Week ending November 3

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Reminders

Please remember to bring library books and towels back on Monday!

Separate bags for snow clothes. Label everything!

Important Dates:

What we are learning:

This week in Bible we continued our study of the Patriarchs.. We read through the story of Rebekah being chosen to be Jacob’s wife. We also read the story of Jacob and Esau and how Jacob used deception to receive the blessing from Abraham. We learned that even when we make bad choices God still can work through us.                                              We also did a thankful sentence prayer during devotions, where each child expressed to God one thing they are thankful for.

In phonics this week we practiced reading our alphabet chart in different ways-by sound, letter, picture or a combination of any three. We also worked on saying words slowly to hear the sounds. This was also very helpful for our writing workshop in which we labeled what our Thanksgiving tables look like.

In math this week we worked in centers to practice ordering things. To make it more challenging we closed our eyes and had our partners take something out of our orders to see if we could figure out what number was missing! We also worked on writing numbers as well as figuring out if we have enough spoons or forks for everyone in our groups. We learned that you can still have enough even when you have extra!

In engaging God’s world we began our unit on weather. Our field trip was a great building block for this unit, as we saw how the weather can change daily! We learned what it means to be a scientist and we are keeping weather journals so we can track the patterns in our weather!

Fun on our very cold and snowy field trip!

Gwen was Up in Lights this week. Her mom and dad came in to share about her! We learned so many things about her including her favorite book, animals and Bible story. We are so blessed to have Gwen and her amazing giggle in our classroom! She exudes the love and joy of Jesus!

 

 

Week ending with Grand Friends!

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Reminders:

  • Please send in clean towels/blankets in on Monday.
  • Tuesday, October 31 Field Trip! You are welcome to meet us at Hemlock Crossing for a nature walk/scavenger hunt. We’ll form smaller groups and then meet at 10:50 for a snack and worship. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather. I think it is looking much colder than this week! We will arrive back at school around 11:45/11:50.

What we are learning:

This week in Bible we continued the study of the Patriarchs. We read about how God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a baby at an older age. We talked about how with God ANYTHING is possible!

In math this week we continue to recognize numbers in different formats. We played a pizza game with our peanut butter and jelly partner to add toppings to our pizzas.

In Daily 5 everyone had a turn to either read or work with letter sounds with Mrs. Arnold. Other friends were then able to work with play-doh, stamps and magnets to create word wall words and practice sounds.

During our outdoor learning time we practiced putting on Oaki suits. These are suits that will protect us from the wind and rain as the weather becomes more unpredictable!

This week in social studies,(engaging God’s world), we learned about maps and about our very special place on the map. One that is unique to us. We looked at how big the world is and then marveled at how amazing God has to be to have created it all!

This week Kinsley Lotter was up in lights. Her parents came to share about her and all of the students were so inquisitive and had many great questions for Kinsley! We learned that Kinsley has lots of princess dresses at home! We are blessed to have Kinsley and her sweet spirit in our classroom!

 

 

Week ending October 13

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Reminders:

Please wash quiet time towels this weekend and send them back to school Monday. Thank you!

 Important Dates

  • October 16 at 10:10 am: Body safe presentation for our kindergarten class

What we are learning:

This week we added the word the to our word wall word board.

In Bible this week Mrs. Arnold and Mrs. Hunderman acted out the story of the Tower of Babel. We talked about how great we were and we thought we could build a tower up to God. (We used our class blocks.)We realized quickly that we couldn’t even agree on how to build a tower and how we just had a great big mess. We talked about how nobody is greater than God and that without Him we are a big mess.

In math this week we practiced writing out numbers and discussed different ways to figure out more, fewer and the same. We played games as well as made graphs.

In Daily 5 we worked in groups and chose which station we wanted to work at. We all were able to get to each station once during the week.

In phonics this week we made a list of things our class loves to do. We thought we could share these things with our grandparents in a few weeks. We learned that we write and read from left to right and that spacing between words is very important. Mrs. Arnold tried to read a few sentences without having spaces and it sounded pretty silly!

Up in Lights this week was Anders Sherman. His mom and dad came to share about him and brought his favorite toy, a yoto. It is an audio book for kids!!

Makenzie Velderman’s mom also came to share about her as she was sick while she was up in lights. We learned that Makenzie’s loves Caleb’s chicken Dolly and she even dares to pick it up!! I don’t think Mrs. Arnold would do that!!

Just a few glimpses into our classroom this past week. My biggest desire as a teacher is for my room to be filled with His overflowing joy!!

Week ending October 6

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Reminders;

Please remember to send your child’s towel back on Monday for our quiet time, also library books are due on Monday.

Important Dates:

  • October 16: Children’s Advocacy Center-Body Safety Presentations-papers will be coming home today or Monday
  • October 18-20: No School

What we are learning:

In Bible this week we learned about Noah and how God saved his family and sent a rainbow as a reminder that He will ALWAYS keep his promises. We painted a paper to remind us who God keeps his promises to!

In Math this week we continued working on fewer, the same and more. We also worked on ways to figure out if we have enough items for a certain number of friends. We worked on using five frames to figure out which of our friends like dogs or cats better.

In engaging God’s World we learned about our 5 senses and tasted apples. We learned we actually used all 5 senses when we did our tasting! We then circled back to math and used 5 frames to figure which color apples our class preferred. During this time, Holden’s sister Lynden came to help us! (This was a PBIS reward)!

During our Daily 5 this week, we all got an opportunity to work with Mrs. Arnold, use play-doh and stamps to make letters and words, worked to write our friends’ names as well as reading to self. We did a great job!

During writing workshop this week we learned about labeling! We labeled Mrs. Arnold with post it notes and then labeled a pumpkin! It was one of the highlights of our week!

We also said good bye to our amazing friend Sathvik today as he is moving out of town! Some of us dared to try hot cheetos which are his favorite! The rest of us had regular cheetos or veggie straws.

 

 

 

Week ending September 30

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Reminders

Please bring in a clean towel on Monday-we were missing quite a few this week!

Parent teacher conference sign ups begin Monday!

Important dates:

What we are learning:

In Bible:This week we read from our Bibles the story of Adam and Eve and how they chose not to obey God and then were forbidden to be in the Garden of Eden. This story led to a great discussion on how our behaviors have consequences and how God ALWAYS knows what is best for us!

In math this week we worked on using math language as we made sentences for things with fewer or more. We worked with manipulatives with our peanut butter and jelly partners to come up with different sentences. We also learned a new center called number race. This gives us practice in tracing numbers.

In phonics this week we finished up the the letters of the alphabet. Next week we will start our word wall words!!

In writing workshop we drew stories that had to have these 3 elements: true, have happened and they had to be in the story! This is the beginning of not only writing workshop but it will also be an element in our Daily 5!

In Daily 5 we reached 13 minutes of reading to ourselves quietly and for the entire time! I am so proud of them all!

Finally, this week Clay Langley was Up in Lights. Clay’s mom came to share about him and we learned Clay loves to go to the Mackinac Bridge. Clay is a wonderful friend and worships God with all of his heart! We are blessed to have him in our classroom!

Week ending September 22

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Week ending September 22

 by larnold

Reminders:

Please wash quiet time towels this weekend and send them back to school Monday. Thank you!

 Important Dates

Tuesday, September 26 is our class picture day! please send in the envelope even if you aren’t ordering or placed an online order. Now is the time to place a yearbook order, but please note that yearbooks will be delivered in the spring.

  • Friday, September 29: show and tell Our burn bright raffle ticket winner chose show and tell for our class. Your child may bring in something on Friday that begins with the first letter of their name and fits in their backpack!

What We Have Been Learning:

Bible: We read about creation. What an amazing and creative God to create such an amazing world. The class did such a good job reciting the Bible verse as a group.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. 

Genesis 1:1, 31a

We enjoyed Math centers this week.

 

We made it to 9 minutes this week in Read to Self! We had a few days that were 7 minutes, but that is still really good. Next week we will continue to build independent reading as I begin to work with small groups.

We took a nature walk to observe the beginning of fall changes outside. It will be fun to notice each week how God is changing the trees outside. We will also be enjoying some fun activities with apples over the next few weeks!

Fun with our friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week ending September 15

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Reminders:

Please wash quiet time towels this weekend and send them back to school Monday. Thank you!

 Important Dates

  • November 10: No School
  • November 22-24: No School; Thanksgiving Break

What we are learning:

Bible: We finished our focused study on the fruit of the spirit. We will continue to review these throughout the year, especially focusing on Kindness. We began our study of creation. We are slowly reading how God created the earth. I love taking our time reading through each piece of creation so we can sit and appreciate the amazing world God created!

We will begin a new Bible verse next week:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. 

Genesis 1:1, 31a

Phonemic Awareness: This week we added syllables to our learning. This is helpful as we will break apart words in reading and writing.

We enjoyed a scavenger hunt during outdoor learning. We found a great treasure! God’s Holy Word!

We are learning how to read a book. We have 3 ways to read: 1. read the pictures 2. re-tell the story 3. read the words

Part of our Daily 5 structure is Read to Self. Students find a good spot to focus and read books. We are building stamina and working towards independent reading for at least 15 minutes. This week we read for 3 minutes and then made it to 5 minutes.

Phonics: we worked on the letters L-P, we also did some language arts centers which included sorting letters and making words, chicka chicka boom boom magna tiles and Play-Doh letter stamps.

Math: We worked on one to one correspondence as well as continuing to look for groups of things. We worked on problem solving to determine how many items would be enough to distribute around our tables.  We also did math centers this week, including working with both our friends and Mrs. Arnold!

 

Week ending September 8

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Reminders:

Most quiet time towels went home, we’ll keep working on that 🙂 The goal is to send them home to be washed on Friday and then please return them back to school on Mondays (or Tuesday when we have a holiday)

Important Dates

What we are learning:

This week in Bible we continued our study of the Fruits of the Spirit. We focused on kindness, goodness and faithfulness. Next week we will finish the Fruits of the Spirit and begin the days of creation.

In math this week we looked for groups of things and discussed how we saw different arrays of objects and realized that very small numbers we don’t even need to count. We also looked for groups of things in our classroom. We realized that God put our group of 20 friends together for a special purpose!

In phonics we worked on the sound and letter formation for the letters Gg, Hh, Ii, and Jj. We also worked on recognizing and writing our names and talked about tall letters and hang down letters! (giraffe and monkey letters)

During our phonemic awareness time, we continue to listen for beginning sounds in words, ending sounds and understanding how words come together to make a compound word.

During our nature rich learning we enjoyed a story outside and saw butterflies in the chrysalis and later in the week some of them came out!! What a miracle!

We also started the very beginning stages of our Daily 5 literacy program. We learned there are 3 ways to read a book!

  1. Read the words
  2. Read the book
  3. Retell the story

I have read the book Corduroy to the class several times over the last two weeks and on Thursday Holden retold the story to the entire class!

We also enjoyed kindergarten singing at the end of the week with all of the kindergarten classes! It is always beautiful to hear all the little voices worshipping at once!

 

 

Week ending August 31

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Reminders:

Most quiet time towels went home, we’ll keep working on that 🙂 The goal is to send them home to be washed on Friday and then please return them back to school on Mondays (or Tuesday when we have a holiday)

Important Dates

What we are learning:

We are learning about tools we will use in Math this year. This is our second year using Illustrative Math. It challenges students to think and talk about Math while working together.

Nature Rich Learning brought us a fun surprise! Mrs. Bosch found caterpillars last week and they have already formed a chrysalis. What a miracle in God’s creation. We also got a chance to get our energy out by rolling or running down the big hill!

Mrs. Koop talked to our class about the Bibles we will use in Kindergarten. She taught the class that we will see the world through the lens of the Bible-God’s world. It is a special book that God talks to us through.

We continue to work our way through the alphabet and focus on letter sound and formation. This week we reviewed C,D, E and F.

We introduced phonemic awareness. We are listening for beginning sounds, ending sounds and learning how words can come together to make a new word.

In Bible we are learning about the fruit of the spirit.

We are practicing our theme verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Welcome to kindergarten!

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Reminders:

Next week begins our change to adults saying goodbye at the car or sidewalk. Your children are amazing and have already done a great job learning how to enter the school and classroom. Thank you for helping with this!

Some children needed socks when we changing into gym shoes. Please check your child’s backpack to see if he/she needs a pair. Thanks!

I try to send quiet time towels home on Fridays to be washed. You can send them back on Monday!

What We Are Doing In Kindergarten:

This week we met our class! Some children knew each other from preschool or young 5’s and other friendships outside our school. It is amazing to see how God places these children together in one room and how quickly they become friends. We have been using circle times to sit around the edge of the carpet and share something. This week we learned about our favorite foods and favorite summer vacation activities!

During the first few weeks of school a lot of time is spent on routines. We have to learn what to do when we get to school (hang up back packs, put name tags on, move lunch name). Students should arrive between 8:25-8:40. Please remind your child that he/she may go outside once backpacks are hung up, name tags are on and lunch names are moved.

We have read a few books this week that have helped us learn more about school and our tools that we use. The books include: If You Take a Mouse to School, The Pigeon Has to Go to School and How to be Kind in Kindergarten. Each child received How to be Kind in Kindergarten as a gift from Zeeland Christian.

We have begun reviewing the alphabet. This week we focused on letter a and b. We are reviewing the sounds letters make and practicing writing them. We will continue reviewing the whole alphabet before moving on to word wall words and reading. We are building strong foundations for our year of learning.

This week we had specials for the first time. We enjoyed nature rich learning on Tuesday afternoon. We also enjoyed Music, Spanish, PE and Art later in the week.

We enjoyed one of the best parts of kindergarten-play! This is a time where children learn social skills like compromise, planning and negotiation. They are able to be creative and explore. It is a fun-filled time of learning!

Below is.a note from our elementary principal, Betsy Koop.

Dear families of students in young fives and kindergarten,
What a great first week of school this has been! This has been a huge transition week for your child (and likely you as well). As your child’s teacher will attest, the kids have been amazing this week. They’ve learned so many new routines, procedures, and expectations which will support their learning for the year to come. They went to chapel, listened to stories, made new friends, tried new things, explored new places, and learned new words and concepts. What a big week! If your child is exhausted and/or emotional, that is completely normal. There is so much anticipation for the first week of school and the shift from the pace of summer is drastic. At school, kids work incredibly hard all day long to learn new procedures, routines, social skills, and content. A few (or many) meltdowns at home are to be expected during these first weeks of school. If your child is learning in a new language, they are constantly problem-solving all day to figure out new words and make meaning. Your child’s brain is growing and it is tiring! As you are able, it is helpful to prioritize sleep and down time at home in these initial weeks of school. That said, you’ll notice as the weeks pass that your child will acclimate more and more to the new schedule, expectations, routines, and rhythms of the school year. We are so proud of the incredible job your kids are doing at school. It has truly been a remarkable start to the year and you will be amazed at the many ways your child grows over the course of this school year.
In short, it has been a fabulous launch into this new school year at ZCS. We are so grateful for the opportunity to partner with you and support your child as we step together into this new school year.
At the core of our mission we focus on providing a high-quality Christian education which ignites each child’s full potential. We are grateful to partner with you. Please be sure to reach out and connect with your child’s teacher or with me when your questions arise. We are fully invested in your children and in you!  It is a privilege to serve your child and your family at ZCS!
Grateful for your partnership,
Betsy Koop
Elementary Principal