Week 31- Plants

This week, we will be learning about plants- their parts, cycle, and needs. 
We have a great nonfiction text and a couple of fiction texts, including an 
Eric Carle. We have been spending some time thinking about what point 
author’s are making in their books- what they want us to learn. This often 
applies to fiction as well as nonfiction. When a character learns a lesson 
it is often a lesson we can apply to our own lives as well. This is another 
aspect of books that you can touch on in your discussions with your child.

In writing, we continue our narrative writing with more of an emphasis on 
checking our own writing for desired components.

In math, we continue with our combinations to make 10. The students have 
been doing a great job with their combinations. Fluency is the name of the 
game!

HOMEWORK

Reading:

10 minutes each night. Reading can include reading stories, the poems in 
the binder, and practicing sight words.

Your child should ideally be spending time with familiar texts (such as the 
printed books they bring home), as they help reinforce sight words in context 
and using word solving strategies. However, these books are not real meaty 
when it comes to comprehension, so they should also be spending time with 
trade books (high quality children’s literature- like from the local library or 
bookstore). These books lend themselves better to conversations. When you 
read to them, you are also providing important modeling of a fluent reader 
and a pleasant reading experience.

Math:

Remember, math should be done for 10 minutes each night.

IXL does offer several objectives that allow for practice with Addition up to 5 
(skill section I), however they use the math symbols + and =. These are not yet 
included as a focus in our math instruction. We are working on laying a strong 
foundation with the important part-part-whole concept so we emphasis the 
language of ___ and ___ make___ at first.

For homework this week, if you wish, you may try out the IXL I skills and 
simply connect the symbols to the language used in class. If this makes sense 
to your child and is not causing confusion or stress, this can be your child’s 
homework practice.

ALTERNATIVELY, you may continue to do the below type of math practice, 
preferably with an emphasis on solving math stories or addition based dice or 
card games. It is best to start with lower numbers/amounts and work up to 
larger amounts as your child builds confidence and fluency.

This is a great time to play math games with your child. You can use materials 
from Math Night, online or printable activities, or traditional board/card 
games that have a math component.

Revisit any skill from the Comparing (G) section. We will be reinforcing 
comparing smaller amounts for a couple of days, before moving into 
comparing the teen numbers. IXL does not have objectives for comparing 
items within 20, so this is where materials from Math Night or collections of 
items from around the house can come in handy.  If your child seems pretty 
solid with comparing within 10, move on to comparing groups of real items 
up to 20. Using terms, such as “more”, “less”, “fewer”, “the same”, and 
“equal”. It is also great to practice “how many more/fewer”. For example if 
I have 12 crayons and 10 pencils, I could talk about how I have 2 more 
crayons or 2 fewer pencils. When making such comparisons, noting groups 
of 10 or how far away from a group of 10 is valuable too (I have 7 gummy 
bears- that’s just 3 away from a whole group of 10). When using real items 
you can physically group them into 10s. You can also physically line them 
up item to item to see how many more/fewer there are.

If it seems appropriate for your child, you may also spend some time 
revisiting any D section skill.

Week 30- Bees

Building off of last week's science focus of taking care of the world around us, this week we will be learning about bees. We will read a nonfiction text that shows how they are helpful, interesting animals. We will use this text to further explore how author's support their points. We will also read a story called The Greedy Bee. We will be using this book to help us build a habit of collecting interesting words.


In writing, we continue working on narratives with a focus on seeing ourselves as storytellers and making sure our stories include key information including the feelings of ourselves and other people.

This week in math, we will be spending quite a bit of time with making combinations to 10. 

 

Project Update:

A helpful parent pointed out that our original date for the presentation of our project was the same night as graduation. The new date for our presentation is May 31st. Please save Thursday May 31st at 4:30 on your calendars!

HOMEWORK

Reading:

10 minutes each night. Reading can include reading stories, the poems in 

the binder, and practicing sight words.

Try for a combination of paper familiar reads and trade book read alongs. 

Some notes to guide book discussions:

When reading together, remember to ask questions and share thoughts about the 

characters and what they are thinking, feeling, or doing. It is also a good idea to 

talk about the problem the character had (the uh-oh part of the story) and the  

solution-how it was fixed (the phew part of the story).  See if your child can tell you 

most of the important things that happened in the story.

If you are reading a non-fiction book together, some of the things you can discuss include:

* facts that you learn

* things that surprised you

* things you are wondering about

* connections to other things you have read

* connections to things you have experienced   

Math:

Remember, math should be done for 10 minutes each night.

IXL does offer several objectives that allow for practice with Addition up to 5 

(skill section I), however they use the math symbols + and =. These are not 

yet included as a focus in our math instruction. We are working on laying a 

strong foundation with the important part-part-whole concept so we emphasis 

the language of ___ and ___ make___ at first.

For homework this week, if you wish, you may try out the IXL I skills and 

simply connect the symbols to the language used in class. If this makes sense 

to your child and is not causing confusion or stress, this can be your child’s 

homework practice.

ALTERNATIVELY, you may continue to do the below type of math practice,

 preferably with an emphasis on solving math stories or addition based dice or 

card games. It is best to start with lower numbers/amounts and work up to 

larger amounts as your child builds confidence and fluency.

This is a great time to play math games with your child. You can use materials 

from Math Night, online or printable activities, or traditional board/card 

games that have a math component.

Revisit any skill from the Comparing (G) section. We will be reinforcing 

comparing smaller amounts for a couple of days, before moving into 

comparing the teen numbers. IXL does not have objectives for comparing 

items within 20, so this is where materials from Math Night or collections 

of items from around the house can come in handy.  If your child seems 

pretty solid with comparing within 10, move on to comparing groups of

real items up to 20. Using terms, such as “more”, “less”, “fewer”, 

“the same”, and “equal”. It is also great to practice “how many more/fewer”. 

For example if I have 12 crayons and 10 pencils, I could talk about how I 

have 2 more crayons or 2 fewer pencils. When making such comparisons, 

noting groups of 10 or how far away from a group of 10 is valuable too 

(I have 7 gummy bears- that’s just 3 away from a whole group of 10). When 

using real items you can physically group them into 10s. You can also 

physically line them up item to item to see how many more/fewer there are.

If it seems appropriate for your child, you may also spend some time revisiting 

any D section skill.

Week 29- Earth Care

This week, we explore a new science topic. We will be exploring different 

ways to help care for our planet. We have a parent volunteer coming in to 

lead us in some Earth Day activities on Monday! We also have an 

environmental scientist joining us later in the week.

We will be reading several books about taking care of nature as we continue 

to practice our comprehension skills. We will be focusing on new, interesting 

words this week. We will also begin to investigate how an author supports 

his point. We will be looking for what they want us to learn and think. We 

will then be figuring out how they use their words and illustrations to 

convince us.

This week, we start to explore a new writing focus: narratives. Not only

will we be writing our own narratives- we will also be exploring what 

makes a story great. What makes a book become a favorite? To help us 

explore this question, your child may bring in a book or two from home 

that they really enjoy. Please make sure your child’s/family’s name is 

clearly labeled so we can help ensure that it comes home with your child 

when we are done exploring. These are books that we will be sharing 

with each other, so if the book is super duper beloved (like a family 

heirloom) or is somehow worth a lot monetarily, it may not be one you 

want to send in for this project. These books may be needed by our class 

for an extended time, so please consider that when selecting books to share 

as well. Our main chunk of time this week to explore these books will be 

on Wednesday, but your child may bring them in earlier for extra 

exploration.

The other kindergarten teacher met with a local librarian last week and planned an
a project to help us explore narratives. She has been kind enough to invite our class to
join hers in this project.

A couple of parts of this project will be taking place at our local library 

which means participation in these aspects will be optional as parents 

will need to transport and supervise their children.

We will be having a special gathering at the library on Friday, April 20th 

at 10am. The children’s librarian will be sharing a favorite story or two. 

This visit will be an opportunity for the children to get (if they do not yet 

have one) and then use their very own library cards!

To do this, you must send in the appropriate paperwork to me no later than 

Thursday. (You can send in the appropriate paperwork in a 

sealed envelope if you wish.) Applications will be coming home in binders 

this week. You may also take your information directly to the library. Please 

note, it does take several days for the library to process applications.

From the library website:

Get a Card

• Library cards are issued to Nevada residents at no charge and to people 
  of all ages.
• Bring a Nevada picture ID or a military ID.
• Proof of address and out-of-state picture ID will limit you to 2 items at 
  a time.
• A contact, someone not at the same address as the applicant, is required.
• A parental signature is required for minor children.
• Temporary cards are issued to non-permanent patrons for a refundable 
  $5.00 fee.
• Library card application is available here. Fill it out, bring it to the 
  library, and get your card.

You can check out:

https://www.churchillcountylibrary.org/index.php/use/borrow-return-renew

for more details about checking out library materials.

We have tentatively scheduled a culminating event to allow your child to 

share what they have learned about quality stories with others at the 

library. This would be another optional part of our project as parents would 

need to provide transportation and supervision of their children at the event. 

Right now, we are planning for Friday, May 18th 4:30- 5:30 (the library 

closes at 6). The details of this event are subject to change, but I will keep 

you posted.

In math, we expand our work in creating combinations to include various 

sum amounts. Fluency is a big part of mastering this skill so multiple 

experiences with combining smaller amounts to make larger amounts 

while discussing the parts and the whole is super important.

Student binders are getting a bit thick. It may be a good idea to move some 
of the older poems and sight word lists to an "at home binder. This would 
keep them handy for review, but free up some space in their at school binder.
We've noticed that some of the student work folders are also getting a bit full,
If you could empty them out at your earliest convenience, it makes it easier 
for students to put in papers when asked to do so. Thank you!

HOMEWORK

Reading:

10 minutes each night. Reading can include reading stories, the poems in 

the binder, and practicing sight words.

Try for a combination of paper familiar reads and trade book read alongs. 

Some notes to guide book discussions:

When reading together, remember to ask questions and share thoughts about the 

characters and what they are thinking, feeling, or doing. It is also a good idea to 

talk about the problem the character had (the uh-oh part of the story) and the  

solution-how it was fixed (the phew part of the story).  See if your child can tell you 

most of the important things that happened in the story.

If you are reading a non-fiction book together, some of the things you can discuss include:

* facts that you learn

* things that surprised you

* things you are wondering about

* connections to other things you have read

* connections to things you have experienced   

Math:

Remember, math should be done for 10 minutes each night.

IXL does offer several objectives that allow for practice with Addition up to 5 

(skill section I), however they use the math symbols + and =. These are not 

yet included as a focus in our math instruction. We are working on laying a 

strong foundation with the important part-part-whole concept so we emphasis 

the language of ___ and ___ make___ at first.

For homework this week, if you wish, you may try out the IXL I skills and 

simply connect the symbols to the language used in class. If this makes sense 

to your child and is not causing confusion or stress, this can be your child’s 

homework practice.

ALTERNATIVELY, you may continue to do the below type of math practice,

 preferably with an emphasis on solving math stories or addition based dice or 

card games. It is best to start with lower numbers/amounts and work up to 

larger amounts as your child builds confidence and fluency.

This is a great time to play math games with your child. You can use materials 

from Math Night, online or printable activities, or traditional board/card 

games that have a math component.

Revisit any skill from the Comparing (G) section. We will be reinforcing 

comparing smaller amounts for a couple of days, before moving into 

comparing the teen numbers. IXL does not have objectives for comparing 

items within 20, so this is where materials from Math Night or collections 

of items from around the house can come in handy.  If your child seems 

pretty solid with comparing within 10, move on to comparing groups of

real items up to 20. Using terms, such as “more”, “less”, “fewer”, 

“the same”, and “equal”. It is also great to practice “how many more/fewer”. 

For example if I have 12 crayons and 10 pencils, I could talk about how I 

have 2 more crayons or 2 fewer pencils. When making such comparisons, 

noting groups of 10 or how far away from a group of 10 is valuable too 

(I have 7 gummy bears- that’s just 3 away from a whole group of 10). When 

using real items you can physically group them into 10s. You can also 

physically line them up item to item to see how many more/fewer there are.

If it seems appropriate for your child, you may also spend some time revisiting 

any D section skill.