*Can you read these focus words? - doll, glass, dog, the, Lily, class, and  
*We are reviewing the -ad family words - sad, Lad, glad, Dad, mad had, pad
*Can you read these words?  -  log, bog, hog, fog, frog, smog, jog, dog
*We continue to learn about our five senses.  We had a great class discussion where we thought of our Thanksgiving weekend.  Then, we came up with words to describe our weekend using our 5 senses as a guide.  What did we smell?  What/Who did we see?  What did we touch, how did it feel?  What/who did we hear? and What were our favorite things that we tasted?
*What do these letters say - Aa, Cc, Oo, Gg, Dd, Ss, Ll?  Please practice writing both the uppercase and lowercase letters.  What are some words that start with these letters?
*When we add two numbers together do we get a bigger number or a smaller number?  (a bigger number)  How do we get the answer?  (by counting)  What is the answer called?  (the sum)  
*Can you write a plus sign?  Can you write an equal sign?  Can you write a math sentence/equation?    Example -   1 + 3 = 4
*Practice adding numbers to 10.  Example - 2 + 4 = 6

 

*Focus words - did, Icky, a, lid, ill, gill, dill, slid
*Word family --ig family - pig, wig, big, rig, twig, dig, fig, jig, gig
*We are in the first week of Advent.  During Advent we are preparing for and waiting for the birth of Jesus.  How many candles are on our Advent Wreath?  (4 - 3 purple and 1 pink)  
*Please have your child share their Lily book with you.  Have your child read the focus words that we have been working on.
*Who is our newest Superkid?  (Icky)  *Icky is short for Ichabod.
*Icky likes to watch TV and learn all about different places and things.  What do you like to learn about?
*What does the letter Ii say?  (short i /i/ like in itch, igloo, ink, igloo, inchworm)  Please practice writing the letter Ii.
*We are focusing on the short i /i/ sound in the middle of a word.  Can you read these words?  - big, lid, fig, slid, did, pit
*The distinction between some of the letter sounds are very small, very subtle.  Please make sure that your child is saying the correct sound.  This is especially true with vowels.  Lots of practice assures accuracy.
*Our goal is to blend sounds together to read words.  Then, flip the sounds around as fast as Icky can flip the channels, to create and read a new word.  Examples - sit, hit, lit, pit    or   bat, bet, bit, bot, but
*On Wednesday, December 6th, we celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas.  St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and sailors.  He is often shown holding 3 golden balls to represent his generosity. 
*St. Nicholas is often pictured with his fancy bishop hat on.  We learned that this hat is called a Mitre.  We made our own Mitre headbands and we enjoyed wearing them. 
*What did St. Nicholas leave for us on Wednesday.  (3 chocolate gold coins for everyone)

 

*Focus words - gas, class, doll, glad, Lad, Lass, log, Sal, salad, Lily
*Word family --og family - log, dog, fog, frog, jog, bog, hog, clog
*Please share your Thank You God Thanksgiving centerpieces with your family.  What are you thankful for?
*Can you sing some of our turkey songs to your family?  What are some of things/facts that you have learned about turkeys?
*Who is our newest Superkid?  (Lily)
*Our Superkid Lily is helping us learn how to blend sounds together to read words.  We have learned the sound for each letter and then we are blends the letter sounds together from left to right to form words.
*Do you like the lullaby that Lilly sings to her stuffed lion family?  Who are the members of the lion family?  (Dad Lion, Mom Lion, Lad, and Lass)
*Can you think of some words that start with the Ll /l/ sound?  (leaf, lamp, light, locket, lake, lemonade,...)
*Please review the initial sounds - Cc /k/, Dd /d/, Aa /a/, Gg /g/  and Ss /s/.
*When we add two numbers together, we get a bigger number.  How do we find out "how many" we have in all?  (by counting)
*We loved doing our Thanksgiving themed count the room activity.  What did we count?  
*We learned about the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians.  If you could pick, would you rather be a Pilgrim or a Wampanoag girl or boy?

*Focus words of the week - odd, the, sag, gas, soc, add, dog, cod, Sal, Cass, Oswald, Golly, Alf, Doc
*Word family of the week - ad family - sad, mad, lad, glad, had, rad, dad.  We made -ad word family headbands.  Please have your child read the words to you.
*On Tuesday we went to mass with grades 1 and 2.  Grade 2 did an amazing job reading.  Fr. Joe gave us a huge compliment - he told us that Kindergarten, grades 1 and 2 did a fantastic job!  
*In math we are classifying objects into catergories.  We are also explaining why they are in each category.  An example - category 1, animals with 4 legs and category 2, animals that do not have 4 legs.
*We are learning how to add two numbers together.  We know that we need to count to find out "how many" there are.  Currently, we are using manipulatives and pictures to help us add.  Please practice this at home with your child.  An example - grab some toys - 2 cars and 3 animals equals 5 toys in all.  We are focusing on the words - and, is, equals, in all. 
*Our Superkid Sal is helping us learn all about the letter Ss and the Ss /s/ sound.  Can you think of some words that start with the letter Ss?  What does the letter Ss say?  Can you practice writing Ss?
*What does Sal like to do?  (play sports)  What are some of the sports that he likes to play?  (soccer, skiing, skating, swimming, stickball,....)  What sports do you like to play?
*We read the book Balloons Over Broadway.  It is about the real puppeteer, Tony Sarg, who was the man behind all of the balloons that we see at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  The book reminds us to follow our dreams, find our talents, problem solve, and it shows us how art can make an amazing impact on the lives of us all.  Tony Sarg never gave up and he did his best and he showed us that we should too!
*We designed, created, and decorated our own parade balloons.  On Friday afternoon, we paraded around SPS and visited every classrrom.  We loved hearing all the oohs, and ahhs, and compliments.  We had a Balloons Over Alling Street Parade!

*Focus words of the week - see, the, odd, dog, Cass, Oswald, Golly, Alf, Doc
*Word family of the week - ad family - pad, bad, dad, mad, lad, sad, glad, had
*In Religion, we are discovering God's goodness.  What are our five senses?  (sight, touch, hearing, smelling, taste)  How can we use our five senses to experience and discover all that wonderful things that God has given us?
*Our Superkid, Doc is helping us practice blending sounds together.  After Doc fixed her broken toys, they made some new sounds.  Can you read these sounds?  The doll said - da da.  The clock said - oc oc.  The duck said - ac ac.  The rooster said - co co co.  
*Doc made some odd toys.  What does the word odd mean?  Do you think a bicycle with wings is odd?  Do you think a rocket with balloons is odd?  Do you think a sink with mechnical arms to do the dishes is odd? Do you think these inventions are useful?  Why?   What would you like to invent?
*Who is a Veteran?  (people who have been in our military protecting our country and keeping us safe)
*Can you sing our Veterans song to your family?  (See the Veterans, See the Veterans, Oh, so brave!  Oh, so brave!  We thank you for your service, We thank you for your service.  Your so strong!  Your so strong!)  Maybe you can sign the song to a Veteran that you know.

*Focus words of the week - see, Cass, Oswald, Golly, Alf, Doc.
*Word family of the week - at family - bat, mat, cat, sat, hat, splat, brat, chat...  Please practice reading and writing these words.
*Please read your --at family book to your parents.
*Can you make a spooky face?  Read the Let's Find Out booklet together.  What happens when pumpkins rot?  How does a rotting pumpkin help the soil?  
*We did a great job at church on Wednesday.  Fr. Michael celebrated the All Saints Day mass with us.  Fr. Michael reminded us that even though we might not see the Saints and Jesus in person, we know that they are always there for us.  All we need to do is to follow them.
*Who is our newest Superkid?  (Doc)  What does Doc like to do?  (fix old or broken toys and to create new toys using the broken pieces)  
*Review the letter Dd.  What does Dd say?  Can you think of some words that start with the letter Dd and the d /d/ sound?  (Doc, door, donut, dinosaur,....)  Please practice writing the letter Dd.  Remember, the lowercase d is wearing a "diaper" and the curve goes behind 
*Did you enjoy our Halloween Centers?  What was your favorite one?  We painted Halloween ornaments, created and ate a monster or Spookley snack and ate it, eye ball toss, roll a spider,...
*We enjoyed our Halloween themed write the room.  We matched the Halloween pictures and wrote the word on our recording sheets.  We have fun reading the words, writing the words, and using our clipboards.
*In math, we used candy corn candies to compare, estimate, add, and subtract.  We made patterns with and counted candy corn candies too!  We had fun practicing these math concepts with real candy and with mini Halloween erasers.
*On Wednesday, we enjoyed having indoor recess with grades 1 and 2.  We loved playing with our friends on the rainy day.

*We are enjoying learning about our Superkid, Alf and his many adventures.  What is Alf's full name?  (Alfalfa)  We researched what alfalfa is and how it grows.   Have you ever had alfalfa on a sandwich or in a salad?
*Alf dreams about owning an anteater.  Would you want a pet anteater?  Why or why not?  Do you think his 2 foot long sticky tongue might be useful for some thing other than catching ants?  Can you tell your parents about anteaters?
*Share your Let's Find Out booklet.  Who says, Hoo! Hoo!  (owl)  Awoooo!  (coyotes)  Croooak!  (frog)
*We are learning about syllables in words.  Syllables in a word tell us how many "sound parts" that a word has.  To find out how many syllables a word has, put your hand under your chin.  How many times does your chin move down when you say the word?  That is the number of syllables the word has.  How many syllables do these words have?   skunk (1), Earth (1), October (3), moon (1), raccoon (2), bear (1)
*We made a bat habitat craft and put some --at word bats in it.  Can you read the words to your parents?  (bat, cat, rat, hat, sat, pat, mat,....)
*In religion, we made our own Creation Books.  We listened to the Creation story from a Children's Bible.
*In math, we continue to compare numbers 0 - 10.  We are using some wonderful math words - fewer, less than,  least, smaller, greater than, more, bigger, equal.  When we compare two groups of items, we are looking at the items and thinking about how many, then we use our "math logic, math smarts" to talk about how many.
*Did you enjoy the Halloween parade?  Was it fun having our middle school friends and parents cheering us on?
*What was your favorite Boo Bash activity?  Did you have fun playing the Halloween games?
******A huge thank you to all the parents and grandparents that help out with the Boo Bash.  We had a wonderful time and we enjoyed going with our 6th grade buddies!*****

*We loved our visit from the Berlin Fire Department and from Lt. Johnson.  A huge thank you goes out to Firefighters Johnson, Karl, and Tyler!  We learned about fire safety, the job of a firefighter, the tools they use and the equipment they wear.  A highlight of the visit was sitting in the fire truck and getting our pictures taken.  
*Please pick a meeting spot for your family to meet up at in case there is ever a fire in your house.  The meeting spot should NOT be at the street.  A good suggestion would be at a neighbors door.  That way it is a familiar spot that is easy and safe to get to and your neighbor can help you call 911.
*Read your book, "At The Fire Station" with your parents.  Read the sentences, I see...  
*Focus words of the week - bat, cat, mat, pat, fat, flat, hat...  
*We continue to learn about the --at family words.  Can you think of some words that rhyme with bat?  Can you spell these words?  Can you read these words? 
*We are learning how to blend sounds together to read words.  Remember to put your finger under each letter/sound and say the sound out loud or in your brain.  Say the sounds faster, and faster.  Put the sounds together.  What word pops in your brain as you read/say/blend the sounds?  Example - C, A, T.
*We finished up our Golly books.  Please share your Golly book with your family.  What does Golly like to do?  What does Gooly's Gg /g/ say?  What are some words that start with the hard g /g/ sound?   (gum, goat, go,...)  What are some words that end with the hard g /g/ sound?  (leg, pig, flag,...)
*Who is our newest Superkid?  (Alf)  What does Alf like to do?  (go on adventures in his backyard using his imagination)  What are some words that start with the letter Aa and the /a/ sound?  (Alf, ants, anteater, alligator, adventure, apple,...)  How does Alf feel about the ants that crawl all over his legs?  (upset and worried)  
*What is an anteater?  (An animal that has a long snout/nose and a long, sticky tongue.  An anteater's tongue can stick out two feet and it uses it has sticky saliva/spit on it to catch the ants and termites that it wants to eat)
*Ants are insects that have 3 body parts and 6 legs and 2 antennae.  Ants are super strong.  Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight.  That is like a Kindergarteners being able to lift 20 classmates!!!!  Can you do that?  Ants are amazing creatures that God created.
*In math, we are practice counting to and writing numbers 0 - 10.  Please have your child practice counting and writing these numbers at home.  The more they practice the easier it will be for your child.
*In religion, we are practicing the Sign of the Cross.  The cross is a symbol of God's love for us.  God's love for us is amazing!  
*On Friday, we had a fire drill during gym class.  We did a great job quietly lining up and safely walking out of the building.  Way to go Team Kindergarten!

*This is Fire Safety Week!
*Firefighters have a very important job.  Have your child describe what firefighters do on the job.  What gear do firefighters wear?  What tools do they use?  
*If there is ever a fire at your house, what should you do?  (Get out and stay out!  Then call 911)  Remember to stay out of a burning building.  We can always buy new stuff - clothes, toys, stuffed animals,... but we can NEVER buy a new YOU!
*Share the Let's Find Out booklet with your parents.  What can a robot do?  How can robots keep humans safe?  If you had a robot, what would you like it to do for you?
*We made our first directed drawings, pumpkins.  What details did you add to your pumpkin picture?
*We watercolors to paint monsters.  What name did you give your monster?  What does your monster like to eat, where does it live?  How many eyes did you give your monster?
*What does Golly's letter Gg say?   Can you think of some words that begin with the g /g/ sound?  Can you think of some words that end with the g /g/ sound?
*What are some words that rhyme with bat?  (hat, sat, mat, cat, fat, pat)  What do all of these words have in common?
*In math, we focused on the numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.  Can you find and count items around your house?  Please practice writing these numbers.
*We had a great time at the Friday Fun Run.  Thank you for all of your support for our school.  We appreciate it!
*In religion, we listened to the Creation Story.  What did God create?  Why did God rest on the last day?

*Focus letters for the week - Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz.
*We have completed our ABC Bootcamp.  Each day, we focused on a letter of the alphabet.  The sounds the letters make, words that start with the letter, we learned about animals that begin with the letter, and we practiced writing the letters.  Please have your child read their ABC Book with you.  Your child worked very hard on the book.  Have your child put it on their bookshelf and read it throughout the year!
*We read the book, Fr. Ben Gets Ready for Mass.  While reading the book, we talked about going to mass, the role/job of the priest, and parts of the church.  Ask your child to tell you what a pew is?  Where does the priest say mass?  What do the altar servers do?
*Our class did an amazing job at our first school mass on Wednesday.  We sat with our mass buddies and we followed along as Fr. Martin celebrated the mass.  
*What are the names of the priests that serve St Paul Church?  (Fr. Joe, Fr. Michael, and Fr. Martin)
*Who was St. Francis of Assisi?  (A man who loved God with all of his heart, he also loved animals and nature too!)
*Please share your Oswald book with your family.  What does Oswald like to do?  What is his favorite letter and what sound does it make?  Share some information about the animals in the book with your parents.  What animal is your favorite?  Read the, My Book of Odd Animals with your parents.  Can you make some odd animals?
*Who is our newest Superkid?  (Golly)  Is Golly a person?  (no, Golly is a dog)  Where does Golly live? (at the gas station with Gus and Gert)
*We are learning about bats!  What do bats like to eat?  (bugs, fruit, flying ants)  We love the bats that like to eat mosquitoes.  Bats are nocturnal.  What does nocturnal mean?  (that they sleep during the day and are awake at night, they also hunt for their food at night)
*In math this week we focused on the numbers 6 and 7.  Please practice writing these numbers.  Grab a handful of some toys, Legos, mini erasers, crayons,... and count them.  Then, grab another handful of an item.  Are the number of items in each group equal?  Which group has a greater/bigger/larger number?  Which group has a smaller/fewer/less number?

*Focus letters for the week - Ss, Tt, U, and Vv.  What sounds do these letters make?  Please practice writing these letters.  What are some words that start with these letters?
*We painted some paper leaves with Fall colors.  We put the leaves on our bulletin board with "Fall for Jesus"
*Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!  We celebrated Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  Who was Johnny?  What did he do?  (Johnny lived long ago.  He loved animals, nature, God, and apples.  Johnny traveled around the United States with a sack full of apple seeds.  He gave out seeds and planted seeds where ever he went.  Johnny planted the first apple orchards.)  Do you think Johnny really wore a pot on his head?  Why or Why not?
*What special snack did we make for Johnny's birthday?  (apple pie in a cup)  What was the order of the ingredients?  (crushed graham crackers, apples, whipped cream, and cinnamon)  Did you like the taste of the apple pie in a cup?
*In math, we are comparing and counting items and deciding if the two groups are the same/equal, or we are determining which group has more/is greater or less/fewer.
*Can you tell your families about some of Oswald's favorite odd animals -  otters, oxen, an octopus, ocelots, ostriches?  What are some of the facts that we have learned about these animals?  Do you have a favorite?