Week 15 ~ Dec. 9 - Dec. 13, 2019

It's hard to believe but the end of 2019 is upon us.  Next Wednesday is our last day of school before Winter Break begins.  Polar Express Day is Wednesday, Dec. 18.  Your child may wear his/her pajamas to school on that day if he/she would like to do so.  Please sign and send back the popcorn/ Yoo Hoo form if you DO NOT want your child to participate.

***Don’t forget to keep up the Home Reading Steps and Power Word practice this week and next!

***Some how I got mixed up with putting the information about Santa visiting CAES on Saturday, Dec. 14 in the students’ red folders.  Some did not receive the notice.  I am resending out today in the red folders.  Please disregard if you received one already!

This week we will:

• Have fun with the gingerbread man
• listen to Gingerbread stories all week and answer questions about the characters and story events
• Read new Power Words who   was
• Practice reading ‘old’ Power Words at Flash Speed
• Count syllables in 1, 2, or 3 syllable words
• Identify words that start with the digraphs ch, sh, th, and wh
• count by 1s and10s
• Learn how to gather data and use tally marks
• Learn how to graph data that has been gathered
• Begin learning about the season of winter

Homework for the week: 

• cut apart your new Power Words and add them to your bag  who  was
• practice your new Power Words all week
• practice reading your “old” Power Words
• read for 30 minutes and log in two Home steps every night
• ask your child to name 3 words that begin with sh, th, and ch!

Upcoming dates to remember:  

• December 10 – Bring your favorite stuffed animal (for a $1 donation to our United Way campaign)
• December 11 – Interim reports issued
• December 13 – Dress as your favorite Disney character (for a $1 donation to our United Way campaign)
• December 14 – PTA visit with Santa – 10:00am – 12:00pm
• December 17 – Holi-DAZE spirit day – wear your festive best
• December 18 - Polar Express Day-wear your pajamas and last day of school before Winter Break

Week 13 ~ Nov. 25 - Nov. 26, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope everyone enjoys time with family and friends this week.

Although Thanksgiving will be a busy time for all, it is a great time to have your child show off their reading abilities / Power Word recognition skills to grandparents, aunts and uncles!  I will be putting an extra reading log in your child’s folder on Tuesday just in case you have time for some extra reading with family and friends during the Thanksgiving break! :)

This week we will:

• Learn about the first Thanksgiving
• Review all Power Words
• Read, read and read
• Use letters and sounds to write a sentence to communicate our thoughts and ideas
• Count by 1’s and 10’s
• Identify ‘teen’ numbers

Homework for the week:

• read for 30 minutes on Monday and Tuesday and log in 2 Home steps each time
• read extra and log in extra steps during the Thanksgiving holiday J
• practice any Power Words that you do not recognize at Flash Speed
• Ask your child how many groups of ten are in the teen numbers (one)

Important dates to remember:

• Nov. 27 – 29 - Thanksgiving Holiday - School closed

***Encore schedule change for this week only:

Tuesday’s schedule will be like a Friday.  So that means your child will NOT go to the Library, Art and Music on Tuesday.  Instead, he/she will attend SOAR.  This change is for this week only.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!  I am thankful for my GREAT kindergartners! :)

Week 12 ~ Nov. 18 - Nov. 22, 2019

Most have returned report card envelopes.  Please sign and return just the envelope if you have not yet done so.  You may keep the report card.  Also, don’t forget to pack a set of extra clothes in your child’s backpack (or swap out the shorts for a pair of pants for late fall/winter).  Accidents happen and Nurse Stalls doesn’t always have clothes available that fit.  It’s extremely muddy out right now and although we don’t intend to slip and fall in the mud, it does happen.      

Important reminders:  make sure you are practicing Power Words every night for Homework.  The Power Words pile up quickly and it is hard to catch up on learning them once you get behind.  Also, please make sure you are reading and logging in 2 books each night for Homework.  That is also difficult to catch up on once your child gets behind.

This week we will:

• Learn all about mammals
• Learn about the sounds of /sh/ /ch/ and /th/
• Name, spell and read words that begin with /sh/  /ch/  and /th/
• Practice new Power Words what  here  no
• Review all Power Words
• Use letters and sounds to write a sentence to communicate our thoughts and ideas
• Learn about the teen numbers
• Count by 1’s and 10’s
• Identify sets that have more, fewer or the same than a given number

Homework for the week:

• read for 30 minutes at Home and log in 2 Home steps each time
• cut apart and practice Power Words what  here  no
• practice all Power Words’ – Do you know them at Flash Speed?
• ask your child what is the difference between domestic animals and wild animals?

Important dates to remember:

• Nov. 27 – 29 - Thanksgiving Holiday - School closed

Week 11 ~ Nov. 12 - Nov. 15, 2019

We have been reading, reading, reading at school.  Most are over 100 Reading Steps now and have received the ‘100 Steps/ 25 Hours of Reading Tag’.  Our next goal is to get to 200 Reading Steps!  Check your child’s log.  He/she should have at least 114 Steps after your weekend reading.  Keep reading every day.  Remember, if your child is out sick or on vacation- he/she is missing 2 school steps of reading for each day he/she is out.  Read whenever you get a chance to get caught up or stay ahead! J  Also, if your child is missing an item of clothing, check our lost and found soon.  All of the ‘Lost and Found” items will be donated soon.

     ***Reminder:  Please consider putting a spare set of clothes for your child in his/her backpack.  We don’t intentionally get wet at school (drinks spill, bathroom accidents happen, slips and trips on the playground) but accidents occur and it sure is helpful to have a set for your child to change into if needed.  The weather is changing…those of you that have placed clothes in the backpack, you may want to switch out for warmer clothes :).

This week we will:

• Review all initial consonants (recognize upper and lowercase letters, write them and name the sound)
• listen for beginning and ending sounds in words when trying to spell
• identify 1, 2 or 3 syllables in words
• learn to read the Power Words it, they, we
• recognize and read ALL of our Power Words at flash speed
• distinguish between fiction and nonfiction stories 
• ask and answer questions about nonfiction stories that we read aloud
• read and learn about pets, farm and zoo animals and domestic/ wild animals
• count by 1s and 10s
• learn about teen numbers

Homework for the week:   

·       read for 30 minutes every night 

-Some things to check while your child is reading:

1.  Is he/she touching the word that he/she is saying?

2.  Is he/she making the beginning sound of an unknown word to figure it out?

3.  Can he/she read random words that you point out after reading a page?

4.  Is he/she recognizing and reading Power Words in the stories that you read together?

·       record 2 HOME steps in your reading log every night

·       cut apart and practice your new Power Words – it  they  we

·       Ask your child:  Can you use 2 hands and show me 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in different ways?  (ex. 6 can be 5 and 1, 4 and 2 or 3 and 3 fingers!)

Important dates to remember:

• Nov. 14 - Report Cards issued
• Nov. 15 – Pizza Bingo (6:00 – 8:00)
• Nov. 27 - 29 - Thanksgiving holiday ~ No school  

Book Character Day!

Book Character Day will be on Friday, Nov. 1.  Your child may come to school that day dressed as his/her favorite book character.  You do not have to buy a costume.  Homemade costumes are fine.  (Ex.  Clifford the Big Red Dog… a red shirt with homemade floppy, red ears!)  We do ask that no weapons (toy swords, knives, guns) are brought/worn with the costume.  Also, we’d love for your child to bring the book that he/she is the character from to carry as we parade through the school Friday morning!

Week 9 ~ Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2019

Book Character Day is Friday, Nov. 1 at CAES.  Your child may come dressed as a book character.  If possible, send the book in with your child so that he/she may carry it during the school parade.  

    

A few notes about Reading Logs and Steps…if you are wondering why ‘Book’ is written down in your child’s log on occasion, there are several reasons.  Sometimes we run out of time and I have to log in quickly for the children. Or, your child may have been out of the room (bathroom, nurse, etc.) and I wrote it in. Or, it could be a ‘catch up’ Step if your child is behind on Steps or no reading was done at home the night before.  

This week we will:

• Learn about the letters Jj and Ww – the sound of each and proper letter formation
• Name, spell and read words that begin with /j/ and /w/
• Learn new Power Words want  you  go and practice old PWs
• Count syllables in 1, 2 or 3 syllable words
• Write our thoughts and ideas down on paper
• Listen to and enjoy stories read aloud
• Make predictions and connections to the books we read aloud
• Identify the title page in a book, the setting, characters and events in stories we read aloud
• Learn about the numbers 1 – 10 and different ways to represent the numbers
• Count by 1s as high as we can and by 10s

Homework for the week:

·      Cut apart and practice your new Power Words  want  you  go

·      Practice all old Power Words – Can you read them at FLASH SPEED?

·      Read for 30 minutes each night – Log in at least 2 HOME STEPS every night!!!

·      Ask your child how many syllables his/her name has and to name a friend in the class and tell how many he/she has. :)  

Upcoming dates: 

• Ongoing through October – Box Top collection
• Oct. 30 – School picture make-up day (Please send a note in your child’s red folder if you wish for your child to have a retake)
• Nov. 1 – Book Character Day and Parade @ 9:15 (Bring your book to show!)
• Nov. 8 – Staff Development – no school for students
• Nov. 11 – Veterans Day – School closed
• Nov. 15 – Fall Pizza Bingo

• Nov. 27 – 29 – Thanksgiving Holiday – no school