If your kids make Math Number sentences with their food, here might be the reason…

I will try to get a more formal post out to you sometime later today.  For now, 2 quick messages about tomorrow…

WEDNESDAY- Picture retakes and LATE START   Whenever we have a LATE START I have to order the lunches the day before (for those buying lunch).  So, if your child is buying tomorrow, Wednesday, first choice will be Cheese and Crackers, yogurt, etc. have a chat with them to find out what they’d like to have for lunch. Second choice will be Cheese Pocket Sandwich.

Conferences tomorrow and Thursday evenings.

OK, I’ll try a to hit the top items for this week…

READING- We are starting a new unit Transportation.  This week’s theme is “Getting Around Town.”

How do we get around out town?

LETTER- T  t

WORD-See  see

WRITING- We will begin Informational Writing.

SCIENCE-We will continue with Sink or Float and use our Scientific Processes of Observing, Predicting, Conducting, Concluding, Recording.    I’m pushing them to use Higher Level thinking and reasoning.  Ask them “Why” when talking when them about things.

MATH-Number Stories (aka Story Problems 🙂  )

Have a lovely week.  did you catch that Super Moon?? WOW??

Mrs. Smith

We had quite a science lesson today (or should I say lessonS)!

Ask them…

“Does a pumpkin sink or float?”  (We didn’t get to the WHY part yet.)

“How many lines does a pumpkin have?  Do all pumpkins have the same number of lines?  Is the number ODD, EVEN, or BOTH?”  Told you we got in to lots of elements of thinking today.  I even through in the ODD/EVEN thing.  I was giving them lots of numbers and they could tell me right away if the number was ODD or EVEN.  I told them the trick to doing this 3rd grade math!

Check out my little Scientists…

Oh my goodness…could they be ANY cuter?!!  Wait till you see your child.

Also, Library Book exchange day will be Thursday this week (due to No School tomorrow, Tuesday, our usual Book Exchange Day)

Parents,

Reminders:

we have gym class on Mondays and Fridays (beginning and end of the week).  Please make sure your child wears their gym shoes to school on those days

NO SCHOOL TOMORROW- (Teachers have Professional Development)

-Voting day

Thank you

School districts in Wayne County have placed a proposal on the November 8^th ballot to provide added funding for our schools. It is the “Regional Enhancement Millage Proposal.”

If approved by the entire county, the 2 mil proposal will generate approximately $6.2 million from Dearborn but the District will receive $7.8 million in additional funding for our schools.  Money would go to local schools starting this year and the millage expires after six years.  Read the rest of this entry

School districts in Wayne County have placed a proposal on the November 8^th ballot to provide added funding for our schools. It is the “Regional Enhancement Millage Proposal.”

If approved by the entire county, the 2 mil proposal will generate approximately $6.2 million from Dearborn but the District will receive $7.8 million in additional funding for our schools.  Money would go to local schools starting this year and the millage expires after six years.  Read the rest of this entry

Welcome November with your beautiful weather and warm temperatures!

READING-We are on to Week 3 of Unit 2 (FRIENDS)

Theme-Getting Along

COMPREHENSION STRATEGY-Ask Questions

Parents, before you read a book, have your child do a few things.  First, check out the cover.  Who is on the cover?  What is the setting?  What do you think this story is going to be about?

Next, generate some questions abou the book BEFORE you begin reading.  For example, today I read The Very Stuffed Turkey.  After discussing the things on the cover, I asked them, “What questions can we think of about this story BEFORE we read it.  (This will focus in their reading.  This skill can be used at any grade and will serve them well when they take tests.  Notice that I said questions, not tell me what you think the story is about.  Some of their questions were:

“What stuffed the turkey?”  “Who stuffed the turkey?”  “Why is the turkey stuffed?”  Is a stuffed turkey a bad thing?”  “Will the turkey be stuffed at the end of the story?” When did the turkey get stuffed?”  I have highlighted words that begin questions.  Enjoy these techniques when reading with your child.  Watch them light up when one of their story questions gets answered. Now that’s focusing in their reading!

COMPREHENSION SKILL-Identify Characters   I’m combining 2 areas of COMPREHENSION, Identifying Characters and asking questions.

WORDS- Review like  a  can  we  am  the  I  (Your child should know how to read, write, and spell all of these words.)

LETTERS-S  s   P  p

WRITING-We will finish Opinion Writing.  Next week…Informational Writing

We will focus on beginning, middle, and end of a story.  Practice this at home with your child after you have read a book.  “What happened in the beginning of the story?  “…the middle”  “…the end”  Have them give you one short sentence for each part.  Watch out for them to retell the whole story.  NOT retelling…just beginning, middle, and end of the story.

MATH-We’ll be working with Number Stories ( aka Story Problems)  Make some up on your own.  Stick with addition from 0-20.

SCIENCE-The Scientists will be investigating, predicting, creating an hypothesis, gathering data, observing, and recording findings with………PUMPKINS!  (of course 🙂  )

REMINDER:Tuesday, Nov. 8 NO SCHOOL  Voting Day

I will be having Conferences these next 2 weeks in the evenings.  If you have not already done so, please return your Conference slip.

Since I was out at a meeting yesterday, I did not get to switch out the books in their BOOK BAGS.  I will do so on Monday.   Also, remember that Mondays and Fridays are GYM days and students need to wear their gym shoes on those days so they can participate in gym class.

I had a lovely start to my day this morning…as you will see this year, I am not one to be absent very often.  I do not like to have other people teach my students.  However, there are times when I do need to be out and yesterday was one of those days.  When I got to my desk this morning there was a note from my sub, acknowledging my plans and her completion of the plans.  then she added

“Dear Mrs. Smith,

I had the most wonderful day with your Kindergarten friends!  You have such an AMAZING group of students!  I will come back and sub for you any day and I can’t wait to come back!”  Thank you to you Parents for sharing your AMAZING kids with me this year!

Enjoy the weekend and Good Luck to Mila as she competes in an ice skating competition in Ohio.  Go MILA!

Mrs. Smith

‘Smiles are contagious.  Kindness is free.”

Happy Halloween to all!  Have fun tonight…be safe.

REMINDER:all October Books Charts are now due.

READING-We are in week 2 of Unit 2  Friends.

WORD-A   a   (pronounced “ah”)

LETTER-P  p

STRATEGY-Asking questions

SKILL-Compare and Contrast

We will be creating a word web and, from that web, we will create sentences to go with our Opinion Writing.

MATH- Numbers 0-20  Writing and creating  ( F.Y.I.  Today is day # 40 of Kindergarten!)

SCIENCE- pumpkins and leaves   We will work with the Scientific Process of Hypothesis, Observe,

Gather information, Record Data, Conclusion

This will probably take us 2 weeks.

Thank you all for your very generous donations of goodies and food for our Halloween Party!  Wow!  You out did yourselves.  I saved some of the “goodies” to enjoy today.  Thank you again.

Remember…

Tuesday-Library Book Due

Daily Book Bags due

Friday-School in AM ONLY  11:45 Dismissal

Next week…

11/8 NO SCHOOL  VOTING DAY   Teachers will be in Professional Development 🙂

11/10 Evening Conferences Begin  I will be sending home Conference notices.

Enjoy your week.

Mrs Smith

Wow…such excitement today.  As you’ve heard by now, we had a power failure this morning from about 9:20-11:40.  A transformer in the neighborhood blew up and it affected Howard’s power.

My students were amazing…they just carried on, business as usual. No crying, no panic, nothing! We went right  on with our writing and Daily 5 Rotations.  Since our writing is Opinion, they told me their opinion about staying in school during the power outage or going home.  Since it is Opinion Writing and you need a reason for your opinion, they gave me their reasons/support.  Talk about a teachable moment.  🙂  They were just adorable.  I have plenty of light from the windows and we even went out on the porch and watched some geese take drinks and waddle away.

Our Superintendent, Dr. Myleko, came over and stayed until power was restored.  Our Howard engineer, Mr. Elia was right on top of things too.  Mrs. Burch returned from a meeting and it was “all hands on deck.”  What a terrific bunch of people to work with every day.  Every body just jumps in and helps wherever needed.  Very kind and thoughtful. Dr. Myleko even brought me a big flashlight to use too.  (I’m headed to Home Depot after school to get one for my room.)

For those students buying lunch, they were served 2 slices of American cheese, crackers, a pear and milk.  Fortunately, we have a birthday treat today so they’ll get a bit more.  Tomorrow’s first choice for lunch is spaghetti and second choice is cheese pocket sandwich.

What a fun day!  I really mean it too.  My students are such a joy to be with every day.  We ended the day with making jack-o-lanterns, with shapes (math) for facial features.  I enjoyed the conversations between them as they changed their pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns.

Mrs. Smith