As the kindergarten teachers heard from our nurse this week that some West Ottawa schools have had 35% of their students out this week she asked us to share the following Note from her–When To Stay Home from School:

• A fever of 100 degrees or higher. Your child should be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine before returning to school.
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea within the last 24 hours, free of vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school.
• A child that seems ill – unusually tired, pale, difficult to wake, headache, body ache, confused or irritable, and/or lack of normal appetite.

What we are learning:

This week we did so many fun things related to Christmas as we continued our learning in kindergarten!

In Bible we read many different books about the Christmas story and finished our advent devotions. This week we talked about how the birth of Jesus brought both joy and peace. We talked about how Jesus did not come to earth to live like a typical king but as a servant king. We also talked daily how everything at Christmas is because we are celebrating Him! This truly is my favorite week of the school year!

In writing this week we said Christmas words slowly and made our list of Christmas words. This tied into our social studies understanding of both needs and wants. We had a great class discussion about our many wants but then realized these things are just wants and not needs. We then realized God always provides for our needs.

In math this week we did a fun gingerbread graph. We each took a bite out of a gingerbread cookie and then graphed which part of the cookie we bit off first. After graphing the results we noticed our class bit off the legs first more often than the head or arms;)

We continued working in our Daily 5 groups! Please keep reading with your children at home. They love to both listen to reading and read themselves! Another thing they enjoy is finding word wall words in print!!!

In phonics this week we learned that words on the page go from left to write and there are spaces between them. We learned that when words do not have spaces between them it looks like one big word that doesn’t make sense!!! Ask them about licking a stocking;) Our initial sentence was, “I like a stocking.” We then tried to read it without spaces and it sounded more like, “I lick a stocking!” We also talked briefly about end punctuation.

Finally, we enjoyed the jingle jog and our Christmas party this week! Here is a link to some pictures!

Reminders:

Monday, December 12: Jingle Jog Our class will jog from 10:30-11:00. Your children should wear comfortable clothes (short sleeve recommended). They are encouraged to wear red and green and are able to have fun accessories (light necklace, jingle bells, etc). Families are welcome to cheer us on in the gym and even run a little 🙂 Mrs. Miller sent home information with the students today!

Thursday: CLASS PAJAMA DAY! This is not for the whole school, but for our class and maybe a few other kindergarten classes. (This is a reward for learning to do our morning routine without any reminders, well not too many ;). Your child may dress in comfy clothes or pajamas! He/she can bring a stuffed animal (not larger than their arm) that day as well.

Friday, December 16: Christmas Party 10:45-11:45.

December 17-January 2 Christmas Break

What We Have Been Learning:

In math we explored shapes this week. We worked specifically with triangles and rectangles (and a special rectangle called a square). We sorted shapes, built shapes and used straws to make different shapes.

In phonics this week we talked about looking at letters in words from left to right and recognizing the beginning and ending letters in a word. Next week we will look at words in sentences and identify where one word ends and another begins, focusing on looking left to right and finding the spaces between words.

In writing this week we continued to work on making lists. We talk everyday about saying words slowly to help us hear the sounds and then write them! I am so happy with our effort in this area! The students are so proud to show me what they are writing! We also talk about how it does not need to be perfect, we are just writing the sounds we hear!

During Daily 5 groups we are concentrating on pointing as we read and looking at the letters and slowly blending the sounds together. We are beginning to work on different tactics for decoding words when we can’t figure them out. We often cover up part of the word and see if we can sound it out bit by bit! We also continue to review sounds as it so important to every aspect of our Daily 5 routine!

In Bible this week we continued our study of the Christmas story and finished our Nativity boxes. There is so much excitement as we study the role of each detail and person in the Christmas story. The children can use their box to practice an important skill we are learning which is to retell the story!!

We have also been listening to an advent devotional. Last week we learned about hope. This week we talked about love. Next week we will talk about joy!

This week Everly Defrell was Up in Lights. Everly brought her mom, dad and baby brother Tripp along with her on Thursday morning! We learned that Everly’s little brother is her favorite toy 🙂 and that her favorite smell is cinnamon rolls baking! Her mom read us a fun book called, The Watermelon Seed. We are blessed to have Everly and her exuberant spirit in our classroom this year!

Reminders:

Please return towels on Monday.

Library books are due back on Thursday.

Our Jingle Jog time will be Monday, December 12 from 10:30-11:00 am. This is a fun time for your children to run in our gym for 12 whole minutes!! You are welcome to have your child dress in Christmas attire, including accessories such as Christmas head bands or bells! You are also invited to join us in the gym that day and may even join your child in the jog if you would like. We will be raising money for our sister school in the Philippines. Mrs. Miller will be sending out more information concerning this next week!

December 16-Last day of school

December 19-January 2- Christmas Break

What we are learning

This week in Bible we started our advent devotions. We talked about the meanings of names and how Jesus is our Good Shepherd and our Prince of Peace and He is the reason we have hope. We also started our Nativity project this week. We learned about how the angel came to Mary to tell her Jesus would be coming. We talked about how Mary listened to the angel even though it would not be easy for her. We realized that this applies to us everyday. Sometimes God wants us to do hard things and that with His help it is possible!

In math this week we started our unit on shapes. We explored all sorts of shapes and worked on finding ways shapes are the same and different, We also realized how many shapes are in the world around us!

This week in writing workshop we continued to make lists by saying words slowly and writing the words we hear.

In phonics this week we reviewed syllables and continued listening for beginning sounds, we are also continuing to work through the Heggerty program. This week we listened for vowel sounds at the beginning of words.

During Daily 5 this week everyone had the chance to work on a book with Mrs. Arnold. Please check your child’s book bag for their book and have them read it to you! They love to read and I am so proud of how hard they work during Daily 5!

In Science this week we discussed weather patterns and how they affect our daily lives. We then had to pick out clothes for Mr. Arnold to wear in different weather.

Finally, Jaxon Vanderhulst was Up in Lights. Jaxon’s mom and dad came to share about him and his dad read a great book to our class. They also brought in an amazing Lego boat that Jaxon made!! We are so blessed to have Jaxon and his amazing spirit in our class this year! He is a wonderful friend and helper!