Terrific Tuesday!

Hi Parents,

Today, we had a terrific day working on reviewing how to write the letters I, N, C, O, F, and H!  Then we got to guess what was in the Alphabet can that starts with the letter H... it was a horse!  Then we read a story about the Hippo that likes to Hide!  We had a great time at calendar because Zero the Hero came back to be our place holder for our number of the day... 90!  Without the zero, the number would just be the number 9.

In math, we had to be mathematician detectives to figure out if our numbers are counting up or down and fill in the missing numbers!  We had reading rotations where we worked on words that include H sounds, our sight word are, and listening to the story "Fiesta Fiasco."  We read a great non-fiction story, Russ and The Firehouse, about boy who gets to visit his uncle at the fire house and help out for the day.  The kids were enthralled with this book!

Some students brought in their 100 things in their bag today!  They were super excited to show me what they counted!  Please return this bag by this Friday with 100 things that your child has counted out so that it can go up in the hallway for the next 2 weeks.

Have a great evening!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer

Monday!

Today was a great day! The students practiced correct letter formation for letters Mm, Aa, Ss, Pp, and Tt. This week we are focusing on the Hh sound (as well as, "th" and "sh") and the sight word "are". 

We learned how to count, read, and write numbers 18, 19, and 20. We also added a detail sentence to our writing piece about the field trip downtown. Most students had time to draw and illustrate their picture for their writing piece as well. 

We now have 11 sounds that we are building words with and 13 sight words we can read on the spot! The students are getting really good at reading the sight words and saying the sounds!  

We ended the day with recess OUTSIDE! It was a such a beautiful day and was such a pleasure to be with your child!

Have a great night!
~Love, 
Mrs. Wittwer

Fantastic Friday!

Hello Parents,

Today we had a wonderful day full of paint, math, PE, Music, and Library!  We worked on Counting, Reading and Writing the numbers 16 and 17.  The AM class didn't quite get to finish the inside counting objects and writing the number.  Please have your child finish this at home!  Give them a big star if they wrote all their numbers the correct way and counted correctly!  PM was able to finish, but they still need you to give them a star if they counted and wrote the number correctly!

We started our first project for the 100th day of school today!  We created 10 frames of students handprints!  These will be up in the rotunda on the 100th day of school (February 10th).  

On Monday: In addition to normal homework, a gallon sized bag will come home that says 100! on it!  In this bag, I would like your kindergartener to count out 100 objects that are small and can all fit in this bag.  This is a great activity to have your child count by ones and tens to 100.  How many groups of ten are there in 100? etc.  To challenge them you could have them count by 5's, 2's, 3's, 4's etc. to 100.  These bags will be displayed in the hallway, so these items should be things they can live without for a week!  :)

Have a great weekend!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer

Terrific Thursday!

We started our day with a fun activity called Gingerbread Numbers.  In the AM class, we recreated "Starry Night Over the Rhone" by Vincent van Gogh.  The PM class will do this on Monday!  We then transitioned to reading groups, where we worked on letter sounds, reading, writing dictated sounds, short words, and sentences. We also worked on building sentences and listening to The Cheese. After calendar and the daily message routine, we worked very hard on our writing! We ended our day sketching our favorite thing about the field trip and writing our first sentence! I'm beyond impressed with the growth students have made in writing! Way to go, kinders!!!!

Important Information:

1. The students have P.E., music, and library tomorrow!

2. Library books are due (if they weren't turned in today).

3. Homework folders are due tomorrow.

Wonderful Wednesday!

We had a fantastic day in kindergarten!

Our day started with a fun roll and color activity, where students had to roll two dice, count their number, and color the gingerbread man with that number. They loved it and I heard some amazing mental math! We did reading groups, where kiddos worked on reading, handwriting, sight words, counting, and listening. We then did our calendar, message, daily news, and math (working on counting within a ten frame). We finished our day with writing. The students brainstormed their writing for tomorrow. 

Important Information:

1. Tomorrow is the book exchange. If your child needs a new book or new level, please include a note in their plastic envelope. Even if your child doesn't need a new book or level, please send the book in. We keep track of where kiddos are each week.

2. Library books are due tomorrow.

3. Homework Folders are due on Friday!

4. PE, Music and Library are on Friday!  Don't forget those PE shoes!

Terrific Tuesday!

Hi Parents,

Today, we had a great day filled with so much learning!  It went by so fast!  This week is a review week, so we are reviewing the sounds F and O make and our two sight words: "is" and "Play."  Today we worked on reading, writing and counting the numbers 11 and 12.  During writing time, we continued to practice our "Writing Chant" that helps us with our Organization when writing!  Our chant is: Title, Author, Skip, Indent, Star, Ready! On the first line, we wrote our Title, My Field Trip, and on the next line we write the Author, By ______ (students name), Skip the next line (put an x to help us remember), Indent on the fourth line with 3 fingers, and write a star to remind students "You are a star! This is where your story starts!"

• Please be sure to send in take home books on Monday and Thursday!  :)
• If you can send in hand sanitizer that would be great!
• Today homework folders went home in the PM class, but a major fail on my part this morning. Tuesday being the first day in the week apparently threw me for a loop in the morning class because I forgot to send out the homework folders!  Yikes!  So sorry!  The AM folders will come home tomorrow for sure! 

I hope you had a great three day weekend in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Have a great evening!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer

  

Friday!

Happy 84th Day of School! We all are getting very excited to celebrate the 100th Day of School on February 10th! I can't believe how fast the year is going!! 

Today the kiddos had PE, Music, and Library. During class time, we did a math test (counting, reading a tens frame, two fewer, and one fewer). We also had buddies today, where the kiddos worked on writing their own dream (after reading a book about MLK and his dream).  We taught our buddies the Chu Chu Hua Hua today and had such a blast!!

With the cold and flu season in full swing, we could use some hand sanitizer in the classroom.  I am on my last bottle, so if you could send in a bottle next week that would help us to stay healthy.  Some of our friends (and my husband) have already gotten sick, so I'm hoping that no one else will get sick!  

Important Information:

1. Homework folders will come home on Tuesday (1/20)! Please encourage your child to do the challenge math page. Also, when your child writes their name above their homework sentence (on the back side), they should be writing their first and last name now!  :) Please remind them to use their best writing. This is part of their handwriting practice! 
2. Take Home Books are due on Thursday (1/22). Remember, if your child needs a new book or new level, please put a note in their plastic book envelope.  
3. Please continue to practice the sight word flash cards and 0-31 flash cards. Please let us know if you need another set or if you have any questions. 

4. NO SCHOOL MONDAY, JANUARY 19TH!

Happy Monday!

Hi Parents,

What a great start to our week!

Today we started with a really fun gingerbread math activity where students had to find the number before and after a number between 1 and 10.  Counting the number after or 1 more was pretty easy for most students, but counting back or 1 less was a little bit of a challenge.  **This week at home I would love your help of randomly picking a number with your student between 1 and 10 and having them count 1 less (when they have that then move onto 2 less, and 1 and 2 more).  You can use counters (legos, fingers, etc.) and have your child take the 1 away and tell how many are left.  Our standard at Kindergarten is that we can do this without recounting, that we can hold that first number in our head and count down or "take away" to get the second number.  Extension: Once we have grasped this for numbers 1 to 10, we will go from 10 to 20 and on up to 100!  :)

Our letter this week is the letter F, and our sight word for the week is: play.  Today we read a non-fiction ABC book called Animal Babies!  Then we guessed what was in Mrs. Wittwer's bag that started with an F sound!  For writing, we learned how to use our writing rubric today so we went back and looked at the writing we did last week to see what we needed to add or change to make sure it was complete!  Then we finished with a little bit of free choice time!

Have a great night!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer    

Thursday!

We had such a great day today!  Students were excited and ready to learn!  We started with a fun dice activity with our partner, counting the dots on two dice and coloring in the gumdrop on a Gingerbread man!  Then we had calendar!  Tomorrow is our 80th day of school, so Zero our Hero will come back to be our place holder tomorrow!  We had reading groups, working on sounds and blending.  We also created a city skyline because we live in the city.  Tomorrow we will create a City Mouse!  Then we worked on ordering numbers, finding the smallest number out of a group and putting them in order.  We listened to the nursery rhyme Three Little Kittens that tells us we should take care of our things.  In the morning class, we were able to squeeze in the Chu Chu Hua Hua!

Tomorrow: Don't forget to wear tennis shoes for PE, and bring your Library book if you haven't yet!  Also homework and homework folders are due tomorrow!

Have a great night!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer

Wonderful Wednesday!

Hello Parents,

We had such a wonderful fun day today!  We had reading groups working on writing words that have the O sound in them.  For example, mom, hot, top, pot, mop, etc.  We completed our ABC book for the letter O, as well as went back and completed other letters that were not quite finished.  We listened to the story of There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bell.  In math, we worked on two more or two less of a number using the count on strategy or take away strategy.  We had a fun page that we practiced the first sounds we say.

Fun Fact:  The afternoon class had enough time that I got to teach them a song I learned in Ixtapa, Mexico.  I will teach it the AM class tomorrow!  It is called the Chu Chu Hua Hua and has these super fun/cute moves that go with it that get children up and moving!  By the end of the song we are a Chihuahua! When my husband and I went to Ixtapa 7 years ago, we learned this song and dance from some local children and I have been teaching it to my students ever since.  :)

Tomorrow:  Take Home books are due with a note!  Library Books are due as well!
Friday:  Homework is Due!  Have a your little guy or gal wear their PE shoes!

Happy Wednesday!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer    

Happy Tuesday!

Today, we started our day with a few math questions where we were finding the hidden partners, or two numbers that make up another number for the numbers 10 and 9.  We had to find two different ways to put 10 windows on 2 skyscrapers.  The second math question was to find 2 different ways to put 9 ornaments on a tree!  Then we continued our work with is, and our letter Oo, reading a really cute book about Olive the Octopus and how she tries to learn to juggle!  After reading groups, we read a non-fiction essay about veterinarians and how they help animals.  Then we had our Camp Rangers of the Day help us with our Daily News!

• Homework came home yesterday and is due back Friday, along with your child's library book.  
• Book exchange is on Thursday!  Don't forget that note if your child needs a new book!
• Remember there is no school Monday the 19th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day!  

Have a great evening!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer  

Happy New Year!

Today was a great start to 2015!  It was so wonderful to see all my students again!  Starting the day off, the students were very excited to see their new spot!  Everyone moved spots and have new neighbors to make friends with!  Then it was a treat to hear about everyone's winter break!  The students were excited to talk and write about what they did over break!

This week our letter of the week is O, and today we worked on both the short and long vowel sound for the letter O.  Our sight word for the week: "is!"  During Calendar time we have counted all the way up to the number 76 now, and on every 5 and 10 number we do something a little bit different (shout, clap, etc).  We read a fun book called "Mama Cat Has Three Kittens."  The book is really cute and we all decided the book could also be called "Boris Naps" because that little kitten naps a lot in the story!  During writing time each student shared at their table what they "liked" from winter break.  It is so thrilling to see how much students have grown in their confidence and writing skills!

I would also like to thank you for the such generous and fun Christmas gifts!  Every year I open them on Christmas and it was so sweet reading all your cards and gifts.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness!  I consider it a great privilege to teach your little camper!  Your student will receive a postcard thank you in your mail at home from me later this week!  The puppy on front is Cooper!  :) I hope you had the best time with your family over the break!

Tonight, homework went home as usual.  For homework this week, I want students to work on all the ways they can count to 100.
If they can already count by 1's to 100, then work on 10's,
if they can do 10's, work on 5's to 100
if they can 5's, work on 2's to 100
or go over 100!    

Have a great evening!

Love,
Mrs. Wittwer