October 15, 2021

 

Hello Families!

Our caterpillars----chrysalis----butterfly cycle is finishing up! We have released 11 monarch butterflies into the world so they can start that long migration to Mexico! Gotta go-Gotta go- Gotta go to Mexico! It has been an amazing length of time to make daily observations and to await their arrival! Bye Bye, Butterflies!

We are steadily working our way through our Alphabet Bootcamp. 26 letters in 26 days. You have noticed their headbands coming home and the little readers that go along with the letters practiced. Often time we run out of time to add color and details to these readers. Feel free to have your student color and read these books to you. Maybe keep them all in one place and read them at night along with your nightly read aloud. Students will gain great independence when practicing books they are able to read. 

In math we are getting to know numbers 0-10, sorting, discussing a graph, using math manipulatives, 10 frames,  finger counting, working with shapes and continuing our calendar routines. 

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:

11/11 - Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL

11/12 - PD Day - NO SCHOOL

October 7, 2021

 

Reminder that there is no school tomorrow or Monday. I hope you all have a lovely long weekend!

We continue to wait for our butterflies to come out of their chrysalises. It is getting cooler and we want them to get safely to Mexico!

We painted our pumpkins that we picked out at Rocky Ridge and they will be traveling home today. They aren't meant to go outside, but instead to be enjoyed inside. 

I appreciate the open communication you are showing and am hoping my feedback is helpful. As always, please email me with anything you need to have clarification about. Thank you!

October 1, 2021

 

We are finishing our study of the life cycle of the butterfly. All but 1 caterpillar is in chrysalis mode and working on that fabulous metamorphosis! One little caterpillar is trying to grow big enough to move into that next phase...

We had a FABULOUS trip to Rocky Ridge Orchard and had a delicious apple and doughnut. We picked up a small pumpkin we will be painting in art class and bringing home soon! The hay ride was so much fun. We also brought home a bag of apples and concluded the week with a warm applesauce to end our Friday. We all helped peel and core the apples and are bringing home the core and seeds with directions on how to plant an apple tree. Fun!

Books Read: Pete the Cat Falling for Autumn, The Big Apple, and the song-A-P-P-L-E

 (which is sung like "Bingo)

In math we are getting to know numbers 0-10, sorting, discussing a graph, using math manipulatives, 10 frames,  finger counting, working with shapes and continuing our calendar routines. 

We began a letter of the day series this week and we have completed A, B, and C! You might see headbands coming home with a picture that represents that letter and sound we are working on for the day. This is a very quick review of 26 letters in 26 days and is a whole lot of fun!

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: 

October 8- NO SCHOOL- Teacher Professional Day

October 11- NO SCHOOL- Columbus Day

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Sarah

September 24, 2021

 

Happy Birthday to our friend, Brooklyn!

PICTURE DAY ON MONDAY!!! (Rain Date Tuesday)

In science we continue to learn about the life cycle of the butterfly. We currently have 12 caterpillars still munching. Hopefully they will think about becoming a chrysalis soon so we can release them for their flight to Mexico before the cold weather sets in! We have learned so much about the caterpillar life cycle! We also began learning about apples and their life cycle.

We are also working through our Go2Science mission about Maine and its history. We are in search of evidence for our hypothesis: Is there evidence that indigenous peoples lived year round on the islands off the coast of Maine. We have learned so much about artifacts and have seen a lot of marine life on our adventures. We also did an experiment with "phytoplankton" and observed how difficult it is to see through. Fun!

Books: Cont. re-reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar,  Gotta Go! Gotta Go! (a book about a little caterpillar and her journey), and some fun ABC books. We also have started using our book boxes and developing good reading skills. 

In math we are getting to know numbers 0-10, sorting, discussing a graph, using math manipulatives, using 5 frames, practicing with quick looks at collections of dots, finger counting, working with shapes and continuing our calendar routines.  

We are still 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 Dates:

Monday Sept. 27-PICTURE DAY!

Thursday Sept. - Field Trip to Rocky Ridge

Friday Oct. 8- No School- Professional Day

Monday October 11-No School Columbus Day

September 17, 2021

 

Dear Families,

It has been a very busy week. We are continuing our procedures and community building. We have enjoyed going to the different specials classes and meeting many new faces and doing fun activities.

Please make sure all paperwork that came home this week is returned as soon as possible. I'm working on getting computers home with students next week. We are still waiting on a few. Directions for use will accompany the Chromebooks. 

Thank you for all of your emails and continual patience with me this week. It is a lot to keep these little ones safe and happy and if somehow I have left you with more questions, please reach out to me and let me know. I am trying! 

Books Read: A variety of Pete the Cat stories, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, and Franklin's First Day of School, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar

We have also begun our science adventure with Go2Science that we will be talking about as time goes on...we are on the hunt artifacts off the coast of Maine. You might hear the word "hypothesis" floating around!  

In math we are getting to know numbers, introducing attributes of shapes, sorting, graphing birthdays, and our calendar routines. Our routines at calendar time include; counting to the calendar number of the day, weather observation, and the days  of the week.

 Many reading and writing assessments have taken place these first few days of school. We will begin a more structured approach to reading and writing beginning soon. 

We have begun to be scientists and use our observation skills to watch caterpillars grow-and grow-and grow! Most of them are still in the very hungry stage! 

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)

A Fond Farewell~

 

It is so hard to believe school has come to an end! What an interesting and strange school year it has been. I hope I have served your child and your family well. In a time when building relationships was super tricky, I know in my heart that we all did the very best we could do and that was more than I have ever dreamed of! This group of children are incredibly special to me and I hope they will continue to stay in contact as they travel through the years~

During summer, please continue to look for learning opportunities to help your child continue their progress. Doing a few of these activities 2 to 3 times a week will help them be ready to start first grade successfully. Here are some ideas:

***write letters to family and friends.

***practice reading the books they have brought home throughout the school year. 

***practice writing words in both upper and lower case letters, their numbers, and their first and last names.

***practice sounding out words orally. Such as, "I am thinking of an animal" and say the sounds C-A-T.

***look for sight words such as (the, is, and, like, etc.) in printed materials like magazines and newspapers. Play a game where they need to circle all the words on a page that they know. 

***play "I Spy" with words, numbers, letters, and shapes.

***practice telling time, counting money, and recognizing coins.

***continue using the school Chromebook to keep up on their favorite skill building games. They have access to them for the summer. 

Most importantly, read with your child. Use a variety of literature that is of interest to your child, point to the words, let your child make predictions by looking at the letters and pictures, break long words into short chunks, ask them what would make sense, use silly voices and HAVE FUN!

I will truly miss them~ Best of luck and have an amazing summer break! Sarah

March 19, 2021

 

Spring is coming this weekend!!! Hip! Hip! Hooray! 

We sure have had a busy week with St. Patrick's Day and our 100th day of school celebration! I have also been assessing your children so much and their growth makes me both want to cheer and cry tears of joy. I am so incredibly proud of them all!!! 

We have been working on a tour of the San Diego Zoo and studying many animals that live there. We are creating a book that tells a new fact we have learned and get to watch the animal of the day on a web cam in real time from the zoo. It has been a lot of fun! 

We also have a new Promethean Board in our classroom and it has made learning better than ever! We are able to do so many activities in an interactive way that was not available to us up until now. I will share more about what we are doing with that in a separate post. 

Reminders: 

March 25- Parent Teacher conferences (virtual). Distance learning day for students. (Please sign up if you haven't yet) 

March 25 & 26- Distance learning day for students. Please see today's email for our class meeting time that day. 

April 2- Report cards come home

April 19-23 April Vacation