Hi Parents!

We had a great first day in Kindergarten! At the end of the day we had a closing meeting where some of the kids were able to share out what we did today! Here is what they said…

We went outside. (Kate)

We made artworks. (Rilen)

We went to art. (Livi)

We ate lunch. (Lexie)

We did math. We figured out how we get home. (Aidin) We did a transportation graph on the SmartBoard to see how many kids were going home by car, bus, etc.  Ask your child which group had the most and which had the least!

We read The Kissing Hand. (Riley) We also did a Kissing Hand story sequencing activity! Make sure you give your child a “kissing hand” tonight and that they give you one as well! (They will explain!)

We had morning meeting (Kamri)

In your child’s backpack you will find their daily Take Home Folder. Please read the note inside! I am looking forward to a great second day tomorrow!

Thank you!!

Hi Parents!

Time to get excited! Orientation is over and tomorrow is the first day of Kindergarten!

Make sure you are familiar with the Kindergarten Tidbits (under Our Classroom) so you know the procedures on lunch, snack, recess, personal items, communication, transportation, and dismissal!

Tomorrow when the kids get here they will go straight to the classroom (or to the cafeteria if they are eating breakfast at school). There will be LOTS of teachers to help guide kids off the buses and from cars. You are welcome to walk your child into the building but you do not have to. The kids will put lunch boxes in our lunch tub outside of the classroom door if they will be bringing a lunch from home tomorrow. I have prepared cards with lunch numbers for all students (so don’t stress about memorization too much).  

When they come in, they will drop their backpack at a carpet spot and find their table spot from Meet the Teacher night. They will have games at the tables so I can answer any last minute questions and help each child, one at a time, find his or her locker and practice. This will also be your time to take any last minute pictures.

The school day will start at 8:20 a.m. Be prepared to give your little one a BIG hug and kiss goodbye at this time, they will officially be starting the Kindergarten day!

Tomorrow is a C day so we will have Art as our special. My daily schedule says Art is in a trailer but it is has been moved to room 127.

Please let me know if you have any last minute questions. I will have a sticker prepared for each child on how they get home for the next few school days.

Take a deep breath! You can do it!

Thanks so much! I am looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Welcome to my classroom website!

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@columbia.k12.mo.us

Happy last day of Kindergarten! Here is what we did today!

It is our last day of school. (Ella McClary)

We ate Anthony’s mini cupcakes with sour patch kids on top and Aidan gave us Smartie’s and bubbles. (Alex and Anthony)

Mrs. Hotchkiss gave us Mercy Watson books. (Audrey)

We had writing. We made a memory book about our favorite things. (Aidan)

We read a book. We read Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon. (John)

We are taking home our star bead necklaces. (Jenna)

Thank you so much for all the wonderful cards, gifts, and flowers! It has been a wonderful school year and I am so thankful for all your support and kindness. It has been a pleasure teaching each and every one of your kiddos and please let me know if you need anything this summer or next year. It has been great getting to know each of your families and I wish the best for all of you in the future!

Have a great summer!

Here is what we did today!

We had art. We played a game where we had to guess what Mr. Gwinner was drawing. (Lauren and Alex)

We had our first grade readers come. They read Wild About Books and Oh The Places You’ll Go. (Dominika and Anthony)

We did the Zero the Hero Stomp. (Emily)

We had writing. We wrote about what we wanted to do this summer. (Izzy)

We had Daily 5. Some of us got to sit in the rocking chair and the share chair. (Audrey and Charley)

We had morning job. After we were done we could get a coloring packet. (Aidan)

We had Fundations. We got to use baby Echo and big Echo. We are close to the last day of Fundations. (Josselyn)

We got to take Fundations stuff home. We also got to take home journals. Some of us got Fundations stickers. (Jenna, Alex and Charley)

Tomorrow is our last day of Kindergarten! It is an early release (12:50 p.m.) Please let me know ASAP if there will be a change in transportation. Lunch will be from 10:00-10:20 and recess will be from 10:20-10:40 a.m. I will be in the hallway during the morning drop off time if you need any last day of school pictures.  It has been a great year!

Here is what we did today!

We had an assembly. We got to bring a towel too. (Audrey)

They had songs at the assembly. We watched people drum. (Kaela and Ella McClary)

They gave out prizes at the assembly. (Chase)

We had music. (Dominika)

We had math. We colored a summer picture. We had to figure out what color we needed by adding the numbers. (Izzy)

Today we got to bring books to school and for Daily 5 we got to lay on our blankets. (Ishaan)

We read Henry and Mudge  in the Green Time (Emily and Claire)

Weekend news is coming home today!! (Ella Murray) There is a LOT of writing coming home today! I sent home some writing from the beginning of the year and all of the weekend news. Enjoy! It is so awesome to see the progression from the beginning of the school year to the end! So much growth!

Have a great night!!

Here is what we did today!!

We had a summer fun rotation! We started with Mrs. Flanagin and we made a trail mix in there. We used marshmallows and M&M’s and graham crackers. (Audrey and Jenna)

We got to do fun things outside. (Christian)

We had P.E. (Archer)

We did math workstations. (Parker)

We had 3rd grade readers come to read to us. (Claire)

We played a game of hot potato with Miss Hanks. (Ella McClary)

We had writing. We wrote about what we liked about Kindergarten. We wrote about a favorite memory. (Aidan and Emily)

We had morning meeting. (Izzy)

We had Fundations. We had magnet boards. (John)

We had snack. (Kaela)

We made bookmarks in our classroom. We drew and cut the bookmarks. We listened to music. (Ishaan, Charley, and Christian)

With Mrs. Dixon we got to blow bubbles. (Anthony)

With Miss Overton we got to play with the parachute. (Vedant)

With Mrs. Pandov we drew with chalk. (Alex)

Announcements

Tomorrow is our end of the year outside assembly! Students are welcome to bring a towel or small blanket to sit on for the assembly (please pick one small enough to fit inside their backpack). You may want to put bug spray and/or sunblock on your child for this event. The students are also welcome to wear hats or sunglasses for the assembly. Since we are bringing blankets to school, we will do a books and blankets day! Your child is welcome to bring a favorite book from home to read during our reading time!!

Our early release time on the last day of school (this Thursday, June 5^th) will be 12:50 p.m. Please let me know if your child will have a transportation change on this day.

I had a teacher forward me a link to video a parent took of the Kindergarten program last Thursday. Enjoy!

LINK HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hKv3SfNpOc

Thanks!!