We continue to work on journal writing each week. Sometimes they can choose what they want to write about, sometimes I give them a sentence starter, or I ask them to use our new trick word of the week. Sometimes I will do the writing for them if I want them to focus on retelling a story or some other similar skill. We are working on the same writing skills. The children are all getting better at sounding out and writing simple CVC words on their own. It's amazing how much of the journal writing they are able to do on their own now! We also look at sentence structure: identifying upper and lower case letters; identifying the first/last word of a sentence, and the first/last letter of a word; identifying a period, exclamation point, question mark and comma. We continue to work on writing first and last names.
In Fundations, we are working Unit 3. The keywords for the letters are: apple, bat, cat, dog, Ed, fun, game, hat, itchy, jug, kite, lamp, man, nut, octopus, pan, queen, rat, snake, top, up, van, wind, fox, yellow, zebra. The children have learned the following trick words: I, am, is, the, a, see, like, to, my, can, no, look, by, you, go, we, me, he, she, here, are, and & be. We continue to practice the "chunks" (or blends): sh, ch, th, & ing. We continue to do the letter drill (letter, keyword, sound), and practice writing the letters on the school lines (both upper and lower case letters). We have done different activities to help the children isolate and identify the beginning and ending sounds of words. They are getting quite good at retelling a story, as well as identifying the characters and the setting. We have been reading rhyming stories and continue to practice putting the letters into ABC order.
During S.I.T. (Supplemental Instruction Time) we have been sending children to different classrooms to work on various math skills, depending on their needs. The groups were determined by the latest round of math testing that we did with each child. Some children are working on numeral recognition & writing; counting (at different levels); grouping (math hands, or dots on 5- or 10-frames. Ask your child about the activities that he/she has been doing.
In math, we did some work on measuring objects with unifix cubes & popsicle sticks. We have been working on adding 2 groups together in various games and activities. The children also did quite a bit of counting to 100 & counting out 100 objects in celebration of our 100th Day of Kindergarten! I made a class book of some of the 100 Day projects that children did, and I will start sending that home with children after vacation.We go to the the Computer Lab on Fridays.
In Science, we have been working on various snow related themes. We talked about snow and learned that no two snowflakes are alike. We did an experiment with snow and made some different hypotheses: what would happen if we left the snow inside?; what would happen if we put the melted snow back outside?; what would happen if we left the ice inside? We also learned about Snowflake Bentley, a Vermonter who was the first person to take photos of snowflakes. I borrowed a book of his photographs of snowflakes for the children to look at - they were quite fascinated! We talked about what animals do in winter. Some animals are foragers, some are migrators, some are hibernators and some are deep sleepers. We had a 4 Winds session on animal tracks. We have also been working on the 5 Senses and have done various activities related to the senses of sight, hearing and touch.
We continue to talk about the school's anti-bullying rules. We also work on our social problem solving skills in the moment, as issues come up. I continue to use the stoplight behavior chart in our classroom, and it definitely seems to be helping.
The children do have homework every night, even if I don't send anything home in their folders. They can practice writing the letters we have worked on, as well as their first and last names. They can practice reading and writing the trick words we have learned. They can also practice writing the numerals from 0 to 20. Most of the children can now zip their coats on their own (what a BIG help that is!!). Many of them still need to learn to tie their shoes. Some know how to do it, but could use practice. I know it takes a lot of extra time when you are going out the door, but as many chances to practice as you can offer them would really help! When you read them a story, talk to your child about it. Have your child retell it; tell what he/she would have done; relate it to something in his/her life, etc.
At School Sing, we are now collecting for the Samaritan House, the local homeless shelter. I have included a list of items that they could use.
Some upcoming dates:
February 22 - March 2: No School (winter vacation)
We have 2 snacks each day, as well as lunch. Your child may purchase one of the lunch choices from the cafeteria, or may bring in his/her own lunch. Due to children with severe nut allergies throughout our school, it is very important that anything your child brings into school is completely nut-free. Thank your for your attention and consideration in this matter!
Please remember to send your child with many layers now that the weather is colder. We go out on the playground every day that we possibly can. Extra winter gear, as well as a change of shoes can be left at school, if that makes things easier for you and your child. I know it's a lot to remember and a lot for them to carry, but it can get uncomfortable wearing snow boots all day (especially when we have PE!).They also don't like to have to stay inside because they are missing some piece of winter gear! We do have some extras (mittens, snowpants, etc) that we can share.
You will always be able to access my newsletter online. Just go to the school's website (www.satecvt.org), then go to the link for Teacher's Pages, then the link for Kindergarten, and finally the link for Mrs. Callahan. Please make sure to send the folder your child picked out to school each day, and check it each night.
Don't forget, you can always get in touch with me if you ever have any questions or concerns. Send me a note in your child's folder, and I will send a reply. You can also call me at the school (527-7191 x102) - you may have to leave me a message, but I will get back to you. You can also e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please indicate in your e-mail if you need a response from me, though I may not respond as quickly as with a note or phone call. Thanks!
