August 26-30

This week we will be reading The Good Egg. We are still working on making good choices and following the Rules and Procedures of the school and the classroom. It is important to learn that some of the rules that are in our classroom may be the same or different in other areas of the school (library learning commons, science lab, specials, etc.). We are trying to teach them that our rules and expectations follow them wherever we are in the school, as well as the rules and expectations from other parts of the school. 

We do have a class star chart and every time they get a good report from specials or are being extra good in class they get a class star. Once we get 10 stars we get a class party. We got our first class party this Friday. I brought in donut holes for snack, and we got free play time (legos, art, blocks). I let them know it will be different depending on when we earn the stars. Some examples I gave them was dance party, movie, special treat, free play, etc. They really enjoyed the first party and are looking forward to the next party.

This week I will also be introducing Good Behavior Punch Cards. Every day they are on green or higher they will get a punch. Once they get 10 punches they will be able to pick something from the treasure box. I am hoping this will help motivate them to make good choices in the classroom. 

We have also been working on bathroom rules. We are still having friends playing in bathrooms, and sometimes not going. We give them multiple opportunities throughout the day to use the restroom, so it does not interfere with learning times. I understand there are times you just have to go and we do let them go, but encourage them to go at designated times so they do not miss a lesson. 

• 08/28: Early Release (12:30pm) 
• 08/28: Chic-fil-a Night (5:00-8:00pm)
• 08/30: Grandparent Breakfast (7:15-7:45)
• 08/30: Spirit Wear Day
• 09/19: Field Trip to Art Barn (will have info. about field trip in purple folders Monday)

We will be having  our first STEM activity/lesson on Wednesday 08/30. I am very excited for this and know the kids will love it. We will be doing a sink/float activity. Students will be broken into groups with bins of water, and each group will have the choice of using aluminum foil, bubble wrap, or craft sticks to build a boat. Then we will take turns putting counting bears on boat to see how many their boat will hold before it sinks. We will discuss our ideas, ask questions, learn about a hypothesis, take data, and communicate our results. 

In reading we will be reading The Good Egg. We will do a look through, a read through, and watch video on The Bad Seed. Students will be able to tell the characters, setting, and the main idea of the story. They will also be doing a compare/contrast on how The Good Egg and The Bad Seed are alike and different. We will also make connections from the stories to our classroom and their homes. The vocabulary we will focus on in the book will be....

• Dozen: a group of 12
• Exhausted: super tired
• Pressure: a feeling you get when you really have to do something that you might not really want to do, or feel nervous to do
• Literally: when something happens exactly how you say it did
• Appreciate: to value or admire highly, to recognize with gratitude

In math we will continue counting and recognizing numbers. We will work on counting on, not just from one, and recognizing if something has more or less. Students enjoyed working with 10 frames last week, and we will continue to work with them this week and introduce two ten frames to work on teen numbers.

Science we will continue to work on comparing and sorting different materials. Will touch on how our senses can help us sort (touch, look). We will be working on a scientific investigation during our stem day on seeing what sinks, and floats. 

Students have been doing great on homework! You can put more than one day and more than one assignment per page. It helps save paper and saving you from having to buy another composition notebook. Homework is a great time for you to see how your child is progressing academically! 

Please check purple folders/agendas daily as we send stuff home that way, and write notes in there. Most of you already are but, would like to ask if you could continue writing how they will get home each day in their agenda. This really helps us out with dismissal. Also, we only get ice cream on Fridays, and require a note letting us know that they can get it. It will help us to know if you write that in their agenda as well. 

Last thing is I will be working on a wish list. I have had a few parents ask if there is anything we need for the classroom. I have been jotting things down and will compose a list of things that would help out in class and post it here. I appreciate all the help and support from home!

08/19-23/19

Hello Kindergators, 

I hope that you all had a great weekend and are ready to get back into learning come Monday morning. Few important notes......

1. Please remember to put how your child is to get home all week in their agenda. If something changes just send a note.
2. Please do homework every night. Here is a link to help set up great HW habits https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/homework-help/homework-project-tips/successful-homework-habits-beginning-learners.html
3. We have snack everyday, so please send in a healthy snack each day and tell your child what that snack option is as we have them put it in their cubby as soon as they come in, in the morning so it is easier for them to get it out when it is snack time.
4. Ask your students about our class rules. We are still trying to learn them and teach them that there are consequences for when we do not follow the classroom/school rules (moving clip down, letters home, etc.)
• Our Class rules are
• Listen to and Follow directions the first time
• Walk quietly on blue line with hands at side or duck tail
• Raise hand to talk
• Nice hands and feet 
• We always try our best
• Be Responsible, Respectful, Helpful, and Safe

IMPORTANT DATES:

• 08/23: FBI Breakfast (7:00-7:45 am)
• 08/28: Early Release (12:30 pm)
• 08/28: Chic-fil-a Night (5:00-8:00 pm)
• 08/30: Grandparent Breakfast (7:15-7:45 am)
• Every Friday Spirit Friday (wear Addison shirt, Alligator Shirt, Green Shirt)

What we will be learning this week......

Reading: 

We will be reading The Day the Crayons Quit this week. We will discuss the importance of the author, illustrator, title, characters, setting, and main idea in the story. We will also discuss feelings, and how each of the crayons felt. We will start by discussing what all great readers do......

1. Look at the pictures for cues.
2. Try to sound out some words.
3. Learn their sight words.
4. Believe they can do it!

We are an I CAN class, and we all TRY our hardest! 

Please help your student with sight words at home. Here are some fun ideas to try.....

We will learn about the difference between letters, words, and sentences. Continue to practice letter identification, letter sounds, and letter handwriting at home. We will start watching Jack Hartmans See It, Say It, Sign it this week. 

Writing:

We will discuss how the letters can be Tall, Small, and Fall. We will also be writing our letter of the week M and sight words Am, And, An. Please look at letter writing sheet in purple folder for reference when writing letters. As well as the letter and sight words of the week sheet. 

Math:

We will continue to work on counting, and why we count (to tell how many) when we count. We will introduce a 10 frame and work on counting with it. 

Our first unit we learn in math is "Counting with Friends" and these will be the concepts students will need to understand.....

• Count by ones 0-100
• Counting on from a given number
• Write numbers from 0-10
• Understand when counting, the next number said is one larger (5 is more than 4)
• Count to match objects in a set

Some activities you can do at home are.....

• Count the amount of spoons in the drawer
• Have your child count forward from 1-50, and start at different numbers (count to 50 starting at 10)
• Have children practice writing numbers 0-9 in different colors, in shaving cream, sidewalk chalk
• Lay out small toys and have child touch and count
• Play games that include counting using dice, or spinner with numbers, like Chutes and Ladders

Science:

We got to visit the science lab for the first time this week and the students loved it. We learned all about the rules in the science lab, and what it takes to be a good scientist. If you want to volunteer in the lab fill out the PTA toolkit and email julie.knobbe@cobbk12.org. 

Our first unit in science will be......

• Observe and experience several physical properties of objects to better understand and differentiate matter.
• Sort by color, size, and other physical properties.

Social Studies:

Our first unit in social studies we will be learning about......

• How to be a good citizen. How can we be a good citizen? Who are our authority figures? How do my actions change the way people think about me? These are just some of the questions we will answer in this unit. 
• What are rules and why do we need to follow them?

Here are our class rules......

1. Listen to and Follow directions the first time
2. Walk quietly on blue line with hands at side or duck tail
3. Raise hand to talk
4. Nice hands and feet 
5. We always try our best
6. Be Responsible, Respectful, Helpful, and Safe

• We will also be learning important character traits. Describe examples of positive character traits exhibited by good citizens such as honesty, patriotism, courtesy, respect, and self control. 

I know this post was really long. And, I appreciate you taking the time to read through it, and helping me and your child have a successful school year! Future blogs will not be as long, since I will not go over what we will be covering the entire quarter, but just what we will be doing for the week. 

08/16/19

We have made it through our second full week of school. The students are starting to settle in and learn the rules and procedures in our classroom and school. We did practice a code red drill today so you may hear about it. 

I was so excited that all of the students turned in their homework journals this week and they were all completed! We got to have our fun Friday and watched an educational video about space after recess. We also had a little dance party, as we have a lot of friends who enjoy dancing........including me and Mrs. Mcghee! 

Some things we worked on in class this week were......

READING: Author, Illustrator, Title, Characters, and Setting

WRITING: Letter of the week I, and sight words of the week I, it, and is, as well as their names. 

MATH: Counting with one-one correspondence, and writing numbers

I will try to post on here weekly most likely on Sunday evening or Monday morning with what we will be doing for the week and if there is any important announcements. 

I hope you all have a great weekend!

08/12/19

Hello Kindergators,

Today was a success for a Monday! The students seemed to get the routine a little quicker today. We will continue to work on it. Thank you to everyone who wrote notes in the agenda today about transportation! It really helped and will make dismissal so much easier.

Ask your students about science lab. We got to visit today. It was mostly introducing the science lab and learning the rules and procedures in the science lab. You will have to ask them if Mrs. Wilkinson was the good example or the bad example😊 Students also got to meet the volunteers, who were great and all the students worked well with them. If you want to volunteer in the science lab please let me know and we will get you in. We will be going to science every other Monday. You can also ask them about the fun project they worked on today. They did not get to use the finished product as we had to get to lunch, so we will let them try them tomorrow then send them home.

We did add the letter of the week and sight words of the week to their purple agenda, as well as how to form the letters when writing. Our letter this week is short I and the sight words are I, It and Is. We also added their Homework journals in their bags today. Remember each night your students need to do the top two (Skills to maintain and reading) then pick 1 of the bottom two. If you need to double up on a night that is fine jot us a note, or if something comes up and you cannot complete for a night write us a note. We will start this Friday implementing the reward Friday and the students who have completed all of their homework for the week will get extra recess or educational movie, and the students who were unable to complete homework will get additional support from either me or Ms. Mcghee to complete their homework.

I am looking forward to a successful week with your students!

Week of 08/05-09/19

We made it through our first full week of school. The students are starting to get the hang of all the new rules and procedures in our classroom and at Addison. We have been learning about how to come into the classroom, and how to unpack. They still need a few reminders but are getting the hang of it. Students are still getting adjusted to the school day schedule so we have been taking it a little easy on the work load. Starting next week we will introduce a little more, and see how they adjust.

We introduced the behavior chart last week. Students will start on green every day. They will move their clip up or down depending on their behavior. The colors in order from top to bottom are Pink, Purple, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. We want the students to be on green! They can go up if we notice them going above and beyond in something, but we are happy with them staying on green, green is good! If they move down to yellow it is just a warning/reminder to get on task. You will get a note if they have to move down to orange, and red will be a call. As I mentioned at the open house the students will take ownership of their behaviors in the classroom by putting a dot of the color they are on for the day in their agenda.

Another first we had last week in school was a practice fire drill. We discussed it last week a few times in order to prepare. We explained how when the alarm goes off we stop what we are doing, leave everything, line up with teachers, and walk to designated area outside. We happened to be in the Library Learning Commons when it went off this time. Everyone did a great job!

I am looking forward to our next full week of learning together! Thank you for all of your support at school and home.

     Mrs. Wilkinson

We are so excited to work with your children this year in Kindergarten! This year we hope to develop a love of learning in your child as he or she becomes readers, writers, scientists, and mathematicians. We hope to inspire them to try new things and think differently about the world around them. We want them to ask questions and develop their ability to observe the wonders of the world. To help your child be the best student he or she can be, we will need a lot of help from you. 

Here are some ways you can help your child this year.

1. Check over this blog. It contains resources that explain what your child will be expected to know and strategies to help them be academically successful.

2. Read with your child every night. This includes you reading to your child, and after they know some letter sounds and sight words, them reading a bit to you.

3. Communicate often with your child's teacher. We look forward to answering any questions you may have, hearing about exciting home happenings and working together to find ways to challenge each child.

4. Make sure your child is on time. Most of our academics occur in the morning hours and begin the moment they enter the classroom. Coming in late means they don't get the time they need to unpack, organize and socialize.

5. Teach your child to listen. It is a critical skill for learning and being a good friend to others.

6. Encourage responsibility and independence. Learning to tie their shoes, cut and write are great places to start.

7. Ask your child what they learned each day and expect an answer. We promise you there is much for them to talk about even if they say "nothing."

For more ideas on how to help your child be successful in school go to Scholastic's Parent Guide. We are looking forward to getting to know you and your children as this wonderful year unfolds.
https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/school-success-guides.html