Mrs. Bixby's Weekly Newsletter
Eisenhower Elementary School
KINDERGARTEN ROOM 116
F e b ru a ry 3 , 2 0 1 7
Mrs. Bixby’s Weekly Newsletter Readers’ Workshop
Kindergarten Literacy Below are some books we enjoyed together: •
Centipede’s 100 Shoes by Tony Ross
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100th Day Worries by Margery Cuyler
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The 100th Day of School by Angela Medearis
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100 Days of School by Trudy Harris
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Rocket’s 100th Day of School by Tad Hills
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Drop It Rocket by Tad Hills
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Too Much Glue by Jason Lefebvre
Letter of the Week Our letter of the week is Y, yellow, /y/. We also learned two new snap words that begin with /y/: your and yes. We searched for these words in our “just right” books. Poetry We were excited to learn our new February Chicken Soup with Rice poem and a tasty treat Valentine poem. Writers’ Workshop—Spacemen! How To writers continued to work on stretching out many sounds in words and putting spaces between their words using our new writing tool: The Spaceman. I am feeling very proud of our writers’ growing confidence and independence in writing! Writers also created a class book titled: I Wish I Had 100… and wrote about what they love to do with their stuffies on Stuffed Animal and Pajama Day.
Wow! I am so proud of our emerging readers! We focused on using our reading tools to “Read to Self” this week. They can “Read to Self“ for 6 minutes already! This week’s reading stations were: •
Mystery Word
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Snap Word Bug Swat
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Chunk Book: -ug
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Word Family Books: Readers change the beginning sound to make new words in the same family.
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Tap out each sound in CVC words.
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Word Web: Readers tap out CVC words beginning with W and match it to the correct picture on the web.
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Listening Center: A Bed for Bear
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Teacher Table: Book Groups
Learning Centers Kindergartners practiced counting and building with 100 manipulatives during learning center time. We also worked carefully on using kind words to solve problems with friends. At Star Project we counted ten groups of ten google eyes to create a 100-eyed monster. Each day builders made magnificent creations with the big blocks. Kindergartners enjoyed feeling the corn and filling the Valentine Boxes in the sensory table. The Post Office was bustling this week with writers beginning to send valentines to each other.
Mrs. Bixby’s Weekly Newsletter Mathematics: Preparing for the 100th Day of School
Art: Inspired by 3D Sculptor, Louise Nevelson
Mathematicians began to get ready for the 100th day of school on Monday. We are mastering how to count by tens and ones to 100. The class has been singing lots of songs and movement games to practice counting to 100. You can make 100 by counting ten groups of ten objects, so we practiced this in our new math stations this week:
This week kindergarten artists were inspired by 20th Century American artist, Louise Nevelson. During her lifetime Louise Nevelson was considered to be radical and free-thinking; she was known for large monochromatic abstract expressionist sculptures created from found objects, primarily wood. First we selected and glued various found objects to a piece of cardboard. (Reading the Book, Too Much Glue, may or may not have had some influence on our gluing techniques!) After the sculptures dried, artists painted their sculptures. Nevelson's works are huge. Some are the size of a wall, but fortunately ours are much smaller!
Roll to 100: Mathematicians roll a dot cube and dot paint that number on the 100 chart until they dot each number and roll to 100. 100 Crowns: Mathematicians decorate a number 100 crown for us to wear on the 100th day of school. Count and Build with 100: Mathematicians work with a partner to count ten groups of ten blocks and make a creation with 100 blocks. 100 Necklaces: Mathematicians count 100 beads and make a 100-beaded necklace to wear on the 100th day of school. 100 Number Creations: Mathematicians use the numbers in 100 to create a piece of artwork. My 100 Book: Mathematicians create a book with ten groups of ten different objects.
Royal Tide V, Louise Nevelson, 1960 Reminders •
Monday, February 6: 100th Day of School! Don’t forgot to bring in your collection of 100 things in a Ziploc bag.
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Tuesday, February 14: Valentine’s Day Party 2:00
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Monday, February 20: No School, Professional Development Day for Teachers
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Friday, February 24: No School, ParentTeacher Conferences
