DECEMBER!

Wow, November really flew and December has snuck up on me.  We have done so many things!  Our Thanksgiving program was a huge success.  The kids were fantastic.  Our Feast was amazing with so many delicious donations.  A visitor from Putnam Museum came- Miss Music taught us about music around the world and we were able to play different instruments and do dances from places like Vietnam and Mexico.  We earned a project party for being great at listening and are now working on earning a PAJAMA party for being "responsible".  That one will be fun!  We have started learning about celebrations around the world and where some local family items and traditions (Christmas trees, stockings, wreaths, nutcrackers, cuckoo clocks etc) originated.  We are working hard on measurable attributes in math and comparing things using words like "longer, shorter, heavier, lighter, taller, holds more and holds less".  Kindergartners have also been working hard on mastering at least 25 sight words to meet our goal for this quarter as well as all of the letters and sounds of the alphabet!  As you can imagine, we are busy.

Not to mention that we started this week with SNOW and the craziness that happens trying to keep track of snowpants, boots, hats, gloves, coats, scarves, bags, tennis shoes....It is tricky, but I think this year's class has been the very best (in my 10 years of teaching) at getting dressed, undressed and keeping their items together and organized in the hallway with few reminders.  It has been great!

Only 2 weeks left before break.  Make sure $4.00 gifts for our exchange arrive in the classroom by DEC 12 so I can be sure everyone has a gift.  If you need assistance in choosing or purchasing a gift, please do not hesitate to contact me so I can help in any way!

Stay warm - I think we are in for a few days of indoor recess later this week.  Remember- we go outside if the accueweather.com temperature WITH WINDCHILL is 10 degrees or greater.  

Election Day and Giving Thanks

We had a school wide mock election today.  Every student was able to cast a vote on their ballot and second grade totaled the votes throughout the day.  Mr. Donald Trump was the winning candidate at CR Hanna.  We will see if that is a predictor of what the results will be for our country this evening.

As we have begun learning about Native Americans and their constant efforts to give thanks for every gift of life, we made a Thankful Turkey for our hallway.  Check it out when you come for the Thanksgiving Program later this month, or when you come to help in the classroom.  It is really neat and the kids love looking at how their individual feathers work together to make something so beautiful as a whole.  We have so much to be thankful for every single day!

Conferences, Halloween, 3D shapes, Invitation

Thank you to EVERY family that met with me during conferences.  We had 100% attendance which is fabulous!  I enjoyed my time with you.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions after our meeting.

Halloween was great yesterday.  The kids looked so fabulous in their costumes and I know they had fun the entire day.  Thank you to all PTA members who helped put on a fun party!  And thank you for our treats and drinks, too.  Check out some pictures below.

We have been hard at work in math centers this week working on recording different ways to make ten and showing one more.  Today we introduced 3D SHAPES!  We focused on Spheres today, read a book about solid objects and went outside and blew bubbles (spheres).  Every time a child popped a bubble, he/she had to yell "SPHERE" so we got a lot of good work with that vocabulary word today :).  Ask your child what objects around your house are shaped like spheres (globe, baseball, soccer ball, the top of a tootsie pop, etc.).

*You should see an invitation to our Thanksgiving Music Program for Nov 22 in your child's folder tonight.  Doors open at 10:40, program begins at 10:55.  You can invite anyone to join you to see this super short (20 minute) and super fabulous show!

And finally - Game 6 tonight...GO CUBS GO!

:)

New Student and writing books!

Today we welcomed a new student to our classroom.  We were very excited to add our new friend, Emersynn to our Kindergarten family.  She brings our class up to 24 students with 10 girls and 14 boys!  Please keep this in mind when sending snack from here on.  Ask your child if he/she did anything to make our new friend feel welcomed today!

In reader's workshop, we have been working on reading books with patterns.  This week we are working in partners to WRITE and ILLUSTRATE a pattern book!  The kids have gotten to choose their pattern and are working hard to create amazing books.  I will have a set out at conferences and your child will be bringing his/her book home on Wednesday.  Keep your eyes out for this awesome project!

We have been learning so much about woodland animals this week.  The turtles and frogs have been especially fun.  We have started our letters over and each day read a book all about that letter, use something messy to make our letters (applesauce, butter, colored chalk) and we do an action on a large letter taped to the floor (ant walk, bounce, crawl).  The kids are loving the new letter review and they have learned so much since the beginning of the year.  In math, we are working on our 0-10 numbers - writing them, counting them, drawing sets with that many, breaking them apart (9 can be made from 5 blue smiley faces and 4 red smiley faces...etc.) Continue working on letter and number recognition.

Conferences are Thursday and Friday of NEXT week.  Everyone has signed up for a time (YAY YOU!).  If you need another reminder of what time your conference is, you can contact the office or email me and we will let you know.  I am looking forward to discussing our Kindergarten goals and your child's progress so far.

Tomorrow is Fire Safety Day!  The fire trucks will be here and we will practice a fire drill in the morning. It is sure to be a fabulous Friday!

Hexagons

Did you know....
A hexagon is ANY closed, 2D shape that has six straight sides.  We have discussed it in class and the Kindergartners LOVE it!  See if you can find the 3 hexagons below...

Kindness

We earned lunch in the classroom on Monday and it was a HUGE success.  The kids did a great job earning all of the letters in "listening" and we had fun having lunch together.  Our next behavior goal is KINDNESS.  We read a book about kindness and have discussed ways to show others kindness at home and at school.  One important philosophy to remember: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.  We have reviewed this more than once and will continue to do so.  When we earn all of the letters in KINDNESS, we earn a movie party!  Be Kind, Kindergarten!  Ask your child if they did anything kind for someone today.

Happy Homecoming!

I saw many smiling faces at the Homecoming Parade Thursday night!  Those smiling faces came to school today and earned the last two letters of our LISTENING behavior goal!  The first day we have everyone here next week, we will have lunch in the classroom!  Great job, Kindergarten!

Next week we will introduce the last 4 letters of the alphabet.  Please continue to review these letters at home and the sounds they make.

Also today, we used crackers and described the attributes of our five 2 Dimensional shapes.  Your child is bringing those crackers home to explain them to you, as well.  Example: The saltine cracker is a square because it has 4 straight sides, 4 corners and all of the sides are exactly the same.  It is also a 2D FLAT shape.  See if your child can explain the attributes of each cracker to you before you snack on them :).

Have a great weekend!

Woodland Animals and Reading

Today we learned about our first woodland animal, squirrels.  For each animal that we learn about, we create a sentence, cut out the animal and illustrate a page for our own woodland animal books.  You will get to learn all about these animals, too, once students bring their books home at the end of this unit!

In reader's workshop, we have been working on our independent and with partner reading stamina.  We are up to 6 minutes of independent reading followed by 5 minutes of partner reading for a total of 11 minutes of reading stamina!  For the 29th day of school, that is AMAZING.  Remember- there are 3 ways that we can read a book in class (and at home):

1. retell a familiar story you know (Corduroy, Brown Bear, The Three Little Pigs, The Little Red Hen, Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc)

2. look at the pictures and make up your own story

3. find words you know and READ the words

This is a hard-working class and I am truly impressed with their stamina so early on.

Great Job, Kindergarten.  Check out our pictures of partner reading!


***Also, check out our new behavior goal for LISTENING- It is going really well!

Farm Night Fun

Thank you to everyone who attended our Kindergarten Farm Night.  The kids were talking about it throughout the day and seemed to really enjoy the evening spent here WITH YOU!  It was a lot of fun.  We are working on getting animals back for Farm Night next year....(Oh the stories I could tell you about how that all fell through this year!), but if you have any suggestions for how we can make this night even more successful, please feel free to email and let me know :).

With the wonderful rain, we had 2 inside recesses today.  We reviewed some letters and shapes and got to choose reading spots around the classroom with our elbow partners for quiet reading time.  We are up to about 8 minutes of stamina for quiet back-to-back reading with our partners.  Super Work, Kindergarten!

Have a great weekend!

RESPONSIBLE

We Did It!  As a whole class, we were super responsible and earned each letter to spell the word.  By doing so, the whole class worked together to earn an extra recess. Since it was raining, we did our extra recess inside today.  I am so proud of all of my Kindergartners for being responsible with their bodies, their materials and for making excellent choices.  We will begin working toward a new class goal soon.  Praise your child for their fantastic job.

*Don't forget that FARM NIGHT is Thursday evening!  Doors of CR Hanna are open to parents and kindergartners at 5:15 and we will begin activities at 5:30.  Our evening will conclude by 7:00 and you will walk away having had a bunch of fun!  I hope to see you there.

Loaded with FUN half day!

What a day!  We released TWO of our butterflies (see our pictures!), had bus safety presentations, a lock down drill and celebrated our reading with stuffed animal friends!  It was a busy morning, but we had a bunch of fun.

Many students might come home talking about our Lock Down Drill.  We simply locked the doors, turned off the lights, sat quietly on the carpet and talked about what to do if there was an intruder in the building.  I emphasized that this was not really happening and it was just like how we practice a fire drill.  Our main goal during a real lock down is to exit the building as quickly and safely as possible and Mrs. Essary's "safe spot" is across the parking lot to the opposite side of the church nearby.  We discussed it and I answered many questions about safety and "what ifs".  We also talked about the importance of never opening a door for an adult - even if you know them - here at school and to let the office "buzz" them in.  I did let them know that with all of the "what ifs" and questions that there were - My job, as their teacher, is to protect them and keep them safe.  It was a productive conversation.  If you or your child have questions about this drill, please let me know.

Have a great weekend!

Butterfly Fever!

Most of you have probably heard, but we have been raising Monarchs in our classroom.  We started the school year with three tiny white eggs on a milkweed plant and just one day into the year, our eggs began hatching into teeny caterpillars.  Their stripes began to show after two days and they grew and grew.  Over Labor Day weekend, our 3 caterpillars made chrysalises and we have been checking on them every day since.  Today our first butterfly emerged from HER chrysalis!  (Ask your child how we know it is a girl?!)  We are hopeful that the other two will come out tomorrow so we can let them all go together.  Take a look at our pictures of each stage (except egg- I forgot to take one of that!).

3 Little Pigs

Today we read the story of the 3 Little Pigs.  After reading, we used cards and put the story in order using pictures.  In reader's workshop, we have talked about 3 ways to read a story:

1. tell a story you already know (like the 3 little pigs - look at the pages and just retell the story - no "reading" required)

2. tell a story from the pictures (if you've never heard the story before, you can look at the pictures and make one up from what you see in the pictures - no "reading" required)

3, read the words (some students can read - so they can look at the words and read what is there.  For others, they can pick out familiar words that they recognize and use those as they tell a story from the pictures)

No matter you're ability level - YOU CAN READ!  Students are bringing home their sequencing story cards for the 3 Little Pigs today.  See if they can put the story in order and tell you a story they know while looking at the pictures.

Pirates and Cows!

BLOG POST #2 FOR 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR!

Today we learned about cows and made cow puppets (These will be in the display case near the front office for viewing at the ice cream social and our Kindergarten farm night!).  Tomorrow we will review cows and turn whipping cream into butter, YUM!

We also introduced Ricky and Randy rectangles today.  "2 sides short and 2 sides long - Ricky or Randy rectangle- that's their song!"  Ricky is a horizontal rectangle, Randy is a vertical rectangle - either way, still a rectangle.  Rectangles are FLAT 2D shapes.  See if your child can find some rectangles around your house.

In math, we pretended to be pirates and sorted sets of objects into their correct treasure chest. Try having your child sort canned goods into groups.  Example:  Soups/Vegetables.  Aye, Aye Matey!

Your child brought home his/her first classroom library book today, too!  You can read these at home and send them back in the baggie when finished and a new one will come home.  Please try to read to your child for a little while each night- it makes a huge difference in their language skills and their future reading and writing abilities, as well.

Kindergarten 2016-2017 WELCOME!

Thank you so much for visiting our Kindergarten blog.  This post begins the newest school year for Kindergartners in 2016-2017.  You can view older posts, but they do not pertain to our current school year.  I did not want to delete everything because there are some good homework help posts that I will re-post later this year.

So, WELCOME!  Take a look around and let me know if there is anything that you think would be helpful to see on this blog.

I saw many smiling faces over this past weekend at the Orion Fall Festival.  A special congratulations to our classmate Ruby for winning the festival pageant and becoming our 2016 Little Miss Orion!

This week we are learning about the numbers 0, 1, 2.  We put Honey nut cheerios on the letter Hh today and reviewed 2D shapes: circle and square - remember, 2D shapes are "FLAT".  We will introduce rectangles this week, as well and you can look for our Randy and Ricky rectangle rhymes to come home soon.  We also introduced farm today.  We talked about things you might see on a farm, discussed farms we have been to and read a book about farms.  Tomorrow we will go in depth and take a look at cows!

You can look forward to more posts, pictures and information in the days and weeks to come.  Thanks for visiting and let's continue this wonderful Kindergarten year.

Welcome Back

We are entering the "home stretch"!  These are the last two months of school and we have a lot of learning left to do.  The kids came back today worn out from all of their fun during break and happy to be back.

We are trying a new routine for our day.  We switched our math lesson to the morning while we are still fresh and awake and recess in the afternoon when we tend to need an extra break.  It was a fabulous change today so we will see how things go the rest of the week to determine if this will be a permanent change for our daily schedule.  Any questions, let me know.

PTA is continuing to collect donations for the Kids' Trivia Night raffle baskets.  Our Kindergarten theme is "Arts and Crafts".  If you have items to donate, just send them in with your child.  More information about Kids' Trivia Night is coming home at the end of this week.  It looks to be a very special and exciting event with great raffle and silent auction opportunities available.

April book order is due this Friday, April 8th.  If you would like to order, you can send back the form and a check for your order made out to Scholastic or you can go online https://clubs2.scholastic.com
and use our classroom code GQQRV to order and pay through scholastic with your credit/debit card.

We are glad to be back and looking forward to so much fun and learning coming up.

 

Report Cards, Conferences, Number Bonds and 5-Group Way

REPORT CARDS
Third quarter officially ended last Thursday and report cards are coming home tomorrow (this Thursday).  Please sign the envelope next to 3rd Quarter and return the empty envelope to school.  If you have any questions about your child's progress, please let me know.

CONFERENCES
I have conferences scheduled for most families on Tuesday, March 22.  If you have not signed up for a conference, please call the office and we can set something up.  I have quite a few spots left throughout the day.  This will give us an opportunity to discuss report card grades and how to get ready for first grade!

SUBTRACTION NUMBER BOND
This week subtraction number bonds have been coming home as homework.  The kids and I discussed how we have to show in our subtraction number bond that something is being taken away so we cross off the number taken away in the bond.  As an example:

6-4=2 in a number bond would look like:

5-GROUP DRAWINGS
The 5-group way to draw pictures is to have students draw their objects in a row of 5 and then sweep back to add any additional numbers.  The point of this is to have students draw their pictures in an organized way that is easier for their eyes/brains to count and eventually increasing their ability to "count on" by seeing a group of 5 then counting on 6,7 for a total of 7.

Drawing 7 balls in a 5-group way would look like:

O O O O O
O O

Drawing 9 fish, the 5-group way looks like:

Spring Conferences

Tuesday, March 22 is the day that the district has hired a substitute to cover my class so I can meet with all of you!  You will receive your child's report card on Friday, March 18.  When you come to your conference, I would be happy to discuss any areas of concern or any questions you may have.  Another reason for this conference is to discuss what is coming up for the last quarter of Kindergarten, as well as to take a look ahead at some of the 1st grade expectations and a few things you can do to get ready for the big transition to first grade!  These are very quick, 15 minute conferences and I will try my best to keep to the schedule that is coming home tonight because I know many of you are taking time off of work to meet with me and I truly appreciate that.

If you have not yet signed up for a conference time, please get a hold of me to schedule ASAP.  I have several time slots available between 9:15 and 1:45....and two more after school available at 3:30 or 3:45. 

If something comes up in the next week and a half and you need to change your scheduled time, just let me know and we can find a new time that works for you.  

I look forward to meeting with each of you!

Picture Day and Yearbooks

Tomorrow (Tuesday, February 23) is Spring Picture Day.  If you would like to choose a special background for your child's photos, be sure to return the picture form tomorrow.  Everyone will get his/her picture taken, regardless.  Kindergarten usually gets pictures take bright and early, first thing, however due to some scheduling conflicts due to other grade levels and field trips, our class will not be getting our pictures taken until 1:00.  Please be sure to still send gym shoes as we will go to PE in the afternoon; even in our pretty dresses!

Also, if you plan on ordering a CR Hanna yearbook, order forms and money are due by Friday, Feb 26.

Any questions, please let me know.

Thank you!

T + H = TH

Today we learned about the two sounds that T and H make when they are together in a word and how the TH sound is different from the sound that F makes.  I try to get the kids to visualize what their mouths do for each sound they want.  In "three" the th is "unvoiced" or "airy" and the tongue comes out between the teeth and between the lips.  In the word "the" the TH is "voiced" an the tongue only comes out between the teeth.  In "fox"  the tongue stays in and the top teeth rest on the bottom lip.  If your tongue doesn't come out, it is an F; if it does come out, it is a TH. See if your child can tell you what letter(s) these words start with: (they/them, thorn, football)




 

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a fabulous Valentine's Day celebration today with all of your wonderful treats and cards.  The kids were so excited to open their Valentines.  We had rotating centers among all 4 kindergarten classrooms today where we did some Valentine Bingo, Valentine Math, a Valentine person art project and made Valentine cards for loved ones.  It was an all around FAST and busy day, but also full of smiles and fun!  Monday is Presidents' Day so there is no school.  I will see all of these smiling faces again on Tuesday!  Have a wonderful weekend and Valentine's Day.

Number Bonds

As we work on addition and subtraction in Kindergarten, we work extensively with a mathematics chart called a "number bond".  Here is a number bond:

Each circle of the number bond has a name to describe its role in a bond:

The whole is the total amount and it is connected to each part- so two lines connect to the whole.

The parts are the two numbers that, when put together, equal the whole amount.

Notice that there is not a line connecting  part to part.

Here is a functioning number bond:

Here you can see that if you take the two parts (2 and 3) and put them together, it makes the whole (5) amount.

To begin, we might say 3 and 2 make 5.  Then, it leads us into 3 + 2 = 5.

The same applies to subtraction, except we cross off the number that is being taken away:

Here you can see that if you take the whole (5) and take away the part that is crossed out (3), the remaining part would be 2.

Eventually this leads us to writing 5 - 3 = 2

We use number bonds daily and you will start to see them coming home on homework.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

100th Day/Baggie Books/Box Tops

We are officially 100 days smarter today!  Our entire day revolved around the number 100 today.  We made 100 day hats, sorted our 100 day objects, counted to 100, wrote to 100, thought of 100 words we know, dreamed of what to buy with $100, imagined what we'd look like at 100 years old, walked 100 steps, jumped and ran for 100 seconds, read 100's day books and magically changed 100 pennies into $1.00 (it was pretty amazing)!  We had fun and look forward to the 75 days left.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) you will see a new kind of baggie book coming home.  These are easy readers at an independent level for your child.  He/she should be able to read most of the story to you!  I have tried to start each student at an appropriate level that will feel very comfortable to read and easily boost confidence.  If you notice that your child's books are too hard (child is super frustrated and is missing more than 3-5 words per page) or WAY too easy, feel free to let me know and we can try a different level.  This is a great time to reassure your child that he/she has learned so much and you are so proud of the fact that they are reading!  It is a BIG deal!!!!!

Mrs. Begley is having a box top contest for the Super Bowl.  If you have box tops at home, write your child's name on the back AND class code KE and send them in.  We will go down and let your student put the box tops in a can for whichever team they predict will win the Super Bowl this upcoming weekend.  Then, next week, one winning team box top will be chosen from each grade level for a prize.

Assembly

Today was exciting because we learned about the amazing ibex of Asia and also got to see and hear instruments from India.  At the end of the day, we had an assembly where the group Prodhanica came and introduced us to the India native instruments of sitar, tabla and native dances, as well.  The kids did a great job throughout the assembly.  If you click on the link below, you can listen to a tabla and sitar like we did today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnKh_jUJB00

I'm Back!

Hello!  Remember me?  Mrs. Essary, your child's teacher!  I am back!  Yay! Oh my goodness.  It has been a long time.  So, I was gone all last week with these crazy ulcers on my tongue which prevented me from talking, eating and sometimes even swallowing.  The doctors/dentists are not sure what caused the ulcers.  Nothing contagious. The pain was terrible, but things are on the mend now!

Mrs. Olson was here on Tuesday and then Mrs. Gustafson (retired Orion Kindergarten teacher who just did my maternity leave last year) finished out three days to end the week.  The days went on as normal and both substitutes said the kids did a fine job remembering to be safe, kind and responsible.  It was nice to be back today and see their smiling faces.

Today we learned about hippos, played a more than/less than game with partners, wrote the ending to our narrative stories in writer's workshop and reviewed what good listeners and learners should look and sound like.

I am working on helper schedules for February through the end of the year and I will also be sending home the February snack calendar this week.

Be sure to send in your baggie of 100 items by Friday so we are sure to have them for our 100th Day of School activities next Monday.

I am looking forward to a great week back!

Addition, Subtraction & Homework

The newest addition and subtraction homework looks like it is going OK........................Or is it?

I know that seeing a problem written as ____ = 3-2 looks strange, but there is purpose in preparation for first grade where the missing number in a problem can be anywhere (4 + ____=10, or 7 = 10-_____) and eventually algebra.  Seems crazy to think about that now, but that foundation of knowledge ALL begins in Kindergarten.  So, the equal sign is not meant, in mathematics, to be something to signal "solution", it is a symbol showing that one thing is "equal to" or "the same as" another.

Everything on the left of the equal sign is the same as everything on the right of the equal sign.

1 = (is the same as) (what you get when you take)3-2.

Students are just getting used to what each symbol + - = mean, and then they move places....it can be difficult.  Just keep working on it together.  On the homework, draw pictures if you want to.  Use fingers or snacks to act out the problems.  Tell a story using those numbers and operations (add, subtract). We use all of these strategies in class.  And, the more you have your child be the one to draw, act, tell, the better they will understand.  Over time, the understanding and fluency will come but the more consistently we practice at school AND at home, the quicker and more solid that knowledge will be.

New Homework

Today you will find a new kind of homework.  For each letter of the alphabet, we have a homework page where students have to look at a picture and then stretch out and write the sounds that spell that picture.  The letter of the day will be used somewhere (not always at the beginning) in the word.  Soon, addition and subtraction will be included on the math side of the homework.

RHYMING

The homework also has a quick rhyming review.  Recognizing/Making rhyming pairs has been a difficult skill in my classroom this year.  We practice it every day, but some students are not picking it up as quickly as others.  If you notice that your child struggles a bit with the rhyming portion of the homework from time to time (and especially if he/she earned a NI grade on their report card- coming home Friday), please be sure to start practicing.  In the car is a great place to practice as we are all busy and on the go throughout the week.  Look in and out of the car and you can take turns playing a little rhyming game: "I see something that rhymes with duck.  Do you see it?  It's a...."   "......TRUCK!  "I see something that rhymes with meat.  Do you see it?  It's a......" "....SEAT!"  "I see something that rhymes with flop.  Do you see it?  It is.....".....STOP!  Rhyming is an important/useful skill for reading and writing.  If your student can read/write hop, then he/she should be able to trade out the first letter/sound and read/write cop, top, bop, mop, and pop without much additional effort ONCE they hear and understand rhyming.

For our unit, we studied Apes today.  See if your child can tell you the easiest way to tell a monkey from an ape.  See if your child can name the three kinds of apes pictured below:

                    

2016

Welcome back!  What a wonderful day it was seeing all of these little smiling faces so excited to be back, full of stories from break and ready to get back into the routine of our Kindergarten day.  It was a SUPER day!  We reviewed some rules and expectations first thing this morning and the kids did a great job being Kind, Safe, and Responsible.

For the rest of the Kindergarten year, we will have a "Book of the Week".   With the book of the week, we will  do a small activity each day focusing on things like: characters, setting, vocabulary, sight words, categorizing, sequencing and opinions.  Our first Book of the Week is There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer.  See if your student is able to tell you about how the little boy in the story traps an alligator.

In math, we reviewed measuring words: shorter, taller, longer, heavier and lighter.  For the rest of the week we're focusing on capacity using containers and rice.  It is now the third quarter and we will be working hard on those addition and subtraction facts with numbers 0-5.  Keep practicing at home.

And on Tuesday we begin our 3rd time through the alphabet.  For this time through we will discuss the letter each day, find and name things that begin with that letter, and learn about a zoo animal that begins with that letter.  We will also introduce long vowels this time through where the vowels (a,e,i,o and u) sometimes say their name in words.  Each day we will read informational text about the animals, brainstorm facts and make a little project and write a sentence about what we learned about that animal.  It is a big project and will take all of the 3rd quarter to complete.  You will surely learn some interesting facts about animals throughout this unit!  The Kindergartners always love it and every year they teach me something about animals that I did not know.

Keep working on the family shape projects and return the cards and bags to school whenever you have them done.  We will start using them to play several games in the coming weeks.

I hope you were all able to find some time to relax and enjoy your time together.  I know that I loved every moment home with my husband, Jason and our little ones, Alexis and Dawson.

2016- Here We Go!!!