Dr. Seuss Birthday Movie

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Kindergarten stays busy

The next few weeks will be very busy for our class. I want to give you a day by day list of what to expect. We will have no more spelling homework but still expect some math, reading and/or handwriting this week. Monday, May 21: normal day Tuesday, May 22: field trip to Gymnastics plus in Panama City Wednesday, May 23: normal day Thursday, May 24: normal day Friday, May 25: field trip to Eastpoint for Kids and Cops Day Monday, May 28: No School, Memorial Day Tuesday, May 29: Kindergarten Graduation at 6:00 in Auditorium Wednesday, May 30: normal day, report card testing Thursday, May 31: k-2 play at 1:30 in auditorium Friday, June 1st: normal day, report card testing Monday, June 4: report card testing, early dismissal at 12:00 Tuesday, June 5: report card testing, early dismissal at 12:00 Wednesday, June 6: last day, field day, early dismissal at 12:00 June 14: report card pick up Click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com

Week of May 7th

Reading:  This week we will learn about ocean creatures.  Our new letters/sounds are "v" and "x" and the new sight words are "has" and "look."  Here is a link to the family letter: Fish Faces.
Math: We will continue to learn about measurement and comparing different heights.
Spelling Pre-Test:  Thursday, May 10th
fox                  wax
fix                    vast
vet                   lives
van                  relax          
six                   index
*has              *look

Important News:
Please make sure to either pay for your cap and gown and spring pictures, or return the pictures in your child's BEE Book.  The money, or returned pictures, are due this week.  Thank you!

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Week of April 30-May 4

This week we will start to get back in the swing of things.  The students all did their best on the test and now we are ready for the last stretch of kindergarten.  The students will have homework again this week. 

Reading:  For the next three weeks we will be learning all about amazing animals.  This week we will focus on insects.  Our letters/sounds are "w" and "g."  The new sight words are "she" and "he." 

Math:  This week we will learn about measurement.  We will learn how to compare the lengths of objects and order objects by length. 

Spelling Pre-Test:  Thursday, May 3rd
wag                        gift
web                        lift
bug                         wings
big                          grub
get                          insect
*she                       *he

Have a great week.

click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com

Standford 10 Testing

For the next two weeks K-2 students will take the Stanford 10 Test.  We will test Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the mornings after P.E.  There will be no homework for these two weeks so that your child can be well rested during this time.   This is a good opportunity for your child to "show what they know" and everything they have learned this year, so encourage your child to do his/her best. 
Be sure your child gets to bed early every night and gets a good night's sleep.
Be sure your child eats breakfast in the morning.  We will have a healthful snack after P.E. every morning, but this is just a snack, and not a full breakfast. 
Your child needs to be at school on time.
Remind your child to do his/her best listening.  A large portion of this test requires that your child listens to the questions and then make an answer.  There are many times that I can not repeat a question so your child needs to listen the first time to the question. 
Please send a jacket with your child to keep in his/her cubby.  Our room can be chilly at times.
If you have any questions, please let me know.

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Open Enrollment and Week of March 26th

Open Enrollment for next year is from March 19th-March 30th.  Please return your child's registration in his/her BEE Book to make sure that he/she has a spot for the 2012-2013 School Year.

Week of March 26-30
Reading:  We will continue to learn about seeds and plants.  Here is a link to fun activities for this week:  Sunflower House.  We will review the letters and sounds "k," "u," "l," and "b."  We will review the sight words: little, said, here and was.  The trick for remembering the word "was" is to remind your child to only say the first and last sound of this word.  We will take our test on Thursday.
Math:  We will learn about color, size and shape patterns as well as time to the hour and the fractions 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4.
Spelling Pre-Test will be Thursday, March 29:
hop            spot
pick           quick
pop           drop
not            stamp
tuck           pluck
*forget

Spirit Week
Monday:  Pajama Day
Tuesday: Walk of Fame: Dress as your favorite person, a hero or a person that your respect and admire
Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday: Dress in your craziest outfit
Thursday:  Blast from the Past:  Dress up from a time gone by.
Friday:  Team Day:  Wear your favorite team gear.


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Week of March 5th and Dr. Seuss' Birthday Pictures

Reading:  This week we will finish learning about weather and seasons.  We will review the letters B, L and E and the sight words "do, this, and, but."  Here is a link to fun activities: Bear Snores On.
Math:  We will begin to learn about 3-D shapes such as sphere, cube, and cylinder. 
Spelling Pre-Test: Thursday, March 8th. 
nip               snip
did               flip
hit                trip
pit                split
lid                quit
*admit

Here are some pictures of Dr. Seuss' Birthday Activities. 

We read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and then graphed and ate goldfish.

We made AB patterns with strawberries and bananas to represent the cat in the hat's hat.

We made our own AB patterns on the hats and then made our own rhyming words.

Superintendent Nina Marks came and read the story Yertle the Turtle to the kindergarten classes.

ABC School Middle School students read Cat in the Hat.

The students made jello with swedish fish after reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

We read Green Eggs and Ham  and then made our own. 

This is the finished product.  Most of the students were adventurous and tried the green eggs and green ham....and like it.

Here they are showing the "hair" they made to be part of their "Things" costume.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss.  The kindergarteners had a great day reading, rhyming, making patterns and trying new things. 

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My Favorite Phonics Games

Under the "Reading" link on the left are many good games for your child to play.  Since there are so many, I decided to tell you what my favorites are for what the children are learning now.  Under the "Super Why" link, have your child play these games:  Create Your Own Hero, Cake Maker, Red's Rhyme and Roll, Rhyme Time Bingo and Freeze Dance Rhyming.  Under the "Clifford" link, I also really like the game "Make a Word."  Under the Starfall link, have your child play the "Learn the Read" page and have them practice the games #6-15.  This will be more of a challenge with long vowels and blends. (They should be familiar with this one because they do this in our room daily).  Leave a comment and let me know what you and your child think of these games, or if you know of any others that I should add to the list. 
click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com

Dr. Seuss Week

Reading:  This week we are learning about seasons.  The letters are b and l and the new sight words are "and" and "what".  Here is a link for fun activities: In The Yard. 
Math:  We will finish up our unit on 2-D shapes.  Your child should be able to tell how many sides and vertices (corners) a shape has.  He/she should also be able to identify these shapes:  circle, rectangle, triangle, square, trapezoid, rhombus, and hexagon.  We will take our test on Wednesday and start 3-D shapes on Thursday.
Spelling Words:
bib                last
lip                 left
let                 best
bat                crib
lab                crab
*and             *what

Upcoming Events:
Friday, March 2nd, is Dr. Seuss' Birthday.  We will read many Dr. Seuss books on this day and do fun activities in the morning.  We would love to have volunteers come read a Dr. Seuss book to us and/or help with our activities.  You are welcome to stay and eat lunch with us. 

Here are some of the children learning about President's Day:

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More Great Apps

If you click on the Apps link on the left, there is a big list of apps that I think are very good for kindergarten students.  Here are some of the recent ones that I have looked at and think would be very beneficial for your children because they give the students practice with skills that we are learning in the classroom.  If you had your child try any of these, or any other ones that I listed on the Great Apps link, please leave a comment and let me know what you think and if your child enjoyed it.  Also, if you have found any that you think should be added to the list, or any good websites, please let me know. 

• Phonics Genius
• Phonics TicTacToe Interactive Game
• Word Magic
• Dora's Rhyming Word Adventure
• Math Series
• Moofy Recognizing Pattern Games 

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Week of February 13th

READING: This week we will finish learning about our neighborhood and different workers.  We will go on a field trip Thursday to visit some places in our community such as the bank, post office, firestation and police station.  We will continue to review the letters and sounds "d," "r," and "h."  Here is a link to fun activities:  Neighborhoods Week 3.  Here is a link to the family letter:  Alicia's Happy Day.
MATH:  We will continue to learn about shapes and how many sides and vertices (corners) they have.  When you are spending time with you child, ask him/her if they can find any shapes.  A clock is a circle, a door is a rectangle, etc. 
SPELLING LIST:
had              ramp
cap               pant
ran               past
pat               cast
ham             camp
*you

If you have any empty cereal boxes, please send them in so that we can make our Valentine's Day boxes. 

Remember, our community field trip is Thursday.  If you want to chaperone, please let me know.

The students are doing great things.  I am so proud of all of them.
click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com

Week of February 5 and 100th Day Pictures

Reading:  This week the students will learn more about their homes, neighborhoods, maps and globes.  The letters are "d" and "r" and the new sight words are "for" and "you."  Here is a link to fun activities:  Neighborhoods Week 2.  Here is a link to the family letter:  Bus Stops.
Math:  We will begin Chapter 8 which is about 2 dimensional shapes.  We will learn about how many sides and vertices (corners) different shapes have. 
Spelling Pre-Test:  Thursday, February 9th 
Blue Group          Orange, Yellow & Green Groups
dad                        dad               damp
rod                         rod               drop
rid                          rid                glad
did                         did                drip
rip                          rip                snip
*for                       *for

Here are some 100th Day Pictures:

Here are the girls working on finding and writing 100 words that they can read.

Here are the students making Fruit Loop Necklaces by counting out 10 groups of 10.

Here are the students making 100th Day Trail Mix by counting 10 groups of 10 different snacks.

The students are making 100th Day crowns by putting 100 stickers in groups of 10 on sentence strips.

These students are working on counting by 5's to 100.

What great counters we have.  Ask your child to count for you by 1's, 2's, 5's or 10's.  You'll be surprised at what they can do.

A big thank you to our parent volunteers.  We really enjoyed you helping us with our fun activities.

click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com

Week of January 30, 100th Day Info, Chinese New Year Pictures

Reading: We are starting Unit 6, which is about Neighborhoods. Here is a link to fun activities for you and your child to do: Russ and the Firehouse.  Here is a link for the family letter:  Neighborhoods Week 1.     The new letter/sound is "H" and the new sight word is "are."
Math:  We will finish up our unit on comparing numbers 10-20 and take a test on Wednesday.  Be sure your child knows how to write those numbers and put them in order, both forwards and backwards.  Thursday is our 100th Day of School.  We will do many fun activities including making 100 Day Trail Mix and 100 Day Necklaces with Fruit Loops.  We need volunteers any time on Thursday from 8:45-12:00.  Please write me a note if you can help.  Your child's project is to bring in a collection of 100 things.  Be creative.  The specifics for the project are in your child's BEE Book in the Important Notes part.
Spelling Words:  Pre-Test: Thursday, February 2
Blue Group:                  Orange, Yellow & Green Group:
hat                                     hat               hot             *are
hit                                      hit               hand
him                                    him             sand
hop                                    hop              land
hip                                     hip               and
*are

Social Studies:  On Monday we celebrated Chinese New Year and learned about different cultures and traditions.  The children tried lo mein noodles, sweet and sour chicken, broccoli with brown sauce, egg rolls and rice.  They also made chinese lanterns.  If you haven't yet turned in your $2, please do so soon. 

click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com

Week of January 16th

Reading:  This week we will continue to learn about animals and their babies.  The new sight word is "play."  The new letter/sound is "f."  Here is a link to the parent letter:  Animals Week 2.  Here is a link to fun activities for this week:  Animal Babies ABC. 
Math:  We will review counting objects from 1-20 and writing the numbers 10-19. We will have a test Wednesday on numbers 11-19.  Then we will start learning about the number 20.
Science:  We will continue to learn about how objects that make sound vibrate.  If you have any empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls, please send them in by Friday.  We will also learn about how animals are alike and different.
Spelling:  We will learn to spell words with "f."  Try to encourage your child to neatly write down every sound he/she hears.  Bonus word: play.

Blue Group:
fit
fat
fin
fan
can

Orange/Yellow/Green Group:
fit             fox
fat            fix
fin            fun
fan           fast
fed           gift

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Report Card Skills and Weekly Info

Be sure to check out the "Skills to Know" page on the left side.  It has the new skills that your child will be tested on throughout the next two weeks for the next report card.  Also, be sure to check the "Spelling" link on the left side soon.  I will begin to update it with the new spelling words for the week.

We had quite a few people turn in Book-It Calendars for the month of December.  I will send home the January calendar.  Just have your child color in every day that he/she reads for 10 minutes (or you read to him/her) and return it to me at the end of the month for a free Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut.

Also, if anyone has the following items, please send them in by Friday for our science activity.  We will be making drums and learning about vibrations.  The students will be able to choose a shell, drumhead and beater to make their own drum.  Also, if anyone would like to come volunteer, please send me a note.  We would love to have your help.

• plastic margarine tubs
• toilet paper or paper towel rolls
• wooden bowls
• empty plastic gallon milk jogs
• cardboard ice cream containers
• cardboard tubes
• tin pans
• gourds
• waste baskets large vegetable cans
• metal pails
• coffee cans
• styrofoam cups
• plastic lids
• heavy duty plastic wrap
• wax paper
• rubber
• string
• canvas
• cloth
• large rubber bands
• dowels
• wire coat hangers
• wooden bead
• rubber or plastic bouncy balls
• thread spools corks
• metal nuts

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Welcome Back

I hope everyone had a wonderfully relaxing break.  All of the students have done well this week getting back into the routine of things.  We will start something new next week.  The students will begin spelling tests.  The will have spelling homework Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night.  On Thursday they will take a spelling pre-test.  If they make 100% they do not have to take the test on Friday and have no spelling homework that night.  If they do not make 100%, then the homework will be to study and write the missed words on the pre-test three times each.  Let me know if you have any questions about this.  I know the students are up to this challenge.
Reading:  Our new unit is about animals.  The new sight word is "is."  Here is a link to the parent letter: Animals Week 1.   Here is a link for fun activities about this week:  Mama Cat has Three Kittens.
Math:  The next few weeks we will focus on learning about numbers 11-20.  Your child should be able to tell you ten plus how many makes that number.  For example, they should be able to know that 13 is 10 and 3 more, or 12 is 10 and 2 more.  If you child can do that already, challenge them to find ways to make these numbers.  For example, ask your child ways to make 14 ( 10 plus 4, 7 plus 7, 13 plus 1, 20 minus 6, etc.)

Here are some pictures from the last day before winter break.  They students made rudolph cupcakes using vanilla wafers, m & m's, pretzels, and tootsie rolls.  They did a great job.

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Holiday Fun

Be sure to check your child's backpack tomorrow for the gift made for you.  Remember, Friday is a half day.  Please remember to send in a wrapped gift labeled "boy" or "girl."  The students will draw numbers to find out which gift they may open.  If you cannot supply a gift, please let me know so I can get one for you.  After our gift exchange we will watch a holiday movie and make reindeer cupcakes.  We would love for you to join us. 

The children have been very busy learning about different cultures and the various holiday customs and traditions.  When the students learned about Hanukkah, Mr. Danny came in and made latkes for the students to try.  Latkes are made from potatoes, onions, eggs and salt and are fried in oil.

The students also made Christmas cookies and then got the chance to decorate them.  The children are so creative.  Look at the concentration.

Here are both kindergarten classes singing.

After the songs, everyone had hot chocolate and cookies.  Here are some family pictures.

click here to contact Mrs. Allen lnay02@hotmail.com