Weekly News: Q4W3 March 31- April 4

Hello, Kindergarten Griffins!

We kicked off our week yesterday with reading Little Bear if your child has not brought it in, please make sure to send it in ASAP.  Thank you! 

Looking Ahead: 

For an upcoming money/coin unit, in Math, we are asking that each scholar bring to school 10 pennies, 10 nickels, 10 dimes, and 4 quarters in a Ziploc baggie labeled with their name on it.  We will return the baggie when the unit is completed.  Thank you in advance!  If you have any questions, please ask your classroom teacher. 

Classics to Keep

We're nearing an exciting milestone in Kindergarten as our Literature classes will shift from teacher read-alouds to the student-led reading of some wonderful books!  As we look forward to the start of the 4th Quarter, we will begin reading our first Classic to Keep.  As you purchase these books and prepare to send them in, please help us preserve our class Sense of Wonder as we explore these stories and have the scholars experience them for the first time in class.  We will be sending them home as we finish each book, and we love when the students enjoy them again and again at home.  Stated simply, please do not read the books with your child before we read them in class.  

Below is a list of all 5 books we will read in the upcoming weeks, along with the ISBN.  Please try to purchase the same ISBN as we will be using in class so that all students will have the same page numbers to follow along as we read together.  All books are readily available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, for about $5 each.  

Little Bear                                   978-0064440042
Little Bear’s Visit                        978-0064440233
Mouse Soup                                978-0064440417
Mouse Tales                               978-0064440134
The Grasshopper on the Road    978-0064440943

We began with Little Bear yesterday, March 31st.  It is important that each student have their own copy at school to complete with the readings for Literature class each day.  Please only send in one book at a time and label the book with your child's name (inside cover or on the front- we already have a few lost by the cubbies).  Thank you!

Book order and Dates:

Little Bear- 3/31

Little Bear Visits- 4/14

Mouse Soup- 4/21

Mouse Tales- 5/5

Grasshopper on the Road- 5/12, 5/19

This Week: 

Reading Bags/Check-Ins:

Reading logs still need to be signed and completed each night for homework.  Please make sure that your child brings their reading bags back to school each day in their backpack.  We have started reading with your child one-on-one, and our goal is twice a week per student, however, it varies by week when your child reads with their teacher and how often. Your child will receive a new list or book, as the teacher assess for fluency and comprehension when reading with each scholar. We are having a hard time reading with each student in the morning, due to tardies and late arrivals to school. We are not able to pull students from instruction time during the day for one-on-one reading.  It is very important that your child is at school first thing in the morning and through the end of the day. Thank you!

Library: 

KA/KB - Tuesday

KC/KD - Wednesday

This Week Academics:

Math Skills

• Subtraction
• Write our own subtraction equations and stories using numbers and pictures. 
• Assessment: Subtraction (Friday, 4/4)

Language Arts Skills

• Spalding Phonograms:ti (tall)
• Spelling Words: our, time, may, into, him
• Identify letter names
• Isolating sounds in words
• Identify phonogram sounds
• Identifying rhyming words
• Letter formation/pencil grip, writing phonograms on paper
• Distinguishing upper- and lower-case letters; naming letters
• Identifying rules and markings on spelling words.

Grammar

• Compound Words

Literature

1st Classics to Keep Book:

Little Bear

• Prediction
• Story Elements
• Table of Contents
• Parts of a Book

Core Saying

none

Poetry

April Rain Song

History/Science

• Science:
• Natural Resources
• Renewable and nonrenewable resources

• History:
• Theodore Roosevelt; first president; create portrait
• Theodore Roosevelt; national parks and conservation efforts; named the teddy bear after him; 26th president
• Assessment of the Mount Rushmore Presidents (Thurs. 4/3)

Homework Reminders

• Be sure to read daily for 20 minutes; 100 minutes this week. Reading Logs will be collected next Monday. Please record on the Reading Log page. If you miss a night, please record 0 minutes and initial rather than leaving it blank.
• Spalding handwriting practice. Spalding homework will continue to be in the Written Phonogram and Spelling Word Review format-please read the GH logo homework sheet for instructions.  On Monday-Wednesday scholars write the list of phonograms and words once; on Thursday in preparation for our spelling test the list is written twice.
• Memorize poem by Friday!

Upcoming Assessment

• Science Assessment (Mount Rushmore Presidents) – Thursday, April 3rd
• WPR Assessment – Thursday, April 3rd
• Math Assessment (Subtraction) – Friday, April 4th
• Spelling Assessment – Friday, April 4th

Upcoming Events

• April 4 ~ Early Release
• April 11 ~ Early Release
• April 12 ~ Fiestaval
• April 18 ~ Good Friday Holiday; No School
• April 21 ~ SCHOOL DAY (was previously Easter Monday, but we used bad weather day)
• April 25 ~ Full Day Friday
• April 29 ~ Sea World Field Trip

Have a wonderful week!

Together for our children - The GHNO Kindergarten Teachers