Here are some pictures of our leprechaun traps. Everyone did a great job!

Next week we will be doing some fun spring activities in math, science, and social studies. In reading we will be working with the -op family as well as learning the word wall words she, he, and will. Blaise was terrific kid this week. Here is what he had to say about what we have been up to in kindergarten.

We got to play on the playground with our reading buddies. We got to pat Mrs. Jordan's dog, Rosie. Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day! We got gold from the leprechauns. They made a big mess and drew on our board. We got to share our traps, but we did not catch any leprechauns. We planted lima beans last week. They are growing. We went to P.E. and ran laps and practiced dribbling balls and played soccer. The bake sales on Friday are fin because we can buy treats. We are learning Jack and the Beanstalk songs in music to get ready for our play.

Brandon and Blaise planting lima beans

Important Dates:
Every Friday (through April 16) is a Relay for Life bake sale.
Our store is working out great so far in kindergarten! Please practice using pennies, nickels, and dimes at home. Next week we will be talking about plants and introducing the word wall words said, please, and no as well as the -it family. We have some great authors in our class. What a great job everyone did on homework this week. Enjoy the slideshow of our authors and their books.

Jordan was last week’s terrific kid. Here is what she had to say about the past two weeks:
We are learning about Dr. Seuss. His books are funny. The words rhyme. We had a special visitor come last week. It was a dentist. He pulled a rope through himself. He talked about brushing our teeth. Our kitchen turned into a store. We stayed on green every day at lunch. We have been doing Jack and the Beanstalk in music to get ready for the show. These two weeks were awesome!

Jordan and Shane getting items ready for the store.

It is hard to believe that Wednesday is the end of our second trimester! The kindergarteners are hard at work getting ready for first grade! We continue to work on word family words. Next week we will start short I words with the –ig word family. Next week’s words are that, eat, and has. If you haven’t asked your child to read to you, make sure to take the time to do it. We hare becoming fluent readers, and are working hard on our comprehension skills. Talk to your child about what happens in the stories that you read. In math we will continue talking about money, and introduce the dime. Social studies and science next week will focus on dental health. We are even having a dentist come and visit on Monday!

Important notes:
Wednesday is the end of the grading period.
We are collecting food boxes for a class store (the box from cereal, a cookie tin, the Capri-Sun box, an empty box of pasta, etc.) if you have any EMPTY food containers, please send them in to be part of the store!

Caroyln was last week's terrific kid. Here is what she had to say about the past two weeks:

We got new word wall words. We saw someone who talked about being a good friend and our feelings. She read a book about not being a bully. We played scooter ball in P.E. We talked about presidents. We learned about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We watched an ABC video. Last week we saw a play. The big kids wrote it themselves. (our Odyssey of the Mind Team) We celebrated Valentine’s Day. We opened our cards and ate one piece of candy. These two weeks were Valentine’s Day fantastic!

Carolyn enjoying Valentine's Day

What a fun week! We had a great time talking about friends and family this week as we got ready for Valentine's Day. Be sure to check your child's folder for a story about someone in your family! Carolyn was terrific kid this week, but she will be sharing exciting events next week. Valentine's celebrations were more important than blog writing today!

Enjoy a slideshow of our Valentine delivery and opening.

Wow! What a busy week. The groundhog saw his shadow, and we have been in school 100 days. Ask your child what his/her favorite part of this exciting week was. Terrific kid is now bi-weekly, so the children will share all the exciting events with you again next week. Until then, enjoy the videos of day 100. The first video is day 100 creations and the second is some of our fun activities. We hope you enjoy them!

We have been working hard in reading learning our first word families. We know–at, –an, –ap, and -ed family words, and have been practicing finding those words in our stories. Next week we will introduce the –en word family. (remember the word family means that all the words end in those letters, for example the –at family includes cat, fat, bat, sat, etc.)

We also continue to learn new word wall words. Our three words will be my, good, ran. Keep reading with your child daily!

In math we will be introducing the nickel, and reviewing the penny. See what your child can tell you about pennies already.

In social studies we will be getting ready for Valentine’s Day by talking about friends. Next Friday we will have our Valentine’s Day celebration and get to open all of our Valentines.

Please remind your child that toys need to stay at home, not at school!

Important reminders for next week:
Wednesday is NOT an early release day
Head over to the NSB speedway to help sell programs. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year!

Wow! It is hard to believe that the school year is halfway over. Yesterday was the 90th day! What progress the students have made.


Upcoming events:
Sunday: Open House for new students. This open house is for families who are new to the area, or have heard about Samsula and are interested in enrolling their children for the next school year. Your attendance is welcome, but not necessary.


We have been working hard in reading learning our first word families. We know know –at and –ap family words, and have been practicing finding those words in our stories. We have also started concentrating on story comprehension. When you read a story at home, see if your child can tell you about the characters, the setting and the plot.


In math we have been working on solid shapes, as well as gearing up for day 100. You can help your child get ready by practicing counting to 100 by 1s, 5s, and 10s.


In Science and social studies, we have been talking about MLK and how to be a good friend to everyone. We are starting a unit on night/day and shadows in preparation for Groundhog’s Day.


Brandon was our terrific kid last week, so he got to write our blog today. (there was no terrific kid for this short week) Here is what we have been up to in kindergarten:
We learned about Martin Luther King Jr. He changed the law and helped people. We stayed on green at lunch every day. We made shapes in art. We learned how to do a new book report. Caroline brought a toy turtle. We are watching it hatch. We got to use calculators. We did an obstacle course in P.E. In music, we played instruments and sang about Jack and the Beanstalk. This week was fun!





Enjoy the video we made for open house!

Brrrr! What a cold week! Your children have been doing a great job with their jackets. We have been working hard on independently putting on jackets, and zipping or snapping them. Have your child show you what a great job he/she can do!

Reminders:
We still need our mid-year supplies for our class! If you have not sent in your twist up crayons, 2 glue sticks and 1 glue bottle, please do so as soon as possible.

By now your child should know all of his/her letter sounds. Please continue to practice and review them at home. This week we started learning about word families. This week we talked all about –at words (like cat, hat, etc.) See what –at words your child can think of! In math we reviewed our numbers, and are getting ready to learn all about 3-d shapes. In science and social studies we have been talking about pets and how to take care of them. Next week we will learn about Martin Luther King Jr.

Here is a link to our –at wall wisher
http://wallwisher.com/wall/-atwords
see if you and your child can think of some more –at words. (If you want to add a picture a good idea is to use Google images and just search clip art)

Greyson was our terrific kid this week. Here is what he had to say about our week.
We got 10 panther paws, then we got extra recess. We got to go on the big playground every day because it is after Christmas. We are learning new songs in music. We watched a karate movie with Coach because it was too cold to go outside! Mrs. T. came today. Brandon brought his hamster to school. We are learning about pets. This week was fantastic!

Greyson and Brandon talking earlier in the year.