Our Class News
December 5, 2014
This Week
We have a new member in our class- Freddy the Elf. He is watching us work & play and telling Santa about the awesome things we are doing. Ask your child to tell you about Freddy.
In language we focused on understanding and describing characters. We read several stories in which character feelings change throughout the story. One you can watch below online. The students drew their favorite character in their response journals.
Our sight words this week were my & with. We studied our last two letters, Nn & Jj. Soon we will start our "hunks & chunks" like ch, sh, th, etc.
In math we are learning about addition and subtraction again, this time with the plus and minus symbols.
In science we are still learning about the properties of matter, but this week we studied how temperature can change the state of matter. We turned a liquid into a solid to make popsicles. We turned a solid into liquid by cooking apples to make applesauce.
Our habit for this week is Habit 6 Synergize. We learned that when we work together we are synergizing. We read a story Swimmy, in which the characters worked together to solve a problem.
Miscellaneous
Two math skills that are difficult for them right now are counting from any number - ask your child to start at 23 and count to 50, etc. The other skill that is tricky is instantly identifying a group of objects or dots on a card. This means they do not have to count 1 by 1 they "just know" there are 3, etc. They are good at dot cards up to 3 but past that
You can help your child with this by playing lots of dice games at home. Being able to recognize (without counting) that standard configuration will help a lot.
If you are cleaning out closets and toy boxes to make room for new items please consider donating any small kids meal toys, party favors, etc. to our prize box. The students get to go to the prize box for every 5th star in their behavior folder. We had a good supply from my garage sale findings but we are now running low. I'm not asking you to buy anything for it! What is old to your child will be brand new & exciting to another. :) Thanks!
Tardies are becoming a problem for us in the mornings. Please have your child in the door by 7:40. We get started right away and some students need to be on the computer by 7:45 doing our intervention program. These last few weeks I've had an average of 5-6 students tardy every day. It's hard for me to get everyone on the same page with students coming in at various times. I completely understand the issues related to getting kids out of the house in the morning. I'm sure you already do these things but having clothes laid out the night before, backpacks by the door, etc. can help save a few valuable minutes. Let me know if there is something I can do to help you. Thanks for your consideration.
Reminders
- PTO Meeting 12/ 11 5:00
- Math & Science Night with Program 12/11 5:30-7:00 (our class performs at 5:30)
- DRA Testing 12/12 (reading level) - I'll have a sub
- Early Release 12/19 12:00
- Christmas Breakfast Party 12/19 9:00-10ish Awards immediately after party
The last week of school before break we are dressing up in holiday attire.
Monday 12/15 - Holiday Head Gear
Tuesday 12/16 - Holiday Neck-wear
Wednesday 12/16 - Holiday Socks
Thursday 12/18 - Holiday Slippers
Friday 12/19 - Holiday Sweater (we are going to do pj's this day instead for our party)
Mrs. Hoelscher's contact information
The school number is below, but feel free to text or call me at (512)426-6190 when something important comes up.
Email: mhoelscher@taylorisd.org
Website: http://kindergarten-classro.thj.taylorisd.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/integrated_home.phtml?gid=4282656&sessionid=f5ef724e0b082d551dbd1ba36e0690cd
Phone: (512) 365-7114
Things we've learned so far...
You can reinforce these things at home for review.
Language
Letters (to identify, name the sound & write)We've learned all letters
Sight words (read & write/spell)
like I the a and see can we to yes no come me with my
Decoding strategies (figuring out unknown words)
point to the words
use picture clues
sound out the word
beginning sound and what makes sense
Comprehension
characters
setting
events in a story (B/M/E)
predictions
author's group information in ways to help us understand (informational texts)
making connections to something in the story or another story read
Math
Numbers (identify, build & write) 0-15
Comparing numbers 0-10
Sorting & organizing data
creating graphs
addition/ subtraction
Social Studies
- why people work
- needs vs. wants
- why we have rules
- community helpers
- Verteran's Day
Science
- science tools/ lab safety
- hand-washing/ germs
- recycling
- 5 senses
- force & motion
- magnets
- properties of matter