SANTA AT THE BANK:

 We will be visiting Santa at the bank on Friday, December 6th.  A permission form will come home with your child this afternoon. 

HOMEWORK:
Your child will bring home at least one book per week to practice. These are simple, one page, front and back, paper books that should be practiced nightly. The books emphasize our weekly sight words and help your child become more familiar with them. So far, our sight words have been I, AM, THE, LITTLE, TO, A, HAVE, IS, WE, MY, LIKE, HE and FOR.

NOUNS!
We have been busy learning about nouns.  Ask you child to tell you what a noun is and to give you examples.  Check out this fun youtube video to reinforce the skill. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcXy6_Mqe54

NAME WRITING:
Please work with your child on writing his/her first and last name with a capital letter at the beginning and the rest of the letters lowercase. We use the Handwriting without Tears method for writing our letters. This teaches them to always start their letters at the top and gives catchy rhymes to help the students remember how to properly form each letter. This method helps the students develop neat handwriting. Earlier in the school year I sent home a form that gave directions on how to form each letter and number following the Handwriting without Tears format. Please reference that form when working with your child. Thanks for your help and enjoy your time as you help your child! Handwriting takes a lot of patience with little kids! Good luck!

TOM THE TURKEY!
Wow! You guys created some wonderful disguises for our turkeys. I will post pictures of them at the end of this month. Thank you for your hard work. The kids would stand in the hallway and stare at them forever if I would let them. :) They don't seem to get tired of the creative outfits the turkeys are wearing.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS:
Orders are due in class or online by Friday, November 8th.

Online Ordering Information
Web address: http://www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GQVPR

Remember, Christmas is coming soon! If your entire order or only part of your order is for a Christmas gift, please write me a note.  I will contact you when the order arrives, and we can set up a time to meet so that your child does not see the gift.    

 

READING INFORMATION:

The "Family Times" you receive tells you exactly what we are doing in reading each week. Please read over the information and review the material with your child frequently. If your child is not mastering the material stated on the Family Times, continue to practice it more frequently until it is mastered.  Don't forget to practice the simple paper book too.  Those books use our weekly sight words, which are familiar to the boys and girls because we practice those words in class. 

SECRET WORD:
Have your child use the word "like" in a sentence three times and send it to school for a special treat.  Be on the look-out for new "secret words."  They will usually be sight words that your child has been working on in class.   

 RED RIBBON WEEK:

Monday, October 28th- “Put a Cap on Drugs” (Wear a hat)

Tuesday, October 29th– “Put Drugs to Rest” (PJ Day)

Wednesday, October 30th– “Drugs are Double Trouble” (Twin Day-dress the same as a friend)

Thursday, October 31st– “Drug Free Rocks” (Dress like a rock star)

Friday, November 1st– “Red Ribbon Day”( Wear red)

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES...

are this Thursday afternoon.  I hope to see you there!!!  Also, don't forget the students are out of school this Friday the 25th.

FALL PARTY AND HALLOWEEN INFO:
Costumes are not allowed at school on Halloween day or Fall Party day.  Thank you for your help. 

LUNCH AND BREAKFAST:

School Meals:

Breakfast is served from 7:45-8:10 each morning. You may pay lunch/breakfast money in advance (often times parents send in a check/cash for larger amounts such as $20 or $30). Our computer program will keep track of how much money you have paid and how much has been used by your child as each meal is charged. When you send money to school, please put the money in an envelope and label it as follows:

"LUNCH MONEY"

CHILD'S NAME

TEACHER'S NAME

AMOUNT

Brought Lunch:

If your child brings his/her lunch, please send food your child can open and prepare independently. Also, soda is not allowed in the cafeteria.

 

Learning about Animals is FUN

We have had a great time learning about animals during science.  Over the past few weeks we have talked about what animals need to live and the different characteristics of insects and reptiles. We discussed how an animal needs food, water, air and a shelter to live.  

The insects and reptiles were so fun and interesting to discuss.  The kids have learned that an insect has three body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen.  They also know that an insect has six legs and wings.  We have discussed how some reptiles have claws (lizard)  while others don't even have legs (snake).  The kids thought it was so neat how the snake's and lizard's skin colors help them blend into their environment.   

POSITIVE REWARDS  

When students are “caught being good,” they will receive verbal praises and may earn Sparkle on their behavior log. Some additional rewards are listed below.

Sticker Chart

Each time a student is recognized for a positive behavior, s/he will get to place a sticker on his/her individual sticker chart. Once all spots on the chart have been covered with stickers, the student will turn in the completed chart and receive a prize from the prize box.

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Whenever the entire class is recognized for a positive behavior, they receive a body part for a potato head.  Once both are completed, the class receives a popsicle party. 

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
Conferences are October 24th, between 1-7 pm.  You received a sign-up sheet already.  At this fall conference, we will review your child's progress and discuss ways you can help your child in kindergarten.  You will also receive your child's report card. 

Spirit Day

Every FRIDAY is “Spirit Day.” Please dress your child in Bernie Blue or a Bernie spirit shirt. If our classroom has the highest percentage of students wearing Bernie Blue, we receive the Spirit Stick for that week! Our kids really want to win that Spirit Stick!!! So, wear your Bernie Blue tomorrow!

SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDER:

Book orders are due online or in class by Friday, October 4th. 

BERNIE FALL FEST:
The Fall Fest is this Saturday!  The parade begins at 10 am.   I am sure it will be a fun time for your kids! 

Practice Makes Perfect

Please be practicing the basic skills to putting on a jacket; specifically, taking off a jacket without pulling the arms inside out, getting the jacket on, and zipping it. This will minimize the time it takes for our class to get to outside activities and lunch, and will lessen the frustration some of the kids have as they struggle with their jackets.

Also as you have time, please work on tying shoes. I will continue to assist the students in putting on their jackets and tying their shoes, but I also want to help them gain their independence. We will continue to practice these skills in class, but your assistance is always appreciated as you help your child master the skills they are learning in kindergarten.

SKILLS TO PRACTICE:

• Cutting


• Tracing


• Coloring in the Lines


• Holding a Pencil Correctly


• Writing Name (one capital and the rest lowercase)


• Recognizing and Naming the Letters


• Recognizing and Naming the Numbers 1-20


• Counting to 100

KINDERGARTEN T-SHIRT ORDERS:
All orders are due by Thursday, September 19th. 

SCIENCE:

Ask your child what we have been learning about in science.  It seems to be everyone's favorite subject in kindergarten! :)

Our first science unit is "Plants." To give you a general overview, they have learned the basic parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaf, flower), what plants need to live (air, water, sun, soil), and that we can eat plants (fruits and vegis). 

When we are outside, the boys and girls are always finding weeds to pull up and discover their parts.  During many of our lunches, the kids realize they are eating plants (corn, beans, etc) and sometimes get to eat roots (carrots and potatoes)! It is so neat to see them apply our lessons in class to the real world. 

MATH IN FOCUS:

 

Your kindergartener is participating in a new math program titled "Math in Focus."  This is new for the students here at Bernie and is replacing our past Saxon Math program. 

 

Math in Focus is set up quite a bit differently than our past Saxon program.  Your child will not bring home a nightly worksheet from that day’s lesson.  Instead, we have math workbooks.  My goal is to send home a packet of completed workbook pages at the completion of each chapter.  Last week you received your child's chapter one packet.  We will finish chapter two this week, and once I get a chance to cut out the pages and review them with the students, I will send home the chapter two packet.  Be looking for it in your child's blue folder at the end of this week or the beginning of next week.  

It is important that you review the pages with your child--"quiz" him/her with similar questions and have him/her practice writing the numerals we have been working on in class.  This helps reinforce what we have been learning and helps your child advance in math.   

 

Handwriting Without Tears

Our school uses a handwriting program called “Handwriting Without Tears.” This program helps your child learn how to properly form individual letters so s/he will have neat handwriting. I ask that you please be patient with your child as he is learning how to write properly. Over the next few weeks, please work with your child on pencil grip, placing the paper properly, and doing hand exercises (to strengthen the muscles in the hands). Please reference the sheets from my teacher’s guide that were sent home a few weeks ago regarding ways to practice handwriting.

Birthday and Holiday Parties  

You may send snacks for your child’s birthday and holidays, but they must be in a commercialized, sealed package. Please let me know when you will be sending birthday treats, and I will give you the current number of students in the classroom. Details about food for holiday parties will be given closer to times.