Wish list for the rest of the year

Needs
Paper towels (25-30 more rolls should about do it)
Disinfectant wipes (about 5 more packages)

Wants
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C895%2C426&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1364489953577
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C898%2C198&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1364490194434
http://www.learningresources.com/product/word+families+-amp-+rhyming+center+pocket+chart.do?sortby=ourPicks&sortby=&&from=Search

March 18-22

Reading
We are reading Max takes the Train and we are continuing to learn about the main idea of a story.

Phonics
Word families op, up, long e. Consonant blend.

Writing
Writing non-fiction. Making books.

Math
Reviewing numbers to 100.

Social Studies
Flat Stanley


Reminders
Please bring in a cereal box for your child to decorate and turn into a book holder for all the books they will write. We will be decorating them this week. Thanks.

Mr. E

partner interviews for non-fiction stories

Reyna interviewing Sara for her story.          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKrziR8NpAE

Gabi interviewing Oscar (sorry for the sound) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQDWwTysyEg

March 10-15

Reading
We are reading Mayday, Mayday. It is a book about a coast guard rescue at sea. Along with it we will be continuing to learn about non-fiction text as well as "main idea". We are focusing on the "main idea" of non-fiction text right now (that is much easier) but please start using the language at home when reading so that your child becomes familiar with "main idea". You can help your child figure out the main idea of fiction stories too, but that is a little trickier to understand. Think of main idea like a moral or lesson in a fiction book.

Phonics
Our word families this week are ap, ip and long a. We are also continuing to learn beginning consonant blends like gr, gl, etc. We are also exploring syllables. What they are (parts of a word) and identifying them in words (clapping them). I am also teaching the students to break words into individual syllables to spell longer sound out words. elephant is easier to spell if you sound out each individual syllable.

Writing
We are writing more non-fiction and will be interviewing our partners and writing about them. Continuing to explore different types of sentences (. ? !) Continuing to learn what a paragraph is.
In writer' workshop the students are learning and participating in the writing process: brainstorming, first draft, editing, revising and publishing. We still need about 14 more cereal boxes big enough to hold paper for the students to make their book boxes. 

Math
Reviewing numbers to 100 and ordering numbers to 100. This week I am introducing math choices too. Similar to daily five only for math. I will spend this week teaching the students the process.

Updates
So, I have finally figured out the best way to safely get videos of your children to you. I gave up on the schooltube site because of difficulty. I now have a regular youtube channel that I am putting videos on. The videos are all unlisted so you can not find them by searching for them. I will be putting the URLs on the blog with a short description so you can view them that way. Here is the first batch I have from our creating last week. Enjoy. Please respond with any comments/concerns about this. Also, if any computer savvy person has an extra 15 minutes a day or so to manage these videos for me and get them to an accessible place I would be all for that. Email me. 
Also, remember our March Madness contest in room 110. Weekly winners go shopping for the most time/progress made on both IXL and Raz-kids. We had a great first week. Congrats to Zadkiel (IXL) and Garrett (Raz-kids)!!!

Jackson working on a world record! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxjcChQxm-I

Eleanor concentrating on building. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y062GTqifqg

Beno and Jonathan's fire engine. http://youtu.be/RQu1EPQBUwU

Jackson working on his crane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDCt6srzs2E

Oscar and Zadkiel's fire engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VJphYWVl_s

Samari and Sal's fire engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kItbHYm980

Kya and Ryan's "thing that knocks things down" (wrecking ball) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjsIRzbUWuM

Addison and Sara's fire engine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsqCH-c0Jwk

Ulises and Gabi's train. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfYfdhk15Y4

Have a wonderful week!
Mr. E

classroom book check-out

3/4/2013

Dear parents/guardians,

        Here is another handout to update you on what is going on in room 110. This is also all on the blog. (mredwardskindergarten.blogspot.com) Today, since the students did not have library (because of ISATs) I thought it would be a good day to start our own book check-out system in room 110. I have a couple big boxes of books that are just taking up space and I thought the students would enjoy a new selection of books to take home. Here is how it will work. Students will have a chance, hopefully daily, to check out a book from my selection in the room. (this is a different selection than our class library) They will simply write down the title on a card and place it in a pocket chart. When they are done with the book, they bring it back and return it. Then, they can write a new title down and take a new book home. It is a pretty simple system that I don’t have a lot of time to manage. The students will be taught how the system works and we will go over it together for a couple days. Then your child will have to be RESPONSIBLE to do the system on their own. I will have a student librarian to help out with the management of it as well. The purpose of this is to get your child reading as much as possible and to love reading. On that note, remind your child of the Raz-kids and IXL weekly challenges this month.

        Another thing, schooltube is not working well so I will continue to just put pictures and videos up on the blog. Please check it out at least weekly as it is updated every Sunday evening. Thanks.

Mr. E 

March 4th-8th

Reading:
We are reading The Night Worker. We are reviewing sequencing/retelling the story. (first, next, then, last or beginning, middle, end) I am also introducing main idea to them. We will be discussing this with reading and writing. This is a more difficult concept for them to grasp.

Writing:
Just so you are aware. We have two different times for writing. First thing in the morning is our "writing" time that we have been doing all year where we work on basic skills and use books to help us understand how to write better. Our "writer's workshop" time happens during language time and that is the time where students are working on their own books and stories.
For "writing" this week we are learning how to write non-fiction. For "writer's workshop we are reviewing our writing ideas and talking about the writing process.

Math:
Numbers 50-100. Counting, making numbers with cubes and sequencing numbers.

Social Studies:
Continuing to learn about machines and the jobs they do. Learning new vocabulary for night jobs.

Needs:
We are going through pencils fast as we begin to write more and more. Could you send some in if you are able. Thanks.

Mr. E