What a fun and busy week we have had! We have finally finished up our apples unit. The students have spent the last two weeks learning the vocabulary for an apple (core, seeds, flesh, skin, stem). and the apple life cycle. The students were able to listen to stories and watch a couple short clips that helped show the progression. This week we finished up by completing our apple life cycle cards that needed to be put in order and glued. Yesterday we had a parent helper come in and help us make applesauce! The students took turns chopping up apples, adding the ingredients to the crock pot, and stirring/mashing throughout the day. At the end of the day we had snack together as a class! To wrap up the lesson we read our “applesauce recipe cards” to our 5th grade buddies this morning and explained to them how to make applesauce. In today’s folder you will find the recipe we used! Hopefully they can come home and make it with other siblings using the correct vocabulary and steps.
The students are doing great at working on their goals each day! We are able to work for almost 45 minutes which is great stamina for kindergarten! They have adjusted great to the routine and I am so happy when others come in and mention how hard they are working! Next week we will be focusing on Fire safety because it is national fire safety week for country.
Halloween schedules/plans and sign ups will be coming home next week. I will be looking for volunteers, people to help make stuff at home, and people to send in items needed. When the form comes home next week it will be specific in the needs so you can sign up for what works best for you!
Tomorrow I will be out for a District Meeting about Reading Interventions! Mrs. Rida will be subbing for me again so the students should remember her from last time. I completed some of the reading program over the summer, but have tomorrow and one more date to attend to complete the training. This is good information for me to bring back to the classroom and use with your kiddos specifically. I know the students will have a good day with Mrs. Rida tomorrow— and remember Friday is no school for kindergarten!
This week we have introduced goal sheets! The students are working each day on their goals and marking them off on the sheet. This instills independence in their learning but also helps me make sure they are working throughout the day when I am teaching small groups. They know that their goal is to have each box checked off by the time we go home. The goal sheets will change throughout the year and some times the students will get to pick their own goals to add to it! Some goals we work on in class are whole group — handwriting letter of the day, writing first and last names. These are done by every student because everyone can use the repetitive concept of it. Some goals are individualized to what your child needs: montessori letter goal, sight word goal, and read to self. If you need more explanation I would be happy to answer any questions.
In folders today you will find a sheet called “Kindergarten Goals”. I have spent time over the last two weeks assessing the data to create learning goals for each student. Each child came to my table and discussed with me things that we can work on to “make their brain bigger”. 🙂 The students did great at identifying some areas that they thought were important along with the academic goals I had thought they needed. These goals are what we will be working for in the Fall and will add more as they master them. We will conference again together in January to set goals for the second half of the year. The academic goals are based on what they need to master for Kindergarten standards and are individual to their needs. In the yellow boxes on the goal sheet I will be adding pictures to help remind them of what goals we are working on daily.
This week we have also worked on apple life cycle, push vs pull, and “working” words (lift, dig, push, drop, etc.). These are things that we will be working on for the next week or two to expand. Science and Social Studies are always a favorite with the kids and we love to explore the topics.
Thanks to all who have been using the Raz-Kids website! I am getting great feedback from the students about how they enjoy reading and playing the games. Today we will be taking out computers and working on the website for some technology time this afternoon. In a couple weeks I will be sending home information for a math website called Zearn! I have signed all of the students up for an account and we are working on it in the classroom! Once I send the information home they should be comfortable playing those games independently as well!
Please remember book bags must come back each morning! I am reminding them each day when we leave to grab them so I am confident that they will be in the routine soon of taking and bringing back daily. They should be reading at least one story each night at home! I they forgot their book bags at school then have them read any book at home that night. They know if they do not know the words then they can picture read it.
Reminder NO SCHOOL on Friday for Kindergarten ONLY!
Hello! We had a busy afternoon of meetings and learning ways to teach with the eureka math program! It was a great presentation for the teachers. I’m excited to show the students the new things I learned today!
You will have noticed in the folders that the students worked on the letters j- n this week and we finally finished the Chester raccoon numbers packet. These have been great tools to prepare the students for how to problem solve and work on packets during the work times. We will work on concepts such as rhyming, syllables, number bonds and much more with these weekly packets. The students are pretty much normalized in the Montessori environment and are able to work while I have started reading groups!
Reading groups will get one new book each week to work on. We practice reading the book, look for sight words we recognize, and discuss the foundations of writing- capital letter, periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points! You will notice a new book added on Monday’s OR Tuesday’s. Please remember to read each night and that book bags must come to school each day!
On Monday we begin our work time “goal sheets”! This is a paper on their work spot that has the goals listed I would like them to do. For language we have writing first and last name, the letter of the day packet page, sight words (to be introduced this week), read to self, their personal Montessori letter work, and the handwriting letter of the day (to be introduced this week). The students complete these goals each morning during literacy time and are able to mark them off with dry erase marker. The goals change throughout the year as will the goal sheets. The goal sheets help the students work independently and also choose when they do which goal. It is very Montessori to be self working while the teacher is teaching lessons at the head table. I look forward to working on this concept this and next week while we learn the new routine!
Friday, September 27th—. NO school for kindergarten only! All grades have school except k! We have a district meeting.
Book bags will begin coming home tonight! Please check them for a pink letter I have included to help understand the expectations! 🙂
In yellow folders are Raz Kids login information. This is a website or app that your child can use to read and answer questions about stories. Our school purchases this subscription and it is a great way to get students on the computers and reading.
The class did great for the sub yesterday! I was so happy to read that Ms. Rida loved working with our class yesterday 🙂
Tomorrow will be our first practice fire drill as a school. We have already been practicing getting out and going to our spot but this will be the first time they hear the noise! And it’s loud! Make sure your child is here by 8:35 because we want to talk about it before the alarm goes off at 9:00 am.