Week of December 17^th

Holiday Rotations has been SO much fun. The kids have learned about Hanukkah, Diwali, Chinese New Year, and Christmas in Germany. On Monday our class will finish Holiday Rotations with a visit to Mexico to learn about Los Posadas. I will post pictures next week!

 Next week we will be working on lots of holiday and winter activities to practice the skills we have learned so far. We will NOT be having centers next week.

 Don’t forget to send in a small wrapped gift for our classroom by Wednesday! I want to make sure every child has one to open during the exchange. Having them in by Wednesday will give me time to wrap some things on my own if I need to!

A few reminders…

 Wednesday December 19^th: Pajama Day! We will be finishing watching the Polar Express so wear your favorite PJ’s!

Friday December 21^st: Class Gift Exchange and Early Release
December 22nd-January 2nd: Winter Break

Class Gift Exchange

Class Gift Exchange

December 21^st

* We would like to encourage a unique classroom gift giving activity this year to encourage the idea of giving, not just receiving.  We would like to have a classroom shower where each child brings in a school supply that will be kept and used in our classroom. 

* We would like your child to bring his/her wrapped gift to school by Wednesday, December 19^th.

* If you bring in more than one supply, please wrap each item individually.

* If everyone participates, each child will be able to open a gift and know that it is something that we need for our classroom. 

* Let your child be a part of the buying so that they feel the pride of giving! 

 

Baby wipes	Paper towels	Tissue boxes
Glue sticks	Electric Pencil Sharpener	Dice
24 pack Crayola crayons	Lysol wipes	Large popsicle sticks
Pump hand soap	Colored card stock	Avery labels 5160/8160
Story books to read aloud	White card stock	Legos
Boxes of Band-aids	Avery Labels 8163	Small individual sized hand sanitizer

Weekly Update

What’s New?
Reading:

- “Real” Reading vs. Fake Reading, 3 Ways to Read a Book (Pictures, Words, Retell)What Do We Do With Our Book Box?, Characters, Setting, Events

Word Work:

- segmenting sentences & syllables, beginning sounds, first blending

 Letterland:

We are now teaching each Letterlander for mastery, introducing capital letters and working on correct letter formation. The letters covered so far are: c, a, d, h, m, t, s,

 

Sight Words (Target Words):

I, see, like, my, the, can, am, we, will, go, to

 Writer’s Workshop:

- What is a Story?, Writing Process (think, plan, sketch, write), What do we do during Writers Workshop?, When I think I'm done, I’ve just begun

 Math:

counting objects and one to one correspondence, shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, hexagon), horizontal graphs, positional words

 

IB Words and Meanings:

empathy, appreciation, curiosity

 

IB Unit:

Food for Thought, What a Wonderful World

 

Updates and Reminders:

Wear your Kindergarten T-Shirt on FRIDAY! J
We sent your child’s t-shirt home today. We will wear these shirts on the FIRST FRIDAY of every month.

 Winter Book Fair- December 3rd -7th
Joyner is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair this week. The book fair is open every day from 8:00-4:00. On Tuesday, December 4th the book fair will stay open until 7:00pm. Our class will be visiting the book fair on Tuesday to make our wish lists. Your child will have a chance to purchase something from their wish list on Wednesday or you can take your child before or after school any day next week.

Holiday Rotation
During the Kindergarten Holiday Rotation, your child will rotate through each classroom and travel to five different parts of the world. Each day your child will participate in different centers from 8:45-10:30 to learn about Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, Diwali, Los Posadas, and Germany. We need a lot of supplies for this special event. Please sign up to bring in the MUCH NEEDED supplies on our sign-up sheet on our blog.

Save the Date!

December 3rd-7th: Book Fair
December 7th: Wear Kindergarten T-Shirt
December 10th-17th: Holiday Rotation (8:45-10:30)
December 21st: Class Supplies Gift Exchange (more information coming soon!)
December 21st: Early Release (12:30)
December 22nd - January 2nd: Winter Break

Happy Thanksgiving!

We were very busy on this very short week! We had a lot of fun with our Kindergarten Pow Wow, making and eating a "turkey" cookie, weaving a Thanksgiving place mat, and making a "shapely" turkey!

 

The kids had a great time eating lunch with ALL of their Kindergarten friends.

 

Our treat after the Pow Wow was a definite favorite! They gobbled up every bit of the "turkey" cookies!

 

 

I hope you all have a fun and safe Thanksgiving break! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to take this time to tell you how thankful I am for each of your children and for you. I am so lucky to be able to teach such a wonderful group and to have your support. Thank you for all you do!

 



Weekly Update

What's been going on?

On Wednesday we celebrated our Kindergarten election results with a picnic. It was a little too chilly outside so all the students gathered in the hallway with their teddy bears. The kids enjoyed a snack and listened to two more books about "the bear".

 

 

 

What's new?

Daily 5 Literacy:

-       We have finished fast tracking all the Letterlanders and their sounds! We will now begin teaching each Letterlander for mastery, introducing capital letters and working on correct letter formation.

-          literacy assessments (letter sound/id, phonological awareness, and print concepts)

 Reading:

-          real reading vs. fake reading

-          what do to during “Read to Self”

-          the 3 ways to read a book

Word Work:

-          identifying beginning sounds in words for each consonant

-          segmenting sounds and sentences segmenting sentences

 Sight Words (Target Words): I, see, like, my, the, can, am, we

 

Writer’s Workshop:

-          using drawings to convey our stories

-          what to do during “Work on Writing”

-          choosing topics that are important to us

-          telling about our stories in the order in which they

 Math:

-          counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s

-           answering “how many” questions when counting and solving word problems

-          writing numbers 1-20

-          sorting and comparing numbers using graphs

-           using one-to-one correspondence when counting objects

 IB Words and Meanings:respect, empathy

 IB Unit: Food for Thought

What’s coming up?

Pow Wow
The Kindergarten Pow Wow will be on Monday, November 19^th. More information will come soon!

Don't forget!

Sign up for a conference!
There is no school Wednesday, November 21st-Friday November, 23rd

Election Day

Election Day

Last week we talked a lot about what an election was, what people would be doing today, and some of the words they might hear. We read books and used our Scholastic “Let’s Find Out” to help us learn about the election. The children were so interested in all of this and were excited to participate in the Kindergarten election yesterday…

First, the children met the candidates, “It’s the Bear” and “The Napping House”. We all gathered in the library to hear the stories. Next, each child visited the polling site closest to their classroom to cast their ballot. They waited in line, went into the booth, and of course, got their very own “I Voted” sticker. Finally, the results came in; some of the teachers demanded a recount but “It’s the Bear” won by a landslide! We can’t wait to celebrate with a picnic on Wednesday. Don’t forget to send a towel and a teddy bear for your child.

 *The underlined words are words that your child should be familiar with. Be sure to talk to them about your experience voting and ask them about theirs!*

 

 

The voting booth at our polling site.

 

 

Lucas, showing us the ballot.

Ava and Mimi casting their vote.

 

 

Hank, excited to vote for the first time.

Weekly Update

What's been going on?

We had SO much fun on Creepy Crawly Day! The kids enjoyed playing a spooky bingo, sorting candy corn, making spider hats, eating a scary snack, creating collage rubbings, and making a spider craft. Here are a few pictures from the day.

What's new?

First quarter FLEW by and we are now well on our way into our second quarter objectives. For the sake of space, you will see that I have removed the old first quarter objectives and started a new list for this quarter. Many of the objectives are taught all year long so may notice them listed again.

Daily 5 Literacy:

- literacy assessments (letter sound/id, phonological awareness, and print concepts)

Reading:

- real reading vs. fake reading

Word Work:

- segmenting sentences

Sight Words (Target Words): I, see, like, my, the, can, am

Writer’s Workshop: what is a story?

Math: counting objects and one to one correspondence

IB Words and Meanings:respect, empathy

IB Unit: Food for Thought

What’s coming up?

Kindergarten students will not receive a report card for the first quarter. In lieu of a report card, I’d like to schedule a conference. I will post a sign up sheet soon where you can sign up for a time. If you cannot schedule a time on the dates listed, please let me know so that we can make different arrangements. Thanks!

PICTURE RETAKE – November 13
If you were not happy with their child’s photograph from LifeTouch, then please add this date to your calendar. All you need to do is to send back the package that you have already received and we will take them to have their picture retaken.

Pow Wow

The Kindergarten Pow Wow will be on Monday, November 19^th.  More information will come soon but go ahead and mark your calendars!

 Don't forget!

Monday, November 12^th- No school in observance of Veterans Day

Weekly Update

What's been going on?

Last week was a busy and eventful time in our classroom. The children received their reading boxes and writing folders! Each child has their own reading box where they keep the books and poems we create during centers. These books and poems are pieces of predictable text that children can read independently by using the pictures and reading sight words. It is awesome to see and hear the kids with these books and poems; they are becoming little readers already! Each child also has their own writing folder where they keep the pieces of writing they are working on.

We also worked on syllables last week and on Friday we graphed the number of syllables in our names. Here are some pictures of our graph as well as some from centers...


As you can see, most people in our class have 2 syllables in their name.

In reading center students begin by building a poem and highlighting the sight word.

Students worked on representing numbers in promethean center.

In writing center the students worked on writing sight words and recognizing color words.

Students sorted pictures by their beginning sound in ABC center.

In art center the kids made maize.

 

Last week was also spirit week. It was so great to see all the kids participate.

These are some "Wacky Tacky" feet!

I love all my little State fans, but...Go Heels! :)


One thing we can agree on...Joyner rocks!

 

What's new?

Daily 5 Literacy:

Letterland: Fast tracking sounds:

a – Annie Apple	i – Impy Ink
b – Bouncy Ben	j – Jumping Jim
c – Clever Cat	k – Kicking King
d – Dippy Duck	l – Lucy Lamp Light
e – Eddy Elephant	m – Munching Mike
f – Firefighter Fred	n – Noisy Nick
g – Golden Girl	o – Oscar Orange
h – Harry Hat Man	p – Peter Puppy
q- Quarrelsome Queen	r- Red Robot
s- Sammy Snake	t- Talking Tess
u- Uppy Umbrella	v- Vicky Violet
w- Walter Walrus	x- Fix-it Max
y- Yellow Yo-yo Man	z- Zig Zag Zebra

Reading:

-organization and basic features of print: follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page; one-to-one correspondence (pointing to each word as you read)

-reading different types of texts (poems, storybooks)

-making connections between text and illustrations

-how to take care of books

-thinking about what readers read about

- real reading vs. fake reading

Word Work:

-recognizing and producing rhyming word review, identifying beginning sounds in words for each consonant, segmenting sounds, syllables, segmenting sentences

Sight Words (Target Words): I, see, like, my, the, can

Writer’s Workshop: Identifying the tools we use during Writer’s Workshop, choosing topics, using drawings to convey our stories, telling about our stories in the order in which they occurred, what do writers write about

Math: counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s, using one-to-one correspondence when counting objects, answering “how many” questions when counting and solving word problems, writing numbers 1-20, sorting and comparing numbers using graphs *We finish assessing this week. Students will be participating in math centers to review concepts taught so far*

IB Words and Meanings:respect, empathy

IB Unit: Food for Thought

 What’s coming up?

Creepy Crawly Day

Creepy Crawly Day is going to be lots of spooky fun! Thank you to everyone who has already sent in items. If you have not sent in the items you signed up for yet please send them Monday!

Don't forget!

Tuesday, October 30 - Creepy Crawly Day

Wednesday, October 31 - No School - Teacher Workday

Weekly Update

What's been going on?

Last week we spent a lot of time preparing for our field trip to Ganyard Hill Farms. We read lots of stories about pumpkins, where they come from, and things you can do with pumpkins after they leave the farm. On Friday, the children completed their Pumpkin Report. Students drew pictures of their pumpkins, where pumpkins grow, and things that are made from pumpkins. They also measured how tall their pumpkins were. Each child took home their pumpkin and report on Friday.

What's new?

Daily 5 Literacy:
Letterland: Fast tracking sounds:

a – Annie Apple	i – Impy Ink
b – Bouncy Ben	j – Jumping Jim
c – Clever Cat	k – Kicking King
d – Dippy Duck	l – Lucy Lamp Light
e – Eddy Elephant	m – Munching Mike
f – Firefighter Fred	n – Noisy Nick
g – Golden Girl	o – Oscar Orange
h – Harry Hat Man	p – Peter Puppy
q- Quarrelsome Queen	r- Red Robot
s- Sammy Snake	t- Talking Tess
u- Uppy Umbrella	v- Vicky Violet
w- Walter Walrus	x- Fix-it Max
y- Yellow Yo-yo Man	z- Zig Zag Zebra

Reading:

-organization and basic features of print: follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page; one-to-one correspondence (pointing to each word as you read)

-reading different types of texts (poems, storybooks)

-making connections between text and illustrations

-how to take care of books

-thinking about what readers read about

Word Work:

-recognizing and producing rhyming word review, identifying beginning sounds in words for each consonant, segmenting sounds, syllables, segmenting sentences

Sight Words (Target Words): I, see, like, my, the

Writer’s Workshop: Identifying the tools we use during Writer’s Workshop, choosing topics, using drawings to convey our stories, telling about our stories in the order in which they occurred, comparing Kindergarten writers to professional authors like Eric Carle and Kevin Henkes

Math: counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s, using one-to-one correspondence when counting objects, answering “how many” questions when counting and solving word problems, writing numbers 1-20, sorting and comparing numbers using graphs *We will be assessing this week. Students will be participating in math centers to review concepts taught so far*

IB Words and Meanings:respect, empathy

IB Unit: Food for Thought

 

What’s coming up?

 

Spirit Week

Spirit Week at Joyner starts Monday, October 22nd through Friday, October 26th. Join in the FUN!! (No Halloween costumes please!!)

Patriotic Monday: Wear stars, strips and/or red, blue, and white
Tourist Tuesday: Wear your fanny pack, camera, binoculars, favorite souvenir t-shirt, etc
Wacky Tacky Wednesday: Mismatch and tacky
Favorite Team Thursday: Team jerseys, t-shirts
Joyner Spirit Friday: Wear blue & gold or Joyner t-shirt

 

JDRF Sneaker Week

JDRF Sneaker Week is from October 22 to November 2. Joyner will be selling paper sneakers for $1.00 each in the lobby from 8:00 to 8:30 AM. All proceeds will be donated to JDRF to help fund research to find a cure for diabetes. Fifteen thousand children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year. Please buy a sneaker and help us find a cure!

In addition, you and your family can participate in the Walk to Cure Diabetes on November 10 at Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion in Raleigh. Registration opens at 8:30 am and the Walk starts at 10:30am. To join the Joyner team, visit walk.jdrf.org and look for "Register". To make an online donation in support of the Joyner tem, go to walk.jdrf.org, look for "Donate to a Walker", and enter Ann Truax's name. Thank you!

 

Don't forget!

Friday, October 26^th- Joyner Jamboree

Tuesday, October 30 - Creepy Crawly Day (see the sign up sheet for ways to help!)

Wednesday, October 31 - No School - Teacher Workday