Newsletter for the Week of September 12 - 16, 2011

Newsletter for the week of September 12 - 16, 2011 -

Unit 1, Week 2 - Fix-It Duck

     This week our focus story will be Fix-It Duck by Jez Alborough.  In this fun story, the main character, Duck, thinks that his roof is leaking and, on a whim, elects himself the repairman.  He enlists the help of his friends (Sheep, Goat and Frog), and, along the way, discovers more things that seem to need fixing.  However, instead of repairing anything, Duck only seems to cause havoc and quite a bit of damage to Sheep's home.
     Our Comprehension Skill this week will be identifying and describing the setting of the story.  We will also be reviewing what we've learned about characters as well.   In addition, our Phonics skill this week will be a focus on identifying the number of syllables in a word.

Amazing Words: repair, leak, puddles, steep, ladder, shed

High-Frequency Words: I, am

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


Thank you to www.jezalborough.com for the cover image!

Kiddos at Work

Spelling our names in Play-doh!



Newsletter for the Week of September 5 - 9, 2011

Here is the newsletter for our short 3-day school week!
Newsletter for September 5 -9, 2011 -

Scholastic Book Orders

Parents -
     Just a reminder that the Scholastic book orders are due Friday, September 2nd.  These were attached to the packets you received at Open House. The packets were sent home in your child's Take-Home folder the following day if you weren't able to attend.
      If you are sending an order to school with your child, please do not send in cash--Scholastic accepts CHECKS ONLY if ordering through the mail.  Please make your check out to "Scholastic".  However, if you choose to order online, you will also have to opportunity to pay with a credit or debit card.

Here are the steps to order online, if you would like to do so:
1.  Go to http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/index.jsp.
2.  Find the "Parents" tab at the top of the webpage and put your cursor on it.
3.  A drop-down menu will appear.  On the right side of this menu, under "Quick Links", find and click on "Book Club Orders".
4.  The first time that you place an order, you will have to register with Scholastic and create a user name and a password (the box on the right hand side of the page).  It will also ask you for a 5-digit code from your child's teacher.  Our code is HNKM3.
5.  Once you have created your account, Scholastic will guide you through the remainder of the process with step-by-step instructions.

From the classroom perspective, some of the benefits for ordering from Scholastic are that, with every order placed, our class earns bonus points that I will be able to redeem for books, manipulatives, and other materials.  Also, with every ONLINE order placed, we receive an additional $3 to spend on our classroom.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Thank you and have a wonderful Wednesday! 

 Ms. Batte

Unit 1, Week 1 - The Little School Bus

     This week our focus story will be The Little School Bus by Carol Roth, illustrated by Pamela Paperone. This book is about a group of animals boarding a bus to head to school for the very first time.
     Our Comprehension Skill this week will be identifying and describing the characters in the story. Other skills that we will also focus on include repetition, rhyming, and ordinal numbers (which character climbs aboard the bus first, second, third, etc.).
 
     Amazing Words (vocabulary): first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth

     High Frequency Words: I, am

     Letter Recognition:  Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee


Thank you to www.betterworldbooks.com for the book cover image.

September Calendar

September Calendar 2011 -

"Green Day" Pictures

Fun pictures from "Green Day" on Wednesday--we mixed green icing together and decorated sugar cookies for our "green" treat.  

Our First Class Picture

Our first class picture, taken on our first full day of school (8/22/11) right before recess!  Can you tell that they are anxious to go play?  

Newsletter for the Week of August 29 - September 2, 2011

It was wonderful getting to see/meet those of you that were able to make it to our Open House last night!  Here is a copy of our newsletter for next week--a hard copy will also be placed in your child's Take-Home folder today.  
Newsletter for August 29 - September 2, 2011 -

Open House Night!

Parents-
     Don't forget that tonight is Open House for grades K -2, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.!  Our program will begin in the gym at 6:30, where Ms. Turner has some important announcements to make.  After introducing the teachers, she will dismiss them (us) to their (our) classrooms.   You will then be welcomed into our classroom where I will go over everything from homework and behavior to how to understand the Kindergarten Report Card .  I would also love to field any questions that you may have pertaining to your child and their school year thus far, or concerning school matters in general.   You will have the opportunity to taste test the cookies that we will begin selling next Tuesday (there will be a table set up in the hallway), as well.  I'm looking forward to seeing/meeting you tonight! 

Thank you for everything that you do!

Ms. Batte

Daddy-Daughter Date Night!

This just sounds too cute and would be an excellent opportunity for some family bonding time!  


The Chik-fil-A in Gallatin (at the edge of the Wal-Mart parking lot) is hosting a Daddy-Daughter Date night this Saturday, August 20, from 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.  The cost per couple is $15 (with an extra $7.50 for each additional child) and will include dinner, a carriage ride (weather permitting), music, and table service.  Daddies and daughters are encouraged to wear Sunday attire.  Early reservations are also encouraged as I'm sure this event is quite popular--reserved seating is available for 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, and 7:00 p.m.  Contact the Chik-fil-A of Gallatin at (615) 230-1945 to reserve your table.  

Fun and Free Family Time!

           

     Lowe's and Home Depot both hold FREE classes for kids on Saturdays each month!  In these classes, children are given the opportunity and materials to build various wooden crafts.  The crafts come with detailed instructions (including pictures), but attendants will be walking around to assist if needed.  
      Lowe's holds their classes on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month at 10:00 a.m..  They provide free craft kits, aprons, and safety goggles for the first 50 children who sign up for each class.  All necessary tools and hardware for each craft will be provided for you and your child to use.  Once your child has completed the craft, an attendant will give them a certificate of achievement and a patch to sew onto their apron!  Lowe's requires that you register online (www.lowesbuildandgrow.com) beforehand.  The next class is this upcoming Saturday--August 13th.  The children will be building a Schoolhouse Picture Holder!  
     Home Depot holds their Kids Workshops on the 1st Saturday of each month; you and your child can come in anytime from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to complete the craft of the month.  No prior registration is necessary.  Home Depot also provides each participant with a craft kit and an apron for them to wear and keep, as well as the necessary tools and hardware for each craft.  Upon completion, your child will receive a cool pin to pin onto his/her apron!  Visit www.homedepot.com and search for "Kids Workshops" to see what the next craft will be!  
     This is just one idea for some fun and free family time with your child that provides multiple opportunities for learning, as well as enhancing their fine motor skills!  I will be posting more ideas as I come across them!


{Thank you to http://geekettebits.com and www.muscogeemoms.com for the images!)

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

A few words of advice from the good Dr. Seuss for the first day of Kindergarten...


"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose."


--Oh, the Places You'll Go!

{Thank you to www.alinkamalinka.com for the image!}

Newsletter for the Week of August 15 - 19, 2011

This is the newsletter that will be handed out the second week of our Phase-In process in preparation for the following week, our first full week of Kindergarten!  

Newsletter for the Week of August 15-19, 2011-2 -

Classroom Wish List

Listed below are items on our classroom "Wish List".  Please do not feel the need to go out and buy brand new items--some of these items you may already have at home.   Any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you for all that you do!  

• Art supplies (wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners, pom poms, paintbrushes, etc.)
• new or used tennis balls
• Command 3M plastic removable hooks (various sizes)
• stickers
• sticky-back Velcro (tape or circles)
• blocks (Legos, Duplos, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, Trios, wooden blocks, etc.--new or used!)
• colored copy paper and cardstock
• magnetic tape
• HP 21 black printer ink refills/cartridges *
• HP 22 color printer ink refills/cartridges *
• Puzzles (24 - 50 pieces--new or used!)
• gift bags (used bags will work great, as long as they're in decent shape!)
• educational games/toys suitable for 5-6 year old children (new or used!)
• Label maker and label tape
• Air Wick Plug-Ins air fresheners
• volunteers to help in the classroom and with parties 

*  I have two black cartridges and one color cartridge that are empty in the classroom that could be refilled--I know that places such as Staples will refill used cartridges for cheaper than it costs to buy a new one.  If you would like to refill one of these cartridges for our classroom, just let me know and I'll provide you with the empty one!  Thanks again!  

August Calendar

Here is the calendar for the month of August as of now!  Click on "Full Screen" to view a larger, easier to read version!

August Calendar -

Welcome!

Our Classroom!

     Hello and welcome to Ms. Batte's Kindergarten class at Watt Hardison Elementary, Portland, TN! Go Panthers!! On this site you have access to everything from our newsletter to pictures of classroom activities, field trips and various other activities. You can also find a calendar of upcoming events and download and print any form that is sent home in case one is misplaced. Thank you for taking the time to visit our class site and please come again!

      If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me at jennifer.batte@sumnerschools.org and I will be happy to help in any way that I can!