Hello Kindergarten Families!

Happy 5th week of kindergarten! This is our first week of October! The leaves will soon begin to change color and we will see signs of the beautiful season of fall all around us!

Thank you for your cooperation with the drop off and pick up procedures!

I would like to remind you of a few things. Please remember, your child needs to bring a healthy snack to school EVERYDAY! They also need to bring their folder and reading bags to school everyday. Check your child’s folder each day and remove the papers that do not need to come back to school.  The reading bag contains homework items for your child. Please work with these items for 20 minutes each day. All children need to wear gym shoes to school everyday. Thank you for your teamwork in helping your child with these responsibilities!

Spelling: Please help your child practice writing the following letter this week: Bb and Nn.  In addition, please help your child practice writing his/her first name. *The test will be on Friday!

1. B
2. b
3. N
4. n
5. Your child’s first name. Please be sure there are no backwards letters and that only the first letter is uppercase. The rest of the name should be lowercase. Recognizing and writing names are very important and will be practiced every day!

Ex. Ryan    not…RYAN  or ryan.

Reading: This week we will practice identifying the setting and the characters in stories. Identifying the elements of a story is a comprehension strategy to help your child remember what was begin read. We will also practice identifying beginning sounds of words. So far, we have introduced 2 of the 5 Daily Choices. The children are now independently doing Work on Writing and Read to Self. We will introduce Word Work this week. I am still encouraging the children to practice the 3 Ways to Read a Book. (1. Read the pictures 2. Read the words 3. Re-tell the story) Please practice the following sight words: (These are words your child needs to recognize and read by sight.)

Review: is   a   see                        NEW words this week will be: to   go  can

Math: I will continue to introduce various math tools to the students this week. In addition, we will work on counting to 100 and recognizing numbers and their quantities 1 to 10. We will practice writing ways to show the numbers 0-10.

Science: We will continue learning about the 5 senses. These are see, hear, smell, taste, touch. We will conduct our next science investigation this week using the 5 senses as well as the scientific process of investigating a question with a hypothesis and using data to determine the results.

Social Studies:  We will continue a unit called “How to Get Along with Others”. This week we will discuss a classroom issue and brainstorm ways we can work together to solve the problem together.

Writing: We will write to tell a personal story. This is called a personal narrative. The children will write using detailed drawings as well as their ability to tell us about their story. Children will also be encouraged to write with “words”. Please encourage your child to “write” at home.

Thank you for all you do!

Have an amazing week!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Here a a picture of a super fun gross motor activity led by our awesome gym teachers, Mrs. Dunn and Mr. Duda!

Here is a picture of our first science investigation!!! We are practicing identifying the five senses. We used our sense of hearing to identify the sound played and then our sense of sight to find the picture that matches the sound! The children worked in teams to complete this 5 senses investigation!

Hello Families!

Today was another terrific day! We were visited by teachers from Dearborn. They came to observe our Daily 5 literacy block. The teachers left their observation amazed by your children!!!! My little students demonstrated stamina during read to self and work on writing. They showed their growing ability to be independent reading and writing while I work with small groups and individual children. Way to go my little kindergarten stars!!!

We practiced comprehension by naming the characters after I read “The Little Red Hen”. The students illustrated and labeled these characters. Please look for this illustration in their folders and ask your child to tell you who these characters are. The characters include The Little Red Hen, the Cat, the Duck, and the Pig.

We practiced identifying the beginning sounds in words by sorting pictures onto Tilly Turtle that begin with the sound of T.

We learned a new sight word today! We learned the word: is. Please practice the words we have learned with your child. A really great idea is to make flash cards.

The words we have learned so far are: I , a, is, my, to, like.

We wrote our personal narratives about a happy time. The children did their best “writing” and illustrating their stories. Their dictations are precious. We have been working on Ideas. Ideas is when  their writing and illustrations work together to tell their story. It is also writing and sticking to the topic of the prompt.

In math we learned a new game! I call it the “Teddy Bear Game” :). This is a game where the students practiced recognizing the quantity rolled on the dice and moved their teddy bear that many spaces on the game board while practicing one to one correspondence in counting. The children loved playing this game. The turn taking skills and language produced during the game was also a benefit of this activity.

This is us playing the Teddy Bear Game!

This is us after sorting pictures that begin with the sound of T onto Tilly Turtle.

Tomorrow we will have our second hand writing test. The children will be tested on writing T, t, R, r, and their first name.

Thank you for all you do!

Enjoy your evening!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Hello Families!

Today Operation School Bell visited our school! The children got to go shopping for free and NEW clothing! The volunteers from this wonderful organization treated each one of students with such kindness and really took the time to let them pick out the shopping items. It was such a beautiful experience for all. The smiles on my students’ faces made this an amazing day! Please enjoy the pictures!

When we returned to the classroom, we wrote thank you notes/pictures to Operation School Bell to express our gratitude for our new clothes, coats, books, and hygiene products! 🙂

We also practiced re-telling a familiar story using the pictures. This is a comprehension strategy.

We practiced an accuracy strategy called “Clap words in a sentence”. The children practiced clapping each word in a sentence as we read the sentence together.

We also began the two day writing prompt. We are writing a personal narrative about a time when we were happy. We brainstormed a list of things that make us happy. The children came up with really great responses. (ex. when dad comes home, going to the beach with my family, having a birthday party, and when a new baby comes to our house). Tomorrow we will write our personal narratives.

All of the children wore gym shoes to school today!!! We earned marbles in our jar!!! Thank you, parents for remembering that gym shoes need to be worn everyday to kindergarten.

Please remember to send a jacket to school with your child.

Thank you for all you do!

Don’t forget to continue practicing writing R, r, T, t, and first name. Also, please practice the contents in your child’s reading bag for 20 minutes each night. Please see me if you have any questions regarding these contents. Thanks, again!

Mrs. Mehrhof

This is us re-telling the story using pictures.

This is us clapping the words in a sentence.

This is us shopping with Operation School Bell!

This is us writing thank you notes.

Hello Kindergarten Families!

Happy 4^th week of kindergarten! I am looking forward to another terrific week!

Please note the following change in entrance procedure:

ALL parents will bring ALL kindergarten students to the outdoor line up on the black top behind the school by 8:30. We will greet your children outside as we meet them at 8:30. Please remember, we are trying to help your child become independent at school. We have amazing adults outside to help your child. When you bring your child to school, please remain in the cafeteria and say your goodbyes there. Thank you so much for your support and help with this!

We would like to remind you of a few things. Please remember, your child needs to bring a healthy snack to school EVERYDAY! They also need to bring their folder and reading bags to school everyday. Check your child’s folder each day and remove the papers that do not need to come back to school.  The reading bag contains homework items for your child. Please work with these items for 20 minutes each day. All children need to wear gym shoes to school everyday. Thank you for your teamwork in helping your child with these responsibilities!

Spelling: Please help your child practice writing the following letter this week: Rr, Tt.  In addition, please help your child practice writing his/her first name. *The test will be on Friday!

1. R
2. r
3. T
4. t
5. Your child’s first name. Please be sure there are no backwards letters and that only the first letter is uppercase. The rest of the name should be lowercase. Recognizing and writing names are very important and will be practiced every day!

Ex. Ryan    not…RYAN  or ryan.

Reading: This week we will practice identifying the characters in stories. This is a comprehension strategy to help your child remember what was begin read. We will also practice identifying beginning sounds of words. So far, we have introduced 2 of the 5 Daily Choices. The children are now independently doing Work on Writing and Read to Self. We are still encouraging the children to practice the 3 Ways to Read a Book. (1. Read the pictures 2. Read the words 3. Re-tell the story) Please practice the following sight words: (These are words your child needs to recognize and read by sight.)

Review: I       like       my                            NEW words this week will be: is     a     see

Math: We will continue to introduce various math tools to the students this week. In addition, we will work on counting to 100 and recognizing numbers and their quantities 1 to10. We will practice writing ways to show the numbers 0-10.

Science: We will continue learning about the 5 senses. These are see, hear, smell, taste, touch. We will conduct our first science investigation this week!

Social Studies:  We will continue a unit called “How to Get Along with Others”. This week we will continue talk about what it means to be fair and responsible.

Writing: We will write to tell a personal story. This is called a personal narrative. The children will write using detailed drawings as well as their ability to tell us about their story. Children will also be encouraged to write with “words”. Please encourage your child to “write” at home.

Tuesday, Sept. 27th- Gleaners will be delivering food at Miller School. Please feel free to come by and get food for your family.

Wednesday, Sept. 28th- We are so excited to have Operation School Bell come to Miller School! If you signed and returned the completed form for your child, they will participate in getting new clothes, a coat, and hygiene kit from this amazing organization.

Thursday, Sept. 29th- Parent Meeting at 9AM for all Miller parents! This will take place in the Miller multi-purpose room.

Have a super week!

Thank you for all you do!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Hello Families!

We had a fun Friday at Miller School! Today we went to gym and music!!! We earned marbles in our jar because EVERYONE remembered to wear gym shoes to school! We also earned marbles in our jar for some of the really great choices we made!

Today we took our first writing test! The children have the graded test in their folders. Please review any letters your child may be having difficulty writing. Please remember, names have only one uppercase letter. This letter is only at the beginning. This is true for the first name and the last name. Thank you!

In addition, we are beginning to learn about teen numbers. (11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19), We are learning that these numbers represent a group of ten and some extra ones.

Please review the words I , like, and my with your child. Please encourage them to write a sentence for me over the weekend with a detailed illustration to match.

We read the book, “Boomer Goes to School” by Constance McGeorge. We discussed what was the same about Boomer’s school in comparison with our school. The children did such a wonderful job with this comprehension strategy. It is always a great idea to ask your child questions from the story when you are reading with them. I encourage all of you to spend 20 minutes each day reading with your child. This is such a valuable way to spend quality time with your precious little children.

We also cut and glued pictures of items that begin with the sound of s. Your child is also bringing this home today. Please ask them to identify the sound of s and the pictures they glued.

SUPER IMPORTANT!!!!

Please remember that MONDAY…begins the outdoor lineup on the on blacktop in the back of the school for ALL kindergarten students. Please say your good-byes and drop off your child in the cafeteria. There will be Miller adults available to help your child. Thank you for your support!

Pick up will always be from the classroom at 3:35 for ALL kindergarten students. Thank you!!!

Please enjoy these pictures of some of the great work that is taking place in our classroom. 🙂

Have a fun and relaxing weekend!

Thanks for all you do!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Hello Families!

Happy First Day of Fall!!!

Today was a very busy, (and fun), day! Here are some of the highlights.

We practiced recognizing words that begin with the sound of Ss when listening to the story, “Seal’s Silly Sandwich” by Dorothy Sklar. Ask your child to tell you a word that begins with the letter S sound. Please help your child bring in an item or draw a picture of something that begins with the letter Ss sound.

We also wrote a personal narrative (a story that tells something that happened to us), about a time when we filled someone’s bucket. If you would like to know what filling someone’s bucket means, please look back at the previous posts. The children told wonderful ways they helped fill other people’s buckets. 🙂

In addition, we read the book “Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf” by Lois Ehlert. This book featured the colors we see when the leaves turn in the fall. We discussed which of the 5 senses we would use while finger painting with the fall colors. They made beautiful fall trees. They also practiced the new sight word we learned today while writing the sentence, I like fall. The new sight word we learned today is like.

We also practiced one to one correspondence with counting objects and matching what we counted with the written number. This was a cut and glue activity. The children brought this paper home to show you their work. Please continue to practice counting and writing numbers with your child.

Tomorrow is our first writing test! The students will be tested on writing their first name, S, s, M, and m. Please help them practice. I sent home a homework paper to help them be super ready for the test tomorrow. 🙂 Please help your child complete their homework and return it to me tomorrow.

Have a lovely first day of fall!

Thanks for all you do!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Hello Families!

Today we visited the computer lab! We practiced clicking skills with the mouse on starfall.com.

We also were introduced to our new Alphafriend, Sammy Seal for the letter Ss. We practiced writing upper and lowercase Ss as well.

We practiced the comprehension strategy of naming the characters as we read the story “If You Take a Mouse to School” by Laura Numeroff. Not only, is this a great book, but there are lots of words that begin with the /s/ sound. The children did a great job telling each other who the characters in the story are. We used the sentence stem, “The characters in the story are….” I like to encourage the students to respond in complete sentences. Please help with this when you are asking your children questions. Please encourage them to respond in complete sentences.

Please remember, FRIDAY is the WRITING TEST for the letter M m S s and your child’s first name. Please continue to help your child practice these writing concepts.

We practiced counting by ones to 100 as well as by tens to 100. Please practice counting with your child everyday!

Last, we learned a poem about the four seasons. We discussed the four seasons and what they are. We talked in more detail about Fall. Tomorrow is actually the first day of Fall! We are going to do a special Fall finger painting activity tomorrow. 🙂

Have an amazing day tomorrow. Here are some pictures I took of the students at work.

Thanks for all you do!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Hello Families!

Today we took the NWEA reading test in the computer lab. The children worked very hard to do their best! Please give your child experience in using a mouse and the computer. They are required to be able to left click as well as click and drag items to select their answers for the test. We will take the math NWEA test next week on Monday!

We read the book, “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol Mc Cloud. The children have been practicing making good choices with their friends. We have been discussing the invisible bucket we all have in our hearts. This bucket can filled by people with kind words and kind deeds. When this happens we feel happy and loved. When we do and say kind things to others we also fill our own buckets! However, we also discussed when we say or do unkind things we are dipping someone’s bucket. This makes them sad. We do not want to be bucket dippers! We want to be bucket fillers! Ask your child to tell you how they can fill someone’s bucket. 🙂 There is a song as well as a version of the book read aloud on You Tube.

We read the book, “Monkey’s Miserable Monday” by Valerie Garfield. This book featured many words that begin with the /m/ sound. We practiced writing uppercase and lowercase m on our white boards!

We also discussed words that begin with the /m/ sound. We sorted pictures by cutting and gluing them onto our monkey paper. Please ask the children to identify the pictures that begin with /m/ on their paper. In addition, for homework, help your child practice writing M and m as well as their first name. You can also get a head start by practicing writing letter S s. One more thing….please help your child draw, bring in, or cut out from a magazine something that begins with the /m/  sound. They can bring it to school tomorrow to share with the class!

Please continue to practice writing and recognizing numbers 0-10 as well as counting to 100.

Tomorrow we will go to gym. Please be sure your child is wearing gym shoes. ALL kindergarten students should wear gym shoes to school EVERYDAY. Thanks!

Have a wonderful evening! Thank you for all you!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Hello Families!

We started the week of with a marvelous Monday! We got to go to both Science Enrichment and Music!

We also learned about what it means to be fair by talking about the concept of sharing and taking turns. We read and responded to questions with the book, “Share and Take Turns” by Cheri J. Meiners. We had a great discussion about the kindness involved in sharing and thinking about other people’s feelings.

We also learned the sight word, (words to know by looking at them), I. In addition, we learned about the letter Mm. The children were introduced to the Alphafriend, Mimi Mouse!

We also practiced identifying numbers 0-10. We practice putting these numbers in order as well. This was alot of fun!

Your child is bringing home the weekly newsletter. Please be sure to see me if you have any questions regarding the information in the newsletter.

Homework tonight is practicing writing uppercase M and lowercase m as well as your child’s name. Please do this on notebook paper and return to me in the morning. Please practice counting to 100 by ones as well.

Tomorrow, the children will take the NWEA test on the computer. Please help them to get a good night’s sleep as well as a healthy breakfast so they can do their best on the test! 🙂

Thank you for all you do!

Have a beautiful evening!

Mrs. Mehrhof

Kindergarten Weekly News

Hello Kindergarten Families!

Happy 3^rd week of kindergarten! This is our first full week!  I look forward to another fun week of learning new things and getting to know each other more. The children are showing so much success is learning the expectations and procedures in kindergarten. I am so proud of them!

I would like to remind you of a few things. Please remember, your child needs to bring a healthy snack to school EVERYDAY! They also need to bring their folder and reading bags to school everyday. Check your child’s folder each day and remove the papers that do not need to come back to school.  The reading bag contains homework items for your child. Please work with these items for 20 minutes each day. All children need to wear gym shoes to school everyday. Thank you for your teamwork in helping your child with these responsibilities!

Wednesday, September 21^st is the first day of Fall!

Spelling: Please help your child practice writing the following letter this week: Ss  Mm  In addition, please help your child practice writing his/her first name. *The test will be on Friday!

1. S
2. s
3. M
4. m
5. Your child’s first name. Please be sure there are no backwards letters and that only the first letter is uppercase. The rest of the name should be lowercase. Recognizing and writing names are very important and will be practiced every day!

Ex. Ryan    not…RYAN  or ryan.

Reading: This week we will learn the Three Ways to Read a Book. Your child can read a book by: 1. Reading the pictures, 2. Reading the words, 3. Retelling a familiar story. We will also begin Daily 5. This is our Literacy program that teaches the children valuable reading strategies as well as independence during work time. We will practice Read to Self. Please practice the following sight words: (These are words your child needs to recognize and read by sight.) We are up to 8 minutes of Read to Self Stamina!!! Yay, kindergarten!

I       like       my

Math: We will continue to introduce various math tools to the students this week. In addition, we will work on counting to 30 and recognizing numbers and their quantities 1 to 10. We will also begin learning about calendar math.

Science: We will continue learning about the 5 senses. These are see, hear, smell, taste, touch.

Social Studies:  We will continue a unit called “How to Get  Along with Others”. This week we will talk about what it means to be fair.

Writing: We will begin to write to tell a personal story. This is called a personal narrative. The children will learn to write using detailed drawings as well as their ability to tell us about their story. Please encourage your child to “write” at home.

Please assist your child in visiting the website starfall.com. Your child will be able to practice letters, sounds, and much more.

This week, your child will take the NWEA test on the computer on Tuesday morning. Please be sure your child gets plenty of sleep Monday night and a healthy breakfast Tuesday morning! I recommend that all of my amazing students get at minimum a 9 hour uninterrupted sleep. Kindergarten students should go to bed no later than 9:00. We work very hard during our day. Rest is extremely important for their little bodies. The Miller cafeteria is open and free for breakfast to all children in the mornings at 8:15-8:30.

One more thing….we would really appreciate boxes of tissues!!! Runny nose is beginning! 🙂 Thank you!

Thank you for all you do!

Mrs. Mehrhof