Hello Families,
Just a quick note to tell you about the fun-filled week we have ahead of us in Kindergarten! Monday afternoon we will be walking down to see the Gingerbread House Exhibit at the Folklife Center. Tuesday is our Holidays Around the World celebration in all 4 Kindergarten rooms. Tricia will visit with a story and craft on Wednesday. Friday is our annual Mary Hogan Holiday Sing Along at 10:00 - families are welcome. We will also see our Big Buddies on Friday to share books and wish each other a Happy Vacation!
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Sunday, December 9, 2018
December Fun and Learning
Hi Families,
We gathered as a whole school on Friday for our Readathon Closing Ceremony. We laughed and cheered and felt great pride as readers and as Mary Hogan Hawks.
The excitement was high...we knew the school had read enough minutes to beat the goal of 350,000 minutes read by the end of the Readathon. That meant we would get to see Mr. Lindemann and Mrs. Urban compete in the Principal's Challenge! It was very fun to watch!
On December 18th, the whole Kindergarten group will take part in a Holidays Around the World learning event. The classes will rotate through all 4 Kindergarten rooms to learn about a holiday celebrated in a different place in the world. Would anyone like to come in for that afternoon to be a classroom helper? It is always helpful to have some extra hands for the crafting part of the afternoon. Let me know if you would like to volunteer to help on that day. It is from 12:00-2:00.
Here are some photos from our week.....
Making strawberry frozen yogurt pie....it was a hit!
Mr. Pratt was our last Mystery Reader.
We've been learning to count by 2's....this is our hallway bulletin board.
Working together to build marble mazes.
Our classroom quilt....
We gathered as a whole school on Friday for our Readathon Closing Ceremony. We laughed and cheered and felt great pride as readers and as Mary Hogan Hawks.
The excitement was high...we knew the school had read enough minutes to beat the goal of 350,000 minutes read by the end of the Readathon. That meant we would get to see Mr. Lindemann and Mrs. Urban compete in the Principal's Challenge! It was very fun to watch!
On December 18th, the whole Kindergarten group will take part in a Holidays Around the World learning event. The classes will rotate through all 4 Kindergarten rooms to learn about a holiday celebrated in a different place in the world. Would anyone like to come in for that afternoon to be a classroom helper? It is always helpful to have some extra hands for the crafting part of the afternoon. Let me know if you would like to volunteer to help on that day. It is from 12:00-2:00.
Here are some photos from our week.....
Making strawberry frozen yogurt pie....it was a hit!
Mr. Pratt was our last Mystery Reader.
We've been learning to count by 2's....this is our hallway bulletin board.
Working together to build marble mazes.
Our classroom quilt....
Friday, November 30, 2018
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
A Fun Snowy Day in Kindergarten
Hello Families,
Everyone seems happy to be back together in B-3 this week and the snow today was such a treat for the kids! Thanks for keeping tabs on all your child's snow gear and making sure it all gets to school each day. The students are working hard to get dressed on their own so they can get out to play!
You probably heard about the fire that damaged one of our classmate's homes over the break. It seems at this point that financial donations are the best way to support that family right now. Our friend was back in school today and we were all happy to have her with us so we could support her and show her how much we all care. Our school has a donation jar in the main lobby and a note went home about it yesterday with a link to the GoFundMe account to support the family. When the family moves in to a new home, there will be a new set of needs and I will be in touch to see if our class can help support that new challenge, as well. Thank you for keeping them in your thoughts.
Here are a few pictures from our work stations over the past 2 days.
Letter Q is on center stage this week, so Miss Bettee
showed us some of her quilts that she has made.
Then we worked on paper quilt squares of our own.
Independent book bin reading
Partner letter work
Letter Z was introduced today, as well.
Everyone seems happy to be back together in B-3 this week and the snow today was such a treat for the kids! Thanks for keeping tabs on all your child's snow gear and making sure it all gets to school each day. The students are working hard to get dressed on their own so they can get out to play!
You probably heard about the fire that damaged one of our classmate's homes over the break. It seems at this point that financial donations are the best way to support that family right now. Our friend was back in school today and we were all happy to have her with us so we could support her and show her how much we all care. Our school has a donation jar in the main lobby and a note went home about it yesterday with a link to the GoFundMe account to support the family. When the family moves in to a new home, there will be a new set of needs and I will be in touch to see if our class can help support that new challenge, as well. Thank you for keeping them in your thoughts.
Here are a few pictures from our work stations over the past 2 days.
Letter Q is on center stage this week, so Miss Bettee
showed us some of her quilts that she has made.
Then we worked on paper quilt squares of our own.
Independent book bin reading
Partner letter work
Letter Z was introduced today, as well.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
A Busy Tuesday!
Hello Families,
Some snapshots of our Tuesday in B-3....
Literacy stations this morning
Miss Liz from the library was our first Mystery Reader, a weekly event during November to celebrate the READATHON and earn extra minutes for Kindergarten readers!
Our trip to the Fire Station was so exciting! The children asked great questions about fire safety, they sat in the fire truck and tried on the heavy fire fighter helmet.
Some snapshots of our Tuesday in B-3....
Literacy stations this morning
Miss Liz from the library was our first Mystery Reader, a weekly event during November to celebrate the READATHON and earn extra minutes for Kindergarten readers!
Our trip to the Fire Station was so exciting! The children asked great questions about fire safety, they sat in the fire truck and tried on the heavy fire fighter helmet.
Friday, November 2, 2018
Welcome November
Hello Families,
It was great to meet with so many of you to discuss your child's progress during the parent conferences and thank you for your flexibility in scheduling. I have a couple dates to share with you in the coming weeks. Tuesday, Nov. 6th, we will walk down to get a tour of the Fire Station. This is a fun follow up to the firefighters visiting us at Mary Hogan and an important stop on our community tour. On Wednesday, Nov. 7th, it is a district wide Early Release Day. Students are dismissed at 1:00. Friday, Nov. 16th is Book Character Dress Up Day to celebrate the Readathon. The teachers at Mary Hogan, and Julie in the Library, ask that the character your child dresses up as, is a character in a book. I will be dressing up as The Little Old Lady that Swallowed Some Leaves! If you have the book at home that your child's character is in, please send it in to school that day, as Julie takes a photo of everyone dressed up holding their book. Here are some recent photos and a few examples of a Halloween writing project that made me smile. Also, I'm trying to post a video for the first time, so I'm crossing my fingers that you can view it....
Playing a Jack-o-lantern game with Big Buddies
It was great to meet with so many of you to discuss your child's progress during the parent conferences and thank you for your flexibility in scheduling. I have a couple dates to share with you in the coming weeks. Tuesday, Nov. 6th, we will walk down to get a tour of the Fire Station. This is a fun follow up to the firefighters visiting us at Mary Hogan and an important stop on our community tour. On Wednesday, Nov. 7th, it is a district wide Early Release Day. Students are dismissed at 1:00. Friday, Nov. 16th is Book Character Dress Up Day to celebrate the Readathon. The teachers at Mary Hogan, and Julie in the Library, ask that the character your child dresses up as, is a character in a book. I will be dressing up as The Little Old Lady that Swallowed Some Leaves! If you have the book at home that your child's character is in, please send it in to school that day, as Julie takes a photo of everyone dressed up holding their book. Here are some recent photos and a few examples of a Halloween writing project that made me smile. Also, I'm trying to post a video for the first time, so I'm crossing my fingers that you can view it....
Playing a Jack-o-lantern game with Big Buddies
Thursday, October 25, 2018
A Few Notes For You....
Hello Families,
Before I post a few photos from our Fall Hike last week, I wanted to share some brief notes for you. With the cooler weather upon us, students are wearing extra layers to school. Miss Bettee and I are urging students to do their own zipping, buttoning, snapping and all the other skills needed for getting dressed in the chilly fall and winter. We allow for extra time once snow pants and boots are needed, too! Thanks for your support with fostering independence in our Kindergartners.
The MESA Parent Group would like to ask everyone to collect Box Tops off of products and send them in to school. Our school gets 10 cents for each Box Top sent in! When you have a good collection of them, send them in with your child. Thanks!
Our school holds a BIG fundraiser called the Readathon in November. Information about the Readathon will be coming home. Please read it carefully...there is A LOT of information to try and understand! I will send reminders home about days to send in the reading logs and keep you informed. Also, the Spirit Wear will be coming home!
Lots of climbing, collecting and exploring!
Before I post a few photos from our Fall Hike last week, I wanted to share some brief notes for you. With the cooler weather upon us, students are wearing extra layers to school. Miss Bettee and I are urging students to do their own zipping, buttoning, snapping and all the other skills needed for getting dressed in the chilly fall and winter. We allow for extra time once snow pants and boots are needed, too! Thanks for your support with fostering independence in our Kindergartners.
The MESA Parent Group would like to ask everyone to collect Box Tops off of products and send them in to school. Our school gets 10 cents for each Box Top sent in! When you have a good collection of them, send them in with your child. Thanks!
Our school holds a BIG fundraiser called the Readathon in November. Information about the Readathon will be coming home. Please read it carefully...there is A LOT of information to try and understand! I will send reminders home about days to send in the reading logs and keep you informed. Also, the Spirit Wear will be coming home!
Lots of climbing, collecting and exploring!
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Hike on Tuesday, 10/16
Hello Families,
Thanks for everyone's response to the parent conference sign up - everyone has been scheduled. If you find life happens and you need to reschedule, please let me know and we will find another time. For those of you coming at an afterschool time, we will meet in our classroom. If you are coming in during the school day, I try to schedule one of the conference rooms in the building.
I have a time on Wednesday afternoons that I am finding would be a good time for a parent volunteer. If you are interested in making the commitment to come in on Wednesdays from 12:10-1:30 to work with a small group during a 3 group rotation, please let me know. If you can commit to every other Wednesday, that would work as well.
Lastly, we are going on a Fall Hike on Tuesday! Please be sure your child wears sturdy sneakers or hiking boots and an extra layer. We will be walking through the Buttolph neighborhood behind school and hiking in Battell Woods. As we have been learning about our school community, we have been discussing places in the Middlebury community and the woods is a place I want to the students to have access to.
Lastly, no school on Friday, Oct. 19th. Now some pics.....
Observing places around town with a partner.
Walking the small trail behind Mary Hogan, looking for
signs of Fall.
Our October calendar has several patterns in it to discover.....
g is for goldfish! Graphing and eating goldfish on Fun Friday.
Thanks for everyone's response to the parent conference sign up - everyone has been scheduled. If you find life happens and you need to reschedule, please let me know and we will find another time. For those of you coming at an afterschool time, we will meet in our classroom. If you are coming in during the school day, I try to schedule one of the conference rooms in the building.
I have a time on Wednesday afternoons that I am finding would be a good time for a parent volunteer. If you are interested in making the commitment to come in on Wednesdays from 12:10-1:30 to work with a small group during a 3 group rotation, please let me know. If you can commit to every other Wednesday, that would work as well.
Lastly, we are going on a Fall Hike on Tuesday! Please be sure your child wears sturdy sneakers or hiking boots and an extra layer. We will be walking through the Buttolph neighborhood behind school and hiking in Battell Woods. As we have been learning about our school community, we have been discussing places in the Middlebury community and the woods is a place I want to the students to have access to.
Lastly, no school on Friday, Oct. 19th. Now some pics.....
Observing places around town with a partner.
Walking the small trail behind Mary Hogan, looking for
signs of Fall.
Our October calendar has several patterns in it to discover.....
g is for goldfish! Graphing and eating goldfish on Fun Friday.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Into October....
Hello Families,
I have lots of photos to share with you today. Remember, it's a great opportunity to get a narrative from your Kindergartner about our day when you look at the photos together! Sometimes at the end of the day, it can be hard for a Kindergartner to chat about or answer your questions about the school day. The more specific the questions the better: Who did you play with today? Did you practice writing any letters today? What book have you heard lately at school that you really liked? What made you happy today?
The t-shirts have been arriving at school so we will be tie-dying soon! Also, if you haven't returned the sign up sheet for your parent conference, please do so. I noticed that many people signed up for the latest time slots, which I understand due to work. If I plug you into a slot that definitely won't work, just let me know and we will come up with a new time that works for both of us. Thank you!
Here are a few descriptors for the following photos: making shapes with our bodies, the Hello, Hello, Hello greeting, matching the letter cards, our brand new poetry folders, great name practice, chopping apples for applesauce, making a Fall book with the Big Buddies, exploring and socializing in the sensory table, practicing working with a partner with letter matching on the rug, reading books together.
I have lots of photos to share with you today. Remember, it's a great opportunity to get a narrative from your Kindergartner about our day when you look at the photos together! Sometimes at the end of the day, it can be hard for a Kindergartner to chat about or answer your questions about the school day. The more specific the questions the better: Who did you play with today? Did you practice writing any letters today? What book have you heard lately at school that you really liked? What made you happy today?
The t-shirts have been arriving at school so we will be tie-dying soon! Also, if you haven't returned the sign up sheet for your parent conference, please do so. I noticed that many people signed up for the latest time slots, which I understand due to work. If I plug you into a slot that definitely won't work, just let me know and we will come up with a new time that works for both of us. Thank you!
Here are a few descriptors for the following photos: making shapes with our bodies, the Hello, Hello, Hello greeting, matching the letter cards, our brand new poetry folders, great name practice, chopping apples for applesauce, making a Fall book with the Big Buddies, exploring and socializing in the sensory table, practicing working with a partner with letter matching on the rug, reading books together.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Feels Like Fall
Hello Families,
I am loving this cool, crisp fall weather.....much better than the 95 degree classroom we started the year with! I hope you found the classroom directory that was sent home in your child's red folder on Friday. The directory can come in handy when planning birthday parties or play dates.
Our letters of focus last week were m and n. We learned a monster chant, read several books with monsters as the main characters, practiced forming those letters with playdough and on our dry erase boards and identified words that started with those letters. I realized on Friday that I forgot to send home the m and n letter practice paper....I will add that to the red folder the next time it comes home. This week coming up the letter focus will be c and a...our first vowel. Along with letter practice, we are learning to retell stories, identify character and setting in a story, putting words together to form a sentence and creating our first classroom book all about us.
During Number Corner, we will be finishing up our shape pattern on the September calendar as we move into October. The children have been sorting shapes, identifying shapes by their attributes and making shape projects. I introduced the 5 frame and the 10 frame as a way to show quantity and recognize a number quickly on a frame. With the 5 frame right now, the children are noticing what numbers go together to make 5. And we love to learn new games to practice our math skills, like Rondo, Count the Beans and Hi Ho Cherry-O.
I would like each child to bring in a plain, white t-shirt for a class tie-dying project. I enjoy having the students choose their design, help create it with rubberbands, then dunk it in the bucket to soak. There are always a lot of ooooh's and aaaaah's when the bands come off and we do the big reveal! I like having the shirts here at school for field trips and special school events. Then your child will bring it home at the end of the school year. When shopping for a t-shirt, go for a size that your child can grow into, as we wear them all year. Also, if you buy a pack of shirts and would like to donate the extras to the class, they are always used and appreciated. Thanks!
Lastly, our first Early Release Day is Tuesday, October 2nd. Students who ride busses leave around 12:45 and walkers/pick ups head out around 12:55. Please have plans ready for your child to leave early that day...if his or her plan is different than usual, please send in a note with the dismissal plan for that day. And now for some pics.....
Identifying which pictures start with m or n
Working on correct number formation with Count the Beans
Our school counselor, Miss Cleary, shared a story and the kids made playdough faces to show feelings.
Writing our Key Words on the window!
Miss Tricia from the Ilsley Library visits Kindergarten.
Making personalized library card holders
I am loving this cool, crisp fall weather.....much better than the 95 degree classroom we started the year with! I hope you found the classroom directory that was sent home in your child's red folder on Friday. The directory can come in handy when planning birthday parties or play dates.
Our letters of focus last week were m and n. We learned a monster chant, read several books with monsters as the main characters, practiced forming those letters with playdough and on our dry erase boards and identified words that started with those letters. I realized on Friday that I forgot to send home the m and n letter practice paper....I will add that to the red folder the next time it comes home. This week coming up the letter focus will be c and a...our first vowel. Along with letter practice, we are learning to retell stories, identify character and setting in a story, putting words together to form a sentence and creating our first classroom book all about us.
During Number Corner, we will be finishing up our shape pattern on the September calendar as we move into October. The children have been sorting shapes, identifying shapes by their attributes and making shape projects. I introduced the 5 frame and the 10 frame as a way to show quantity and recognize a number quickly on a frame. With the 5 frame right now, the children are noticing what numbers go together to make 5. And we love to learn new games to practice our math skills, like Rondo, Count the Beans and Hi Ho Cherry-O.
I would like each child to bring in a plain, white t-shirt for a class tie-dying project. I enjoy having the students choose their design, help create it with rubberbands, then dunk it in the bucket to soak. There are always a lot of ooooh's and aaaaah's when the bands come off and we do the big reveal! I like having the shirts here at school for field trips and special school events. Then your child will bring it home at the end of the school year. When shopping for a t-shirt, go for a size that your child can grow into, as we wear them all year. Also, if you buy a pack of shirts and would like to donate the extras to the class, they are always used and appreciated. Thanks!
Lastly, our first Early Release Day is Tuesday, October 2nd. Students who ride busses leave around 12:45 and walkers/pick ups head out around 12:55. Please have plans ready for your child to leave early that day...if his or her plan is different than usual, please send in a note with the dismissal plan for that day. And now for some pics.....
Identifying which pictures start with m or n
Working on correct number formation with Count the Beans
Our school counselor, Miss Cleary, shared a story and the kids made playdough faces to show feelings.
Writing our Key Words on the window!
Miss Tricia from the Ilsley Library visits Kindergarten.
Making personalized library card holders
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