Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We got to paint with light in art. (Andrew)

We went to art class. (Sylus)

We made rectangles into something different. (Connor and Mikayla) We started our math unit on shapes! We read the book, “The Shape of Things” which talked about how a shape is just a shape until you add details to turn it into something new! For example, “A square is just a square until you add a roof, two windows and a door, then it’s much, much more!!” Today we focused on rectangles. We went on a shape hunt around the room for rectangles! We charted attributes and examples! The students then took a rectangle and turned it into something new! I  will collect these shape pages this week and make a shapes book.

We went outside. (Lyrik)

We read a book about shapes. (Layla)

We did my Me Bag! (Evan)

We did Evan’s name cheer and we practiced writing his name. (Kate)

We read No David. We practiced reading the words and then reading the pictures. (James) We talked about 2 ways to read a book: Read the pictures or read the words. The students then practiced reading to themselves from their book boxes for 3 minutes! We are working on building our reading stamina!

Your student is welcome to bring one favorite book from home to keep in their book box to read during “Read to Self” time. You can send this in anytime! This does not have to be a book that they know how to read themselves just a book they love and enjoy!

You may hear your student talk about GoNoodle –a fun website we use to move throughout

our school day. Kids wiggle. GoNoodle gets the wiggles out, so we can keep on learning. GoNoodle gives us over 100 physical activity videos and games – including dancing, running, jumping, stretching, deep breathing, and more - and helps students channel their abundant energy. After we take a quick break with GoNoodle, we’re better able to focus on learning.

GoNoodle is great when:

 • we’re transitioning from one subject to another

 • we’re feeling stressed or anxious

 • we can’t sit still

 • we’ve had a great day and need a reward

GoNoodle can help energetic kids get their wiggles out anytime, and its free for parents, too.

In fact, I’d love for you to use GoNoodle at home and have fun with it as a family, because I

believe active, healthy kids make better students.

1.       Go to www.gonoodle.com.

2.      Click “Sign Up.”

3.      Sign up for a Home account and start GoNoodling!

Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We played outside 3 times. (JR and Kate)

We went to music. We played game. We got 2 Cougar Compliments. (James and Kymiah)

We got to paint our names with dots using q-tips. (Ginger, Sophia, and Kate) We practiced making an ABAB pattern!

We did Dylan’s Me Bag. (Connor and Sylus)

We wrote Dylan’s name. (Lyrik)

We read a book about being a bucket filler. (Malai) Bucket filling is an easy-to-understand concept: Everyone carries an invisible bucket that holds our good thoughts and feelings. When our

buckets are full, we feel happy and when our buckets are empty, we feel sad. Children quickly understand that they can fill buckets when they do and say things that are kind, considerate, caring, and respectful. They also learn that when they are mean, inconsiderate, uncaring, or disrespectful, they dip into buckets and remove those good feelings.

During this school year we are encouraging, reminding, and recognizing everyone’s efforts to be bucket fillers at home, at school, and everywhere they go.

If you would like to learn more about bucket filling, visit the Bucket Fillers website,

www.bucketfillers101.com.

We did Dylan’s name poster. (Andrew and Malai)

We read Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten. (Mikayla)

 We did lunch. (Connor)

We drew ways we can fill a friend’s bucket. We colored a Bucket Filler page. (Layla)

In your child’s folder you will find a book order, a fundraiser packet, a September specials calendar and lunch menu, and some student work! Please make sure to look over all of this information this weekend!

Have a great weekend! Your child made it through a full week of Kindergarten! What an accomplishment!

Thank you!

Hi Parents!

Sorry for the late email! Here is what we did today!

We did my Me Bag. (Connor)

We played a game with Mr. Burlison. (JR) Our assistant principal came in today to get to know the kids!

We played on the playground 2 times. (Ginger, Jayden, and Evan)

We got to meet Mr. Burlison. He read a book and played a fun game with us called Quack, Moo, and Cock-a-doodle-doo. (James and Sophia)

We got a poem! (Andrew) We read the poem “I Can” and added it to our poetry folders!

We went to the library and we got to check out books. We get to keep them for 4 days. (Sylus and Lyrik) These will be returned every D day when we have Media. Next D day is next Wednesday.

We drew a picture of Connor. (Mikayla)

We did Connor’s name cheer. (Malai)

We had a guest reader from Mrs. Ross’ class. She read If You Take a Mouse to School. Her name is Adeline. (James)

Thank you to all the families that came to Curriculum night! Please let me know if you have any curriculum questions!

On September 11^th we will be having a school wide Grandparent’s/Special Friends and Family event in the morning (I think 9-10 am). Your child will get to show their grandparents their classroom. Please let grandparents know of this date and more information will be sent home soon! If you do not have a grandparent in town, other family members or special friends are welcome to come (aunts, uncles, neighbors, etc.)

I am also attaching information about Chess Club if your child is interested.

Thanks! Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We had a snack. We played on the playground. (JR)

Some kids played on the slide and some did the swings. (Jayden)

We did P.E. We played crab game. We played Indiana Jones and the Tower of Doom. The game gets harder and harder! (Sylus, Ginger, James)

We drew a picture of Andrew. (James)

We played a capital letter and lowercase letter matching game on the SmartBoard. (Kate)

We played with pattern blocks. (Lyrik)

We did my Me Bag. (Andrew)

We spelled Andrew’s name on the white boards. (Connor)

We ate lunch! Lunch choices were sloppy joes, pizza, or PBJ. (Kymiah)

Ms. Mielke our counselor came today. (Sophia)

We read the book Time for School. (Ginger) We got our book boxes today! This is where we will keep all our reading books this year.

We did the schedule. (Dylan)

Tomorrow night is Curriculum and Cookies night! This is a very informal open house for the Kindergarten families. It is a come and go event from 5-6:30 pm. We will have curriculum packets for each family. If you do not come to the event, I will send it home on Friday in your child’s folder. This is a time for your child to show you around the room, read the books from their book boxes, and for you to ask any question you may have about what we are doing this year! Oh yes…there will be cookies as well! J

See you tomorrow! Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We made a picture of Aidan. (Andrew)

We did Aidan’s ME bag. (James)

We finished Chester Loves School. (Layla)

We went to art and meet Mr. Gwinner. We got to color. (Sylus)

We played outside. (Malai and Jayden)

We played a game called Doggie Doggie Where’s Your Bone? (Ginger) This is a game to help the class practice friend’s names!

Our principal and nurse Shannon came to read us books. (Owen)

Mrs. Hotchkiss read Miss Bindergarten Has a Wild Day in Kindergarten. (Evan) Ask your child about our class rules and what they mean when you talk tonight!

Rule 1: Listen when the speaker is talking

Rule 2: Follow directions quickly

Rule 3: Respect others, respect yourself, respect our school

Rule 4: Raise your hand to speak or stand

Rule 5: Be safe, be kind, be honest

We read the book We Like School. (Connor)

We did Aidan’s name cheer. (Mikayla)

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We drew a picture of Mrs. Hotchkiss and we did her Me Bag. We wrote her name. (Lyrik) The Me Bag project starts this week! Please make sure to check your Me Bag schedule to see which day your child will bring in his or her Me Bag! This week we have Aidan, Andrew, Conner, and Dylan! We will do one child a day!

We played with snap cubes. (Mikayla) We are exploring math tools this week!

We played on the playground. We saw our friends on the playground. We went down the slide. (Jayden, Logan, JR, and Connor)

We colored our books Chester Loves School. We read the book! (Layla and Kymiah) Each child received their own mini book to color and read. We practiced the words as a group today. These books will go in their personal book boxes this week!

We saw our music teacher. We got a Cougar Compliment! We learned about instruments. (Sophia and Andrew) A Cougar Compliment is a little slip of paper earned for being respectful, responsible, and resourceful. When our class reaches 100 we will have a class celebration!

We read the book Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. (Ginger)

This week we have Curriculum and Cookies Night on Thursday from 5-6:30 pm. This is an Open House for families. Have a great night!!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We had lunch and recess. (Evan)

We made a Chester Raccoon puppet. We are following directions. (JR and Sylus) I got lots of great pictures of this! Check out https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

We played the Kissing Hand game. We tried to get Chester to his mom. (Connor)

We got to check out the library. We read some books. (Sophia and Kymiah)

We did the calendar. (Andrew)

We colored our puppet at quiet time. (Layla)

We read A Pocket Full of Kisses. (Ginger)

Make sure to look in your child’s daily folder for a picture order form (picture day is September 2^nd) and a fun family homework project!

Enjoy your weekend!

Hi Parents!

Today was a GREAT first day of Kindergarten!

During our closing meeting, I typed up what the kids said we did today at school! Here is what they said…

We played with hula hoops in P.E. (Layla)

We played with play-doh and drew pictures. (Sophia)

We jogged around the cafeteria in P.E. (Andrew and Sylus)

We played on the playground. (Kate)

We drew a picture of how we felt today at school. (JR)

We learned about the rules. (Ginger)

We figured out that we should wear tennis shoes for P.E. (James)

We colored. (Malai)

We ate lunch and made lunch choices. (Kymiah)

We sorted how we are going home. (Mikayla) This was a SmartBoard math activity where the kids moved pictures to see how many bus riders, car riders, etc. we had in our class!

We learned and practiced how to go down the slide. (Sylus)

We read Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come. (Logan)

We read The Kissing Hand. (Sophia) Make sure you ask your child about this story and give him or her a “kissing hand” tonight! You might get one back!

Announcements
Today in your child’s backpack you will find a very important folder called the Daily Folder! There is a note inside explaining it! After you look at it, please take out all the papers and return the folder to your child’s backpack!

In the folder you will also find Parent Pick Up car tags (place this in your front windshield at PPU), ME bag homework directions, and some work from today!

If you have not already, please send in a family photo to be displayed on our “family tree” outside our classroom door. This gives us a chance to learn about one another and also help with the transition to being away from loved ones all day in order to be in school!

A few additional reminders!!

Snack: Please send a snack (no drinks other than water) with your child each day for him/her to eat during snack time.  They will keep this in their backpack. The snack should be healthy and require no silverware.  This same procedure is followed in all other grades at Mill Creek. Students are welcome to bring a water bottle to keep at their table spot throughout the day.  Be sure to label it with your child’s name.

Attire: Please have your child wear tennis shoes as much as possible. Changing shoes at school often takes longer than you think! If your child wears a dress or skirt to school please make sure that they wear shorts underneath. Kindergarteners sit criss cross on the carpet and do lots of dancing, running, and climbing! Tennis shoes and shorts are the Kindergarten way to go! Thank you!

Your child should sleep well tonight! The first few days are often very tiring for a new Kindergartener! An early bedtime might be needed!

Thank you! Have a great night!

WELCOME 15-16 Kindergarten Parents!

I will use this site to communicate with you on a daily basis! At the end of each day I will have a closing meeting with the Kindergartners. The kids will reflect upon the day by telling about what they learned and what we did at school! I will make a blog post and email the meeting notes to you!

I also use a classroom Twitter (@hotchkissmce) to communicate with you! I love to post pictures of all the wonderful things we are doing in our classroom! Please follow our classroom Twitter for updates or view the posts on the right hand side of this site!


Check out the LINKS section for great children's educational sites, games, and resources!

Check out the OUR CLASSROOM tab for our daily schedule, Kindergarten Tidbits, our monthly specials schedule, and extra parent resources!

Learn all about me in the ABOUT MRS. HOTCHKISS tab!

Enjoy! Please watch for emails from VHotchkiss@cpsk12.org