Paint, Glitter, and Glue ...Oh My!

Hoping the weather this past week did not impact you or your property too badly.  We have had some wild weather the last two weeks.  

This week we enjoyed some activities to celebrate the coming of winter!  I hope the snowperson that your child brought home wasn't too overwhelming in size, having a small class this year I had to try this project!  A big thank you to my brother for the supply of wood, my son for helping me cut the measured pieces, and Mrs. Neeson who helped add some finishing touches.  We were very impressed with the towels she found and made into hats! Mrs. Neeson used to be an art and reading teacher in our district.  I welcome her creativity and fun spirit whenever she is willing!

I hope you all have a peaceful break.  May the new season and new year bring you light and joy!

Don't forget to practice your letters and counting, and play outside!

*Current high-frequency words: a, I, like, and, is, the

 Greetings,

Beginning the week with heaps of snow filled our week with endless snow fun! We explored the science of snow a bit further.  It is fascinating to think about how different temperatures bring different shaped snow crystals.  During ECO, we had a puppet show about snowflakes and how they are formed.  Kindergartners had a blast collecting snowflakes as they fell.  The weather was perfect for this lesson as we became covered in snow!

This week in Literacy, we practiced two new heart words like and a, and added them to our writing to make an I like... pattern book. Students are beginning to understand what a sentence can look like in their writing. They also explored new letter games during our station time, enjoyed reading independently, and wrote in snow and shaving cream. 

 ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄

This week we have been working hard continuing our letter sound practice. Many students are beginning to tap out constant vowel constant (CVC) words. It is such a magical time in Kindergarten when many of the pieces begin to come together for students.  We are now up to 5 high-frequency words and are starting to recognize them in our morning message.  High-frequency words:  I, A, and, the, is.

In writing students are continuing to write about something that interests them and are trying to add as many details as they can along with labels. We have also begun to practice our handwriting.  We are currently practicing frog jump capitals. 

Here is an example 

In Math, we have been enjoying shape games, number, and counting practice.  We are discovering that many shapes can be connected to make new shapes!

In ECO we began to talk about snow.  We learned about the famous Snowflake Bentley and his passion for snowflakes.  Many students enjoyed drawing 6 sided snowflakes in the snow with paint.  This study of snow connects to our year-long study of weather, shapes, and since snow is part of our daily life in VT for about 5 months of the year it seems very relevant!

 

Many animals have disappeared but for those remaining active, we see their busy tracks in the snow. The snow was fun to play in this week for all students.  Our ECO day on Wednesday was pretty chilly but these  VT kiddos handled it well! We explored a scenario about a place where a highway was built in a busy animal crossing area.   Students came up with ideas of bridges and tunnels to help the animals stay safe.  Students were very insightful and came up with ideas that engineers have come up with! 

Report Cards

Report cards will be sent home this week.  Please read over the report and then sign and return the envelope to be used for the next trimester. Most of the assessments were done at the beginning of November in order to have enough time to complete them for all students before November break. I've already noticed students are recognizing more letters, sounds, words, and numbers. It's amazing how much growth happens in a short period of time!

Class Picture

Please let me know if you did not receive a class photo.  I still have a couple left.