Good-bye Kindergarten!

 

I must admit, I have been putting off this post.  This is the final post (at least for the foreseeable future) for my kindergarten blog.  I am saying good-bye to kindergarten at this time and moving to a new position.  I have loved teaching kindergarten.  There is nothing more amazing than watching students enter kindergarten in the fall, uncertain of what school holds for them, and seeing them grow throughout the year.  They mature academically, socially, and some are almost as tall as I am when they leave in June!  This group will always be extra special to me as they are my last kindergarteners.  I cannot begin to tell you all how much I have enjoyed working with them.  They are a diverse group of learners who have come together to become like family to one another.  It was wonderful to see them care for each other--supporting one another when they were challenged, and cheering for each others' successes.  I am more proud of them than I could ever express.  I wish them all the best in first grade--I know they will continue to shine!

 

 

I would also like to thank the students' families.  You are all such critical factors in the students' successes.  I have known some of you for years, having taught your older children.  Many of you were new to Brantner and jumped in feet first.  I have enjoyed working with all of you and I thank you for allowing me to work with your children and be a part of their journey through school.

 

Speeding to the end!

My goodness, May has flown!  It has been a wild month--guest speakers, wrapping up assessments, FIELD DAY!  The students have been doing a wonderful job and I am so looking forward to our final few days together.  We will continue to learn and grow until the very end...I cannot wait to spend these final days with them.  Shine on kindergarteners!

May Flowers and Fun

Wow!  May is here and that means the end is near.  I am sad to see the year coming to a close,  but these kids are ready for first grade!!!

Some odds and ends to make note of:

This week is Right to Read Week!  A "BIRD" form will come home for you to fill out when you and your child read at home.  Please return it to school each day, so I can track our reading in class as well.  We have many fun activities planned for the week and some special guests will be visiting.  Thanks to Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Tippit, our Reading Specialists for organizing an amazing week!

Flower Sale is this week only!  Our "A" class will have the chance to buy flowers on Wednesday, and the "B" class will have the opportunity on Thursday.  If you would like your child to purchase flowers, please send money on the appropriate day.

Field Day is coming.  "B" day will be on May 23 and "A" day will be on May 31.  It is so important to send your child to school on Field Day with comfy clothing that can get a little dirty, gym shoes, and water.  Please be sure to put sunscreen on your child before they come to school.  Being outside for long periods of time, kiddos tend to get sunburn.  Help protect your son/daughter from this by layering on the sun block at home. :)

Reminder, the weather is pleasant, which means outside recess.  Flip flops, high heels, and other cute shoes tend to lead to injury for kindergarteners.  Please keep this in mind when getting your child ready to school.  In the past week, I have had to send multiple students to the health aide due to shoe-related injuries.  Gym shoes are always a safe choice!

As I said, the year is coming to a close at a rapid pace.  This month is critical for students to be in school!  We have many assessments to complete and fun activities planned.  These include time outside while we show what we know.  Last Friday, B class went outside to demonstrate their math skills with sidewalk chalk--the kids had a blast!  (See photo.)

It's the "write" time to practice sentences!

Hi all!  Hope you are enjoying Spring Break.  I miss all of the students' smiling faces, but they deserve a rest after working so hard to end the third quarter.

As we enter the fourth quarter, one area that I will emphasize in class is writing sentences.  Kindergarten students need to be able to write a sentence that:

1. makes sense
2. starts with an upper case letter
3. has space between words
4. ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point

Phonetic spelling is perfectly okay at this stage of the game.  For instance, a child might right "skool" for "school" or "budrfli" for "butterfly."  This is developmentally appropriate for young writers.  The students will be expected to write complete sentences as they enter first grade, and this skill is an important one to have mastered in order to do well on the first grade reading tests.  Please practice with your son/daughter at home to support our learning in class.  Below are some websites that may help you in this process:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/abc123/eng/tips/writekto3.html

https://www.leapfrog.com/en/leapfrog_parents/kindergarten/blogs/writing_-_tips_and.html

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/21885/

http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/sequence/sentence.htm

Online "games"

http://roythezebra.com/reading-games/sentences-that-make-sense-2-1.html

http://www.cookie.com/kids/games/simple-sentences.html

http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/games/sentence_structure/form_a_sentence/

Happy writing! 

Happy Spring Break!

I hope that everyone enjoys their week!  The students worked so hard as the third quarter came to a close, they certainly deserve a break!

This past week, the students learned many new words while we read Abuela.  Many words were Spanish, such as el gato (the cat), mira (look), and more.  Thanks to our bilingual students who helped teach their classmates the meaning of the Spanish words and phrases.  In math, we have been focusing on counting by 10s and making teen numbers.  10 + 7 makes 17.  This is one group of 10 and 7 ones.  This skills is extremely important for understanding place value and being successful in first grade (which is just around the corner!). 

On Thursday, B day students had a visit from the Cincinnati Zoo.  We got to see a spectacled owl, a kookaburra, a cockatoo, and a penguin named Bubba!  We learned some interesting facts, as well.  For example, did you know that female owls are larger than males?  If a penguin has black feet, it means that it is a warm weather penguin.  The students got to hold a feather from a Russian Eagle and pet Bubba, the penguin.  It was the perfect event to kick off Spring Break!

Third quarter is coming to an end!

Oh my!  I am so excited for how much the students have learned this year, but as there are only two days left in the quarter, I am rather sad.  This is a wonderful group of students--they look out for one another, celebrate each others' achievements, and are so caring toward one another.  I am looking forward to one more quarter with them, but will greatly miss them next year!

This past week was packed with fun!  The students had such a good time learning about Antarctica in Reading Street.  In math, we took our 7th unit test AND a subtraction test.  We counted to 100 by one and by ten...we discussed how important it is to be able to count by 10 in order to count money.  This was just the incentive the class needed! 

We had a special visit from the fourth graders this week, as well.  Mrs. Reynolds' students worked with our classes to learn about the Egyptian cartouche and made one for each student.  Both grades had a great time!

A few reminders...
1.  Please pay your school fees, if you have not already done so.  These fees pay for materials that the students use each day, such as their math books, take-home folders, and such.
2.  There is no school on Friday, March 29.  This is the start of our SPRING BREAK.  We will return to school on Monday, April 8, 2013.
3.  If you or someone you know will have a Brantner kindergarten student in the 2013-2014 school year, be sure to make your appointment to register at the main office.  We will have our orientation soon, and only those registered for kindergarten will receive an invitation.  Hope to see many faces there!

Book Fair

Hi all!  "B" class will be attending Book Fair tomorrow, 3-21-13.  "A" day will be visiting the Book Fair on Friday, 3-22-13.

Hope you had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I honestly cannot believe that the third quarter is nearly over.  As I look at the students each day, they have grown so much since the school year began.  They are taller, more independent, and have learned so much.  The students impress me each day, but as I complete testing for the third quarter, I see just how far they have come in these three quarters...great job kindergarteners!

Last week we had loads of fun with the Three Bears in the morning, and various Cinderella stories in the afternoon.  The "A" class got to watch a wonderful MadCap production, and the "B" class got to watch a slightly less exciting puppet show, performed by me.  :)

This week, we are reading about animals in the Antarctic for a good dose of nonfiction and learning about St. Patrick's Day in the afternoons.  Writing continues to focus on how to make a sentence.  Did you remember to: start with an upper case letter?  end with a period?  put space between your words?  make sense?

In math, we are focused on teen numbers, addition, and subtraction.  What fun!  We also continue to practice counting to 100 by 1 AND 10.  We also will keep on counting backward, to boost our subtraction skills.

Have a great week!

Welcome March!

What a fun week in Room 201!  We have been having fun practicing our subtraction skills while playing Zero The Hero--a highlight of the week.  The students LOVE this game.  To quote one of young men "This is the best game I have ever played."  In reading, we enjoyed Eric Carle's book Rooster's Off to See the World.  Judging from the students' reactions, many of them have a new favorite author.  Eric Carle has many wonderful books for kids, and his illustrations are amazing.  Be sure to check some out the next time you go to the library.

Today (Friday), the class enjoyed a spotlight on Dr. Seuss--no worries "A" class, you will do the same next week!  The students enjoyed listening to Dr. Seuss stories.  Almost all of them loved the Cat in the Hat the most.  Miss Stepaniak was out of breath after tackling all of the tongue twisters in Fox in Socks.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Farewell Mrs. Rigling

I want to wish Mrs. Rigling all the best as she leaves kindergarten for 5th grade.  She will be with Ms. Acomb for the next 8 weeks.  Good luck Mrs. Rigling!  You have done a wonderful job in Room 201!

Happy Valentine's Day! (a little early)

Hi all~
What a wonderful week to celebrate Valentine's Day!  The students have had a great time celebrating this lovely holiday.  In class, we have been using the holiday to practice our sequencing skills. We have no school Thursday, Friday, or next Monday.  We will return to school on Tuesday, 2-19-13. 
In math, we are becoming subtraction super stars!  In reading and writing, we are really focusing on the structure of sentences and comprehending the stories we read.  We are also working to improve our spelling skills by sounding out words with three letters (with an occasional "challenge" of four or five letters!).

Panda Mania

The students got in the spirit of learning about pandas this week!  I have seen panda t-shirts, panda raincoats, panda pants. I love that the students matched their clothes to this week's reading theme!

In math, we are focusing on addition and the kids are doing a good job "showing their work."  This can be a tricky topic, so please practice at home, as well.

We continue to focus on the sounds in words (identifying, reading, AND writing).  We are also emphasizing the rules of writing a complete sentence.

Next week's reading theme: Little Duck.  Will I see some ducky outfits?

Happy 2013!

A three day week was the perfect way to get back into the school routine!  Welcome to Mrs. Nikki Rigling, who will be teaching in our class until the end of February when she transitions to Ms. Accomb's fifth grade class.  I am glad to have her join our kindergarten team and work with our incredible students.  They will have two teachers for eight weeks--what a treat!

This week we reviewed our routines and practiced past skills while having fun with snowmen (Wednesday and Thursday) and penguins (Friday.)  On Friday afternoon, we reviewed our number knowledge while we excercised.  Thanks to Miss Kincaid and her class for joining us...and a special thanks to Dr. Fultz, our principal, for participating in the fun!

This coming week we will be focusing on addition in math class and studying panda bears in literacy.  We will also be working on verbs in literacy this week.

The next two weeks are crucial assessment weeks.  The students will be taking the winter DIBELS benchmark assessments, as well as completing other assessments for the second quarter report card.  Please make sure that your child gets plenty of rest and a good breakfast so that he/she is ready to show off what he/she has mastered this quarter.

Have a warm weekend!  Go Bengals!  Go Bearcats!