Kindergarten Highlights

Read-A-Thon

Today we are kicking off our annual Ridgeview Read-A-Thon!!  The theme this year is "Wild About Reading."  This is how it works.  Over the next month we will be tracking the number of minutes students read or are read to.  Each classroom has been assigned a wild animal (our room is the LION)  The more minutes a classroom reads, the farther their animal moves through the Jungle (aka: the school hallways)  Each student will receive a reading log.  Please cut out and fill out each day's reading slip, sign it, and return it to school.  Please remind your student to turn in their signed reading slips each day.  The most important thing to remember is to read to your child every night.  Please remind your child to turn in their reading log EVERY day.  A volunteer will track  how many minutes are read to each student  and record the minutes.  They will then move our lion down the hallway.  Please feel free to stop by after school and check out the  Read-A-Thon event.  It is one of my favorite activities.  Kids get very excited about reading!!!  I will keep you posted on our classrooms goal.

Valentine’s Day Information

Our Valentine’s Party is Friday, February 12^th, from 1:30-2:00.  Parents are invited to come to our classroom party and help celebrate.  We will be having snack and opening our valentine cards.  This is a great time to celebrate friendship.  We have some cute valentine pockets that I displayed in the hallway.  They wrote about something that they loved.  I also look pictures of them showing I love you in sign language.  They look so adorable.

Aquaponics

Our lettuce is growing fast and our little fish friends; Bella, Chloe, Thunder Bolt, Goldie, and Baby Angel are swimming around happy as can be.  Please check out our blog post for pictures of our aquaponics.  Also check out the Springfield Education Foundation website.  The students’ in our class is pictured with a nice little write up about the science of aquaponics.  Please remember to check our blog regularly.  I post pictures and update events happening in our classroom.

Reading  We will continue to work on sounding out CVC words and learning our heart words (words we know by heart)  We will also be learning the blends:  sh, ch, wh, th and ph.  Thank you for supporting your child’s progress by practicing reading every day!  I am sending home a progress note regarding your child’s performance on last month Easy CBM reading assessment.

Math  We have begun unit Number 4.  It focuses on addition and subtraction to 10.  Please continue to review number writing 1-20.  If your child is having difficultly writing number 1-20, please continue to practice daily at home.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Thompson

Lettuce Growing

Our Aquaponics Kit Update:

Our lettuce is growing fast.  What an amazing process to watch the Eco-Cycle.  The kids are fascinated with the process.  We now have 5 little fish friends.  Bella, Chloe, Baby Angel, Goldie, and Thunder Bolt!!  The very special person of the day is responsible for feeding the fish.  They take this responsibility very serious:)
We had a guest today to learn about our science project.  Thanks to all the great students that explained the process in so much detail.  I am sooo proud of them.

100 Days of School

I sent  home this 100 day poster today.  We will be celebrating the 100th day of kindergarten in February.  Please have fun with your child working together to collect 100 items.  Have your child glue 100 of the same item on this poster and return as soon as possible.  Some ideas include:  100 Cherrios, 100 pennies, 100 fruit loops, etc.  Be Creative and Have Fun!!

Aquaponics

Our Bulletin Board

Our Aquaponics Kit

We are growing lettuce:))

We are so lucky to have the time to study science!!  Last year in a half-day kindergarten program, it was difficult to fit science into our day.

 This year in our Full Day Kindergarten program we are learning A LOT about science.    I wrote a grant earlier this year and received an Aquaponics Kit.   Aquaponics is the science of raising vegetables and fish in a closed recirculating system.  The fish waste provides nutrients to the plants and the plants provide clean water for the fish. This hands-on learning project teaches students how living things affect each other.   It will allow students to experiment, problem solve, collaborate, and teach responsibility through the development and maintenance of a small-scale freshwater fish aquarium in our classroom.  Last week we wrote speech bubbles from the fish and the plants.  This is part of our ongoing water project this year at Ridgeview.

This week will be very busy.  Students will be tested for the winter EASY CBM district assessments.  This will individually be tested on letter sounds, word reading, phonemic segmentation.  I will let you know your child’s scored when the testing is done and recorded. 

As we head into the second half of year, we will shift to word/sentence reading as our focus vs letter sounds.  Thank you so much for all your dedication helping your child at home with their homework. 

Music Program

What a delight!!  The students were absolutely adorable last night.  Thank you so much for coming and enjoying the show.  Have a Great Weekend. 

Happy New Year!!

This Thursday, January 7, 2016 is our Music Program.  Please bring your child to Room 2 at 6:15.  The show will begin at 6:30pm in the gym,  I hope to see everyone there.  Attached is a January calendar. 

January 2016

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday 1 Happy New Year!!	Saturday 2
3	4 Letter of the Week “F” Library Books Due p.E.	5 Music	6 Library	7 Spotlight Music Program 6:30 pm P.E.	8 Early Release 8:35-12:30	9
11	11 Letter of the Week “L” Library Books Due Music	12 Library	13 PE	14 PTO Meeting  6 pm Music	15 POPCORN .25 CENTS Library	15
17	18 No School MLK DAy	19 Winter Easy CBM testing PE	20 Mucho Gusto Fundraiser Music	21 Mucho Gusto Fundraiser Library	22 Early Release 8:35-12:30	23
24	25 Letter of the Week “ K’ Library Books Due P,E	26 Music	27 Library	28 PE	29 No School Teacher Prep Day	30