March 13, 2009
Dear Families,
This week the kindergartners learned how to read some long vowel words. The rule this week was “A vowel not followed by a consonant is long; code it with a macron.” The boys and girls put macrons (horizontal lines) above vowels in words like he, be, we, no, go, and so and sounded them out. This week we are sending 7 flashcards home with the students. When reading this week we worked on fluency. Some boys and girls now sound out every word they encounter when reading, even the words they know how to read. Centers included painting, working with tinker toys, a nickel and penny worksheet, puzzles, a Saint Patrick’s Day coloring sheet, word bingo, and the Pizza Palace dramatic play center.
The third quarter will end on Friday, March 20th. We have been working on evaluations for the report cards. Report cards are scheduled to go home the following week.
Don’t forget about the Fine Arts Festival next Thursday! Each student has a project displayed somewhere in the building. There is food and entertainment. There are many inexpensive activities for the children. The Fine Arts Festival takes place in the multipurpose room, lunchroom, and gym. Refer to the elementary newsletter for more information!
Many families are wondering if snowpants and boots are still needed. We do need snowpants and boots when there is snow on the ground. We need boots if there is mud on the ground. If unsure, send the boots and snowpants. We will have the students wear them if needed. If they do not need to wear them, then they just stay on the red rug or in the cubbies. That is not a problem.
We hope you have a good weekend!!!
Mrs. Herink, Ms. Howard , Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Pokorny and Mr. Degner
Monday, March 16, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
March 6, 2009
March 6, 2009
Dear Families,
We learned about the letter Qq. We talked about quiet animals. Sara Stoakes, the North Tama Homecoming queen and Kelsey Upah, the Tama County Fair queen were guest speakers in the classroom. The boys and girls listened to directions and filled out a listening quilt doing something different in each section of the quilt. These will be sent home so that families can see how well their kindergartner listened. In math we started counting by fives and working with nickels. Counting by fives is a very difficult skill for some kindergartners so extra practice at home would be really helpful. Centers included playing hangman, the card game War, reading books, working with pattern blocks, working in journals, counting beans on quiet mats, and the Pizza Palace in the dramatic playhouse.
Can you believe that we have finished learning about all 26 letters? Next week we will start working with long vowels found at the end of words like we, he, see, so, go, etc.
The Fine Arts Festival is a wonderful event that features special projects produced by students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The Fine Arts Festival will be held on Thursday, March 19th from 6:30 - 9:00. The Fine Arts Festival is held in the multi-purpose room, the lunchroom, and the gym. There’s more information about the Fine Art’s Festival in the Elementary Newsletter that was sent home earlier.
Soon this 3rd nine weeks will be over. We have been working hard on evaluating the students for their report cards. Some of the skills that you can practice at home are counting to 75, identifying numbers through 25, counting items to a specific number up to 25 correctly, identifying left and right, the days of the week, the months of the year, addresses and phone numbers, recognizing the letters learned so far, recognizing rhyming words, identifying pennies, nickels, and dimes and their values, counting to 100 by tens and fives, and associating the sounds to the consonants learned so far.
The Iowa winter weather is so unpredictable! Boots are still a good idea because our kindergartners are known to find the mud. Their shoes and our room’s floor stay cleaner when the kindergartners wear their boots. If we find that boots are not needed, they will stay on the red rug in the classroom.
Grandparents’ Day has now been officially set. Grandparents or other guests may come either Thursday, May 14th or Friday, May 15th. A short program will start at 2:00 followed by some kindergarten made refreshments. More information will be coming home closer to the event in May.
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner, and Mrs. Herink
Dear Families,
We learned about the letter Qq. We talked about quiet animals. Sara Stoakes, the North Tama Homecoming queen and Kelsey Upah, the Tama County Fair queen were guest speakers in the classroom. The boys and girls listened to directions and filled out a listening quilt doing something different in each section of the quilt. These will be sent home so that families can see how well their kindergartner listened. In math we started counting by fives and working with nickels. Counting by fives is a very difficult skill for some kindergartners so extra practice at home would be really helpful. Centers included playing hangman, the card game War, reading books, working with pattern blocks, working in journals, counting beans on quiet mats, and the Pizza Palace in the dramatic playhouse.
Can you believe that we have finished learning about all 26 letters? Next week we will start working with long vowels found at the end of words like we, he, see, so, go, etc.
The Fine Arts Festival is a wonderful event that features special projects produced by students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The Fine Arts Festival will be held on Thursday, March 19th from 6:30 - 9:00. The Fine Arts Festival is held in the multi-purpose room, the lunchroom, and the gym. There’s more information about the Fine Art’s Festival in the Elementary Newsletter that was sent home earlier.
Soon this 3rd nine weeks will be over. We have been working hard on evaluating the students for their report cards. Some of the skills that you can practice at home are counting to 75, identifying numbers through 25, counting items to a specific number up to 25 correctly, identifying left and right, the days of the week, the months of the year, addresses and phone numbers, recognizing the letters learned so far, recognizing rhyming words, identifying pennies, nickels, and dimes and their values, counting to 100 by tens and fives, and associating the sounds to the consonants learned so far.
The Iowa winter weather is so unpredictable! Boots are still a good idea because our kindergartners are known to find the mud. Their shoes and our room’s floor stay cleaner when the kindergartners wear their boots. If we find that boots are not needed, they will stay on the red rug in the classroom.
Grandparents’ Day has now been officially set. Grandparents or other guests may come either Thursday, May 14th or Friday, May 15th. A short program will start at 2:00 followed by some kindergarten made refreshments. More information will be coming home closer to the event in May.
Have a great weekend!
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner, and Mrs. Herink
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
February 26, 2009
February 26, 2009
Dear Families,
This has been a wacky short week learning about Ww. The boys and girls took a winter walk and learned about water. We read the book A Weekend with Wendell. It was about a boy that went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. While there, the boy was not a very nice guest. He was mean to the little girl and didn’t make good decisions. We discussed what the boys and girls would do if Wendell had a sleep over at their houses, and we filled out a paper with their ideas. Warthogs in the Kitchen was a big book that we read. We completed a main idea worksheet that went with the book. The kindergartners practiced sequencing with a winter activity paper.
There is no school on Friday, February 27th or Monday, March 2nd!
Lately we have had many boys and girls forget their library books on Monday. We need your help in getting the books here on time so that families can enjoy a new book each week.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Qq. Since there are very few items that begin with Qq, sharing next week will be free choice.
Next week we are turning the dramatic play center into a Pizza Palace. Families are welcome to send pizza items to school. Please put your child’s name on anything you want returned home.
We have a few children with summer birthdays that would like to celebrate their birthday during this school year. If you have one of those children, we can arrange a day for them to celebrate. It is a big deal to them because they get to be the leader that day and have the birthday song sung to them. Let us know in a note if your family would like to pick a day. We like to arrange these ahead of time so that we don’t put two on the same day!
Please continue to send the boots and snowpants until further notice. These items keep the children dry and clean. If we find that we don’t need them, the snow items will stay in the room during recess. We will let you know when you no longer need to send them.
Mrs. Herink, Mrs. Owens, Mr. Degner, Mrs. Pokorny, and Ms. Howard
Dear Families,
This has been a wacky short week learning about Ww. The boys and girls took a winter walk and learned about water. We read the book A Weekend with Wendell. It was about a boy that went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. While there, the boy was not a very nice guest. He was mean to the little girl and didn’t make good decisions. We discussed what the boys and girls would do if Wendell had a sleep over at their houses, and we filled out a paper with their ideas. Warthogs in the Kitchen was a big book that we read. We completed a main idea worksheet that went with the book. The kindergartners practiced sequencing with a winter activity paper.
There is no school on Friday, February 27th or Monday, March 2nd!
Lately we have had many boys and girls forget their library books on Monday. We need your help in getting the books here on time so that families can enjoy a new book each week.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Qq. Since there are very few items that begin with Qq, sharing next week will be free choice.
Next week we are turning the dramatic play center into a Pizza Palace. Families are welcome to send pizza items to school. Please put your child’s name on anything you want returned home.
We have a few children with summer birthdays that would like to celebrate their birthday during this school year. If you have one of those children, we can arrange a day for them to celebrate. It is a big deal to them because they get to be the leader that day and have the birthday song sung to them. Let us know in a note if your family would like to pick a day. We like to arrange these ahead of time so that we don’t put two on the same day!
Please continue to send the boots and snowpants until further notice. These items keep the children dry and clean. If we find that we don’t need them, the snow items will stay in the room during recess. We will let you know when you no longer need to send them.
Mrs. Herink, Mrs. Owens, Mr. Degner, Mrs. Pokorny, and Ms. Howard
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
February 20, 2009
February 23, 2009
Dear Families,
This has been an excellent week! We discussed George Washington because his birthday is February 22nd. We made x-ray booklets and practiced counting by making a specific number of x’s in boxes. We X’ed out animals using specific colors following the directions on the back of the worksheet. The kindergartners voted for their favorite extra fun activity. Their choices were going to Chuck E. Cheese, bowling, miniature golf, going on a picnic, or going to a movie. Centers included working with tangrams, sorting and counting Smarties, playing alphabet bingo, building a town, playing UNO, and listening to a story on a tape.
Please remember that the students get out of school at 12:20 on Monday, February 23rd! There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, February 27th.
Conferences are next week! If your time doesn’t work for you, please let us know so that we can reschedule.
Lately we have had many boys and girls forget their library books on Monday. We need your help in getting the books here on time so that families can enjoy a new book each week.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Ww. Sharing needs to be an item that starts with the letter Ww. We hope to take a winter walk on Tuesday afternoon.
We have a few children with summer birthdays that would like to celebrate their birthday during this school year. If you have one of those children, we can arrange a day for them to celebrate. It is a big deal to them because they get to be the leader that day and have the birthday song sung to them. Let us know in a note if your family would like to pick a day. We like to arrange these ahead of time so that we don’t put two on the same day!
Notice the sharing schedule at the end of the newsletter.
Have an excellent weekend!
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Herink, Mr. Degner, Mrs. Pokorny, and Mrs. Rohlfsen
_________________________________________________
February 23 - 27: Something that starts with the letter Ww (Friday kids may bring their sharing any day that week.)
March 2 - 6: Free choice (Qq week) - Monday kids may bring their sharing any day that week.)
The rest of March will be free choice sharing. We may develop some sharing themes for April and May!
Dear Families,
This has been an excellent week! We discussed George Washington because his birthday is February 22nd. We made x-ray booklets and practiced counting by making a specific number of x’s in boxes. We X’ed out animals using specific colors following the directions on the back of the worksheet. The kindergartners voted for their favorite extra fun activity. Their choices were going to Chuck E. Cheese, bowling, miniature golf, going on a picnic, or going to a movie. Centers included working with tangrams, sorting and counting Smarties, playing alphabet bingo, building a town, playing UNO, and listening to a story on a tape.
Please remember that the students get out of school at 12:20 on Monday, February 23rd! There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, February 27th.
Conferences are next week! If your time doesn’t work for you, please let us know so that we can reschedule.
Lately we have had many boys and girls forget their library books on Monday. We need your help in getting the books here on time so that families can enjoy a new book each week.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Ww. Sharing needs to be an item that starts with the letter Ww. We hope to take a winter walk on Tuesday afternoon.
We have a few children with summer birthdays that would like to celebrate their birthday during this school year. If you have one of those children, we can arrange a day for them to celebrate. It is a big deal to them because they get to be the leader that day and have the birthday song sung to them. Let us know in a note if your family would like to pick a day. We like to arrange these ahead of time so that we don’t put two on the same day!
Notice the sharing schedule at the end of the newsletter.
Have an excellent weekend!
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Herink, Mr. Degner, Mrs. Pokorny, and Mrs. Rohlfsen
_________________________________________________
February 23 - 27: Something that starts with the letter Ww (Friday kids may bring their sharing any day that week.)
March 2 - 6: Free choice (Qq week) - Monday kids may bring their sharing any day that week.)
The rest of March will be free choice sharing. We may develop some sharing themes for April and May!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
February 6, 2009
February 6, 2009
Dear Families,
We have done a lot during Vv week! On Tuesday we visited the vet clinic and journaled what we liked best about the visit. We did some valentine activities. We did a lot of reading and worked on recognizing numbers up to 20. Centers included beans in the sensory table, word bingo, a February calendar, letter tiles, marble magic, Marble Magic, and the vet clinic in the dramatic play center.
This week we got a new student. Her name is Lanika Eilander, and she is in the red team. PLEASE ADD HER TO THE VALENTINE LIST SENT HOME EARLIER!
Next week is JJ week. Sharing should be an item that starts with the letter Jj.
Remember there is no school on Friday, February 27th. School is dismissed early on Tuesday, February 24th. School is dismissed at 12:20 on that day. Please mark your calendars!
Conferences are scheduled for the last week of February. Conference times will be mailed to each family. If you find that your conference time does not work, please call us at school so that we can reschedule!
Please include extra clothes in your child’s backpack. Our supply of extra clothes is dwindling because many families are not sending the extra clothes back! Please check for these extra pants, shirts, sweatshirts, socks, and undies.
Our class has experienced MANY, MANY cases of strep throat. There have been days when 5 - 6 children have been home with diagnosed cases. Please pay attention to your child’s health. If your child comes to school and the nurse suspects strep throat, you will be called to pick up your child.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Herink, Ms. Howard, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner, and Mrs. Rohlfsen
Dear Families,
We have done a lot during Vv week! On Tuesday we visited the vet clinic and journaled what we liked best about the visit. We did some valentine activities. We did a lot of reading and worked on recognizing numbers up to 20. Centers included beans in the sensory table, word bingo, a February calendar, letter tiles, marble magic, Marble Magic, and the vet clinic in the dramatic play center.
This week we got a new student. Her name is Lanika Eilander, and she is in the red team. PLEASE ADD HER TO THE VALENTINE LIST SENT HOME EARLIER!
Next week is JJ week. Sharing should be an item that starts with the letter Jj.
Remember there is no school on Friday, February 27th. School is dismissed early on Tuesday, February 24th. School is dismissed at 12:20 on that day. Please mark your calendars!
Conferences are scheduled for the last week of February. Conference times will be mailed to each family. If you find that your conference time does not work, please call us at school so that we can reschedule!
Please include extra clothes in your child’s backpack. Our supply of extra clothes is dwindling because many families are not sending the extra clothes back! Please check for these extra pants, shirts, sweatshirts, socks, and undies.
Our class has experienced MANY, MANY cases of strep throat. There have been days when 5 - 6 children have been home with diagnosed cases. Please pay attention to your child’s health. If your child comes to school and the nurse suspects strep throat, you will be called to pick up your child.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Herink, Ms. Howard, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner, and Mrs. Rohlfsen
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
January 30, 2009
January 30, 2009
Dear Families,
During Dd week we worked with dimes. We graphed our favorite kind of donuts (jelly filled, cream filled, chocolate frosting, powdered sugar, or glazed). Centers included making valentine sacks, alphabet bingo, dominoes, telling the teacher what he/she would do with $100, dot to dot worksheets, reading books, and the doctor’s office dramatic play center. On Friday we celebrated our 100th day of school and made necklaces with 100 pieces of cereal on them. We read many books about the 100th day of school. We counted to 100.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Vv. Sharing needs to be something that starts with the letter Vv or a valentine item. Notice the sharing list at the bottom of the sheet!
Keep working on those valentines! Valentines may be brought to school between Wednesday, Feb. 4th and Friday, February 13th. Our party will be on the 13th. We contacted volunteers to provide treats and napkins this week.
Please remember that our outside doors are locked at 8:30 each morning. If you bring your child to school late, then he/she needs to come in the main entrance by the multipurpose room.
Town kids that do not eat breakfast should not come to school before 8:10.
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Rohlfsen, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner and Mrs. Herink
February Sharing
February 2 - 6 : An item that begins with Vv or a valentine item
February 9 - 13: An item that begins with Jj
February 16 - 20: Free choice (Xx week)
February 23 - 27: An item that begins with Ww (Friday kids may bring their sharing any day this week.)
Dear Families,
During Dd week we worked with dimes. We graphed our favorite kind of donuts (jelly filled, cream filled, chocolate frosting, powdered sugar, or glazed). Centers included making valentine sacks, alphabet bingo, dominoes, telling the teacher what he/she would do with $100, dot to dot worksheets, reading books, and the doctor’s office dramatic play center. On Friday we celebrated our 100th day of school and made necklaces with 100 pieces of cereal on them. We read many books about the 100th day of school. We counted to 100.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Vv. Sharing needs to be something that starts with the letter Vv or a valentine item. Notice the sharing list at the bottom of the sheet!
Keep working on those valentines! Valentines may be brought to school between Wednesday, Feb. 4th and Friday, February 13th. Our party will be on the 13th. We contacted volunteers to provide treats and napkins this week.
Please remember that our outside doors are locked at 8:30 each morning. If you bring your child to school late, then he/she needs to come in the main entrance by the multipurpose room.
Town kids that do not eat breakfast should not come to school before 8:10.
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Rohlfsen, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner and Mrs. Herink
February Sharing
February 2 - 6 : An item that begins with Vv or a valentine item
February 9 - 13: An item that begins with Jj
February 16 - 20: Free choice (Xx week)
February 23 - 27: An item that begins with Ww (Friday kids may bring their sharing any day this week.)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
January 23, 2009
January 23, 2009
Dear Families,
This week was spent learning about the letter Yy. The kindergartners made Months of the Year booklets. The boys and girls need to be able to say the months of the year in order for the next report card. Reviewing the months of the year at home would be really helful! We have learned about dimes and counting by 10’s. This week we started centers. During center time, the kindergartners rotated through 7 different activities. The children spent approximately 10 minutes at each center and moved when the timer rang. Centers included yahtzee, the dramatic play house, yellow yachts and a yacht dot to dot, yellow objects (beginning sounds), the rice table, journaling about our favorite winter activity, and number bingo.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Dd. Sharing needs to be something that starts with the letter Dd.
Keep working on those valentines! Valentines may be brought to school between Wednesday, Feb. 4th and Friday, February 13th. Our party will be on the 13th. We will be contacting volunteers to provide treats and napkins this week.
Some of our kindergartners are coughing. The nurse would like to remind families that she can not give cough syrup, any other cold medicines, or prescription medication without a doctor’s note.
Please remember that our outside doors are locked at 8:30 each morning. If you bring your child to school late, then he/she needs to come in the main entrance by the multipurpose room.
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Rohlfsen, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner, and Mrs. Herink
Dear Families,
This week was spent learning about the letter Yy. The kindergartners made Months of the Year booklets. The boys and girls need to be able to say the months of the year in order for the next report card. Reviewing the months of the year at home would be really helful! We have learned about dimes and counting by 10’s. This week we started centers. During center time, the kindergartners rotated through 7 different activities. The children spent approximately 10 minutes at each center and moved when the timer rang. Centers included yahtzee, the dramatic play house, yellow yachts and a yacht dot to dot, yellow objects (beginning sounds), the rice table, journaling about our favorite winter activity, and number bingo.
Next week we will be learning about the letter Dd. Sharing needs to be something that starts with the letter Dd.
Keep working on those valentines! Valentines may be brought to school between Wednesday, Feb. 4th and Friday, February 13th. Our party will be on the 13th. We will be contacting volunteers to provide treats and napkins this week.
Some of our kindergartners are coughing. The nurse would like to remind families that she can not give cough syrup, any other cold medicines, or prescription medication without a doctor’s note.
Please remember that our outside doors are locked at 8:30 each morning. If you bring your child to school late, then he/she needs to come in the main entrance by the multipurpose room.
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Rohlfsen, Mrs. Pokorny, Mr. Degner, and Mrs. Herink
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