September 16, 2010

Dear Families,

This was another short week! On Monday, your child brought home their “cool-colored” Kindergarten Keepbook Box. Please remember to put them somewhere where your child can access them whenever they want to read. I told the students a good place may be in their room, such as in their closet, on a shelf, or under the bed. We have many mini-books this year, so please keep them altogether!

Here are some highlights for the week:
• Language Arts: We worked on many of the letters this week including N, O, P, and Q. Our handwriting is starting to look better and I am seeing good control on holding the pencil correctly! Many of the students can copy the letters if they have an example, but cannot write it properly on their own. This will be our next step. Keep practicing at home! This week we also read the story, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” and its sequel, “Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3.” We made a coconut tree project using the letters in our name, just like the story!

• Social Studies: Congratulations to Nobuaki, who was chosen as our second Star of the Week! You can read about him in the “Classwork” section of our website, and click under “Star of the Week.” Please remember to take care of Beebear if you take him home for the weekend. He is pretty old, so he needs to be treated gently! Thanks!

• Math: We completed the first unit of our math books, which covered a lot of vocabulary such as before/after, top/middle/bottom, inside/outside, and between. We also should know how to sort by color, shape, or size, and be able to fill out a bar graph. We have also been learning about patterns in the calendar routine, and we are working on AB patterns.

• Computer Lab: This week we started our first project using the software, Kidpix. We are illustrating our September poem called, The Apple Tree. We learned how to open our folders and open our project files. We also learned how to type our name using a capital letter in the beginning. Then we started learning to draw a tree using the rectangle shape tool and paint bucket. Thank you to Shaunak’s mom, Rylee’s mom, Kai-Ting’s mom, Anthony’s mom, and Caroline’s mom for helping in computer lab (which is by far the craziest time because almost every student needs help!) We need all the extra help we can get in the computer lab, so if you are also able to volunteer every Wednesday from 11:40-12:20, please let me know!

• Library: This was our second visit to the library. Mrs. Glass read us a story, and then reviewed the library rules: walking feet, whisper voices, using a shelf marker to find books, putting books away, and reading quietly at the tables. Please begin getting in the habit of reading with or to your child every night, even just a few minutes. We want students to learn to love reading, or at this stage, love to hear stories, look at pictures, and think about what’s happening in the story. We will begin checking out books next week, so homework will include the reading journals as well as the regular weekly packets. Please return the homework envelope and book every Friday!

• Music: We saw Ms. Disney again on Thursday. We sang animal songs this week. She even had enough stuffed animals for us to choose from, and we identified the animals that could walk vs. fly vs. swim vs. hop, etc. In music, we are trying to remember when it is ok to be silly and when it is time to be quiet. Thank you to the volunteers who came this week: Shaunak’s mom, Kai-Ting’s mom, Rylee’s mom, and Vivian’s mom.

• Assembly: On Wednesday, we had a special assembly for just our class from Officer Pete and Deputy Dane. Both of them came into our classroom to talk to us about strangers. We learned how to know a good stranger (such as a teacher at Eaton you might not know) vs. a bad stranger (someone dangerous), and they taught us not to talk to strangers. We also learned what to do if a stranger tries to talk to us! Also, Officer Pete showed us all the equipment he carries on his belt, including a gun. He told us that guns are very dangerous and that is why we do not even pretend to shoot a gun. There is NO pretend fighting or shooting at Eaton school because we want to be safe and be friendly to each other.

• Homework: This week we started our weekly homework packets. Remember to check your child’s work and explain anything they have made mistakes on. You can return these at the end of each week (usually Friday).

Theresa (Jon’s mother) has set up a google group for parents. If you haven’t already, please remember to join the group so you can stay connected with our class information! Have a great long weekend!