Welcome to kindergarten. We are so excited to have the privilege of teaching your children. We are off to a fast start this year and the children are already learning their new routine. This month we will work on becoming acclimated to our classroom and our new schedule. Riddle Time Share will be every Monday. We will remind the children of the upcoming letter for the next week, so they will  be able to find their item they would like to share over the weekend. The letters we will be studying this month are S, M, T. Each week we will introduce five new words for the children to learn to read. These words will come home in the word box and are to be returned at the end of the week for the children to be assessed. Please practice these words with your child every night.  Your child will also bring home a book to read each week, please practice reading the book with your child. Please make sure your child returns their home folder each morning. Please look in the folder every night and empty the contents. Back to School Night for the Lower School will be held on Tuesday, September 28, 2010. Our first field trip will be to Blue Jay Orchards on Wednesday, September 29. A field trip permission field will be coming home in the next week. We are looking forward to a wonderful school year. Please email us with any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Mrs. O’Connell and Mrs. Barbuto

It’s May and flowers are blooming and the sun is finally shining. We have many exciting things springing up in our classrooms this month. We have finished learning about all the letters of the alphabet, but we are still learning new sounds. We are currently studying blends. Students will be learning a new blend every day. From now on students will not be bringing in a show-and-tell for a specific sound. We are reading fairy tales and students will also be writing their own fairy tales.

In Math we are reviewing and extending the concepts taught throughout the year. We are continuing to work with money and time as well as doing more advanced addition and subtraction. We are also learning about place value.

During Science we are following up our exciting trip to the Discovery Museum by learning about the Solar System. Students will be studying the sun and the moon and learning facts about the planets. Next we will be studying plants. We will be planting seeds and learning the parts of a seed . We will also be learning about the importance and uses of flowers and trees. Finally we will move on to Physical Science and be studying magnetic forces and gravity.

In their Social Studies lessons students have been studying health. They have been learning how to stay safe and are now studying nutrition. Next students will be working on state projects and learning about the United States.

In the Writer’s Workshop students will be spending a lot of time writing Fairy Tales. We will be reviewing structural elements like beginning, middle and end. We will also be focusing on conventions like spelling and capitalization and continue to work on the editing process. We will introduce story elements like characterization, setting and plot. The culminating event will be students reading their finished fairy tales outside on the stage for their classmates and parents.

Important Dates for May

• Friday May 7th- Grandparents Day/ May Day (Please tell us how many chairs you need if you have not already done so.)
• Monday May 10th Trip to Sport Hill Farm
• Thursday May 27th- possible trip to the Bronx Zoo (As of now, we don’t have enough volunteers to be able to go.Please contact us if you can drive/chaperone.)

During the month of March we will be doing an author study of Dr. Seuss. We will be reading books by Dr. Seuss, and students are welcome to bring in their own favorite Dr. Seuss books from home.   We will be studying rhymes and writing our own Dr. Seuss-esque stories. We are now learning the long vowel sounds. If your child wants to bring in a show-and-tell item, please be sure it begins with the long sound of that week’s vowel.

In our Math explorations we will continue our work with measurement, this month focusing on time. Students will be learning to tell time to the hour and half-hour. They will be bringing home paper clocks to practice this at home.

During Social Studies students will be starting a unit on manners and character development.  They will also be learning about St. Patrick.

In our Science lessons we will be touching on dental hygiene and talking about the importance of taking care of your teeth. Next we will be studying physical science and learning about states of matter.  When we return from the break, we will be returning to our study of animal groups and learning about amphibians.

Love is in the air… we will be reading stories about love and friendship this month. We will be finishing up the letters of the alphabet. We will be studying the consonants Y, Z, X and W and the short sound of the vowel U.

In math, we will continue to study measurement. Students will learn to measure area and compare volumes. We will also study weight. Finally we will learn to tell time to the hour and half-hour.

During Writer’s Workshop students will continue to strive to create stories with a beginning, middle and end . We will also focus on some other story elements like characters, plot and setting.

In our science lessons, we continue to study animals in the winter. We will study animals that hibernate and migrate. We will also do a more in-depth study of bears. On February 2nd, we will be traveling to the Garbage Museum to learn more about recycling. Students may wear casual clothes for this field experience.

In social studies, students will finish up their unit on famous African Americans. They will also learn about the history of Valentine’s Day. They will be celebrating Chinese New Year, which also falls on Valentine’s Day this year. Students will also learn about some important American Presidents.

Students may bring in valentines for their classmates but please remember to send one for each child so that no one feels left out.  We will have a small party on Thursday, February 11th in the afternoon.  The children may distribute their valentines at this party. There will be a sign up sheet for both classes outside Mrs. Barbuto’s classroom for needed refreshments.

Happy New Year and welcome back to school! We hope that everyone had an enjoyable and restful Winter Break. During the month of January we will be reading books about the weather. We will be working with the consonants L, Q, D and J and the short sound of the vowel O. The children are really developing as readers.  It is such a joy to watch! Please continue to read at home and review their word cards frequently.

We are learning many new things in math this month. Students will be learning to subtract using manipulatives and counters as needed.  Students will be doing many activities with measurement, using both standard and nonstandard units of measure. Please encourage your child to measure objects at home as well.

In science during the month of January we will be learning about the weather. Then we move on to studying animals in the winter. We will learn how different types of animals adapt to survive the winter. We will also be visiting the Audubon on Tuesday, January 12th to learn more about animal tracking and animals in winter.

In social studies this month, we will work with maps. We will learn about different regions and shelter, and compare farm life  to city life. We will also study Martin Luther King and other famous African Americans.

During Writer’s Workshop we will continue to work on the trait of organization. Students will continue to strive to write stories with a beginning, middle and end. They will also be creating time lines of their lives. We will be writing stories and poems about winter and winter activities.

Many thanks to all the parents who came in and shared about holiday traditions. We would love to have everyone come in and spend time in the classroom. If you have any special projects in mind, please let us know!

During the month of December our literacy theme will be counting books.  We will work on the letters G, F and L. We will continue to work with the short sound of the vowel I. We will also be learning about holiday traditions and customs. If any parents would like to come in and share about how their holidays are celebrated, we would love it!

In math, we will continue to work on addition. We will also work with geometry.  Students will learn to identify solid figures. We will also be exploring sliding, flipping and turning shapes. We will continue to practice number writing. We will review counting by tens, fives and twos. We will also work on estimating.

During our Science time, we will be learning about mammals. We will learn facts about mammals and about the life cycle of a mammal. We will also be identifying common body parts of mammals. Next, we will be studying reptiles. A continuing part of our science instruction is visiting the tracking station and identifying animal tracks. When you are on the playground with your child, go and take a look at the many animal tracks that can be seen.

In Social Studies, we will continue our unit on Colonial times. Students will be learning about tools that were used in that time period, some of which we saw on our trip to the Fairfield History Museum. We will also be learning about holiday traditions around the world.

Another big part of our life during December will be preparing for Winterfest. Students will be practicing not only their performances but also how to be a respectful audience. You received an email recently describing this year’s Winterfest costumes. Please contact a teacher or room rep if you have any questions. On the day after Winterfest, December 18th, we will be having a “pajama party”. Students may bring a favorite stuffed animal and bedtime story. Both classes will have popcorn and watch a movie together. If it is decreed by the King and Queen of Winterfest, we will all wear our pajamas that day!

During November, our literacy theme will be friends together. We will be reading books about and writing about friends. We will be studying the consonants H, V, C, and P and the short sound of the vowel I. We will continue our study of word families. Of course, we will also be reading some Thanksgiving themed books. Please continue to read your child’s word cards and books with them at home. Always return these items to your child’s book bag when you are finished reviewing them.

In our Math centers this month students are continuing to review number writing and comparison. We will continue our study of fractions.  We will begin our study of addition. The students will use manipulatives to create sums to twenty. The students will also learn to write an addition sentence after using the manipulatives. Through this repetition, many of the students begin to commit the facts to memory.

In Social Studies we will continue our unit study on our country. Students will also be learning about colonists, Native Americans, and what life was like in Colonial America. We will discuss Thanksgiving and what it means to be thankful. We will also visit the Fairfield History Museum, where we will see an exhibit on tools and we will make cornhusk dolls.

In our Science lessons we will be studying the different animal groups. We will learning the parts and life cycles of groups such as birds, mammals, fish, and reptiles. We will also study Dinosaurs.

During Writer’s Workshop this month we will continue to work on our first trait, ideas. We will also begin discussing organization in writing, which is our second trait. The students will organize their ideas and practice writing a beginning, middle, and end to a story.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a school wide lunch on Tuesday, November 24. Our students will wear Native American vests, which we will create in class. They will also be able to earn feathers for their headdress. On Friday, November 13, Unquowa will celebrate Grandparent’s and Special Friends Day. In addition to the musical performances at 11:15, e will have a small performance in our classrooms for the children to share with their loved ones.

The weather is turning colder, please remember to exchange your summer change of clothes for something appropriate for the season. Also, keep in mind that we go outside even in cold weather, so be sure your child has a hat, coat and gloves when needed.

During October our literacy theme will be families. We will be reading books about and writing about family members. We will be studying the consonants T, B and N and the short sound of the vowel E. Of course we will also be reading some Halloween themed books. Please continue to read your child’s word cards and books with them at home. Always return these items to your child’s book bag when you are finished reviewing them.

In our Math centers this month students are continuing to review patterns and number writing. Students are also learning ordinal numbers. We will be identifying, writing and comparing numbers.  We will also be studying fractions and geometry.

Students are learning about Christopher Columbus in Social studies. This month they will also learn about following the rules and reading safety signs. Then they will move on to the concept of taking responsibility and finally by studying groups around the world.

In our Science lessons we have just finished studying living and non-living things. Next we are studying plants. We be identifying the parts of an apple and learning the life cycle of an apple. After that we will be studying pumpkins. We will learn how they grow and also be dissecting some pumpkins and finding out what is inside them. We will be learning more about apples and pumpkins on our field trip to Blue Jay orchards on October 20th.

For Writer’s Workshop we are using 6+1 Traits of Writing as a guide. The first trait we are studying is ideas. We are modeling and discussing how authors find inspiration for their writing. We are asking the students to bring in special things or mementos from home that they would like to write about. Next you week you will be getting a letter explaining this in more detail.

We will be celebrating Halloween with classroom parties the afternoon of October 29th. There will be sign-up sheets outside Mrs. Barbuto’s classroom asking for supplies. We will make treat bags with the students and place them outside the hallway by Tuesday October 27th. You can drop treats into the bags after morning drop-off  or before dismissal. Students do not need costumes for the parties but can wear them to the Halloween parade the following Friday and then change into their field day clothes.

We are all settling in and adjusting to a new year of school. It can be hard transition to Kindergarten, where the days are longer and the playtime shorter, but we will all get there.  We are studying the consonants S, M and R as well as the sort sound of the vowel A. We have been learning to read color words and some sight words. All of your children will be bringing home word cards to practice. Please review them often and always remember to put them back into their backpacks so we can use them in school.  Students will also be bringing home books to be read at home. Please also keep these in your child’s backpack until the teacher replaces them with a new book.

In Math we are studying position words such as left and right, this is always something that can use extra practice at home. We are also learning to sort by several attributes. We have been learning to read and creating many types of graphs. We have made pictographs and bar graphs.

For Social studies students have learned the principles of respect and cooperation. We studied  the meaning of peace in honor of World Peace Day. We will be learning about the life of Johnny Appleseed next.  In Science we learned to observe the world using our five senses. We are learning about the 4 seasons and focusing on Autumn. Next we will be distinguishing between living and non-living things and learning what all living things need.

Important upcoming events are Back-to-School night on Thursday October 1st at 6:30 pm and our first Field Trip on October 20th to the Blue Jay Orchards for apple and pumpkin picking.