Tuesday September 14, 2010

Just to let you all know...the students did a much better job of listening and following directions today! Yippee!

Your child should have worn (or brought) two wristbands home with them today. One is a reminder to wear their team-kindergarten painted shirts tomorrow! The other shows what we learned in science today--the life cycle of a butterfly (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly).

Mrs. Abbey read Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons. We learned lots of new information and facts by reading this nonfiction book. Did you know that a caterpillar molts 5 times before it is a full grown caterpillar? Did you know that butterflies can fly almost 10 miles in one day while migrating? We also learned some interesting words: abdomen, thorax, metamorphosis, proboscis (the tube to the mouth that sucks up nectar), and migration. We are getting to be caterpillar/butterfly experts! Tomorrow, a guest speaker from Polk County Conservation is going to come speak to us about Monarchs! We'll probably learn some more interesting facts and information!

We started our new literacy theme today: families. We talked about each of our families and graphed how many people were in each student's family. Mrs. Abbey read Whose Baby Am I?, a non-fiction story about animal families. We learned a new sight word: "we" and worked on reading a book with the words "we" and "can" during guided reading groups with Mrs. Abbey. Today was the first day of guided reading groups! The students are working on learning to work independently on literacy stations, writing, and reading to self while Mrs. Abbey works with 2-4 students at a time. When Mrs. Abbey is with a group at the reading table, the students know that they cannot talk to her unless they are bleeding or sick. They are learning to ask their peers for assistance and focus on "their job" during that time period.

We are focusing on the /m/ sound this week. Your child will be bringing home work that reflects this letter sound. Please remember to go through the A-a-apple chart once a day! It sounds like many students did their "homework" last night! Way to go!

Reminders:
•Just a reminder that Thursday Sept. 16 is picture day. We will all have our pictures taken, even if you decide not to order a picture package. If you would like to order pictures, please return the order envelope tomorrow or Thursday morning. Thanks!

•Order forms and payments for Entertainment books are due by Sept. 21, although you may return them any time before that day. The sooner you return the order form, the sooner the PTO can get additional Entertainment books that were ordered for you to deliver! If you do not sell the book that was sent home, please return it to school. Any questions, please email me.

•Here is a list of all "Team Abbey" Kindergarten t-shirt days for the year:
Sept. 15
Oct. 14
Nov. 16
Dec. 15
Jan. 12
Feb. 15
March 10
April 14
May 12