Happy Monday!

What a wonderful Monday!  Today, we had math, worked on counting and writing number sentences both ways (8=3+5, and 3+5=8).  We read a fantasy story "If the Dinosaurs came Back" by Bernard Most.  We worked on our writing and handwriting, did calendar, daily news and practiced our songs for our end of the year concert.  At the end, each class had some Free Choice time!   

Today, homework will be sent home as usual; however, the kiddos are not being asked to write sentences. Instead, the students will start writing narratives as part of their homework. 

 We wanted to take the time to explain how we've taught narrative, so you can use the same language with your child at home. Below is a step by step explanation with pictures, just as we have taught it in class.

1. Students need to write their name and short date on the paper.

 2. They fold the paper in half and find the middle (the fold helps children center their title).

3. After reading the prompt with your child, ask them what might be a good title for their story? We shoot to write titles that are between one and three words (eg. Carpet, Magic Carpet, The Magic Carpet).

4. Now it's time to set up their paper. Here is the chant we do in class to set up our papers. "I need a title, author, skip, indent, star, ready!"

4. The prompt is their first sentence and they start writing next to the star.

5. In their second sentence they must tell their reader what they did.

We have taught the kiddos to flip their papers up and start writing on the top line (where my thumb is) when they need more room to write.

 6. In their third sentence, they "wrap it up!"

7. Their story ends with an emotion in sentence number four. We've taught the kiddos to always start with I felt so _________. 

8. Lastly, they sketch (with pencil) a picture to go with their story and then add color. 

*I realize you probably don't need pictures for each step; however, I thought it may be helpful if your kiddo needs to see an example. :)

Please don't hesitate to email with questions! As always, when it comes to spelling, encourage kiddos to sound it out. Please don't just spell the words for them. Also, I'd like to point out, on the writing paper, there is a simple rubric for the kiddos to use.

  I can use capitals at the beginning of my sentences. 

I can spell my sight words correctly. 

I can use lower case letters in my sentences. 

I can do two finger spaces between my words. 

I can use punctuation at the end of my sentences.

 Important Information

1. Homework folders came home today, Monday, 4-27! All kiddos should be doing the attached math page and writing a narrative story. The story does not need to be written in one day. We recommend breaking up the sentences (eg. Monday: page set up and sentence #1. Tuesday: sentence #2. Wednesday: sentence #3. Thursday: sentence #4 and picture.

2. Take home books came home today!  The next book exchange day is Thursday!  Please do not forget a note. 

3. MOMMA is coming up on May 7th from 6-8pm. This replaces our old Muffins with Mom time.

4. Our end of Kindergarten program is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30pm. Please feel free to bring your other kiddos, invite grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. It's sure to be a fun (and cute) show!

Thursday News!

What a wonderful day!

 We started our day by setting up our narrative stories to the prompt, "One day in the attic, you found a magic carpet." After writing our first and second sentence, we took a break from writing to do reading groups. Students worked on sorting words, reading, listening, and even got to do observe our fish at a science center. We did our calendar and Daily News, and then got right back to our writing. We wrote sentence number three and four. Finally, the students sketched and colored their picture to go with their story. At the end of the day, I told the students that they were STARS and BURSTING with knowledge, so they earned a 

STARBURST. 

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. Please be sure your child's HW is turned in with their folder.

4. Just a heads up (for planning purposes), MOMMA will be held on May 7th from 6-8pm. This replaces our old Muffins with Mom time.

5. Our end of Kindergarten program is scheduled for June 9th at 6:30pm. Please feel free to bring your other kiddos, invite grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. It's sure to be a fun (and cute) show! :)

Have a great evening!

~Love, 

Mrs. Wittwer

Wonderful Wednesday!

What another beautiful sunny day here on the prairie!  To celebrate Earth Day today, we painted our own earth using water colors and we wrote a promise to help the earth.  Ask your child what they promised to do to help the earth...recycle, pick up garbage, plant a tree, etc.   We also observed our goldfish at our tables.  In our science journals, we labeled all the parts of a goldfish.

We also introduced our second letter of the week Vv today!  When we say the /v/ sound it should tickle our bottom lip!  :) In reading groups we worked on writing our letters of the week, X and V!  We had a Lorax puzzle that we brought home.  Some of us still need to cut and paste our pieces together to see the picture.

Tomorrow: Take Home books and Library Books are due!
Friday: Homework Folders are due!

Happy Trails,
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer

Happy Tuesday!

What a glorious spring day outside today!  This week our letters of the week is X and V and our sight words are "has" and "look." Tomorrow is Earth Day so we have read Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax" about how we all must speak for the trees.  We will be encouraging students to recycle what they can, so please continue this discussion at home, what the purpose of a recycling bin is, etc.

Today, we read a great little story "Gilbert the Goldfish Wants a Pet," also at the listening center we read "Shark In The Dark."  You might notice that we have a lot of things about fish, that is because this week we have our fish for science!  Our science this spring is all about Animals Two By Two!  This is just the beginning, so tomorrow when we come to class each table will have either guppies or goldfish at their table, so they can study them closely!  We worked on our narrative writing, telling what we did next and then we learned how to finish our story with an emotion!  I am so proud of my students and how hard they worked on this narrative writing today!  This week in math we are working on building and drawing math addition equations and expanding our number sense.

It was so great to be back with your child today!  Happy camping!

I don't know why, but I had the date wrong for the MoMMa event, please change your calendars!  Thank you!
~Love,
Mrs. Wittwer

Thursday!

Hello Parents, 

We started our day with a math fluency timing, where kiddos had to complete a set to make five. After our entry task time, we had calendar, our morning message, and Daily News.  After calendar, we worked on math drawing the number of cubes and then completing the number bond for it.  We then transitioned to reading groups, where students worked on initial sounds, letter sounds, blending, spelling, reading, and listening. After reading groups, we moved on to writing. Today we focused on the second sentence in our narrative stories. The second sentence is where the kiddos "tell what they did" in their stories.  This week our writing prompt is about an egg they found in their yard.  

Reminders:

1. Tomorrow homework folders and Library books are due!
2. PE, Music and Library are tomorrow!  We also have buddies!
3. Yearbook orders are due tomorrow, April 17th. 

Just a heads up for planning purposes: 

1. MOMMA will be held on May 7th from 6-8pm. This replaces our previous Muffins with Mom time.
2. We will be having our end of the year Kindergarten Concert Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30 PM in the Cafeteria.  parents, siblings and grandparents are all welcome to attend!  This will be a short, sweet and fun concert!
3. Science Fest is Wednesday, June 3rd, from 6-8.  This is a school wide event.  We love science here at PV and this is a super fun night!  Plan on bringing the whole family for the festivities!
4. Last day of Kindergarten is June 11th, not the 12th like the rest of the school.  Our all-day field trip in December counted as two kindergarten days.  On the 11th, we ask that parents come for our "Snacknic."  When I have the information about the exact time, I will post it so you know.

I think for now that is all!  :)  Have a great sunny evening!
~Love, 
Mrs. Wittwer    

Welcome Back!

I hope you and your family had a great Spring Break!   I was able to visit my grandparents over at Camano Island and visit my brother's family, including their new baby at Fort Lewis!  So fun and exciting!      

We had such a great day today!  I am so happy to be back with all my wonderful students!  We started today with our April Self Portrait, drawing what we looked like today!  Our letter of the week is G, focusing on the /g/ sound (gate, goose, girl, etc).  Our sight words of the week are: she and he.  We had a lot of fun guessing what was in my alphabet can and box.  We read a story about a gorilla and tried to find all the things that start with the /g/ sound.  We worked hard today on number bonds and also writing our number sentences that go with that number bond.  For example: 8= 3+5 or 8= 5+3.  Also, we read a non-fiction book about Beetles, learning that they have wings, come in all sizes, some can fly, and some can glow!  

If you have the Class Camp Bear and Happy Camper Binder, please send it back tomorrow!  :)

Thursday is the next book exchange day!

Friday all the Yearbook Order Forms are due!

Have a great evening!

~Love, 

Mrs. Wittwer