Maillet's Kindergarten Newsletter
Week Of December 8th
Highlights from last week....
We did not waste any time getting back into "work" mode after 4 1/2 days off! We are doing so many new and wonderful things in the classroom.
In Reader's Workshop, we continued to look at the picture AND the first letter of the word to see if it makes sense! This week practiced our strategy of matching the picture and the first letter and then looking through the whole word. This week our class had SO many "AHA" moments during reader's workshop. Many of our friends were using the strategy successfully this week. It is so AWESOME to hear the children gasp when they figure out the strategy on their own. The excitement of them wanting to share their reading with me is so wonderful. I hope that you are seeing this at home with the books that I sent home with your child. I will be sending home new books this week. Please keep them in a special spot so that they can build their own library at home. Please have them read to you nightly. As they read to you at home, have them use the strategies that they are working on at school; pointing to each word, looking at the picture and the first letter and sounding out the letters in the tricky word.
In Math, we began our unit on measurement. We compared length and height this week. We are working on using the words; taller, shorter, and longer. Please see the video below of our friends using these words during our math talk time. At home, please work with your child and have them use these words in a sentence. For example, "The tree is taller than the house". "The soda bottle is shorter than the cereal box". "The pencil is longer than the crayon". Please remember if you are talking about items that are being compared up and down (vertical), use the word taller. If you are comparing items that are side to side (horizontal), use the word longer. The word shorter can be used with both taller and longer. I hope this makes sense. Have your child show you the hand motions to help them with this concept.
In Phonics, we practiced letter sounds and learn the sight words "go" and "see", please practice these words at home. We learned the letters "R" and "O" and created words on our white boards with the letters that we know. The kids LOVED playing teacher!
In Social Studies, we discussed how different people celebrate different holidays in December. Last week we read about Kwanza and learned about the holiday and how it relates to light.
In our Second Step program, we continued to learn about our own feelings.
We will read several fun books to reinforce the love of reading. During these read alouds we will be practicing some of our strategies that we are learning in our retelling unit.
A peek at our learning this week....
In Reader's Workshop, we will practice our strategy of matching the picture and the first letter and then looking through the whole word. I know it seem like we have been at this strategy for a LONG time, however, it is a big concept for our small people. This is the foundation of becoming a successful reader and it requires A LOT of practice. As I mentioned earlier, many of my friends are almost mastering the skill. Once, they have mastered it, I will work with them individually to conquer the next strategy. I am really pushing them to be the best reader they can be! I hope you are seeing this at home!
In Math, we will continue our unit on measurement. We will be comparing length, height and weight this week.
In Phonics, we will practice letter sounds and learn the sight words "no" and "me", please practice these words at home. At this time, the majority of our friends know their letters, so we will not be having a letter study of the week. Thank you for practicing at home, it has made a HUGE difference. There are still some children that are still struggling with their letters and these friends will be working with me and other teachers during small group time to master their letters. This week we are really practicing on recognizing beginning and ending sounds, rhyming words, writing words using letter sounds, tapping out words and sounding out nonsense words. These skills will be introduced this week and practiced continuously over the next several weeks.
In Social Studies, we will learn about how different people celebrate holidays in December and how they relate to light. This week we will be discussing Hanukkah and enjoying latkes. Next week we will be discussing Christmas. We will be having a holiday party on December 19th. In light of the holiday and literacy, we will be participating in a holiday book swap. Your child will pick another child's name and they will buy a book for that child. The dollar value on the books will be between $1.00 and $5.00 (Ocean State Job Lot and Dollar Tree have a great selection for low cost). If it is a hardship and this is not feasible for you, please let me know in advance. I always have extra books that your child can choose and give to their classmate. If you would like to provide a snack, please let me know.
In our Second Step program, we continued to learn about our own feelings.
We will read several fun books to reinforce the love of reading. During these read alouds we will be practicing some of our strategies that we are learning in our retelling unit.
Congratulations Kamdyn!
More information
It was so great to see many of you at math night. I hope that the presentation helped you understand our math program better. If you have any questions, please let me know. I will be sending home a parent letter at the beginning of each unit to discuss what we will be learning in math. I will send the letter home on Monday for our measurement unit.
SUPPLIES NEEDED
Many parents are asking what the class needs for supplies. We could use some Clorox Wipes and paper towels. Thank you in advance.
FLASHCARDS
Please practice letters and sounds with your child nightly! Thank you!
Sanders Street School
Email: vmaillet@arrsd.org
Website: www.arrsd.org
Location: 314 Sanders Street, Athol, MA, United States
Phone: 978-249-2410