Kinder-news
Mrs. Mohn's Class
Valentine Exchange on Thursday, February 11th
This is one of my favorite times of the year in Kindergarten! It's like the first sign of spring after being cooped up inside, fighting the cold temperatures, and battling cabin fever. I'm already giving pep talks to my class as they have suddenly seemed to start turning on each other! But the Valentine Exchange is just around the corner--and it's a game changer!!! It's like a day of energy-building beauty that propels us through March and into Spring Break!
While we do not have a Valentine's Day Party, we do take some time to exchange Valentine's in class. Here are some important points to remember:
While we do not have a Valentine's Day Party, we do take some time to exchange Valentine's in class. Here are some important points to remember:
- We will exchange Valentines on Thursday, February 11th (no school on Friday).
- You can send a decorated container (shoe box, bag, etc.) with your child on the day of the exchange. If your child does not bring a container, I will give them a bag to use in class.
- Make sure the opening to the box is large enough to allow "fat" cards to fit. Many students will attach a piece of candy to their card these days.
- Make sure your child's name is clearly labeled by the opening of the box/bag to make it easy to identify.
- Place your child's Valentine cards in a separate bag (grocery bag, lunch bag, Zip-loc bag, etc.) as the decorated box/bag will need to be empty and ready to receive cards and will not be able to hold the cards for your child when s/he is delivering her cards to other children's boxes/bags.
- Please DO NOT address each card to a specific child. It makes your child's life a little easier (and mine, too) if they can just drop a card into each box or bag along the way rather than hunting for each specific card's owner. It takes and extremely long time with 5- and 6-year-olds.
- We have 21 students, 3 para-teachers, and me for a total of 25 Valentine cards for the exchange. Have your child sign his/her own cards.
- Inch by inch, it's a cinch! You may want to start now and sign a few each night so you don't have to all 25 at once.
Great Blog for Boy Valentine Boxes
25 Creative Ideas
February Scholastic Book Orders are Available
Be on the watch for Scholastic Book Order Flyers in your child's BEE folder! I will be sending home the paper flyer for book orders next week. Or you can go online now to order. There are two easy ways to order:
1) Return the order form to me with a check made payable to Scholastic Reading Club or
2) Order and pay online! Go to www.scholastic.com/readingclub and enter our Class Activation Code ( N23D7 ). Search by item number, add to cart, and pay by credit card or debit card. Or click on this link: https://orders.scholastic.com/N23D7
Orders are due by Thursday, February 11th 5:00p.m.
Be sure to check out my recommendations online. :)
1) Return the order form to me with a check made payable to Scholastic Reading Club or
2) Order and pay online! Go to www.scholastic.com/readingclub and enter our Class Activation Code ( N23D7 ). Search by item number, add to cart, and pay by credit card or debit card. Or click on this link: https://orders.scholastic.com/N23D7
Orders are due by Thursday, February 11th 5:00p.m.
Be sure to check out my recommendations online. :)
What is a Classroom Coupon?
I've started selling Classroom Coupons from my treasure chest now. When your child comes home with one stapled to their behavior "receipt," please leave it in their folder. They need to bring that coupon back to school to redeem it and I use the coupon as a special permission badge all day so everyone understands why a child has their stuffed animal out for the day, or why they are able to take their shoes off. :) We've had a lot of fun with buying special experiences instead of "stuff" from the treasure chest!
Tweeking the Behavior Calendar
Each year, the behavior calendar gets a little "fixer-upper." Recently, I realized that when a student has a learning opportunity or problem-solving sheet, coloring in the whole box makes it look like the whole day was bumpy. So, I decided to "tweek" the system and only color a yellow- or red-dot on the day. Now, my students can see that they only had part of the day that needed to be worked on and not the whole day. You can see too, if they only have one yellow dot or one red dot that your child may have had a learning opportunity or a consequence, but was able to pull out the rest of the day with a successful tone! So, if you see a bunch of dots--it's time to have a serious chat with your kindergartner and consider some natural consequences at home too!
Library's Book Bag Program is Finally Coming Home
You know when you start a pile and tell yourself, "I'll get to that next week . . ." and it's still there months later? Wellllll, that happened to the Library's Book Bag Program. That box of books has been stacked in a corner that I just cleaned out--so, starting next week, a large zip-loc bag with some paperback books (about 5) will come home with your Kindergartner. This is Castlio's way of providing a "book mobile," if you will. You are welcome to read through the books and return them, and the bag, at your leisure. Your kindergartner can exchange their bag-of-books for a different bag-of-books as often as they would like. These books are different from the one that is formally checked out from the school library, so please keep these separated to minimize confusion or lost books.
Pinterest-It's Not Just for the Crafty DIY Folks!
If you haven't discovered Pinterest, or you're avoiding it like the plague! Please reconsider how it can help you and your Kindergartner! If you notice your child struggling in a certain area, academic or social, why not consider using Pinterest as resource? There are a ton of great ways to help your child practice letter sounds, sight words, math, social skills and more! Check it out and start a board or two for your Kindergartner! Here are some examples, with links, that I found and thought you might like to check out:
Make Feburary about Kindness!
So Excited to Pass Out My Valentines Next Week!
Email: juliana.mohn@fhsdschools.org
Website: http://fhsdce.sharpschool.net
Location: Castlio Elementary School, Saint Charles, MO, United States
Phone: 636.851.4356