POPCORN WORDS: is, his, this

COLOR WORD: green

 

We read books with green characters…

We made the color green! We read the story Little Blue and Little Yellow. Little Blue and Little Yellow were friends and when they hugged each other they made Little Green. The Kinders had fun listening to this story. After the story, they each got their own Little Blue and Little Yellow and made their very own Little Green! They were excited to get to bring it home!

READING: This week during reading, we finished reading about real world books (while sounding like a teacher) and began being storybook readers! We practiced with a familiar story – The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The Kinders had fun looking at the pictures, remembering the words and then reading along. They enjoyed repeating familiar parts of the story! We ended the week getting our own copy of The Three Billy Goats Gruff and practiced reading it!

WRITING: During writing this week, we finished our first three page booklet! We wrote about school – the lunchroom, our classroom and the playground. We worked hard on adding a lot of details in our pictures, we labeled our pictures and then wrote a sentence that matches the picture. We made our books fancy by adding color to it!  

MATH: This week during math, we looked at shapes and sorted them into two groups – circles and not circles. We compared numbers by putting a certain number of cubes on a graph, finding the number tile that matches it and then deciding which number is bigger or smaller. We practiced writing the numbers 1, 2 and 3 in our math workbooks. We ended the week by finding groups of a given number and circling those groups. 

PHONICS: We started learning about phonics this week. We met a new friend that is going to help us along our phonics journey – her name is Mabel. She is a stuffed elephant that is living in our classroom. We learned all about Mabel’s name – it starts with an M, it has 5 letters in it, it has 2 syllables. Then we thought of things we could put in Mabel’s “home” that also start with M – a mop, a mouse, a mitten, a mirror, a marker, milk, a mailbox, etc. We had a lot of fun learning a new chant to help us with letter sounds and the names of other kindergarteners in our class! 

ABC BOOTCAMP: We learned about the letters M, N and O. We talked about what the letters look like, practiced making the letter sounds, writing the letters, learned about and colored things that start with that letter.

COOL TOOLS:

We read My Mouth is a Volcano. This story helped us learn what to do if we are going to “erupt”. 

 

We read How Full Is Your Bucket For Kids. We learned all about how we want to be bucket fillers, not bucket dippers!

WALK-A-THON FUN: On Thursday we had our annual Georgetown Walk-a-Thon! It looked a little different this year without parents, but we still had a fun time! We walked around the track and got some exercise! 

UPCOMING DATES:

Monday, September 28: Art

Tuesday, September 29: STEAM; Library Day – don’t forget to bring your books back!

Wednesday, September 30: Music; Homework due today!

Thursday, October 1: Gym; Picture Day – get your smiles ready!

Friday, October 2: Art; Wear PURPLE today!

POPCORN WORDS: dog, the

COLOR WORD: blue

READING: This week during reading, we practiced re-reading to learn more about a topic. We also re-read our books to put all the pages together. We started at the front cover and went through page by page all the way until we got to the back cover. When reading our real world books, we learned to add a “pinch” of ourselves, by telling what we think about our books. 

WRITING: During writing this week, we listened to the story The Little Engine That Could. We learned that even when things get hard, it’s ok…we don’t give up! We used whiteboards and markers to practice this lesson by drawing (and erasing if we made mistakes) a train. We drew pictures of the playground and our homes. We added details to the pictures and labeled some things on the pictures too. The Kinders did a great job taking a risk and writing the first sound they heard as well as stretching out some words. We ended the week by starting a three page booklet about school. We wrote about the lunchroom – drawing a picture, labeling and even writing a sentence! We will continue these books about school next week. 

MATH: This week during math, we were excited to use our math books for the very first time this year! We drew objects to match the number we were given and met a new friend named Puzzled Penguin. We had to help Puzzled Penguin figure out his mistake! Puzzled Penguin will be in our math books frequently this year, so we are going to need to help him! We learned about circles – they have no sides and no corners. We practiced finding circles and drawing circles. This week we also added numbers together using our math tools. We ended the week by comparing numbers – we colored graphs to show which number was bigger or smaller. The Kinders are doing a great job!

ABC BOOTCAMP: We learned about the letters J, K and L. We talked about what the letters look like, practiced making the letter sounds, writing the letters, learned about and colored things that start with that letter. 

COOL TOOLS: 

We read the story The Monster Who Lost His Mean. The monster learned about being a friend in this story and not being mean. We sorted little stories into being a friend or a bully. 

We read the story Howard B. Wigglebottom. We heard about how Howard learns about bullies. We learned about how we want to be buddies, not bullies!

We read the story Interrupting Chicken. We learned that it’s important to wait our turn to talk and not be an interrupting chicken. 

CONSTITUTION DAY: On Thursday we learned about Constitution Day! We read a book to help us learn more about the constitution and made an American flag hat to wear. We also talked about our class rules and decorated hands to show that we follow these rules! We hung them up by our class pledge. 

UPCOMING DATES:

It is school spirit week! Join us in celebrating our fun spirit days! They are listed in PINK.

Monday, September 21: Gym

• Pajama Day!

Tuesday, September 22: Art

• Silly Socks Day!
• Library – please remember to return your library books so you can check out a new one!

Wednesday, September 23: STEAM

• Crazy Hair Day!

Thursday, September 24: Music

• WEAR GREEN and wear a Hat Day!
• Walk-A-Thon today!

Friday, September 25: Gym

• Maize and Blue Day!

Tomorrow is an early release day. If your child needs a sack lunch from the hot lunch program for tomorrow, please email me to let me know. I am happy to order them one! Also, let me know what type of milk they’d like. Thank you! 

Our school Walk-a-thon will take place on Thursday, September 24.  Each year our Georgetown Elementary Parent Club holds a Walk-a-thon to raise money for our school for extra supplies like books, playground equipment, etc.  A Walk-a-thon takes place at school and entails the whole class going outside (weather permitting) to get our bodies moving.  

This year our Walk-a-thon will look a bit different than it typically has been in the past.  We will be raising money online through a Get Movin’ Fund Hub.  A paper came home recently with details about this event.  You may send in donations to the school as well. I will get it to the office. 

We will be having a Theme Week this year! Unfortunately, this year we will not be able to have parents join us when we walk. There are some fun prizes that we can earn as a class this year too!!!  Let’s do this kinders!!  

• Highest Donating Class will receive a Pizza & Ice Cream Party.
• The top 2 earners of each grade get a Pizza Party with Mr. Waldie.
• Highest Donating Grade will get a Popsicle Recess.
• The highest Percent Participation Class will receive donuts and a $50 gift card for their teacher. 

POPCORN WORDS: I, see 

This week we practiced finding and reading the words I and see in two different books. I hope you got a chance to listen to your kinder read them to you!

COLOR WORD: Yellow

READING: This week during reading, we practiced reading non-fiction books. We learned that we can look at the pictures, think about what the pictures are showing us and think about what we see. The kindergarteners had fun looking at these real world books!

WRITING: In writing this week, we learned about the difference between letters and numbers. We sorted letters and numbers to practice this skill. We practiced drawing a picture and adding a label to go with it. We listened for the first sound in the word and labeled the picture with the first sound. For example, we drew a picture of us lining up at the door. We drew ourselves and the door and then added other people to the picture. We labeled the door with a D for door and the floor with an F for floor. We also labeled ourselves. We finished our writing this week by doing a shared writing – we added pictures of our playground and labeled the pictures with the first letter sound. It was a fun way to do writing! Way to go kinders!

MATH: This week during math, we worked on our numbers. We practiced writing numbers and showing the number we wrote with that many objects. We drew scenes of 2, 3, 4 and 5. On whiteboards we wrote numbers and showed the number with crayons. 

ABC BOOTCAMP: We learned about the letters G, H and I. We talked about what the letters look like, practiced making the letter sounds, made the letters out of Play-Doh, learned about and colored things that start with that letter. 

COOL TOOLS: 

We read When I Feel Angry. This book helped us learn that taking time to chill out when we feel upset is okay. We learned about our calm down spot in our classroom or other things we could do like talk to an adult, take a walk with an adult, etc.  The ice cube try is a good reminder.  

We read Hurty Feelings and learned that the tone of your voice and how we say words is very important.  The microphone helps us remember this. 

 

We read Being Friends and learned about differences in people. The kaleidoscope helps us to remember to look and see the beauty in one another and embrace the differences we all have. Everyone is special!

We read Mine-O-Saur and learned that when a friend continues to bother us we can give them a bug and a wish and say…”It bugs me when you do that and I wish you would stop!”

MORNING WORK: This week we started doing morning work. This is a workbook that we are keeping at school and will do each morning when we get to school. Each day the kinders fill in the day, date, weather and then a learning activity on each page. They will bring these books home at the end of the month. 

LIBRARY: This week we got to go and visit the library! We met our school librarian, Mrs. VandenBurg. She read us a fun story about a caterpillar named Mr. Wiggles. The book taught us about how we should treat books. 

REST TIME PICTURES…

5TH GRADE BUDDIES made a surprise visit to our classroom on Friday in their yellow clothes! They decided to have yellow day like us! They wrote and typed poems for the kindergarteners, delivered them and read them to the kinders. It was a fun and special surprise! They even brought us yellow flowers!

 

OUTDOOR CLOTHING – Please continue to send a coat or sweatshirt with your child.  The weather can quickly change so it is good to be prepared.

TOYS – Please help your kinder remember to keep their toys at home. When they come to school in backpacks, they are tempted to play with them and they often get lost or broken. I appreciate your help with this!

BACKPACK SNACK – THANK YOU SO MUCH for sending 2 healthy snacks each day to school! 

TOWELS – Please send your kinder’s towel back to school on Monday.  The towels went home today so they could be washed over the weekend.

LUNCH MONEY – Hot lunch is now FREE for ALL students until Dec. 31st.  Therefore, if your kinder would like hot lunch you do not need to send in money until after the holiday break.  If your kinder currently has money in their account it will be held until they take hot lunch after December 31st. 

UPCOMING DATES:

Monday, September 14: Gym; Bring back washed towels

Tuesday, September 15: Art; Library-we will be checking out books for the first time!

Wednesday, September 16: STEAM; Homework packet is due

Thursday, September 17: Music

Friday, September 18: Special today: Recess; Early Release day – students dismissed at 12:15 (Please email me if your kinder needs a sack lunch to bring home with them today); Wear BLUE today! 

*Thursday, September 24—Walk-a-Thon: Please note the date change from our September calendar.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! It is such a pleasure to get to be with your kinders each day!  ~Mrs. Baker

Tomorrow is YELLOW day! Help us celebrate our color of the week by wearing YELLOW tomorrow!

Your kindergartener is bringing home homework! In their blue folder you will find a homework packet. This homework can be worked on throughout the week at home and returned to school by next Wednesday. I will be sending homework home on Wednesdays and it is due the next Wednesday. Just put it back in your kinder’s blue folder when you are ready to turn it in. This is what the homework packet looks like…

 

COOL TOOLS: The Kinders keep working hard each day to being ready to learn. They practice this by looking with eyes, listening with ears, voices quiet, hands in own bubble space and sitting like a pretzel on the rug. Our lessons about the cool tools are helping us be aware of others and how to deal with situations. The Rainbow Fish taught us that sometimes we need to be like an eraser and forgive ourselves for mistakes we make and learn from them. We need to forgive others too who may say or do hurtful things. 

Chrysanthemum taught us that words spoken hurt other’s feelings and are impossible to take back, like toothpaste. We learned that we are all special and unique.

Ish reminded us again that our words matter. The fuzzy dice reminds us  to say nice words or show nice actions toward others.

Franklin’s Bad Day helped us learn to walk away before saying toothpaste words or doing toothpaste actions to our friends.  The big inflatable shoe is our visual reminder.  We decorated our own shoe to take home.

During ABC Bootcamp this week we worked on letters D, E, and F.

Math: During math this week, we read Anno’s Counting Book and learned about numbers 1-10. We were also introduced to number tiles and learned different ways to group objects. 

We practiced writing number this week. We worked on writing the numbers 0, 1 and 2. The kids had fun using whiteboards to write the numbers and then draw the correct number of objects. 

Reading: This week during reading, the Kinders learned about being book lovers! They learned to treat books nicely, turn the pages gently and to not eat or drink while reading. They learned about the difference between a book lover and a book bully. After learning this, we practiced reading books being book lovers! We started the week by reading environmental print – they were so excited by all the signs they could read!

During reading we also learned about Teacher’s Jobs and Student’s Jobs. We practiced them this week and will continue to practice them this year in kindergarten!

We wrapped up our week in reading by learning about parts of the book! We learned about the front and back cover, pages, author and illustrator, pages, pictures and words. They are learning so much!

Writing: This week during writing, we learned that writers share information with others about what they know. Examples of these topics were: What is your favorite color? What do you like to play on the playground?  They practiced this by taking turns with their table buddies and sharing. The kinders did AWESOME!  We also learned that we can think of something that we know about, talk about it and then draw it. Our topic was wearing masks. It was fun seeing all the different designs on everyone’s masks.

Red Day Fun! On Thursday, we had fun wearing red and learning all about the color red! On red day it was fun to make a cute Clifford head! The Kinders are working hard at using scissors and glue sticks. I hope you enjoyed them!

The kindergarteners went to the lunch room for the first time this week. They did a great job distancing at their seats, going through the hot lunch line for the first time and walking quietly in the hallway.

Reminders:

Backpack snack—Pack TWO quick, heathy snacks each day.  Be sure to place it in a special small pocket so that it is easy for them to locate.

Blue folders—send them to school each day. 

If ordering a hot lunch or milk, please discuss with your kinder what they will be ordering so that they are comfortable and secure with their selections.  

Parents, please subscribe to this blog so that you are alerted when information is posted about happenings in our classroom.

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, September 6: No School – Labor Day

Tuesday, September 7: Gym; Library – our first time; Bring a beach towel back to school; Book Orders due – class code is RB32K.

Wednesday, September 8: Art

Thursday, September 9: STEAM

Friday, September 10: Music; Color Day – wear YELLOW!

Tomorrow is RED day- help us celebrate our color of the week by wearing RED tomorrow to school!  

Beach Towels – I am sending beach towels home today. We will not need them tomorrow at school since it’s a short day. Please wash them and return them to school with your Kinder on Tuesday. 

Backpack Tags – I ordered new backpack tags for the kids and they are attached to their backpacks. I’m hopeful they stay on better! This is what they look like…

Sack Lunch Tomorrow – If your Kinder would like a sack lunch to bring home with them from school tomorrow, please email me to let me know. Also, I need to know what kind of milk they would like. Unless I get an email, I will plan on your child eating lunch with you.