Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salad

Following the sequence of one of our favorite Eric Carle books, we created our very own fruit salad. Thank you to all of you who donated fruit for this fun (and delicious) activity!

The End

September 18, 2015

Hello Everyone!

It was so wonderful to see you all last night at open house! It was the best attended open house I have had in my 15 years here in kindergarten! Thank you all for making it such and collaborative event.

A paper copy of this newsletter comes home on Fridays, but the blog has more than just what comes home. Visit mrssampleskindergarten.blogspot.com for pictures of quality work and fun happenings that you won't see anywhere else! We take daily nature walks and look for specific items that will be posted on there as well. Feel free to leave your comments and join in the fun.

To clarify, folders only come home on Friday unless there is important information that needs to get home to you sooner! This week please look for the permission slip to Rocky Ridge as well as a request for a certain kind of fruit you might bring in for our "Very Hungry Caterpillar fruit salad" we are making on Monday. 

Books Read: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, A Caterpillar's Wish, Butterfly Suits, I'm a Caterpillar, and Butterfly Life Cycle .

Animated Alphabet is our approach to phonemic awareness and spelling. The letters are taught through a multi sensory approach of music, dance, characters and signs which help the students hold onto that information. The character we learned this week was Mimi Mermaid.

In math we are getting to know numbers, introducing attributes and sorting, multisensory counting, counting backwards, patterns and continuing our calendar routines. Our routines at calendar time include; counting to the calendar number of the day, weather observations, tracking the number of days we have been in school and days of the week. 

We are learning about the Woolwich Way! The Woolwich Way is made up of 6 qualities that will help us to be the best we can be! (Courtesy- I can use good manners, Compassion-I can help others, Respect- I can treat others kindly, Honesty-I can tell the truth, Responsibility- I can take care of myself and my stuff, Quality- I can do my best even when things are hard)

Upcoming Events:

Sept. 21-Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salad Day (Please see request and help if you are able)

Sept. 29 Rocky Ridge Field trip- (Please sign and return the permission slip) If you want to join us you must fill out a "Volunteer Form" 

October 9- NO SCHOOL- Teacher Inservice

October 12 - NO SCHOOL- Columbus Day

September 11, 2015

Dear Families,

Books Read: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten, Have You Filled A Bucket Today?, Creak Said the Bed, and Freight Train. 

We became scientists and used our observational skills to observe our monarch caterpillar in his container. I told the children I can tell if the caterpillar is a boy or a girl only after he makes his transformation, so we are anxious to find that information! On Thursday afternoon he decided to go into his "j" formation in preparation for making a chrysalis.

Animated Alphabet is our approach to phonemic awareness and spelling. The letters are taught through a multi sensory approach of music, dance, characters and signs which help the students hold onto that information. The character we learned this week was; Ollie Ostrich and we learned how to do a Magic draw." Fun!

In math we are getting to know numbers, introducing measurement comparisons, multisensory counting, patterns and continuing our calendar routines. Our routines at calendar time include; counting to the calendar number of the day, weather observations, tracking the number of days we have been in school and days of the week. 

We are learning about the Woolwich Way! The Woolwich Way is made up of 6 qualities that will help us to be the best we can be! (Courtesy- I can use good manners, Compassion-I can help others, Respect- I can treat others kindly, Honesty-I can tell the truth, Responsibility- I can take care of myself and my stuff, Quality- I can do my best even when things are hard)

Upcoming Events:

September 17- Open House at WCS 5:30-7:00

October 9- NO SCHOOL- Teacher Inservice

October 12- NO SCHOOL- Columbus Day

We Love Kindergarten!

WOW! What a fantastic first week of Kindergarten! I am so impressed by the way we are blending together as a community. We are learning our schedule, classroom expectations and how to be a good friend. Our word for this week has been-Responsibility-

All of the students will be assessed this week and next in the areas of reading and writing. These assessments are fun for them and act more as a game then stressful work. They will probably be tired and hot this afternoon when they come home but know that they have spent 4 days adjusting to a new schedule and a whole new life. Exciting!

You have noticed a flurry of paperwork coming home. Please take time to fill it all out and send it back to me. Having updated addresses, telephone numbers and other important information is the key to keeping your child as safe as I possibly can. Thank you!

The best way to get in touch with me is through email at ssample@rsu1.org. I check my email a few times a day and I will do my level best to get back to you as soon as I check it. I feel like too much information is better than too little.

Our specials are: Monday-Art
                           Tuesday- PE (if you haven't sent in sneakers to keep at school, please do)
                           Wednesday- Guidance
                           Thursday- Music
                           Friday-Library (Please help your child keep his/her library book in a safe place and      enjoy spending time reading with them.) Books are due back the following Friday.

I will try to add to this blog each week as well as when there is any special event going on. When I receive your paperwork about publishing pictures, I will know who I can and cannot publish on this blog. Paper copies will come home as well.

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Sarah~

Welcome To Kindergarten!

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer up to this point with lots more fun and adventure to come! I thought you might like to have an overview of what our school day is going to look like and what supplies you will need as you enter Kindergarten.

School begins at 8:40 am every day except Wednesdays. All schools in RSU1 have a late start on Wednesdays and we begin that school day at 9:40 am. The end of our day is 2:50pm.

The bus schedule is usually in the newspaper in August. If you have any questions about busing, please contact our front office.

We have a snack in the morning and again at the end of the day. Please send in healthy snacks and drinks in a lunchbox labeled with your child's name. Breakfast and lunch are available every day.

PLEASE make sure I know where to send your child at the end of the day. If there is a change of plans for after school please send a note, send me an email or call Betsy at the front desk. My main goal is the safety of your child. Please help me do that!

Supplies:

***Back pack (labeled with name)
*** lunch box (labeled with name)
***(thick)markers and 2 glue sticks- these will go into the community supply so you will not need to label these!
***a 2-pocket folder for home/school communication (labeled with name)
*** head phones (for use with iPads. We find the head phones stay better than ear buds- but that is up to your family to decide) (labeled with name)
***a pair of sneakers that will stay at school and only be used for P.E.
In the past, some parents have sent a change of clothes in for those unforeseen mishaps. If you do this, a large ziplock bag labeled with your child's name works very well.

As the year goes on, we will need other supplies (Lysol wipes, tissues, paper products) but I will address those needs as we progress through the year!

We will be having a bus run on Wednesday August 19th at 1:00 pm. We will all meet at school and the children will ride the bus, go to their classroom and visit the cafeteria for a snack. They can bring their supplies on that day if it would make the backpack a little lighter! I hope you all can make it!

If you need to contact me:
ssample@rsu1.org
or
(207) 443-9739
or
mrssampleskindergarten.blogspot.com

We came as strangers, we leave as friends...

Dear Families,

My youngest son is graduating from high school tomorrow, so I will not be in school. An early newsletter for you!

Wow! I can't believe we are wrapping up our Kindergarten year together! Assessments are going to be key for the next weeks.

Continued to focus on farms and why they are important. Hope your bean plants are in a good place to continue growing! We also have been doing a lot of scientific observations and documentation of what we are observing. I think the students are loving these activities!

Books Read: Click Clack Moo, Thump Quack Moo, Dooby Dooby Moo, The Lorax (Persuasive writing mentor text), Any Questions?, and many different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk.

During writing time they are; thinking of problems we are having in the classroom/school and thinking of solutions to those problems and why: "You shouldn't run in the hallway, because you may get hurt. Walk in the hallway", adding words (letters) to their pictures, rehearsing what they want to say about what they wrote, taking turns sharing their ideas and writing with partners, adding spaces between words and punctuation at the end of a sentence, going back into their writing pieces and revising what they have written by changing or adding to what they wrote and continuing to build up their confidence as writers.

In math we are working with two digit numbers, formation of numbers, addition and subtraction practice, counting and number recognition, solving number stories, and continuing our calendar routines. Our routines at calendar time include; counting to the calendar number of the day, weather observations, tracking the number of days we have been in school and days of the week.

We are learning about the Woolwich Way! The Woolwich Way is made up of 6 qualities that will help us to be the best we can be! (Courtesy- I can use good manners, Compassion-I can help others, Respect- I can treat others kindly, Honesty-I can tell the truth, Responsibility- I can take care of myself and my stuff, Quality- I can do my best even when things are hard)

Upcoming Events:

June 5- Visit Pen Pals in Pittston- more information coming soon!

June 19- Last School Day

NO SCHOOL for K MAY 21 & 22

Remember!!! No school tomorrow or Friday (May 21 & 22) for Kindergarten students only.

Our bean plants will be traveling home with your student today. I hope there is someplace they can plant and observe as the bean plant continues to transform! 

Drawing our observations in scientific notebooks allows us to look closely at details. 

Recording our observations in our scientific notebooks is a wonderful way to document what we are observing!

Scientists use many different tools to observe the world around them. We are all scientists!