 20th- due date for the last scholastic book order for the year! Stock up on summer reading materials to prevent the "summer slide."

Zoo field trip permission slips came home today, please turn them in ASAP

Join us for our Poetry Cafe on May 27th 12:45-1:30, RSVPs went home earlier in the week, please turn this yellow sheet in even if you are not attending so we can prepare for the amount of visitors during our time. If you can't attend in person it will be on a live stream on the school website. I will send home additional copies of the letter Monday for anyone who has not responded by then.

Bugs all around

It was wonderful to see so many families attend Open House last night at Ide. I hope you enjoyed seeing all the projects and work that your child has been working so hard on this spring. I loved hearing all the excitement as they shared things like their writing folder and their different art projects. Thank you to all the families who donated money for our class library. We were able to purchase 10 new books for the classroom! The students were very excited to see the new additions!
Phonics

This weeks word family was - op.
Words such as top, shop, hop, cop, drop, chop, mop, and stop

Popcorn Words

We learned: came, make, ate

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three, four, five, said, this, that, new, soon, went, come, who, what, where, say, away, play, eat, please, want, with

Reading

During our reading time this week we read the book Hey, Little Ant. We learned the vocabulary words crook, decide, squish, and mates. After reading the story we asked ourselves the question, What should the boy do? Should he squish the ant or let him live? We used the story to look for evidence to support our opinions and made our own class book.  

The literacy committee is offering a last chance offer to order our kindergarten Poetry book with poems written by all the kindergarten students. If you would like to still purchase this book please follow the steps below.
1. go to studentreasures.com/ordercopies
2. Enter the pin #- 3435337
3. Order your books, buy 2 copies and get a 3rd for free using the code BUY2G1

Books are $19.95 + shipping and handling

Math

In math this week we worked on the addition of numbers. We have been learning strategies that will help us solve these problems such as counting on our fingers, usuing manipulatives, drawing a picture, or using a number line. At the end of the week we also began learning how to use a renekenrek. This tool is a great tool for counting and helping student visualize how numbers are built. For example the number 5 can be made using 1+4 or 2+3.  In our centers we have been practicing building numbers using base ten blocks and number bonds.

Important Reminders:

Luck of the Irish

Our week in review:

Phonics

Our word family sounds of the week:-in

Sounds we know: s, a, t, i, p, n, ck, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v. y, x, oo, OO, ch, sh, ng, th, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar

 Word Families: at, an, ap, ad, am, et, en, ed, it

Popcorn Words

This week we learned: do, all, there

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too. little, and, yes, go, no, so,  the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one ,two, three, four, nine, said, this, that, new, soon, went, come

If you need ideas to practice the words please take a look at the tab at the top of the page named popcorn words.

Reading
This week in reading we focused on characteristics of the characters in several St. Patrick's Day themed stories. We read Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, The Luckiest Leprechaun, and the Night Before St. Patrick's Day. We discussed how we would catch a leprechaun and devised a plan to get his gold. We had many creative ideas. 

We continued our poetry unit this week with the poem Luck of the Irish to the tune of This Old Man. 

Leprechaun, Leprechaun
You play your tricks and then you run
to the rainbow's end
where you stash your pot of gold
there is fortune, I've been told!

Our weekly reader this week was all about spring. We made some self to text connections during the reading. We had heard many of the sounds already that were in the weekly reader, along with some of the sights the bumble bee saw.

Math

In math we practiced solving addition sentences by playing several different games. We continued solving math sentences in the stamping center this time with dice as the picture. We are practicing the four different strategies we have learned to solve an addition problem. These strategies are using our fingers, manipulative, drawing a picture, or using a number line.

Important Reminders

No School Friday March 25th

Book orders are due tonight March 18th (link on the side for ordering) 

Please return any unwanted Spring photos to school. Payments can be made online or through check for photos you plan on keeping. These were due last week, but we still have many missing packets.

Everything Spring

Phonics

This weeks word family was - it. We also looked at digraphs such as ch, wh, th, and sh. We made lists of words with these sounds and listened for them throughout our day.  

Popcorn Words

We learned: soon, went, come

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three, four, five, said, this, that, new

Reading

During our reading time this week we read the book Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum. The story introduced us to different signs of spring as well as events that take place in spring. We dug deep into the book to learn to the meanings of the words fawn, meadow and fuzzy. We also talked about spring weather this week. Often times in March it is said that the weather comes "in like a lion and out like a lamb." We discussed these different types of weather and made a chart. Then we used this chart to make our own class book. We titled our book "Lion or Lamb?" Inside we completed the sentence "I am like lion/lamb weather because___. 

Math

In math this week we are building upon the concepts of more than and fewer than. Practicing these are helping us with number order and eventually will lead us into more addition and subtraction problems. In our math centers we continued to review measurement and data through exploration of measuring tools like snap cubes, butterflies, and footballs. Then we used the information from our measurement to record our data.

Important Reminders:

March 15th- No School

April 29th- Children's Museum Field Trip

Email me with any questions!

Dental Hygiene

Phonics

This weeks word family was - en. 

Popcorn Words

We learned: four, five, said

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three

Reading

During our reading time this week we read the Bears Loose Tooth. We described a tooth on a class chart, we made a graph of how many teeth we have lost. We also read other books that related to Bears Loose Tooth like Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy and Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist. Mrs. Heckman the school nurse came to visit us this week. She talked to us about our teeth and how to take care of them. She also gave each of us a new toothbrush!

Our weekly reader was called You Can Smile Like a Crocodile In the weekly reader we compared our teeth to animal teeth. Some animals have sharp pointy teeth while others have the same number of teeth as us (like beavers)

Here is our poem:
Loose Tooth

_____ had a loose tooth.
_____ wiggled it a lot.

If only it would fall out,

to leave an empty spot.

He/She wiggled a string around it

and tied it to the door.

Slam it went and it was sent,

skidding across the floor!

Math

In math this week we worked on sharing items equally between friends. We played a game with a spinner and snap cubes. We pretended the snap cubes were different types of treats. When we spun the spinner it would be even numbers that we then had to split between our partner and ourselves. We started to catch on quickly that 2 and 2 made 4 or that 6 was divided equally into 3 pieces each! 

Important Reminders:

Next week we will be doing a study on Dr. Seuss books to celebrate reading. Each day has a theme. A note is going home yesterday with the descriptions of each day.

Jump Rope for Heart will be Monday and Tuesday in gym class. 

No School March 4th

Scholastic book orders due March 18th

Email me with any questions!

Presidential March

Here is our week in review

Phonics

We have finished our Jolly Phonics program and learned 42 sounds of the English language. We will continue to practice these sounds daily during our reading and writing.
These are the sounds we learned:

Sounds we know: /s/, /a/, /t/,  /i/ /p/, /n/, /c/ , /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /d/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /j/, /ai/,/oa/ /ie/ /ee/ /or/, /w/, /v/, /y/, /x/, /ch/ and /sh/, /ng/, /th/, qu/, /ou/ /oi/, /ue/, /er/, /ar/

Now during this time we will be focusing on our word families. This weeks word family was - et.
pet, vet, fret, net, get, 

Popcorn Words

We learned: one, two

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must

Reading

During our reading time this week we read the story If I Were President. We learned many new facts about our countries President. We learned how we can become president one day as well as what we would have to do if it was our job. We learned important information about two of our presidents; George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We discussed similarities and differences between these two men as well as made our own projects depicting these two. 

Math

In math this week we made practiced solving using graphs and analyzing data. We also used a number bond to help us solve story problems. The story problems were another preview to addition sentences which we will be beginning soon. We also used our knowledge of putting two smaller numbers together to find a larger number.  

Important Reminders:

Scholastic orders due tonight. March order forms will go home next week.

Email me with any questions!

Penguins

Here is our week in review

Phonics

Our sounds of the week: /er/ and /ar/

Sounds we know: /s/, /a/, /t/,  /i/ /p/, /n/, /c/ , /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /d/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /j/, /ai/,/oa/ /ie/ /ee/ /or/, /w/, /v/, /y/, /x/, /ch/ and /sh/, /ng/, /th/, qu/, /ou/ /oi/ and /ue/

We have officially learned all 42 sounds in the jolly phonics program! We will review these sounds for the rest of the year, but we will be focusing more on word families now during this time.

Word family of the week: -ap

Popcorn Words

We learned: look, good, jump

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now

Reading

During our reading time we read the book National Geographic: Penguins. This was a non-fiction book filled with interesting facts about Penguins. We learned about the different species of penguins, what they like to eat, what their bodies are made up of, where they live and how they survive in the coldest parts of earth. We used this story to answer our essential questions, How do photographs help us better understand the story? and Can we have a pet penguin where we live? Why or why not.

Today we used everything we learned about Penguins to create a graphic organizer. Then we used this organizer to make our own "All About Penguins" book and craft. These projects will be on display for a few weeks before they come home.

Math

In math this week we continued our measurement unit. We continued working with a balance scale to measure items in our classroom. We had to find and identify items that were lighter and heavier in weight than a given object. We also used non standard units of measurement to measure items in our classroom (instead of using a ruler we used things like how many pennies long something was). In math centers we review our 3D and 2D shapes as well as our teen numbers. These numbers are still tricky for many of us. On Friday we celebrated the 100th day of school! We had to count to 100 many times throughout the day. This is becoming much easier for us as we practice each and every day!

Important Reminders:

February 11th- Valentines Day Party
Please send valentines to school on this day. Please leave the "for" line blank, only have your child sign their name on the card. We will be passing out valentines before the party starts as this is a long process for the students.


February 12th- No School

February 15th- No School

Email me with any questions!

A Snowy Day and Beginning Measurement

Here is our week in review

Phonics

Our sounds of the week: /oi/ and /ue/

Sounds we know: /s/, /a/, /t/,  /i/ /p/, /n/, /c/ , /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /d/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /j/, /ai/,/oa/ /ie/ /ee/ /or/, /w/, /v/, /y/, /x/, /ch/ and /sh/, /ng/, /th/, qu/ and /ou/

Popcorn Words

We learned: get, help, now

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out

Reading

During our reading time we read the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. We learned the vocabulary words snowsuit, adventure, heaping, and packed this week. We also watched a movie of a boy pretending to be the main character from the story. In the video we saw this boy pretend to do all of the things Peter did and in the same order as the story. We made a class book about our favorite thing to do on a snowy day. We also sorted activities that are done on snowy days and on sunny days.

Math

In math this week we started our unit of Measurement and Data. We began by comparing things and deciding if we would want to carry them on a long hike up a mountain based on their weight (like a brick or a few toy blocks, bag of marshmallows or bag of pennies). We went on searches throughout the room to compare the weight of classroom items. We got to use a classroom balance scale to prove our estimations for heavier and lighter than as well.

Important Reminders:
February 3rd - Half Day

February 11th- Valentines Day Party
Please send valentines to school on this day. Please leave the "for" line blank, only have your child sign their name on the card. We will be passing out valentines before the party starts. 

February 12th- No School

February 15th- No School

Email me with any questions!

Winter Wonderland

Here is our week in review

Phonics

Our sounds of the week: /qu/ and /ou/

Sounds we know: /s/, /a/, /t/,  /i/ /p/, /n/, /c/ , /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /d/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /j/, /ai/,/oa/ /ie/ /ee/ /or/, /w/, /v/, /y/, /x/, /ch/ and /sh/, /ng/, and /th/

Popcorn Words

We learned: our, here, out

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down, he, she, be

Reading
We started our fourth ELA unit this week titled WInter Wonderland. We got it started with a science experiment. We made a winter storm inside of a jar!

During our reading time we read two books and then compared them. The first story was a nonfiction book called Winter Wonderland by Jill Esbaum. This book gave us facts about winter holidays, weather,and activities. While reading this book we learned the vocab words astounds hinge vanish, and gentle. The second story we read was called Snow by Cynthia Rylant. This story was a fiction story about a town on a snowy day. We compared fiction and non fiction story elements using these two books.

As an art project we made a picture of children catching snowflakes on their tongues. Did you know the snowflakes VANISH when they touch our tongues? We learned that they melted on our tongue as if they had disappeared.

Our weekly reader reviewed fiction and non fiction stories with us. Then we read our non fiction weekly reader about animals in the snow. We discussed where in the library we would check out books like Bearenstein Bears and Pete the Cat and books about Lizards, Cats, and other animals.

Math

In math this week we continued looking at 3D shapes. We sorted them based on different categories including flat surfaces, roll, slide, stack. We also compared 2D and 3D shapes. The shapes have been some of our favorite centers. We got to use geoboards to make shapes, a robot shape book, color by shapes, and we made silly faces using shapes.

Important Reminders:

Email me with any questions!

Our weekly learnings

Here is our week in review

Phonics

Our sounds of the week: /ng/ and /th/

Sounds we know: /s/, /a/, /t/,  /i/ /p/, /n/, /c/ , /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /d/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /j/, /ai/,/oa/ /ie/ /ee/ /or/, /w/, /v/, /y/, /x/, /ch/ and /sh/

Popcorn Words

We learned: he, she, be

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, the, you, down

Reading

During our reading time we read the book Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. We listened to this story several times, but each time was different. The first time we listened to it we only heard the words as read by the author. We thought the book was funny and entertaining, then we drew pictures that we thought would go with the book (visualizing). The second time we listened to the book we heard a more serious voice as well as the pictures from the book. We felt the love in the story because it had a more sensitive feel to it.

Our poem this week was called Freedom, Freedom. To go along with our poem this week we watched a movie, sang a song, and read some stories about Martin Luther King Jr. Here is the song we danced to in class if you are interested.

Martin Luther King Jr Song

Our weekly reader was about Martin Luther King Jr as well.

Math

In math this week we focused on 3D shapes with a continued review of 2D shapes. We learned a new 3D shape each day. We have learned a cone, cylinder, sphere, and cube. We went on a search around the classroom for real life items that resemble these 3D items. Some of them were harder to find in the classroom than others. At centers we reviewed 2D shapes in a variety of activties, including cutting shapes out of magazines. In the stamping center we practiced counting numbers from 11-15. 

Important Reminders:
January 18th- No School

Email me with any questions!

Welcome Back

WElcome back! I hope that everyone had a fantastic winter break. I know my family enjoyed exploring  Seattle and Portland over break.
Here is our week in review

Phonics

Our sounds of the week: /ch/ and /sh/

Sounds we know: /s/, /a/, /t/,  /i/ /p/, /n/, /c/ , /k/, /e/, /h/, /r/, /d/, /o/, /u/, /l/, /f/, /b/, /j/, /ai/,/oa/ /ie/ /ee/ /or/, /w/, /v/, /y/and /x/

Popcorn Words

We learned: the, you, down

Words we know: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, on, we, me, am,  did, not, can, is, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, go, so

Reading

During our reading time we read the book The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant.  The book was about a family who gets a visit from their relatives from Virginia. We had many discussions about our own families and compared them to the family in the story. Many of us have relatives that live in different states than us as well as live in different countries. 

Math

In math this week we worked started on shapes unit. We are currently reviewing and learning 2D shapes. Many of these shapes we knew from Preschool, however there were a few new ones such as rhombus, trapezoid, and hexagon. Today (Friday) we made a shape book with some of the common 2D shapes. Some of us decided to keep this book at school to read during read to self, others may have choose to bring it home. 

Email me with any questions!