I apologize for the delay in blogging. The life of a kindergarten teacher is non-stop. Sometimes you have to prioritize:)
We have had a great few weeks! The students in room 134 are amazing people. They work hard everyday, and they are the most respectful 5 and 6 year old in the whole world!
Some of the fun stuff we've been up to:
A fire safety puppet show!
We took a bus trip to the pumpkin patch!
We tried and saw some new things!
We had fun with our friends!
We were exhausted!
We did some pumpkin science! We counted the lines on our pumpkins. We measured our pumpkins using cubes. We compared our pumpkins with other pumpkins to decide if they were small, medium or large!
We discovered that all pumpkins float, no matter how big they are! Unfortunately, there were no photos taken during that time, since I was micromanaging the use of water:)
The 120 kindergartners all sat down to read "The book with no pictures". It got a warm reception, and made Mr. Mason look RIDICULOUS!
If you would like to view the fiasco, you can look here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/90247820/Book%20with%20no%20pictures.MOV
(I hope that link worked:)
In Math we are starting to compare numbers of objects (greater, less and equal). Every child should be able to write, count, and count objects to 10 by now.
In Writing we are learning about what makes a story interesting. We have learned 3 things:
1. Characters
2. Action (Make your characters do something.)
3. Setting (This is mostly portrayed through a detailed picture right now.)
We are working on stretching out the sounds in the words we're trying to write. We have also practiced planning out our writing before we start.
Children are writing books these days. The most important thing is that they need to be able to hear beginning and ending sounds in words by now.
In reading we are learning about Schema. We are connecting the things that we already know about to our reading, so that we can understand the story better.
We read the book Too Many Tamales, which is a story about a little girl that is playing with her mom's ring without permission and loses it. The students were able to connect with the idea of losing something. They were also able to connect with the idea of being sneaky.
We also read The Snow Day. This book is about a little boy that wakes up to find that the world around him has been covered in snow. The book details his exploits outside. The boy learns something interesting about snow.
Most of the students were able to connect with what its like to play in the snow. We even got a chance to play in the snow one day during recess.
Soon I will begin doing guided reading work. The students will be in small groups and I will be instructing them with books at their reading level. This is when readers become readers. I will be teaching a lot of strategies for good reading habits and problem solving.
In our word study we have learned 10 sight words:
I
see
like
go
to
the
and
is
my
a
We will be learning 2 new words a week. We practice in a journal. We write a sentence every day that practices these words.
We also have a word wall where we store all of our new words. The children are allowed to use this reference when doing their writing.
We have also started using our classroom iPads for some of our word work. When children have finished their independent and buddy reading, they are allowed to choose an app that practices letters and words.
If you are interested in coming in to help in the classroom, please let me know. I feel like our students are finally at a place where this will be positive. Also, if you're interested, please fill out a volunteer form so that you can get your background check done.
Here are some dates to put on your calendar:
November 25th - This will be our friendship soup day! We will be gathering in the cafeteria at 2:30 to share in some soup that our class will make together! I sent home a letter this week telling you which item your child needs to bring for the soup. If you are unable to bring the item, please let me know soon! The earlier you get your item to me, the better.
(If you are interested in helping set this up, please let me know!)
November 26th - 28th - Thanksgiving Vacation
December 5th and 12th - Early release days. These days are used for scoring assessments and filling out report cards.
December 18th - Gingerbread House day. The children will make gingerbread houses with the help of fifth graders. More information to come about this.
December 19th - Polar Express day. The children will be invited to wear their pajamas to school. We will have a special reading of The Polar Express, along with hot cocoa and candy canes. More information will come out about this.
December 22nd - January 2nd - No School for winter vacation!
Last bit of business:
Please be sure to send your child's red folder with them on Mondays. We have actually done a pretty good job with this.
If you have them, please send your child with gloves and a hat on the super cold days. We don't really do inside recess. Obviously if its too cold I won't make them go out. But some kids come in with very cold fingers and ears. If you don't have access to these things, please let me know and we'll take care of it!
Attendance and punctuality are so important in school. The children can infer what adults find important. If your child has a fever, or is vomiting, please keep them home. If they are well, please have them to school before 9:15, when the final bell rings. Obviously life happens, and so do appointments, etc. I just want to make sure that no one is left behind in the learning.
If you have any concerns that relate to me, the classroom or anything you think I might be able to help with, please don't be shy. I love hearing from parents and I like the dialogue. Life can move quickly and I never want to miss something because I have my eyes down. Let me know if you need anything. Your child is my biggest concern, so anything that can make them more successful in school, I will do it to the best of my abilities!
Thanks again!
Mr. Mason
