February 2012 Calendar

February 2012 Calendar -

We planted seeds today!

We're learning how things grow this week--the necessities for growth and development, the roles of the various parts of a plant, and the importance of plants in the lives of humans and animals.  We planted our own grass seed today--here is what it looks like on Day One.  

Newsletter for the Week of January 30 - February 3, 2012

Newsletter for January 30 - February 3_ 2012 -

Unit 3, Week 5 - Seeds

     This week our Focus Story will be Seeds, written and illustrated by Ken Robbins.  This book explores a variety of different seeds, how they're dispersed, and the plants/trees that they become through real-life, detailed photographs.  The author also touches on the importance of each of these plants to animals and people, as well.
      Our Target Skill this week will be learning to draw conclusions.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, recalling information, and comparing and contrasting this week.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letter Oo to its phoneme--/o/.

Amazing Words:  seeds, pod, roots, stem, pit, sprouts

High-Frequency Words:  they, you, of  (Please continue to practice ALL of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter:  Oo


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

Funny Feet Day on Friday

Friday was Funny Feet day in our classroom to wrap up our study of the letter Ff--we got to wear slippers or funny socks all day in the classroom!

The kiddos who participated!

Ms. Batte's Funny Feet--sadly, the students no longer recognize this particular cartoon character.  *Sigh*

Rice Krispie Fish for Ff Week

Labeling the parts of a fish for Ff Week....on fish-shaped Rice Krispies! :-)

Newsletter for the Week of January 23 - 27, 2012

Newsletter for January 23 - 27_ 2012 -

Unit 3, Week 4 - Farfallina and Marcel

      This week our Focus Story will be Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller.  This is the tale of the unlikely friendship between a caterpillar (Farfallina) and a goose (Marcel).  Suddenly, Farfallina disappears for a long time and reemerges as a butterfly.  Will the two friends be able to find and recognize each other again?
     Our Target Skill this week will be learning to identify the plot of a story.  We will also continue to practice character identification, making predictions and retelling a story.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letter Ff to its phoneme--/f/.


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

High-Frequency Words:  see, look  (Please continue to practice all of our Popcorn Words at home!)

Letter: Ff


Thank you to www.nwf.org  for the cover image!

100th Day of School!

     Today was the 100th Day of the school year for our Kindergarteners!  The time has been flying by!  In honor of this special day, we hosted a 100th Day rotation with special activities held in each classroom.  Mrs. Holmes sent the kiddos on a scavenger hunt for 100 Hershey's Kisses, Mrs. Brown helped them create a portrait of themselves at 100 years old, Mrs. Shartzer read Dr. Seuss's You're Only Old Once and helped them use adjectives to describe themselves at 100 years old, and Ms. Batte helped the students create a 100th Day snack mix containing 100 items.  The kiddos had a blast!

Mrs. Shartzer reading You're Only Old Once

Look What We Made Today in Math...

     Don't forget to ask your child about their new Math Group and what they are learning each day in these groups!  The students are really loving the rotation!  Yesterday in Ms. Batte's Math Group (Group 4) we began discussing 3-D shapes and even made our own cube out of toothpicks and sour gummies.  We also learned about cones and spheres and discussed/looked at some everyday objects that are these shapes.

Super Reading Bowl - Tomorrow Night!

     Don't forget that tomorrow night, January 19th, our Title I program will be hosting the Super Reading Bowl from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m!  This will be a fun Family Reading Night during which you, as parents, will have the opportunity to learn how to access reading technology at home, how to challenge your advanced readers, and learn more about bettering your child's comprehension, fluency, and test scores, among other things.  There will be games, snacks, and prizes given away to those who attend!

Newsletter for the Week of January 16 - 20, 2012

Newsletter for January 16 - 20_ 2012 -

Unit 3, Week 3 - See How We Grow

     This week our Focus Story will be See How We Grow, by Katacha Diaz.  We will follow a set of twin girls throughout this story as we discuss how children grow and change from the newborn stage to Kindergarteners.
     Our Target Skill this week will be determining the cause and effect of certain events.  We will also continue to practice making predictions and retelling a story, as well as comparing and contrasting.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letters Dd and Kk to their phonemes--/d/ and /k/--respectively.



Amazing Words:  twins, newborn, crawl, walk, children, babies

High-Frequency Words:  see, look (Please continue to practice all of our Popcorn Words at home, as well!)

Letters:  Dd and Kk


Thank you to http://mrsdowda.web.officelive.com/reading.aspx for the cover image!

Newsletter for the Week of January 9 - 13, 2012

Newsletter for January 9 - 13_ 2012 -

Unit 3, Week 2 - Little Quack

    This week our Focus Story will be Little Quack, written by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Derek Anderson.  This story is about a family of growing ducklings who must find the courage to leave the nest.  Little Quack's four brothers and sisters are brave enough to follow Mama to the pond--will Little Quack be brave as well?
     Our Target Skill will be plot identification.  We will also continue to practice retelling a story, as well as distinguishing the difference between realism and fantasy.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letter 'Rr' to its phoneme--/r/.



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

High-Frequency Words:  Review 'me', 'with', and 'she'.  (Please continue to practice all of our Popcorn Words at home as well!)

Letter:  Rr


Thank you to http://books.simonandschuster.com for the cover image!

Cream Cheese and Ritz Cracker Snowmen for Winter Unit

Here are some pictures of the cream cheese and Ritz cracker snowmen that we made to go along with our snow/winter unit for this abbreviated review week.