EOY Information

We are in the home stretch with only 4 more days of kinder to go! Can you believe it?! Here are a few important dates:

Wednesday, June 19th- Kindergarten Beach Day with all kinder classes
Thursday, June 20th- Last day for students-- report cards issued

Wow! I can't believe our Kinders are turning into first graders! I'm so glad that all of you agreed to be pen pals with me over the summer so I can hear all about your amazing summer and adventures in 1st grade. I was so excited this weekend when I checked my mail and had 3 letters from my first grade writers! I can't wait to receive letters from all of you :)


With the end of the school year quickly approaching, we will begin Unit 5 Math assessments on Monday, June 3. Kinders have been learning all about flat (2D) and solid (3D) shapes. I think it is safe to say they are shape experts! Check out Abbey building a pyramid:

Happy Birthday!!

Happy 6th birthday, Ava!!

100 Days Smarter!!

Wow!!! Do you believe we have been in Kindergarten for 100 days? Time sure does fly when you are learning and having fun!



Miss Minardi and I couldn't wait to see all of our wonderful kinders all grown up. When they came to class, I didn't even recognize them!! If they were 100, that makes me... REALLY OLD!


Our wonderful parents came in to help. They worked at our four 100th day centers. Aubrey's mommy ran our snack center. At this center, kinders sorted snacks into groups of 10 to make yummy trailmix. Before they could dig in, they practiced counting to 100 by 10's.






Isabella's mommy ran our "What Can You Do In 100 Seconds?" center. At this center, Kinders estimated how many time they thought they could do a specific task and then actually did it. After they were finished, they compared their estimations with the actual numbers. They had a ball!






Abigail's mommy ran our "100 year old me" center. Earlier in the week, kinders wrote what they would have or be in 100 years. Abbey's mom helped them make a self portriat of themselves when they are 100. How funny!





Anthony's mommy ran the "100th Day Hat" center. At this center, kinders worked on adding groups of 10 stickers, stamps, dots, etc. to their hats. When they finished, they practiced couting to 100 by 10's and 1's.





Thank you to all of my awesome parents who sent in the yummy treats for our snack center, came in to lend a helping hand, and dressed their kiddies up like they were 100.

Chinese New Year

This week, we learned all about the Chinese New Year. Mrs. Andaloro shared some really great books that taught us many new things about the Chinese culture. Our kiddos couldn't get enough!! With any free time they had throughout the week, I would find them in our book nook checking out some of these awesome books.




At the end of the week, kinders shared two things they learned about the Chinese New Year with the class. Kyah shared that she learned friends and family give red envelopes filled with money. They use the color red because it symbolizes good luck. She also shared that her favorite part of the Chinese New Year is the dragon in the New Year parade. Just like the color red, the dragon also is thought to bring good luck.

Check out Kyah's wonderful illustrations.

Sorry for the sideways picture--no matter what I did, I couldn't get the picture to turn :(


Happy 6th birthday, Brady!!

Writing

Wow!! Our kinder's writing has really come a long way since the beginning of the year. We have been working very hard on sounding out words, writing all of the sounds we hear, and sentence structure. Once we begin the next unit in Fundations, you will see an even bigger difference in your child's writing.

During our writing block, students do 1 of 3 things:
1. Independently write in their journals (this is a time that they get to take what they learned and apply it in their own writing)
2. Work on writing mini lessons in a small group
3. Participate in whole group interactive writing

Here is a peek into one of our interactive writing lessons:


Before writing, kinders brainstormed and shared everything they know about sentences.
1. Sentences begin with a capital letter.
2. There is a period at the end of a sentence.
3. There are spaces in between words.
4. You need words to make sentences.

I provided our sentence starter, "I love my," and kiddos helped me sound out each word. After modeling, we pair-shared things we love, and kinders had a chance to stretch out their words on the whiteboard.

Some things that we love:
family
mom
dad
sister
cousin
elf

Once we finished our whole group lesson, each student had a chance to independently write about what they love in their writing journals.

At home, encourage your kinder to write, write, write!!

...and we're BACK!

Last week we learned all about Martin Luther King and how awesome he was! We read a story called Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. We learned that MLK made it possible for everyone to be treated the same. At the end of our story, kinders brainstormed and share what their dreams for the future were. Even though they are little, doesn't mean they can't have BIG dreams!

Ryan has a dream to be just like Martin Luther King! How awesome?!

Leilani has a dream to help every animal on the planet!

Loving how wonderful my kiddos are!! They continue to amaze me everyday :)




We began our guided reading groups and our kinders are reading away! Be sure to check your kiddos backpack for their guided reading folder each week.

Happy 6th birthday, Kyah! Thank you for sharing those delicious cupcakes!