Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter 
September 15, 2014

Reading: Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip is an Animal Fantasy story. This means the characters are animals and they do things that could not really happen. In this story, the teacher, Miss Bindergarten, takes her class on a field trip to see different places in the community. We will discuss ways that people can cooperate in a community, and students will understand that cooperating helps them have a fun time and learn new things. As you are out and about this week, see if you and your child can find anyone in the community cooperating!

Target Comprehension Skill: Classify and Categorize – to place things or ideas that are alike in at least one way into groups. When children classify and categorize key details in a story, they are analyzing how the details are alike. Answering classify and categorize questions about a story helps children learn to use evidence from the text and illustrations to support the conclusions they draw. This week, challenge your child to sort toys, socks, rocks, or anything else you have, into 2 groups and ask them to identify which characteristic is the same in each group. You can also provide a group of objects and ask which one doesn’t belong.

Letter Recognition: Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

We are still working on identifying different upper and lower case letters. These are the letters we will be focusing on this week. Challenge your child to find and identify these letters around the house. You can use flash cards (or index cards that you write the letter on) to play uppercase and lowercase matching or memory, too.   

Amazing Words: bakery, fire station, post office, chaperone, park, library

Each week we will learn 6 words from our weekly story that will help build our oral vocabulary. By the end of the week your child should be able to use each word in a sentence. Try to work these words into conversations with your child and discuss them.

Phonological Awareness: Initial sounds – identifying words that begin with the same sound. Ex: pig/pan, lock/love. This week, have your child choose items around the house or outside and identify the beginning sound. You can also tell your child 3 words and ask him to identify which two have the same first sound and which doesn’t belong (working on classify and categorize skills, too!) ex: pig, pan, lock

Sight Words: the, little, (past words: I, am)

Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words,

Writing: This week we will work on describing things. We will identify what color things are and if they are big, small, long, short, heavy, light, soft, rough, etc. We will draw pictures and “write” describing words that match.  

Math: We will be wrapping up Ch. 1 this week. Students will still be using the language “I can…read numbers, write numbers, and count objects.” We have worked with the numbers 1-5, and we worked on finding different ways of making 5 (1 and 4; 2 and 3). We will review these numbers and skills along with practicing zero and ordering numbers.

Interims: Just a reminder, interim reports come out this Friday, but this does not include kindergarten. Progress Book login info will be sent home at report card time.

Behavior Charts: I have received questions regarding what the colors on the behavior chart mean. All students begin the day on green and will stay on green if they do a good job. A few students each day may get moved to blue if they are showing exemplary behavior and going above and beyond. Moving to blue is not something I give out easily. If a student is struggling to follow directions or classroom procedures, they will be moved to yellow and if a student continues to need multiple reminders throughout the day they will be moved to red. Loss of a privilege or certain activity may result if a student is on yellow or red. Please be sure to keep this form in your child’s folder and return to school each day. Thank you.

Wish List Items: Please do not feel obligated, but if you would like to donate items to our classroom, here are a few wanted items: cotton balls, blank cassette tapes, lacing string, and $5 Walgreens gift card (photos).

School Fees: School fees are $50 this year. Please pay or send in a payment as soon as possible. Thank you!

Feel free to contact me with any questions @ 943-6924 ornicodemus_a@westcler.org.

Week of September 8th

Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter 

September 8, 2014

Reading: Plaidypus Lost is a Realistic Fiction story. This means it is pretend, but it could be real. In this story, a little girl’s grandma makes her a stuffed platypus made out of plaid material. The little girl loses Plaidypus when she takes him to the park, the market, the lake, and in the car on the way home. At the end of the story, the grandma fixes Plaidypus by adding polka dot and striped material. We will discuss ways that families can cooperate.

Target Comprehension Skill: Sequence – the order of events in a story. When children identify the sequence of major events in a story, they are analyzing how events develop over the course of the story. Answering questions about sequence helps children comprehend and summarize the text. This week, challenge your child to sequence the events after watching a favorite television program or reading a book. Look and listen for key words like first, then or next, and last.

Letter Recognition: Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss

The first few weeks of school we will be working on identifying different upper and lower case letters. These are the letters we will be focusing on this week. This week, challenge your child to find and identify these letters around the house. You can use flash cards (or index cards that you write the letter on) to play uppercase and lowercase matching or memory, too.   

Amazing Words: platypus, lost, found, around, market, groceries

Each week we will learn 6 words from our weekly story that will help build our oral vocabulary. By the end of the week your child should be able to use each word in a sentence. Try to work these words into conversations with your child and discuss them.

Phonological Awareness: Initial sounds – identifying words that begin with the same sound. Ex: pig/pan, lock/love. This week, have your child choose items around the house or outside and identify the beginning sound.

Sight Words: the, little, (I, am)      

Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words,

Writing: Students will continue to practice writing their names this week. Please have your child use a capital letter for the first letter and lowercase letters for the rest of the name.

Math: We will be working in Ch. 1 again this week. Students will continue using the language “I can…read numbers, write numbers, and count objects.” We practiced the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 last week. This week we will be showing, counting, and writing 5. We have learned that when our five frame is full we can automatically know that we have five without even counting. Be sure to ask your child about this “trick”. We will also be using colored counters to find different ways of making 5 (1 and 4; 2 and 3), learning about zero, and placing numbers in the correct order. Students will understand that as they order cube towers, each tower will contain one more than the last tower.

Progress Book: Logins were sent home with older students last week. Since kindergarten does not do interim reports there will not be any information available until report cards come out. We will send home login information at that time.

Patriot Day: This Thursday, September 11th, is Patriot Day. This is to remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist attacks in the United States. Feel free to have your child wear red, white, and blue clothing. We will have a short lesson focusing only on our flag and reminding students how it is a symbol of our country and that we take pride in our country. 

Plaid Day: This Friday we will have a “plaid” day in honor of our story this week Plaidypus Lost. A purple flyer came home with more information. Mistakenly, the morning class received this flyer last week. Please feel free to bring a stuffed animal and wear plaid again this Friday for our activities.

Behavior Charts: I have received questions regarding what the colors on the behavior chart mean. All students begin the day on green and will stay on green if they do a good job. A few students each day may get moved to blue if they are showing exemplary behavior and going above and beyond. Moving to blue is not something I give out easily. If a student is struggling to follow directions or classroom procedures, they will be moved to yellow and if a student continues to need multiple reminders throughout the day they will be moved to red. Loss of a privilege or certain activity may result if a student is on yellow or red. Please be sure to keep this form in your child’s folder and return to school each day.  

Wish List Items: Please do not feel obligated, but if you would like to donate items to our classroom, here are a few wanted items: Cotton balls (for sensory bin), Clear/plastic shoeboxes (for center activities), blank cassette tapes (for the listening center), lacing string (for pattern beads and lacing cards), and $5 Walgreens gift card (to print photos for activities). Thanks!

Scholastic Book Orders: Everyone should have received a book order form last week. If you have any questions about how to order, please let me know. To browse or place an order, go to https://clubs2.scholastic.com/ and enter our class code: HKM99. If you do not want to order online by credit card, you may also fill out the order form in the flyer and send it in to school with a check made out to Scholastic Reading Club. The deadline to order will be this Friday, September 12^th.

School Fees: School fees are $50 this year. Please pay or send in a payment as soon as possible. Thank you!

Feel free to contact me with any questions @ 943-6924 or nicodemus_a@westcler.org.

Week of Sept. 2-5

Reading: We Are So Proud is a Realistic Fiction story. This means it is pretend, but it could be real. In this story, a school is having a parade to honor the nation and the class needs to make a float for the parade. The students must cooperate as they work on the float, and in the end they are proud of their nation and how well they worked together. We will discuss how students can work and play together and how doing so can help them solve problems.

Each week your child will bring home a decodable reader. These are simple stories that often incorporate the letter/sound for the week and our sight words. I highly recommend saving these stories throughout the year and making them available for your child to read over and over again. Rereading text is a wonderful way for a child to gain confidence and become a more fluent reader (meaning they don’t sound like a robot or choppy, but rather smooth like when talking). Please encourage your child to read the story to you (or a sibling, dog, stuffed animal, etc.) at least once per night.  

 

Target Comprehension Skill: Setting – the time (when) and place (where) of a story. When children identify and describe the setting of a story, they are determining key details in the story. Answering questions about setting helps children comprehend and make logical inferences about the text. This week, challenge your child to identify the setting in a favorite television program or book that your read together.

Letter Recognition: Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn

The first few weeks of school we will be working on identifying different upper and lower case letters. These are the letters we will be focusing on this week. This week, challenge your child to find and identify these letters around the house. You can use flash cards (or index cards that you write the letter on) to play uppercase and lowercase matching or memory, too.   

Amazing Words: proud, cooperation, float, preparation, creation, guide

Each week we will learn 6 words from our weekly story that will help build our oral vocabulary. By the end of the week your child should be able to use each word in a sentence. Try to work these words into conversations with your child and discuss them.

Phonological Awareness: Syllables – words can be broken into parts. This week, have your child choose items around the house or outside and clap the parts. Count the claps to find out how many syllables.

Sight Words: I, am  

Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words,

Writing: Students will continue to practice writing their names this week. Please have your child use a capital letter for the first letter and lowercase letters for the rest of the name.

Math: Last week we began Chapter 1 of our math program. Students began using the language “I can…read numbers, write numbers, and count objects.” We practiced the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. This week we will be showing, counting, and writing 5. One of the tools we use in class is a five-frame (see below) Using the five frame helps children quickly recognize “how many” the number 5 is and allows them to see how other numbers compare to 5. Also, as we count groups of 5, students will work on a skill called subitizing. This means counting how many in a quick glance as we do when we use dice. Recognizing familiar arrangements of objects, such as two and three, three and two, or two, one, two, will help with this skill. Later in the week, we will work on making number pairs and recognizing that there are different ways to make five (4 and 1) or (3 and 2).

 

         = 2

                          Five frame

       

                                                                                       

       

Wish List Items: Please do not feel obligated, but if you would like to donate items to our classroom, here are a few wanted items: Clear/plastic shoeboxes (for center activities), blank cassette tapes (for the listening center), play-doh (to practice our letters and sight words), Mr. Scent markers (to grade papers), lacing string (for pattern beads and lacing cards). Thanks!

Scholastic Book Orders: I will be sending home the first book order of the year this week. Again, please do not feel any pressure to make a purchase. I am only sending it home to provide the opportunity if you are interested. To browse or place an order, go to https://clubs2.scholastic.com/ and enter our class code: HKM99. If you do not want to order online by credit card, you may also fill out the order form in the flyer and send it in to school with a check made out to Scholastic Reading Club. Please let me know if you have any questions! 

Practicing letter formation with play-doh

Using pattern blocks to make pictures

Practicing lowercase letter recognition

Computer time!