September 9-13

Book Baskets
Each student in our classroom has his/her own basket of books.  We use these baskets to do an activity called "Read to Self".  For this activity, each child finds a quiet spot in the classroom with their book basket to read the books inside.  Each child has several books in the basket.  Some of the books are chosen by the student according to his/her interest (princess, baseball, animal, Clifford, etc.)  The other books are on their reading level.  If your child would like to bring a book from home to put in his/her basket, we encourage it!  This is the introduction to one of our Daily 5 literacy centers.

The students were taught that there are 3 ways to read a book.  The first way is to read the pictures.  We modeled for the students how to use the pictures to read the book to themselves.  The second way is to read the words in the story.  The third way is to retell a story that they have heard before.  Some students may have a book in their basket that they have read before such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Now, the student can retell the story as he/she reads the pages.

Also, in the coming weeks, each student will receive a "book in a bag".  This book will also be on your child's reading level.  Please read this story with your child or have your child read it to you and then send it back to school so that your child can choose a new one.

Important Notes:

• Wednesday is September 11 so wear red, white and blue!
• We do not need to wear our bus tags anymore.  Thank you for always remembering to send it to school each day!
• HOMEWORK--Have you played a rhyming game with your child?  Practice rhyming by asking your child if two words rhyme.  (Do cake and rake rhyme?) Also, try asking your child to think of a word that rhymes with a word you say.  (Can you think of a word that rhymes with sun?)

Language Arts
This week our stories will be about our five senses.  We will be reading both fiction and non-fiction books.  We will be experiencing all of the senses, except tasting, during our activities this week.

We will continue our practice of phonemic awareness with our "blue book" activities.  We will focus on rhyming.

Handwriting:  We will continue with Frog Jump Capitals ( F, E, D, P, B, R, N, M)

Math
We are working on saying the number before and after any given number from 0-30.  What number comes before 18?  What number comes after 12?

Science:  5 senses

September 3-6

Quick Reminders

• It is no longer necessary to wear PE shirts.  
• Please pack only ONE snack for your child each day.
• Please remember a folder each day.
• Mrs. Gallucci's class only--Book orders are due on Wednesday, September 4.   Thank you!

Language Arts

This week we will be reading 2 stories, The Little School Bus and Big Yellow Bus.  We will compare and contrast these stories and talk about the characters in each story.  At home, as you read books with your child talk about the characters in the story.  We tell the children that the characters are the people or animals in the story.

We will continue to work on fluency this week through poetry.  The children have enjoyed the mystery color poems.  Have they shared these with you?   We will also look at a new poem called Get on the Bus.

We will also complete a Name of the Day activity each day until each child in the class has a chance to bring home a special book.  During this activity we work on letter names, sounds, and formation of letters.

Every week throughout the year we will do phonemic awareness activities such as letter names and sounds, rhyming, listening for the beginning sounds in words, compound words, and listening for ending sounds in words.  Please practice these types of activities at home with your child.  The best part of these activities is that it doesn't require any materials or take a long time.  All you have to do is say "Can you think of a word that rhymes with dig?" or "What sound do you hear at the beginning of ball?"  "What do you hear at the end of mug?"

Sight words this week: a, the

Math
We are working on counting!  We want the students to be able to count to 100 by the end of kindergarten fluently.  This means that they can count starting from any number.  Can you start counting at 8?  Can you count beginning at 87?  We are also learning how to count by 10s to 100!We are also exploring our math tools such as attribute blocks, unifix cubes, and pattern blocks.

Don't forget to check the type right corner of this blog for information about HOMEWORK!

August 26-30

Quick reminders

• Please send ONE snack to school each day.  Please pack it separately from the lunch.  
• Please send a folder to school every day.  
• Please return any paperwork such as the class phone directory and medical forms. 

Alphabet chart

This week an alphabet chart will come home for you to practice with your child.  Please say the name of the letter, the sound that it makes and trace the shape of the letter.  Please do this daily with your child. 

Have a great week!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

We are very excited to begin this new year in kindergarten!  We are looking forward to all of the new adventures and learning that will take place throughout the year. 

The Meet and Greet is on Tuesday, August 20.  You may choose to come during the morning session 10:00-11:00 or afternoon 3:30-4:30.  We are very excited to meet you!  Don't forget to bring your school supplies so that you don't have to carry them to school on the first day. 

Below is our contact information:

Karen Gallucci  330-562-6199 ext. 2218 or kgallucci@aurora-schools.org
Cyndi Haughey 330-562-6199 ext. 2199 or chaughey@aurora-schools.org

Summer Notes

Dear Families,

We would like to take this time to thank you for everything this school year.  It has been a great year and we thank you for all of your thoughtfulness and support throughout. 

We have been working hard this year in literacy stations and have learned so much about how letters sound, reading strategies, and fluency.  We have been practicing in small groups 4-5 times a week with each child at their instructional reading level to make sure they met the end of kindergarten benchmark (Level D.)  Therefore, we would like to ensure the students maintain their level as they enter first grade.  (Each child will have their reading level noted in the comments section of the report card.)  Please practice reading for a few minutes several (3-4) times a week.  Here are the following areas that you can work on:

1. Reading strategies--When your child comes to an unknown word, they need to "TRY SOMETHING!" Don't tell them! They can try one of the following strategies:

• Get your mouth ready to make the first sound in the word and then look at the picture.
• Chop the word, sound out the word, slide through the word
• Go back and reread
• Look for chunks in the word (find -at within splat)
• Think:  Does that make sense?  I say to the students "I heard you say...is that what it says in this story?"  See if they can fix the mistake without you showing it to them.
• Skip the word and come back
• Try a different vowel sound (try short vowel sound and then long vowel sound)

2.   Comprehension--Ask your child questions when they are finished reading a story.  Who was in the story?  Where did it happen?  Retell the story to me. Was there a problem in the story?  What happened in the beginning?  Middle? End?

3.  Fluency--phrased reading, not word by word reading.

In Math, we have been working diligently on becoming fluent within 5.  This means that we can be automatic with adding and subtracting numbers up to 5.  Please continue to practice these flashcards over the summer if you find that this is not yet automatic for your child.

Thank you again for all of the support you have given us and your child throughout the year!  We hope you have a relaxing and fun summer!

May 28-31

Reminders for next week

• No School on Monday!
• Thursday is our end of the year party.  Remember to wear your tie-dye t-shirt, sunscreen and a bottle of water.
• Friday is our last day of kindergarten!  Report cards will come home with your child.  Your child will not be able to purchase a school lunch or milk on Friday.  Please make sure your child has a packed lunch!
• We are collecting all of the "book in a bag".  Please make sure you return them to school. 
• Please make sure you return all library books.

May 13-31

Important News

• Please remember to send back your "book in a bag".  We will be collecting all of the books since we are close to the end of the year!
• Please remember to turn in your library books.
• Wear your tie-dye t-shirt on Thursday, May 30 for our end of the year party.

Field Trip

• We will visit Craddock on Wednesday, May 22 for a tour of the school and to meet a first grade teacher.  Look for permission slips to come home this week. 

Language Arts

• We will be learning about living and non-living things.  We will begin a unit on seeds.  We are planting a seed in our classroom and are watching it grow!

Math

• We will be reviewing all concepts learned this year.