Update 5/21

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: review all sight words

Reading: I can find the main idea of a story.  I can make a connection to a book.

Writing:  We can't wait to share our "When I was a Kindergartener I Dreamed" writing project with you!  These books will be coming home on Wednesday or Thursday.

Math: number partners, greater & less, mixed addition and subtraction, writing numbers 1-100

Monday: PE

Tuesday: Enrichment
Wednesday: Music

Thursday: Music

Last day of school: We will be having a beach day!  Please send your student with a beach towel, as we will be having a picnic together for lunch outside, and watching a movie and reading in our classroom on them.  If at all possible on this day, please send in a cold lunch.  Hot lunch will be served, but our picnic might be better with a cold lunch!

Dismissal will be at 12pm, and busses will run. 

Yearbooks will be sent home on Thursday.  Please check your child's backpack for important summer info, and report cards!

Homework:

• Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night... this summer too! Make sure to talk with your child as you read.  Ask them what strategies they are using to figure out tricky words - we have LOTS of strategies, not just sounding out words! Have your child retell the story to you at the end, focusing on beginning, middle and end!   Ask your child if they can make any connections to the book - what does it remind you of?

Thank you so much to all families who attended our learning celebration!  I couldn't be more proud of these incredible students.  I have treasured having each one of your kiddos in my class this year, and I thank you sincerely for your support and for sharing them with me!  I hope you all have an amazing summer!

Lots of love,

Katee Mink

Update 5/14

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: review all + would

Phonics: long vowels, review of digraphs

Reading: I can sequence and retell a story with beginning, middle and end.  I can find the main idea of a story and tell 2 details that support the main idea.

Writing:  We are working on seeing ourselves as authors and using a mentor text to write about our dreams!  The books we are using are "When I Was a Boy I Dreamed" and "When I Was a Girl I Dreamed" by Justin Matott.  We are focusing on putting interesting details into our writing that really paint a picture for our readers to visualize. We can't wait to share this project with you!

Math: number partners, greater & less, mixed addition and subtraction, writing numbers 1-100

Monday: Enrichment

Tuesday: Art
Wednesday: Art

Thursday: Enrichment
Friday: PE

Monday: PE

Homework:

• Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night! Make sure to talk with your child as you read.  Ask them what strategies they are using to figure out tricky words - we have LOTS of strategies, not just sounding out words! Have your child retell the story to you at the end, focusing on beginning, middle and end!   If the vowels are tricky in a word, ask them to flip the vowel sound (Flippy the Dolphin strategy) to it's long sound.  

Kindergarten Celebration, Friday, May 18 at 1:45pm in the cafetorium:

Our learning celebration is a little performance the students will be putting on for you!  We hope that you will be able to attend.  We will have refreshments to follow.  You are welcome to bring siblings and grandparents too, if you wish!

Looking forward to celebrating with you!

Have a wonderful week!

Update 4/30

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: review all

Phonics: long vowels, review of digraphs

Reading: Working on fluency and retelling with beginning, middle and end

Writing:  We are working on finishing our nonfiction animal research books, and adding a technology component.  We can't wait to share them with you!  

Math: review of teen numbers, addition and subtraction

Science: Making an scientific observation about our butterflies!

Monday: Enrichment

Tuesday: Art
Wednesday: Art

Thursday: No Specials
Friday: No Specials

Monday: PE

Homework:

• Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night! Make sure to talk with your child as you read.  Ask them what strategies they are using to figure out tricky words - we have LOTS of strategies, not just sounding out words! Have your child retell the story to you at the end.  If the vowels are tricky in a word, ask them to flip the vowel sound (Flippy the Dolphin strategy) to it's long sound.  

Important dates to note:

May 3rd - Zoo field trip 

May 4th - Field Day

May 11th - Field Day rainout date

May 18th - Kindergarten Learning Celebration: Families are invited to attend as we celebrate a fantastic year in kindergarten!  Time: 1:45pm in the cafetorium.  

Zoo field trip:
Students will need a disposable sack lunch and drink.  It is supposed to rain, so umbrellas, rain jackets and tennis shoes or boots are encouraged!  Students will need an empty backpack or a small cinch backpack with them to carry their things.   We will be leaving at 9am and returning to school at 2pm.

If you would like to join us and did not sign up to be a parent group leader (these parents have already been notified), you can still join us if you would like! You will just need to arrive at the Zoo at 9:30am, pay your regular zoo admission and go to the school entrance to meet us which is between the polar bears and the tropical discovery.  We will arrive at 9:45 and head out to different parts of the zoo, so make sure to be on time to meet us!  Please send me a quick email if you want to join us. 

Field Day:

Field day will be in the afternoon for kindergarten from 12pm - 2:00pm.  Please send your student with a water bottle on this day.  If you purchased a field day t-shirt, your child will receive it on Thursday.

In the morning, we will also be sharing our genius hour/writing research projects about our animals.   Students will be sharing their projects from 8-9am.  Please feel free to join us during this time to see your child's learning!

Recess/Lunch: 10:20-11:00 - Lunch will be served as usual at school.  However, if you would like to have lunch with your child, you can choose to take your child off campus to lunch or have lunch with them in the lunchroom. If you take them to lunch, you will need to sign them out and return in time to be ready for field day at noon.  

Have a wonderful week!

Update 4/23

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: review all

Phonics: long vowels

Literacy Essential Question: Teamwork: What can happen when we work together?

Writing:  We are working on finishing our nonfiction animal books.  We can't wait to share them with you!

Math: number partners, review, Unit 4 test

Science: We are waiting to see when our butterflies will emerge!

Monday: PE

Tuesday: PE
Wednesday: Enrichment

Thursday: Music
Friday: Music

Monday: Enrichment

Homework:

• iPads will not be sent home for the remainder of the year. 
• Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night! Make sure to talk with your child as you read.  Ask them what strategies they are using to figure out tricky words - we have LOTS of strategies, not just sounding out words! Have your child retell the story to you at the end.  If the vowels are tricky in a word, ask them to flip the vowel sound (Flippy the Dolphin strategy) to it's long sound.  

Important dates to note:

May 3rd - Zoo field trip 

May 4th - Field Day

May 11th - Field Day rainout date

May 18th - Kindergarten Learning Celebration: Families are invited to attend as we celebrate a fantastic year in kindergarten!  Time: 1:45pm in the cafetorium.  

Have a wonderful week!

Update 4/16

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: where, look

Phonics: long vowels, magic e, sight words

Literacy Essential Question: How can things in nature be used to make other things?

Writing:  We are working hard as nonfiction writers on our animal books!  We are using our thinking maps where we organized our information to write sentences about their animal's diet, appearance and habitat.  

Math: addition to 10, 3D shapes, word problems

Science: Our caterpillars are starting to make their chrysalises.  We are observing them like scientists!

Monday: Music

Tuesday: Enrichment
Wednesday: Art
Thursday: Art
Friday: Enrichment

Monday: PE

Homework:

• iPads will be sent home Monday and Wednesday to charge fully.  VERY IMPORTANT! PLEASE RETURN iPad charger and cord in the iPad bag this week when your child returns their iPad to school.  Mrs. McHugh will be taking inventory of all iPads, chargers, cords and iPad bags on THURSDAY.  This will be the last week that we will be sending iPads home.  
• Monday - Read the student's book, What is an Insect? Have your student show you the diagram, the caption, a word that has a long vowel with magic e, the ing brothers, and the ou sound!
• Wednesday - Math family homework: Go on a shape hunt around your house for 3D shapes!  Due next Monday.
• Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night!

Important dates to note:

May 3rd - Zoo field trip 

(permission slip came home last Friday, due this Friday, pay on Jeffco Connect)

May 4th - Field Day

May 11th - Field Day rainout date

May 18th - Kindergarten Learning Celebration: Families are invited to attend as we celebrate a fantastic year in kindergarten!  Time: 1:45pm in the cafetorium.  

Have a wonderful week!

Update 4/9

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: play, has

Phonics: long vowels 

Literacy Essential Question: What do good citizens do? 

Writing:  We are using non-fiction books and pebblego.com to do research for a non fiction book of our own on an animal of our choosing!  We will be researching and and planning our writing this week.

Math: 3D shapes, number partners

Science: Living and non-living things.  What are characteristics of living things? How do they change?  You may have heard, we have very special caterpillars in our room that are growing like crazy!  They will be making their chrysalises soon!  

Today we also took a first look at the Standley Lake eagles and their new eaglets!  The kids were so excited to see one of the new babies!  I told them that I would make sure to send you the link if you want to view at home.  

Eagle Cam Link

Monday: Enrichment
Tuesday: PE
Wednesday: PE
Thursday: Enrichment
Friday: Music
Monday: Music

Homework:
iPads will be sent home Monday and Wednesday to charge fully.   On one of these nights, have your child show you our new app, Raz Kids!  They are able choose books to read, as well as read books that I assign to them.  Have your child read one book with you!

Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night!

Important dates to note:

May 4th - Field Day

May 11 - Field Day rainout date

May 18 - Kindergarten Learning Celebration, afternoon. Families are invited to attend as we celebrate a fantastic year in kindergarten!  Time: 1:45pm.  

Have a wonderful week!

Update 4/2

Hi kindergarten families,

Highlights for this week:

Sight words: too, help

Phonics: blends and digraphs, long a 

Literacy Essential Question: What can you do to help out at home?

Also, we will be doing some spring reading activities that also tie in writing, poetry, and math!

Writing: Early in the week, we will be writing about our Spring Break.  Later, we will continue with discovery reading and writing, where kindergarten authors explore non fiction books and learn about what non fiction writing looks like.   We will begin doing research for a non fiction book of our own!

Math: Subtraction, graphing, number partners of 10

Specials:
Monday: Music
Tuesday: Music
Wednesday: Enrichment
Thursday: Art
Friday: Art
Monday: Enrichment

Homework:
iPads will be sent home Monday and Wednesday to charge fully.  

Please continue to read any choice of book for 10 minutes every night!

Important dates to note:

May 4th - Field Day

May 11 - Field Day rainout date

May 18 - Kindergarten Learning Celebration, afternoon. Families are invited to attend as we celebrate a fantastic year in kindergarten!  Details and specific time TBA soon.  

Have a wonderful week!