Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did math. We played Collect 15 together. (Kate)

We did writing. We did Monday News. It was awesome! (Andrew)

We did Fundations. We got to do skywriting. We wrote on our white boards. We wrote V and U. (Sophia)

We watched a class dojo video. At read aloud we watched Sid the Science kid. During the video we got to floss play-doh out of pretend teeth. (Connor)

We did our poem. It was about getting sick. It was called The Big Bad Cold. (Evan and Logan)

We did music. We had a substitute. Mr. Witter’s son was sick. We watched the musical mansion. We played a button game. (Sophia and Layla)

We did Daily 5. We did one choice. (James)

We're watching a video series on growth mindset in class and just finished Chapter 2. Would love for all of you to see it, too:

https://bit.ly/1NGotPW

Discussion Questions

1. When I make a mistake I feel _____

because _____. How does it feel when you

make a mistake?

2. What do you do about those feelings so

that you don't get discouraged?

3. How can we support one another when

facing challenges that result in many trials?

Vesta Hotchkiss

Mill Creek Elementary

Kindergarten Teacher

417-818-9848

http://mrshotchkisskindergarten.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

Thank you so much for attending Parent-Teacher Conferences this week!  Miss Tappana and I really enjoyed talking with you all about the progress your child has made in reading, writing, word study, and math this school year.  It was also very helpful to touch base about classroom behaviors and what expectations we are working on in our classroom.

Please let us know if you need any additional resources to use at home. Also, please email me if you ever have questions or concerns about your child’s learning progress or behavior at school. We are so blessed to work with such wonderful families!

Thank you for your continued support!

Also here is a great math resource! This is a website and app that is great for practicing math skills! Check it out!

http://bedtimemath.org/

Enjoy your weekend!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

During Fundations we did a word family game on Starfall. We did words that end in –ig, -at, and -in. (Ginger)

For morning job we colored our page with soda, coffee, and juice and at the end of the day we did our egg experiment. We brushed the eggs. The red egg turned a little orange. The coffee egg was cracked. The stain didn’t really come off. The soda egg was a lighter brown. (Lyrik)

We did writing. We were finishing our books. We were adding more colors and words. We talked about if it was a 1, 2, 3, or 4. Four was the best. (Andrew) We used a rating scale of writing examples for our best work!

We did our math workstations for math. (Jayden)

We did the Pledge of Allegiance and we announced the Cougar with Integrity. It was Sylus. (Connor)

We did a read aloud. We read Moose’s Loose Tooth. His tooth came out at the end of the story. (Mikayla)

We sorted healthy food that was good for our teeth and unhealthy food like candy. There was a happy white tooth and a sad yellow tooth. (Layla)

Our special was library. We chose new books. We went to the computer lab. (Evan and Dylan)

No school tomorrow! Also, you don’t need to sign and return the grade cards. There are no bi-weekly updates this week because of the grade cards.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Parents,

Here is what we did today!

We did math. We had a partner and we played Bear Tracks. We rolled the dice and we had to count that many bears. We took turns. There are 20 tracks in all. (Ginger and Jayden)

We did our science experiment. Miss Tappana lifted each egg out of the drinks. The egg in the fruit punch was funky and red! The others were light and dark brown. We will color our piece of paper in the morning. (Layla) Great pictures on Twitter! https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

We did writing. We made our work our best! We wrote interesting words and added speech bubbles. We listened for sounds we missed. (Andrew)

We did P.E. We did a parachute. We got to go under the parachute. It was like a big tent. We made it like a mushroom and went underneath it. We jogged around the room. (Sophia and Connor)

We did counselor. We learned how to be helpful! We talked about bullies. We use kind words to solve problems. We colored a bumble bee and wrote a way to be nice. (Dylan and Lyrik)

For snack we read Tooth Trouble. It’s about a walrus who didn’t want to go to the dentist but in the end he went with his grandpa. (James)

Remind your child not to forget his or her library book tomorrow!

I’ve attached the conference schedule just in case you need it!

Don’t forget to follow Miss Tappana on Twitter! She has lots of great pictures as well! https://twitter.com/misstappanaMCE

If you get a chance make sure and watch the Class Dojo video from this week! We're watching a video series on growth mindset in class and just finished Chapter 1. Would love for all of you to see it, too: https://bit.ly/1UnoGgv

It makes for great discussion!

Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did read aloud. We read a book about George Washington’s teeth. They kept falling out. For our project we put eggs in soda, coffee, and juice. The eggs are white like the outside of our teeth. (Mikayla and Jayden)

Nurse Shannon came. She taught us that eating healthy foods helps keep our teeth healthy. Candy and soda are not good for our teeth. They can cause cavities. We should brush our teeth twice a day and go to the dentist. We got to brush fake teeth with a toothbrush. (Andrew and Max) Lots of great pictures on Twitter! https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

Nurse Shannon gave us coloring packet and read us a book. (Connor)

We did writing. We did dedications. After we did that we read our whole book. (Kate)

We did Fundations. We did the vowel chart. We did skywriting on the Smartboard. We did the letters S and T. (Sophia)

For morning job we wrote what we would do if we were President. We wrote who would live with us in the White House. The President lives there. (Layla)

We did the Zero the Hero Stomp. We were 1 day late. Today is the 111th day of school. (Evan and James)

We played 10 in a circle. We counted each cube. If you land on the red cube you have to put a cube back. (Lyrik) This is a great game to play at home! Take 10 objects with 1 that is “different”. We did 9 brown cubes and 1 red cube. Pick a number to count to (we did 20). Take turns starting at any object you want and count around the circle to that number (20). Whatever object you land on you have to take it out of the circle. If you land on the “different” object (red cube), you have to put one back (brown cube). You play until only the “different” object is left. The winner has the most objects (brown cubes). This is a great game for practicing one to one correspondence and counting!

We watched a class dojo video. (Andrew)

Here is the link to the video we watched today! It is very short! We're watching a video series on growth mindset in class and just finished Chapter 1. Would love for all of you to see it, too:

https://bit.ly/1UnoGgv

Episode 1: Take-home questions! Ask your child these questions tonight after rewatching the video.

1. What was the biggest challenge you faced

today? (Ask your child, and then have them

ask the question back!)

2. How can you and I think about these

challenges in a new way?

3. What can we do differently tomorrow if we

face similar challenges?

For more videos from the video series watch at: www.classdojo.com/BigIdeas

Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did snack. We read the book Grace for President. They had to vote. Grace won! (Layla)

We went to music. Mr. Witter was gone. We watched a video. (Ginger)

We did writing. We wrote what we did over the weekend. Some friends shared. (Kate)

We did morning job. We did the ending sounds of words. (Andrew)

We did Fundations. For Fundations we wrote in our Fundations notebook and we did skywriting. We wrote Q and R. (Sophia)

We played Hexagons. We had to pull cards and find ways to make the number. We tried to fill up the whole game board. We played Quick Eyes. (Evan and Dylan)

Have a great night! I look forward to meeting with all of you this week!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did math. We played Quick Eyes. We played Hexagons. The goal is to fill up the whole board. You and your partner have to figure out what number it is. (Dylan) This was a game to practice quick images. Kids had to match the number card to the arrangement of dots on the board. The dots were arranged in various ways so they had to use grouping skills to figure out the numbers!

We did library. We picked out our books and went to the computer lab. We had a fire drill in the library. (Layla)

We did read aloud. We read about George Washington. When George Washington was a little boy he liked to ride horses. (Logan and Connor)

We did writing. We wrote our title on the cover and we drew a picture to match. We looked at some book titles during writing. We looked at what picture the authors picked from their books. (Kate and Andrew)

We did the Pledge of Allegiance. We highlighted the Pledge of Allegiance for our book box. (Mikayla)

We went to the book fair and we looked at books. We had to be really careful because we didn’t buy any books. (Ginger)

We went outside for recess. The weather was really, really good! (Evan)

We learned the letters Q and R during Fundations. (Max)

In your child’s folder you will find a book order form! The best way to order is to use our online account so we can earn free books! Here is the link! http://orders.scholastic.com/H2MBR

You will also find a finalized PTC schedule and a fun math game!

Enjoy your weekend!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did our last page in our book in writing. (Andrew)

We did math. We played 1 more and 1 less. You can count your fingers to help. (Kate)

We made an American Flag. There are 50 stars and 13 stripes. There are 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes. We did a craft project. We used paint and glue. We used q-tips and white paint to make the stars. We glued the stripes on the paper. (Layla)

We did P.E. We got to do stations. They were pretty fun! (Dylan)

We said the Pledge of Allegiance. (Evan)

We did Daily 5. (Jayden)

We spelled our word wall words. (Max)

There are a lot of after school clubs and activities this time of year. If you can, please send me a reminder email me or let me know if there is a change in your child’s transportation. Here is a reminder about what is says in the Kindergarten Tidbits about transportation.

Changes in Transportation

Be certain that your child knows how he/she will be getting home from school. If you need to change transportation plans, please send a note, email, and/or call the office that morning.  When sending an email, look for a reply to insure that the message was received.  If not, be sure to call the office.  In case of last minute changes, calling the office might be best.  If no notification is received, your child will be sent home by his/her usual method of transportation. 

Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We learned about the US symbols like the White House and the Saint Louis Arch. We learned about our country’s flag, the big Statue of Liberty. (Logan and Layla)

We did writing. We worked in our book. We wrote what happened next in our story. (Andrew)

We did some sorting for US symbols and not US symbols. It was tricky and fun! (Ginger)

We did Daily 5. (Evan)

We talked about the Pledge of Allegiance. (Kymiah)

We talked about the symbols at read aloud while we ate our snack. (Mikayla)

We did Fundations. We wrote O and P on the whiteboards. (Kate)

We had art. We used play-doh to make a tower and a house. (Max)

Have a great night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did writing. We did Weekend News. We had 4 days off of school. (JR and Lyrik)

We did Fundations. We wrote M and N in our Fundations notebook. (Logan)

We did math. We played a game called 1 More and 1 Less. We had a paper with numbers and a paperclip and a pencil for our spinner. The paper had numbers at the top. We rolled numbers with the dice. We covered up the numbers that were 1 more or 1 less with the counters. (Kate)

We did Daily 5. We got to pick whatever we wanted even though it’s not Monday! (Connor)

We watched video about American symbols. There were symbols like the American Flag, the Liberty Bell, the eagle, the Statue of Liberty. The bell cracked. (Layla and Ginger)

We did music. We played a fun little game. (Sophia)

We did a book at poem time called The Pledge of Allegiance. (Andrew)

Vesta Hotchkiss

Mill Creek Elementary

Kindergarten Teacher

417-818-9848

http://mrshotchkisskindergarten.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We are about to do our Valentine’s party! Some moms are helping with the party. The whole day was about Valentine’s! (Dylan, Sylus, and Ginger)

We got to make a heart project with us on the inside. (Sylus and Max)

We did our poem. We highlighted some of the words that we know. We put it in our poetry folder. (Mikayla)

We did math. For math we got to do a game. We sorted the candy hearts. We counted and we graphed. (Sophia)

We did library. We checked out books and went into the computer lab. (Andrew)

It was a great day in Kindergarten! I will be posting lots of pictures on Twitter!

Enjoy the 4 day weekend!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We are celebrating Valentine’s Day tomorrow! We did a Valentine’s Day coupon book for someone special like mom or dad. (Lyrik and Jayden)

We did writing. We wrote what happened first in our book. It was fun! (Andrew and James)

We did morning buzz. We talked about our Valentines. (Owen and Connor)

We did P.E. We did jump ropes. We did hula hoops. We did shapes and food groups. (Kate)

We did Fundations. We did the vowel chart, cards, tapping, and we sky writing for M and N. We tapped words that end in –ug. (Ginger)

We played a math game with candy hearts. If you take the last heart you lose. It was called Last One Out. (Layla and James)

Today is Wednesday and today is the 104th day of school. (Max)

We did our poem. (Logan)

Ms. Mielke came. We talked about how all friends are different. (Mikayla)

We did Daily 5. (James and Dylan)

I sent home another copy of the Valentine’s note that I sent home a couple weeks ago just in case you need another list of class names!

Tomorrow is wear pink/red/white day! Hopefully we will see you at the party at 2:30 pm!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We made a craft with our 3rd grade buddies. We made cards. (Kate and Malai)

We did read aloud. We read One Zillion Valentines. Two friends made Valentines cards for a lot of people. (Mikayla)

It was hat day! (Connor)

We did our poem. It was a Valentines poem! It counted by 10’s. It went all the way up to 100. (Ginger)

We did Fundations. We wrote K and L in our Fundations notebooks. (Logan)

We did art. For art we got to draw fireworks. (Sophia)

We had a Popsicle stick with a bucket filler and a bucket dipper. We acted stories out. We held up the stick with the happy side if it was being a bucket filler and the sad side if it was being a bucket dipper. (Layla) We have been talking about ways to be a good friend!

Today is the 103rd day of school. There are only 7 more days until 110. (Max)

We did Daily 5. (JR)

We did writing. We wrote in our books. We wrote our opening sentence in our book and drew a picture. (JR and Andrew)

For math dropped cubes on a heart paper. It was called On and Off The Heart. We used 5 cubes. We talked about different ways to make 5. (Sophia) We are working on finding combinations of 5 to get our addition brains ready for the upcoming weeks!

We did morning buzz. (Owen)

I have attached a music newsletter from Mr. Witter. I am also attaching my most update to date conference schedule. Please let me know if you need a change made! Thanks!!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We went to the computer lab because we earned 100 Cougar Compliments. (Logan)

We did snack. It was Mrs. Hotchkiss’ birthday. We ate chocolate pretzels. They were pink! (Kate)

We did one choice of Daily 5. (Evan)

We did writing. We did Monday News. (Andrew)

We read the book “Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink”. We talked about how to be a good friend. (Ginger)

We talked about Chinese New Year. We read a magazine about it. We watched a short video and talked about the different years named after animals. A lot of kids were born in the year of the tiger! This year is the year of the monkey. (Layla, James, and Ginger)

We talked about math. We watched a special video about measuring. We talked about starting at the same spot and ending at the same spot. We measured with cubes and we can’t spread them out to measure. Mrs. Hotchkiss showed us a yard stick. (Sylus)

STUDENT COUNCIL SPONSORED…

HEART HEALTHY WEEK!

February 8-11th, 2016

TUESDAY

Hats off to a healthy heart.  Bring $1 to wear a hat.  All donations will be given to the American Heart Association.

WEDNESDAY

FITNESS DAY!

Wear comfy clothing and do a fitness activity!

THURSDAY

WEAR RED / PINK/WHITE DAY!

Remember all Spirit Days are hat days too!

           

Thursday is also our Valentine’s party! You are welcome to join us from 2:30-3 pm! Please remember to have your child bring their Valentines on this day! We will pass these out in the morning. We will also make bags to hold the Valentines.

Please return your conference confirmation ASAP! Thank you!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did Fundations. For Fundations we did Echo the Owl and Baby Echo and we did some tapping and we did our vowel chart. We wrote I and J and colored the pictures in our Fundations notebooks. (JR)

We did writing. We wrote who was in our story, when our story happen, where our story took place, and what happened and put it all together to make one sentence. It’s called an opening sentence. (James)

We did our 100th day of school poem. We highlighted the word wall words. We colored a picture and put it in our poetry folder. (Kate)

We did Daily 5. (Logan)

Miss Tappana read a book called Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett. (Ginger)

We learned about Jan Brett and went to her website. She lives far away. We read about her real life and saw pictures. Mrs. Hotchkiss is a big fan of Jan Brett! (Kymiah and Layla)

We did morning job. We filled in missing letters. We wrote a sentence on white boards. (Andrew)

We did library. We got to go on the computers. We played fun games. We picked out a new book. (Sophia)

Announcements

Today I sent home a Parent Teacher Conference schedule and confirmation. Please look at your day and time and confirm if that will work for you! I can change your day and time if needed!

Reading bags are coming home today as well! Please make time for your child to read to you! They got a brand new book called The Mitten that they haven’t read yet! They do not have a lot of new reading group books because I have been assessing but they should be coming home with at least one new book to read to you! Please make sure these bags are put back in their backpacks to return on Monday!

I also put a fun Groundhog’s Day coloring in their folder as well!

Have a great weekend!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We made a special snack. It had 10 pieces of 10 foods. It had 100 pieces! We ate our special snack. (Kymiah and Layla)

For the 100th day of school we made 100 glasses. We got to decorate them. (Malai)

We did P.E. We played stations. At one station we hit a ball with a bat. We used a Frisbee. We hit a pin down. There were other stations. (Kate)

We read Jake’s 100th Day of School. In the book he forgot his 100 day collection. He got 100 books at school. (Ginger and Layla)

We brought a collection of 100 things. (Logan)

We did writing. We wrote about our favorite memory from the first 100 days of school. Mrs. Hotchkiss is going to hang it up. (Sophia)

Today was the 100th day of school. We did the Zero the Hero Stomp and we counted to 100. (Sylus)

We have a 100th day poster on the door with ribbons! We got 100 Cougar Compliments on the 100th day! (Lyrik)

We did a packet for morning job. (Andrew)

I will be posting some pictures from the 100^th day on Twitter later night! We had a very fun day!

Here is some information the Spirit Week next week!

STUDENT COUNCIL SPONSORED…

HEART HEALTHY WEEK!

February 8-11^th, 2016     

MONDAY

Heart Healthy Tip on the morning announcements.

TUESDAY

Hats off to a healthy heart.  Bring $1 to wear a hat.  All donations will be given to the American Heart Association.

WEDNESDAY

FITNESS DAY!

Wear comfy clothing and do a fitness activity!

THURSDAY

WEAR RED / PINK/WHITE DAY!

Remember all Spirit Days are hat days too!

Vesta Hotchkiss

Mill Creek Elementary

Kindergarten Teacher

417-818-9848

http://mrshotchkisskindergarten.blogspot.com/

https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

Hi Parents!

This is what we did today:

We did writing and we wrote on our plan sheets. We wrote what our story was about and where our story took place. After that, we wrote in our writing folders if we had time. (Kate)

Mrs. Hotchkiss had a lot of meetings, so we had Miss Tappana teach for us because she is usually Mrs. Hotchkiss’ helper. She’s very fun! (Sophia)

We had art. We made self-portraits. We used straight lines and squiggly lines, then we wrote over it with Sharpies. (Andrew)

We did morning job. We split the cookies evenly into groups. (Logan and Lyrik)

For math, we got to have a piece of paper that had dogs and bones. We had to put bones in the box in order to split them evenly. Some friends got to share how they figured out how to split the bones evenly. (Ginger)

We did Daily 5 and Mrs. Hotchkiss already prepared our first choice, so we just had to make our second choice. (Jayden)

Today is the 99^th day of school! Tomorrow will be the 100^th day of school!! (Max) Don’t forget your collection of 100 things for the 100^th day of school tomorrow! We are so excited for everything we have planned tomorrow to celebrate the 100^th day of Kindergarten!

We read the 100^th Day Worries. Miss Tappana read it. Tomorrow will be the 100^th day and we will make our 100^th day snack. We will make our 100^th day glasses and wear them tomorrow! (JR)                                      

Enjoy your Wednesday evening!

Thank you!

Allison Tappana

ATappana@cpsk12.org

Twitter: MissTappanaMCE

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

Our 100th day of school is Thursday. (Layla) Don’t forget to bring in your collection of 100 things by Thursday!

We wrote who was in our story for writing. We added labels to our picture. If we got finished we wrote in our writing folders. (Andrew)

We did Fundations. We did our big cards and our little cards and our vowel chart. And Miss Tappana was teaching. (Kate)

We did our 100 poem. It is like a song. Our word is “is”. We talked about some repeating words. (Ginger)

We read The Three Snow Bears. (Lyrik)

We watched the video of the groundhog. It is going to be an early spring. It is groundhogs day. (Lyrik) Happy Groundhog Day!

We had music. (Sophia)

For math we did a fun game where we split a number in half to make equal numbers. We split numbers like 10 and 14. (Sophia)

We forgot to mention it to the kids, but tomorrow Mrs. Hotchkiss will be gone for a professional development meeting. I (Miss Tappana) will be the substitute in charge of the kids tomorrow, so feel free to let them know ahead of time! If you have any changes in transportation after school, please email me and let the office know as well! Thank you!

I will be sending out the daily email tomorrow as well, so make sure you look for the email from me instead of Mrs. Hotchkiss. Thank you!

Enjoy your Tuesday Night!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did Fundations. We did the sound chart. We wrote on our Fundations white boards the letters G and H. (Kate)

We had outside recess. (Jayden)

We did a bar graph for how many people have pets. Graphs help us collect data. (Andrew)

We did our poem. It was called the 100th day of school. We did because the 100th day is coming! Our letter for the week is “is”. We are all excited about the 100th day of school! (Sophia and Layla) Don’t forget to send in your collection of 100 things on Thursday!

Today is the 97th day of school. There are 3 more days until the 100th day. (Max)

We read Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett. We wrote about the parts of the story. (Logan and Lyrik)

I am attaching the February specials calendar.  A paper copy will come home tomorrow!

I am also attaching a tentative conference schedule. Please let me know if you need to change your day and time. A confirmation letter and final schedule will come home soon!

Miss Tappana will be sending out the Daily email tomorrow and Wednesday. Please make sure you save her email address! It is ATappana@cpsk12.org. I will be in a professional development meeting all day on Wednesday so Miss Tappana will be subbing. Please email her and/or call the office if there are any transportation changes. Thank you!