Find out what's happening in Mrs. Finn's Kindergarten classroom...

Friday, December 11, 2015

This week we read Arthur's Perfect Christmas.  Our new popcorn words were yes & no.  In Jolly phonics we learned the sounds of the letters y & x.  During Daily Five centers students worked on handwriting and activities with popcorn words.  They also read with me in guided reading groups.  Our math centers focused on patterns, teen numbers, missing number 1-20, and addition.  Our class earned 10 class paws and ended the week with a special reward, pajama day!  It was a great week!
                                   A Peek At Next Week:
                              Reading: Gingerbread stories
                                                                  Jolly Phonics: oo
                                                           Popcorn Words: go, so

                                                              Math: Gingerbread math
                                                            Library: Tuesday & Thursday
                                                                   Art: Wednesday
                                                               Music: Fridays
                                                         Gym & Recess: Everyday
 Things to review and practice: 
Phonics: recognition & sounds of the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v, y, x
Popcorn words: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no
Math: counting to 100 by 1's and 10's, recognizing & comparing numbers 1-20, finding the missing number 1-20
Reminders: Our classroom holiday party is on Friday, December 18th.  There is no school Monday, December 21st-Friday, January 1st.  Classes resume on Monday, January 4th.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Our reading story this week was, Me and My Family Tree. We read the story, talked about how families are alike and different, and shared special show and tell items with the class.  The students also completed a booklet about their families.  Our new popcorn words were: and & little. The letter sounds we learned in Jolly Phonics were w & v.  We also practiced printing these letters.  Our math lessons and centers focused on counting to 50 and 100 by 1's and 10's.  During math centers, students worked on activities for the numbers 1-20.                                                                     A Peek At Next Week
                                            Reading: Arthur's Perfect Christmas
                                              Jolly Phonics: y & x
                                          Popcorn Words: yes, no
                        Math: Using sets of 10 to count to 100, numbers 1-20, patterns
                                              Library: Tuesday & Thursday
                                                   Art: Wednesday
                                               Music: Fridays
                                               Gym & Recess: Everyday
 Things to review and practice: 
Phonics: recognition & sounds of the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v
Popcorn words: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and 
Math: counting to 100 by 1's and 10's, recognizing & comparing numbers 1-20, finding the missing number 1-20
                                                                               
  

Saturday, April 11, 2015

We had a great week coming back from Spring Break!  We read stories about Earth Day and ways that we can take care of the Earth.  Our new popcorn words were: say, away, play, they.  We have been working on r blends such as br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr, in our phonemic awareness program.  The students have also been doing more journal writing.  It is so exciting to see what great writers they are becoming!  In math we have moved on to subtraction fluency for our weekly fluency tests.  We started this week with -0 and then will move on to -1, and -2.  During centers we continue to practice addition and subtraction and are also working on sorting and classifying.  The students have been busy practicing their songs for their upcoming musical on May 28th at 7:00 p.m.  Here is the link to the music so they can practice at home as well- http://goo.gl/hyvYZA
Also, I wanted to let you know that Miss Ashley Austin will be our classroom aide for the rest of the year.  The students still see Miss Lori around school, but she was needed in another kindergarten classroom.     
                                                                A Peek At Next Week
                                                               Reading: Seeds and Plants
Phonemic Awareness: letter naming, rhyming, onset fluency, blending, identifying final and medial sounds, segmenting, adding & deleting phonemes, substituting phonemes, language awareness.
                   Math: addition, subtraction practice and fluency and sorting and classifying
                                           Handwriting: review & writing sentences 
                                                Popcorn Words: eat, please, want, with
                                       Jolly Phonics: review sounds and work on short vowel word families.
                                                Library: Mondays (book return/check out) & Thursdays
                                                                              Art: Tuesdays
                                                                              Music: Fridays
                                                                       Gym & Recess: Everyday
                                                                Things to review and practice: 
Phonics: recognition & sounds of the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v, y, x, oo, ch, sh, ng, th, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar
Popcorn words: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, go, so, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three, four, five, said, this, that, new, soon, went, come, do, all, there, who, what, where, say, away, play, they
                                                                     Read together :)                                         
                                           Reminders: Thank you for the glue sticks that many of you sent in!


Saturday, March 14, 2015

This week our reading theme was, Everything Spring.  We learned new vocabulary words such as huddle, fuzzy, stream, meadow & fawn. Our new popcorn words were soon, went, & come. The students wrote about what they see in the spring and about a leprechaun in their journals.  In math we finished up the addition & subtraction chapters and are beginning the measurement unit.  Each Friday, the students will take math fluency tests.  According to Common Core, kindergarten students should show fluency with addition and subtraction facts up to a sum of 5.  We will be giving one-minute differentiated tests that have 10 problems to solve.  We gave a mixed +/- pretest last Friday to determine the levels the students will each begin at.  Students have to score a 9 or 10 out of 10 to pass a test, and those tests will be sent home.  Students who scored a 9 or 10 on the pretest took an above level addition test with sums to 6 this week, and then will proceed to sums of 7, 8, & 9.  Students who scored a 7 or 8 out of 10 on the pretest, took an on-level mixed +/- test this week with sums to 5.  Students who scored 6 or below out of 10 started with a +0 test this week, which will be followed by +1, +2, +3.  After passing fluency tests for addition, students will then move on to subtraction fluency.  Their first tests will be sent home next week. 
                                          A Peek At Next Week
                                       Reading: St. Patrick's Day!

Phonemic Awareness: letter naming, rhyming, onset fluency, blending, identifying final and medial sounds, segmenting, adding & deleting phonemes, substituting phonemes, language awareness.
              Math: addition, subtraction practice and fluency and measurement
                                               Handwriting: Zz & review
                                     Popcorn Words: do, all, there
                    Jolly Phonics: review sounds and work on short vowel word families.
                                              Library: Mondays (book return/check out) & Thursdays
                                               Art: Tuesdays
                                               Music: Fridays
                                               Gym & Recess: Everyday
                                          Things to review and practice: 

Phonics: recognition & sounds of the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v, y, x, oo, ch, sh, ng, th, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar
Popcorn words: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, go, so, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three, four, five, said, this, that, new, soon, went, come
                                         Read together :)                                         
  Reminders: Please send in a few glue sticks for your child to get through the rest of the year. 

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Last week we read about Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.  We also read stories such as, If I Were President, My Teacher For President, and Duck For President.  Our new  popcorn words were: one, two, three. The students have been doing more journal writing and love sharing their writing with the class.  In math we have been continuing to work on addition and subtraction. The students have been finding different ways to make numbers (ex. 10= 10+0, 9+1, 8+2, etc.)
                                    A Peek At Next Week
                    Reading: Bear's Loose Tooth
     Vocabulary: nibbled, savored,gulped, frowned, welled
Phonemic Awareness: letter naming, rhyming, onset fluency, blending, identifying final and medial sounds, segmenting, adding & deleting phonemes, substituting phonemes, language awareness.
                                               Math: Addition, subtraction, and numbers 11-20
                                                Handwriting: Yy & Ww
                                      Popcorn Words: four, five, said
                                            Jolly Phonics: review sounds and work on short e word families
                                        Library: Mondays (book return/check out) and Thursdays
                                       Art: Tuesdays
                                    Music: Fridays
                                      Gym & Recess: Everyday
Things to review and practice: 
Phonics: recognition & sounds of the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v, y, x, oo, ch, sh, ng, th, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar
Popcorn words: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, go, so, the, you, down, he, she, be, our, here, out, get, help, now, look, good, jump, will, have, must, one, two, three
                                         Read together :)                                         
                                   Reminders: Our class is learning how to use Chrome books during library time on Thursday, February 19 and Monday, February 23.  They will not check books out on these days.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

It's been a cold start to the new year!  I hope the students are enjoying their days off and are staying warm.  This week we are reading the story, The Relatives Came.  The vocabulary words from this story are: relatives, silent, tend, squeeze, wrinkled.  Our new popcorn words are: the, you & down.  The sounds we are learning in Jolly Phonics are ch and sh.  In math we are continuing to work on addition skills and strategies.  Next week the students will be taking MAPS tests.  Please make sure your child gets a good night's sleep, has a good breakfast, and just encourage them to do the best they can!  Data will be sent home when it is available.
                                      A Peek At Next Week
                                       Reading: Love You Forever
                      Vocabulary: rocked, flushed, strange, grown-up
Phonemic Awareness: letter naming, rhyming, onset fluency, blending, identifying final and medial sounds, segmenting, adding & deleting phonemes, substituting phonemes, language awareness
Math: Addition
Handwriting: Pp
Popcorn Words: he, she, be
Jolly Phonics: ng, th
Library: Mondays (book return/check out) and Thursdays
Art: Tuesdays
Music: Wednesdays and Fridays
Gym & Recess: Everyday
Things to review and practice: 
Phonics: recognition & sounds of the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, ai, oa, ie, ee, or, z, w, v, y, x, oo, ch, sh
Popcorn words: a, I, it, in, see, big, my, like, up, run, at, on, we, me, am, did, not, is, can, but, to, too, ran, into, for, little, and, yes, no, go, so, the, you, down
                                         Read together :)                                         
                                   Reminders: Our class will have Aims Web testing on Friday, January 9th.  Kindergarten MAPS testing will be next week.  Friday, January 16th is a SIP day in district 66.  Ide students will be dismissed at noon.  There is no school on Monday, January 19th for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.