Weekly Newsletter 10.21

Monday Oct 21st   Day Four Sending home weekly homework (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete by Friday then return) Library (return books for exchange) Book Fair (for students during library time)

Tuesday Oct 22nd   Day Five  Mrs. Eckenrode out for the morning   Red Ribbon Drug Assembly Family Night @ Book Fair 6:00-7:30

Wednesday Oct 23rd    Day One    Music Health Screenings

Thursday Oct 24th    Day Two Gym Good News Club

Friday Oct 25th   Day Three 2 hr early dismissal (this is in accordance with the half sheet page that came home describing 2 hr early dismissals throughout the school year to end the marking periods.) In the future you will see an early dismissal on Wednesday, January 15th Tuesday, March 25th Weekly Homework Due (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete)

Weekly Newsletter 10.14

Monday Oct 14th   NO SCHOOL (Columbus Day)

Tuesday Oct 15th  Day Five Sending home weekly homework (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete by Friday then return) Mrs. Eckenrode out for the day

Wednesday Oct 16th   Day One     Music

Thursday Oct 17th   Day Two Gym Good News Club

Friday Oct 18th  Day Three Art Weekly Homework Due (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete)

MISC. Our classroom is looking for donations of individually wrapped bags of candy to use for our homework prizes. No chocolate please, it will melt. Some good candy choices are jolly ranchers, smarties, starbursts, dum-dum lollipops, lifesavers. Please don’t donate the snack size bag of candies that are very popular this time for Halloween time.

Weekly newsletter 10.7

Monday Oct 7th  Day Five Sending home weekly homework (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete by Friday then return) Box tops Collection Morning Fire Prevention Assembly

Tuesday Oct 8th  Day One      Music MAPS Assessment (on computers)

Wednesday Oct 9th   Day Two     Gym

Thursday Oct 10th   Day Three Art Good News Club

Friday Oct 11th  Day Four Library (please return book for exchange) Weekly Homework Due (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete) Scholastic book orders due (make checks payable to Scholastic)

MISC. Next Monday, October 14th, is an in-service day for teachers and NO SCHOOL for students Our classroom is looking for donations of individually wrapped bags of candy to use for our homework prizes. No chocolate please, it will melt. Some good candy choices are jolly ranchers, smarties, starbursts, dum-dum lollipops, lifesavers. Please don’t donate the snack size bag of candies that are very popular this time for Halloween time.

Weekly Newsletter 9.30.13

Monday Sept 30th   Day Five Sending home weekly homework (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete by Friday then return) Sending home new Book-It reading program (runs until March 31st)

Tuesday Oct 1st   Day One      Music Sending home Scholastic Book flyers (due back next Friday, October 11th)

Wednesday Oct 2nd    Day Two     Gym

Thursday Oct 3rd   Day Three Mrs. Eckenrode out for the day Art

Friday Oct 4th   Day Four Begin MAPS Assessment Testing Library (please return book for exchange) Weekly Homework Due (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete)

MISC. I strongly encourage you to sign your child up for Good News Club J They will go every Thursday morning (from October to April) for one hour to a local church. Children love going & come back to the room telling all their classmates about it who didn’t go. During this time, they will miss NO NEW INFORMATION at school! In the classroom, I use the time to play math games that have already been taught and played so no one misses out on anything. As teachers, none of us are allowed to teach new material while the students are gone.

Pinterest Anyone?

Anyone out there as addicted to Pinterest as I am?!?! Seriously, it is electronic hoarding! LOL I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT :-)
As I was looking through my kindergarten boards (I have 33 of them JUST related to kindergarten/school) I realized that I am keeping a "gold mine" to myself of ideas that sometimes parents are able to do at home! I want to invite you over to my Pinterest board, become a follower if you really like what you see, and check out the possibilities of doing AWESOME stuff with your kids at home :-)
**you do not have to have a Pinterest account to assess these ideas**

Two ways to get there Mrs. Eckenrode's Pinterest

or by Individual Boards
100th day of school

Beginning of the Year

Crafts

Dr. Seuss

Alphabet

Literature

Fall

Kid Writing

math

Movement

Science

Social Studies

Technology

Hope you enjoy! And if you are a fellow Pinterest-er, feel free to send me some of your pinning ideas :-)

Class pet

Today our classroom had a pet for the afternoon: a fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar that we found outside at recess

Weekly Newsletter 9.23.13

Monday Sept 23rd  Day Five Sending home weekly homework (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete by Friday then return)

Tuesday Sept 24th  Day One      Act 80 Day (school begins at 11:00) – no breakfast is served to students Music

Wednesday Sept 25th   Day Two     Gym

Thursday Sept 26th   Day Three Art

Friday Sept 27th  Day Four Picture Day Library (please return book for exchange) Weekly Homework Due (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete)

MISC. I strongly encourage you to sign your child up for Good News Club J They will go every Thursday morning (from October to April) for one hour to a local church. Children love going & come back to the room telling all their classmates about it who didn’t go. During this time, they will miss NO NEW INFORMATION at school! In the classroom, I use the time to play math games that have already been taught and played so no one misses out on anything. As teachers, none of us are allowed to teach new material while the students are gone. If you have signed up for parent volunteers (beginning in October)  please send in copies of your clearances so I can begin scheduling J It is not too late to volunteer if you haven’t signed up yet. Contact me for more details

Weekly Newletter

Monday Sept 16th Day Five Sending home weekly homework (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete by Friday then return) PTO Mtg (New Franklin Elementary Cafeteria @ 6:00)

Tuesday Sept 17th Day One      Music

Wednesday Sept 18th  Day Two     Gym

Thursday Sept 19th  Day Three Art

Friday Sept 20th  Day Four Library (please return book for exchange) Weekly Homework Due (select 5 out of 10 tasks to complete)

MISC. If you have signed up for parent volunteers (beginning in October)  please send in copies of your clearances so I can begin scheduling J It is not too late to volunteer if you haven’t signed up yet. Contact me for more details Next Tuesday, September 24th is an ACT 80 Day. School will run on a 2-hour delay and begin at 11:00

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (alphabet work)

All week long we have been reading a book by Bill Martin Jr titled Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. 

IT HAS BEEN A HUGE HIT!!! I think half the class is obsessed with reading it, they ask for it every morning :-) I have put three copies on our little bookcase so when it is read to self, more students can get their hands on a copy

I found a video on YouTube for you and your child to watch together. We have also watched this video in class on the TV

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a WONDERFUL book for all of us to practice our letters. Here are some more ways to practice our letter identification...

use pretzels to build letters (then have the fun of eating them)

paint with a Q-tip

pour salt into a shallow pan and form the letters with our fingers, then shake the tray to start over again

while driving in the car, look out the window and play "I Spy" for letters

Next week, my aide is going to be doing a letter identification assessment on your child. Depending on their score, you will be receiving a pack of ABC flashcards for continued practice at home :-)

Newsletter 9.3.13

Monday Sept 2nd NO SCHOOL Happy Labor Day

Tuesday Sept 3rd Day One     Music All About Me brown bags due Sending home Scholastic book flyers (due back next Friday, Sept 13th)

Wednesday Sept 4th Day Two     Gym Happy Birthday Makenzie!

Thursday Sept 5th Day Three Art

Friday Sept 6th Day Four Library (no books checked out)

MISC. Thanks so much for promptly returning all the forms that have been placed in folders this week. The beginning of any school year always has lots of “parent homework” for everyone to fill out and return If you picked a post-it note off of our wishing well poster at open house & have not turned in the items, please do so ASAP

Yay for Disney

A few weeks ago, Miss Bergan asked students, as their writing prompt during journal time, to write a letter to their favorite Disney character. (Previously Miss Bergan had found on Pinterest, and researched, that if you write a letter to the Disney characters that they will write you a letter back!)
Students went crazy and worked so hard on having nice handwriting, periods at the end of their sentences, spaces between their words, and many more editing techniques to have a wonderful letter to send to their Disney friend. Miss Bergan didn't tell them that there was the potential for a return letter
Today, when we came into work there was a large manilla envelope waiting for us in our mailbox down in the faculty lounge

"Holy COW! Is that what I think it is?!?!"

(we did this little dance of joy around the lunch table while

our principal watched from a distance and chuckled to himself LOL)

Maria RIPPED open the envelope and was greeted with this:

 

which had inside.....

our letter :-)

Hi PA Pals!

Oh boy, thanks for all the swell letters. It was so nice of you to think of me and my pals. Minne & I were busy talking about how lucky we are to have such special friends like you! Gosh, I hope you are having a great time at school...I bet you are learning some really exciting things. The gang & I are looking forward to seeing you here real soon!

Your Pal,

Mickey Mouse

HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THIS?!?!?!?!

(honestly, I think Miss Bergan & I may be more excited than the kids! hahaha)

but wait there's more...........

We opened up another envelope and found 24 (one for each, with 2 extra) personal postcards

I definitely think this is something I am going to start doing every year

Hippity Hoppity, Easter's on its Way

It is our last day of school before Easter break and our classroom has been full of holiday activities. This morning we dyed Easter eggs during morming literacy centers. The kids had a bunch of fun & I don't think we got "too awful" messy! haha

our finished product

Class Dojo

Our classroom has begun using a classroom behavior management program /software that will help us keep track of behaviors (positive & negative)

I have included an introductionary video (the little monster avatars are so darn cute!) to help explain how students earn points (for positive behavior) or get points taken away (for negative behavior)

****pay NO attention to the end of the video, kindergarteners are too young to

have their own access codes to this system****

Our positive behavior(ways to EARN points):

hard work

helping others

manners

on task

participation

quiet

sharing

teamwork

clean up

follows rules

nice friend

Our negative behavior (points will be TAKEN AWAY):

calling out

not listening

off task

pulls ticket

running

not sharing

tattle tale

doesn't keep hands to self

not a nice friend

not following rules

An informational paper will come home in your child's folder stating how you can sign up to receive a weekly report of your child's behavior in school. (Please return bottom portion of paper to inform us if you are signing up for weekly reports to be emailed to you)

Just visit Class Dojo, enter in your parent code, then enter your name, email, & create a password.

Let us know if you have any questions about this new process. I hope it will be beneficial to everyone :-)

PBS KIDS Lab | Virtual Pre-K | Shapes: At Home

Our math coach, Mrs. Cindy Campbell shared a youtube channel with us:

PBS KIDS Lab {Virtual Pre-K} Shapes: At Home

I spent some time this morning checking out some of the math videos and I found one on shapes (the unit we just finished in math last week)
I really like how the video guides you to specific questions that you can ask your children about videos
"What shape would you like to make?"
"How many sides does that shape have?"
"Are a square's sides equal?"
Our classroom has also been talking about 3D shapes (i.e. cyclinders, spheres, cones & cubes). While you are mixing together the ingredients to make the playdough, you can talk about the shapes of the containers or your child can possibly make a cube or sphere out of the playdough

If you need a recipe to make the playdough, check it out

I hope you enjoy the video and encourage you to check out other PBS KIDS Lab videos :-)

Miss Bergan is in the House!