Mrs.Susan Toohey, M.Ed.
                                                Belvedere Elementary 
                                                 201 Rhomboid Place
                                Belvedere,S.C. 29841   803-442-6330                 

                 Building for a better tomorrow--One child at a time.

 Mrs. Toohey's KINDERGARTEN CLASS

December 5, 2010

UPCOMING EVENTS:

TOYS FOR TOTS are being collected through December 10.  Send in new, unwrapped toys to school.  Please show compassion to children in need during the Christmas season.

Santa Shop: Monday, December 6 from       10:40 - 11:10     Gifts cost $2.00 each.  Cash only. Send  completed form with people to buy for & put $ in an envelope with child's name on it.

P.T.O. meeting is Monday, December 6 at 6:00. Christmas program with the older grades will start at 6:30.

         What are we learning?

During our Morning Meeting, we are singing the Days of the Week, the Macarena Months of the Year, the penny song, the nickel, the weather song.  We are also learning some sign language for: bathroom, yes, no, sit, stand, friend, I Love You, Fall, Winter, Spring, Fall, & stop talking.

In between doing work at our tables, we love to dance and sing.  Some of our favorite songs are Vowel Bat, The Freeze, This Is My School Family, Count It, School Is Cool, I Wish You Well. We are learning Nursery Rhymes and acting them out. Here are some we have learned:  Hey Diddle Diddle, Little Boy Blue, I'm a Little Teapot, Jack and Jill, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Miss Muffet, Georgie Porgie, Hickory Dickory Dock, Jack Be Nimble.

The children love listening to stories.  We are learning it is fun to imagine!  We are learning what a good listener does:  look at the book, listen carefully to the speaker, keep our mouth quiet and our body still.  We are also learning the parts of a book:  front cover, back cover, title page and the spine. We are also learning to find the title and author's name on the front cover. We also learned what the Table of Contents looks like and what we use it for.

In Math, we will be finishing our topic: Comparing Numbers. Please reinforce at home how to correctly identify 1 - 10  and how to correctly write 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Please remember to count slowly and touch each object with a pointer.  We use he eraser end of our pencil to count and point with. We also have been working with 10 frames, sweep counting starting with 5, sweep counting starting with 10, and adding 1 or 2 more and subtracting 1 or 2 less.

In Phonics we have learned the letter Ll, Oo, Gg, Hh, Tt, Pp, Aa, Nn, Mm, Ii, Ss. Ff, Rr, Kk. Please refer to the SOUNDS IN MOTION sheet from Ms. Flemming in your homework folder to get the correct motion for these letters. 

In Reading, we are continuing our Work Stations and are rotating 4 groups through all four stations by Thursday.   Each station will be doing something that has to do with Phonics/Reading.  We started our Literacy Stations this week. One day a week after they finish their work with Mrs. McDougald, they get to choose a Literacy Station to go to.

LITERACY STATIONS:  MAGNETIC LETTERS: They get to build names and Sight Words.    RAINBOW WRITING: The children use different colored pencils to write sight words in rainbow colors and then write a sentence using them.                          CLASS NAMES: They take a clip board with a lined piece of paper and write their friends names on it.  EASY READERS:They can practice reading using books with Sight Words.  DRY ERASE: The children can write any word or sentence and illustrate it with a drawing using a dry erase board with markers and eraser. PICTURE WORD CARDS: The child takes a piece of paper which is divided into 4 parts.  They take a pencil and choose 4 cards.  Then they copy the words into the 4 parts and draw pictures to illustrate.  We will be adding more Literacy Stations throughout the year.  If you would like to come observe how we do Literacy Stations, please let me know ahead of time and I can let you know when your child's turn is.  You can use these ideas at home!          

In Mrs. Studdard's station we are reading our letter book for that week.  We are counting how many letters in a word, counting how many words in a sentence, tracking the print from left to right, understanding that a sentence is a group of words that makes sense. They also are beginning to phonetically write their own sentences, writing down the letters they hear in a word.  They are trying hard to remember to put finger spaces between words, a capital at the beginning and a period at the end.

 In Mrs. Toohey's station, we are using our Word Building Board to build words, one letter at a time.  We then say the sound for each letter and blend the sounds into a word, using our left hand.  We sing our "Vowel" song and repeat, "Every word has to have a vowel or it's not a word". We know that there are 26 letters in the alphabet. We also read one or two books in the group.  First we echo read.  That is where the teacher reads the sentence and the children repeat it after the teacher. Next, we choral read.  That is where we all read together.  We track the print (touch each word as we say it) and read together.  Third, we individually read.  We take turns going around the table and each child has a chance to read one page and maybe two.  Last, I ask comprehension questions to the group about what they just read. 

In the puzzle page station, the children color the picture that has our letter for that week.  They also practice writing the upper and lowercase letter 6 times each,that we are learning.  After they are through, they get a book quietly and see if they can find our letter of the week in the print. They also look through he books and write down sight words that they can read by themselves.

In Mrs. McDougald's group, she will be playing ABC Bingo and/or creating different projects that have to do with a theme/holiday.  This week they will be making a reindeer puppet and reading the poem "Reindeer Pull on Santa's Sleigh". 

Please continue to practice left and right. Playing Simon Says or the "Reindeer"Hokey Pokey is a good way to learn your left and right!  

                  Special Class Schedule: 7:50 - 8:30

• Monday-PE with Mrs. Duckett (wear tennis shoes)
• Tuesday-Art with Mrs. Hargrove
• Wednesday-PE with Mrs. Duckett (wear tennis shoes)
• Thursday-Music with Mrs. Radford
• Thursday-SOUNDS IN MOTION (Ms. Flemming) 12:00 - 12:30
• Friday-Library with Mrs. Chapman (return books by THURSDAY)

 What can parents do to encourage concentration?

• The more language children hear and the more words they know the greater their understanding will be.
• The more ideas parents express verbally, the more their children will be stimulated to express ideas of their own.
• When talking to children, remember to use a variety of words.  A child is introduced to a larger vocabulary just by listening to his/her parents.
• When adults listen to children, they are teaching children to listen too. When children express opinions or ask questions, they deserve the respect and courtesy that parents want when they speak as well. 

                            During school:

Remind your child to raise their hand and wait to be acknowledged before they speak.                                                                                                          

Remind your child to look at the person that is speaking to them and to look at the person that they are speaking to.

                        At Home:
Use 'BOOK TALK' when reading to your child.
Ask questions: What is the Title?
Where is the Title located?
How many words are in the title?
What does the author do?
What does the illustrator do?
Where is the author's name?
What is the setting?
Who are the characters?
What happened first?
What happened last?
What was your favorite part?                                                                 

                                                                      Reminders:                                   

 We do not buy ice cream from the cafeteria on Friday.  Some children would never be able to afford this treat, so we just have freeze pops that parents have donated to our class.  This way everyone gets to enjoy having a freeze pop!

 Please remember to save BOX TOPS, Campbell Soup label barcodes , My COKE rewards, Tyson Chicken Labels, used ink cartridges & recyclable cell phones. Our school gets MONEY from these items!$$$$$$! Please put these in a zip-lock baggie with your child's name on it and K-1.

We are also collecting pull tabs from soda cans. These go the Ronald McDonald House and help raise money for children with cancer.  Several children have already brought some in.  Please put them in a baggie with child's name on it.  

Learn to recognize a ruler, yardstick, tape measure and what each is used to measure. Learn to recognize the balance scale, scale and what each is used to weigh. Learn to recognize the analog clock and the digital clock and that they measure time. Learn that a calendar measures passage of time. You can use microsoft word and clip art pictures to help your child learn what they are and what they are used to measure.

Count forward to 50. Count by 5's & 10's to 100.  Count by 2's to 24. Count backwards from 10 - 0.    

Practice rhyming words.    

Practice singing the Money Songs for penny & nickel.  The money song sheet was sent home November 1.                                                                   

Practice singing your birthday to the tune of BINGO.  Also practice singing your phone number & area code to the tune of BINGO. This sheet came home on Wednesday, September 1.

PLEASE let your child practice writing his/her name on 1st grade lined paper.  Remember that tall letters go all the way to the top line and short letters stop at the dotted line.

Please practice tying shoes at home with your child.   Ella, Kaitlin, Blake, Chase, Abby & Olivia already received their prize   If a child asks an adult to tie his/her shoes, when they know how, they do not receive their prize yet. All children need to be able to tie laces in a tight double knot so they will stay tied all day.  Teachers do not have time to tie 27 pairs of shoes multiple times a day, nor do we have the time to teach them how. Parents need to teach this skill at home. Please tell your child once they have been tied, to leave them alone.             

                        CLASSROOM RULES           

                      Please go over our 5 classroom rules daily.  When children are talking, or bothering others instead of paying attention and listening, not only are they missing out on learning but they are also preventing other children from learning. We appreciate your support at home.

                                                QUIET TIME

During "quiet time", please remind your child to be still and rest quietly.  With our busy day, it is important to have some down time to relax our body and brain. This is the only time that teachers have to assess report card skills and give tests to each child, one at a time. 

Shoe Tying Club:  Ella Risse', Kaitlin Marable, Blake McKenzie, Chase Bigneho, Abby Hadden, Olivia Ledford.

100 Book Club: Taylor Hair,  Ella Risse' & Brian Nugent

Please make sure you are reading at least one book a night to your child and recording it on the 100 Book Club list in the homework folder.  You should have at least 61 books recorded, since we have been in school for 61 days.  Taylor, Brian, Ella, Amarri, Seth, Journey, Jaedyn, Jalen, Brian,  Andrew & Greyson have already received their new book for reading 50 books.                                       

  ZZZZZZZZ’s:

          Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest.  A wonderful gift you can give your child is setting and keeping a regular bedtime.  It will help them be alert and ready to learn each day.  Did you know that it is recommended that 5 year olds need 10 hours of sleep each night?

At recess, we have explained the rules for taking turns with the 3 hole basketball hoop.  I think we have some basketball stars in the making!

PLEASE do not send candy or high sugar cookies in lunchboxes.

We would like to welcome Ranesha Myers and Sage Mahon to our class!  That makes us 12 girls, 15 boys and 27 children in all!

 THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO TO HELP YOUR CHILD BE SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL!  We appreciate your support at home.