November Already?!

Hi Kindergarten Families!

Wow, the weeks are flying by here in kindergarten.   Our expeditions are underway.  We're learning about how a lot of the things we use (clothes, cars, markers!) are inventions!  Our trips to the American History Museum were very successful!   We are thinking of ourselves as inventors!

We continue to request expedition materials.  Wheels have become of particular interest to the kids.  Cardboard remains a favorite building material.  Please feel free to continue bringing in any "building" materials that might help us during our expedition.  

In the coming weeks we will be finishing up patterns in math.  Keep looking for patterns in your homes, neighborhoods, and lives!  After our trip to the Building Museum, we are especially ready to look for patterns in architecture and to think about how we eat breakfast after we wake up every morning.

In literacy, we are in full swing with word families and patterned texts.  Check the "Projects to Try at Home" section for some ideas about what to work on with your students.

Reminders

• There is no school on November 5th, this Friday!  It's a professional development day for us teachers.
• There is no school on November 11th.  It's Veterans Day!
• Snack and mystery reader calenders are now updated to the best of my knowledge.
• "Projects to Try at Home" is now updated and available. 

-TR Kindergarten

 

Expedition Requests!

Hello families!

We are getting ready for our fall expedition, and we have a long list of materials that we are requesting!  Bring in whatever you can!  We'll be collecting for the next few weeks.

Without further ado, here's the list!  

**Links are not meant to indicate product preference, just to give ideas of what we're imagining!**

• Wheels of all types, or things with wheels (like wagons, scooters, etc).  Anything old you're not using or your kids have outgrown!  This is our most important request!
• Old wheeled suitcases.
• Boxes, buckets, and containers of any kind.  Cardboard, plastic, metal!  Big and small.
• String, rope, twine.
• Tape!  Duct tape, electrical tape, scotch tape... any kind of tape.
• Carabiners!
• Wood / wood scraps.  Nothing longer than 4' please.
• Large pieces of cardboard
• Clay
• Bungee cords
• Non-slip drawer liner
• Any type of wire, including wire hangers.
• Lengths of pipe, poles, or dowels.  No longer than 6' please!
• Measuring tapes
• Glue of all kinds.  Elmers, wood glue, etc.  No super glue.
• Mesh netting
• Large pieces of fabric, preferably utilitarian rather than decorative.
• Velcro
• Hinges
• Anything elastic or stretchy.  Lengths of elastic for sewing or Dyna Bands are what we are envisioning.
• Sandpaper
• Sheets or tiles of cork (old corkboard?).
• Kid-friendly glue guns (small or low heat).
• Tarps or sheet plastic.
• Safety glasses (kid friendly)
• Kids working gloves
• travel mugs
• Any other related materials you can think of!

When possible, please recycle old materials!  Bring in anything, regardless of quality or quantity!  If you have questions, bring them to school with you or email Mr. Mike or Ms. Kathleen.

Thanks TR Families!

~TR Kindergarten

Some updates!

Hello families!

We have a lot of upcoming birthdays!  Please remember that our classrooms have birthday celebrations already in place.  

In Ms. Kathleen's room, we sing to the child, and he or she is special for the whole day!  We also pop popcorn for the whole class, so parents and guardians do not need to send in any snack that day. 

Mr. Mike has asked that parents e-mail him at least a week in advance to discuss any birthday snacks they might wish to bring in for their child's class.  Parents may also bring in a favorite book to read to the class, and he requests that parents stay to read to the class and participate in their child's celebration!

In other news, we are planning some field studies for the end of October / beginning of November.  We'll be going to the National Building Museum to participate in a program on patterns.  

Mr. Mike's class will be going on Tuesday, October 26 from 12:30pm to 2:00pm.  If you are interested in chaperoning, please e-mail Mr. Mike.  3 chaperones will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ms. Kathleen's class will be going on Tuesday, November 2 from 10:30am to 12:00pm.  If you are interested in chaperoning, please e-mail Ms. Kathleen.  3 chaperones will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

No other reminders for this week!

Enjoy your weekends, TR families!

~TR Kindergarten

New projects to try at home!

Hello families!

Our second community meeting was as wonderful as the first!  It was nice to see many of you there.

In math, we have been working on showing how many different ways we can represent numbers.  We have also been thinking about how numbers can be made up of other numbers (3 and 4 make 7).  We are also making connections between reading and math.  Check out how Mr. Mike's class used the book Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews:

Ten black dots make... a sun with 10 lines, a clock with 10 numbers, and 10 dots.

10 black dots make... 10 balloons stuck in a tree.

In reading, we have been trying to be good thinkers while we are reading.  Ms. Kathleen's class made a list of the things we can think about while we're reading:

 

In light of our new learning, we've added some new projects to try at home with your children.  Check out that section for more information!

Reminders

• Expeditionary Learning Night is next Thursday, October 7th, from 6 - 7:30.  Join Ms. Maggie and team to learn about Expeditions and 21st century learning!
• There is no school on October 11th.  It's Columbus Day!

-TR Kindergarten

Friday!

Hi families!

It was great to see many of you at back to school night earlier this week!

I've added our list of 100 high-frequency words to "Projects to Try at Home."  Our students should be able to read these words fluently, which means that they (eventually!) shouldn't need to hesitate or sound anything out!  Did you know that these words make up a significant portion of the words that your child will ever read?!

The art center in Ms. Kathleen's class has been producing some amazing inventions including....

 "Special Sarah Thing"...

 a jewelry box...

and a McDonalds!

Ms. Kathleen's class has also welcomed an intern from Gallaudet named Ms. Katie!  Ask your children about any signs they might have learned from her today!

Have you been in to Mr. Mike's class to visit his peaceful pandas?

Mr. Mike's pandas are peaceful, passionate, polite, and proud.  Come in and see his class beautiful mural that helps his students remember to be all of those things!

Reminders

• Community meeting is on Wednesday!  Our first one was such a success, and we'd love to see you there again next week!

Have a great weekend Two Rivers Families!  We'll see you all on Monday!

~TR Kindergarten

Welcome!

Welcome to this year's kindergarten website!

We have really been settling in to our routines for the last few weeks.  We did some great goal setting.  

Come in and see our "Hopes and Dreams" bulletin board!

 

We have been learning that each letter has its own sound!

We are also figuring out what kinds of things numbers tell us.  We're working on building our classroom communities and making friendships.

We hope you'll take a look around our new site.  You'll find snack and mystery reader calendars for Ms. Kathleen and Mr. Mike's classes.  The page entitled Projects to Try at Home will be updated with some activities to do with your children.  Our wish lists are also available to view on this site (but not yet!).

Reminders

• Back to School Night is Tuesday, the 21st, from 6pm-8pm. 
• Our first community meeting is this Wednesday, the 22nd.  Families are welcome to attend.  If you do attend, please be ready to participate just like your children will!

Thanks for all you do parents!  We hope to see you at Back to School night and in our classrooms during the upcoming weeks!

~TR Kindergarten