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!