Enjoying the Holiday Season!

Gingerbread houses :)

Thank you parents for all the support these past few weeks,

we could not have done it without your help! Have a wonderful break and happy holidays :)

 

Five Senses!

Our Five Senses!

The Last two weeks we have been exploring our five senses with a variety of hands on experiences! Week one we experimented with our sense of scent and sight. We experimented with our noses and played some smelling games (some good smells, and some not so popular!) Week two we explored our sense of sight and taste. Everyone was brave and tried all of the different foods, we're so proud of them :) We captured some great shots of the kids trying lemons!

 

Winter Concert A Hit!

Please enjoy viewing our Winter Concert by linking on the following site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_1WZWNAL7k

I am very proud of my 4K Friends...they did a great job and worked tirelessly for

weeks to get it all just right! Their enthusiasm and discipline even won them the

Secret Teacher Award and the Music Teacher's Award at this week's Fish Meeting! 

Silly sock day!

 

 

 

We have been practicing hard for our winter concert, we hope you can join us :)

Thursday December 12th at 6:00 PM in the Mitchell gym.

 

 Our very own elf Jacob taking orders

 for Santa in our drama center!

 

 

In honor of meeting Ms. S we had...

Silly Sock Day!

 A.M silly socks!

 

P.M Silly socks!



December Newsletter

4 Year Old Kindergarten

     Parents... We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast! Thanks to all the parents who contributed to our wonderful celebration of thanks, your help with these special events make 4K a very special place to be!  We had a great time today and realized we certainly do have much to be thankful for!  It is hard to believe winter and all its joyous celebrations are almost upon us, not to mention we have snow!  This month we are looking forward to learning about the many things that make families unique, how to appreciate the different traditions and holidays celebrated  by many families…and we will have the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience! Watch for upcoming details!  Lots of exciting things are going on in December, so please read on...

 

Things to Come...

    On the evening of December 12th in the Mitchell Elementary Gymnasium we will be performing at the Mitchell Winter Concert.  For the concert students should be dressed in their holiday best!

    NEED:  for the concert we are in need for a few non-breakable ball ornaments, Christmas lights, and garland!  If you have some to share please sent to school ASAP! J

    We will continue to take time to learn more about winter (and winter weather dressing...keep working on that at home too! J), discerning between fiction and non-fiction literature, problem solving and begin a unit on our five senses…what a great season for that!

    We will meet new letter friends (remember to keep this a secret!)  This month we will meet…

Mr. Q has a head filled with questions!  It’s good to ask questions because you learn quite a lot.  He even questions why his letter makes sounds like two other Letter People, Ms. K. and Ms. W.  He asks, “How can 1 Letter Person make 2 sounds?!?”  Well, he learned the answer that Ms. U stands next to him in every word to help him make his sounds.  Books at the library help him find answers to his questions.  He has a hidden capital Q among all the question marks on his clothes and his open mouth forms a Q.  He will also help us jump into our five senses inquiry unit learning with Miss S and Mr. M!

Ms. S puts on her super sock when she is afraid.  She looks like a superstar with her superwoman cape and mask!  She likes to sing solos and play with her pet salamander, Sal.  She has super senses of taste, touch, hearing, seeing, and smelling!  She has 3 lowercase s’s hidden on the back of her super socks!

Mr. M has a “munching mouth”.  He munches from morning to midnight eating all kinds of marvelous food beginning with the “m” letter sound (we’ll let you think of foods beginning with the letter “m”J). He likes going to the Mud Puppy Mini Mall and the Museum of Magnificent Art. He tells us we’re all special and magnificent in our own ways.  Why just look in the mirror and see how marvelous you areJ!  A capital M is hidden in his hair.

 

    In math we will continue working on numbers 1-10 with simple addition, practice writing the numbers and making simple and complex AB, ABC, ABBC, etc. patterns.

    Gift exchange! In order to help our children understand and develop a characteristic of sharing and giving to others we will have a $1.00 gift exchange on December 20^sth. Look for more information to come home in about a week.

 

Ginger Bread Houses

The week of December 16th, we are going to be making Gingerbread Houses!  If you are able to supply any of these items would you send the following items to school with your child by Monday, December 9^th.   As you see there are plenty of things we need but I also know there are many parents who are willing to help… so send what you can! Thank you!

• Powdered sugar (need 9 bags total!)
• Candies for decorating the houses: small candy canes, shoe string licorice, dinner mints, teddy grams, M& M’s, variety of hard candy, Christmas tree jellies or marshmallows, etc.
• Box of graham crackers (need 7 boxes total!)
• small plastic plates
• dozen eggs (need 5 dozen total)
• couple parents willing to make decorator frosting with eggs and powdered sugar the day before Dec. 16^th!

 

 

Writing Kits

Please remember to continue practicing holding pencils with the correct grip and writing first names, letters and numbers correctly. J  If a child is having difficulty I will send home extra practice sheets…thank you for doing them with your child to make sure they are done the right way.

 

It’s Library Time

Please remember that when a library book comes home on Monday!  They should come back the next Monday…not any earlier and not any later! J Please, please be sure to read them with your child and be sure the books come back. Students are so sad to return their library book when no one has read it to them.  We also are also in need of parent volunteers to read during our library time.  Let us know if you’d like to help out!

 

Centers

This month our Community Center will become Santa’s Workshop!  Thanks to some new tools it’s going to be pretty cool! If you have any broken toys that could serve as our workshop project, simple tools, small pieces of smooth wood, gift bags to use for our center please send them in, they will be put to good use!

Starting in January our Community Center will become a Post Office.  If anyone has any connections with someone who works at a Post Office and would like to come and share a bit about their career please let us know.  We are in need of envelopes, sticker stamps, ink pads, stamps, old cards, and mail carrier clothes (hats, shirts, mailbag, etc.).  Thanks for your help!

 

 

Monthly Remembers...

Ÿ  To check backpacks everyday but especially on Friday for those Friday Folders!

Ÿ  Thank you for your faithfulness when it comes to snacks... it’s great to have a fresh new and healthy snack everyday. Please note this month’s snack calendar for your turn!

Ÿ   Note: when you open juice packs and get the snack as ready as possible for me to serve that helps me have more time with the students…so thanks for thinking ahead and helping me out.

Ÿ  Important ...we will begin indoor gym time next month, so please be sure that your child has gym shoes every Friday or keep an extra pair in their backpack with their spare clothes! 

Ÿ  If you have any extra, new or used gym shoes you can send my way to keep in school for those that forget I would be happy to have them.

Ÿ  Return Scholastic Book orders the third Thursday of the month…BUT this month for the holidays I will be ordering December 7^th…so I get them to you before Christmas!

Ÿ  Order from Market Day to help support school projects.

Ÿ  Winter Break will begin on Friday, December 20^th and goes until January 2nd.

 

Help!

 If you can help out with:

1.    Our gingerbread house making day, December 19^th.

         Please let me know!

 

I also have need of the following items for the classroom! If you can help, please send…

1. paper towels
2. board games
3. dress up clothes and shoes
4. Large size zip lock bags
5. 8’5 x 11 colored construction paper

Thank you!

 

Wishing All of Our 4K Families a Wonderful Christmas and a

Happy New Year…Mrs. Berka and Miss Barczi

 

 

 

 

We had a great Thanksgiving feast in 4K!

We could not have done it without the help from all of our wonderful parents!

 

Anna and Isabella

 

Brianna, John, and Miley

Brady, Trey, Hayden, and Caleb

Cason and Colin

 

The 2nd graders in Mrs. Carson's room stopped

 by for a visit to read with our friends. We had fun reading with our buddies!

 

Our PM class got to be special guests on stage and listen

 to Mr. Hill read one of his favorite books :) 

Giving Thanks in K4!

Students enjoy learning about the
Native Americans and Pilgrims in the drama center



The wall outside of our classroom is full of things we are thankful for and our
writings on where we think a turkey would hide on Thanksgiving!



 

Our new student teacher Ms. Barczi is thankful too!

	November Newsletter 4 Year Old Kindergarten

 

 Parents...thank you for all your help and support over the past two months as we continue to work on our routines and get to know one another. Thank you to all who helped with our fall celebrations and who attended conferences! It was wonderful to report all the great things that are being done in 4K!  I continue to see growth and progress academically, socially and  emotionally for our 4K students. Academically we have been busy working on learning how to count to 10, sorting by colors and shapes, learning the name, sound and manuscript for the letters Ll, Ff, Pp, and Aa… and even reading simple words and stories.  Please check to see if your child can identify these upper and lower case letters and review them with your child often. The letter sound cards you received a few weeks ago and refrigerator magnets are great to use in the kitchen for review!

      Families it is with sadness that we must say good-bye to our student teacher Ms. Sarah Swenberg…she has done a wonderful job and we will miss her but hopefully it will not be the last time we see her…we hope she will visit us after her next placement in MPS.  We welcome a new student teacher Natalie Barczi beginning November 4^th.  We are in the process of making a card and a gift for Sarah but if you and your child would like to make a personal card please feel free to send it on Friday! Thank you for your support for Ms. Swenberg and Ms. Barczi.

Things to Come...

            In November, we will continue to learn more about the seasons, friendship, about having an attitude of thankfulness and the history of the first Thanksgiving.  In math we will begin working on numbers 5-10, review our 8 basic shapes (they should be able to identify them all by now) and making simple patterns. We will meet new letter friends (remember to keep this a secret…Mr. N (aka: Noisey Nose).  He loves loud and quiet noises.  He thinks words like nut, nose, newspaper, and nest are nice… and Ms. T  who has terrifically tall teeth!  She eats tasty, healthful things and then uses a toothbrush on her tall teeth.  She likes to travel a lot and uses her tote bag on all kinds of transportation.  Two capital T’s are hidden in her toothbrush…and of course her favorite holiday is thanksgiving and she loves turkey!

Weather.... This month brings colder weather and that means children come to school with a lot of extra clothes to put on too! We encourage you to take the time with your children and teach them how to dress themselves.  It is very important to teach your child their “winter dressing skills”!  We’ve found it helpful to teach children to dress in a specific order...

 

**Important Note: When the weather becomes cold and snowy we’ll let you know when we’ll be going outside.  Until that time you don’t need to send your child with snow pants.  Our “cloak room is very crowded and children tend to overheat wearing snow pants.  However, if your child is walking to school and there is a need to wear snow pants, of course please do so. We have found that an extra bag with which to keep the snow pants in is also very helpful. Please do not place snow pants or boots in their backpacks...if they are kept in the backpacks there is no room for important school papers and projects and then that becomes a problem.

 Progress Reports...

            On Friday, November 8^th your child will bring home a progress report.  These reports will give you a glimpse of what we hope to achieve academically, socially and emotionally with you child this year. While there are many things we hope to accomplish this year, please remember that all children are not going to progress at the same time or at the same rate.  Not all children learned to walk at the same time and not all children will meet 4K goals at the time. If you however have some concerns, please feel free to contact me, I would love to talk to you at anytime about any concerns you may have.  Your child’s progress and welfare are very important.   If your child’s progress is not quite where it needs to be, your help reviewing and working on 4K goals and reading to your child at home will make a huge difference in your child’s school success. I encourage you to read every night with your child, review our letters and sounds, practice counting, writing their first name, letters, and numbers, as well as work on those self-help and social skills. Speaking of which...

Reporting an Absence

            Thank you parents for keeping your student home if they are sick.  We have had a rough start to the school year in term of germs, so I appreciate you being extra cautious when it comes to sending a child to school or not. If they are feverish it should be 24 hours before they return, if they are coughing a lot or noses are running it is always best to give them the extra rest and keep them home. If you do have to keep a child home please remember to call 604-4500 and press 1 for attendance (this is available 24 hours a day) or send a separate note to school with a sibling. If you know they will be out ahead of time you may also send a note to me.  The office prefers not to have emails sent to me or the office because emails are not always received at the correct time.  Thank you for following protocol in this matter.

          
Writing!

            A month or so ago, you received a zip-lock bag with a pencil grip and writing practice sheets for you to use with your child.  One of the goals of 4K is to help children learn how to properly grip a pencil and how to correctly write their name (first letter, capital and remaining letters, lower case). In the bag you will find directions for using the grip (we have used them at school and your child should know how to by this time).  It is very important to use the grip so the proper positioning habits are formed. It is also important to remember that when writing, all letters start at the top and most are made with one flowing motion. I will be sending home about 6 sheets with their name written on it correctly… Thank you for taking the time to work on this important skill with your child. They are very proud to be able to show they can write their names.

Library and Physical Education Classes…

             Taught by yours truly…we will begin library and gym class the week on November 18^th!  Library will be on Mondays at 10:30 to 11:00 in the morning and 2:45-3:15 in the afternoon. Please see the end of this newsletter!  We would love to have you or another family member or friend come and read!

Gym will be on Fridays at…9:15 AM and 2:30 PM.   Please be sure your child wears gym shoes and comfortable closes on this day…if they are not wearing gym shoes they have to sit out…which is no fun.  If anyone has any extra, not used gym shoes I will take them!  (I sanitize them after each use!) We will use them for those who may have forgot…I hate to see anyone have to sit out.

It’s Library Time

At the end of this month we will start going to the Library! A schedule was sent home at the beginning of the school year.  During our time in the library we will enjoy listening to a guest reader read a book or two and then check out a book to bring home and enjoy until the next week when we will bring it back and pick a new one!  PLEASE enjoy reading the book with your child not once but a couple of times! Talking to your child about the pictures, asking questions about what is happening in the story, making predictions are just some of the great pre-reading skills you can develop by reading to your child. You can also use this time to teach them a couple of great reading strategies:

            1. Use picture cues to help you figure out word/s and the story events  

            2.  Make predictions about what may happen next

            3. Sound out words by looking for the beginning, middle and ending letter sounds

            4. Retell the story’s beginning, middle and ending.

Our library books will be coming home in a special bag meant to be saved and used every week just for our books, as we take them to and from school!  They help keep the books safe and hopefully show our children how to respectfully care for books. It would be wonderful if you had a special spot for these bags at home.  Children who do not return their library book on Library Day will not be able to check out another book so please help your child develop good organizational skills and the positive habit of caring for borrowed things.

If you are interested in reading a book to the children during our library time please see the tear off slip at the end of this newsletter and return it to us or give us a call and we can tell you more.  The children love it when parents, grandparents, or other family members come in to read to us...and we NEED volunteers!

Important Events to Come...

Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)! Please consider joining our PTA! They do so much for our school but parent enrollment continues to be low. Meetings are the second Thursday of the month and free babysitting is available!

Thanksgiving Center... Our Drama Center is Changing!

            Our house keeping center will be changing into a Native American-Pilgrim Center...If you have any Native American or early American items/knowledge you would like to share or donate to the classroom please let us know.

Things to Celebrate!  We have many “Thank Yous!” to give this month! Thanks to...

Ÿ  To all the parents who volunteered to help in and out of the classroom during the month of October, when on our field trip and donated their time and goodies for our fall party!

Ÿ  Thanks to the many of you who have donated things! The stickers, tattoos, treats, toys, etc. have been wonderful!  If you have any of the following items around your home that are not being used and you would like to get “rid” of them we could use:, baby doll stroller, baby bottles, dress up clothes, cash register, 8x11 construction paper, plastic witch fingers (we use them as reading fingersJ)!

Ÿ  Thanks to all the parents who work on “homework” with your child! Please don’t stress about it but do as you can and return it when finished.

Thank you, thank you families...we could not do this with out YOU! Your help is appreciated!

This Month Please Remember to...

Ÿ  To check backpacks everyday but especially on Friday for those Friday Folders!

Ÿ  Thank you for your faithfulness when it comes to snacks... it’s great to have a fresh new and healthy snack everyday. Please note this month’s snack calendar for your turn it was send home a week ago!

Ÿ  Important ...we will have some indoor gym time beginning this month, so please be sure that your child has gym shoes every Friday or keep an extra pair in their backpack with their spare clothes.

Ÿ  Return Scholastic Book orders by the THIRD Thursday of every month.  Thanks to those who have already ordered we have received a ton of free classroom books!

Ÿ  Order from Market Day to help support school projects.

Ÿ  Thanksgiving Break will begin on Wednesday, November 27th. There is no school that Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.....Happy Thanksgiving!

 

!