Maplewood SchoolJanuary 27
Room 110 Newsletter
January 27, 2012
Parents-
Another busy two weeks completed, including having snow. In reading, we spent the first week learning more about sea life. We read two books, Lobster’s Secret and Gentle Giant Octopus. Through these stories we learned facts about lobsters and octopuses. I also took time in the afternoon to complete input charts about lobsters, octopuses, great white sharks, and blue whales. Each student got to take a copy home. Input charts are fun, interactive ways to teach new information through pictures and words. This week, we read the story Little Quack, and worked on addition and looked and equations. With this story we talked about plot, and how a story has a beginning, middle, and end. The vocabulary for this week was duckling, pond, proud, plunged, brave, and paddle. The new sight words are look and see. I have now introduced five new sounds spelling cards working on what is called an ‘r’ controlled vowel, such as “ar” in star. I also taught the ending sounds “nk” and “ng”.
In writing, we have talked about setting and adding details. I took a writing sample this week and am pleased to see how well students are doing. We will be taking our focus back to writing lower case letters and using capitals and periods. We made lists of words that start with the letters Q and R.
In math, the calendar pattern continues to provide great opportunities for discussion and using key math vocabulary. I have been taking calendar time to start talking about place value, explaining to students that the number on the left tells us how many tens we have, and the number on the right tells us how many ones; and once we get ten ones it becomes a ten. We have also started talking about money and have introduced two new games working on pennies and nickels.
This week we talked about Chinese New Year and did some fun projects in celebration of the event. We also had Math and Science night on Thursday. The turnout was great and it was fun to see some of the kids. I have been having a creation station on Fridays and could use some items that you may recycle for the kids to use. If you have egg cartons or old butter containers, the kids like to make things with them. Feel free to send them with your student anytime you have some available.
Enjoy the weekend.
Miss Osborne
January 13
Room 110 Newsletter
January 13, 2012
Parents-
The first two weeks back after break sure have been busy. We have been getting back into the routines and expectations of the classroom. In reading, we have read two non-fiction texts about different animals. The first story, A Bed for Winter, is about different animals’ homes during the cold winter months. Our second story, Little Panda, is about how pandas grow and change. We reviewed sequence, comparing and contrasting, and had vocabulary such as weigh, measure, curious, den, meadow, and hive. We also have new sight words: me, she, and with. This week I introduced some of the First Grade sound spelling cards. I will introduce two to four each week. A sound spelling card is what Scott Foresman uses to teach the sounds that belong to a combination or group of letters. This week we worked on the digraphs ph, sh, th, and wh.
In writing, we reviewed all the basic skills and are beginning to focus on details in our personal narratives. We spent this week focusing on character and will move into setting next week. We have also been making lists of words that start with the letters O and P.
In math, we have a great calendar that is showing the students growing patterns. We have pattern blocks and each day we add a triangle, which changes the shape each day. So we started with a triangle, which turned into a rhombus, which turned into a trapezoid, and then the triangle came back and we build on until, on the sixth day the pattern block was a hexagon. This is a great skill for the kindergarteners to be working on. We are also working on counting past 10 and have two games that are building to 20.
For the last two weeks we have be talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all he did for our country. We have read several stories and watched a few videos. We also did a writing activity about our own dreams for the world. Next week we will continue talking about treating others with kindness, respect, and fairness. The class did a wonderful job singing in Maplewood’s Peace, Hope, and Dream assembly.
I do have the next month’s volunteer schedule up and I plan to have parents reading with small groups during the mornings to continue building fluency through practice. If you are interested in signing up, the 9:15 to 10:00 slot would be a very helpful time to come, but feel free to sign up for what works for you.
Enjoy the three-day weekend.
Miss Osborne
December 16
Room 110 Newsletter
December 16, 2011
Parents-
We sure have been busy this week. In reading, we continued our literature study of The Gingerbread Man. We read several different versions of the gingerbread man, and a few with new characters. We took the time to compare the stories and talk about similarities and differences. We have continued working on letter names, sounds, blending words, and sight words. Three new sight words are ‘was’, ‘he’, and ‘for’.
In writing, we are still work on handwriting and correct letter formation. We wrote another published piece with a focus on personal narratives. Those will be posted in the classroom when we return from the break. We continue to talk about spaces between words and are still using the “spaceman”. We have also been making lists of words that start with the letters K, L, M, and N.
In math, we began looking at weight as a unit of measurement. We talked about how things are heavier and lighter, and we used a balance scale to determine weight. Once we return from the break we will review length and weight and both will continue to be a center activity in the afternoons.
This week we did several activities around The Mitten and The Gingerbread Man, as well as making a holiday card and coloring a dancing Santa. The students did make holiday gifts, but unfortunately they were not finished in time. We have a small gift for the break, but you should be expecting the big gift when we return.
We decorated cookies this afternoon and the kids had a wonderful time. Thank you to Kelly and Ali for coming in and helping. I could not have done it without your help.
Over the break I know there are lots of activities and lots of families visiting, but I am sending home a reading log and a winter journal. Any opportunity for students to write, read, or practice math will help them remember all that we have worked on so far. It may not seem like they will lose information in two weeks, but the practice over the break never hurts. I hope those of you traveling have safe journeys, and those staying in town enjoy the winter break. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me, though I will not be checking my e-mail regularly.
Happy Holidays
Miss Osborne
December 9
Room 110 Newsletter
December 9, 2011
Parents-
I hope you are all doing well during this busy season. In reading, we have been doing literature studies. Last week we read The Mitten by Jan Brett and compared it with her other story The Hat. We talked about similarities and differences between characters, settings, and events. This week, and continuing into next week, we are reading different versions of The Gingerbread Man. This week we focused on the more traditional story with a few adaptations, and next week we will look at more unique adaptations. We have continued working on letter names, sounds, blending words, and sight words. Three new sight words are ‘was’, ‘he’, and ‘for’.
In writing, we continue working on handwriting and pencil grip. We started working on more personal narratives with a focus on counting our words in our sentence before we write it down, and then counting again after we have written it to make sure we included all our words. We have also been talking about spaces between words and this week I introduced the “spaceman”, which is a popsicle stick with a face to help with spacing. We have also been making lists of words that start with the letters E, F, G, H, I, and J.
In math, we have been playing several new games that work on counting, numeral writing, and measurement, focusing on length during the past two weeks. We compare lengths of yarn in one game, and created another little game to see who could make their yarn as long as my necklace. No one was quite able to get their string the correct length, but a few kids were close. We created a graph to see whose yarn was longer then my necklace and whose was shorter. Next week we will begin talking about weight and using a balance scale to determine when things are heavier or lighter. The students have also been playing a game called “Which Numeral Will Win” that works on number writing, which they love.
We have spent the last two weeks studying Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. We have talked about why and how each holiday is celebrated. Last week we made Kwanzaa mats and this week we made bracelets. For Hanukkah we made Menorahs and played dreidel, which they enjoyed. Next week we will talk some about Christmas and do a few activities as well. We started making a holiday gift to send home before the break, but we will be unable to finish them in time. We will send them home during the first week back from break. I will be sending a winter journal home with the students, so if you plan to be gone the last day of school please let me know so I can send it sooner.
The last day before the break we will be decorating cookies. I have purchased the gingerbread cookies, but am looking for parents willing to contribute certain items. I will put a sheet on the counter by the door that has a list of what we will need. Please sign up when you drop off your student, or send me an e-mail and I will add your name to the list, if it is not full. Thanks so much for all your help and support.
Hope you had a great weekend.
Miss Osborne
November 22
Room 110 Newsletter
November 22, 2011
Parents-
I hope everyone is enjoying the long week off. We sure have been busy in kindergarten. In reading, we did a literature study with four stories written by Karma Wilson. We read the Bear Snores On, Bear Feels Scared, Bear Feels Sick, and Bears Loose Tooth. Through the use of the stories we used Venn Diagrams to compare the characters, setting, and events. We also talked about how the author uses the titles of the book as a repeating line throughout. It was really great to see the kids make predictions about the story, what characters we might see, and what the repeating line might be. Ask your student which story was his or her favorite, and why. The vocabulary for this week was sleep, winter, cave, woods, storm, and blustery. The new sight words for this week were “like”, “we” and “my”.
In writing, we have been working on informational writing and using different forms of graphic organizers. We used our story from last week about baby animals in the grasslands to make a T-chart and a list. We will continue to use T-charts and lists throughout the year.
In math, we have continued with counting on and identifying quantities in tens frames. Our new game has a pair of students draw one card each, decide which card has more and which has less, and then spin to see who gets to keep the cards. When we return from the break, we will begin working with measurement in length and then weight.
I have a few craft projects that I need help prepping. If you would be willing to take some work home and trace and cut things out, I have them in bags right inside the classroom. They have instructions so feel free to take one and return it by the end of the week.
For the next three weeks we will be learning about several different winter holidays and talking about how each one is celebrated. We will also have a small Winter Holiday Party, where we will decorate cookies in the afternoon. If you would like to contribute to the party, I will have a sign-up sheet by the door the first full week of December.
Have a great week.
Miss Osborne
November 4
November 4, 2011
Parents-
Another great week in school to start the month of November. Halloween was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed the harvest snack. In reading, we read the story Armadillo’s Orange by Jim Arnosky. This story is about an armadillo in an orange grove who learns to appreciate his neighbors. In this story we worked on setting and sequence. The vocabulary for this week was armadillo, tortoise, rattlesnake, burrow, insects, and grubs. The new sight words for this week remained “have” and “is”.
In writing, we have been working on our first published piece. We wrote about Halloween and after I typed the students’ words they illustrated their stories. Next week we will begin our informational text unit.
In math, we have learned two new games. One game has students recognize a tens frame and then find the number that correlates. The other game involves building a hexagon out of triangles, rhombi, and trapezoids.
This week, we planted tulip bulbs in the kindergarten flowerbed. I read the story Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. We used popsicle sticks to identify each student’s bulb, and we will watch them bloom in the spring. Then we worked on drawing our bulbs and labeling the parts.
School Pictures went out this week and Picture Retake day will be November 17th. The weather is slowly turning rainy and students need to start wearing raincoats. As long as it is not pouring students will be going outside for recess. If your student does not have an appropriate coat for the weather they will possibly have to stay inside. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me: aosborne@pps.net. Remember next week has only three days of school.
Have a great weekend.
Miss Osborne
October 28
Room 110 Newsletter
October 28, 2011
Parents-
It’s hard to believe that October is almost over. I am so impressed with the progress that all the students are making and thrilled with how the year is going. In reading, we read a non-fiction story In the Ocean by Angela Johnson. We learned about the parts of a non-fiction text, such as the Table of Contents, Index, and Glossary. We learned that there are plants and animals that live and work together in the ocean. With this story we reviewed how to classify and categorize, and learned comparing and contrasting using fish and crabs. The vocabulary for this week was ocean, world, crab, seaweed, shell, and fish. The new sight words for the next two weeks are “have” and “is”.
In writing, we have talked about writing resources around the room. I have made each student a page with the alphabet chart and the word wall for him or her to use while writing. We have also talked about asking friends, using the magic line, and looking at books to find words. We are also working on forming letters correctly, which involves starting from the top of the letter and moving down.
In math, we have learned quite a few new games involving making sets of ten, and recognizing numbers in numeral form and within a tens frame. We work on graphing weather, counting by ones and tens, and identifying groups of five and ten.
We continue to talk about trees and this week the students got to make their own little book about the parts of a tree. My hope is to make it into the wild wood in the next week or two and have students observe the different plants.
Monday is Halloween and students may bring their costumes to change into in the afternoon. That morning we will have a brunch of apples and cider, with some harvest activities.
After talking to the cafeteria lady, and having some confusion about money, I wanted to make sure parents know that their students must have money on their lunch card in order to get lunch or milk, unless they receive free lunch. Students are no longer allowed to charge and pay later. You may send money with your student, fill their card online, or go down to the cafeteria and pay. Thanks for understanding.
Have a great weekend.
Miss Osborne
October 19
Room 110 Newsletter
October 19, 2011
Parents-
I can’t believe we are already 27 days into kindergarten. The students have been working hard and getting used to the routines. Last week in reading, we read the story Julius by Angela Johnson, about an Alaskan pig who comes to live with a family. With this story we reviewed character, setting, and sequence. The vocabulary for last week was sneaked, scary, crate, granddaddy, sharing, and protect. The new sight words for the next two weeks are “to” and “a”. This week, we are reading the story Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo. In this story we are reviewing the concepts of classify and categorize. Our vocabulary words for this week are spinning, rumbling, scooping, swooshing gobbling, squelching. We have been working hard every morning on our alphabet recognition as well as how to make the sounds of the letters.
In writing, we have been sharing our writing idea bags. The students have enjoyed sharing their items and seeing what others have brought. We talked about how writers get ideas from things they have done and as writers we can use the same process. We have also worked on making lists of things we can write about so that we can always have something to write about. Another way to write is through repetition of words, so we made fountain books, using the sentence starter “I am”, and students filled in three of the sentences with their name, age, and one other fact about themselves. The more we work on letter sounds and pulling words apart, the better the writing gets.
In math, we continue to talk about numbers, patterns, and graphing. We have also been working on making shapes and patterns with the pattern blocks, building patterns, and sorting. We started talking about tally marks and used popsicle sticks to practice making sets of five. We have been practicing adding on from a set of five. For example if the number was eight, students can instantly recognize the set of five tallies and count 5, 6, 7, 8, instead of 1, 2, 3…9, 10.
We continued with our science unit on trees by talking about the parts of a tree (roots, trunk, branches, and leaves) and how each part is important. We also talked about deciduous and coniferous trees and what makes them different. I always like to have students share their ideas because there is almost always at least one student who has knowledge about the subject.
Volunteers have started coming in and have been a great help. If you would like to volunteer take a look at the calendar outside the classroom and sign up for a time slot. The first time slot is helping students with their reading jobs, the second time slot is to help during writing, and the afternoon slot is for computer on Mondays and art on Fridays. I am also looking for a parent who would be willing to take care of scholastic orders once a month. This volunteer would take the order forms, log into my account, place the order and send in the checks. Please, let me know if you are interested.
Have a great week.
Miss Osborne
October 7
Room 110 Newsletter
October 7, 2011
Parents-
The first week of October has gone by with great success. In reading, we read the story Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip with Kindergarten by Joseph Slate. In this story we continued talking about characters, setting, and sequence. I also introduced the concept of classify and categorize, which is finding similarities and differences within a group. Our vocabulary words for this week were bakery, post office, fire station, library, chaperone, and park. We continued working on the sight words “the” and “little” and they will go up on our word wall next week. We have finished out first look through the alphabet. We have been working on identifying the letter, the sound, and the picture for each alphabet card. The rest of the month we will continue to review and get better at letter recognition and making the sounds correctly.
In writing, we talked about how we are all authors because we write stories. I talked with students about how the easiest stories to write are those about ourselves. We are experts on ourselves and those kinds of stories make the best ones. We also talked about making a picture or movie in our mind before we start writing out story. This week we started working on labeling pictures and we will continue working on this next week.
In math, we have been working on sorting bugs, which has been a great connection to our reading skill of classify and categorize. We have also been working on growing patterns, numeral writing, and graphing.
This week we began our science unit on trees. We made a chart about what we know and wonder about plants, and then we will add what we learned at the end of the unit. Next week we will begin an observation journal and write about how a tree changes throughout the school year.
Reminder that picture day is Monday the 10th. Next week is also the start of parent volunteering. If you haven’t signed up and want to, please take a look at the sign-up calendar outside the door. Just to clarify any confusion, papers that come home do not need to be finished or returned. They are just for you to see what we have been working on during the day. If your child would like to finish the paper, they are more than welcome, but do not need to bring it back. The only “homework” is the weekly reading log.
Have a great weekend.
Miss Osborne
September 30
Room 110 Newsletter
September 30, 2011
Parents-
Another week completed and we are really starting to take off. In reading, we read the story Plaidypus Lost by Janet Stevens. In this story we continued talking about characters, and setting, and introduced the concept of sequence. We talked about how the sequence is the order of events in the story, or ‘first’, ‘next’, and ‘then’. Our vocabulary words for this week were platypus, around, lost, found, market, and groceries. We started working on the sight words “the” and “little” and will continue to work on them next week. We started working on the letters M through U. We will finish with our first quick look through the alphabet this week.
In writing, we continue working on handwriting and pencil grip. We started talking about resources writers have to help them with their stories. We made a list of places we can find words and letters to help us, and then made another list of family names and pet words. We have also been making lists of words that start with the letters A, B, C, and D.
In math, we started a new game, called “Which Bug Will Win”. This is a game of probability in which we talk about how one spinner has more lady bugs, so it has a better chance of winning. We will continue to play this game for several weeks. I also sent home the second Home Connections piece that works with sorting more shapes.
Some students have started bringing folders to school every day. My hope is that by the middle of October every student will have a folder so that sending papers home or to school is easier. I received several students reading logs and have marked their names with a star on our ‘Reading Log’ poster by the front door. If I did not see your student’s reading log, please let me know.
After this week I will start having times for parents to volunteer in the classroom. The sign-up sheet is outside my door. If you want to know more specifics about what you would be doing during each time slot, please feel free to send me an e-mail or talk with me after school.
Hope you had a great weekend.
Miss Osborne
September 16
September 16, 2011
Parents-
We have officially completed the first week of kindergarten. We spent a great deal of our time learning rules and routines. I am pleased with how everyone is settling into the classroom and working to make new friends. Our classroom rules are: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Kind. We talked about each rule, what the words mean, and how we can be respectful, responsible, safe, and kind. Ask your student what they learned about each rule.
In reading, we started our Scott Foresman Curriculum. We read the story The Little School Bus by Carol Roth. In this story we focused on the characters, which is who the story is about, and the sequence in which the characters got on the bus. Our vocabulary words for this week were first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. We learned the sight words “I” and “am” and will continue to work on them next week. We also started working on the letters of the alphabet and began with A through E this week.
In writing, we started talking about how writing is taking stories from our heads and putting them on paper. We also started working on pencil grip and writing the letter A on white boards.
In math, we started our new Bridges Curriculum and began looking at shapes and using work places. We focused on square, rectangle, triangle, and circle. We have been talking about what makes each shape different. We also began sorting shapes by size, color, and shape. We will start sorting by other attributes next week.
Next week there will be the Curriculum Night where you may come learn about how we will be teaching Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Skills. I had a sub for two days this week and she said she was impressed with how well the class was doing for only being in school three days. I look forward to what this year will bring and what your student will learn.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Miss Osborne
