Mrs. Revo's Kinder Blog!

• Kindergartners have been practicing songs to sing at our Veteran's Day assembly.  For those unfamiliar with this event SAA invites veterans to the school, they sit on the stage and we sing them some songs as a tribute.  Veteran's share some of their experiences with the school and it's become a very patriotic tradition at our school.  
• Send your child in red, white, or blue shirts.
• PM Kindergartners are welcome and encouraged to come and participate with my morning class, but parents need to stay with their afternoon kindergartner during the assembly and collect their child at the end.  PM Kinders can sit with my morning class.  

• We started spelling rotations this week!  Students were given the placement test and assigned a spelling level and a spelling teacher (either myself, one of the other Kindergarten teachers, or one of our two instructional aids.) 
• Your child's spelling letters/words will come home on Mondays and spelling tests will be given on Thursdays.  Please practice at home so that students are prepared for their spelling tests. 

•  Take home readers came home this week as well.  These little books are great ways for students to practice reading simple books.  
• Readers stay at home for a week.  Please send your child's reader bag back to school every Monday. 

• Parents, there are times when students are unable to finish papers in class because they've been pulled out to pass off skill books, sight words, tutoring, etc.  I hate to see them miss the practice that written assignments provide.  If you see unfinished papers can you have your child finish them at home?  No need to send them back to school for a grade.  

• Letters Learned this week - Gg, Hh, Ii.  We are now working on writing words, using inventive spelling when necessary, that start with these letters  

• Words Learned this week: it, at

• Phonemic Awareness:   segmenting syllables, changing first sounds in words to make new words, "_et" word family

• Concepts of Print - track print left to right and to the beginning of the next line

• Comprehension - identifying main ideas in stories

• Writing: We've begun learning how to write narratives!  Students are practicing writing the first part of a story, mainly stating the characters and setting of a story!

• Numbers Learned this Week: 6.  We write #6 by saying this rhyme: "Make a curve and then a loop.  6...6...6..."

• 2 and 3 Dimensional shapes:  cubes verses squares

• Counting on from any number 0-15

• Numbers that make 6 when added together

• Students need to arrive at SAA at 9:15, no earlier than 9:00 please!
• Chaperones need to arrive at 9:00 for a short meeting
• Drop all students (AM and PM) off at Kindergarten doors
• Pick up your child to go home from SAA between 11:45 - 12:00 
• Dressing for the Field Trip:  we've gotten special permission for students to not wear white shirts to the Pumpkin Patch.  Students can wear their RED uniform shirt and JEANS on bottom.  Tennis shoes required.

•  SAA puts on a fabulous Veteran's Day Assembly every year.  If there's a Vet in your life you'd like to invite please call the office and provide their name and address.  They will receive an invitation in the mail!

• Parents, there are times when students are unable to finish papers in class because they've been pulled out to pass off skill books, sight words, tutoring, etc.  I hate to see them miss the practice that written assignments provide.  If you see unfinished papers can you have your child finish them at home?  No need to send them back to school for a grade.  

Highlights from Sept 30 - Oct. 4

• Letters Learned this week -Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd.  We've practiced saying the name and sound for these letters and identifying these sounds at the beginning of words.   We focused especially on writing letters from the top down, forming them correctly and on the right lines.  We call the top line the "Sky Line."  The middle line is the "Plane Line" and the bottom line is called the "Grass Line." 

• Words Learned this week: by, my

• Phonemic Awareness:   supplying rhyming words, blending and segmenting syllables, making lists of words in the "ap" family

• Concepts of Print -words are separated by spaces

• Comprehension - identifying the setting and characters in a story 

• Writing:  Continuing to write Opinion sentences where they students state an opinion and then give a reason why.

• Numbers Learned this Week: 5.  We write #5 by saying this rhyme: "Short little neck and belly fat, number 5 he wears a hat."

• Describing and comparing height, width, and weight of different objects. 

• Counting on from any number 0-10

• Numbers that make 5 when added together

• How many more do we need to make 5

• Date: October 31st.
• No normal school before or after the field trip
• More information and permission slips to come home soon!!
• Class Captains will contact parents for chaperoning according to the volunteer survey sheet filled out at the beginning of the year (4 AM and 4 PM helpers needed)

• Send in Box Tops with your kiddos as a fundraiser
  

•  SAA puts on a fabulous Veteran's Day Assembly every year.  If there's a Vet in your life you'd like to invite please call the office and provide their name and address.  They will receive an invitation in the mail!

• Parents, there are times when students are unable to finish papers in class because they've been pulled out to pass off skill books, sight words, tutoring, etc.  I hate to see them miss the practice that written assignments provide.  If you see unfinished papers can you have your child finish them at home?  No need to send them back to school for a grade.  

• Letters Learned this week -Qq, Rr, Ss, and Tt.  We've practiced saying the name and sound for these letters and identifying these sounds at the beginning of words.   We focused especially on writing letters from the top down, forming them correctly and on the right lines.  We call the top line the "Sky Line."  The middle line is the "Plane Line" and the bottom line is called the "Grass Line." 

• Words Learned this week:  of, to 

• Phonemic Awareness:   supplying rhyming words, blending and segmenting syllables

• Concepts of Print -words are separated by spaces

• Comprehension - identifying the setting and characters in a story 

• Writing:  This week we began writing opinion pieces by writing about things we like.  We've worked on writing "I like ___." Sentences 

• Numbers Learned this Week: 2.  We write #2 by saying this rhyme: "Down and around and across the ground  2….2….2"

• Sorting objects into groups and ordering them from least to smallest 

• Counting on from any number 0-10

• Counting objects by putting them in a line first

• Conferences are this Wednesday and Thursday.  
• Check the schedule I emailed last week to find your child's appointment.
• Bring your child to their conference for celebrations and setting goals
• No School this Wednesday and Thursday

•  If you find that you are unable to fill a volunteer assignment please find a sub.  We love it when older siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents come in to help!!
• If you cannot find a sub please contact your class captain so she can make arrangements.  

• Students are doing great on skill books!
• Students need to finish at least skills 1-30 by the end of this term 
• Initial pages your child is ready to pass off and try not to skip skills 

• Please practice finding words from your child's colored list in books that you read at home.  In class we also practice sight words by studying the letters (how many total, how many are tall and how many are short, what order to the tall and short letters appear in the word, saying the letters out loud in order, etc.)
   
• You may also want to have your child practice writing the word.  If a word is truly mastered your child should also be able to write it and remember which letters to write.

•   Please see the purple slip of paper in your child’s folder to know which words to keep practicing. 
   
  

• Letters Learned this week -Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn.  We've practiced saying the name and sound for these letters and identifying these sounds at the beginning of words.   We focused especially on writing letters from the top down, forming them correctly and on the right lines.  We call the top line the "Sky Line."  The middle line is the "Plane Line" and the bottom line is called the "Grass Line."
• Words Learned this week:  a, the
•  Phonemic Awareness:  Identifying rhyming and non-rhyming words, supplying rhyming words, identifying beginning sounds
• Concepts of Print - Print Direction
• Comprehension - identifying the setting and characters in a story
•   Writing:  Lately we've been focusing on how to sound out words and try to write them.   We call this inventive spelling!  When students ask for help on how to spell words I don't tell them, but instead help them "stretch" (say the word slowly) so that they can identify some letters to write down that they know.  I accept all attempts and at this point in the year never correct their "spelling" even if they only write the first letter!

• Shapes - circle, triangle, square, rectangle
• Numbers Learned this Week:  0 and 1 
• Counting to 20
• Counting on from any number 0-10
• Sorting by shape, color, and size 

• Skill Books -  Go ahead and begin working on these every night.  Remember to work on skills in order and to initial the chart of skills you feel your child has mastered and is ready to pass off in class with our helpers.  The first skill book pass off will be next Monday. 

•  High Frequency Words - Your child has a pink list of sight words in the back of their folder.  Have your child begin memorizing and learning how to read these words!  Please make sure your child knows these words out of order and can even find and read them in books.  We've found many kiddos are great at memorizing the order of words in the list and aren't actually "reading" them.  When students pass off these words they get another scoop on their paper ice cream cone in the hall.  Once all of the year's words are mastered we celebrate and give a prize!  The first pass-offs for words will be next week. 

• Reading Logs - At home reading starts in September and will be counted as a grade.  Kindergartners read 10 minutes a day on all school days.  Make sure to mark your child's reading on the September reading log found in the back of the skill book. 

• Contact Information - if you found that your contact information was incorrect please get online and update that information.  (see below for instructions)
 

• DIBELS Testing Monday, Sept. 9th.  Try to have your kiddo at school this day!

•  PM Carpool on Fridays -  Last Friday we had a few PM parents drop off their child a little too early, during AM Class pick up.  If it is before 10:50 please wait with your child in the parking lot before pulling into the drop off lane.  AM carpool usually ends around 10:40-10:45, teachers take a quick bathroom break, and then we open the doors at 10:55 for PM students to enter the building.  Thank you for your help!

• Writing on the correct lines.  We call the top line the "sky line,"  the dotted line the "plane line," and the bottom line the "grass line."
• Drawing pictures for stories during writing time and attempting to label things in them with letters or words.  We practiced stretching out words to listen for the sounds to write.  

• Circle, Sqaure
• Calendar
• Counting orally to 10 

•   How to be a good listener, get in line, follow recess rules, do a fire drill, be a good friend
•   How to tell others to stop "Please stop, that bothers me."