October 20, 2023 Class News
We had another great week together in kindergarten! We were busy spending time with our buddies and participating in the Great Shake Out! Check out what else we’ve been up to!
This weeks Star Student was Caroline. Next week will be Elijah.
Sight Words: Our two sight words this week: for and on. Next week we will learn are and as. Are you working on these at home? A good way to practice sight words is to keep a bundle of sight words (simple flashcards you can make with notecards) in your purse or bag and pull them out whenever you have an extra minute to spare – waiting for an appointment, quickly before you go out the door, etc.
Phonics: During our Words Their Way phonics lesson this week we learned all about the letters /c/ and /h/. We cut our “sort” cards, sorted them by beginning sounds /c/ and /h/, glued them on a graphic organizer and lastly drew and spelled our own words that begin with c and h. Some words they came up with were ‘Halloween, hat, cake, and carrot.’ Take a look at your child’s spelling coming home in their Friday folder. If you choose to do homework at home, practicing lowercase letter formation is a good skill to practice with parent guidance! You might choose to brainstorm words that start and end with c and h while you’re driving, going for a walk or eating dinner.
Next week will be beginning sounds /f/ and /d/.
Literacy Centers: This week we continued reading groups, sight word center, independent library center, iPad center and phonics center. At the phonics center students used stamps with pictures, they then had to fill in the missing letter to complete the word! In reading groups, we continue to use our “Eagle Eye” to observe picture clues and word clues to make predictions about what the story will be about. We are busy finding and writing sight words from our decodable readers! Keep up the reading practice at home!
Writers Workshop/Science: During writer’s workshop, we compared and contrasted a pumpkin and an apple using a Venn diagram! We used pictures and words to see how they are the same and how they are different! See if your child remembers what the similarities and differences are. We also reviewed the lifecycle of a pumpkin by completing a pumpkin headband! Ask your child if they remember the lifecycle of a pumpkin!
Math: In math groups, we practiced “shake and spill” where students decomposed 5 or 10 on a tens frame. We filled a cup with 10 two-sided math tokens (one side yellow, other red), shook the cup and spilled them. Lastly, we wrote the number of yellow and red tokens to 10!
Religion: We continue to be Christ-centered people who pray with intention and reverence (SLE) by mastering our prayers – Guardian Angel and Prayer Before Meals. We continue to practice being mindful using our high five breathing.
Second Step: This week we reviewed how paying attention looks (eyes watching, ears listening, minds thinking) as well as the kind words we can say to encourage ourselves and others while learning and playing. Students remembered they can say “I can do it!” and “Keep trying!” to themselves and to others!
Art: In honor of Halloween, we created “candy corn mosaics!” Students ripped and glued white, orange and yellow paper to create their own unique mosaic! We also read the book, Spookley, and created our own “Spookley” pumpkins!
Common Core Standards we’re working on:
- I can read common sight words.
- I can read emergent level text with purpose and understanding.
- With prompting and support, I can ask and answer questions about key details in text.
- I can spell simple words phonetically.
- I can read CVC words.
- I can speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings and ideas clearly.
- I can read the words in a book in the right order.
- I can say the most common sound for each consonant in the alphabet.
- I can draw or write to help me share what I think.
- I can print lots of upper and lowercase letters.
- I can write numbers from 0-20.
- I can understand that the last thing I count tells the number of things in a group.
- I can name the number for each thing in a group as I count them.
Important Dates:
- Wednesday, November 1st – All Saints Day Mass, Dress Uniform
- Wednesday, November 1st – Noon Dismissal/Parent-Teacher Conferences (Students do not attend)
- Thursday, November 2nd – Parent-Teacher Conferences (Students do not attend)
- Friday, November 3rd – Parent-Teacher Conferences (Students do not attend)
- Friday, November 10th – No School, Veteran’s Day (observed)