Week of September 26 - 30

Dear Parents,

Last week was all about the letters E and F. We learned about words that started with each letter (eagle, elephant, flock, and fresh). We also learned about the numbers 1, 2, and 3 by practicing the different ways we can write them.

Our literature revolved around our letters and we did art projects to remind us about what we read. Be sure to see our Flashing Fire Trucks on the bulletin board in the school’s front entryway! We also followed directions and made a Robot (that’s posted up front, too).

Because we learned the letter E, we were able to sound out something new and built the word... BED! 

This week, we are going to revisit some of the things we’ve learned in the last 4 weeks of school:

1. Phonics - Review letters A-F

• Sound out the letters and practice writing new words with good penmanship

2. Math - Review numbers 1-5

• Add and subtract a group of objects to find the number we want

3. Language Arts - Reading/Art

• Read books that remind us of the letters we’ve learned (Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, Dirt Boy by Erik Jon Slangerup, First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, etc.)
• Art projects that coincide with the concepts in each book

4. Visual/Performing Arts - Movement Journal

• We are going to start making a journal based on music. On each page, we will draw how music we listen to makes us feel

Special Project - Due September 30

September 30th marks the due date for our first big project: the Ya Ya Box. Please email me or come by the classroom if you have any questions.  Invitations will go out on Monday - Parents are invited to come and participate in the “unveiling,” on Friday at 2:00 p.m.

As Always...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me, stop by the classroom, talk to Ms. Diane, or leave a comment on our blog.  Please become a “follower” of our blog and “like” our school’s Facebook page, if you haven’t already done so.

On Fridays, please return only your child’s completed homework in the brown clasp envelope. Please return the Book Worm Bag on Mondays.

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Stuhr

Picture Day - Thursday, September 22nd

Just a reminder - Picture Day is tomorrow, Thursday, at 10:30 a.m.

Week of September 19 - 23

Dear Parents,

Last week was all about the letters C and D. We learned about words that started with each letter (crab, cool, dragon, and desk). We also learned about the number 5. We collected 5 objects from outside so that we could see just what it looks like. 

Our literature last week revolved around our letters and then we did art projects to remind us about what we read. Come see our clouds we made - they are hanging in our classroom window.

We also did something very exciting at the end of the week... now that we’ve learned the letters A, B, C, and D, we were able to put a few of them together and build a word! We put three letters together to sound out the word “BAD.” It was very cool!

This week, we are going to explore some new ideas:

1. Phonics - Letter “E” and F”

• Learning new words that start with each letter
• “E” and “F” for our alphabet book
• Practicing good penmanship

2. Math - Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4

• Practice writing 
• Discovering the number line and the difference between each number
• Discussing what makes the numbers before 5 special

3. Language Arts - Reading/Art

• Reading books with “E” and “F” (The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop and Kurt Wiese, An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long, Flashing Fire Engines by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker, etc.)
• Art projects that coincide with the concepts in each book

4. Visual/Performing Arts - Movement Journal

• This week we are going to start making a journal based on music. On each page, we will draw how music we listen to makes us feel

Special Project - Due September 30

September 30th marks the due date for our first big project: the Ya Ya Box. Please email me or come by the classroom if you have any questions.  I will send out invitations next week for parents to join us for the class presentations.

On Fridays, please return only your child’s completed homework in the brown clasp envelope. Please return the Book Worm Bag on Mondays.

As Always...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me, stop by the classroom, talk to Ms. Diane, or leave a comment on our blog.  Also, if you haven’t already done so, please become a “follower” of our blog and “like” our school’s Facebook page.  

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Stuhr

Week of September 12 - 16

Dear Parents,

Last week was all about the letter “B” - we reviewed how to write the letter and talked about all the words that begin with it. We paid special attention to butterflies by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and talking about how that little bug becomes a beautiful butterfly. We learned about the life-cycle of a butterfly and made scientific observations of a caterpillar and butterfly’s environment. I hope you enjoyed hearing about the noodle and pipe-cleaner art projects your child brought home (we had a lot of fun making them!).

This week, we have three main ideas we are going to explore:  

1. Phonics - Letter “C” and “D”

• Writing with good penmanship
• “C” and “D” page for our alphabet book
• Discussing things that start with “C” and “D”

2. Math - Number “5”

• Practice writing “5”
• Finding 5 objects
• (This week’s math will experiment with sorting and matching)

3. Language Arts - Reading/Art

• Reading books with “C” and “D” (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Harry the Dirty Dog, etc.)
• Art projects that coincide with the concepts in each book

On Fridays, please return only your child’s completed homework in the brown clasp envelope. Please return the Book Worm Bag on Mondays.

As Always...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me, stop by the classroom, talk to Ms. Diane, or leave a comment on our blog.  Also, if you haven’t already done so, please become a “follower” of our blog and “like” our school’s Facebook page.  

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Stuhr

Our Classroom Rules (as discussed today in class)

In terms of classroom conduct, the main ideas we will explore this year are 

being responsible for your actions, 

making good choices, 

and following a series of directions.  

My motto: If we follow the directions, we can have fun.

I began the school year by introducing a model for the students to follow when I have directions to give.  This is a “quiet signal” to help get their attention. When the students hear me say, “Can I get a High-Five?” this means: 

1. Eyes on the teacher, 

2. Ears listening, 

3. Mouths closed, 

4. Feet quiet, 

and 5. Hands still. 

Making good choices and following directions always results in something positive. There are three ways I reward good behavior in our classroom: 

1. Stickers to feed our tree pet, Warren Fuzzy (just something fun to keep the kids guessing!); 

2. Good Behavior/Good Work Awards (awards are available daily and a prize drawing is every Friday); 

and 3. Super Points for our Super Word Wall (each day, a “Super” goal is set to be met by the entire class by the end of the day. If the entire class, for instance, was “Super Polite” for the day, a letter will be revealed on the Super Word wall. The letters spell a sentence, revealing a class prize).  

If, unfortunately, a child is having a rough day and not making good choices, I feel its important to give that child an opportunity to make a better decision for him/herself. We have a “Time to Think” chair in our room for just this.  This is how it works:  each child is given two warnings when poor choices are being made.  If a third warning is reached, I ask him/her to spend two minutes in the thinking chair to make a decision: Do you want to stay in the classroom or do you want to leave?  If they want to stay, the child is given the opportunity to start the day anew (as simple as reentering the classroom on a clean slate).  If they child wants to leave, he/she will leave the classroom to talk to Ms. Diane.  Hey, some days are just terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days... Knowing this, each child is given two chances in the “Time to Think” chair each day.

Lastly, I have a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for bullying (i.e. hitting, spitting, name-calling, etc.). If a child hits another student, he/she is sent to the office. Period. Also, I do not accept a simple “I’m Sorry” for bullying behavior.  This year, we are going to pay special attention to “I feel” statements to work out our problems.  I will help the students “talk it out” and make sure they end by “hugging it out, too.”  Everyone should feel loved in our classroom!

From the bottom of my heart... the only place I want your child to be is in our classroom.  I can honestly say - our classroom is a better place with your child in it.  Each of us our worthy of an education and the love and respect that comes from being in a safe, productive classroom. 

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this policy, please do not hesitate to email me, stop by the classroom, or talk to Ms. Diane.

Thanks for your help reinforcing our behavior models for the school year,

Mrs. Stuhr

Week of September 6-9

Dear Parents,

Last week was a wonderful start to our school year (earthquake and all)! We had a lot of fun talking about things that start with the letter “A” and we started an alphabet book that will go home when we reach the letter “Z.”  We also talked about objects that look like circles and we even went on a “field trip” to find things outside that were shaped like circles. We reviewed our numbers, 1-10, and manipulated them with hands-on activities, including making a train and coloring by numbers (a fun challenge!).  At the end of the week, we drew and painted our self portraits (they are now hanging in the front hallway of school.  We will revisit this project at the end of the year to see how much we’ve grown and changed).

This week, we have three main ideas we are going to explore:  

1. Phonics - Letter “B”

• Writing with good penmanship
• “B” page for our alphabet book
• Discussing things that start with “B”

1. Science - Butterflies

• Discussing life-cycle and habitat
• Three art projects to illustrate the life-cycle and habitat
• Compare/contrast the life of a butterfly and caterpillar

1. Math - Counting Numbers and Shapes

• Counting exercises with objects in and outside our classroom
• Drawing triangles and counting them around our school
• (This week’s math will experiment with our teamwork and memory skills)

Homework & Completed Classwork

On Tuesday, your child will bring home this week’s homework and last week’s homework (“graded” with stickers). Great work, everyone, on turning in homework and reading with your child. Thank you for your immediate participation in the Kindergarten year. It means a lot to me, and so much more to your brilliant scholar!

Completed work we’ve done in class will go home either at the end of the week or at the beginning of the new week with the homework packet (as is the case this week, 9/6). 

The Book Worm Bag is not, so to say, homework. It’s simply an activity to do with your child over the weekend. I hope you enjoyed your book and link worksheet this past weekend. I think it will be fun to share these books over the year...

On Fridays, please return only your child’s completed homework in the brown clasp envelope. Please return the Book Worm Bag on Mondays.

Special Project - Due September 30

As you saw in last week’s homework packet, September 30th marks the due date for our first big project in class: the Ya Ya Box. Please email me or come by the classroom if you have any questions.  I’ll send out a reminder the week before its due.

Volunteering

Thank you, as well, for those who’ve returned Volunteer Forms. I will be compiling a list of activities and the Phone Tree at the end of September.  If you haven’t already done so, please try and return the form no later than September 30th.

P.S.

It appears I’ve created a color code for this blog. So, for quick reference, here is the breakdown:

Language Arts - Phonics/Spelling (purple)

Mathematics (green)

Language Arts - Reading & Writing (yellow)

Visual/Performing Arts (orange)

Science & Social Studies (blue)

Important Information (red)

As Always...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me, stop by the classroom, talk to Ms. Diane, or leave a comment on our blog.  Also, if you haven’t already done so, please become a “follower” of our blog and “like” our school’s Facebook page.  

As I knew it would be, it is an absolute pleasure to have your children in class. A lot of rules and procedures are different for them, but the changes have been fun. It is a joy to watch their excitement with each new thing we do...

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Stuhr

Book Worm Bag

Parents,

Please remember to look in your child's backpack this weekend for the Book Worm Bag envelope.

In it you will find a book, a library check-out card (stapled to the inside front cover), and a School-Home Links worksheet.

Please complete the worksheet, read the book with your child, and put your child's name on the check-out card (so that we can follow the path of the book through the year).

Book Worm Bags are due back at school Monday.
(of course in the case of this holiday weekend, on Tuesday)

Have a great long, deserved weekend!

Mrs. Stuhr