Bonkowske Bulletin
Morganton Day School Jr. Kindergarten February 24-28
Dates to Remember
2/27 State of the School Parent Meeting (6:00)
3/4-3/5 Student Led Parent-Teacher Conferences in the afternoon (half day for all students)
3/28 Teacher/Portfolio Workday NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS (Possible Snow Day Make-Up...will keep you posted)
4/4 Field Trip to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC
5/6 Field Trip to Tweetsie Letterland
What's Happening in Jr. Kindergarten
As temperatures went up this week, so did the number of learning activities in our classroom! After a three day weekend, they came in Tuesday ready to get down to the business of learning. This week, we learned about the letters Ww and Xx, and the sounds that they make through songs, shared reading and hunting for our letter of the week in print. The students are also developing their motor strength and skills each day, and they are enjoying practicing writing their letters on white boards.
In math, we continued working with numerals and shapes through different games. In particular, we explored where numbers are in our world. We discussed how each home in a community has a number as part of their address. Students created a paper bag house with their address on it. We talked about how important it is to know your address so friends can send you letters, packages and also how it can help emergency personnel find you faster. In math, students also investigated color mixing this week using snow and food coloring in eye droppers, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
For our Unit of Inquiry, we continued our new unit on Community Helpers. We began by discussing what a community helper is by looking at books and models. We charted what the students already knew about community helpers on our IB board. In particular, we learned about what a dentist does by reading books, looking at tools and exploring how our teeth help us, as well as how to keep our teeth healthy. We also had a wonderful field trip to Discovery Place KIDS in Huntersville where the JK students took part in many different explorations of Community Helpers. Enjoy the photos! :0)
Reading
Next week, we will be working on our last two letters "Yy" and "Zz," as we near the end of our alphabet. We will learn about their sound through songs, shared reading and other activities. Please continue to support their learning at home by pointing out letters we have covered so far (which is now the entire alphabet) when you see them and ask them what sound they make, or brainstorm words that start with that sound. Back by popular demand, I have embedded the link to our letters Yy and Zz songs in the newsletter this week. :0) I have also embedded the link below of a website called Starfall that is great to reinforce what they are learning in JK. It offers many literacy activities for all levels and is absolutely free! I will not be checking predictable/decodable books this week as I will be conducting 2nd Trimester assessments before I meet with you next week at Parent Conferences. :0) Please continue to work on their February writing homework each night and turn it in to me at the end of the week. Thanks for all that you do!
Math
In math, we will continue working on writing and recognizing numbers one through twenty, as well as counting to thirty. We will do this through various activities, such as number pockets as well as games and working in our math journals.
Home Connection: Please continue to work with your child at home on writing and recognizing their numbers one through 20, as well as counting to 30.
What color can you make?
Unit of Inquiry
We will continue our new Unit of Inquiry this week and we will be focusing on a Doctor as a Community Helper. We will read books, develop Inquiry questions and begin to explore the job of a doctor, some of the tools they use, and we will get a visit from Dr. Loomis! She will provide an interactive presentation for our JK students teaching them the importance of her work as a Doctor and how she helps people in our community.
Routines and Information
This week, I will be sending home Take Home Folders and Planners. In these folders you will find work that your child has completed at school along with any information I need to send home each day, including homework. The left side is labeled "Left at home" and the right side is labeled "Right back to school." Please try to remember to send the folder back each day. For the month of February, I will have sent home a short writing homework calendar. I have noticed that we need a little extra practice than our short day allows for. With that being said, I do not want homework to be frustrating for them at their age, so all I ask is that you do the best you can. I appreciate any help you can offer! Please note that in the morning there is a new red bin to place their planners and folders in. Thanks!
I have extended the deadline for February book orders, which went home this past week. They are due back to me by Wednesday, February 26th.
HOMEWORK...HOMEWORK...HOMEWORK...
A few of you have sent in your envelopes for our 100th day Paper Balloon project. If you have not, please remember to send those in this week, addressed and ready to be mailed. We can't wait to see how far across the globe our balloons travel!
Special Thanks
Please see the new link below to sign up to volunteer in our classroom any time between now and the end of April. I appreciate any and all help (especially as we prepare for our upcoming ECERS evaluation). :0) Also, a big thank you goes out to the family of Reid Buchanan for providing snack for our class this week. I have embedded the link for our winter/spring snack sign up below. I appreciate all of you!