This Week In Kindergarten

Dear Families -

I appologize for the delay in posting - this time of year things really speed up and we have lots of extra things going on at school!  I can't believe we're getting ready to enter into our last month of Kindergarten!  It's has truly been a wonderful year!  This week we're busy as usual and here's what we've been focusing on:

Language Arts:
In ABC's we've been talking a bit about the letter Xx and the /ks/ sound.  We've also been searching for and reviewing popcorn words, reviewing sentence structure and writing skills, and we're beginning to learn about comparing and contrasting various things (animals, books we've read, etc.).  We've been busy doing quite a bit of writing and students are doing such a wonderful job!  Their creativity and excitement to read and write independently is GREAT!

Math:
During Math we've been practicing recognizing coins and counting money.  This tends to be a tricky skill for many students so we keep it very basic:  recognizing the penny, nickel, dime and quarter and using those coins to create a specific amount of money - for example:  I have a plate of delicious cookies that cost 12 cents.  Show me 12 cents using your coins.  This is a great way to practice counting coins at home as well.

Religion:
In religion this week we've been focusing on completing our illustration for our Rise and Shine book.  These are terrific!  Students have worked hard to learn the song and have created wonderful illustrations to go along.  The books will come home today so that your child can share their work with you!

Science:
In science we've begun our plant unit.  We will focus on the parts of the plant and what plants need to grow and thrive.  Next week students will be planting their own plants (flowers) to bring home and share with their family. 

Thank you for your support and involvement in our new homework system!  Last weeks work was wonderful! 

Reminders:
Race for Education and Field Day will be next Thursday, May 3rd and our Spring field trip will be the following Wednesday, May 9th.

Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Weatherholtz

This Week In Kindergarten

Dear Families -

This week will be a review/fun activities week since we're only in school two days.  On Monday we will follow our regular schedule with Easter themed activities in most subjects.  On Wednesday we will have a "Lent Retreat" day where students will rotate through 8 stations learning focusing on Lent/Easter activities during the morning.

I hope that you have a wonderful and blessed Easter Break and I look forward to seeing everyone when we return to school on April 16th.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Weatherholtz

This Week In Kindergarten

Dear Families -

WOW - only one more week (whole week at least) until our Spring Break!  This year has flown by so quickly!  This week will be a busy week but we will be rewarded for all of our hard work with our Easter Celebration Friday afternoon!

Language Arts:
This week in ABCs our new letter is Uu and our two new popcorn words are here and was.  We will be working with our new words in both our reading and our writing this week and as always we'll be searching for our new letter in our reading and all around the room!  In Reading this week we'll continue to focus on retelling and sequencing.  Throughout our day we'll be incorporating many Easter stories and activities. 

Religion:
As we continue into the season of Lent, we will be revisiting and praying the Stations of the Cross this week as well as reading stories about the meaning of Easter.  Next Wednesday (April 4th) all primary students will take part in a Lent Retreat Day were students will work through eight stations that focus on both Lent and Easter.

Math:
This week in math we will begin our new unit on measurement.  I enjoy working through this unit with the students because it is very hands on!  This week we'll focus on comparing and measuring height/length and weight.  Our unit will also include measuring capacity which we will begin after spring break. 

Science:
We are continuing to work through our Earth unit in science and this week we'll be focusing on water - where does it come from, where can we find it and how do we use it.  We'll finish up our Earth unit next Monday by completing the much anticipated volcano demonstration!

Notes & Announcements:

• Class pictures will be taken on Tuesday morning.  Students are to wear their school uniforms.
• Uniforms - please keep in mind that students should still be wearing their winter uniforms.  As we've seen some hotter temperatures for this time of year please keep in mind that wearing a uniform t-shirt under sweatshirts is necessary when students are playing outside on warmer days.   Students may begin wearing spring uniforms on April 16th.
• Field trip permission forms and payments are due Friday! 
• Homework will be changing when we return from Spring Break.  Students will receive a note explaining the new homework that will take us through the end of the year in their blue folder after break.  This will be the last homework before we leave for break.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the above information.
Thanks & Have a great week!
Mrs. Weatherholtz

This Week In Kindergarten

Dear Families -

This week is a testing week for the rest of the school so we will be fairly low key down in Kindergarten.

Language Arts:
This week in ABCs we will be focusing on the letter Kk and the /k/ sound spelled with a Kk.  Students typically get Cc and Kk mixed up or are a bit uncertain of when to use which letter so we will be exploring lots of words that begin with Kk to help them become more confident in the /k/ beginning sound.  We will be doing several activities this week that focus on following multi-step directions.  In Reading, we will read stories that lend themselves well to sequencing and think about how we use sequencing in our lives outside of school (for example:  making a PB&J sandwich or our daily schedule).

Math:
In Math we will be finishing up our units on addition and subtraction by composing and decomposing numbers (for example:  11=10-1).  At the end of the week we will be having an addition/subtraction workshop before we begin our new unit next week.

Religion:
This week in Religion we will learn about St. Joseph, revisit Praying in Color by making a "handprint" prayer, and review/pray the Stations of the Cross on Friday.

Science: 
This week in Science we will continue to study Earth Science by exploring rocks and their various characteristics.  Students will be using describing words to describe their rocks, sorting rocks by size/color/etc. and using their sense of touch to see if they can identify their rock from a group of rocks without looking.

Notes & Announcements:

• Report Card Envelopes:  Please remember that report card envelopes need to be signed and returned as soon as possible in your child home communication folder.
• Spring Field Trip:  Information/permission slips went home yesterday for our upcoming Spring Field Trip.  Please note that permission slips and payments are due by Friday, March 30th.  
• There is no written homework this week but we will be checking for healthy snacks starting today!  Keep up the amazing job that you already do in sending in nutritious snacks each day!

If you have any questions about the above information please let me know!

Happy Spring!!
Mrs. Weatherholtz

This Week In Kindergarten

Dear Families,

I don't know about you but I can't believe that it's March!  Time flies when your having fun!  This week in Kindergarten we'll be busy as usual and I'll be working on finishing up student report cards which will come home on March 15th.

Language Arts:
Our new letter this week is Bb and our two new popcorn words are and and what.  This week in ABCs we will continue to practice recognizing and identifying ending sounds and using letter sounds to write CVC words.  We will continue to practice recognizing rhyming words.  In Reading we will focus on visualizing as we read to enhance the illustrations provided by the text.  We will continue to practice retelling the stories we read aloud as well as identifying the characters and setting of our stories.  We will continue to read many Dr. Suess stories and we will begin to read about St. Patrick's Day and complete many St. Patrick's Day themed activities.

Math:
This week in Math we will begin to discuss subtraction.  We will begin by reviewing addition and determining how it related to our new topic, subtraction.  We will practice subtraction in many ways throughout the day including our Daily News math problem and using our names to create subtraction sentences.

Religion:
As we continue through our Lenten journey we will review the Stations of the Cross and begin to discuss the role of prayer in building a relationship with God.  We will begin to explore how we can "pray in color" by creating illustrations that serve as prayers.

Social Studies/Science:
We will complete our US Symbols unit this week and begin our next unit in Science (Our Earth) which will include discussions about what the Earth is made of, various environments and landforms, and weather.

Notes & Announcements:

• Mark Your Calendars:  Our End of the Year Celebration will be held on June 1st from 10:00 - 1:00.  Students will NOT come to school that day - rather we will meet at Patapsco State Park for a lunch picnic, celebration of a wonderful year, and fun at the playground.  (Family and younger siblings are welcome to attend.) More detailed information will come home as we get closer to our celebration date.  If you have any general questions at this time please let me know.
• Plans for our Spring Field Trip are in the making!  Please keep an eye out for detailed information (location, date/time, chaperone information, permission slips, etc.) in your child's communication folder.
• March Scholastic orders are due March 17th. 
• Friday, March 9th is an Early Dismissal Day - Students will be dismissed at 12:25.

If you have any questions regarding the above information/announcements please let me know.  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Thanks,
Mrs. Weatherholtz

This Week In Kindergarten

Dear Families,

Sorry for the delay in posting this week - what a busy week!  We've gotten off to a great start this week and I am busy getting everything ready for report cards that will be coming out mid-March.  Below is a brief overview of what we are up to this week in the classroom and a slide show of the amazing Very Hungry Caterpillars that we created as our Eric Carle art project.  (Click the play button on the slide show to open the Smilebox window.  It will take a minute for the slide show to load but it will begin automatically when loaded).)

Language Arts:
This week in Reading and Phonics we are focusing on rhyming and Dr. Seuss!  We are beginning our Dr. Seuss author study and reading lots of his great works.  Today we read Bartholomew and the Oobleck and made our own oobleck in Science - really messy and REALLY fun!  Our new letter this week is Ee and our two new popcorn words are do and this.  *Keep in mind that tomorrow is Silly Socks Day and Friday is Silly Hat Day (any type of hat will work though!)*

Math:
This week in math we will be finishing up our addition unit.  We are reviewing the addition skills we've learned and incorporating some of our Dr. Seuss in our math lessons.  Next week we will begin our subtraction unit.

Religion:
This week in religion we are focusing on learning about the Stations of the Cross.  Our study will be basic and introductory and we will finish out the week by visiting the church to walk through the stations as a class.  We will join our 8th grade buddies for mass on Friday at 9:15.

Social Studies:
We are continuing to work on learning US Symbols in Social Studies this week.  We will be finishing up the unit next week and putting together the book that we've been working so hard on.  Students are excited to learn about all of the symbols that represent our country and are doing wonderful work as we move through the unit!

Please let me know if you have any questions about the above information.

Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Weatherholtz

Digital slideshow created with Smilebox

A Special Visitor

Today our Kindergarten class joined our PK3 class for a special visitor - a dental hygienist from Elkridge Family Dentist.  We learned how to take care of our teeth and what happens when we go to the dentist.  Here's what we learned (in the students own words):

• when we brush our teeth we need to "tickle our gums"
• we should take good care of our teeth
• if we eat something with sugar, we need to brush our teeth as soon as we can
• when we brush our teeth we have to brush the outside, inside and top - we also should brush our tongue
• fluoride helps keep our teeth strong (we get that at the dentist)
• we should brush two times each day (one of the times Mom or Dad should help)

We had a great time learning about taking care of our teeth and visiting with Ms. Jackie from Elkridge Family Dentistry.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!
Mrs. Weatherholtz and Kindergarten