Bonkowske Bulletin
Morganton Day School Jr. Kindergarten
Dates to Remember
11/19-11/20 Parent/Teacher Conferences (scheduled during the afternoon)
11/26 MDS Thanksgiving Feast (sign up coming soon!)
11/27-11/29 Thanksgiving Holiday Break NO SCHOOL
12/20 Half-Day
12/23-1/3 Holiday Break NO SCHOOL
What's Happening in Jr. Kindergarten
It was another exciting week of meaningful and memorable learning in JK last week. We began working on the vowel Oo through songs, rhymes and pictures. Students enjoyed many activities celebrating Halloween, including a Pumpkin Investigation, A Fall Read Around and a Fall Party complete with costumes! We also worked on counting and recognizing numerals in math. And last, we continued our Unit of Inquiry by reading Nursery Rhymes and discussing different character traits. We are also working hard on our culminating activity from our last unit and the students are so excited to become authors and see their words and pictures published. Here are a few fun learning moments captured this week. Enjoy the pictures!
Pumpkin Investigation
Students counted lines on their pumpkin, drew their pumpkin, measured its height in cubes, predicted and discovered how many seeds were inside and voted on the shapes to use for our jack-o-lantern face.
Gooey Sensory Learning
They got to feel the seeds, pulp and flesh of the pumpkin (or at least some of them chose to). :0) Afterwards, we lit up our jack-o-lantern and read a story by flashlight!
Fall Read Around
JK, K and 1st grade rotated classrooms on Wednesday and heard a story in each room. The teachers dressed up as one of their favorite characters from the story and led an extension activity after they read together. In our room, we read Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and decorated movie star glasses and posed like movie starts for a picture. :0)
Eensy Weensy Spider
Students created art that depicted our Nursery Rhyme, The Eensy Weensy Spider, and reenacted it along with a video.
Glow Fun!
As students arrived on Thursday, they were greeted by objects glowing under a black light. They loved seeing how highlighters glow on white paper as they practiced writing their letters.
Fall Party Time!
Thank you to all of the parents who contributed to our fall party. Fun was definitely had!
Reading
We will continue focusing on the vowel "Oo" this week and talking about how he can make two sounds (long o and short o). Please continue to support their learning at home by pointing out letters we have covered so far (Aa, Bb, Tt, Jj, Dd, Ff, Pp, and Ee) when you see them and ask them what sound they make, or brainstorm words that start with that sound. We have begun working on beginning sound sorting whole group and they are doing great with the letters that we have worked on. This week, I will begin to assess where our students are compared to the beginning of the year, so I can share their growth with you at our upcoming conferences. I have 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 have also sent home ABC cards in every child's folder last week. Please continue to review each letter name and sound three times a night. When you finish, you can place the cards back in the bag, place the bag in their folder and send it back to school each day. This way, when I assess them and they are ready, I can begin to add "snappy words" and decodable books to their bags. Please remember that learning to read is a learning and developmental process. Each child progresses in their own way at their own rate. We want them to develop a LOVE and PASSION for reading and we want to avoid frustration as much as possible. Make this time with your child a fun and exciting time. :0)
Math
In math, we will continue working on recognizing, sequencing, writing and representing numerals. Activities that we will be participating in include The Pendulum Game where we will investigate and count the swinging of heavy and light objects as well as creating an age collage using various materials that represent their age.
Unit of Inquiry
This week, we will continue our work with Nursery Rhymes and assisting Mother Goose with identifying characters who need some help with their attitudes and actions. They know and love Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater and they enjoyed seeing themselves in a pumpkin in our latest art project hanging in the hallway. Don't forget to take a look! We have also learned the Little Miss Muffett and The Eensy Weensy Spider Nursery Rhymes. This week we will be learning Humpty Dumpty through reading, singing, and acting it out. We will also brainstorm ideas of how to help break Humpty's fall through some science exploration. These activities that revolve around Nursery Rhymes are wonderful for building reading stamina, fluency and inflection. It is also great for phonemic awareness skills as they begin to hear rhyme and rhythm of reading. As you are riding to and from school this week, see how many they can remember, or maybe try saying them in silly voices for extra practice. :0)
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.
I have submitted our October book order and it is on its way! I will send home our November book orers this week. They are due back to me on Tuesday, November 26th (because of the Thanksgiving holiday). These make great stocking stuffers for the holidays or entertainment for holiday road trips! Please indicate on your order if the books are intended to be gifts so I don't spoil the surprise! ;0)
I encourage you to help your little ones become more and more independent in our morning routine. Allowing them to place their backpacks in their cubby, their snack/lunch on the cart and their planner in the bin only gets them better prepared for Kindergarten next year. As a mom, I know how difficult it can be to say goodbye in the mornings. However, I encourage you to start saying your goodbyes in the hallway and allow them to walk in the classroom and begin their day like the big boys and girls they are now! If they are struggling at all, I will be right there to offer them some TLC until they are feeling brave again (which I promise is very soon after mom and dad are out of sight). :0) I am so proud of the progress they are making and I appreciate your help so very much!
Special Thanks
A special thank you to Amy Buchanan for volunteering in our classroom last week. Also, a big thank you to everyone who contributed to our Fall Party. I am so very grateful! Please see the NEW link below to sign up to volunteer in our classroom. It would be so helpful this week to have some extra hands, as I try to begin assessments for Parent/ Teacher conferences. :0) Also, thank you to the family of Aida Ruechel for providing snacks for us this week. Our current snack rotation is full through the December holiday break. Thank you! I will send the new one out some time in November. I appreciate all of you!
I want to extend a sincere and heart-felt thank you for the honor of being selected as Teacher of the Month this month. I have been showered with treats and sweet notes each morning and it means the world to me. I knew that going back to work after being home with my children would be a challenge for me, but I have to say, coming into this classroom each morning and sharing in my students' growth and learning is the most rewarding experience for me. In so many ways, it feels like what I was meant to do and where I am meant to be. They are worth every ounce of energy I put into this job and more. Thank you for sharing them with me and thank you ever so much for your kindness.