A Few Important Notes..............

Yesterday report cards were sent home in your child's backpack. Please make sure you keep the report card and RETURN the empty envelope signed by you. We will be recycling these envelopes throughout the year.

Also, it is VERY important that you call the school office absence line when your child is out sick or not attending for the day. This will eliminate having the office call you to check on your child. Thanks.

Recess.....

Just a quick note about recess for the coming cold and snowy days and months ahead. Your child needs to be prepared with snow pants, boots, hats and gloves for recess during these winter months. They will be going outside if there is snow on the ground. If they do not have snow pants and/or boots they will be restricted from playing in the areas where there is snow. They will be required to play on the hard top area instead. Reason being that they may get wet and cold if they are not properly dressed for this occasion. It is strongly suggested that your child carry this winter gear to and from school in a separate bag labeled with his/her name.

Monthly Spotlight

Surprisingly enough, the month of December is passing quickly. We have been working on numbers to 20 in math. We have been focusing on base ten, place value. How many groups of ten and ones does a number have? We have been using place value rods and counting cubes to determine what this means? This is a very difficult concept to understand but we are getting there! We also continue to determine different ways to represent the quantity of numbers. We have been exploring tally marks by counting groups of objects in sets of five. Another focus in math is the concept of more, less or equal. We have been comparing numbers and determining if they are more than, less than or equal to another number.

In literacy, we continue to work in reading groups. How can we become good readers? We are making sure we point to words we read as a 1:1 match. What happens if we can't figure out a word? We are learning to sound it out and/or look at pictures to help us. Each time we read we review all of our sight words, focus on some difficult words in the story, complete some word study work, or even respond to questions through writing. Our letter focus this past month has been on v, w, x and y. We are almost through the lowercase alphabet! We have also been working on hearing beginning, middle and ending sounds. We have begun to segment and blend CVC words and have been using the smart board in whole group for our learning.

Wishing All of You a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Shapes are all around us!

This past month we have been focusing on 2 dimensional shapes. We have been talking about their attributes and comparing them to one another. How are they the same or different? i.e. sides, corners, straight lines, colors etc.  Some of the shapes we have been focusing on are triangle, circle, square, rectangle and hexagon. It has been fun tracing them and making them. We have discovered that these shapes are all around us!

Conferences

Conferences are coming up on November 13th and 18th. Please check Room 6 for your scheduled time. If for some reason you can no longer make the appointment, please let me know so we can reschedule. Thanks.

Pajama Day Friday November 7

Hurrah! We have filled our marble jar with good behavior and good intentions! We have earned a pajama day! Please make sure you wear your pajamas on Friday if you want. Teddy bears are welcome. Slippers are welcome as long as you carry them in your backpack. It will be fun..............

BOO! Happy Halloween!

We had a GREAT day. We were so excited to wear those costumes and march in the parade. It was fun to see all the people share in the event around the school. It made us all smile. Thank you to the parents who so kindly put on the party. It was the BEST!

Ocean World

This past Monday we had a great experience meeting with a Marine Biologist. She spoke about the North Atlantic Ocean and the kinds of sea animals that live there. It was so exciting to see live animals from the ocean that we could gently hold and observe. We even got to make a fish print at the end. It was so much fun!!

Counting and more....

As we continue to count, recognize numbers and make equivalent sets in math, I am sharing with you a  picture of one of our class families. We completed a survey of how many people were in our families. We graphed the results and found out some information about our class. Here is an example of one's work.

Just Ask Me!

Occasionally in class I will ask for some assistance. And by that I mean I may need some helpers to answer questions classmates might have regarding directions at the centers. It is a great way to promote good listening skills and confidence. The helpers are given a necklace that says "Ask Me" so that their friends know who they are, ask a question and have a simple direction clarified. I have lots of volunteers!

Recap of happenings in Room 6

Last week in Room 6, we continued to work on phonemic awareness skills. We spent time practicing rhyming and clapping out syllables in words. We practiced sound/letter identification with  the letters m, n, b, t, i, o, u and f. Letters a and g were introduced during the week. We spent time writing these letters in lowercase as well as sorting pictures with the correct beginning sound.  

We have also begun to introduce our sight words which are words that we often see in print. It is important that we know how to read them and would be great if we could spell them. Not only will these words help us read but will certainly help us write as well. So far our list includes I, a, am, at. This coming week we will include in, is and it. 

Last week we also drew our first illustrations. We read the story The Runaway Pumpkin and brainstormed ways that we could catch the pumpkin. The class came up with some great ideas and drew their own pictures to represent them. 

In Math we are working on numbers. How do we write them? How can we represent them? What is a set? We have been learning about sorting and have brainstormed different ways that we could sort ourselves i.e., kinds of shoes, color of hair, clothing etc. We discovered that our results are different every time. We have also filled out surveys on the smart board and analyzed our data. Our most current one is "How many people are in our family?" The data we collect in our surveys gives us information. We can then compare the results by looking at the graph. How many of us have three, four or five members? How many of us have the largest number? Are any equal? We have been having fun!

Thank You!

We are all set with a pin maker. Thank you to everyone who offered.

Volunteer "Special Person" pin maker

This is a gentle shout out to anyone who is interested in making Special Person pins for our entire kindergarten class. I have the kit in my classroom available at any moment to pick up and begin making pins! It is not a difficult job just a bit time consuming. They do not have to be made all at once but in batches if that sounds more convincing! Starting in November we honor in each classroom a special person for the week. In the past we have always given each child a pin to keep. If you are interested in helping out, just shoot me an email and let me know. Thanks.

Picture Day

This is a reminder to all that Picture Day is Thursday October 9th. Don't forget to send in your check and order form. You can send it in prior to the day if you want to. We will make sure that your child takes the form and money with him/her to the photographer.

Blankets and Art Smocks

Just a reminder for those children who have not brought in blankets to rest on at Quiet time during the day. We are having the kids rest quietly around the room and on the rug. I do think it would be best for those who do not have a blanket to keep at school to bring one in.

Also, the art teacher has requested that children bring in a smock for class. I suggest one of Dad's old T-shirts that can simply be put on over one's head. We will store them somewhere in the classroom (not sure where yet!) but will find a corner. Please put them in a plastic ziploc bag with their names on the bag AND on the smock. Thanks for  your cooperation.

A peek into the week of September 29th

In literacy this coming week we will be working on the lowercase letters u and i. These are the first two vowel letters introduced so far. We will drill and practice writing them and listening to their sounds particularly at the beginning of words. We will continue to work on rhyming, color sight words and writing our names correctly with lowercase letters, first letter being uppercase.

For the last few weeks, we have been talking about sentences and words. What makes up a sentence? What makes up words? What ends a sentence? In what direction do we read sentences? Practice has been trying to determine how many sentences I would write in my morning message. We also carefully look at how many words are in a sentence as well by carefully observing the finger spaces in between words.

In Math, we continue to explore materials and how we can compare attributes of objects. We have begun to sort attribute blocks and buttons to find out how many ways they are the same or different. Compare, attribute and describe are still math vocabulary words we discuss. We have introduced the Counting Jar and what it means to represent the number we have counted. How many ways can you represent this number? Our new math word this week is equal. What does it mean?And can you make an equal set of chips determined by what was counted in the jar? These are just a few concepts we will practice all year long.

We are Up and Running...

We are off to a great start. We are beginning to work on following our work boards for math and literacy. This process tends to be a bit difficult at the start but eventually the children will understand the routine. Currently in math we are exploring manipulatives that we will use throughout the year. These are buttons, geo blocks, attribute blocks, colored tiles, pattern blocks and connecting cubes. We have learned three new math words: attribute, compare and describe and are using these words when we use our manipulatives. We are also learning how to read a calendar. Counting is something we do everyday as well.

In literacy, we are focusing on lowercase letters f, t, b, m and n. Please look closely at the parent notices from the Fundations program that come home regarding the new language for writing letters. Pay attention to where letters begin when writing and where they go when they are formed.

Along with letters and sounds, we are also practicing rhyming. What does it mean to rhyme? Do these words rhyme? Which word does not rhyme? Can you thing of a rhyming word? We practice these routines daily.

PIN Parent Information Night

Just a reminder that PIN night is tomorrow Tuesday September 16th. This is an opportunity for parents to meet the new principal and visit with me in the classroom. You will have the chance to discover what your child experiences during his/her day at Memorial. Hope to see everyone there!

We had a great first few days!

Yes we had a great few days! And boy was it hot!! Despite how warm the room was, the children were wonderful. No one complained except me! We took it easy and began to establish some of the expected rules in and out of the classroom. These are very difficult for them to fully understand but they will catch on quickly as we review them daily. And every part of the day has rules....class rules, playground rules, library rules, lunch rules etc...Eventually it just becomes a part of their day.

Some of the rules we talked about for our classroom:

• Following the directions the first time! When the teacher asks you to do something you should do it the first time you are asked.
• Being good listeners. When the teacher is speaking, everyone needs to look and listen. This is how we learn!
• No running in the classroom or hallways. We don't want anyone to get hurt.
• Keeping our hands and feet to ourselves. We need to respect our friends and their space.
• Sharing at all times. Everyone is to be included.
• Talking nicely to our friends. We want to make friends not lose friends.
• Raising our hand before we speak and wait to be called on. It is not fair to a friend who has been called upon and someone else shouts out the answer.
• Work quietly at our centers. No one can concentrate if someone continues to talk and bother others at the work tables.

Lunch

Starting this week, your child will have the opportunity to purchase a lunch and/or milk at school. If your child plans to make such a purchase it is highly recommended that you create an online account through the school so that your child is not carrying money each day in his/her backpack. This can be done, I believe, on the Medfield.net site. If you choose not to go that route, please make sure your child's money is enclosed in a plastic ziplock bag with his/her name on it. This will be a great help to us  when it comes time to collect the money each day. Thanks in advance.

A Note regarding Allergies

Dear Families,

This year we welcome a student with food allergies to Mrs. Hedberg’s classroom. We invite your help and cooperation to help this child stay safe.

This student has multiple food allergies including walnuts, peanuts and sesame seeds. A reaction could potentially be life threatening. There are several practices that will be in place to help prevent an allergic reaction.

1.     Students will be encouraged to wash their hands before and after snack.

2.     Room 6 will be designated as allergy aware .

3.     It is our hope that families CHOOSE not to send nut or sesame products to school.

We look forward to working together with you to have a wonderful year. If you have any questions, please contact us at 508-242-8576.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hedberg                      Mrs. Zappulla MEd,BSN,RN

Looking Forward to the First Day!

Lunchboxes

A question came up today regarding lunchboxes that I would like to clarify. If your child is bringing a lunchbox I would ask that you pack a small snack in a plastic bag that your child can remove from the lunchbox prior to school. This small snack bag will fit in the cubby and is easily accessible from the classroom. Lunchboxes do not fit in the cubbies and will be kept outside with the backpacks. Thanks.

Additional Requests

In case of an accident, please pack a change of clothing, put it in a plastic bag and label the outside with your child's name. Also, your child will need to bring in a blanket or towel that he/she can rest on during our quiet time during the day. This too should be labeled with your child's name. These items will stay in the classroom for the school year.

Kindergarten Screening

Welcome to my Blog! Here is my first post for the new incoming parents.
Please make sure you have marked your calendars for your child's screening appointment. Screening is on August 27th and 28th. If you have yet to sign up please do so asap. Thanks. Also peruse through the link to Room 6 for more important information.

Year End Slideshows

I finally made the effort to post the slideshows. Enjoy!

A Year of AM Kindergarten Memories

A Year of PM Kindergarten Memories

Year End Reception

We will be celebrating our kindergarten year with a reception on Friday June 20. Please come and share time with your son or daughter as we say goodbye to a great year and great friends. Siblings are welcome. Refreshments will be served. The AM class will celebrate from 10-11am. The PM class will celebrate from 1:30-2:30pm. Hope to see you all there!

Field Trip Cancelled

Our field trip has been cancelled for Thursday May 22 due to rain. It has been rescheduled for Tuesday May 27th. All those who have volunteered, please let me know if you are still able to help next Tuesday. Thanks.

Thank You!

Thank you to all that offered to chaperone the field trip. We are all set!

Volunteers Needed For Field Trip

We are still in need of chaperones for our field trip on May 22nd. We need 3 more for the AM class and one more for the PM class. Please let me know if you are willing to come and help for the day!

Grow! Grow! Grow!

It is that time of year! I think I see the sun today! We have started talking about the life cycle of a plant. We have planted our bean seeds and some are actually sprouting. Each day we check to see if they need water and to observe any changes in the plant growth. Below is a wonderful video on how a seed grows. We have seen it in class and it is quite amazing


http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-seeds-sprout/

On the Scale

What is weight and how do we measure it? Well, we found out and used scales to find how heavy or light objects were in our room! We measured using counting bears as our weights.

Learning to Read Fluently

An excerpt from the phonics webinar by Kimberly Oliver Burnim, 2006 National Teacher of the Year and a Senior Curriculum Advisor at ABCmouse.com: Parent Question: How do I help my child to read fluently?

Answer: To read fluently means to read words expressively and smoothly. Children who are not fluent read choppily and word-for-word. This can affect their comprehension, because they don’t remember what they have read by the time they reach the end of a sentence. Reading fluently is an important skill.

To help your child learn to read fluently, one of the most important things you can do is to regularly read aloud to your child so that you’re modeling the type of reading you want your child to do. For example, if you’re changing your voice for different characters, your child will know that he or she needs to do the same. If a book that you’re reading has text features such as bold print, and you decide to read a bolded word loudly, you’re modeling that they, too, can do that while they’re reading. Another way to develop fluency is to have your child read a book over and over again. Children tend to become fluent readers after reading the same thing many times. They know when to pause, when to speed up, and when to slow down. As they listen to themselves read more and more fluently, this also helps to build their confidence.

RAH.....Reading at Home

Our reading at home program has begun (RAH). Each child will be able to take home 2 books at their independent reading level from my class library. Each child is divided up into a color group. Each color group will choose books on a certain day and return them on the same day of the following week.

These books are meant to be EASY. It is a time for your child to build confidence and enjoy his/her time reading. Books at an instructional level are read with me in a guided reading group in class. Please take the time to have your child read to you making sure that they are tracking correctly and reading the words correctly. Have them read to Dad and siblings. It is suppose to be a fun experience.

When both books are returned, your child will be able to choose two more books following the same pattern as I described above. I ask that the books are handled with care. Please return them in the plastic bag that they were given to travel back and forth in their backpacks. Thanks so much.

HAPPY READING!

How Cloudy is the Weather?

At the end of the month, weather was the topic of our science day. The parents shared some very interesting and fun facts about how weather affects our lives and why it happens. The students had so much fun participating in the centers.

Read Across America

In celebration of Dr. Seuss, we are asking that the children of Memorial School wear red and white on Friday. We hope to catch a glimpse of the Cat in the Hat when we arrive!

100th Day of School!

This past Friday we celebrated our 100th day in school!! The collections and creative projects that each child shared with the class were so well done. We counted and counted to 100 all day long either by 1's or 10's making sure that the collection being counted had exactly 100 items in it. It was such a milestone!

March Conferences

Please refer to Room 6 which lists the conference schedule for March. Let me know if there are any changes. Thanks.

Science Day - All about Dinosaurs!

Thanks to the parents who volunteered to talk with the class about dinosaurs! This is always an exciting topic in kindergarten. They know so much about them and can't wait to tell you all that they know. Here are some photos of the day.

March Conferences

This is a reminder to sign up for conferences via a link that I forwarded to you. You will be indicating whether or not you can come in the AM or PM on the three days that conferences are offered. You will not be signing up for a designated time slot for any day. This information has worked out well when putting together a schedule. You can check the blog to find out what day and time you are scheduled. If for some reason you need to change your time after the schedule is completed please contact another parent to make the change. I ask that you then let me know the change so I can plan accordingly.  If you did not receive my email please contact me and I will resend it. Thanks and have a nice February break. Stay warm!

Counting to 100......

We have been working hard counting to 100 but exercising at the same time. The students asked me to put this on my blog so they could exercise at home. Be ready to do a few knee bends!

http://youtu.be/S4rhzjD5ohw

Johnny the K

Tomorrow Johnny the K will be visiting Memorial. We love to listen to his wonderful music and have done so for many years. Please have your child bring in a special or funny hat to wear to the concert and share in the fun!

What is length?

In math, we are currently talking about non-standard measurement. Some of our vocabulary words are length, shorter, longer, equal and compare. We are learning  how to measure i.e. where do we start to measure and where do we end measuring an object. This week we measured our shoe with pennies and connecting cubes. We then measured a friend's shoe in the same way. We recorded and compared our results.