Newsletter 3/9

Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter

March 9, 2015   

Upcoming Events

March 9 – Math homework due

March 16 – Literacy homework due

March 23 – Skating party 6:30-8

April 2 – Light it up blue – wear blue for Autism awareness

Apr 6-10 Spring break

Reading: Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin

This is a musical counting book told in rhyme. The story begins with one instrument playing solo, and one by one, other instruments are added to make a duo, a trio, and so on. Eventually there is a chamber group of ten instruments and children can see how an orchestra is formed. The instruments in the book are a violin, clarinet, cello, harp, oboe, bassoon, flute, french horn, trombone, and trumpet. We will learn about the different families that instruments belong to (percussion, strings, woodwinds, brass) and what we do (hit, strum, blow) to play the instruments in each family. This story will help us understand that sounds can be made in different ways.

Target Skill: We will review several skills this week including Compare and Contrast, Classify and Categorize, Visualizing, and Cause and Effect. You can ask your child to tell you how two instruments are the same or different, or you can ask them to tell you to which family a particular instrument belongs.

Amazing Words: orchestra, instrument, solo, duo, trio, violin

This week, ask your child to come up with a sentence using one of these words. We will use the language “I can…use new vocabulary”. 

Phonemic Awareness (hearing sounds) / Phonics (matching sounds and letters): J / W

Ex: jump, jaw, west, win. This week, ask your child to say words that have /w/ or /j/ at the beginning. If they struggle with this, give them two choices and then choose which one makes the sound. To challenge students, ask them to write the words they come up with. You can also write nonsense words using j, w, or e to help your child practice. Remind students to blend the sounds in their head and then just say the word out loud.

Sight Words: blue, yellow, green (past words: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is, we, my, like, for, he, me, with, she, look, see, of, they, you, are, do, that, one, two, three, four, five, here, go, from)  Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words. We will use the language “I can…read words”. 

Writing: Goals for students’ writing – use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and lowercase letters for the rest, use spaces between words, punctuation marks at the end, and sentences that make sense. Students should be segmenting words and writing the letters for the sounds they hear when writing unknown words. Encourage your child to spell sight words the correct way, but all other words can simply be spelled as they sound. Students have previously learned the letters and sounds for Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, and Tt, and should be able to identify which letter makes a particular sound and write words using any combination of these letters.

Math

We will be finishing our chapter on teen numbers this week and our test will be Tuesday. Students should understand that teen numbers mean ten and some more and that all teen numbers start with a one to show the ten and the next number tells how many more (14=10 and 4 more).  Please continue to have your child practice writing number sentences showing how to make different amounts (10+4=14 OR 14=10+4). I know some parents have been confused by the problems written “backwards”, but we view the equal sign as meaning “the same as” so if you see a problem written differently than you are used to that is why. Please encourage your child to practice writing and solving problems in this format as well as the traditional way. Our next chapter will focus on counting to 100 by 1s and by 10s. This will be a short chapter since many of our students are already quite accomplished at this skill!

School Fees:

If you have not paid your $50 school fees, please try to do so. If you are unable, consider making a smaller partial payment. Thank you!

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

Newsletter 2/25

Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter

February 23, 2015   

Welcome back! I hope everyone was able to enjoy some of the extra time at home with your little ones. Our four day weekend turned into ten days off for our students, and for kindergartners, that is a very long time to be out of the classroom and away from our daily routines. Please help me make this transition back to school a smooth one for your child. It is important that students are getting plenty of sleep and a good meal before coming to school. We will be revisiting our classroom procedures and appropriate classroom behaviors throughout the week. I am anxious to see all of the kiddos and excited for a fun week!

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, February 24 – Optional- corsage money due for father/daughter dance $5

Friday, February 27 – Father/Daughter dance 7-9pm $10/family

Homework

Unfortunately I was not able to get the literacy packet sent home before our extended break, but it will be coming home tonight. Please have your child return the packet next Monday. Students should not be doing the whole packet in one night.  One to two pages each night is appropriate. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Reading: If You Could Go to Antarctica

This week’s story is one of my favorites and is quite fitting for the week we just had! This story tells about the continent Antarctica. Antarctica is located at the South Pole. It is always very cold there and the winds are very strong. If you went there you could see big, floating icebergs, penguins, seals, and whales. The animals that live there have special ways of staying warm. The ice and snow almost never melt, but in the few places it does, you might see moss and short grass. You might also see the scientists who live in Antarctica to study the special animals and plants. This story will help us understand that visiting a new place is an exciting adventure and a chance to learn about new wildlife.

Target Skill: Classify and Categorize – to put things, such as words, pictures, or objects into groups that are alike in some way. As children classify and categorize key details in a text, they are analyzing how the details are alike. Answering classify-and-categorize questions about a text helps children learn to use evidence from the text and illustrations to support the conclusions they draw.

Amazing Words: Antarctica, continent, icebergs, seals, penguins, whales

This week, ask your child to come up with a sentence using one of these words. We will use the language “I can…use new vocabulary”. 

  

Phonemic Awareness (hearing sounds) / Phonics (matching sounds and letters): Initial/Medial Ee

Ex: escalator, egg, net, bed. This week, ask your child to say words that have /e/ at the beginning. You could also ask him/her to say words that have /e/ in the middle. If they struggle with this, give them two choices and then choose which one says /e/. To challenge students, ask them to write the words they come up with. Please also continue to practice reading Nonsense words. You can write 4-5 words that have a middle “e” and ask your child to read those words to you. Remember to have them blend the sounds in their head and then just say the word out loud.

Writing: (repeated in case you missed it!) I am beginning to increase my writing expectations for the students. There are several things that I am looking for in their writing at this point - capital letters at the beginning of sentences and lowercase letters for the rest, spaces between words, punctuation marks at the end, and sentences that make sense. In addition to these things, I am expecting the students to spell words independently. When they come to me asking how to spell a word, I tell them to segment the word and write the sounds they hear. Students have previously learned the letters and sounds for Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, and Tt, so you can challenge your child to spell words using any combination of these letters. If your child does not know all of his/her letter sounds, please have him/her continue to practice these sounds at home. Students that do know all of their letter sounds can be challenged by asking them to “identify the letter that says (fill in the blank with a letter sound)” or to identify and write the combination of letters heard in longer words or consonant blend words (clip).

Sight Words: here, go, from (past words: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is, we, my, like, for, he, me, with, she, look, see, of, they, you, are, do, that, one, two, three, four, five) Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words. We will use the language “I can…read words”. 

Math

We have begun our chapter on the teen numbers. We will learn about the numbers 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 this week. Students will learn that teen numbers mean ten and some more. When we write a teen number, we write a 1 first to show the ten and the next number tells how many more (14=10 and 4 more).  You can ask your child to show you the amount of a teen number using objects around your house or they can draw it. To challenge him/her, ask your child to write a number sentence showing how to make that amount (10+4=14). Please also continue to work on addition and subtraction fact fluency to 5.

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

Newsletter 1/5

Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter

January 5, 2014

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful break and was able to relax and spend some time with friends and family. I admit that I definitely enjoyed the time at home, but I have missed the kiddos and am anxious to continue our learning! I am looking forward to picking up where we left off and cruising ahead!

Reading: Farfallina and Marcel is a fiction story about a caterpillar and gosling that become friends. They both go through life cycle changes and don’t recognize each other after they’ve changed. Eventually they find each other again and become friends again. We will discuss what happens when animals change and children will understand that some animals change as they grow and can do new things as they grow.

Target Skill: Plot

Plot refers to the events that happen at the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Identifying the plot of a story helps children comprehend and summarize the story. This week, read a story with your child and ask them questions about what happened in the beginning, middle, and end. To challenge your child, ask them to identify what things changed from the beginning to the end. We will use the language: “I can…tell about the plot”.

Amazing Words: goose, caterpillar, reflection, gosling, butterfly, cocoon

This week, ask your child to come up with a sentence using one of these words. We will use the language “I can…use new vocabulary”.  

Phonemic Awareness (hearing sounds): Initial and medial /o/ – Ex: octopus, otter, rock, hot. This week, have your child try to find items around the house or outside that have the /o/ sound. You can also tell your child 2 words and ask him to identify which word has the /o/ sound. We will use the language “I can…hear beginning/middle sounds”.

Phonics (matching sounds and letters): Students will learn to say the /o/ sound when they read the letter Oo and will learn to write the letter Oo when they hear that sound. This week, we will continue to practice spelling consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC) words. Students have previously learned the letters and sounds for Ff, Rr, Dd, Kk, Bb, Nn, Cc, Pp, Ss, Mm, Tt, Ii and Aa so you can continue to practice these sounds. Challenge your child to spell words using any combination of these letters. Remind them to use lower case letters unless it is a proper noun (name). We will use the language “I can…spell words”.

Sight Words: they, you, of (past words: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is, we, my, like, for, he, me, with, she, see, look)   Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words. We will use the language “I can…read sight words”.  

Math: Before the break, we finished the chapter on addition. We will continue to review these concepts and students are expected to be able to add fluently to 5, so I encourage you to continue practicing at home. This week we will be starting the chapter on subtraction, and students will be introduced to the terms “take away” and “minus”. Throughout the chapter, we will not only try to solve problems where we find how many are left after taking some away (5-2= ?), but also problems where we have to find how many were taken away (5-?=3) or how many we started with (?-2=3) Students will be using the language “I can… subtract by taking away”.

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

Newsletter 12/1

Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter 

December 1, 2014

Reading: Little Quack is a fiction story about Mama Duck and her ducklings. Mama Duck asks her babies to jump into the pond and paddle with her, but the ducklings are scared. One by one, they face their fear and jump into the water. Children will understand the nervousness they feel when they are not sure if they are ready for something yet and the excitement they feel when they are big enough to try something new. Thinking about these things will help them answer the question “What new things can you do as you get older?”

Target Comprehension Skill: Plot – the events and actions in a story. Answering questions about plot helps children comprehend and summarize the text. We will use the language: “I can…tell about events in a story”. This week, read a story with your child and have them act out an event from the story. To challenge your child, ask them to act out an event from the beginning, the middle, and the end of the story.

Amazing Words: duckling, paddle, proud, pond, plunged, brave

This week, ask your child to come up with a sentence using one of these words. We will use the language “I can…use new vocabulary”.  

Phonemic Awareness (hearing sounds): Initial /r/ – Ex: rug, rabbit, rock. This week, have your child try to find items around the house or outside that have the /r/ sound. You can also tell your child 2 words and ask him to identify which word has the /r/ sound. Students should be able to identify if /r/ is in the beginning or end of the word. We will use the language “I can…hear beginning sounds”.

Phonics (matching sounds and letters): Students will learn to say the /r/ sound when they read the letter Rr and will learn to write the letter Rr when they hear that sound. This week, we will also continue spelling consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC) words. Students have previously learned the letters and sounds for Bb, Nn, Cc, Pp, Ss, Mm, Tt, Ii and Aa so you can challenge your child to spell words using any combination of these letters. Remind them to use lower case letters unless it is a proper noun (name). We will use the language “I can…spell words”.

Sight Words: me, with, she (past words: I, am, the, little, to, a, have, is, we, my, like, for, he)

Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words. We will use the language “I can…read sight words”.  

DIBELS Practice: Please continue to practice the skills that will be on the DIBELS test next week. This includes letter naming, phoneme segmentation, and nonsense word reading. Students will have one minute for each section.

Math: We have begun Ch. 5 and have learned that adding means to combine things together. This week, we will solve addition word problems, complete addition sentences, and write addition number sentences for sums up to five. We will use pictures and cube train models to help us. Students will be using the language “I can… add numbers”. This week, write an addition sentence and leave one of the addend spots blank. Ask your child to draw a picture to help them solve the problem. If he is able to solve it without drawing a picture, challenge your child by saying a number and asking him, “How many more are needed to make ____?”  

Thank You! - Thank you to all of the families that volunteered or sent food in for our feast last week. The students had a great time and there was plenty of new food for them to try and share with their friends. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the few extra days off for Thanksgiving and spend some time with friends and family.

Winter Clothing - As the weather turns colder, many students are wearing hats, gloves, scarves, etc. Many times students forget these items at school or they fall out of the cubbies and are never claimed. Please be sure to label any items you send with your child. Even initials can help me narrow down who they may belong to.

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

Mrs. Nicodemus’ Kindergarten Newsletter 

October 13, 2014

Reading: Nature Spy is a Nonfiction Book. This means the book is about things that are real. Students will read about a girl that goes outside to explore and discover new things about nature. She looks closely at plants, animals, and other things in nature to see special details. We learn that many things look different up close. This week, take a nature walk in your backyard or the park and feel free to send any discoveries for your student to share!

Target Comprehension Skill: Setting – Where and when a story takes place. This week, challenge your child to choose a book or tv show and identify the setting. We will use the language “I can…tell the setting”.

Amazing Words: discover, nature, acorn, spy, pod, pattern

Try to work these words into conversations with your child and discuss them. We will use the language “I can…use new vocabulary”.  

Phonemic Awareness (hearing sounds): Initial and final /s/ – Ex: spider, sat, snake, house, tops, lips. This week, have your child try to find items around the house or outside that begin with the /s/ sound. You can also tell your child 2 words and ask him to identify which word has the /s/ sound. We will use the language “I can…hear beginning/ending sounds”.

Phonics (matching sounds and letters): Students will learn to say the /s/ sound when they read the letter Ss, and will learn to write the letter Ss when they hear the /s/ sound. Students have learned the letters and sounds for Mm, Tt, and Aa at this point. Ask them to produce those sounds for words you’ve written or have them write the correct letter when you make the sound. Remind them to use lower case letters unless it is a proper noun (name). We will use the language “I can…decode words”.

Sight Words: have, is (past words: I, am, the, little, to, a)  

Please practice these words at home! Students can write, search for, or use flash cards to read the words, We will use the language “I can…read words”.  

Writing: This week we will work on identifying Proper Nouns. Proper nouns are used for specific nouns such as names. We will draw a picture and “write” about a proper noun. We will also practice giving our opinion through writing/drawing. We will use the language “I can…use proper nouns.”

Math: We will be wrapping up Ch. 3 this week as we finish representing, counting, and writing numbers 6-9. Students will learn the number 8 and 9 this week. Please have your child practice writing numbers 1-9 at home this week. Students will be using the language “I can…write, count, and show numbers”.

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