Animal Safety

We had a visitor today!! Maggie the rottweiler came in our class today with Mrs. Parker from the animal shelter. Maggie turns five years old on April 28th. We learned all about how to take care of dogs. We even got to pet Maggie. EVERY student was so brave and excited to pet Maggie. I am so proud of everyone. Ask your little one their favorite part of having Maggie come to our class.

Easter Egg Hunt

Wow! Thank you to everyone who sent in plastic eggs and treats for the class. We had so much looking for our eggs. Enjoy the pictures!

Don't know what to do with all of your leftover empty eggs? I would love them! I can use them next year for my class even if there is a name on them. Recycle and send them my way. Thank you!

Recipe

By April 29th please send in a recipe that you like to cook for your family. It may be a soup, salad, sandwich, appetiser, entree, or dessert. The easier it is to make the better. You are more then welcome to email it to me hawass@duvalschools.org or write it on a piece of paper. Please make sure you include the name of the dish, the ingredients, directions, and time it takes to make. Thank you very much!!

May 6, 2011

Happy Mother's Day

If you are a mom then we want to celebrate YOU!! Join us for a picnic on Friday, May 6th outside of our classroom at 10:50. Moms if you are unable to join us then feel free to send in your mom or a sister to take your place. Please let me know if you are able to make it by Monday, May 2nd so I have a count. Comment below and let me know if you are going to be able to make it.





There will be a drawing for four lucky moms to win a bag of treats!! HINT...it has to do with relaxation. YOU deserve it!!

Amazing Scientists

Did you know we know how to plant a seed? Well, we do!! Students planted lima bean and green bean seeds last week. Every day we are charting the growth of our seeds. We are also comparing the two plants to see which one grows the fastest. We can't wait for them to grow long stems. We can already see the roots.

Addition Games

This week we are learning how to play many different addition games. The first addition game we played is called Racing Bears. In this game students roll dice and try to get all of their bears all the way to 10. Once all of your bears get to 10 you win. This game is great because students have to add together all the numbers they roll until they reach their sum. Above are pictures of our class playing the game with a partner.

New Center

One of our newest centers during literacy time is the write a letter center. In this center, students are given a piece of paper and an envelope. They may write a letter to anyone at our school. After they finish their letter they make sure to put it in an envelope and drop it off in the mailbox. Our class is super excited about this center and the chance to write a letter to their friends. I can't wait to see all of their happy faces when they receive their first letter. :) I received my first letter today from Xander. It was so sweet and made my day. I even hung it up on the door for everyone to see. Xander did not even ask me how to spell one word. Look at his wonderful letter below. Dear Ms. Hawas,
You are the best teacher because you make us do fun stuff like make puppets and make flowers.
Love, Xander

Thank you Xander!! I'm so happy you think of me as the best teacher. I have such great students!!

Weekend of April 15-17

Wow! Our first friend to take Corduroy home had so much fun with him. In class we were able to hear all about their fun adventures. They ate together, read books together, and she even let Corduroy sleep right next to her. I bet he had a wonderful weekend with his new friend. Read all about their adventures together on the paper below.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Thursday, our class will be having an Easter Egg Hunt together. Please send in an Easter basket or some type of bag for your little one to collect eggs. I'll make sure to post pictures the weekend after our hunt.

Take home bear

Every Friday, I am going to pick a student who was on green every day to take my little friend Corduroy home. Corduroy is my stuffed bear who loves to read. If your little one gets Corduroy then they need to write a paper about what they did together over the weekend. If they take a picture together, I will post it on our website.

Here are some ideas about what your little one and Corduroy might do over the weekend:

• Go to the park together


• Play video games together


• Read books to one another


• Have a sleepover


• Draw pictures

Please make sure that Corduroy returns to me on Monday so that another friend will get a chance. If Corduroy is taken to the beach or pool, please do not put him in the water. He has batteries so we wouldn't want anything to happen to Corduroy. If he gets dirty please try to wipe him clean.

I can not wait to hear all about the adventures Corduroy is going to have with our class. :)

Report Cards

Report cards go home on April 15th. Please return the bottom of the report card on April 18th. If you would like to schedule a conference please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you!

This nine weeks we are learning...

Can you belive it's the last nine weeks your little one has in kindergarten? Wow!! They have grown so much. This nine weeks we have lots to learn so please sure they are at school everyday. Reading SKILL 1: Names letters (capital and lower case) 1a: Needs practice writing letters correctly SKILL 2: Uses phonics and decoding skills to recognize letter sounds SKILL 3: Reads sight words without hesitation: (here, have, to, a, it, me, I, the, and, is, in, can, at, am, he, my, like, an, go, do, no, come, see, so, up, we, you,) SKILL 4: Reads B3 books independently SKILL 5: Listens attentively to a story and gives reactions to the book SKILL 6: Uses picture clues to orally express predictions about a story SKILL 7: Uses reading strategies effectively (use picture clues, make predictions, point to the words, stretch the word, does it make sense?) Writing SKILL 8: Writing shows evidence of spacing SKILL 9: Writing shows use of high frequency words SKILL 10: Creates text that an adult can decipher (readable phonetic spelling) SKILL 11: Reads own writing SKILL 12: Working toward the elements of the functional writing standard (give directions and label objects and places) SKILL 13: Working toward the elements of the persuasive writing standard ( develops and demonstrates writing that is used for the purpose of influencing the reader) SKILL 14: Speaks to adults in complete sentences(this includes statements and responses) Math SKILL 1: Names numbers 0-20 SKILL 2: Places numbers in order 0-20 SKILL 3: Matches numerals with groups of objects 0-20 SKILL 4: Writes numbers 0-20 in correct form SKILL 5: Counts up to 20 objects SKILL 6: Understands basic addition and solves problems using manipulatives and pictures SKILL 7: Understands basic subtraction and solves problems using manipulatives and pictures SKILL 8: Demonstrates problem solving (problems involving sets by counting, by using cardinal and ordinal numbers, by comparing, by ordering, and by creating sets up to 20 ) Science/Social Studies SKILL 1: Explain what real plants and animals need to stay alive SKILL 2: Describe how plants and animals are alike and different SKILL 3: Describe how animals and plants grow and change SKILL 4: Identifies U.S. symbols (flag, Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty)

Art Class

Look at the beautiful art our class did with Ms. Reiger, the art teacher. Wow!! They painted and glued an amazing piece of art. Way to go!!

Group Pictures

We took group pictures on April 5, 2011. In about two weeks you will receive a form if you want to order our class picture.

How to make a fruit salad...

Today, we learned how to make a fruit salad during writer's workshop. We had so much fun! Make sure to ask your little one how to make a fruit salad.


Feel free to come by and see our board outside the classroom. We have such amazing writers and illustrators in our classroom.

What is functional writing?

For the next few weeks we are reviewing functional writing. You use functional writing when you are writing directions to get to someone's house, recipes, and how to's. Today in class we had a blast writing about How To Make Rootbeer Floats.

First, you have to get a cup, a spoon, ice cream, and rootbeer. Next, you put ice cream in the cup with the spoon. Then, you pour rootbeer into the cup. Last, you drink your rootbeer float. I am so proud of our amazing authors and illustrators. Way to go! Enjoy the pictures and feel free to stop by our class and look at our great writing on our board.

Can you believe we had a real author visit our school?

During literacy week we were able to hear a story read by a real author. Jennifer Swanson read her books she writes about two dogs named Penny and Rio. Did you know she bases her books on her two real dogs named Penny and Rio? Find out more about Jennifer Swanson at the following website http://www.pennyandrio.com/.