January 26, 2014

We have had a productive two weeks in Kindergarten as we implemented team teaching. Great learning is happening while we are able to address the needs of individual students.  The students are performing quite well on their spelling tests each week. 

Reading/Language Arts
We read a fun story, called "Little Quack," about ducklings who are apprehensive about making the first plunge into the water to swim with their mother. Afterward the students wrote in their journals about a time that they were brave and did something even though it was a little scary.
We also read "George Washington Visits" about a boy and his father who are preparing for a visit from George Washington on the eve of his presidential inauguration.  The story used the literary device of flashback when the father recalled his service under Washington during the Revolutionary War.
We practiced using and writing adjectives to describe animals.
We responded to the story, "Animal Babies of the Grasslands," by writing about something we like to do with our moms.

Social Studies
We learned about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his work for equality for all people.  We wrote a dream that we have for our world to be improved. We created a FREEDOM acrostic poem and drew a picture of what freedom means to us. 

Science
We began to study magnets and to discover what types of things will be attracted to magnets. We practiced the Scientific Method by observing magnets, making a guess about the materials attracted to magnets, and testing and recording our findings.

Math
We have been exploring subtraction and this past week we have begun to find all the ways that we can make various numbers. For example, 4 = 0 + 4, 4 = 3 +1, 4 = 2 + 2. We will continue this concept for all the numbers up to 10.
The Math Facts Timed Test is a new experience for us and many students are doing quite well with it. Some students are struggling to finish all the problems in the allotted time of 5 minutes.  Please help your child practice these math facts at home, but don't panic if they are not able to finish the entire page of problems in the given time. Our goal here is to improve each week and to give the children the experience of a timed test, since they will be doing this regularly in first grade. 
Once a child has accurately answered all the problems in 5 minutes, their time will be reduced to 4 minutes and then 3 minutes.  After that, the type of problems will change and will again start at 5 minutes. We are currently focusing on sums that are less than 10. We will proceed to sums that are greater than 10 and then begin subtraction. 

Religion
Last week we focused on the story of Jesus Calling the Apostles.  This week we focused on the image of light that is presented in the Sunday Gospels for the next several weeks.  We discussed how Jesus is the Light of the World and how we are each a light of Christ for others. We learned the song, "This Little Light of Mine," which we will sing when we visit the Nursing Home on Monday of Catholic Schools Week.

Upcoming Events
January 26 - February 1 - Catholic Schools Week. See Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express for details about this week.
February 13 and 14 - Parent - Teacher Conferences - Look for conference time request forms to come home in the coming week.
February 13 - Valentine's Day Party 11 - Noon. Look for information from the room parents. If your child would like to bring Valentines for the class, please have them sign their Valentines, but not address them to anyone specific. Handing out Valentines can be an arduous process at this age if they are addressed individually. We have 12 students in our class; 7 girls and 5 boys. Your child is welcome, but not expected, to give Valentines to the other class also. There are 15 students in Mrs. Leckey's Class; 6 girls and 9 boys.
We just ask that if your child does give Valentines that they give them to everyone in the class. 

January 7-10

It was wonderful to return to school after a nice Christmas Break!

Reading
This week we read about a panda born at the San Diego Zoo in 1999 named Hua Mei (pronounced HWA MAY). The book show the changes in the baby panda's growth over the course of a year. We added the following Amazing Words to our Oral Vocabulary: weigh, healthy, curious, measure, bamboo, explore.
We added the following high frequency words to our list of words we can read: me, with, she.  We focused on the beginning and ending sounds made by the letters 'n' and  'b.'

Math
We began to explore subtraction.  We have acted out subtraction stories and shown them with objects. Now that we are in the second semester, please ensure that your child is completing at least two on-line math assignments per week.  If you experience any trouble accessing the assignments, please let me know so that we may figure out a solution.

Religion 
In this last week of the Christmas Season, we learned about the Three Wise Men and the Baptism of Jesus.  We also read two other Gospel passages; Jesus Walks on Water, and Jesus Returns to Nazareth.

Science
This week we performed two science experiments.  On Thursday, we discovered how balloons can magically attract things like paper and sugar through static electricity. On Friday, we discovered that hot water is lighter than cold water and will rise through the cold water. We made a Volcano in a Bottle to demonstrate this phenomenon.  The children were eager to replicate the Volcano at home.  So I have included the directions below.

Volcano in a Bottle Experiment
Materials: One large glass jar, one small glass bottle, red food coloring, string
Procedure: Fill the glass jar with cool water. 
Heat water for the small bottle.  
While the water is heating, tie string around the neck of the bottle on either side so that you may safely lower the small bottle containing hot water into the jar of cool water. 
Carefully fill the small bottle with hot water. 
Add a few drops of food coloring.
Carefully lower the small bottle into the jar filled with cool water.
Observe the hot water as it flows out of the bottle and into the cool water.

Upcoming events
We are excited to begin team teaching this Monday. Please see the email that I sent on Friday for details about this plan.
Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday, January 26 and continues through Saturday February 1. Please see the  Colt Express for details about this very fun week in our school. I will be sending out an email this week with information particular for our class.
 

December 9 - 12

What a great week we had! It was a joy to see and hear the children perform for the Christmas Program.  I am so glad that everyone was healthy and able to attend.

Reading 
We have been reading about Jack and the Beanstalk.  We have learned the new Amazing Words: beanstalk, ogre, lad, naughty, lend, and magic. We are in the process of creating our own stories about a magical plant.  Each of the children has drawn pictures to show the beginning, middle and ending of their original stories.  This week we will be writing words to go with the pictures.

Math
We have begun to explore the concept of addition.  We have made up stories about joining two groups of objects and shown the joining with cubes and counters.  We have also begun to use the plus sign to represent addition.

Social Studies
We are learning about the seven continents.  We have learned the location of North America, South America, and Europe, so far.  We will continue with Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica this week.  For each continent we are learning its location on a map and a globe.  We are coloring each continent a different color on a map so that we can go back later and remember each continent.  We are also learning about some of the characteristics of each continent, such as, animals and food native to the continent as well as natural and man-made landmarks on each continent.

Religion
We are continuing to trace the family tree of Jesus using the Jesse Tree.  We have put up 20 ornaments so far. They include people from the Old Testament beginning with creation and continuing through Jonah, and we will be adding people and symbols that are important to the Nativity story. We are also creating a class Nativity scene. each child has colored a different piece of the scene and we will be putting it together this week.

Upcoming events
Christmas Party - December 20 starting at 11:00 a.m. See information from the Room Parents to help out with the party.
Christmas Break begins with Noon Dismissal on December 20, and students return to school on January 7.       

Sunday, December 8, 2013
Week of December 2-6

Reading/Language Arts
This week we read "A Bed for the Winter." It is an informational text, showing a dormouse as she encounters various animals in their winter homes as she looks for an appropriate place to make her winter home.  We learned the names of various animal homes, including: nest, den, cave, and hive. We focused in the letter 'Ii' and the short i sound.  We identified words that begin with the short i sound and words that have the short i sound in the middle.

Math
We have been exploring numbers up to 100.  We have used a hundred chart to recognize patterns and find numbers that are missing from a sequence.  We have practiced counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s.

Social Studies
We have been learning about the Native Americans in various regions of the country.  We will be finished with this topic in the next few days and children will bring home the charts they have been working on throughout this unit of study.  We have color coded each region on a map and matched the color on the charts.  The children will be able to tell about the food, clothing, and homes used by each the Native Americans in each region.

Religion 
With the start of Advent, the whole school is participating in an Advent prayer serving each morning. In the classroom, we are doing a Jesse Tree that uses a few more symbols than the one in place for the whole school. We are remembering the Bible stories we have already learned this year that are part of the Jesse Tree.  We will be learning some new stories as well. We will also be making a nativity scene for the classroom.

Upcoming Events
Please be sure to check Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express for information that involves the whole school. 
Thursday, December 12 - Christmas Program  - See email from Mrs. Dusbabek regarding reporting times and dress for the event.
Friday, December 20 - Noon Dismissal. Christmas Party - look for information from our Room Parents to help out with the Christmas Party.
Christmas Break begins at noon, December 20. Students return to school Tuesday, January 7.
 

Week of November 4 - 8

Reading - Nature Spy
This week we learned what it means to be a "nature spy." We added the following Amazing Words to our Oral Vocabulary: discover, nature, spy, pattern, pod, acorn. We went on a nature walk to the church yard and the area behind the playground, where we found many specimens of leaves, flowers, pinecones, rocks, and other treasures.  We brought our collections back to the classroom and examined them with magnifying glasses to get a good close look. We also learned to write a list of the items collected.  We focused on the sound /s/ as a beginning sound and as an ending sound in words.  Miss Wilson is encouraging all students to write words by using the sounds they hear.  This invented spelling is developmentally appropriate.  Some students are able to identify and spell middle sounds, but most are only able to get the beginning and ending sounds for most words.

Math - Counting up to 20
We have learned to recognize, read, and write the numbers for the quantities 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.  We use counters to show each number.  We use a ten-frame as the main format to show these numbers.  This helps us keep our thinking organized and helps us understand that these numbers are greater than 10. IN the coming week we will continue to count, read, and write numbers 16 - 20.

Religion
We read the story of Zacchaeus and created a picture of Zacchaeus in the tree being called by Jesus.  We also read the story of the Loaves and Fishes, where we learned that Jesus multiplied the gift from the little boy to feed the multitude of people.  We learned that Jesus can do the same with the gifts that we have to offer.

Social Studies 
In preparation for Veterans' Day, we learned the song "Yankee Doodle." We made hats and decorated them with macaroni to go with the song and to wear when we sing the song at the Veterans' Day Assembly on Monday.

Upcoming Events
Please see Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express for the most up-to-date information.

Monday, November 11 - Veterans' Day Assembly 1:45 in the gym.  Families are invited.  Students may wear Red, White, or Blue shirts with regular uniform bottoms.

Book Fair - open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. An information flyer was sent home on Friday in the Take Home Folder. Your child will visit the book fair on Monday to create a wist list.  You may then decide what books you are interested in purchasing.  If you choose to send the money with your child to make the purchases during school hours, please send a note with the wish list indicating what your child is allowed to buy. I will not allow students to spend money without a note from you.  Of course, you may visit the book fair and make the purchases yourself.    

Week of October 28 - November 1

Thank you so much to all who planned and contributed to the Halloween party. The kids had a great time.

Reading - Flowers
We experienced reading an informational text that included a table of contents, glossary, and index. The book told about flowers and how they are important to plants.  We learned 6 new Amazing words: seeds, fruit, buds, stems, bloom,  and petals. We added "have" and "is" to our list of high frequency words.  We have started blending words together by listening for the sounds made by individual letters and then blending those sound.  We have focused on words ending with "at" and "am." Additionally, we focused on the short a sound when it appears in the beginning of a word and in the middle of a word. We learned that pictures sometimes have words to label the different parts. We used the comprehension strategy of compare and contrast.

Math - Counting and ordering numbers through 10
We have continued to practice counting sets up to 10 and naming the number that is 1 more or 1 fewer than the set.  We also used manipulatives to show sets that are 2 more or 2 fewer than a given number. Finally we practiced putting the numerals that name these quantities into the correct order from least to greatest.

Religion - God hears my prayers
We spend our religion time this week focusing on prayer, especially praying with the saints.  We discussed Halloween as being the night before All Saints' Day and All Saints' Day being the feast for all the people who are in heaven, but who don't have their own feast days. We prayed the Litany of the Saints and prayed for people in our lives.

Science - Spiders    
We learned many facts about spiders. We learned a rhyme and created a book called Five Hairy Spiders, completed a color by letter picture, created a model of a spider with the help of our 5th grade buddies, and drew a picture of a fact we learned about spiders.

Upcoming Events - Please see Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express   for the most up-to-date information.
Tuesday, November 5 - Meet me at the Pole - at 7:40 a.m. The entire school will gather at the flag pole to pray for our nation.
Wednesday, November 6 - Picture Retake Day - if you wish for your child to have retakes, please send the original photo packet to school on this day. All children should dress in Mass Uniform.
Friday, November 8 - Spirit Day - Corpus Christi Spirit wear shirt or Holy Spirit shirt,  with uniform bottoms.
Saturday, November 9 - Dinner Auction Fiesta
Monday, November 11 - Veteran's Day Assembly at 1:45 in the gym.  Please come join us to honor those who have and are serving our country in the armed forces.

Week of October 21 - 25

Reading - Dig Dig Digging
We experienced our first informational text and discussed the difference between informational texts and stories, as well as reviewed realistic fiction and fantasy.  We focused on the letter Tt and the sound /t/ as an initial sound and as and ending sound. We began the first stages of writing a story about something we know. We brainstormed ideas by drawing pictures and narrowed down our choices. We then drew pictures to show beginning, middle, and end of the story. Finally we drafted sentences to go with the pictures.  In the coming weeks we will revisit the story and make revisions by adding details and changing wording, edit to be certain that our spelling and word spacing is correct, and finally write a final draft.

Math
We worked on counting sets of objects up to ten, comparing numbers to five and comparing numbers to ten.  We use the 5-frame and 10-frame to quickly identify the quantities of 5 and 10 and to compare other numbers to them. We also worked on the concepts of  more and fewer, adding the math vocabulary: greater and less. I have found that the students are able to grasp the concept of more or greater much easier than that of fewer or less, particularly when it comes to creating groups that have fewer than a given number. At home you can reinforce these concepts by asking your child to show you a group of a certain number and then show another group with 1 more and another group with 1 fewer.

Science - Five Senses
We reviewed the five senses and created a picture poem of the five senses as they relate to Autumn. We will continue our study of the five senses this week using Halloween as a topic.

Special events this coming week
Please see Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express for the most up-to-date information.  
Wednesday, October 30 - No mass today due to Holy Day on Friday - therefore regular uniform.
Thursday, October 31 - Halloween Party begins at 1:45. Students may wear Halloween shirts with uniform bottoms. We will not be wearing or changing into costumes on this day.
Friday, November 1 - All Saints' Day - Mass at 8:00 a.m.  Students may wear a dress up as a saint for the day of wear Mass Uniform.  This is the first Friday of the month, so it is a noon dismissal.