Week 9 {Griffin Gazette} and some news!

FALL IS AWESOME!

 Greetings fellow blog readers! Hope this finds your weekend going well! Kindergartners have been working hard...so hard that FRIDAY afternoon they earned some free time to go outside and just PLAY. ‎ "My mother taught me how to read before I got to school and so when I got there I really just wanted to do two things. I wanted to read books because I loved reading books and I wanted to go outside and chase butterflies. You know, do the things that five year olds like to do." ~Steve Jobs CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE!

 We have about 2 more weeks until our first PARENT/TEACHER conferences. I am getting excited to share some AWESOME news about your little ones. I am so impressed with how much growth they have made!

Can you believe kids are writing...letters...words...sentences...and even booklets now!

 They are building up lots of tools needed for writing and to know what writer's do!

 Check out that pencil grip? Mom and dad are driving....kids are in the back!

 Oh...did I mention the JACKSON HOLE fire fighters came over? Kids were excited to see them dressed up and more excited that they got to spray with the hose.

 Kathy Clay always does the inside lecture part of the visit and she was awesome with the kids. They watched in wonder as two WOMEN firefighters dressed in gear, talked about cool tools like an axe, and addressed FIRE SAFETY.

This week in Kindergarten...
READING WORKSHOP: We wrap up UNIT 1 with reading Goldilocks and the three bears. Please know the family times will say that we are reading DIG DIG DIGGING. We are working on all the same skills but have found that Goldilocks works better for reviewing character and setting and teaching sequencing and retelling.
Kids will work hard this week on retelling stories that they know. We will practice this a lot in class. You can practice at home too. Retelling and memorizing are BIG things that READERS do!
Letter of the week: Tt
Snap words: to, a
Comprehension skills: sequencing and retell...classify and categorize
DAILY FIVE: Readers know 4 of the daily 5 and will be learning # 5 this week.

LISTEN TO READING

urgency-

helps up become better readers

helps us learn and understand new words and stories

it is fun

STUDENTS WILL:                                     TEACHER WILL:

1. Get our materials                                       1. Work with the students

2. Listen to the whole story

3. May listen to another story if time

4. Follow along with pictures and/or words

5. Stay in one spot

6. Listen quietly

7. Get started quickly

8. Put materials away neatly

*Note: You could set this up at home if you have a cd player with books on tape or visit here or here for stories online that you can use at home.

Writer's workshop this week will focus on:
Reviewing "If you hear a sound, WRITE it down!" and Silent writing versus Quiet writing...
New skills-
1. What to do when a writer makes a mistake.
2. How to share writing and how to be part of the audience
3. Adding on to a piece (PICTURE-MATCHING WORDS)
4. Introducing a rubric

Math skills:
1. Preparation for writing (laying groundwork for number writing through kinesthetic and tactile stroke formation activities...paper practice, sand practice, shaving cream practice and finger painting...
2. Matching coin game (Be on the lookout for homework with this one)
3. Number board (reinforcing the meaning of numbers by constructing a class number board)
4.Tricky Teens (introduce and provide practice with counting and recognizing teen numbers

Other things:
POppas and PUmpkins is TUESDAY...at 1:15...we will meet outside at the picnic tables...please remember your sCOOPED out pumpkin and carving tool and anything else you might want to participate...
Friday is SPIRIT day...wear RED or your ALTA SHIRT.
Monday is Halloween. Come in costume..please no weapons or accessories with costume that may cause a problem. Use your best judgement!