Check out our letters we wrote to the North Pole! We hope to get a response soon!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Room 106's Holiday Party!
Happy Holidays! We are having a class party on the 23rd of December, the last day of school before break. The morning party will start at 8:30 and end at 9:45 due to our art class. The afternoon party will start at 12:30 and end at 1:35 due to our art class. If you would like to attend, please let me know! Also, we would like students to send in treats for a holiday treat bag. Lastly, please send in a wrapped book with your child's name on the outside of the package. This is for our gift exchange. Have a great holiday season!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Estimation Jar Fun!
Each week we send home the Estimation Jar with a student. They send it back with a mystery number of goodies for us to estimate, sort, count, compare, measure, and discuss! We have had pennies, blocks, candies, pencils, straws, buttons, and various other items. Here is Noah with his jar filled with treats! Thanks to all families who have shared with the class, this is a fun activity that we all look forward to discovering.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Fun math games to play at home!
*Dice is a wonderful way to practice addition. Have your child roll two dice and then add the total by counting on. This is when they say the larger number and count up from it. For example,if you have a three and a four. You would say four and count up five, six, seven.
*You can use dice to compare how many more or less you might have than your friend. With each friend using one, roll and see who wins (with the most dots) and by how much!
*Play the card game War with your child. You can change it so sometimes the higher card wins and sometimes the lower card wins. It is great to compare numbers and you can even see how many they make together or what the difference is.
*Kindergarten Yahtzee! See if your child can roll the sum of all number 2-12 with two dice. When they do, they can yell Yahtzee!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving Fun!
We were sure busy this past week before the Thanksgiving holiday break. We learned about the first Thanksgiving, read stories, created Native American vests and head pieces, made pilgrims hats, worked to create our our turkeys, made butter, and had our own feast with cornbread! The slide show above shows many images from our week. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tips for Reading Aloud with your Child!
Here are some tips to help your child become a great reader!
*Ask your child questions throughout the book about characters, setting, events, and problems that might be happening in the book.
*Ask your child to think of a question too.
*Have your child predict what might happen next! Model this for your child if they cannot think of a next event.
*Have them close their eyes and make a picture in their mind when you read aloud. They get to be the illustrator too.
*Give your child a chance to hunt for letters, words, sounds, etc they might know when reading a book. Take turns reading the text together.
*Ask your child questions throughout the book about characters, setting, events, and problems that might be happening in the book.
*Ask your child to think of a question too.
*Have your child predict what might happen next! Model this for your child if they cannot think of a next event.
*Have them close their eyes and make a picture in their mind when you read aloud. They get to be the illustrator too.
*Give your child a chance to hunt for letters, words, sounds, etc they might know when reading a book. Take turns reading the text together.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
My First Slide Show!
I figured out how to create a slide show! I added some pictures mostly from Red Ribbon Week to the blog. I will put more pictures up soon, I will be adding more PM kiddos to the pictures as well. I hope you enjoy. Have a great weekend!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Here are some tips to help your child become a great writer!
*Please encourage your child to write frequently at home. They can copy from environmental print, books, magazines, or notes/calendars/recipes you might have written.
*Get a clipboard or white board at home to make writing more fun!
*Have your child make labels for items in your house or make lists of things they see, do, like, enjoy, food, toys, movies, books, etc…
*When your child draws a picture ask them to either label or narrate the picture by writing one or two words describing the picture.
*You can dictate stories your child tells you and read it back to them. They will be the author! Have them draw a picture to continue the
*Get a clipboard or white board at home to make writing more fun!
*Have your child make labels for items in your house or make lists of things they see, do, like, enjoy, food, toys, movies, books, etc…
*When your child draws a picture ask them to either label or narrate the picture by writing one or two words describing the picture.
*You can dictate stories your child tells you and read it back to them. They will be the author! Have them draw a picture to continue the
Happy Election Day/Halloween
This week we did not have school due to Election day on Tuesday, we hope you had a wonderful day off!
Last week, we practiced both a fire drill and a tornado drill. We are learning our school procedures nicely. I am so proud of Room 106 because every time they are asked to follow directions and do their best, they sure do! Both A.M. and P.M. classes are sure great!
Also, we worked on the letter Aa. Please continue the homework and practice both the long and the short Aa sounds, reinforce that it is a vowel and a special letter with those two sounds.
In our reading groups, we read stories about Spiders and Roosters. We practiced tracking print (using our fingers to follow along when we read), blending sounds, and we now know three sight words (I, the, see). It would be helpful to make flash cards at home to practice reading and spelling these words.
In math, we worked on writing and recognizing the numbers 0-10. We read color words and played The Mystery Number Game. Please practice this at home by choosing a number between 0-10 or 0-20. Give your child clues by saying it is higher/lower than other numbers. If you use a number line it makes it easier and more fun!
Last week, we practiced both a fire drill and a tornado drill. We are learning our school procedures nicely. I am so proud of Room 106 because every time they are asked to follow directions and do their best, they sure do! Both A.M. and P.M. classes are sure great!
Also, we worked on the letter Aa. Please continue the homework and practice both the long and the short Aa sounds, reinforce that it is a vowel and a special letter with those two sounds.
In our reading groups, we read stories about Spiders and Roosters. We practiced tracking print (using our fingers to follow along when we read), blending sounds, and we now know three sight words (I, the, see). It would be helpful to make flash cards at home to practice reading and spelling these words.
In math, we worked on writing and recognizing the numbers 0-10. We read color words and played The Mystery Number Game. Please practice this at home by choosing a number between 0-10 or 0-20. Give your child clues by saying it is higher/lower than other numbers. If you use a number line it makes it easier and more fun!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
First Sound Fluency is Essential!
First sound fluency is a skill that is essential to master in kindergarten. Please practice these games at home to ensure that your child will be successful!
*Pick any word and say it slowly, have your child tell you the first sound. For example, “cat”, the first sound is “c”.
*Use a magazine or book to find pictures and have your child name what they can find in the picture. Then have them tell you the first sound of that word.
*Say a family members name, then have your child repeat the name and state the first sound.
*Once your child masters this first sound, move onto the ending sound. It is important to say the word slowly so they can hear all the words. Have them practice saying words slowly as well. This helps with spelling, writing, and reading skills!
*Pick any word and say it slowly, have your child tell you the first sound. For example, “cat”, the first sound is “c”.
*Use a magazine or book to find pictures and have your child name what they can find in the picture. Then have them tell you the first sound of that word.
*Say a family members name, then have your child repeat the name and state the first sound.
*Once your child masters this first sound, move onto the ending sound. It is important to say the word slowly so they can hear all the words. Have them practice saying words slowly as well. This helps with spelling, writing, and reading skills!
We are drug free! Celebrating Red Ribbon Week!
This week is Red Ribbon Week. We have a spirit week to celebrate being and staying drug free. The special days are listed below:
Monday 10-25:Put a Cap on Drugs
Tuesday: 10-26:Sock it to Drugs
Wednesday 10-27: Wear Red for Red Ribbon Week Thursday 10-28:Team Up against Drugs (Wear fav. team shirt)
Friday 10-29: Wear Red, White and Blue
Also, we have begun our small reading groups this week. This is where we spend thirty minutes in groups of 7-9 students practicing reading skills and strategies. We are working on letter and sound identification, blending and segmenting words (pushing sounds together and pulling words apart to hear all the sounds), and reading decodable text together. This is great because we have two reading aids come and help us give more individual instruction to your child!
Please keep practicing at home!
Please have a very happy and safe Halloween this weekend! If you take any great pictures of your child in costume, please send them in to share! We love to learn about our friends in Room 106.
Monday 10-25:Put a Cap on Drugs
Tuesday: 10-26:Sock it to Drugs
Wednesday 10-27: Wear Red for Red Ribbon Week Thursday 10-28:Team Up against Drugs (Wear fav. team shirt)
Friday 10-29: Wear Red, White and Blue
Also, we have begun our small reading groups this week. This is where we spend thirty minutes in groups of 7-9 students practicing reading skills and strategies. We are working on letter and sound identification, blending and segmenting words (pushing sounds together and pulling words apart to hear all the sounds), and reading decodable text together. This is great because we have two reading aids come and help us give more individual instruction to your child!
Please keep practicing at home!
Please have a very happy and safe Halloween this weekend! If you take any great pictures of your child in costume, please send them in to share! We love to learn about our friends in Room 106.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
It was so much fun on at the Fall Festival on Friday night. I worked at the Duck Pond and saw many families having a blast together! I’m glad so many families came, I heard the PTA raised a bunch of money for the school. That is awesome!
This week we finished our introduction of the letters and sounds in the alphabet. Please review these with your child anytime you see words or letters together, make a quick game of ‘name that letter and sound’. Challenge them to name more letters than the last game so they can boost their fluency.
In math, we are working on patterns and graphing. Also, we are practicing our number writing and identification. We are counting everything we see to practice our one-to-one correspondence. We are even counting backwards!
The Book Fair is this week. Our class will visit the fair on Thursday. Please bring in money to purchase books either in the Tuesday folder or on Thursday morning,
Next week is Red Ribbon Week. We will have a spirit week to celebrate. The special days are listed below:
Monday 10-25:Put a Cap on Drugs
Tuesday: 10-26:Sock it to Drugs
Wednesday 10-27: Wear Red for Red Ribbon Week Thursday 10-28:Team Up against Drugs (Wear fav. team shirt)
Friday 10-29: Wear Red, White and Blue
Have a great week!
This week we finished our introduction of the letters and sounds in the alphabet. Please review these with your child anytime you see words or letters together, make a quick game of ‘name that letter and sound’. Challenge them to name more letters than the last game so they can boost their fluency.
In math, we are working on patterns and graphing. Also, we are practicing our number writing and identification. We are counting everything we see to practice our one-to-one correspondence. We are even counting backwards!
The Book Fair is this week. Our class will visit the fair on Thursday. Please bring in money to purchase books either in the Tuesday folder or on Thursday morning,
Next week is Red Ribbon Week. We will have a spirit week to celebrate. The special days are listed below:
Monday 10-25:Put a Cap on Drugs
Tuesday: 10-26:Sock it to Drugs
Wednesday 10-27: Wear Red for Red Ribbon Week Thursday 10-28:Team Up against Drugs (Wear fav. team shirt)
Friday 10-29: Wear Red, White and Blue
Have a great week!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
The air is getting crisp, we know that Autumn has arrived!
Happy Fall! We have been busy learning about the four seasons, focusing primarily on Autumn. We have discussed Autumn photos and slide shows, read books, created patterns, sorted leaves, and shared our knowledge of Fall. It has been a great week. Please continue the discussion at home, visit an apple orchard or pumpkin patch, rake leaves, and have some Fall family fun. Have your child bring in mementos or stories of these Fall adventures as we love to hear about it all.
In math, we continue learning numbers and exploring math centers. We have been comparing, subitizing, patterning, and ordering objects by size. These are all activities that can be extended at home.
We continue to explore and conquer the letters in our alphabet. This week we focused on L, J, N, P, and T. Please follow-up with your child and ask them to write and read these letters at home. We are using the cereal box covers as examples of environmental print. Please practice “reading” at home, by finding letters and sounds. This may not be what you might think of as traditional reading, but playing with print is a great pre-reading skill that all children need to develop. Keep up the great work!
Have a wonderful week!
In math, we continue learning numbers and exploring math centers. We have been comparing, subitizing, patterning, and ordering objects by size. These are all activities that can be extended at home.
We continue to explore and conquer the letters in our alphabet. This week we focused on L, J, N, P, and T. Please follow-up with your child and ask them to write and read these letters at home. We are using the cereal box covers as examples of environmental print. Please practice “reading” at home, by finding letters and sounds. This may not be what you might think of as traditional reading, but playing with print is a great pre-reading skill that all children need to develop. Keep up the great work!
Have a wonderful week!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Learning our Letters and Sounds!
This week we have worked to learn the letters W, Z, C, and D. Please continue reading and writing those letters at home. We will be sending home the books and printing sheets daily to reinforce our learning.
Thanks for completing the homework at home! We must use the homework as an extra time to practice, practice, practice. You can keep the homework packet at home and just send the weekly sheet if you would like.
We are learning about environmental print. Please take a look and see if you have any empty cereal boxes at home. Please send the front covers to school. We will be highlighting our knowledge of letters and sounds while reading those covers. Also, we can create a book that we all can read from the cereal covers.
We completed our study on Kevin Henkes. We read the stories Owen and A Weekend with Wendell. We learned more about characters and predicted what might happen next. Ask your child about Peter Predictor and see if they can describe his job when we read stories in class.
We continued to work on numbers, matching, and sorting in math. Please practice sorting objects at home based on color, shape, size, texture, or any other fun classification.
Lastly, I am sending home name worksheets. Please practice these at your convenience, they will not be graded.
Thanks for completing the homework at home! We must use the homework as an extra time to practice, practice, practice. You can keep the homework packet at home and just send the weekly sheet if you would like.
We are learning about environmental print. Please take a look and see if you have any empty cereal boxes at home. Please send the front covers to school. We will be highlighting our knowledge of letters and sounds while reading those covers. Also, we can create a book that we all can read from the cereal covers.
We completed our study on Kevin Henkes. We read the stories Owen and A Weekend with Wendell. We learned more about characters and predicted what might happen next. Ask your child about Peter Predictor and see if they can describe his job when we read stories in class.
We continued to work on numbers, matching, and sorting in math. Please practice sorting objects at home based on color, shape, size, texture, or any other fun classification.
Lastly, I am sending home name worksheets. Please practice these at your convenience, they will not be graded.
Monday, September 20, 2010
We are learning our letters!
Happy Monday! Last week we began learning and reviewing our letters of the alphabet. We began with A and moved on to E, H, K, M, and R. We will continue to explore letters and sounds throughout this month and next. It would be a great idea to read the little books we send home daily.
We have started an author study of Kevin Henkes. He has written several delightful children's books including: Chrysanthemum, Wemberly Worried, and Owen. Ask your child about the fun books we have been reading and what kinds of characters are in these books.
Lastly, in math, we have been reviewing our colors, creating graphs by surveying the class, and learning about our class calendar. Pictures are coming soon!
Have a great week!!
We have started an author study of Kevin Henkes. He has written several delightful children's books including: Chrysanthemum, Wemberly Worried, and Owen. Ask your child about the fun books we have been reading and what kinds of characters are in these books.
Lastly, in math, we have been reviewing our colors, creating graphs by surveying the class, and learning about our class calendar. Pictures are coming soon!
Have a great week!!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
First Week of School
This week was so much fun! I got to meet all the new kindergarteners and play some fun games, sing songs, and read some stories. Also, I really enjoyed meeting my new students' families at Open House. it was great! Thanks to everyone who came out and visited the classroom. Please feel free to come and volunteer anytime or email me with any questions. It is going to be a great year!
Don't forget to check the class calendar for the color of the day and your assigned snack schedule. Have a great week!
Don't forget to check the class calendar for the color of the day and your assigned snack schedule. Have a great week!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
New Classroom!
I am so excited to start the school year on Tuesday! I took a couple pictures of the classroom, please take a look and get ready to learn! Remember we are starting the year with a staggered start, our first whole class day is on Friday. I can't wait to meet you and see everyone at the Kindergarten Open House on Thursday September 9th. Have a great holiday weekend!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
My name is MegAnn Michael and I am very excited to join the Amelia community this September. I moved to Cincinnati in July to be closer to my fiance, we are getting married next summer! I have spent the last five years in Chicago, IL teaching kindergarten and first grade in a charter school on the South Side of the city. It is so wonderful to be part of Amelia this year, with the beautiful, new building. I cannot wait to meet my new students and jump into learning this fall!
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