Specials Schedule for the Week of 12/3 - 12/7

Monday - PE & Art (Please remember to bring gym shoes)
Tuesday - Media Center (Please remember you library book*)
Wednesday - Music
Thursday - PE (Please remember to bring gym shoes)
Friday - PE (Please remember to bring gym shoes)

*There seems to be a little confusion regarding recent library books.  Mrs. Stayer informed me that when the children are in the computer lab during their media center time, she does not have the children check out new books.  This seemed to confuse some of the kindergarteners when they did not have a book to return the next week, as is their usual routine.  Book check-out will resume as scheduled next week.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you!

Field Trip

Next week we will be going on a field trip to see the play "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie..."  If you have not already done so, please return a signed permission slip on Monday.  The cost of the field trip is $11.00.  Also, if you are interested in chaperoning, please let me know.  I will contact all chaperones to confirm on Monday. The cost of a ticket for chaperones is $7.00, and we ask that you meet us at the Millennium Theatre, as we have limited apace on the bus.  Maps will be provided.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Pride Posts

This week, you should have received turkey and mitten cut outs for our Pride Wall.  I know that Thanksgiving is over, but I wanted to have something for our book at the end of the year that represented November, as we completed the "Thankful Hands" for our lobby display.

If you have not already done so, please complete both cut outs and return them next Monday.  Thank you in advance!

Delayed Start Next Tuesday, Dec 4

Tuesday, December 4th is a delayed start day.  School will begin at 10:25 AM and bus service will run as usual, however, pick-up times will be 90 minutes later than the normal time.

Special Schedule for the Week of 11/26 - 11/30

Monday (C) - PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)
Tuesday (D) - Art & PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)
Wednesday (A) - Media Center (Please remember to bring your library book)
Thursday (B) - Music
Friday (C) - PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)

Farm Pictures

If anyone has any farm pictures that they would like to share, please send them to me at sk14bps@birmingham.k12.mi.us

Also, Mrs. Gillis has created a Shutterfly account for our families to upload pictures to share.  If you are interested in doing this, please let me know so that I can send you the link and site password.  There are already some wonderful pictures from Halloween and the farm on the site!  Thank you so much for creating this, Mrs. Gillis!

Family Feast

The children and I have been discussing our upcoming family feast!  We are very excited to share this afternoon with our families as we eat, explore, create and think together! 

See everyone on Friday at 2:30!

PS -

I have seen the menu for the feast and it looks amazing!

Conferences Reminders

Tomorrow will be a half day of school for the children due to conferences.  Our dismissal time will be at 12:05pm.  If your child will be going home a way that is different from their usual Thursday routine, please let me know so that I can make sure your child meets you where they will be picked up.  The buses will pick the children up at 12:05 as well.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Also, if you have a scheduled conference tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 15, you should have received a reminder email regarding your chosen time from Sign Up Genius.  If you are still unsure of your time, please let me know. 

Book Fair

This week, our media center has been turned into a book store for the Scholastic Book Fair!  Today, the children were able to visit the Book Fair with Mrs. Stayer, our media specialist, and complete a wish list of books that they are interested in.  These lists, along with a complete list of books at the fair, were sent home in your child's homework folder. 

Also, each teacher made a list of books we are interested in for our classroom library.  These are located on the book shelves in the middle of the entry way as you enter the media center.  If you would like to donate a book to our classroom, this list has some great choices!

The Book Fair will be open during conferences this week.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Schedule for the Week of 11/12 - 11/16

Specials Schedule

Monday (D) - Art & PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)
Tuesday (A) - Media Center (Please remember to bring your library book)
Wednesday (B) - Music
Thursday (C) - PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)
Friday (D) - Art & PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)


Dates to Remember

Tuesday, Nov. 13
Farm Field Trip 9:30 - 1130am
All families who signed up to be chaperones will be able to join us on the bus.  We will be leaving at about 9:00 am.  If you are driving separately and need directions, please let me know.

Thursday, Nov. 15
NO SCHOOL in the afternoon.
Dismissal at 12:00pm
Parent-Teacher Conferences 1:00 - 8:00pm

Friday, Nov. 16
Family Feast 2:30 - 3:30pm
If you have not responded to which dish you will be sending in, or if any family members will be attending, please do so this Monday, Nov. 12

Family members will be accompanying small groups of children through a rotation of family-themed centers.  These include our tasting table, a family math activity, exploring our heritage posters and more!

If you have any questions, please let me know.  The schedule of conferences can be seen by using the link below, in case you are unsure of your chosen date and time.  Have a great weekend!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A4BA4A822A46-fall

Mystery Reader

Grace's dad was our Mystery Reader this week!  Here he is reading us the book Stinky Face!  We thought it was so silly!  Thank you for joining us in Room 100!

I Like My...

We have been practicing recognizing our word wall words in print.  Here we are after we created sentences that were mixed up and needed to be put back together and completed.  We each finished our sentence with something we like.  This not only reinforced our word wall words, but our punctuation skills, stretching out words we want to write and creating pictures that enhance our writing.

"I like my mom."

 

"I like my train."

"I like my mom."

"I like my cat."

 

"I like my hot wheels."

Field Trip Chaperones

Thank you to all of the families who have volunteered to join us on our trip to the farm next Tuesday, November 13!  As this is our first field trip, we are able to take all families who volunteered to join us on the bus.  We will be leaving school at 9:00am.

Please know that our next field trip will be to see a play, which will only allow us a certain number of chaperones per class.  These will be chosen based on a first come, first serve basis.

Mystery Reader

This past week, Rachel's mom visited our class as our Mystery Reader!  We had such a wonderful time listening to her story and asking her questions!  Thank you for joining us in Room 100!

Election Results - Kindergarten Style!

As this past Tuesday was an important time for our country, our class has been discussing the presidential election and what it means to vote.  After talking about how grown ups had two choices for our president, we said, "Why do grown ups get to have all the fun?"

We chose to vote for our favorite pet!  We learned about using ballots, casting our vote, and tallying the votes to find the winner. 

After a long deliberation, and a hold-out vote due to a bathroom break, the results are in!  And the winner is...

dogs, which beat out cats by just one vote!  There was also a tie for bird and hamster for third place, and fish came up short, with no votes.

Family Feast

Next Friday, November 19, our class will be having our Family Feast!  At this time, we would like to welcome all families to participate in this celebration of your family at home, and the family we have created in Room 100!

Recently, a letter was sent home in your child's homework folder.  The other kindergarten teachers and I are asking for each family to bring/send in a dish that represents the culture you and your child learned about when you created your poster.  During our center time, we will be doing family-themed activities, including a sampling center, where the children will have a chance to taste all of the different dishes!

All families are welcome to attend and help us during our activities.  Please complete the form sent home, letting me know how many family members will be attending and what dish you will be sending in.  Please send in all needed serving elements for your dish.  Plates, napkins and plastic ware will be provided for the children to enjoy the food!

The Family Feast will begin at 2:30.  I hope to you there! 

Reminders and Specials Schedule for 11/5 - 11/9

Tuesday, Nov. 6 - NO SCHOOL
Thursday, Nov. 8 - Picture Retake Day

Monday - Art & PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)
Tuesday - NO SCHOOL - Election Day
Wednesday - Media Center (Please remember to bring your library book)
Thursday - Music
Friday - PE (Please remember to bring your gym shoes)

Also, if you have not signed up for your Fall Parent-Teacher Conference, please click on the link below to schedule a time that works best for you.  Thank you in advance!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A4BA4A822A46-fall

 

 

Our Monster Mash was a Smash!

We had so much fun at our Halloween parade and party!  We began our afternoon by watching a Magic School Bus video on Bats and Spiders, while we got into our costumes. 

Here we are getting ready to join our first Harlan Halloween parade!  Even though the weather was a little cold and wet, we still loved showing off our costumes to the families in the hallways and gym! 

After the parade, we returned to our room for our Halloween party!  Our room parents really out did themselves!  The kindergarteners rotated through a series of Halloween-themed activities, collecting candy along the way!  We also enjoyed chips, fruit, juice and several goodie bags from our families!

Here we are making spiders using Oreo cookies, licorice, frosting and red hots! 

We also played Pin the Face on the Pumpkin...

Here we are using our sense of touch to identify different objects in our Feely Boxes!

We even played Donut Chew by eating donuts on strings without using our hands!

Thank you SO MUCH to all the families for your help and support!  Our room parents did an amazing job of putting together a wonderful party.  I know the children loved it, and I can't thank you enough!

Happy Halloween 2012 from Room 100!



Tricky Teens Ten Frame

In math, we have been working with ten frames!  This series of connected frames helps us to learn more about the number 10!  We have been practicing representing numbers on a ten frame using manipulatives, figuring out how many more manipulatives we need to make 10, and now building tricky teen numbers!

We discovered that all tricky teens have at least 10, then "some more" added on to it!  To practice this, we filled our ten frames and added "some more" on top to make bigger numbers. 

For instance, we learned that "12" is 10 and 2 more! 

And "16" is 10 and 6 more!

This activity also helps us practice counting on from a given number.  For example, we don't need to start counting at 1 if we know that a filled ten frame already has 10.  This way, we point at the filled frames and say "10," and then begin counting on from there!

Family Heritage Posters

This is a gentle reminder that our Family Heritage posters are due next Monday, November 6.  If you have any questions, or need help completing this assignment, please let me know.  I look forward to seeing all of the children's creativity!

Fall Conferences

Our first Parent-Teacher Conferences are just around the corner!  This year, our school will be using Sign Up Genius, the same website that handles our classroom volunteers, to arrange individual conferences. 

Please see the note from our principal, Ms. Embekka Thompson:

Dear Parents,

Parent-Teacher Conferences are approaching.  This year, we want to make signing up for conferences easier for you, so we have decided to utilize “Sign Up Genius,” an online scheduling program.  All teachers are utilizing this conference scheduling program, no hardcopy sheets are available. We hope that you find our new process quick and user-friendly.  Please click on the link below to sign-up for a conference time.  You will need to sign up for one conference per student.

Thanks,

Embekka

Our classroom sign up sheet can be found at the following link.  I look forward to speaking with you about your child's progress since the beginning of the year!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A4BA4A822A46-fall