This Week in Kindergarten…

GRINCH DAY FUN…

We had fun learning, Grinch style! We learned to count teen numbers, we labeled the Grinch, made a Grinch headband, drew the Grinch step-by-step, read about the Grinch and then answered some questions. We also got to watch the Grinch! It was a fun day! Each Kinder brought home a green candy cane and hopefully told you all about their fun day.

HOLIDAY FUN…

We had some fun, holiday style! It was fun exchanging books with another Kinder! We also finished up our gifts for parents…in case they forget, they are inside backpacks. The Kinders worked hard on them and are excited to give them to you! It was fun to have a visit from our fifth grade buddies who made us special cards! We ended our fun day with our holiday party! Many thanks to all of the parents who helped at the party and/or sent things in for the party! It was a super fun afternoon!

POLAR EXPRESS DAY…

We had a fun day, Polar Express style! It was a cozy day in our jammies traveling from classroom to classroom. The Kinders traveled to each kindergarten classroom and watched a part of the movie in each room. They had to get their tickets stamped and then took a seat on the “train” to enjoy the show.

MYSTERY READERS…

On Friday, Xander was surprised when his sisters walked through the door! Xander’s twin sisters were both able to come to our classroom and both got to read us a book! They were perfect books…Max’s Christmas (we LOVE Max and Ruby) and The Little Blue Truck’s Christmas (we LOVE The Little Blue Truck stories too)! The Kinders had fun meeting Xander’s sisters!

UPCOMING DATES…

December 23 – January 5: Holiday Break

Monday, January 6: STEAM; Library – remember to return your book!

Tuesday, January 7: Music

Wednesday, January 8: Gym

Thursday, January 9: Art; Jet’s Pizza Night

Friday, January 10: STEAM

Have a wonderful Holiday Break! Enjoy your time with family and friends! I will miss you and will see you on January 6, 2020!     

~Mrs. Baker

This Week in Kindergarten…

The “gingerbread people” turned out adorable!! They look so cute hanging in the hallway!!

POPCORN WORDS: what, it

READING: This week during reading, we practiced all of the Super Reading Powers that we’ve learned! The Kinders are doing a good job using their “Super Powers” during reading time! I’m proud of them remembering to use these strategies! The Kinders are working hard to increase their stamina during reading!

WRITING: During writing this week, we read a different gingerbread story and then wrote something about each of the books. We decorated the cover of our gingerbread writing book by coloring a cookie jar. We enjoyed reading The Gingerbread Boy, The Gingerbread Baby, The Gingerbread Girl and The Gingerbread Cowboy. They were all fun stories to listen to and write about! It was a fun way to practice all we’ve learned it writing! 

MATH: During math this week, we learned about teen numbers! We practiced writing teen numbers, identifying the number and drawing circles to represent the number. We also continued practicing adding and subtracting numbers. We had fun using Santa’s sleigh to add and subtract numbers!

MATH GAME FUN ON FRIDAY:

LITERACY: We had fun doing gingerbread themed literacy activities this week! We practiced beginning sounds, popcorn words, gingerbread man labeling and rhyming words.

GINGERBREAD FUN: It was fun to read different versions of the Gingerbread Man and other Gingerbread Man stories. We made our own book of the Gingerbread Man and filled in the missing words to the story we are getting to know so well. Then we practiced retelling the story in order.

NORTH POLE NINJA: We had a surprise visitor in our classroom on Monday morning when we got to school! Nick, the North Pole Ninja, was in our class and he gave us a mission…to spread holiday cheer! He has visited our room each day and given us a mission to do. We have gotten to spread cheer to our 5th grade buddies and the other kindergarten classes. It has been fun to secretly deliver a special treat to each of these rooms! Each morning we are excited to hear our mission!

MYSTERY READER: Gracie was so excited when her mom came through the door as our mystery reader! She was extra excited because her sister came too…and it was her second birthday! Gracie’s mom read us the story Miss Nelson Is Missing. It was a fun story to listen to!

UPCOMING DATES:

Monday, December 16: Art; Library; Wear green and red day; Please remember to turn in book for our classroom book exchange – wrapped and labeled with who it is from!

Tuesday, December 17: STEAM; Wear a holiday hat day; Penguin Patch Holiday Shop

Wednesday, December 18: Music; Grinch Day

Thursday, December 19: Gym; Holiday Party 2:00-3:00; Holiday sweater day

Friday, December 20: Art; Polar Express day – wear your pj’s

Holiday Break: December 23 – January 5 … See you on January 6, 2020

Sack Lunch

If your kindergartener needs a sack lunch from the hot lunch program tomorrow for our early release day, please email me to let me know – along with their milk choice, chocolate or white. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll plan on your child eating lunch at home with you. Thank you!

Important Music Program Details

Your Kinder’s first Georgetown Holiday Music Program is this Thursday, December 12! We are SO excited to perform for you!! Here are all of the details regarding this year’s program:

Georgetown Holiday Music Program

December 12, 2019

Fair Haven Church

6:30 – 7:00   K-2nd     
(kinders report at 6:15)

7:45 – 8:15   3rd-5th   

(Students report at 7:30)

Where is the church?
Address: 2900 Baldwin Street  Hudsonville, MI 49426.
Fair Haven Ministries is located down the road from Georgetown Elementary at the corner of Baldwin Street and 28th Ave.   Our school has grown so big that we need a big space to perform!  They graciously let us rent their auditoritum for our performance.  

What time do kinders need to be at the church?
Kinders need to report to their assigned classroom 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM. 

It is very important not to be late so teachers have enough time to line up kinders in their riser orders, pass out props and make sure everyone who has a special part is accounted for. Please do not send your kinder to the classroom unsupervised or prior to their scheduled time.

Where does my kinder need to go when they get to the church?
There will be signs at the church directing you to your kinders’ classroom.
Below is the room assignment for kinders

K – Family Life Center

How long will the program be?
Each group will perform for about 30 minutes. There will be 45 minutes between the two programs for K-2nd grade students to leave and upper elementary students to arrive for the next program.

What order are the grades singing?
The grades are singing in order of age: Kindergarten perform first, then 1st/2nd grade, then 3rd grade and finally 4th/5th grade.

Your kinder will sit as a class (with the audience) after their performance.  They will watch their peers perform.  PLEASE KEEP YOUR KINDER’S COAT WITH YOU. MRS REAGAN WILL DISMISS YOUR KINDER TO YOU AFTER THE ENTIRE PROGRAM IS DONE.

Can we save seats early in the day?
No. The only reserved seats will be for the directors, videographers, and teachers. 
Seating is first come first served at that time. 
PLEASE be respectful and courteous to other families. Everyone wants a good seat and we will do our best to fit everyone into the auditorium.  Please try to keep young children on your laps and not to take up unnecessary seats in order to leave more space for others.  

Is food or drink allowed in the church?
No food or drink is allowed in the church. This is strictly enforced.
We are so gracious to Fair Haven for allowing us to rent their facility and we need to abide by their rules.
 
Do the kinders need to wear anything special?
No. Most kinders love to dress up and will wear special holiday dresses or outfits, but there is no requirement.
The exception to this is if your kinder has a special part. Some parts require special costumes. Many costumes are provided, but some may have to be brought from home. If your kinder has a special part, they should have brought home a “congratulations” letter that would say if they need to wear or bring anything special. Please note that if your kinder has a special part that requires a costume, they will NOT have time to change in between songs and will need to wear their costume for the entire performance.

How do students get special parts?
For most parts, students audition during the school day. Sometimes if Mrs. Bretz has simple parts she randomly choose students or choose random class numbers. She also keeps track of every student who has ever had a Christmas program part from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Whenever possible, Mrs. Bretz tries to give parts to students who have not ever had parts or who have not had parts in the past couple years. Typically, she will have about 50-100 students audition for one part! She narrows the students down to about 20 and puts those names in a bowl and draws out a lucky winner. Although Mrs. Bretz would love everyone to have a part, having almost 600 students and only a handful of parts each year is very difficult. She discusses this with the students and they realize everyone cannot have a solo part, but that EVERY single person is important to the success of the program. Most songs have special props or motions that involve everyone as well.

Who do I contact if I have questions?
Please email Mrs. Bretz (our music teacher and holiday program director) at abretz@hpseagles.net. 

Gingerbread Reminder…

Just a reminder to work on disguising your gingerbread person this weekend! Please have fun completing this project with your Kinder and send them to school on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

This Week in Kindergarten…

POPCORN WORDS: look, from, run

READING: This week during reading, we practiced sounds like readers when we read. We used our voice to bring our books to life! We also learned about noticing punctuation as we read. We practiced reading Where is Thumbkin? We noticed periods, question marks and exclamation points. We also learned we have persistence power when we read! When one super power doesn’t work well, we try another one! The Kinders practiced this on their own during reading time and with their partners. 

WRITING: During writing this week, we practiced writing a small moment story as a class (shared writing). We wrote about when we made Stone Soup as a class. The Kinders helped with the pictures, the labels and the words! Then, they wrote a story of their own. We practiced using a checklist when writing stories. The checklist helps the Kinders remember the things they need to do: draw pictures, add labels, write words, use finger spaces between words and use periods. I’m so proud of how hard they are working on their stories!

MATH: This week during math, we looked for groups of ten, colored them and circled them. We got to meet Ten Bug! Ten Bug flew around our room and helped us make ten groups. The Kinders loved getting to meet Ten Bug! We also learned about partners of numbers. For example, using the number 6, we broke it apart into the partners 2 and 4. We put a “break apart stick” to show the two partners. Then we put a plus sign in between the two partners. We finished the week by counting groups of objects and practicing adding and subtracting numbers. 

LITERACY: During our literacy time this week, we practiced having 5 different literacy stations going on at the same time. At each station, the Kinders practiced a different literacy skill. Some of the stations they did on their own and some of the stations were led by a teacher. The Kinders did a great job! We were lucky enough to have some parents help during our literacy time! If you are interested in coming to help during our literacy time, just let me know! 

2ND GRADE READERS: On Thursday, Ms. Yankee’s class visited our classroom and read to us! Some of the Kinders had siblings or cousins in Ms. Yankee’s class. They were so excited about their visit!! It was fun for Mrs. Baker to have some of her past students visit!

 

GINGERBREAD FUN: On Friday, we had fun learning more about the Gingerbread Man! We heard a story, read a story and retold the story. Then we “sewed” the gingerbread man! Even though it was a little tricky, they did a great job of working hard! 

UPCOMING DATES:

Monday, December 9: Art; Library – remember to return your book!

Tuesday, December 10: STEAM

Wednesday, December 11: Music

Thursday, December 12: Gym; Holiday Program starts at 6:30 at Fairhaven Church in Jenison

Friday, December 13: Music; Early Release Day – dismissal at 12:15; Wear a flannel day

Monday, December 16: Art; Wear green and red day; Please remember to turn in book for our classroom book exchange – wrapped with who it is from on it!

Tuesday, December 17: STEAM; Wear a holiday hat day; Penguin Patch Holiday Shop

Wednesday, December 18: Music; Grinch Day 

Thursday, December 19: Gym; Holiday Party 2:00-3:00; Holiday sweater day

Friday, December 20: Art; Polar Express day – wear your pj’s

December 23 – January 5: Vacation…see you on January 6, 2020!

Candy Cane Sale…

The annual fifth grade candy cane sale is officially here!

The annual candy cane sale has returned. Our fifth-grade classes will sell candy canes to help raise money for their end of year activities. This year the sale runs from Wednesday, December 4 through Wednesday, December 18.The cost for each candy cane is $1.00, and they will be delivered the same day they are ordered. If you’d like your Kinder to order a candy cane, please send money in an envelope or baggie (with their name on it) in their blue folder. That way, I will be sure to see it. Thank you for your support, and happy holidays!