Mrs. Christensen's Kindergarten Class 2018-2019

Hello Families, We have a busy month ahead of us!  February is Black History, Dental, and Heart Awareness Month.  We will discuss the importance of each using a variety of resources.  We will also celebrate Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, the 100th Day of School, and President's Day. Just a reminder, please turn in your next "Star of the Day" sharing. Collect 100 items and display them (no larger than 9x12).  One student did 100 stickers in groups of 10.  Another student made the number 100 out of a hundred rocks.  Be creative and have fun!  Bring it anytime this week or next so that we can continue our next "Star of the Day".   Math: Next week, we will continue subtraction word problems using manipulatives and white boards.  We will continue counting collections, math games in centers, and learning to count on.  Please continue to count to 100 by 1's, 5's and 10's which will help your child group...

Dear Kindergarten Families, We had a great week!  Students were very excited to start the week and they all did an amazing job transitioning back to school. We read about Martin Luther King, Jr. and what makes him unique.   The students listened to a poem, "The Crayon Box That Talked", and drew a picture of what makes them unique.  Check it out on the wall! Word Wall Words:  "this", "that" Next week, we will learn about penguins and what makes them special animals.  The students will write a fact about penguins and it will be displayed on the bulletin board. Students are forgetting to bring folders in.  We had a couple important papers go home this week including our 100th Day Project and pictures.  If your child forgets their homework, it's important to send it as soon as possible.  I prefer not to send forms and/or projects home without the folders as the papers tend to get crinkled, wet or lost.   W...

Hello Families, Wow! It is already December!  Time flies!   The next few weeks will be filled with winter, holiday, and Mind Up activities!  As we head into the holidays,  I find that students are more energetic and need "calm" during this time of year.  We will spend time discussing how to be "mindful"  using our senses.  We will practice mindful breathing and meditation.  I hope the students will be able to take these practices and use them at home! This week, we will also be finishing up gingerbread stories and projects.  We will also make cards for the our Reading Buddies and for our families. In Writer's Workshop,  students are wrapping up their narrative stories.  They are editing and adding more details to their pictures and writing.  At home, please practice writing sentences using spaces and punctuation, as this tends to be a teaching point revisited often....

Hi Kindergarten Families,  Since we only have school on Monday and Tuesday next week, we’ll spend time reviewing prior concepts and continuing to observe and study our caterpillars.   On Tuesday, we will have a small “friendship gathering"  in honor of Thanksgiving.  We will give the students a small snack and focus on manners, friendship and the meaning of being “thankful” and “giving”.  With Thanksgiving on my mind, I’d like to thank all of you who have volunteered/donated to our class in many different ways this year. Without your support we would not be able to do so many exciting activities in our class. I am very thankful for each and every one of you and your wonderful children! Word wall word: are After our Thanksgiving break, we will start our unit on Gingerbread Man stories.  We will read a variety Gingerbread stories.   We will be comparing the different settings, characters, and events.  Every year, we fi...

Hi Kindergarten Families, Thank you to all the families that came to help out at the Halloween party.  It was great to see all the different costumes.  Thank you to Jen and Alyssa for organizing the party!  It was a hit! This week is Parent/Teacher conference week. It is very important that you arrive on time for your conference due to our very packed schedule.  You can check out the Book Fair that is happening in the library before or after your conference.   Our class  "previewed" the Book Fair yesterday and most of the students have a wish list (in their heads!).  I have created a Wish List at the Book Fair in case anyone is interested in contributing to our classroom collection of books!  Here are a couple of questions you can think about when you come to conferences:  1.  How does your child feel about school (favorite/least favorite subjects)? 2. Support and goal(s) for the next trimester (academics,...

Hello Families, As we end the month of October, I want to congratulate the students for their hard work in writing.  They read their "published" book to their Reading Buddies as well as Mrs. Allen's 2/3 combo class.  The older students wrote compliments for the kinders and it really made the little ones feel confident and successful in writing!  Please take a moment to read your child's published book.  Remember, this is the beginning of kindergarten and if your child wrote letters and/or words  (whether word are spelled correctly or not) this is part of the beginning stages of writing.  Let's all "CELEBRATE" the writing process with the students and congratulate them on an amazing job on their first book!  CONGRATULATIONS, KINDERS! Halloween is on Wednesday.  We will have a parade at 8:30 on the lower playground.  The party starts at 9:30-10:30.  A BIG "THANK YOU" goes out to Alyssa and Jen for organizing the party.  As a reminde...

Hello Kindergarten class, This week, we will be finishing up our "Wild Things theme" as well as our spiders, pumpkins, and bats.   The next couple weeks, we will talk about "Career & College" readiness. This is a school-wide/district wide theme.  We will be reading  Oh the places We Go  by Dr. Suess.  This will open up our discussion about what the students want to do in the future and what they need to do to prepare for their future. We will talk about different careers and paths and colleges they can attend.  This is great time to talk about it at home and what you did to get the job you have too. word wall words: you , me Writer's Workshop:  We will be finishing up our "Launching Workshop" writing piece this week and we will have a celebration on Wednesday.  Please have your child bring in a small stuffed animal on Wednesday so that your child can read to their stuffie. Math:...