Field Day was on Wednesday and it was a blast! The kids had a great time! We have been having a very fun week. Next week is the last two days of kindergarten! Remember the kindergarten award ceremony will be held in my classroom on Tuesday - if you are coming to help decorate, please be here roughly at 8:30 AM

In my personal news, we found out were having a boy!

Studying Space

We learned about space this week! We had a blast learning about objects that are in space. We even learned the names of the planets. We visited the moon this week and learned more about it's surface. We also brough back moon rocks and made really neat alien hats!

We had a fantastic field trip last week! We learned a lot!

Kindergarten ROCKS!

We have just finished another week in kindergarten. We have only 11 more days of school left! This week, we had our SAT10 testing. We also took this test back in September. Students are expected to have shown some type of academic growth. After recording the results, I am amazed as to how much growth was shown. I am so proud of my class. They have truly met and exceeded my expectations. They truly taught me what children are capable of and that children should not be misunderstood.

We learned about ocean animals this week and had a field trip to the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet on Thursday. We learned about sea turtles, birds, and even went on a jetty walk. We had a blast.

We are heading in the final stretch of kindergarten. Remember to get those forms in ASAP about the party information (see paper in yellow folder). Remember the party will be June 8, 2010 at 10:00 AM in our classroom. We will have lunch in our room and will dismiss afterwards.

Remember to send in your kindergarten scrapbook ASAP! We already got some and they are AMAZING! We will be sharing these at our ceremony and we will remember the fun times we had in kindergarten. It has truly been a GREAT year!

If you would like a final conference and know what you could do to help prepare your child for first grade, let me know ASAP. In my opinion, every child is BEYOND ready for first grade.

Thanks,

Mr. Gibbs

Kindergarten Families,

Tomorrow, I will be sending home the end of the year celebration detailed letter. This letter contians all the information relevant to the last two days of school. We are planning on having an end of the year celebration in our classroom on the last day of school. We are also planning on eating lunch together in the classroom. We will be having pizza (but School Way Cafe will be available as an alternative). We will also be celebration the year by presenting our scrapbooks to our families (kindergarten family project). Keep on the look out for this.

Kindergarten family scrapbook projects are due this Friday. If it is not finished or you would like more time, you can turn it in on Monday. We would like these well in advanced before our last day. This is our last family project and is the most meaningful.

Can you believe school is over in 13 days?! Wow! Where has the time gone?

The End is Near!

I know it has been some time since my last posting but a lot of recent changes and events have occured. We are in the process of moving, my wife is expecting (5 months), and I am taking two college courses trying to finish my degree before the end of June. Yes, I am a very busy man - did I fail to mention I am working two jobs? Well, Saturday was a blast! Family Fun Day at Samsula was a huge success! So much money was raised for my dear friend Mr. Sweeney! What a great way to celebrate with family and friends. Oh, did I mention that I had a lot of fun? Not only was I in the "Spalsh Zone," but I also sang a song with two of my students - I didn't do well.

We even went to see Jack Hartmann in April. We love moving and groovin' to his songs! It was a great concert. I even got on stage, oh... We also MADE Mrs. Shannon go! She had to do a crazy chicken dance!


Field trip on Thursday to the science center. SAT 10 testing all week. We have only 15 days left of kindergarten!

Welcome Back!

Wow. We has a very busy week back in kindergarten! Below is a scope of our week:

In reading, we reviewed the short o word families (-og, -ot, -op). We also reviewed all of the first grade Dolch words. Your child is half way through this list. Remember to review ALL Dolch words nightly with your child. If they can read our word wall by the end of the year (which will contain approx. 172 words, your child will be given a gold metal of excellence! Children are get so excited about this and are practicing them as often as possible in class. We also read several books about frogs this week. Children are begining to read on their own. We are switching from listening comprehension to reading comprehension. Children are now capable of reading a selection and answering questions about what they read. This is a big accomplishment. Way to go!

In math, we learned how to tell time to the hour. We even made our own clock this week and will be using it throughout our unit on time. So many children can tell time to the hour. I was so impressed! Next week, your child will learn how to tell time to the half hour. Please practice these two concepts with your child as often as possible. After all, practice makes perfect!

In science, we read a story about life cycles. We learned what a life cycle was. We also learned about frogs and the life cycle of a frog. Your child could tell you all about living things, frogs, and life cycles now. Next week, we will learn about the life cycle of the Butterfly! The girls are excited about that.

If you haven't noticed, our classroom has become a rainforest! We learned about rainforest animals in afternoon workshops this week. We created our own classroom rainforest this week and learned about all these wonderful animals! Next week, we will add to the rainforest by adding butterflies and rain.

We also had our "Jack in the Beanstalk" performance for the children of Samsula Academy and for the parents. The students did a WONDERFUL job! I will post a video of the performance as soon as I get it! Enjoy the pictures below from the performance.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Easter Celebration

Spring has Sprung!

Note: More Pictures / Videos at the end of the day!

This was a very short week which felt like it was rushed in many ways! Today is Thursday and it is the last day before Spring Break begins. Your child deserves a break. They have been working very hard and with only 46 more days left of kindergarten, let them enjoy the break and have fun! Because Easter occurs on the Sunday before we return, we celebrated Easter this week. "We had so much fun this week," said one student. Below is a brief recap of our week.

In reading, we worked with the -op word family this week. We can now read words with the -op word family. We can also build these words. Some of our more challenging words this week included blends. Your child can now read, decode, and spell the words: slop, chop, stop, crop! We have introduced the next set of five Dolch words. We learned the words: know, let, live, may, of. Your child was assessed on Wednesday and I can't believe almost everyone has mastered that set! When we return, we will review all of the Grade 1 Sight Vocabulary to review. We are almost finished with this list and will continue to more difficult words that students will see next year.

In writing, we read a story titled, "How Spider Saved Easter." It was a cute story about a Spider helping his friend during Easter. We wrote our own story and made it into a class book. Students love making class books! On the last day of school, your child will be able to choose a class book to take home as a keepsake! They work so hard making a book every week. The writing assessment was this week and EVERYONE scored either a P3+, P4, or P5. Everyone is now writing on or above level. However, we must remember to keep encouraging them to do their best. Most are still forgetting punctuation and capital letters. There stories have a beginning, middle, and end which I am so proud of.

In math, we learned how to read a calendar and reviewed money. Students should know the values of all coins and be able to identify them. Students also wrote up to 100 this week. Wow! "Now what, Mr. Gibbs?" said Davis. He continued, "We made it to 100. Do we stop?" My response, "No way! We keep on going!" Students will be learning how to write counting by 10s to 100 next week. We will continue number writing. Students are beginning to correct their reversals in their number writing and that is fantastic! We will begin time when we return!

In science, we continued learning about living things. Students should know the difference between a living vs. nonliving thing. Students should also be able to tell you four things that all living things need in order to survive. Next week, we will begin learning about life cycles. We will learn about the frog first. Then, we will eventually watch as caterpillars turn into butterflies.

Workshops were fun! We made a Easter Bunny from paper towel rolls. We also made a hatching chick, a funny bunny, and made our own Easter baskets.





On Thursday, we had special holiday stations. We made a paper plate bunny, sorted and graphed jelly beans, completed a eggs-of-sound activity, and made a puppet. We also dyed Easter eggs! When we left for lunch, we put our Easter baskets out in hopes that the Easter bunny would come leave us a special treat.... And, boy - did he!

Not only did he leave us special things, we also hid additional eggs on our playground! We had so much fun trying to find them. We learned that the Easter Bunny must be very sneaky! At the end of the day, we practiced the "Jack in the Beanstalk" program with Ms. Elliot! It is adorable! We also celebrated Spring with a small party!

What a great week! From me to you, have a great break!

Mr. Gibbs

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day!

Top of the Morning to Ya!


We had a very busy but fun week in kindergarten. We are getting ready for the Spring season (which begins on Saturday). This week, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day! We even had a little visit from the Leprechaun who really created a diaster in the classroom on Wednesday! Below is a brief video from our week. The video includes the Leprechaun traps that were made, crafts, and clips of the diaster created by the Leprechaun! We had a very fun time celebrating St. Patrick's Day!

In reading, we learned about the -og word family. We read words such as: hog, fog, bog, clog, blog, and smog. Children can read these words in context and spell them accordingly. We also continued on our Dolch words. This week our words were: his, him, just, her, how. Have you seen our word wall? The word wall is already full and we still have a lot more to learn. In kindergarten, children are only required to know 32 basic sight words, our children know well over 125 so far with a lot more to go. The kids in Mr. Gibbs' class rock!

Because of their strong phonics and sight vocabulary skill, there writing has improved greatly. We wrote a story about catching a Leprechaun on Tuesday. They were funny, creative, and simply delightful to read. They are currently on display in the classroom. On Thursday, your child took the district writing assessment. Your child had 30 minutes to write me a story about their friend. I have not had the time to score them but they are simply amazing. EVERYONE had a beginning, middle, and end. EVERYONE wrote at least 5 sentences (many wrote 7-8). EVERYONE is beginning to use end punctuation. Finally, EVERYONE is using the word wall. Wow! We are no longer emergent writers, were developing writers!

In math, we continued with money. This weeek, we learned the value of the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. We also began to learn how to count out coin values. This is a difficult concept for children to master. Continue to practice this at home. Children also wrote numbers to 95 this week. Next week, your child will learn the numbers 96-100 and will have a final number writing assessment. Your child is expected to write numbers to 100 correctly. This will not be a problem because many are already doing so. We will also learn more about reading a calendar next week.

Living things has been the focus this week. This week we learned the difference between living and nonliving. We have learned that living things need food, water, air, and shelter. Living things also grow and change. We learned a song and completed several activities throughout the week. Next week, we will continue this topic. Eventually, we will watch caterpillars turn into butterflies - but that is after break. Workshops are a blast. Children constantly talk about them in school. Do they talk about them at home?

Workshops is a way to end the day by having fun socially (but not playing). I do not believe in free play, we complete fine motor skills instead. This week, we laced a four leaf clover and wrote about being lucky. We also made a rainbow and pot of gold craft with colored loops. We made a dancing Leprechaun. Finally, we made a kite.



On Wednesday, we completed special St. Patrick's Day stations that included graphing lucky charms, making hats, playing St. Patrick's Day sight word game, and making a rainbow out of ripped construction paper.

ERD begins again next week. Thursday is our Spring celebration and Easter egg hunt. Remember to bring in supplies ahead of time. There will be no school on Friday. We will be learning about the -op word family next week and our theme will be Easter!

50 days of school left as of today and your child is beyond ready for the 1st grade!

This is a video of the letter the Leprechaun left us....
This is a video of the reaction....
This is a video of Maylee and Jeremy discussing the event...

ROAR!

ROAR! This week was dinosaur week in our class! We had a fantastic week learning about dinosaurs integrated with reading, writing, and math. We had a blast and so did the kids – especially our dinosaur expert, R.J. Below is a rundown of our week:

In reading, we are learning to read to learn new information. We did this by reading dinosaur books whole group. In small group, children read books about weather (first grade books) and completed a book report listing three important facts they read. You should be so proud, they are becoming independent learners! We also learned the –ot word family and the follow sight words: from, give, going, had, has. Remember to read with your child nightly. Most children are now able to read fluently. We will focus on the –og word family next week and we will continue to our next set of sight words.



In writing, we made two class books! We read a story called, “If Dinosaurs Came to Town.” We then wrote about the same topic and created a book. We also read a story called, “Stormy Weather.” Together, we made a book report listing three important facts. We used that report to write a stormy weather story. Both books are currently on display in our classroom. Way to go amazing writers! Next week is our district writing assessment. Your child will be expected to write five sentences (correctly) with a beginning, middle, and end on one topic. These will be scored and you will know the results as soon as possible. Remember to write, write, write!

In math, the children were introduced to money. This week, we learned how to identify the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Children should be able to compare them and identify each coin. Next week, we will learn the value of each and begin solving problems relating to money.

Science was fun! We finished our unit on weather. This week we learned about the four seasons and stormy weather. The children now have a solid foundation about different weather patterns and weather associated with each season. We are beginning an intense unit on living things next week which will last to the end of April. We will be studying frogs, butterflies, and the life cycle of other animals.
Workshops were a blast! Dinosaurs was the theme this week. We did several activities this week that would all be integrated on Friday to create a dinosaur kingdom. Our first station was using noodles and sand to make a fossil. The children loved this and got very creative. The next was making a dinosaur. Another station was making a T-Rex. The last station was painting a shoe box to look like a landscape. On Friday, we added grass, trees, etc… to finish our dinosaur kingdom.





There is no ERD next Wednesday. Next Wednesday is St. Patrick’s Day and we are looking for volunteers to work afternoon workshops the next two weeks. If you are interested, let us know.

If you have not done so, please send in about 8 – prefilled Easter eggs with your child ASAP.

Also, we are in need of the following items:
1 box of lucky charms (need for St .Patrick’s Day)
2 bags of jelly beans
Easter grass
Bottles of white glue
Lunch bags

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

We had another fantastic week! We now only have 60 days left of school. Can you believe it? This week, we celebrated Dr. Seuss. To begin our celebration, we joined schools all around America by participating in Read Across America Day. We had a blast! The children loved all the guest readers that came. Thanks for making it a fantastic day for our children.

In reading, we reviewed the short i word families. We reviewed -ig, -ip, and -it. The children are doing a great job. We even read and spelt words such as: ship, split, and twig! We also continued on with our next set of Dolch words. This week we learned: as, by, could, every, fly, and because. Your child is reading books that are way above the kindergarten level because they have a "strong" foundation of both sight vocabulary and phonics skills. Keep up the hard work at home. I am so proud!
We also read several Dr. Seuss books. We focused on real vs. fantasy when reading this week.

In math, we finished our unit on measurement. This week we learned about capacity. We learned that a larger container holds more than a smaller container. It seems that every child has mastered this concept. Next week, we will begin a unit on money. We will begin to learn how to identify the penny, nickel, and dime next week. Children should already have some prior knowledge because we work with money every morning during calendar. We will spend two weeks on money before moving onto time.

Writing was a blast this week! We wrote a letter to Dr. Seuss. We wrote to Dr. Seuss about his books. Some children wrote a thank you letter. Others, wrotei Dr. Seuss explaining their favorite book. Children are writing several sentences. I have students who are writing eight or more on one topic. That is IMPRESSIVE! Keep writing at home! Writing should become more dominant over illustrations. Your child should be writing five or more sentences at this point.

In science, we learned about the patterns of weather. We learned how weather can be rainy, windy, sunny, and snowy. Next week, we will learn about the seasons and finish our unit on weather.

Afternoon workshops were also fun. We did three Dr. Seuss crafts and even played a fun game! We created a Cat in the Hat face mask and wrote what we would do if we were the Cat in the Hat. Another station, we played Green Eggs and Ham Tic-Tac-Toe. We also made a Dr. Seuss puppet and a funny craft from the story The Cat in the Hat. The children had a blast. These are on display in the classroom and will be sent home within the next two weeks.



We will be learning more about weather next week and our theme will be dinosaurs. Thanks for all the boxes and milk jugs. We now have enough! We sent home a wish list earlier this week with items we need for March. Remember, anything is helpful. Also, this week I would like to honor the parents who help prepare our afternoon workshops. You do an OUTSTANDING job and we couldn't do it without you!

No ERD next week.

Rumors....

This has very little to do with what it going on in our classroom.... But, a lot of parents were wondering if we were expecting a new addition to our family. Well, let me put an end to these rumors...

Mrs. Gibbs and I are expecting! She is about seven weeks, which means this will be an October baby. We are very excited and we thank you all for making my job a little less stressful! You are an amazing set of parents... I will be very sad when your students leave my class at the end of the year- because I will truly be losing the best parents in all of Samsula.

Thanks again!

Dental Health

Were fighting crime one cavity at a time! We just finished another fun learning week in Mr. Gibbs’ kindergarten classroom. We began our final trimester on Monday. Can you believe there are only 65 more days left in the year? Mrs. Shannon and I are amazed at the progress that each child has made. Our students are writing five and six sentences! Our students are reading chapter books! Our students are amazing! We are so proud of their hard work and much credit also goes to the parents – you’re amazing! Remember, children strive for structure. Remember to challenge your child – set high expectations because believe me… THEY CAN DO IT! And THEY WILL DO IT!

In reading, we learned the –it word family. On Monday, children created their own list of spelling words. Rather than choosing basic CVC words, children were eager to name words that contained blends. Some of the words were: spit, slit, and split! We read two decodable readers that had the –it word family. We practiced a lot with listening to each sound in the word. We read several stories about teeth this week (as that was our theme). We also began the first grade Dolch words this week. Let me just say, WOW! Every student was focused and was on target this week. Next week, we will review the short i word families and continue to our next five Dolch words.

In writing, your child wrote two amazing stories this week. The first, your child wrote a story about how they care for their teeth. Because the stories were amazing, we made it into a class book. Students are showing so much enthusiasm for writing and that’s what I like to see. On Thursday, we wrote about what we would do if we were a tooth superhero or tooth fairy. The stories were very creative and are on display in our classroom. Let me just say, I have two students who wrote twelve sentences and needed two sheets of paper. Impressive!

In math, we began a new unit on measurement. We discussed key terms such as: longer and shorter. We put objects in order by length. We also measured items by nonstandard measurements. We used snap cubes, blocks, and tooth brushes to measure different items. Children caught on very quickly. Next week, we will finish our unit on measurement by studying weight and capacity.

In science, we learned about taking care of our teeth. A dentist came to talk to our class on Monday. Children were very eager to ask questions and learn more about keeping their teeth healthy and strong. This week, we learned about good/bad foods for our teeth. We even learned how to properly bush our teeth. In fact, on Monday we brushed our teeth in class! We brushed our teeth for three minutes (as recommended). It was fun! On Wednesday, we began a project to see what soda does to your teeth. We placed an egg in soda and left it overnight. The next day, we looked at the egg and noticed it turned brown. It also had several small cracks in it and a bubble sticking out the side. “It was gross,” one student said. We then brushed one side. Such enough, it worked! We compared and contrasted the two sides of the egg and noticed that brushing your teeth is very important!

In afternoon workshops, we lacked a tooth and made a happy and sad tooth. We also created a tooth super hero, completed a tooth activity book, and made a super tooth paper bag puppet. All of these items are on display in the classroom and will be going home within the next week.






Remember Tuesday is Read Across America day! We are celebrating Dr. Seuss all week long. If you signed up for a time and I confirmed it, please be here at that time. Also, we are celebrating with O.J. and Doughnuts. I have a parent providing the doughnuts- anyone for O.J?

We are still in need of gallon jugs and shoe boxes. We will begin a very intense project on dinosaurs and we really need those shoe boxes! J

Mr. Gibbs

PS: We are also doing a lot with brown paper lunch bags. If you have any that you are not using or are willing to donate… Please do so.

Skyler did an amazing job this week! Here is Skyler. He was our terrific kid this week!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! We have been celebrating the Chinese New Year this week in our classroom in addition to learning about former president’s George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. This was a short week and was over before we knew it. We did many fun activities this week and learned a lot. Today marked the 110th day of school. There are 70 more days before the end of kindergarten!

In reading, we learned about the –ip word family. We built words through rhyme. Because children knew the word dip, they could name other –ip words by naming rhyming words. Children created their own spelling list this week with these words. We reviewed all primer words this week. Your child was assessed and we were very impressed. Nearly everyone has mastered the entire set of words. The ones, who did not, missed it by only a few. Your child can now recognize pre-primer and primer words. Next week, we are moving on to the first grade set. Are you ready?

We read books about our presidents this week. I was impressed by their knowledge of former presidents George Washington and Abe Lincoln. Students were able to identify them and tell me they were both presidents. We learned more about them this week. We learned about their early life, their presidency, and how we remember them today. Children also got into a discussion about our current president. I was very impressed that children could name Obama as our current president. These children are up to date on their current events.
We read a book about what it would be like to be president. We also write stories this week. “I would like to be president because I do not have to cook,” said one student. This student further said, “I will cut Mr. Gibbs’ bills.” {There goes by vote!} “I do not want to be president because it sounds like too much work,” said another.

In math, we learned how to read picture graphs and tally tables. Children knew how to do each by the end of the week. Next week, we are moving on to measurement.
Afternoon workshops were a hit. We read a weekly reader magazine about the Chinese New Year. We made different crafts in honor of this celebration. We made a Chinese calendar, a dragon/lion dance craft, and a Chinese lantern. These items will currently be on display in the office.

Remember next week is early release. If you have not done so, we need your permission forms and money for our upcoming field study. We will be learning about dental health next week and will even have a visit from a dentist on Monday.

We are still in need of shoe boxes! We are also beginning to collect gallon jugs for our Easter baskets. Thanks!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

Wow. I was so amazed as to how creative our Valentine's Day boxes were. Above is a video of the boxes. One box was made into a truck. Another was a dino. We also had one made into an actual mailbox. Enjoy our video!

We had a fantastic week! We celebrated our friendship this week and learned more about being good friends. We are trying very hard to get along. We have recently had a problem with bullying. This was a great week to talk more about bullying. We read "Billy the Bully" this week which was about a bully named billy who was very mean. Because of his actions, he had no friends. Billy decided to make better choices and become less of a bully. At the end of the story, everyone became friends. It was great and really hit home to our class. Hopefully our problem is solved. With that being said, here is what we did this week:

In reading, we worked with the -ig word family. We built and read words that have the -ig word family. Children spelt words such as: pig, twig, and strig. We had a great week. We also finished our primer words. Children should now be able to recognize all of pre-primer and primer words. We will review the primer set next week. By Friday, your child is expected to know all pre-primer and primer words. Remember to practice with your child daily. "I am practicing every night," said Trevor M. I am so proud of him. He was able to identify all of the words this week. He is trying so hard, as is everyone. We read several books this week about friendship and Valentine's Day. We are learning about character traits, sequencing, and making connections.

We write everyday! We had a district writing assessment this week. The scores were sent home only if your child was not making adequate progress. Students should be writing four or more sentences on their own correctly. This is a challenge to many. Please make every night a writing night in your home - even five minutes will do!

In math, we reviewed our number words by completing several Valentine's Day activities. On Friday, we sorted Valentine candy and graphed them. We found out that we typically get more purples and pinks than any other color. Next week, we will be moving on to a new unit on graphing. This was a great way to kick off our unit!

Afternoon workshops were fun because we made special crafts for our fantastic parents! Hopefully you had the chance to go through your child's folder and pull all of these special crafts out. Keep them in a safe place - your child made it with love and care.

Remember to send in $5.00 for the Jack Hartmann field trip. We need to reserve the tickets as soon as possible. We will have early release on Wednesday. There is no school on Monday. We will be doing afternoon workshops next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We could use some help on T, Th, and F from 1:00 to dismissal and Wednesday at 12:00 to 12:30... We could use one or two parents for each day. If a time works for you, come on in! We love our parents!

We are currently in need of some gallon size Ziploc bags and brown lunch bags. Anything else would be greatly appreciated. We have 75 days left. If you have not sent in twistable crayons, please remember to send them in ASAP.

Two Celebrations and 1 Great Class!

Two celebrations in one week! I bet your child is exhausted! We just finished another fun learning week in Mr. Gibbs’ classroom at Samsula Academy! We reviewed the short E word families, reviewed our solid figures, celebrated Groundhog Day, and celebrated the 100th day of kindergarten. We did so many things this week and many thanks is given to the parent volunteers who helped us in our classroom. Mrs. Shannon and I could not have done it without you.

In reading, we reviewed the –en, -et, and –ed word families. We also continued working with our primer words. We are nearly finished. This week, children had trouble with: they, there, was, went, and want. Please practice these in addition to all previous words. Mrs. Shannon and I are currently working on a Sight Word Olympics activity (to be sent home later) that will help practice these words further. We counted our sight words this week and we know 101!!!! Wow. We used these words when we read Frog and Toad Together or Green Eggs and Ham in our literature circles. Remember to practice retelling with your child.

In math, we reviewed our solid figures and wrote numbers up to 65. On Thursday, we celebrated the 100th day of school (see below post). We did a lot of different activities that were fun and full of learning.

In science, we learned about Groundhog Day and shadows. We watched as Phil seen his shadow declaring six more weeks of winter. We also wrote a story including our predictions. Our theme was groundhogs. In afternoon workshops, we made a TP groundhog, paper bag puppet, and a book. We had a lot of fun!

Wednesday is not an ERD next week and we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Friday. Bring in your valentine’s and any snacks for our celebration. Family projects are due on Monday. We will be working with the –ig word family next week.

(Pictures to come)

I'm 100 Days Smarter!

Wow! February 4th was the 100th day of Kindergarten! We had a great day today celebrating 100 days of learning fun! We did several activities all related to the number and had a celebration to celebrate our accomplishments!



To begin, Mr. Gibbs dressed up like he was 100 years old! The day before, we made a class book about what it would be like to be 100. On February 4th, Mr. Gibbs wore a wig and had a walker to help him move around. From the beginning, the kids knew it was going to be a fun and silly learning day!

We counted by 1s, 5s, and 10s to 100 and finally completed our "100 Days of Learning" wall! There are now 100 bees circling the hive. We also sang songs relating to the 100 days of school. We have a great start to the morning.



In morning workshops, we helped fill in a bee's stripes with 100 dots. We also made 100 day of school hats with 100 bees on them in groups of 10. We also made a fruit loop necklace out of 100 fruit loops. We made 100 day pennants and even wrote 100 sight words. We know 100 words! Wow!

After lunch, we counted out our snack. After having one hundred, we combined everything together and mixed it up. Finally, we had a celebration to celebrate our accomplishments. I hope you enjoy the pictures and slideshow.







I am soo looking forward to the remaining 80 days!

Keep Reading!

Another 'TACKY' Week! :-)

This was a very busy week for us in kindergarten. We are learning so many new things. This week, we learned about the –et word family. We also ready Tacky the Penguin and learned more about story sequencing. We played more with solid figures, wrote another class book, and even had time to learn about maps. This was a fun filled week!

Children are becoming very fluent in their ability to read basic words. Words (such as –et) are becoming easy to the children. Children are beginning to understand how to substitute initial sounds to make new words. I am very proud of them. We are almost finished with our primer sight word list. We have about two weeks left. I am asking that you practice all pre primer and primer words with your children nightly. Your child is expected to know both lists by mid February. This will help your child become a more fluent reader. We read Tacky the Penguin this week. We are working very hard on identifying the beginning, middle, and end in our stories. Have your child retell the story to use. Remember to remind them to name the characters and locate the setting. Also have them identify the problem and state the solution. Children will need to be able to retell a story with mastery by the end of kindergarten.

Mastery includes: retell a story from beginning, middle, to end stating the characters. Students will name the setting, and also state the problem and solution. Students will use words like then, and, next. Words like first, second, third, etc… should be used to transition from beginning, middle, to end. Finally, the teacher will not be prompting the student.

In math, we continued learning about solid figures. We learned the different ways they move. We learned that the cylinder can roll, slide, and stack. We also learned that the cylinder is the only solid figure that can do all three. Review the names of the four basic solid figures with your child. Create a map and sort as to whether they can roll, stack, or slide. Next week, we will learn more about solid figures. We will focus on identifying the shapes made by the solid figures.

In social studies we learned about maps. Students were excited when Gibbstown was brought out of the file cabinet (Gibbstown was our community project at the beginning of the year). We learned the difference between a picture and a map. We also learned how to identify key things on a map using symbols. Have your child draw a map of their community or home. Mrs. Shannon and I would LOVE to see it and display it in the classroom.

In science, we learned about penguins! “We read a weekly reader,” said Olivia. Children love reading the weekly readers. Weekly readers are social studies and science magazines at which children can read independently. This week it was all about penguins. We learned a lot! In afternoon workshops, we laced a penguin to work on our fine motor skills. We also made a penguin paper craft and a snow globe.





Parents, we are currently working on behavior with our class. We have had some issues throughout the past three weeks of following directions. Please enforce the rules at home and continue to state the importance of following them. Thanks!

I almost forgot to tell you! Have you asked your child what book they are reading? We have started literature circles this week. Each group is reading a different book. We will read it to understand it and create a project when finished. The two books we are reading are: Green Eggs and Ham and Frog and Toad Together. Ask your child what one they are reading!




Agenda for Feb 1 – 5: We will be learning about shadows as we study Groundhog Day! We will also review all short e word families. We will continue to learn about solid figures and finally, we will celebrate the 100th day of school on Thursday!!!! Remember to bring in your 100 day of school special snack!

Our student of the week was Cole. Way to go! Cole is in the following picture next to our newest addition - a reading playhouse!