Mrs. Fillmore's Class Blog

What we did during our week:

Language Arts and Writing: We worked on recognizing and writing the letter I and the letter R. These are the letters we have learned thus far: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii  and Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz.  Make sure to focus on these letters/sounds at home to observe if your child has mastered each letter that was taught in class.  I will administer a 2nd test in letter recognition very soon!  Also, please make sure to go over LIST TWO for the sight word list; make it  a part of their homework routine:)  Our sight word test for LIST TWO will be  Thursday, November, 16th!   “Sight words are an important building block for early readers because they make up much of what a child will encounter when reading any book, worksheet or environmental print.  Children are encouraged and expected to recognize these words by sight; that is, to memorize them without sounding out or using other strategies.” -heidisongs.com

Math: We practiced recognizing, writing and representing numbers 19 and 20.   I have also introduced decomposing numbers: how to rip them apart and put it back together (whole); This will help us with simple addition and comparing and contrasting!  Also, I will be teaching the students how to count by 5’s and 10’s to 100 in addition to counting by 1’s:)  Here are some pictures of us having fun during math centers!

Science: We started our unit on Weather: sunny, cloudy and rainy!  We completed a R.A.N on weather!  Here is our work:)  

Social Studies: We started our unit on Needs and Wants!  We completed a C.E.R on Needs!  Here is our work:)

Other:

• We will start our unit on Turkeys next week…Gobble Gobble!
• Thank you to Elliana’s family for donating a brand new radio to the classroom…we appreciate it so much!
• In writing, we have learned how to use finger spaces in our sentences, writing from left to right and using punctuation at the end of our sentences!  Please practice this at home when writing sentences with sight words!
• **STAR Student: We have officially launched STAR student of the week in Kindergarten!  Each Friday, I will choose one child to be selected for star student.  That child will come home with an ALL ABOUT ME poster to be completed over the weekend and returned Monday morning.  All week we will talk about the star student, look at his/her poster and also write about that student in class.  At the end of the week, the star student will come home with a published book to keep and read with family!  Star student is a great way to highlight all of the amazing kids we have here in Kindergarten!  It’s a feel good activity and makes the kids really excited about writing and learning new things about their friends!  Be as creative as you want with the Star student poster.  Add pictures, drawings, crafts, stickers, objects to the board…there is no wrong answer!  If you have any questions about the Star Student Poster, please feel free to email me at any time!  *Here are some pictures of us writing about our star student Ameena during our Writing Block!
• 

Housekeeping items:

• For your convenience, I will have the Parent Teacher Conference reminder times at arrival and dismissal starting on Wednesday.  I will also send home two additional reminders in your child’s folder about your conference day/time.  You will only attend ONE conference, not all 3 that is offered. I have back to back conferences, so please make sure to be on time so you are able to receive all the information you need about your child and also ask any questions you may have:)  We have conferences on Wednesday, November 15th and Thursday the 16th.
• Please make sure to log onto math seeds and reading eggs when there is downtime at home, especially on the weekends!  I have laminated and attached logins/passwords for EACH child on their communication log this week!  Please keep this in a safe place, so it doesn’t get lost.  These programs are free for you to use, how awesome is that?  All you need to do is to show your child how to log in and they can begin learning!  Parents, in the classroom, I am trying to teach each child to login typing their own username and password…independency is the name of the game!   If you could be so kind, to help your child do the same at home, it would help so much!  Thank you!
• We will start sending book bags home Monday, November 13th. There is a note in the bag outlining how these will work. Just to reiterate, these bags come home and come back to school every single day. We use these during small group instruction. Please read these books at home with your child, and have them work on reading independently. We are working on one-to-one finger pointing. This mean that they should be pointing to each word as they read it. We are also working on reading words from left to right, spotting sight words easily in text and stretching sounds out when coming to an unknown word!  Make sure to jot down your child’s reading in the reading log each night!
• Our Book Fair Preview will be Tuesday, November 14th!  We can’t wait to see all of the different books offered at the Book Fair!
• This Wednesday is a LATE Start day!  School will start at 9:35a.m.
• Make sure to send in your canned goods throughout the week!  This is the last week for our food drive!  All cans are due by Thursday, November 16th!
• Savory Orders need to be picked up on Thursday, November 16th between 2:30-5:00 p.m.
• Our sight word test LIST TWO and homework will be on Thursday, November 16th.
• There is NO SCHOOl for Kindergarten students ONLY on November 17th.
• Thank you to the families who donated to our classroom fund celebration!  This money will be used to purchase items needed for our holiday celebrations and our end of the year party!  If you weren’t able to send in the donation and would still like to, there is still time!  Thank you:)
• New library books will come home today!  Enjoy these books over the weekend and for next week’s reading log.  If you forgot to bring in your child’s library book today, they will wait another 3 weeks to check out another book, considering we don’t have school next Friday or Thanksgiving weekend.  Happy Reading!

Upcoming Events:

November 13th-17th- Scholastic book fair at school (Family night 15th and 16th)

November 14th– Book Fair Preview!

November 15th– LATE start @ 9:35 a.m.

November 15th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm)

November 16th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm)

November 16th- Sight word test LIST TWO!

November 16th– Homework DUE!

November 17th– NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten ONLY!

November 22nd-24th- NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving!

November 30th- PBIS turkey bowling! This event will be for students who have flipped their card less than 4 times in the classroom!  Keep up the good behavior Kindergarten!

Enjoy your weekend with loved ones:)  See you Monday!

Hello Families,

Sorry this post is so late, I had conferences until 7pm today and I am finally just getting relaxed at home:)

Before I go buy a new radio for our classroom, I was wondering if any of my families had a lightly used radio they would like to donate to the classroom?  The radio must have a CD player, so we can sing and dance to all the learning songs I have for the children:)  If no one has a radio, that’s ok, I will go purchase one.  If you have a radio you don’t mind parting with and donating to the classroom we would GREATLY appreciate it:)  Please email me or respond to this blog post if you have a radio to donate!  Thanks so much!

I will see everyone tomorrow…YES we have school tomorrow:)

fillmoa@dearbornschools.org

What we did during our week:

Language Arts and Writing: We worked on recognizing and writing the letter H and the letter S. These are the letters we have learned thus far: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh  and Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz.  Make sure to focus on these letters/sounds at home to observe if your child has mastered each letter that was taught in class.  I will administer a 2nd test in letter recognition very soon!  Also, please make sure to go over LIST TWO for the sight word list; make it  a part of their homework routine:)  Our sight word test for LIST TWO will be  Thursday, November, 16th!  

** WE had 11 students receive a 100% on sight word LIST ONE!  Please look in your child’s folder for your child’s results:).  If you see words highlighted, those are the words to review with your child and add to sight word list two:)  Congrats to the 11 students…it is something to be proud of!  Here are some of the Heidi sight word songs we sang in class to prepare us for our test!   “Sight words are an important building block for early readers because they make up much of what a child will encounter when reading any book, worksheet or environmental print.  Children are encouraged and expected to recognize these words by sight; that is, to memorize them without sounding out or using other strategies.” -heidisongs.com

Math: We practiced recognizing, writing and representing numbers 17 and 18.   I have also introduced decomposing numbers: how to rip them apart and put it back together (whole); This will help us with simple addition and comparing and contrasting!  Also, I will be teaching the students how to count by 5’s and 10’s to 100 in addition to counting by 1’s:)  

Science: We started our unit on Weather: sunny, cloudy and rainy!  We love being weather watchers!

Social Studies: We started our unit on Needs and Wants!

Other:

• We had so much fun at our Halloween Party!  Please look at the blog dated on 10/31 for all the pictures!
• In writing, we have learned how to use finger spaces in our sentences, writing from left to right and using punctuation at the end of our sentences!  Please practice this at home when writing sentences with sight words!

• **STAR Student:We have officially launched STAR student of the week in Kindergarten!  Each Friday, I will choose one child to be selected for star student.  That child will come home with an ALL ABOUT ME poster to be completed over the weekend and return Monday morning.  All week we will talk about the star student, look at his/her poster and also write about that student in class.  At the end of the week, the star student will come home with a published book to keep and read with family!  Star student is a great way to highlight all of the amazing kids we have here in Kindergarten!  It’s a feel good activity and makes the kids really excited about writing and learning new things about their friends!  Be as creative as you want with the Star student poster.  Add pictures, drawings, crafts, stickers, objects to the board…there is no wrong answer!  If you have any questions about the Star Student Poster, please feel free to email me at any time!  

Housekeeping items:

• For your convenience, I will have the Parent Teacher Conference reminder times at arrival and dismissal.  I will also send home two additional reminders in your child’s folder about your conference day/time.  You will only attend ONE conference, not all 3 that is offered.   Our first round of conferences are Thursday, November 9th.  I have 9 families signed up for that day.  Thank you!  
• Please make sure to log onto math seeds and reading eggs when there is downtime at home, especially on the weekends!  I have laminated and attached logins/passwords for EACH child on their communication log!  Please keep this in a safe place, so it doesn’t get lost.  These programs are free for you to use, how awesome is that?  All you need to do is to show your child how to log in and they can begin learning!  Parents, in the classroom, I am trying to teach each child to login typing their own username and password…independence is the name of the game!   If you could be so kind, to help your child do the same at home, it would help so much!  Thank you!
• Book bags will be coming home in the next couple of weeks.  Please be on the lookout for more information on how to use the book bags at home and how to send them back to school every day!  Thank you.
• Field trip MONEY and permission slip is due this Monday, November 6th!  If you would like your child to attend, please bring in the money by Monday to save your child’s spot!  Thank you!
• Thank you to the families who donated to our classroom fund celebration!  This money will be used to purchase items needed for our holiday celebrations and our end of the year party!  If you weren’t able to send in the donation and would still like to, there is still time!  Thank you:)
• New library books will come home next Friday!  For now, enjoy the book you still have from last week!  Make sure to keep in a safe place:)

Upcoming Events:

November 6th- Field trip money and permission slip DUE! $14.00.

November 6th– Haigh Spirit Wear form and money due! 

November 7th– NO SCHOOL!

November 9th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm)

November 10th- Picture Re-take Day 

 **ATTENTION: The PTA calendar stated that there is no school on November 10, but there IS school on the 10th. There is NO school on November 17th.

November 13th-17th- Scholastic book fair at school (Family night 15th and 16th)

November 14th– Book Fair Preview!

November 15th– LATE start @ 9:35 a.m.

November 15th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm)  

November 16th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm) 

November 16th- Sight word test LIST TWO!

November 17th– NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten ONLY!

Have a fantastic weekend!

From start to finish we had such a wonderful time at our Halloween Celebration!  The kids enjoyed yummy donuts and cider for snack, along with some grapes!  After snack the students played ring toss, bean bags, pin the nose on the pumpkin and they were able to decorate a sugar cookie and make a hand FULL of popcorn!

All of this wouldn’t be possible without my room moms (Michelle and Nadia) and my parent volunteers!  I want to thank all of my families for making today a wonderful day for the students!  The students will be coming home with some pretty amazing treats in their backpacks.  Have a safe and fun night tonight!  I hope you enjoy the pictures from today:)  Love, Mrs. Fillmore

Correction:  On the Haigh November calendar, it states that Kindergarten and young 5’s will have NO school on November 10th.  THIS IS INCORRECT!! The date is actually November 17th for NO SCHOOL for kindergarten and young 5’s!

Happy Halloween!

Today, your child is coming home with the November Lunch calendar and a flyer about CANS FOR A CAUSE (Help feed our community)!  The class with the most food cans will win gift cards for the entire class and a special visit from Miley The Cow!  Let’s try to win this for our class and for the community!

Reminder:

• Parent Teacher Conference Reminders are coming home tomorrow!
• Make sure to study SIGHT WORD list ONE along with completing homework each day.  Our first sight word test is this Friday!
• Half day this Friday!  Students will dismiss promptly at 11:40 a.m.
• Book check out will not happen this week!  Keep the books for another week:)
• Field trip money and slip is due Monday, November 6th.  Also, the spirit sale is due this day as well (Haigh gear)!

I will be posting pictures of our Halloween celebration later today…be on the look out!  See you all at 2:30 p.m. for the parade:)

What we did during our week:

Language Arts and Writing: We worked on recognizing and writing the letter G and the letter T. These are the letters we have learned thus far: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg  and Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz.  Make sure to focus on these letters at home to observe if your child has mastered each letter that was taught in class.  Also, please make sure to go over LIST ONE for the sight word list; make it  a part of their homework routine:)  Our first sight word test will be THIS Friday November, 3rd!   “Sight words are an important building block for early readers because they make up much of what a child will encounter when reading any book, worksheet or environmental print.  Children are encouraged and expected to recognize these words by sight; that is, to memorize them without sounding out or using other strategies.” -heidisongs.com  Remember parents, this test isn’t about spelling the sight word, it’s about recognizing the sight word and being able to read it with fluency and accuracy!  In December, we will start spelling tests, but for now just practice recognizing the words:)

 Math: We practiced recognizing, writing and representing numbers 15 and 16 and we learned what 3D shapes are (cube, sphere, cylinder, rectangular prism and cone)!  We will have a geometry test this Monday to see if the students know their 3D shapes!  Looking ahead, I will be teaching the students how to count by 5’s and 10’s to 100 in addition to counting by 1’s:)  

Science: We have ended our unit on Push and Pull with a science assessment and will move into Weather and Seasons starting in November.  We are cruising right along, that’s for sure!     

Social Studies: As always, we are still working on how to get along with others by using the words like, “please,” “thank you.”  November, we will begin to learn about needs and wants!

Other:

• We completed our first CER (claim, evidence and reasoning) this week on spheres!  Make sure to ask your child if they can tell you what they know about spheres:)
• 
• We also completed a RAN (Reading and Analyzing Nonfiction) strategy on BATS!  We have learned a ton of fun facts about bats and have completed some fun activities to go along with our learning!  Make sure to ask your child about what they learned this week!  
• We have also learned how to use finger spaces in our sentences and punctuation at the end of our sentences!  We sure have been having fun learning in Kindergarten!
• During Read to Self, we used flashlights to find sight words in our text!  Boy, was it fun!  Here are some pictures of the students reading:)

Halloween:  

• Halloween is right around the corner and what an exciting time it is for our Kindergartners!  The costume parade will start promptly at 2:30p.m.  The students will walk around the school in their costumes; this is a great time to bring a camera and snap some pictures of the cute costumes!  Mr. Short has outlined the parade details on his blog post.  Here is where you can get the information.
• As for costumes, I ask that you do not put your child in a costume they don’t know how to get out of.   Please practice, practice, practice  with your child how to properly take off and put on their costume to ensure no accidents will happen in the classroom.  Of course, we will do the best we can to help the students, but sometimes we can’t get to the student fast enough, etc.  We also ask that you do not dress your child in scary costumes, bring any weapons and or masks. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter!
• Also, if you would like to bring in one bag of wrapped candy or non edible treats for your child to pass out to his/her friends, that is welcomed as well!  We have 23 friends in the classroom!  I just ask all candy is gelatin free (NO pork products)!  With our celebration fund money we were able to purchase fun games for the kids to play during our Halloween centers and also yummy treats for the kids to enjoy (yum, yum)!  Again, thank you for your donation to our fund!  I will make sure to post pictures on our blog of the day!

Housekeeping items  (PLEASE READ…NEW and IMPORTANT Information):

• For your convenience I  will have the Parent Teacher Conference reminder times at arrival and dismissal starting on Wednesday.  I will also send home two additional reminders in your child’s folder about your conference day/time.  You will only attend ONE conference, not all 3 that is offered. Thank you!
• Next Friday is a HALF day for all students.  Make sure to arrange for someone to pick up your child at 11:40 a.m. promptly!  Thank you!
• Heads up: your child is coming home with a Haigh order form for Haigh gear (woo hoo) and also the November calendar for upcoming events:)  
• Book bags will be coming home in the next couple of weeks.  Please be on the lookout for more information on how to use the book bags at home and how to send them back to school every day!  Thank you.
• We will be starting star student in the classroom!  More information to follow!
• Your child is coming home with a new library book!  Make sure to use this book for next week’s reading log and keep in a safe place:)  Enjoy!
• Field trip information will be sent home on Monday about our field trip on December 5th.  Money and form for this field trip will be DUE Monday, November 6th!
• Thank you to the families who donated to our classroom fund celebration!  This money will be used to purchase items needed for our holiday celebrations and our end of the year party!  If you weren’t able to send in the donation and would still like to, there is still time!  Thank you:)

Upcoming Events (Mark dates for a friendly REMINDER):

October 31st- Halloween Parade at 2:30 p.m.

November 1st– Parent Teacher Conference Reminders will be sent home!  Be on the look out for your day and time!

November 3rd– Sight word test~ List ONE!

November 3rd– Star Student will start!  More information to follow.

November 3rd– HALF DAY for students!  Dismissal at 11:40 a.m.

November 6th- Field trip money and permission slip DUE! $14.00

November 7th– NO SCHOOL!

November 9th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm).  

November 14th– Book Fair Preview!

November 15th– LATE start @ 9:35 a.m.

November 15th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm)

November 16th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm)

November 17th– NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten ONLY!

Have a marvelous weekend!

Here are some friendly reminders as we wrap up this week:

• Our book check out date is tomorrow!  Please return the previous library book and place it in your child’s back pack tonight.  Thank you!
• Homework is due tomorrow!  Make sure you have read a book each night and the homework is completed in it’s entirety:).
• Savory Fundraising forms are due tomorrow!  If you have sold items, please bring the form back, along with the money.
• GYM day is tomorrow!

Side note: The kids loved picking pumpkins today!  Thank you to the PTA for putting this event on!  Here is a picture from our pumpkin picking:)

What we did during our week:

Language Arts and Writing: We worked on recognizing and writing the letter F and the letter U. These are the letters we have learned thus far: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff and Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz.  Make sure to focus on these letters at home to observe if your child has mastered each letter that was taught in class.  Also, please make sure to go over LIST ONE for the sight word list; make it  a part of their homework routine:)  We have been having fun with sight words in the classroom!  Here are a few pictures:)

 Math: We practiced recognizing, writing and representing numbers 13 and 14 and we learned what 3D shapes are (cube, sphere, cylinder, rectangular prism and cone)!  We have also been learning how to subitize items in a ten frame or in tally marks!  This is the video we watched in class to help us with SUBITIZING🙂

Science: We have been learning about push and pull and will soon do an experiment with magnets!

Social Studies: We are still working on how to get along with others by using the words like, “please,” “thank you” and using words to express their feelings.

Halloween:  

• Halloween is right around the corner and what an exciting time it is for our Kindergartners!  The costume parade will start promptly at 2:30p.m.  The students will walk around the school in their costumes; this is a great time to bring a camera and snap some pictures of the cute costumes!  Mr. Short has outlined the parade details on his blog post.  Here is where you can get the information.
• As for costumes, I ask that you do not put your child in a costume they don’t know how to get out of.   Please practice, practice, practice  with your child how to properly take off and put on their costume to ensure no accidents will happen in the classroom.  Of course, we will do the best we can to help the students, but sometimes we can’t get to the student fast enough, etc.  We also ask that you do not dress your child in scary costumes, bring any weapons and or masks. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter!
• Also, if you would like to bring in one bag of wrapped candy or non edible treats for your child to pass out to his/her friends, that is welcomed as well!  We have 23 friends in the classroom!  I just ask all candy is gelatin free (NO pork products)!  With our celebration fund money we were able to purchase fun games for the kids to play during our halloween centers and also yummy treats for the kids to enjoy (yum, yum)!  Again, thank you for your donation to our fund!  I will make sure to post pictures, on our blog, of the day!

Housekeeping items:

• Thank you to the families who donated to our classroom fund celebration!  This money will be used to purchase items needed for our holiday celebrations and our end of the year party!  If you weren’t able to send in the donation and would still like to, there is still time!  Thank you:)
• New library books came home today!  Make sure to enjoy this book for next week’s reading log and place back in book bag Friday morning:)
• Please read Halloween information located in this blog.  Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

October 24th– PBIS school wide bingo!  The students who have earned green this month, will participate in a fun game of bingo!  Encourage your child to stay on green everyday!

October 26th- Pumpkin Patch pick up (Thank you PTA)!

October 27th- Savory Fundraising order form due today!

October 31st- Halloween Parade at 2:30 p.m.

November 1st– Parent Teacher Conference Reminders will be sent home!  Be on the look out for your day and time!

November 3rd– Sight word test~ List ONE!

November 3rd– Star Student will start!  More information to follow.

November 7th– NO SCHOOL!

November 9th– Parent Teacher Conference Day (4-7pm).  

I hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weather this weekend!  See you all on Monday:)

Hello Families:)

Just a few reminders:

1. Our library check out date is tomorrow!  Please place the previous library book in your child’s back pack, so they are able to check out a new book.  Thank you!:)
2. Our classroom fund of $10 is due tomorrow!  I have quite a few families who haven’t done so.  If you can bring the money in tomorrow, that would be wonderful!  Thank you so much!
3. Homework is due tomorrow!
4. Tomorrow is gym day!

If you have any questions, please email me at anytime.  Thank you!