Week of January 23-27, 2017

Hello Families,
We had a great week and a super pajama day to finish it off.

February is always a fun month in kindergarten. Read on to see what's coming up!

Important Dates

Friday, 2/3 PH family dance, 6-8 pm


Monday, 2/13: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 2/14: the 100th day of school. The kids are super excited to celebrate the number 100 and everything they have learned so far this year! During the days leading up to this the kids will have two extra homework assignments: First, they will need to bring in a collection of 100 items displayed in a creative way. They can get as creative as they want with this! I shared some ideas with the kids, so they should already be thinking about their project. These are due no later than Friday, february 10. On the 100th day they will share their collection.
Second, this Monday I will send home ziploc baggies with kids' names on them. They will need to count 100 of some household item, put them in the bag and bring it to school . We will be using these for a few lessons while we count down to day 100.
We additionally need a few food items for this day for our 100th day trail mix.  I will have a sign up sheet for this in the back of the classroom beginning next week.

Of course, this is also Valentine's Day! After lunch we will have a small Valentine celebration when the kids will pass out their cards. Kids can bring Valentine cards filled out with their names, but please don't put the recipients' names on each card. This creates chaos when passing them out!

Monday, 2/20: NO SCHOOL; Presidents' Day

Language Arts
This week we continue to focus on blending sounds to make words and to use our focus sounds to spell words. We will focus on short i and /l/ sounds in addition to reviewing previously introduced letters and sounds.
This week in writing I am introducing the concepts of revising and proofreading. I will teach the kids to begin to go back through their writing to find ways to make it better and to check and correct errors.

Math
We will take the chapter test on subtraction on Monday and will begin chapter 9, "More Addition and Subtraction", on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading! Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.
carrie.relles@gmail.com

Week of January 16-20, 2017

Hello families!!
We've had a super first week of 2017. The kids came in Monday ready to work and learn.
Thank you to everyone for the generous and thoughtful Christmas gifts. I appreciate your kindness so much.

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates
Monday, 1/16: MLK Jr. Day; no school

Friday, 2/3: Phoebe Hearst Family Dance; 6pm at school

Monday, 2/13: Washington's Birthday; no school

Tuesday, 2/14: Valentine's Day celebration/100th day of school. It's always interesting when these fall on the same day! Please watch for more information soon about our two 100th day homework projects.

Monday, 2/20: Lincoln's Birthday; no school

Language Arts
The kids' reading is really taking off! This is very typical this time of year, as they are getting comfortable with sounds and blending them on their own. If your child hasn't begun reading on his/her own, or they don't love sitting down with books, please keep at it at home! The practice they get with family is so important. Remember, they should spend some time reading to you and then listening to you read each day. These two types of practice help their reading development and their comprehension.
This week the kids wrote paragraphs about their New Year's resolutions, and they are amazing! They will be hanging in the room next week. Be sure to check them out.
Next week they will write an informational paragraph on how to build a snowman.

Math
This week we continue work on subtraction. The kids will take the chapter test on Monday 1/23.

Thanks for reading! Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.