The Three Billy Goats Gruff Props

Volunteer for Recess and Lunch!

Hello K-1 Families,

    Much like the literacy centers, I have created a schedule on Volunteer Spot for parents interested in volunteering during recess and lunch. If you are interested in volunteering, please follow the directions below. I am looking for two volunteers pretty much every Monday-Friday. You can sign up for one day or multiple, it's up to you!

Please sign up for Recess and Lunch Helpers!

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/3GRUnK
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!   

Volunteer for Literacy Centers!

Please sign up for Literacy Centers!

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/gPQtKk
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!  


If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me :)

September 26th Newsletter

Tools of the Mind:

We learned…

Fairy Tales- This week we read The Three Little Pigs. On Monday, we made props in preparation for our dramatization centers. We painted boxes to look like houses, made straw, sticks, and brick houses and colored The Three Little Pig books. We read the story every day this week and focused on a different comprehension strategy everyday: visualization, character empathy, making inferences, story grammar, and story comparisons.

Theme for Next Week: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

 

What Reading & Writing Skills are being practiced?  We continue to learn about letters and sounds as we  write center plans and make story boards.  We are playing small group games like Look and Remember to strengthen our memory skills. We are also practicing  recognizing colors and our classmates names quickly with the “I Have Who Has” game format.

Math:

This week we explored making and drawing patterns as well as counting with dinosaur manipulatives.

Mystery Reader: Every Friday afternoon we will have a Mystery Reader visit our classroom to do a read aloud. We will have family members, community members, etc sign up to be mystery readers. The students will not know who is coming in each week and it will be both exciting and suspenseful waiting to see who will come in! All mystery readers will need to fill out a CORI.

Please sign up for Mystery Reader - here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

   1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/gCWjnT
   2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
   3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Important Dates:

September 30^th: Curriculum Night

October 3^rd: Field Trip

IMPORTANT: Please remember to pack a PAPER BAGGED lunch for the field trip. NO LUNCH BOXES PLEASE!

Math Centers

Prop Making!

We had a very successful day of prop making for our new fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs. Make sure to ask your child about the story! In order to make the props we need old newspapers, boxes, cardboard, toilet paper rolls, tissue boxes, yogurt cups, etc. The K-1 class would appreciate any of these items!

Thanks so much!

Mystery Reader

Mystery Reader: Every Friday afternoon we will have a Mystery Reader visit our classroom to do a read aloud. We will have family members, community members, etc sign up to be mystery readers. The students will not know who is coming in each week and it will be both exciting and suspenseful waiting to see who will come in! All mystery readers will need to fill out a CORI.

Please sign up for Mystery Reader - here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

   1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/gCWjnT
   2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
   3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Theme:  Fairy Tales – Goldilock and the Three Bears

What’s happening in centers:  We are acting out the fairy tales we read to learn about story sequence and characters.  We are practicing taking turns and changing roles.  We are learning to use the comprehension strategies we have learned to act out our roles. 

What Reading & Writing Skills are being practiced?  We practice visualizing or making a picture of the story in our minds.  We are learning to think about character empathy or how the characters in the story feel.  We also talk about story grammar or the beginning, middle and end of the story.  We write plans before we play and write about the story grammar. As the students do all this writing they will be learning about letters and sounds.

 

 

EXTENSIONS AT HOME:

* Draw and write about your favorite part of a story.

* Practice counting how many spoons, forks, etc you need for dinner.

HELP WANTED:

We use all kinds of household containers for props in all the centers.  Please donate your empty toilet paper, tubes, paper towel tubes, newspaper, tissue boxes, clean yogurt containers, etc.
 

Volunteers

Volunteers
There are many ways to volunteer in the classroom.  Opportunities range from weekly volunteers to party helpers.  If you would like to volunteer, please email me or send in a note indicating that you would like to be contacted for volunteering opportunities.

 

I will notify anyone who has contacted me about volunteering through volunteerspot.com (more information to come!) This online application will enable you to sign up for events happening in the classroom in advance so you can plan ahead :)

 

 

September 15-19

We are learning…

Fairy Tales- This week we are reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Today we made props in preparation for our dramatization centers. We painted the bears house, made porridge, beds, and chairs. We will read the story everyday this week and focus on a different comprehension strategy everyday: visualization, character empathy, making inferences, story grammar, and story comparisons.

 

Writing: Each morning we write our daily message about one thing that we are going to do that day. Each day before centers we will work on our scaffolded writing, creating a message about “who” we are going to be as we prepare to dramatize that day. Each afternoon we do graphics practice. Graphics practice is when students listen to a story and practice making strokes similar to the way we write our letters. As they practice, students listen to soothing instrumental music.

Math: We have started talking about different shapes and exploring with pattern blocks. We have also started exploring with sorting games and counting with unifix cubes!

 

 

Wish List:

Velcro

Tissues

Any old games or puzzles that are in good condition!

 

Help Wanted!

.HELP WANTED:

We use all kinds of household containers for props in all the centers.  Please donate your empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes, boxes, clean yogurt containers, etc.

 

Thanks :)

 

Friday: Day 5

Dear K-1 Families,

Your child has just completed their first week of kindergarten- it is an exciting day! Yesterday in kindergarten we explored and learned how to use pattern blocks. We also continued our work with graphics practice. Graphics Practice is when students listen to a story and practice making strokes similar to the way we write our letters. As they practice, students listen to soothing instrumental music. This afternoon the students went to gym class- ask your child what game they played in gym class.

Our classroom rules have finally been laminated and hung in our room. Please visit our classroom twitter page to see them!

Reminders;

·         During buddy reading students may choose to use the special story that they brought from home. Please remember to have your child bring in a special book from home that they are familiar with to leave in school if you haven’t already. Please be sure your child’s name is in the book.

·         If you have any questions feel free to send me a note or email J

Day 4

Dear K-1 Families,

Day four of kindergarten was another great day! Today, we met our new teaching assistant Mrs. Jacques! Next, we read Kindergarten ROCKS, dramatized the story as a whole group, and wrote about our favorite part of kindergarten so far. For specials, students went to the library- be sure to ask your child what they did in the library!

We also tried something new this afternoon called buddy reading. During buddy reading students are partnered with a peer and each student has an icon card. If a student has the lips icon, then he or she is the reader. If a student has the ear icon, then he or she is the listener. Half way through buddy reading, students switch icon cards and roles with their buddy. During buddy reading students may choose to use the special story that they brought from home. Please remember to have your child bring in a special book from home that they are familiar with to leave in school if you haven’t already. Please be sure your child’s name is in the book.

 

 

Reminders:

·        Tomorrow is a gym day so please remember to wear sneakers!

·        If you have any questions feel free to send me a note or email J

K-1 Teaching Assistant!

Hello to all my new friends in Mrs. Nolan’s kindergarten class,

Hi, my name is Mrs. Caroline Jacques.  I am so excited to be joining your classroom as your Teaching Assistant. We are going to have a great year together learning and growing. I worked at a preschool last year and know kindergarten is an amazing year of learning.

 Just so you know a little about me--I live in Medford with my husband Paul and our three children.  Our daughter Hannah is 20 yrs old and in college.  I remember her first day of kindergarten. She was so excited but a little nervous too. Then we have a boy named Liam. He is 16 ½ and is really tall!  6’2”.  He loves math and is in high school.  Our youngest child is our daughter Niamh (Neve).  She is in her first year of high school. She loves to play soccer and do Irish Step dancing.  We also have a little dog named Greta. We have a very busy house!

 Were you a little nervous on your first day of school? Me too! I know we're going to be good friends.  I can’t wait to meet you all on Thursday.

 Sincerely,

 Mrs. Jacques

Day Three!

Dear K-1 Families,

          Day three of kindergarten was a great success! Today, we reviewed our class rules and read, David Goes to School. Then we published our class rules by signing our names and decorating them. More information about our class rules and behavior policy to come! In the afternoon, we read First Day Jitters and did a writing activity about how we felt when we started kindergarten and how we feel now. For specials, students went to art and everyone enjoyed it- be sure to ask your child what they did during art!

 

                        

K-1 Teaching Assistant Update:

I am excited to announce that we have found our permanent teaching assistant for the K-1 classroom. Her name is Caroline Jacques. I would also like to thank our “fill-in” teaching assistant, Carolyn Rabito for all of her hard work and dedication to our class for the past few days. Caroline Jacques will be starting tomorrow!

Reminders:

·         Please have your child bring in a special book from home that they are familiar with to leave in school. This book will be used throughout the day for, quiet times, buddy reading, etc. Please be sure your child’s name is in the book.

·        If you have any questions feel free to send me a note or email J

Fire Drill

Today we had a fire drill. We saw fire fighters and their fire trucks! Ask your child what to do in case their is a fire drill in school.

Our Second Day of Kindergarten :)

Dear K-1 Families,

          Today was another great day in Kindergarten! Today we practiced what to do during a fire drill-ask your child what to do in case there is a fire drill in school. We also talked about some classroom rules that the students came up with on their own! The class learned about our “caught” doing something good system called Pride Paws (see below). We read The Kissing Hand and after the story completed we dramatized and made a special art project. The students will keep their art project here until curriculum night and then take them home. For specials, students went to music and everyone had a blast- be sure to ask your child what they did during music!

 

Pride Paws:
Pride Paws are tickets given to students who are “caught” doing something good.  Students put their name on a Pride Paw and place it in our Pride Paw jar.  At the end of the week, I pull several Pride Paws out of the jar.  If a student’s Pride Paw gets picked, he/she is allowed to pick something from the treasure box.

Reminders:

·         Please have your child bring in a special book from home that they are familiar with to leave in school. This book will be used throughout the day for, quiet times, buddy reading, etc. Please be sure your child’s name is in the book.

·        If you have any questions feel free to send me a note or email J

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

Dear K-1 Families,

        We had a great first day of school! We had tons of fun and already learned a lot of new things about our school and classroom. We learned some routines and took a tour of the school. Students had snack-recess in the morning and then lunch in the lunchroom. Make sure to ask your child if they remember who they sat next to! We read Miss. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten and discussed what we did to get ready for the first day of school. The class went to gym in the afternoon. We also had choice time-ask your child what they did during choice time! What a fun day!

Reminders:

·        The children may bring a water bottle into class J

·        Please tell your child what is their “snack” and what is their “lunch,” it can be confusing to them. Also, if your are having your child order hot lunch, please send in a note at least for the first few weeks until they get used to the process. Thanks so much J

·        If you have any questions feel free to send me a note or email!