Posted by jstutz1 | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on October 19, 2019
10/14 – 10/18
Pumpkins in Disguise! Thank you for helping your Kinder disguise their pumpkins! Our bulletin board is a favorite among our whole class! Finding their own pumpkin and celebrating others. We even have a sibling’s extra pumpkin hiding in our patch. I love that this 6th grader wanted to join in on an activity that he did in my Kindergarten class along with his Kindergarten sister! Once a Kinder, ALWAYS a Kinder!!
Popcorn Words: stop, go, yes, no
Color Words: Black & White. The Kinders made some adorable panda bears using our colors of the week. They also added to their blue pencil boxes tools with more crayons that included a white crayon! This was very exciting for them! New tools are soooo exciting!!
Mr. Corey: We are so lucky to have a college volunteer that visits our classroom! Corey Baker is a college student, studying education. When Mr. Corey (as the Kinders call him) joins us he is a huge help interacting with the Kinders. Helping them stay on task, complete tasks and the favorite part for Kinders gets to play too! Thank you for being part of our Kinder team Mr. Corey!
Math: The Kinders took their first Math test this week. We wrapped up a whole unit in Math! Woohoo!! They worked so hard on writing numbers 1-5, identifying shapes, drawing pictures to show a number and finding groups that represent a number. These tests will be graded and will be coming home next week. The Kinders LOVED having their own “office” to complete this test. Before taking a test in my classroom I always give the “test chant.” First, we start with some “pizza breathing” (deep breathes to calm our bodies and brains). Followed by our self-talk that includes repeating: I am smart, I got this, I am going to try my best, should I worry? Goodness No! Then we give ourselves a big hug and a few brain kisses. The test is read aloud to the Kinders and they complete it by themselves at their seats. I walk around the classroom to assist if students have questions or are not sure of what it is asking them to do. I was SOOO proud of these Kinders! They did a GREAT job of completing their first test!! Why do the kids have their hands on their shoulders in pictures? This is the direction they are asked to do when they are finished with a task. It always me to see if I can move on. Why are some kids taking a test on the floor? With the “offices” it can be challenging for space, so I move a few kiddos (randomly) to other areas to have more room to take their tests.
Readers Workshop: This week we talked about how sometimes with books we might not yet know how to read all the words yet. We also explored more feelings in books we read. Using sticky notes to identify a character’s feelings. We are all learning! Just like when we were little we didn’t walk right away, we had to crawl, scoot, hold onto things and then we could walk, jog and then run! Reading is like that too. We have to learn some sounds, put those sounds together and then use all of our reading tools to practice being a reader. The kinders used their “eagle eye” to notice that pictures match words in a book. These pictures can help us figure out a tricky word. We practiced looking at sentences that had popcorn (sight, snap) words in them. We read what we could and then looked at the picture to help us figure out a tricky word. We were “trying lions” and used our “stretchy snake” skills to read these sentences together.
Writers Workshop: This week in writers workshop the Kinders continued to explore “show and tell” writing. Show and Tell writing is when we show and tell everything we know about an important topic. This week the Kinders created a show and tell book that told about an important topic: Home. We practiced stretching out sounds we hear in words and writing those letters that match the sounds. We do start with “sound spelling” in Kindergarten and then move into “dictionary spelling” as the Kinder is ready. The Kinders worked really hard on thinking about their homes, drawing pictures and writing words to match their drawings. To generate the pages of our book the Kinders answered the questions: Where do you eat in your home? Where do you sleep? and Where do you play? Each page of our book was the answer to these questions. Drawing details in our pictures, labeling and writing sentences together as a whole group with Mrs. Stutz modeling as we write. This group of Kinders LOVES writing time! I am so excited to see their desire to keep writing and keep drawing details in their books!!
Bus Safety: This week we had a visit from Mrs. DeZeeuw and Mrs. Reeves, bus drivers in our district. They shared all of the bus safety rules with us.
- No eating on the bus.
- Sit back to back and bottom to bottom in the seats.
- Keep our feet and legs out of the aisle.
- Use quiet voices.
- Keep hands and arms inside the bus.
We learned that we need to stay behind the yellow line when we are walking on the sidewalk. The Kinders loved taking a quick ride on the bus together. In addition, we all practiced how to get on and off the bus safely and how to cross the street in front of the bus.
Mystery Reader: Palmer and Connor were THRILLED to see their Mom come through our door as our Mystery Reader this week! Mrs. Harring read us the adorable book, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Thank you so much for joining us, Mrs. Harring!!
Football Game: Our class is invited to cheer on our Hudsonville Varsity Football Team. Trevor Poisson is our classroom football player that we will be cheering for the loudest! Our kids will meet prior to the game to form a tunnel for the players as they take the field. A letter will come home this week detailing where to meet and more details. This is a volunteer activity, no pressure to attend!
A Surprise Visit: The Kinders were THRILLED to see Mrs. Blauwkamp on Friday! ME TOO!! Mrs. Blauwkamp was greeted with a HUGE group hug! The Kinders LOVED seeing Mrs. Blauwkamp. We miss her dearly!
Parent/Teacher Conferences: These will be on Nov. 18 and Nov. 20 from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. To help with the scheduling of these conferences we need you to please fill out this survey: November Parent/Teacher Conference Survey
Fall Party Update: Our Fall Party will be on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 2:00 p.m. The 8 parent volunteers have been contacted. Thank you for your understanding if you are not able to come to this party. I have your name listed for the next 2 parties and will be rotating so that you all get the opportunity to attend a party. If you are interested in providing supplies for our party please go to the following link: Fall Party Supplies
Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, Oct. 21…GYM
- Tuesday, Oct. 22…ART, LIBRARY. *Bring library books back to check out another one today.
- Wednesday, Oct. 23…STEAM
- Thursday, Oct. 24…MUSIC
- Friday, Oct. 25…GYM, Wear Orange to celebrate the color of the week. 6:30 p.m. meet at Football Field to cheer on our Hudsonville Eagle Football team and our favorite player Trevor!
- Tuesday, Oct. 29…Picture Retakes (Pictures will be sent home on Monday, Oct. 21).
- Thursday, Oct. 31…Fall Classroom Party (2:00-3:00 p.m.)
- Nov. 18 & Nov. 20…Parent/Teacher Conferences
- Nov. 27 – Nov. 29…NO SCHOOL. Thanksgiving Vacation
- Dec. 12…Holiday Music Program, 6:30 p.m. at Fairhaven Church in Jenison. More details coming as date approaches.
