It is so hard to believe we only have 2 1/2 weeks left of school. This year has gone by so quickly. As we near the last day, we have a lot of activities that will be happening at school. In the classroom, we will be completing end of year reading and writing activities.
Friday, May 9 is our Field Day.
Monday, May 12 is our trip to the library.
Wednesday, May 14 is our trip to the farm.
Monday, May 19 is our water day.
Have field trip forms and money in by Monday, May 8.
Click on the Helper of the Day on left side of page for helper calendar.
Continue to take check their purple folders each night as things will start to come home for summer.
Summer Book orders are due: Monday, May 5.
All library books due next week by Thursday, May 8.
Also, check our Shutterfly site for new pictures from Earth Day and our Animated Parade.
Have a wonderful few weeks!!!
Mrs. Downing
Friday, May 2, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Kindergarten Stars...... March 30-April 11
It has been a busy week back after spring break. The weather cooperated a little and we could get outside. We reviewed our daily schedule and what it looks like and sounds like being back at school. It was a smooth transition back to school.
Spring has Sprung was our focus. We read many Spring books, completed a web about words to describe Spring and what you can do in Spring, watched a Scholastic Weekly Reader about Spring, and the wrote and illustrated individual opinion writing pieces on "Spring is best because......."
Their writing is progressing. Encourage writing at home.
Added to our classroom was a full writing center with examples of how to write a card, postcard, friendly letter, poem, recipe, story, or book. The kids are loving this during their "Work on Writing" time. They get to share their finished products to the class during snack time. They are becoming quite the little authors.
In math, we continue to work on partners of 10, teen numbers, story problems, solid shapes, and skip counting.
We learned "wh" and "ng" sounds in Animated Literacy. This coming week we will learn "June's Mule" for long u....! After we have finished Animated Literacy, we will review and have an Animated Character Parade. Be thinking of which character your child will want to be and think of a costume
your child can begin to put together. Example: Actress Annie: princess looking dress and hold a stuffed alligator or abacus
Check your child's reading treasure box for their old animated character sheets to find their favorite and read the story to think of props. Please do not go out and purchase an expensive costume. Just use items you have at home. It's a lot of fun. Will send dates later. For now, you can just get your creative juices flowing!
This week we will continue our Spring focus and begin to learn about nouns and verbs some more.
Reminder: Kindergarten Round-Up is April 10-11 so your Kinder will not have school on those days.
Spring has Sprung was our focus. We read many Spring books, completed a web about words to describe Spring and what you can do in Spring, watched a Scholastic Weekly Reader about Spring, and the wrote and illustrated individual opinion writing pieces on "Spring is best because......."
Their writing is progressing. Encourage writing at home.
Added to our classroom was a full writing center with examples of how to write a card, postcard, friendly letter, poem, recipe, story, or book. The kids are loving this during their "Work on Writing" time. They get to share their finished products to the class during snack time. They are becoming quite the little authors.
In math, we continue to work on partners of 10, teen numbers, story problems, solid shapes, and skip counting.
We learned "wh" and "ng" sounds in Animated Literacy. This coming week we will learn "June's Mule" for long u....! After we have finished Animated Literacy, we will review and have an Animated Character Parade. Be thinking of which character your child will want to be and think of a costume
your child can begin to put together. Example: Actress Annie: princess looking dress and hold a stuffed alligator or abacus
Check your child's reading treasure box for their old animated character sheets to find their favorite and read the story to think of props. Please do not go out and purchase an expensive costume. Just use items you have at home. It's a lot of fun. Will send dates later. For now, you can just get your creative juices flowing!
This week we will continue our Spring focus and begin to learn about nouns and verbs some more.
Reminder: Kindergarten Round-Up is April 10-11 so your Kinder will not have school on those days.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Kindergarten Stars February 3, 2014
It has been a few busy weeks! We have celebrated Kansas' Birthday and 100 Day!! We have been assessing what "we" know for upcoming progress reports and conferences.
Our Field trip to Lied Center was a success! We saw "We are going on a bear hunt," we got to sit in the 3 row and we even got shot with water guns! It was very interactive and engaging!
We will finish up learning all of Kansas' symbols and facts about each. We celebrated Kansas' bday with a sunflower cake. The children are compiling a Kansas Symbol book.
We will participate in "100 Day" stations such as engineering structures using 110 Legos, blocks, unifix cubes, pennies, pattern blocks, marshmallow and toothpicks, and dominoes.
The kids made Sunflowers and Jayhawks!
This month the children learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. I was so proud of hearing their ideas amd comments about Dr.King and his dream. They reflected by writing their own paper about who his/her hero was in their life.
In math, we will continue to practice addition and subtraction story problems, simple addition and subtraction facts, solid shapes, greater and less than, and counting by 1's, 5's, 10's.
Any practice or help with these concepts and skills would be helpful!
Our Field trip to Lied Center was a success! We saw "We are going on a bear hunt," we got to sit in the 3 row and we even got shot with water guns! It was very interactive and engaging!
We will finish up learning all of Kansas' symbols and facts about each. We celebrated Kansas' bday with a sunflower cake. The children are compiling a Kansas Symbol book.
We will participate in "100 Day" stations such as engineering structures using 110 Legos, blocks, unifix cubes, pennies, pattern blocks, marshmallow and toothpicks, and dominoes.
The kids made Sunflowers and Jayhawks!
This month the children learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. I was so proud of hearing their ideas amd comments about Dr.King and his dream. They reflected by writing their own paper about who his/her hero was in their life.
In math, we will continue to practice addition and subtraction story problems, simple addition and subtraction facts, solid shapes, greater and less than, and counting by 1's, 5's, 10's.
Any practice or help with these concepts and skills would be helpful!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
January 12, 2014
Our first week back was a successful one. It was a great week to introduce "Winter." The kids learned about seasons, how to dress differently in winter in comparison to other seasons, winter activities and how to begin to write a narrative story about a winter experience. All the kids dresses appropriately to go out into the snow. We walked, climbed, and ran in the snow. After playing in the snow, the kiddos got to throw the snow. :) after we came in from our winter experience we enjoyed hot chocolate!
We will continue to practice writing narrative pieces. Any extra writing you could do at home would be so helpful.
In math, we are beginning unit 4... Our focus will be on addition partners and finding missing partners in addition sentences.
Sight Word Practice continues....as well as sounding out short vowel words. Working on short vowel sounds at home would be very beneficial.
We will be continuing our study of winter and then moving on to learning about our great state "Kansas" and all of it's symbols!
Leslie Downing
We will continue to practice writing narrative pieces. Any extra writing you could do at home would be so helpful.
In math, we are beginning unit 4... Our focus will be on addition partners and finding missing partners in addition sentences.
Sight Word Practice continues....as well as sounding out short vowel words. Working on short vowel sounds at home would be very beneficial.
We will be continuing our study of winter and then moving on to learning about our great state "Kansas" and all of it's symbols!
Leslie Downing
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Mrs. Downings Kindergarten Stars December 4
It has been a very busy time in a Kindergarten. I enjoy seeing the growth in all my STARS!!! I hope you are seeing it too. We have 2 1/2 weeks until Winter Vacation. During that time we will be very busy comparing and contrasting many Gingerbread stories, learning story elements with Gingerbread stories, many Gingerbread math and language activities , Gingerbread science activities, sight word games, handwriting , and a focus on guided writing.
In math, students have been working on adding and subtracting. Any extra practice at home would be very helpful. Other math skills to do at home are tallying, counting to 20 and on, recognizing numbers 1-30., days of the week, months of the year, and counting by 5's and 20's! Some fun videos to help learning these concepts are on YouTube. Search HAVE FUN TEACHING OR HARRY KINDERGARTENER... They both have great music to all above concepts. They also have songs for sight words too.
Another great online resource is Storyline Online . These are stories online your child can listen to reading. ENJOY!!
Thank you everyone for all of your help with classroom supplies and support with your child's learning! I appreciate all of you!
Leslie
In math, students have been working on adding and subtracting. Any extra practice at home would be very helpful. Other math skills to do at home are tallying, counting to 20 and on, recognizing numbers 1-30., days of the week, months of the year, and counting by 5's and 20's! Some fun videos to help learning these concepts are on YouTube. Search HAVE FUN TEACHING OR HARRY KINDERGARTENER... They both have great music to all above concepts. They also have songs for sight words too.
Another great online resource is Storyline Online . These are stories online your child can listen to reading. ENJOY!!
Thank you everyone for all of your help with classroom supplies and support with your child's learning! I appreciate all of you!
Leslie
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Mrs. Downing's Kindergarten Stars October 4, 2013
It has been a very busy few weeks in Kindergarten. We have finished up with Senses and Nursery Rhymes and have bee practicing and learning Word Work Station during their Daily Five time while reading groups are being taught. I will be sending home an information sheet explaining what Daily Five is and how it helps the students grow as a reader and writer.
During our Five Senses Unit, the children explored each sense in a museum style set up. During our Touch Museum the children got to "touch" each others exhibits and then sign their name on their exhibit sheet describing how it felt. During our Tasting Party each child got to taste each others "tasting exhibit" and then sign their name showing if they thought it was a "good" taste or "bad" taste. Our Smelling Museum was set-up the same way. They got to "smell" each others smelling exhibit and then sign their name under whether they thought it was a "good" and "bad" smell. Another exciting activity included trying something that was sweet, salty, sour, and bitter and then mapping the tongue. The main objective was to learn to build science vocabulary and exploring with their senses.
Listening and learning nursery rhymes helped the children practicing fluency, rhyming words, and sequencing. They completed a Nursery Rhyme book that will be kept in their independent book tub so they can reread nursery rhymes during Read to Self or Read to Someone during Daily Five. I hope you got to enjoy seeing all of their nursery rhyme activities that have been coming home.
We are well into the Animated Alphabet. We introduce two new characters a week, learn their song, read their story, and build a new sentence during our read, write, and draw. Continue to add these character sheets and sentence sheets in your Kindergarten Star's Reading Treasure Box or Notebook.
Reading Groups begin Monday, October 7. Your Kindergarten Star will participate in a small guided reading group where specific skills are being taught at their level. You will be receiving information about reading groups.
We will begin our new unit on Trees in the next week.
Thanks for all of your help and support.
:-) Mrs. Downing
During our Five Senses Unit, the children explored each sense in a museum style set up. During our Touch Museum the children got to "touch" each others exhibits and then sign their name on their exhibit sheet describing how it felt. During our Tasting Party each child got to taste each others "tasting exhibit" and then sign their name showing if they thought it was a "good" taste or "bad" taste. Our Smelling Museum was set-up the same way. They got to "smell" each others smelling exhibit and then sign their name under whether they thought it was a "good" and "bad" smell. Another exciting activity included trying something that was sweet, salty, sour, and bitter and then mapping the tongue. The main objective was to learn to build science vocabulary and exploring with their senses.
Listening and learning nursery rhymes helped the children practicing fluency, rhyming words, and sequencing. They completed a Nursery Rhyme book that will be kept in their independent book tub so they can reread nursery rhymes during Read to Self or Read to Someone during Daily Five. I hope you got to enjoy seeing all of their nursery rhyme activities that have been coming home.
We are well into the Animated Alphabet. We introduce two new characters a week, learn their song, read their story, and build a new sentence during our read, write, and draw. Continue to add these character sheets and sentence sheets in your Kindergarten Star's Reading Treasure Box or Notebook.
Reading Groups begin Monday, October 7. Your Kindergarten Star will participate in a small guided reading group where specific skills are being taught at their level. You will be receiving information about reading groups.
We will begin our new unit on Trees in the next week.
Thanks for all of your help and support.
:-) Mrs. Downing
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Kindergarten Stars September 8, 2013-2014
It is hard to believe that we have been in school for 15 days. Your Kindergarten Star is working hard and already showing lots of growth emotionally, socially, and academically. We have really focused on daily routines and class expectations. They are really beginning to show "The Bobcat Roar"...Ready, Responsible, and Respectful. I am proud of each one.
Another area of focus has been fine motor control. We have had mini-lessons on holding a pencil, crayon, scissors, and the use of glue sticks and glue bottles. These mini-lessons are very important as we have begun Animated Literacy and learning to print letters correctly and number writing in math. Any extra help with writing at home would be very beneficial.
We have been focusing on colors, the letters of the alphabet, and friends in our school community. In each of these themes we have been immersed in many rich literature books. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is one of the books we engaged in to learn about colors. With this book the children learned to read color words and retell a story in sequence after creating their own personal retelling rope. They have learned that one way to read a story is to retell the story. Some other activities the children have completed are creating their own rainbow and story starter about what they would do if they had their own rainbow, a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom color book, and finding color words in the room. My favorite was learning our color poems and songs.
In math, the children are learning to build numbers using partners, adding, and writing their numbers. We are also learning attributes of circles, squares, and rectangles. Math talk at home would be helpful for your child.
REMEMER TO HAVE YOUR READING TREASURE BOX READY AS OUR FIRST PAGE...POLLY PANDA HAS COME HOME. PUT IT INTO YOUR READING NOTEBOOK FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
Make-It, Take-It Night is Tuesday, September 24 in the Multi-Purpose Room from 6:00-7:00. All you need to bring is your Reading Treasure Box and Notebook.
Our first book order has arrived. Thanks for your orders. With your orders our class earned 800 bonus points that I used to get new books for our library. :-)
This week we will continue to work on colors through experiments, art, and writing.
I enjoyed meeting all of the Grandparents and special friends on Grandparent's Day. Your Kinders were gracious hosts and hostesses. We had a fun afternoon together.
Thanks for all of your support and donations to our classroom.
Leslie Downing
Another area of focus has been fine motor control. We have had mini-lessons on holding a pencil, crayon, scissors, and the use of glue sticks and glue bottles. These mini-lessons are very important as we have begun Animated Literacy and learning to print letters correctly and number writing in math. Any extra help with writing at home would be very beneficial.
We have been focusing on colors, the letters of the alphabet, and friends in our school community. In each of these themes we have been immersed in many rich literature books. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is one of the books we engaged in to learn about colors. With this book the children learned to read color words and retell a story in sequence after creating their own personal retelling rope. They have learned that one way to read a story is to retell the story. Some other activities the children have completed are creating their own rainbow and story starter about what they would do if they had their own rainbow, a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom color book, and finding color words in the room. My favorite was learning our color poems and songs.
In math, the children are learning to build numbers using partners, adding, and writing their numbers. We are also learning attributes of circles, squares, and rectangles. Math talk at home would be helpful for your child.
REMEMER TO HAVE YOUR READING TREASURE BOX READY AS OUR FIRST PAGE...POLLY PANDA HAS COME HOME. PUT IT INTO YOUR READING NOTEBOOK FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.
Make-It, Take-It Night is Tuesday, September 24 in the Multi-Purpose Room from 6:00-7:00. All you need to bring is your Reading Treasure Box and Notebook.
Our first book order has arrived. Thanks for your orders. With your orders our class earned 800 bonus points that I used to get new books for our library. :-)
This week we will continue to work on colors through experiments, art, and writing.
I enjoyed meeting all of the Grandparents and special friends on Grandparent's Day. Your Kinders were gracious hosts and hostesses. We had a fun afternoon together.
Thanks for all of your support and donations to our classroom.
Leslie Downing
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