Off and Running

We are off and running into 2012!! The children came back all excited and ready to learn. The children know letters and letter sounds. We are now focused on handwriting and forming our letters correctly when we write. We are working hard on learning our sight words. Play games at home with the sight words. Children need to be expose to sight words over and over to learn them. I have several parent links on my blog that have game activities to help learn sight words. If you click on the "Live Binder" on the right hand side of the blog you will pull up sight words. We have been learning about addition and we will start subtraction soon. We are counting daily in the classroom to 100. Your child is learning to count by 2's, 5's and 10's. Practice these in the car while you are driving. We have a lot more to learn before the end of kindergarten.

Start 2012 off right with positive student behavior

Positive student behavior is one of the most important components of a classroom environment in which children learn essential basic skills needed for a successful school career and life. Students who are able to manage their behavior not only contribute to their own wealth of knowledge, but also to those of their peers. I encourage positive behavior management by recognizing those students who are able to abide by the rules of the classroom. This recognition comes in many forms, which include cheers, thank yous, stickers, etc. Students will have ample time to learn, practice, and implement the rules of our classroom. They will clearly understand my high expectations for their behavior and learning. You will be informed each day of your child's behavior choices, so that you may praise your child for a job well done, or encourage your child to make better choices the following day. You should check and initial the parent's sheet in the back pocket of your child’s folder every day. A sad face will indicate inappropriate behavior along with a comment.

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone is having a great time off. We return to school on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Thank you for all the nice cards and gifts. I feel very blessed to have your child in my class this school year!! See you in 2012!!!

What fun we are having in December!

We had a GREAT time on Friday making gingerbread houses. We will be doing a lot of other fun activities with gingerbread in school. Our class is going to sing at the retirement home on Friday, please send back the permission slip by Thursday. All gifts for the party need to be at school by Dec. 16. Our party will be on Dec. 21 at 8:30 am. and kindergarten classes will dismiss at 9:30 am. We will be singing songs in our classroom at 8:30, please come join us.

December is a busy month!!

We will be extremely busy the next few weeks. Your child will be taking the DIBELS test. DIBELS is an assessment that measures early literacy and reading skills. We will continue to learn about how letters go together to make words and learn new math concepts. Our party will be Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 8:30 am. Watch for the weekly newsletter for updates. Please try to have your child at school everyday. There is so much going on, I hate for your child to miss anything. School will dismiss at 9:30 am on Dec. 21.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I am so thankful to have your child in my classroom this year! I am also thankful to have great parents, like you, that help and encourage their child to be the best that they can be. Thank you for everything that you have done to make this school year be successful! We will be out of school Nov. 23-27. Our class will be exchanging presents at our Christmas Party on Dec. 21. If you are shopping early, the gift should be $5 value(girls will bring a girl's gift, and boys will bring a boy's gift to exchange).

GREAT WEEK!!

We have had a GREAT week of learning this week!!! The children are working hard with the sounds of each letter. We have been putting letters together to make words. We have been putting words into sentences and writing sentences. Your child knows what a period, question mark and exclamation mark are. Have him/her point them out to you during storytime at bedtime(I hope you are reading to your child at bedtime??). Be sure to let your child demonstrate how to read the correct way when there is an exclamation mark(we have been practicing this in class). We have also been working a lot with numbers. Talk to your child about what is more, and what is less.