We had such a fun day in Kindergarten today! With the party at the end of the day we ran out of time for closing meeting.

We had a great time at the holiday sing along and I got a great video of the kids singing “Jingle Bells”.

We wrote letters to Santa to leave by his cookies and milk.

We worked hard on holiday bags and on the special gift to go inside.

For math, we played a game where we tried to get Santa to his cookies. This game is in the folder along with many other activities I thought would be fun to do over the break!

The kids had library and checked out a new book.

For the holiday party, the boys and girls made special pine cone bird feeders and enjoyed a special snack! Thank you to all the parents who helped with this!!!

In the folders you will also find a January calendar and a bi-weekly behavior update.

Thank you SO much for all the cards and gifts! I am so blessed to have such wonderful classroom families. I really appreciate your kind words. It means more than you know!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Thanks again!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We got to go to every Kindergarten classroom! (Zain)

We played with shaving cream in Mrs. Winn’s classroom. We watched a little video of Frosty the Snowman. It was a different version. (Emily and Adeline)

We got to see Mrs. Winn’s elf! Her name is Snowflake. (Lexie T.)

We did P.E. We played a game. (Anna)

We had a snowball fight in Mrs. Flanagin’s class. You had to stay on your iceberg. If you get on the blue carpet you are out. (Tristan and Pritish)

We went to Miss Reinkenmeyer class. We got to ice skate on wax paper. (Lexie T.)

We made reindeer food in our class. (Crimson)

We made snowflakes in Mrs. Dixon’s class. She had a substitute teacher named Mrs. Litteken. (Kamri)

In Mrs. Russo’s class we had a substitute and we played Christmas Bingo. (Cordae)

Wear holiday spirit wear tomorrow! Hope to see you at the party at 2:30 pm. Make sure to check in in the office when you arrive!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!!

Santa gave us bells and a note! (Pritish and Adeline)

We did music. We watched the Nuttiest Nutcracker. (Emily)

We read the Polar Express story. There was a CD that read the words. (Kamri)

We did 2 Polar Express games. We watched a Polar Express movie. It was so fun! (Brock, Lexie T., and Anna)

During the Polar Express movie we had hot cocoa and cookies. (Kate)

We wore our pajamas! We brought our small stuffed animals. (Livi, Zain, and Cordae)

Lots of great pictures on https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We had art. In art, we watched Chip and Dale. We got a folder to put all our art in. (Anna, Aidin, and Emily)

We got to make snowmen for our Partners in Education to hang in their offices. (Kate, Lexie T., and Livi)

We did writing. We wrote in our writing folders. We read our words to a partner. When we read to our partners we asked them a question and gave them a compliment. (Randy and Brock)

We did math workstations. We played Collect 10 Together. Our goal was to reach 10 cubes. (Kamri and Adeline)

We did Fundations. We tapped words in Fundations. We did the vowel chart and the little cards. (Tristan and Zain)

We read a book called The Gingerbread Friends. It was by the same author as The Gingerbread Baby. It was Jan Brett. (Kate)

Tomorrow we can wear pajamas to school. (Livi)

The school decided to do a list minute spirit week this week. This is a little different than the activities we have planned in Kindergarten. The Kindergarten team has had this schedule set for a while so we decided to keep it as planned!

Wednesday, Dec. 17--Pajama/Polar Express Day…wear pajamas to school (be sure to have appropriate shoes...no slippers).  Be sure the pajamas are appropriate and can be worn all day.  Bring a small stuffed animal as well (should fit in a backpack).  We will watch the “Polar Express” movie and have hot chocolate and cookies for snack.  The school will be doing a crazy sock day. Kindergarten students are welcome to do this as well.

Thursday, Dec. 18---Holiday Fun Stations…we will rotate through all of the other K classrooms doing fun holiday activities at each stop.  Nothing special needed from home. The school will be doing a Polar Express PJ day. I will not be participating but kids are welcome to wear PJ’s if they would like.

Friday, Dec. 19---Wear your fun holiday clothes (hats like Santa hats are alright too).  We will have our annual school sing and parties will be in the afternoon at 2:30 pm. Parents are welcome to come to the party! No siblings please! It will end promptly at 3 pm so students can be dismissed on time. If you plan on taking your child with you after the party, you will need to sign out with me so I can inform the office!

Holiday Service Project

We are still collecting food items for a family in our community this week.  Items will be delivered on December 19th.  This is a great opportunity to support a family in our community this holiday season.  Thank you for your generosity!

Ideas:

Peanut Butter

Jelly

Macaroni and Cheese

Pasta

Pasta Sauce

Cereal

Canned Fruits & Vegetables

Juice

Quick Snacks

Soup

Rice

Boxed Dinners

Bisquick

Other Canned or

Non-Perishable Foods

Thank you!!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We had Ms. Cardetti come and teach us about inventions. We made inventions to help us solve problem. (Adeline, Kate, and Livi)

We did Daily 5. (Brooke)

We had library. (Kamri)

We did math. We played Grab and Count and Compare. We used cube towers to help us count. (Zain)

We did Fundations. We did uppercase letters and some tapping. (Cordae)

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

We read a book called Snowmen at Christmas. (Aidin)

Reminders about this week!

Wednesday, Dec. 17--Pajama/Polar Express Day…wear pajamas to school (be sure to have appropriate shoes...no slippers).  Be sure the pajamas are appropriate and can be worn all day.  Bring a small stuffed animal as well (should fit in a backpack).  We will watch the “Polar Express” movie and have hot chocolate and cookies for snack. 

Thursday, Dec. 18---Holiday Fun Stations…we will rotate through all of the other K classrooms doing fun holiday activities at each stop.  Nothing special needed from home.

Friday, Dec. 19---Wear your fun holiday clothes (hats like Santa hats are alright too).  We will have our annual school sing and parties will be in the afternoon at 2:30 pm. Parents are welcome to come to the party! No siblings please! It will end promptly at 3 pm so students can be dismissed on time. If you plan on taking your child with you after the party, you will need to sign out with me so I can inform the office!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did P.E. This is our last day of gymnastics. (Brooke)

3rd grade buddies came and they read to us. (Randy and Pritish)

Yesterday, Ms. Gail cooked our Gingerbread Man. We couldn’t find him. Ms. Beeler and Ms. Rawlings found our Gingerbread Man!! He was playing in the office! We got to eat him up! (Kate and Brock)

We made posters that we started yesterday and finished today. We put them in the halls. We made posters because we lost our Gingerbread Man and we wanted kids to find him. (Kamri)

We read The Gingerbread Kid Goes to School. (Livi)

Everyone got a piece of Gingerbread Man to eat. (Adeline)

We did Daily 5. Mrs. Hotchkiss let some friends do reading groups. (Crimson and Kate)

We did a Gingerbread Man game where we roll a dice and if we land on the fox we have to move back one space. (Tristan)

We wrote about ways to catch our Gingerbread Man. (Riley)

See all the action on Twitter! I posted pictures and videos of it all!

Announcements!

Holiday Fun next week!

Wednesday, Dec. 17--Pajama/Polar Express Day…wear pajamas to school (be sure to have appropriate shoes...no slippers).  Be sure the pajamas are appropriate and can be worn all day.  Bring a small stuffed animal as well (should fit in a backpack).  We will watch the “Polar Express” movie and have hot chocolate and cookies for snack. 

Thursday, Dec. 18---Holiday Fun Stations…we will rotate through all of the other K classrooms doing fun holiday activities at each stop.  Nothing special needed from home.

Friday, Dec. 19---Wear your fun holiday clothes (hats like Santa hats are alright too).  We will have our annual school sing and parties will be in the afternoon at 2:30 pm.

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We made a Gingerbread man and he ran away! And Mrs. Flanagin’s ran away!! (Kate)

Can you please look for our Gingerbread Man? (Adeline)

We did music. We did Judge. (Lexie T. and Livi)

We did math. In math, we compared names with friends in our class. (Emily)

We did Daily 5. (Kamri)

We read a book called The Gingerbread Baby. (Cordae)

We made poster so people can know our Gingerbread Man ran away and he is lost. (Blair)

Ms. Gail was really sad that he ran away. We think he is running around the school. We think he has been in our classroom! (Anna and Rilen)  Lots of pictures on Twitter of our adventures today! I also posted a video of Ms. Gail’s reaction in the cafeteria! https://twitter.com/hotchkissmce/status/543155748415348736

Have a good night!

Hi Parents,

Here is what we did today!

We did art. There was a fire drill during art. (Pritish and Blair)

We had an assembly. The 5th graders sang. It was a choir concert. (Livi and Kate)

We did writing workshop. We wrote letters to Miss S. and Miss Glenn. We drew pictures for them. Tomorrow is the last day they will be here. (Lexie T.)

We did counselor. In counselor we talked about making mistakes. We read a book about mistakes. We watched a short little video about mistakes too. (Emily, Brock, and Anna)

We watched a little movie about The Gingerbread Man. (Rilen)

We did math. We had a recording sheet so we could record if other people’s name towers were shorter, the same, or longer. (Tristan) In your child’s folder there is a paper explaining how you can do this at home!

Have a great night! 

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did library. We spelled our names, did the alphabet 2 or 3 times, and then wrote (typed) whatever we wanted on the computer. (Anna and Adeline)

We did Daily 5. We got to have reading groups read with Mrs. Hotchkiss. We got new books. We did a picture walk. (Kate, Livi, and Brooke)

We did Fundations. We practiced our letters. We tapped the letters in words. (Lexie T.)

We did math. We put stickers on the cubes for the letters in our names. We counted how many letters we had in our name. (Cordae) We read the book Chrysanthemum to go with it! We counted the letters in her name!

We read the Gingerbread Man. (Lexi B.)

We did writing. We did writing folders. We learned what to do when we are done. (Brock and Emily)

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We had P.E. We did gymnastics. (Randy and Rilen)

My aunt is a P.E. teacher and she came to help. (Blair)

We did tapping for Fundations. (Pritish) We have been learning about how sounds go together to make words.  We have been practicing segmenting, identifying, and blending sounds.  We have learned to tap out the sounds in words with our hands in order to isolate each sound, and then identify which letter makes the sound in order to spell the word.  Ask your child to try it with the word “mat” tonight!

We did morning buzz and morning meeting. (Cordae)

We did writing. We wrote what we did over the weekend. We did Monday News. (Livi and Kate)

We read the book Bear’s Loose Tooth. (Anna)

Some of us went to the snowball shop. (Kamri) Kids that did not bring money today will get a chance to shop on Thursday or Friday.

We did Daily 5. (Brooke)

Kate’s sister came and read to us. (Aidin)

We did math. We played a game called Grab and Count, Which Has More? (Emily)

We echoed with Baby Echo and big Echo. We did the vowel chart. (Tristan)

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We went to music. We sang Christmas songs. (Anna and Adeline)

We did math workstations for math. (Kate)

We got a needs and wants poem and we highlighted the word “and”. (Blair)

We made gingerbread kids to put on our door. There is a competition to see who has the best door decorations. (Rilen and Zain)

We did Daily 5. We did all 5 parts. We did our choice chart. (Lexi B. and Brock)

We did morning meeting and morning buzz. (Crimson and Zain)

We did read aloud and we read a book called Bear Feels Scared. We talked about what scares us and what makes us feel safe. (Emily and Livi)

We got to see the snowball shop. (Randy) Our day to shop is Monday.

We did the calendar on the SmartBoard. (Aidin and Adeline)

We did the Zero the Hero Stomp because we got to a set of 10 days of school. We made it to 70 days of school (Brock and Riley)

We did Fundations. We played Guess My Word. (Kate)

The first Work Habits and Social Skills Behavior Updates for 2^nd trimester are coming home today. Please read over these, initial at the bottom, and return the papers in your child’s folder on Monday.

Thanks and have a great weekend! Go Tigers!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We did art. We had art in the trailers. In art we got to make a rainbow elephant. (Livi, Adeline, and Anna)

We did Fundations. We did q and z. We got to sky write z and q on the SmartBoard. We echoed with Echo the Owl. (Lexie T., Kate, and Zain)

We did math workstations. (Aidin)

We read a book for read aloud called Bear Feels Sick. (Emily)

We went on Karma Wilsons website. She is the author of the Bear books. (Kamri)

We built a 10 tower. We got to walk around the classroom to see what was longer and shorter. (Blair)

We did writing workshop. We learned how to help ourselves when we get stuck or when we need help. (Lexi B.)

Ms. Glenn and Ms. S came today. (Kamri)

We did Daily 5. We made 2 choices. (Livi and Anna)

Some kids got new books in reading group. (Cordae)

We ate snack. We went to recess. (Kate)

Have a great night!!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

We went to library. We sorted non-fiction and fiction books. (Zain and Kate)

We did Fundations. We did z and q. We did magnet boards. (Anna and Livi)

We did the vowel chart. Lexie T. led the vowel chart. (Adeline)

We wrote the date and days in school on the white boards. (Aidin)

We did morning meeting and morning buzz. We talked about things we need and things we want. (Cordae)

We did Daily 5 and we did reading groups. When you do a reading group you get new book from the teacher. (Kamri)

We did math workstations. We had partners. (Brooke and Anna)

We used a cubes tower to see if things were longer or shorter. Mrs. Hotchkiss had a bag of things to measure. We made a list of things we can measure. (Blair and Kamri)

We watched a short video about needs and wants. We read a poem about needs and wants. (Riley)

Mrs. Hotchkiss read us the book Bear’s New Friend. (Lexie T.)

We did writing folders. We talked about stretching out words. (Randy and Zain)

We ate snack. (Kate)

Have a great night!!

Hi Parents!

Here is what we did today!

Mrs. Zapata came to teach us all about protein. This was our last day with her. (Kate)

We went to P.E. We did gymnastics. (Pritish)

We did math workstations. We had new numbers. (Adeline)

We did inventory bags for math. (Cordae, Zain, and Randy)

We did morning meeting and in morning meeting we did morning buzz. (Emily)

We did the calendar. (Lexie T.)

We read a book. It was called Bear Stays Up for Christmas. (Livi and Anna)

We did writing in our writing folders. We talked about using our ABC chart as a resource. (Aidin)

We echoed Q and Z for Fundations. (Lexi B.)

We did a needs and wants poem. (Zain)  We also played a needs and wants SmartBoard game!

We are still collecting items for our hats, gloves, and scarves donation collection tree this week! This is in the office!

Hi Parents!

Welcome back! Here is what we did today!

We did music. We did Christmas songs. (Blair and Adeline)

We did math. We did counting bags or inventory bags. We had partners. (Livi, Anna, and Kate)

We did a new poem. It was called Needs and Wants. (Aidin) This is part of our next social studies unit! It is great timing with the holidays right around the corner! We talked about how needs are things you have to have to live and wants are things that are nice to have but not needed to survive.

We got new jobs. (Zain)

We did qu and z for Fundations. (Kamri)

We also did Monday News and started a new series of books by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman with Bear and his friends. Today we read Bear Snores On and Bear Wants More. We talked about how sleep and food are both needs. This is a great series that I would highly recommend!