Gingerbread Man and Testing

This week we will begin our third planner, Tell Me a Story.  This planner focuses on the need to tell stories, emotions that are ignited through stories and creating stories.  We will start the planner with a study of the classic story of The Gingerbread Man.  We will read various versions of the story and then create our own!
In math we will begin story problems and revisit graphing. 
Our sight words are WAS, IT and CAN.
We will go to LDC today and tomorrow.
Wednesday will be the first day of STANFORD test administration.  It will take the first hour-hour and a half of class for 5 days.  Please make sure that your child gets a good night's sleep and healthy breakfast these days.
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  Let's make these last 3 weeks of the semester great ones full of learning and growing!

November 8-12

This week we are continuing our Big O planner with a focus on patterns and story sequencing.
* We will also have a mini author study of Eric Carle.  We will read The Very Hungry Caterpillar (sequencing activity), Have You Seen My Cat? (character match), The Very Busy Spider (sequence the order characters were introduced), and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.
* During math we will focus on patterns with color, shape, position and sound.
* Our sight words this week are one, two and what.
* There is a homework activity in your child's folder this week.  The turkeys need a disguise so they won't get eaten on Thanksgiving!  Please help. but do not do it for your child.  Be creative!
* Our Thanksgiving Feast will be on Tuesday, November 23rd.  Each of the kindergarten classes is in charge of bringing something to share with all of kindergarten---plates, bread, fruit, veggies, pie or drinks.  Our class is in charge of bringing drinks.  In order to have enough for everyone, each family in our class needs to send in 2 jugs (gallons or liters) of something---juice, lemonade, punch, etc.  Please have these here by November 19th.
Thanks for your help!
-Sarah Eddlemon
ps  Just FYI, I will be at a teacher training on Monday, November 15th and the kindergarten teachers have PYP planning in the afternoon on Wednesday, November 17th.  Just wanted you to be aware.

The Big "O"

This week we started out second PYP Planner---The Big "O".  This planner focuses on organization.  We kicked off with Backwards Day on Monday.  The day was all mixed up and it made students realize that the organization and predictability of their day is comforting.  
This week and next we will focus on how organization makes us feel safe.  

We will read:

-I Pledge Allegiance

-We Are So Proud

-My Me Map

-Officer Buckle and Gloria

-Don't Talk to Strangers

We will do the following activities...

- Make U.S. flag

-Write our own safety tip

-Make a map of our day

-Create a community helper puppet

In math we will focus on teen numbers, days of the week, months of the year, and calendar skills.

Other Info:

* In this week's Tuesday folder you received the art fundraiser.  Many of the drawings were cropped incorrectly.  The company recognizes this error and is going to redo them.  If you are interested in buying your child's art, but it needs to be redone, please let me know so that I can make sure they fix it.

* Friday is an early dismissal day.  I will be having conferences that afternoon.  I think all but one time slot has been filled.  Please get with me to make arrangements if you did not get a spot on Friday.

* On Tuesday the students will be taking the NNAT.  This is a non-verbal test that is one of the things we use to identify students for the Gifted and Talented program.  Please make sure that your child is on time that day.

* Spooky Spaghetti is this Saturday!  It's going to be a great time!  Will and Scarlett's moms have been working hard on our booth decorations.  I can't wait to see how it turns out!  =)

Thanks for all you do!

FRIENDS

This week (and last) we are continuing our "All About Me" Planner with an emphasis on FRIENDS.  Some of the activities we will be doing are...

* Reading Friends and creating a storyboard to use to retell the story.

* Reading The Rainbow Fish and creating our own rainbow fish.  We will also write about sharing.

* Reading A Color of My Own and making a class book based on this story.

* Reading Ruby the Copycat and interviewing/introducing a friend to the class.

* We will continue writing in our journals all week.  

* We are working on the following sight words...little, to, a, see, have, is.  Please practice these words with your child.

* Math activities involving size comparison, number recognition, counting and graphing.

Other Informaiton and Dates to Remember

-  The "All About Me" posters are due Friday.

- Please send in a baby picture of your child if you have not already done so.

- Friday, September 24th is an early dismissal day.

- Our Class Party will be on Wednesday, October 13th.

- Friday, October 15th will be our "ME MUSEUM" from 8-9 am. Please plan to stop by and let your child show you what we have been learning about as our All About Me planner comes to a close.

***Don't forget to join the PTA!  We are shooting for 100% participation!***

How many ways can we make a hexagon?

Today we discovered that there can be more than one way to solve a problem.  We found 10 different ways to make a hexagon!

Families

This week we are continuing with our All About Me Planner with focus on families.
We will do the following activities...
* Read The Relatives Came and draw pictures of our families
* Read What Moms Can't Do and make a class book about things we do with mommies.
* Read Just Me and My Dad and make a class book with the prompt, "Me and my dad _____."
In math we will be focusing on graphing and shapes.  (See the following post about our exploration with pattern blocks today.)
This week we will begin learning our kindergarten sight words.  These are words that students should be able to recognize and spell correctly when writing.  This week's words are I, am and the.
You should have received the first homework project in the folder today.  Please help your child decorate this paper doll.  Remember not to do it for him/her!  =)
A big THANKS goes to Grayson's mom for putting together our photo directory that was sent home today.  (I forgive her for stretching my face out!)  Hopefully this will help you figure out who your child's new friends are.
Another THANK YOU goes to Brandon's mom for putting together our class directory.  We will get that to you shortly.
Keep collecting those BOX TOPS and don't forget about the book order if you are planning to order books!
That's it for now!  Let's make it a great week!

It's All About Me!

This week we will begin our first planner, IT'S ALL ABOUT ME! 

Activities:
* read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and make name tree
* read A My Name is Alice and make name plates
* read Chicka Chicka 123 and count coconuts on a tree

We will be doing various activities that focus on letters, sounds and name recogniton.  In math we will focus on graphing, counting, using 1-1 correspondence and routines.

We are getting used to the routines and life in kindergarten.  We are working on controling our bodies and listening during whole group lessons.  You have probably heard all about our behavior system and the famous PRIZE BOX!!!  I encourage you to talk to your child about how every choice they make has a consequence, whether it be good or bad.

Scholastic Book orders will go home tomorrow.  Feel free to order online @ scholastic.com/bookclubs.
The class activation code is GPMXP.  You may also hand in  your order with a check made out to Scholastic Book Clubs. 

There is a draft of the class directory hanging outside the classroom.  Please check to make sure that all of your information is correct.  Thank you Mrs. Hinrichs for putting this together for us.

Also, please start collecting BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION.  There is a contest between classes to see who can collect the most Boxtops.  The winning class will get a pizza party at the end of the year.  For more information and a list of participating products, visit http://www.boxtops4education.com/.

Have a great week!

Meet the Teacher

My name is Sarah Eddlemon and I am very excited to be teaching at Mark Twain Elementary! I graduated from The University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Learning and Development. I then taught kindergarten in Katy, Texas for 3 years and first grade in Spring Branch for one year. This will be my third year teaching kindergarten at Mark Twain Elementary.

I have been married to Eric for a little over 4 years. We have a 1 1/2 year old son named Miles who brings so much happiness to our lives.

In my free time I enjoy scrapbooking, baking, suduko, and chasing after Miles.

I am looking forward to a great year!

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

The countdown is certainly on, but here are some dates of interest.

Friday, April 30- Dia de los Ninos- This is a full day celebration in the kindergarten hall. If you would like to volunteer, please see the sign up sheet by Mrs. Martinez's door.

Tuesday, May 4th- Early Dismissal

Friday, May 7th- Moody Gardens field trip

Wednesday, May 12th- Field Day

Friday, May 21st- Kindergarten Awards Ceremony, 8:30 a.m.

Friday, May 21st- Last day of Extended Day

Wednesday, May 26th- Kindergarten End of Year Party at Karl Young Park

Thursday, May 27th- Last day of School!!!! Early Dismissal!

What Goes Around Comes Around

This week we began our fifth planner---What Goes Around Comes Around. This planner's central idea is that all living things have life cycles.

The first cycle we are talking about is the life cycle of a butterfly. We will be reading many factual books about butterflies, labeling the parts of a butterfly, creating a butterfly life cycle, ordering events of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and writing about butterflies.
In math we are focusing on symmetry and measurement.
This week's sight words are would, could, take and live.

Next week we will continue the planner with a focus on ants. We will read fiction and nonfiction books about ants (icluding Two Bad Ants and Ant Cities), label an ant's body parts, discuss the life cycle of an ant, make our own room for Two Bad Ants and make our own Ant City.
In math we will focus on patterns and graphing.
Next week's sight words are about, little, and their.

REMINDERS:
Monday is group picture day. Kindergarten usually take their pictures first, so please be here on time.
Thursday, April 1st is an early dismissal day.
Friday, April 2nd---NO SCHOOL!!!

Go Texan!

This week we will be continuing our Where In the World Are We From? planner with a focus on the state of Texas.
We will be reading several books about cowboys and Texas and doing the following activities.
*Alamo bean collage
*writing/illustrating favorite Texas thing
*creating a cactus hotel based on the book by the same name
*putting together a horse
*making our own Texan, Texan book
This week's sight words are more, eat and said.
In math we will be doing activities involving measuring and time.
REMINDERS!
*Book Orders are due on Wednesday. You may submit them online or send in the order form.
*Friday is GO TEXAN Day! Please wear Texan attire and bring a SACK LUNCH! We will watch the trail ride go by and eating a special snack---Frito pie and S'mores (Teddy Grahams, marshmallows, and chocolate chips!)
*If you would like to contribute to Mrs. Diaz's baby shower, please send in the money by Wednesday. This is totally optional.

Thank you to everyone who sent in the items for this week's activities! We couldn't do it without you!

Where In the World...

This week's activities include...

*Read Me on the Map- Students will create their own book about their place on the map. This will begin our study of our place in the world.

*Students will learn and sing Continents and Oceans songs and become familiar with the placement of oceans and continents on the globe/map.

*Read Mapping Penny's World- Students will learn the shape of the continents and make a small book.

*Read We Dream of a World- Students will create their own page of our class book describing/illustrating the world that they dream of.

*Math- activities involving tally marks, probability, patterns, and addition.

Other info:

*This Thursday is Kindergarten Round-Up. We will have up-coming kindergarteners visiting the classroom.

*Thursday we will be having our Valentine's Day party. Please send cards for each child by Wednesday.

*There will be a substitute in the classroom this Friday. I will be at a training.

*No school on Monday, February 15th.

*We will be doing a few Mardi Gras activities on February 16th, and Chinese New Year activities on February 17th.

*We will go to LDC again for 2 weeks starting the 16th.

*February 26th is Go Texan Day! Students are encouraged to wear western clothing. We will walk to Stella Link to see the trail ride pass by. Please send a sack lunch on this day.

Teeth and Tooth Fairy Traditions

This week we will begin our 4th planner---WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU FROM?

-We will be talking about dental health. If you have any family or cultural traditions having to do with the loss of a tooth, please share them with your child.

- After listening to many American Tooth Fairy stories, students will write and draw about what they think the Tooth Fairy looks like and what she does with their teeth.

- Read Aloud---Throw Your Tooth on the Roof. Writing---"If I lived in ______, I would ____________ my tooth.

- This week's sight words are this, that, they, two, from

- Math- activities involving graphing and teen numerals

- No story dictation this week due to kindergarten having to switch ancillary times with 4th grade to allow for uninterrupted testing. We will begin again next week. Volunteers, please remember that if you are unable to make it one morning, you do not need to find a sub. No worries.

- Upcoming Projects---100th day and Fairy Tale Village (Look for info in Tuesday's folder about the Fairy Tale Village.)

- Field Trip is February 2nd. Students will need a sack lunch. Don't forget to send in the permission slip and fees.

- A note with your child's updated Guided Reading level will be in Tuesday's folder. The number (or letter) in the top corner is the level your child was on at the beginning of Kindergarten. I've seen so much progress this year!

- Kindergarten teachers will have a PYP planning day on Wednesday, January 27th. It was initially planned as a half day, but has been switched to a full day. I will be on campus, but not in the classroom.

- Look for a sign up sheet outside of the classroom for items we need for our 100th day snack. Students will make a snack with 100 items---10 pieces of 10 different snacks.

- Thank you to everyone who sent in pasta last week for our pasta math activities and pasta collages. We appreciate you!

Strega Nona Week

This week we are finishing up our Tell Me a Story planner with a focus on various Strega Nona books by author Tomie DePaolo. Will will read/have read the following stories...

-Strega Nona---writing- "If I had a magic pot it would make..."

-Strega Nona's Magic Lessons---writing- "To cast my magic spell I say..."

-Strega Nona Takes a Vacation---writing- "I would take a vacation to..."

-Big Anthony

-Strega Nona: Her Story

Our math lessons this week will involve pasta---graphing, collage, and patterns.

How fitting that a make-up artist came from Houston Grand Opera today and turned me into Strega Nona!

Dates to Remember

We've only been back to school for a week and our schedule is already getting packed. Here are some dates you should know about.

January 11-15 Stanford Test---Please make sure that your child arrives at school on time this week. We will be administering the test just after announcements.

January 18 NO SCHOOL---MLK Day

January 20 A make-up artist from Houston Grand Opera will transform Mrs. Eddlemon into a storybook character.

January 27 Kindergarten PYP planning---There will be a substitute in the classroom in the afternoon.

February 2 Field Trip to Mainstreet Theater to see Junie B. Jones. We will need chaperones, so check your schedule to see if you're available.

February 3 100th Day of School

February 4 Early Dismissal---Please view our Fairy Tale Village when you pick up your child. You will be receiving more info on this project soon.

February 12 Valentine's Day celebration

February 15 NO SCHOOL! Presidents' Day

Get Exited! With all of this activity, Spring Break will be here before we know it!

January 5-8

Welcome Back!!!

This week we will continue with our Tell Me A Story planner with a focus on author Alma Flor Ada.

Activities:

* Read Aloud- The Rooster Who Went to His Uncle's Wedding---sequencing activity.

* Read Aloud- Jordi's Star- make shooting star

* Read Aloud- The Malachite Palace- make friendship quilt

* Read Aloud- The Three Golden Oranges- make orange tree

* Read Aloud- The Gold Coin- write what we would do with our own gold coins

* Math---roll and record 2 dice, make shapes using our bodies, comparing shapes, intro to subtraction symbol.

This week we will be getting back into the routine of school. It's tough coming back from a long break, but you will be amazed at the growth you see in your child this semester.

Next week kindergarteners will be taking the Stanford each morning. Please remember to get a good night's sleep and have a healthy breakfast each day. The test is given in a group setting in the classroom with the teacher reading the instructions for each section of the test.

Let's make it a great semester!

Pictures

Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Snow!!!
Stuart Little by HGO
JD Walk