BRR!!

Today was REALLY chilly outside at recess. Just as a reminder, we do go out for recess twice a day!  If your child is wearing a dress or a skirt or even thin pants, it can get cold outside.  Please feel free to send your child with a pair of sweatpants to go over their leggings/tights/thin pants or you may bring snow pants too.  I had many friends complain that they were cold today!  We want everyone to stay happy and snuggly warm! 

Thanks!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Kids 2 Kids Toy Drive

Kapco with the help of Thorson Elementary is sponsoring a toy drive.  Please bring new unwrapped toys to our classroom to help needy children.  You may bring in these toys from NOW until December 9th.  To see more about Kapco's Kids 2 Kids Toy Drive please click on the following link.



http://www.themorningblend.com/videos/134267853.html

 

Thank you so much for considering!

Winter Recess

Families,
Soon snow pants, boots, and heavy winter jackets will be here.  This is the way that we have talked about in Kindergarten on how to get ready.  Will you please go over it with them?  We will also have this poster in our hallway with pictures to remind us.

Thanks!
Love,
Mrs. Rocky

How To Get ready for

winter Recess

1.             Sit on the ground and take off shoes.

 

2.           Put on snow pants

3.           Put on boots

4.           Put on coat-zip it up!

5.           put on hat

6.          put on mittens



Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you Thankful for?

Anna: I am thankful for my family.

Tyler: I am thankful for my dog.

Lindy: I am thankful for my family.

Claire: I am thankful for my family.

Lily: I am thankful for my mom and my dad.

Aryah: I am thankful for my family.

Brady: I am thankful for my dog.

Matthew: I am thankful for my brother.

Reese: I am thankful for my puppy.

Carter: I am thankful for my fish.

Connor: I am thankful for my dog.

Maggie: I am thankful for my friends.

Elena: I am thankful for my rats.

Elizabeth: I am thankful for my friends and family.

Cassidy: I am thankful for my friends.

Jaden: I am thankful for my dog.

Sam: I am thankful for my friends, family, and dog.

Emily: I am thankful for my family and pets.

Mary Grace: I am thankful for my dog even though she died.

Sammi: I am thankful for my dog.

Nora: I am thankful for my pets, my family, and my friends.

John: I am thankful for Grandma and Grandpa.

Tess: I am thankful for friends, family, and pets.

Alex: I am thankful for my whole family.

Mrs. Rocky: I am thankful for a great group of kindergartners, great families to work with, a great school to be at, my family, and Mr. Rocky.

No New Star Words/Letter of the Week

Due to the short week, NO new star words or letters were introduced this week.  Please continue to work on ones that were already introduced.  You will be able to find them on our Star Words page of this blog.  The words that were already introduced will have a little star next to them.

Little Red Hen

These past two days we have been working on the story The Little Red Hen.  We watched the video, read the story, and we were able to put the story back in order.  (Sequencing!)  We talked about how we can be good helpers in the kitchen, in the garden, or just good helpers in general. 

Enjoy the video here. (It is about 7 min)

Yesterday, we made butter using little jars and cream.  We shook and shook and shook and shook!  Today we were able to enjoy that butter with some yummy bread that Mrs. Delzell made.   It was a great treat after working so hard on learning about the Little Red Hen.

Here are some pictures of us enjoying our special treat!

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

Today was the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast.  We had grapes, watermellon, celery, carrots, and breadsticks.  Thank you to the families that brought items in!  Thank you too for the help we got from J.D.'s mom, Mrs. Kunz.  She was a huge help!  Also, thank you to Mrs. Van Sluys, Tyler's mom for taking pictures of our class.  Enjoy the pictures and the videos!

Love,

Mrs. Rocky 

Sharing Our Writing

We have been working very hard at writing our own sentences.  Sometimes when something new has been tried out, work will be put under our document camera and shared with the class.  The author and illustrator will share their work and then ask for compliments.  It is so great to hear the audience comment about what was done well in the sentences.  I am so proud of everyone!
Enjoy these videos of our friends Matthew and Maggie sharing their writing about their favorite breakfast foods.
Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Matthew

Maggie

Teen Numbers video

We have been working on teen numbers.  Check out this video to help you out!

Cutie Kids!

Just cutie pictures of cutie kids today!  Enjoy!

Love, Mrs. Rocky

  

Star Word Update

Several families have asked that I inform you all of which Star Words have been covered in class.  On our Star Words page of our blog, you will see little stars next to the words we have covered.  I will also be sure to highlight the words that we are learning currently on the right hand side of our blog. 

Thank you for your suggestions!  I want this blog to be helpful to all of you!

Have a great evening! 

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Parent Teacher Conferences

Centers

For the past few weeks, we have been working very hard at learning all types of centers.  We work at centers so the teacher is able to work with a small group or with a student one on one.  We need to be independent at these centers so we do not interrupt the small group learning.  We also need to be independent so we are not bothering our friends around us.

We have been using the Daily 5 as a guide to plan out our Center time.  With the Daily 5 we focus on:
Reading to Self, Reading to a Partner, Listening to Reading, Writing, and Working With Words.  We are also adding the SMART board and Pocket Chart to our time too. 

Here are some pictures of friends who are working really hard during Center time. 

 Maggie and Aryah doing the Pocket Chart.  Their job is to put poems back in order and read them.

 Carter and Lauren working on the SMART board.  They are on the website Starfall.

 Elizabeth is working on some writing.

 Cassidy is working with some magnet letters in our  Word Work Center.  She is working on making star words.

Anna and Elena are listening to My Lucky Day on the CD player.

Computer Lab

 

 We went to the computer lab for the very first time.  We did awesome!  We all practiced logging in and logging out a couple of times. 

After we practiced logging in and logging out, we were able to visit one of our favorite websites, Starfall!  www.starfall.com  We were able to practice the letters that we already know, M, T, I, S, A, and P.  We also were able to read the story Zac the Rat.  Finally, we could also practice many of the special holiday stories like the Turkey and the Pumpkin.

We would like to give a huge THANK YOU! to Lily's mom, Sam's mom, Lauren's mom, and Mary Grace's mom for helping us out in the computer lab.  Another thank you to Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Shaw for helping us too.  Thank you for being patient with us and thank you for helping us find the right keys and websites!

We will continue to go to the computer lab to do special projects and practice skills on websites.

Thanks again!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Packer Monday

Let's get ready for some football!

Wear your favorite Packer gear on Monday to school. 

Let's cheer on the green and gold!!

Report cards

Red, White, and Blue day tomorrow

In celebration of Veteran's Day we are asking that everyone wear Red, White, and Blue tomorrow.  Clothes only please.  Let's be respectful and not use face paint or put colors in our hair. 

Thanks everyone!

Love,

Mrs. Rocky

New Clubs in Kindergarten!

Have you heard of the two newest and coolest clubs in Kindergarten?  We are looking for 100% membership!  These clubs are:

Club Zip!

  I can zip my own jacket.

and

Club Laces!

I can tie my own shoes.

To be in Club Zip is easy!  All you need to do is to zip your jacket on your own (starting it up too!) and show Mrs. Rocky.  

To be in Club Laces is easy!  All you need to do is be able to tie your own shoes and show Mrs. Rocky.

We are always looking for new members!  We are happy to have you be in our club! 

** Remember Mrs. Rocky might not always have the time to watch you.  You need to be patient and wait when Mrs. Rocky has some time!**

Here are the latest members of Club Zip! and Club Laces!  (I wrote this note at 2:58pm new members might have been added!)

Scholastic Book Orders

Hi Families,


I have sent home Scholastic Book Orders once again.  Feel free to check them out!  Orders and payment are due back at school on Wednesday, November 16th. 


However, feel free to order online too!  Each time a family orders books online, we get a free book for our classroom library. 

Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: HFYK6
It's so simple! Here's how it works:

• SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Register" button in the "First Time Here?" section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This unique code ensures that your order is sent to me.
• SELECT the books you'd like to order -- choose from thousands of titles -- many more than in our monthly flyers.
• SEND your order to me online by the due date and your child's books will be delivered directly to my classroom.

Thank you so much for considering!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Gobble Gobble!

During project time today we finished up our Thanksgiving placemats.  We will be able to use these placemats for at Thanksgiving dinner! 

Yesterday we created the pattern on the boarder.  When our boarders were finished we painted our hands brown and placed them in the middle of the paper.  We let our turkey hand prints dry over night.  Today, we added the Happy Thanksgiving and gave the turkeys some personality!  Finally, we put on finishing touches and were sent home tonight.

Gobble!  Gobble! 

Enjoy!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Ants In Your Pants!

Every morning we do some movement songs.  This song/video has been pretty popular recently!  I'm sure once you watch it with your child, I'm sure you will understand!

Have a great evening!

Love,

Mrs. Rocky

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Yesterday was Matthew's GOLDEN birthday!  Matthew explained to us that your golden birthday means that you are turning the age on the day you were born.  It is really special and that you get only one in your life!  Matthew turned 6 on the 6th of November.  We all were able to talk about when our golden birthdays would be too.

Birthday Boy Matthew

Matthew and his mommy brought in yummy cupcakes and little bottles of water for us to enjoy.  They even brought in a cool wasps' nest!  Matthew found it when he was working with his Grandpa over the weekend.  It was safe now because no wasps were in it.  Matthew and his mommy were very sweet in showing everyone up close what it looked like inside.  

Thank you for bringing this in! 

Have a great birthday!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Star Words for the Week

This week we will be working on the star words mom, dad, zoo, and red. 

We will also be working on the word family -at.  You can practice some -at words at http://www.starfall.com/n/make-a-word/at/load.htm?f  This is on the Starfall website.  We have done this in class so your child should be familiar with it.

Thanks for working with your child!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Play is Important!

Play is just as important as reading, writing, and math in kindergarten.  We make sure that we take some time to play each day. 

During play, children also increase their social competence and emotional maturity. Smilansky and Shefatya (1990) say that school success largely depends on children’s ability to interact positively with their peers and adults. Play is vital to children’s social development. It enables children to do the following:

• Practice both verbal and nonverbal communication skills by negotiating roles, trying to gain access to ongoing play, and appreciating the feelings of others (Spodek & Saracho, 1998).
• Respond to their peers’ feelings while waiting for their turn and sharing materials and experiences (Sapon-Shevin, Dobbelgere, Carrigan, Goodman, & Mastin, 1998; Wheeler, 2004).
• Experiment with roles of the people in their home, school, and community by coming into contact with the needs and wishes of others (Creasey, Jarvis, & Berk, 1998; Wheeler, 2004).
• Experience others’ points of view by working through conflicts about space, materials, or rules positively (Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990; Spodek & Saracho, 1998).

Remember that play is WORK for children at this age!  Please make sure that your child has some time to have some unstructured play time. 

Here are a few pictures of our friends hard at work... playing!

Reese and Lauren worked really hard to do the Brown Bear Brown Bear puzzle.

A bunch of girls at the housekeeping area.

Connor using the pan balances.

Sign Up for Email Alerts

Hi Friends and Family,

Wondering what is happening in our kindergarten classroom?  Forgetting to visit our blog?  Have no fear!  Sign up on our blog with your email address and never miss a post again!  When a new post has been put on the blog you will get an email alert. 

Enjoy!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Thank You!

  Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who booked appointments for

Haircuts From the Heart

to benefit our friend Andrew

We are 100% Booked! 

 Woohoo!!

 Just a reminder only cash or check donations please.  

 NO credit cards will be accepted. 

Thank you for helping to find

Answers for Andrew

Roll a number

During math, we have been working very hard at having correct number formation.  If you remember from the parent packet that I sent home in the beginning of the year, we use little poems/songs to help us form the numbers correctly.  We say these little poems every time we write a letter.  We say them when we write on the Smart Board, we say them when we write during math, and we say them when we write the temperature in our Science Journals.  Please continue to practice correct number formation with your child.  If you need another copy of the poems, please contact me and I will be more than happy to give them to you.

Today during math, we played a game to practice our number writing.  We had to roll the dice and figure out what number was showing.  Then we traced that letter on a sheet.   We had to see which number would be rolled the most!  It was fun playing this game with a friend.

You can even play this game at home!  All you need is a piece of paper and a dice.  Enjoy!

Love,
Mrs. Rocky

Connor

 Mary Grace and Aryah

 Tess

 Tyler

Emily and Alex

Movement and Letters

Some of our friends have been working very hard on learning movements to letters.  Please watch the video to see them in action!  I'm so proud of you!  Keep up the hard work!

Love,

Mrs. Rocky

Writing On Our Own

We are transitioning to writing on our own now during writing time.  Instead of everyone writing the same sentence everyone is writing their own sentence on a specific topic.  Today our topic was on Busy Bee.

The children did a fantastic job thinking of sentences on their own!  Many sentences included color words and our star words. 

When we look at your child's work, we are looking for the following things:

1. Capital letter to start the sentence with.
2. Spaces in between words.
3. Period at the end of the sentence
4. Only 1 capital letter and the rest of the letters are lowercase.

We also ask your child to read the sentence they wrote out loud.  We are looking for one to one pointing to words and to make sure they remember what they wrote! 

We encourage your child to sound out the word that they are trying to spell.  (For example, the word "tree" .  In class we count out the sounds by raising our fists and using our fingers to show how many sounds we hear.  "t" "r" "e" That is three sounds so we have three fingers up.  We should have at least three letters when we spell out the word..) 

After your child is completed with their work, (writing, reading out loud, showing us capitalization, spacing, etc.)  you may see our handwriting under what your child wrote.  This is the correct spelling of the word.   We write this so your child understands that there is a correct spelling of a word.   We do not encourage them to rewrite the word over that was corrected. 

As your child brings home their writing be sure to look for the four things we check for (as stated above) as well as them being able to read their sentences.  We encourage you to continue to work with your child at home on connecting sounds to letters, this will help your child with their writing!

An idea to do at home would be find something in your surroundings and ask your child "How many sounds does "truck" have?"  Encourage them to count out the sounds like we do in class.  If time, have your child write it down.  Any extra support you can give at home will help your child's writing greatly!