Mrs. Henry's Classroom: Newsletter 9/7

We have had a very full week (despite the day off)! Besides becoming more independent in our basic routines like Morning Meeting, lunch count and dismissal procedures, and besides all the fun at recess and choice time, we've done a lot of academics, too!

In Reading Workshop, we learned that we are ALL READERS! We were amazed by how much environmental print we could read by ourselves (stop signs, exit signs, cereal names, McDonalds signs, etc). This week we learned that readers look, think, read and learn- in that order. We also learned about two kinds of books: storybooks and "learn about the world" books (fiction and non-fiction). We had fun examining the difference between the two. Lastly, we learned that we can read privately or with a partner, and what that looks like. The Reading Workshop format revolves around private and partner reading, and we'll be working on that all year. We are beginning to learn how to be good partners!

In phonics, we met new friends Echo and Baby Echo. Ask your child about them! We are learning a "story" for every letter of the alphabet. The story consists of the letter name, a "key word" which begins with the letter, and then the letter sound (i.e. the letter Bb story is "B, bat, /b/"). These stories will increase letter/sound awareness.

In Writing Workshop, we learned that we are ALL AUTHORS! Everyone has stories to tell and things to teach. Even a picture can tell a story, so we are beginning there. We made pictures of our families and things we like to do and what we want to be when we grow up. We learned about "kindergarten spelling" (which is also called temporary spelling) and how it's okay to not spell correctly in kindergarten. Everyone just needs to try their best. Your young author will be gaining independence and confidence as a writer and speller as the year unfolds. We are beginning to take risks and try to "spell" on our own.

In math, we set up our calendar for September and organized our birthday graph. We'll be having a lot of birthday celebrations in October and June! We explored how to count in an organized manner so as not to lose track. We learned about the importance of double-checking. Lastly, we took time exploring some of our math tools, how to use them, and the importance of working in a team.

In science, we're beginning a year long unit on the weather. We will be recording the weather and temperature all year long and searching for patterns and changes. We learned how to read our classroom thermometer. We use the rainbow colors instead of degrees. Red weather is hot and purple is the coldest.

In social studies, we discussed safety and rules around the school. We also made a brainstorm of why we come to school in the first place!

News & Notes:

School photo day is 9/12.
Kindergarten coffee is 9/14. Here you will have a chance to learn about how to volunteer in the classroom. If you cannot attend, but are interested in volunteering, please contact our room parents after the coffee...
...Our room parents are Mrs. Hoffmeister and Mrs. Garvey. THANK YOU in advance for your help this year!
Be on the lookout for HOMEWORK coming home for Writing Workshop. Your child needs to decorate something to find inspiration!