Mrs. McCord's Kindergarten

December 8-12

 How about those reindeer!!!  They did a super job! And they were able to maintain their professional decorum even when disaster struck--like their noses falling off and dropped kazoos.  I was very proud of them.  They were so cute and excited.

We have a birthday coming up at th end of the week.  Chase's birthday will be Saturday, December 13.  Happy Birthday, Chase!

Next week we will be doing the letter R; as in Rudolph and Reindeer.  Please have your child find a few "R" pictures for their dictionaries.

The grading period for this report card ends in two weeks.  I am very busy assessing the skills that are included on this second report card.  Please continue to work with the Phonics Notebook every week.  One of the skills I am assessing is their ability to sound out words.   Those sheets I send home each Friday with the words for the new letter are so important.  If your child can sound out those new words each week, by blending the sounds he/she hears, there will be no problem with sounding out new words.

In math, they should be able to recognize and write numbers  up to 30.  Also,  they should be very familiar with  pennies, nickels, and dimes.   The way I am assessing this is by putting a pile of change on the table with several of each coin--including quarters.  Then I give them ten pennies and ask them to give me back something that is the same value.  Or I might give them a nickel and ask them to give me that same amount of money.  Even if they can say, "A nickel is five cents", they might not necessarily be able to exchange 5 pennies for one nickel.  In order to get a "3" on their report card, they need to be able to do all of this with no help at all.

We have a lot of fun activities planned for the next couple weeks.  It would be a great help if a few people could send in a bag of cotton balls--the bigger the better!  You might also  be hearing from our Room Mom, Nicole Derrick with requests for donations for our Christmas Party.  For those of you new to Baker, our holiday party is held on the last day of school before vacation.  That will be December 19.  It will be from 10:30 to 11:30.   Parents are welcome to join us for this party, although we encourage you to make other arrangements for any younger children you have.  It is better for everyone not to have any babies or pre-schoolers here.  It adds to the confusion and takes away from the Kindergarteners activities.  It is perfectly alright to plan on taking your child home with you at 11:30 after the party.  Just be sure to let me know.

Next week, Baker's Annual Craft Show will be held Tuesday, December 9 from 6:00-8:30 pm in the gym.

That's it for this week.  Excitement is mounting--it's a great tiime of year to be 6!

November 17-21

Here it is the last week  of school in November.  We will be working on the letter G this week.  Please have your child bring in a few "G" pictures Monday or Tuesday.

We will be talking about the Pilgrims and Indians this week.  I am hoping each child will think of an appropriate "Indian Name" for themselves.  We'll be talking about some of the customs of Native Americans and be reading stories about them.

Tuesday is our Friends & Family Thanksgiving lunch.  All are welcome.   Our lunch time will be 11:46-12:16 on Tuesday.  That's only one minute different from usual, so it should be easy to remember.  The price for children attending Baker is $1.60, everyone else (including pre-schoolers) is $2.50.  I hope you will be able to join us.

If you are looking for some things for your child to work on during the week long Thanksgiving break, focus on their Phonics Notebook and their Book of Tricks.  Some of them are having some trouble with correctly writing letters and numbers.  I'm still seeing lots of reversals.

Looking ahead........

The week we get back after Thanksgiving is the week of our big performance!  On Thursday, December 4 the Kindergarten will be performing at the PTSA meeting.   The meeting starts at 6:45, so we will probably ask you to have your child here around 6:15.  You'll want to get here early anyway to get a good seat.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of your child's life this year.  I know I have said it before, but it is still true; this is a wonderful group of kids.  The year is flying by because it is such a pleasure to work with them each day.  I hope you get the opportunity to spend some extra time together during the holiday week.   When we get back, it will be December!  Then the fun really begins!

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 10-14

This week we will be working with the letter b --not to be confused with d.  We will also continue talking about the farm.  The kids have been doing a great job writing in their journals about farm animals.  I am really pleased with how their writing is progressing.  Ask them sometime if they know what it is that good writers do.

We will also start talking about Thanksgiving.  We will be talking about how the Indians' name reflected some aspect of their personality or some special ability.  Help your child think of an appropriate Indian name for them.  This is a fun activity we will be doing during the next couple weeks.

Once we get into the holidays, the year seems to fly by!  We have a week off the week of Thanksgiving, and after three weeks back in school, we have two  weeks off--and then the year is half over!

In math, please keep working at home on numbers 0-30.  We will soon be starting to add sets of numbers, and this can be difficult if the children are still struggling with recognizing and writing them.  We practice with addition only up to 10, but they still need to be able to recognize and write 0-30.

We had a wonderful time at the performance on Monday.  I cannot tell you how good all the kids were.  It was such a pleasure to go on a field trip like this and just enjoy it with the kids.  Every one of them behaved beautifully.  There was not a single problem on the bus or in the theater.  They seemed to love the "big fancy place".  The only disappointment they had was that there was no popcorn available.  You should be very proud of your child and how they behaved out in public.

Tuesday, November 11 is picture make-up day.  If you were not satisfied with the pictures your child had made, you can return the entire package and have them remade.  Also, if you did not have your child's picture made last time, you can have it done then.  Let me know if you need an order form.

Tuesday night, Baker is having Baker Night at Texas Roadhouse Grill on Barrett Parkway.  The orange slip  came home on Thursday.  If your family eats there Tuesday night, a percentage will go to Baker elementary if you give them that orange slip with your child's name on it.

Thursday night we are having a "Bedtime, Brownies, and Books" family reading night here at Baker.  A special flyer for this came home on Friday in your child's folder.

Looking ahead...

November 18 is Family & Friends Lunch.  This is a day when traditionally, the children's parents and/or grandparents, younger siblings or whoever they want are invited to join them for a Thanksgiving lunch in the cafeteria.  Our lunch time will be different that day.  The schedule has not been made yet, but I will let you know as soon as I know what time our lunch will be.

In December, Kindergarten wil be performing at the monthly PTSA Meeting.  The performance is Thursday December 4 @ 6:45.  We will be doing a medley of traditional holiday songs, so if you hear your child singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, you'll understand why I am jumping the gun a bit with starting those songs in November.  Please plan to be here and invite anyone you want.  It is a brief program, but it is always fun and cute!

That's it for this week.  Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.  Have a great week.

November 3-7

   

Here we go starting  a new month!  No birthdays again this month.  Only three weeks of school in November, since we have the entire week of Thanksgiving off this year.

This week we have our field trip on Monday to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center to see "If You Give A Pig A Pancake" and other stories.  We will be leaving school at 11:00 and returning by 1:45.  We will have lunch before we go.  Please do not send a snack on Monday.

Tuesday is election day as I am sure you have heard.  There is no school for the students that day.  Wednesday through Friday we will be working with the letter S .  Please send those "S" pictures on Monday or Wednesday. We will also be talking about Farms and discussing farm animals and other aspects of farms.

In math, we will start reading number words.  The children should all know how to read and write numbers up to 30 by now.  Please notice if your child can do this and watch for number reversals.  A couple of them are still writing 15 as "51" and 16 as "61" etc.  We will keep working on that.  Any reinforcement at home will definitely help.

I sent home our "Book of Tricks" this week.   Please keep that with your child's Phonics Notebook and vocabulary cards.  I can tell some of them are working at home because I can see the progress they are making here.  It makes such a big difference to get that extra practice at home.

The weather has started to get cooler, so please be aware that we do go outside every day after lunch unless it is raining.  Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather.

I hope your child told you about our visit from Chief Wilkins of the Acworth Police Department.  They really enjoyed it.  I'm sorry this isn't a very good picture.  The picture itself really is good, this software doesn't present it very well.

I know everyone is excited about Halloween!  Just let me remind you that candy is not an appropriate snack--please do not send it for your child.  We will really appreciate that! :)

I hope you have a great week...and don't forget to vote!

October 27-31

The last week of October already!  Time is flying!

This week we will be working with the letter C.  Please send those pictures in for next week.

Our pumpkins have arrived!  We will be using them next week for graphing,  weighing, measuring, comparing and all kind of fun things.  Thank you for helping us to get one for each student.

Tuesday we are going to have a visit from Chief Michael Wilkie of the Acworth Police Department.  He was so impressed with all the goodies in our basket and especially with the cards the kids made that he wanted to come to visit and thank them in person.

Tuesday night is Spooky Bingo Family Night.  Come with your family and try your luck at Spooky Bingo.

Thursday is absolutely the last day to order a yearbook for this year.

Friday is THE BIG DAY!  I have only been hearing about it since the first of October.  We are not allowed to have a party or wear costumes.  However, it would not be a total surprise if we were to have a small pumpkin celebration.  ;)

Have a great week!

October 13-17

Happy Columbus Day to those of you who have the day off Monday!  We will be talking about Christopher Columbus here at school, where we do not have the day off..

We had a great week working with those apples you sent in.  We weighed them, measured them, graphed them, peeled them and finally got to eat them!  Everyone agreed that the applesauce smelled wonderful while it simmered all day, and most agreed that it tasted wonderful too.

This week we will be working with the letter D.  Please have your child find a few "D" pictures.  I am also sending home word family cards.  If you would spend a few minutes reading the words on these cards it will really help your child.  Please continue working with the Phonics Notebook.  Each week there are sentences coming home that your child should be able to read now.

Wednesday is our second Early Release Day.  School will be dismissed 2 hours early.  The PTSA is sponsoring a cultural arts program for the students Wednesday morning.

Friday night is Baker Fall Festival here at school.  More information will come home this week.  I am sorry I will not be able to attend.  I will be out of town Friday and next Monday for a family wedding.

I hope you have a great week.  The blog might be late next week because, as I said,  I will be out of town.  The letter for the week after this will be N.

October 6-10

  This week is National Fire Prevention /Safety Week.   Please use this reminder to review your family's plan in case of emergency.  And don't forget to check those smoke detectors!

Thank you so much for all the items that were sent in for Chief Michael Wilkie of the Acworth Police Department.  The basket is being delivered to him Monday morning.  The kids made cute cards with their own thoughts on the importance of a police officer's job.

It's going to be a busy week here at Baker.  Tuesday is Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night at the Chick-Fil-A on Busbee and Chastain.  Our very own Dr. Jones and Ms. Lee will be serving up dinner--don't miss it!

Thursday night @ 6:45 there will be a PTSA meeting with the second grade performing.

Wednesday is picture day.  You will receive information and  envelopes for your picture orders on Monday.  Everyone will have their picture taken regardless of whether or not you plan to purchase any.  These pictures will go in the yearbook.  Speaking of Yearbooks, in order to receive a Yearbook when they are printed at the end of the year, you must pre-order and pre-pay in October.  They do not print any extras.

This week we will be working on the letter A.  I sent a note home asking that each child bring an apple to school on Monday--red, green or yellow.  We will  have some fun activites with the apples until Friday when we turn them into applesauce (that's a secret).  We will be talking about the seasons and the changes that occur with each season.  We'll continue learning about sequencing, rhyming, and writing the sounds we know as we attempt to sound out words.

In math, we will be sorting, graphing, and comparing sets.  Which set has fewer?  Which has more?  Are any that are equal?  The concept of making a set of objects that has "less than" a given set is difficult for some of the kids.  i.e. "Here are six pennies, can you show me a set of pennies that has two less than this one?"

Many of you have sent in money to purchase a pumpkin already.   Each child will get a pumpkin whether or not you send in the $1.40.  It will just help us to defray the cost if everyone could contribute.  Thank you.

Have a great week!

September 29-October 3

Starting a new month this week.  The weather has gotten so beautiful, not too hot any more.  The kids are loving our outside time.  Please be sure they are wearing clothes that they can run around in--because they do run!

We will be working with the letter "M".  Thank you for getting those pictures in every week.  Their dictionaries are coming along nicely.

No birthdays this week.  In fact, no birthdays this month--or next!

We started learning color words this week, as well as starting to learn some basic vocabulary words: a, I, in is, it, the, we, me, he, and a few others.  Spending a few minutes each night "sounding out" the words in their Phonics Notebook is more beneficial that trying to memorize the vocabulary words.  Even if they know the word, have them practice making the individual sounds and "blending" them.  It is good practice for when they meet more difficult words.

In math we will be making graphs and continuing with patterns.

The grading period closes on October 10, so I will be doing some assessing of some of those report card skills.  Rhyming words continue to be a little tricky.  They often know when they have heard a rhyme, but have trouble pinpointing exactly which two words it is that are rhyming.

I hope everyone has a great week.

September 22-26

This  week we have two birthdays to celebrate! Jack will be 6 on  September 21; and Karalese will be 6 on September 25.  We want to wish them both a very happy birthday.

You might notice on the left side of the home page of this blog that I have added a page called "Vocabulary Words".  This is a list of the words that the kids are expected to be able to read by the end of Kindergarten.  For this first report card coming up in the middle of October, they only have to be able to read any 5 of them.  Most of them will have no trouble with this.  This is something you could definitely work on at home, after your child knows all the letters and sounds.  I hope you are spending a few minutes each night on that Phonics Notebook.  They need a lot of practice blending sounds to make words.

This week we will be working with the letter I--another vowel.  I hope your child is able to tell you something about the vowels.  We'll be reviewing what we  have already learned about vowels during the week we worked on the letter O.   Pictures that start with i might be a little harder to come by--just do what you can.

In math, we continue with patterns.  I am impressed with the progress they have made in identifying patterns.  They are really catching on!  Numeral writing continues to be a struggle.  It just takes a lot of practice!

We will also be talking about colors.  With Monday being the first full day of fall, this is a good time to  introduce color words.  In science, we will be mixing primary colors to see what happens.  Stay tuned--we'll let you know.

Your child has a Weekly Reader in their folder about fire safety.  I have asked them to read it and answer the questions with someone in their family.  I hope you will take this opportunity to discuss your family's individual plan for fire safety.  If they complete this and return it Monday, there will be a special treat.

Due to 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade testing, our schedule has been adjusted for next week.  If you are planning on having lunch with your child any day this week, our lunch time is 12:08-12:38.  That will be for this week only.  As soon as we get  used to it,  we'll be back to our usual 11:44 time.  Just ask your child, they will tell you we are having a bunch of crazy mixed up days!

One of our Social Studies standards is that your child will know his/her address.  Many of them already do.  Please continue to review that information, as well as telephone number, with your child.

Fundraisers are due Wednesday, September 24.

  Looking ahead...if you would save the next empty toilet paper roll your family has, we will be needing 15 (total--not 15 for each child) for an art project we'll be doing soon.

Have a great week!

September 15-19

This week we have our first Early Release Day.  School will be dismissed at 12:20.  All the students will dismiss with their usual dismissal plan unless you tell me otherwise.  Lunch will be much earlier that day, so please do not bother sending a snack.  We will rush through an abbreviated version of our day and they'll be back home before you know it.

We have another birthday to celebrate this week.  Jaiden will be 6 on Thursday, September 18.  Happy Birthday, Jaiden!

This week we will be focused on the letter H.  Please send those H pictures in on Monday or Tuesday.  We'll also be talking about Helpers, as in community helpers.  Your child might come home and ask you about your job.  They could ask me, but most of them think  I don't have one.

We did so much work last week!  We learned about the 5 senses, all about the letter P, worked on patterns, pennies, popped some popcorn, and did some sink & float science!  Ask your child about tasting some salty, sour, and sweet treats!

In math, we'll continue to work with patterns and trading pennies for nickels.

We are going to have a visit from an author on Monday.  Chris Rumble will be here to talk to the kids about writing books.  His books, The Good the Bad and the Smelly, Stink Trek, and Moby Stink will all be available for $6.00 each.  He also has a CD, Read and Shout, available for $8.00. We will have  a Cultural Arts performance, sponsored by PTSA on Tuesday.  Friday night is Family Movie Night. They will be showing The Love Bug .  If your family will be attending and would like to order a pizza and 4 drinks, please be sure to send back the form that came home on Friday.  Orders are due on Wednesday, September 17.  It looks like it's shaping up to be another busy week.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!