Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!!!

I hope you are all able to take some time off to spend with your family and friends.  I am spending my weekend recharging and spending time with my kids (my animals) and my husband. :)

I realized last night that I completely forgot to take pictures this week! :( However, we are not completely done with our Brown Bear Unit, so there will still be pictures!  So far, we have read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" along with "Baby Bear, Baby Bear What Do You See?" and "Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?"  They are all written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle.  I love these books and they are excellent for teaching skills such as sequencing and color words! It is also a good book for children to read because it is easy to remember the words and help them track print!  Many excellent skills that they need to learn.

We did a sequencing activity for "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?".  They had 1 hour to complete it, so if your child did not get it done they were given a sentence strip so they could complete it at home! :)

We were also working on numbers 3 and 4.  You will notice that we are moving VERY slow with numbers (and letters) because I really want to make sure your student grasps number sense.  I want them to be able to manipulate numbers that is easiest for them and that starts with understanding that there are different ways to show them. 

I have introduced Daily 5.  This is a reading block activity that allows students to work independently and gives me time to work in small groups.  This also allows me to differentiate for students at their level.  This means I can push students who are high while still helping those students struggling with a certain concept. I will also be incorporating this teaching style with Math.

In case you are not following Glendale Elementary School District on Facebook, then you missed all the amazing pictures that came from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge! I was only one of many who took the challenge! Jim Cummings from our District Office was there to capture pictures of us the moment the water hit us! Here I am..

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It was only cold for a little while and then heat warmed me right back up! :) There is also a video somewhere! When I locate it I will post it for you all to see.  In the meantime be sure to like Glendale Elementary District and Bicentennial South Facebook pages!

Remember that Tuesday is picture day! I want to apologize for getting the papers out so late.  They are in the BEE Binder (stay at home pocket).  If you don't return the money on Tuesday there will still be time to order! :) We go at 9:45 on Tuesday that way your student doesn't spill on their outfit or run and get sweaty before picture time! 

I will be posting a reminder post on Monday morning! Be sure to check in so that you remember all that is happening and going on this coming week! 

Enjoy your long weekend!

Mrs. Leopold

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Welcome back to our Classroom Blog! :)

We have successfully completed week 2 of Kindergarten and with that our theme of "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom"!

In math this week we were learning about numbers 1 and 2.  We practiced counting them, writing them, and making them! I use the curriculum provided by our district called "Go Math".  I also input supplementary worksheets and activities to go along with Go Math.

We also started doing Problem Solving using story problems.  The story problems right now are using the skill of reasoning. Yesterday our story problem was about two children who were buying a toy.  They were looking at 5 different toys (all were vehicles of some sort).  They were given 3 clues as to what the toy was that the children wanted to buy and they had to figure it out.  We are doing them as a whole group right now, but eventually they will be doing them on their own.

Throughout the week we read several books including: "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", "Chicka Chicka 123" and "The Numberlys".  I love all three of these books!

I was most excited for Friday to make our silly Chicka Chicka Boom Boom hats! I found a template for it online and was so excited about it!

Some of the letters didn't stick very well, but overall they turned out really cute! If I was not able to put your child's together-they should have gotten all the materials to finish it at home! We ran out of time and some children work slower than others.

Next week our them will be "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". It shall be another fun week!

Enjoy your weekend,
Mrs. Leopold

BEE Binder and Important Information

I am very excited to implement the BEE Binder. It is my first year doing a binder like this and am hoping it works out amazing! :)

Yesterday I put together all the BEE Binders for our class.  The BEE Binders will go home every day and need to be signed by a parent or guardian.  This will help hold your student accountable for their BEE Binder and you will know how your student did in school that day.

This is the cover of the BEE Binder! (I made it myself and am quite proud of it!)  Your child's name will be on the line.

When you open it up you will see a Pencil Pouch.  This will hold any money (for lunches, our field trip in March/April, and anything else money is needed for) and it will hold permission slips or any papers I need signed and returned to school.

Next is a calendar.  This calendar is used to show you what color your student ended the day on. They will color the square around the date what color they ended on. There is a key showing you what that color means.  If you student has to move down, I will write why they moved down.  I want the your student to be able to tell you what they did to get on the color they did.  Having you initial each date will let your student know that we are in communication and you know how they behave in school  This is usually a very good incentive to only move up!

The next paper you will see is the lunch menu.  I will put the new one in there every month. This way you will know what is for lunch in case you would like to send a lunch with your student instead.

Next is your parent signature for the homework. Just sign it each day so I know your student did their homework.  Remember, it is only Monday through Thursday. The BEE Binder will come home on Fridays, but only for the behavior communication.

Following the paper for you signature is the homework paper for you student.  This month it is only handwriting and for you to read them a story.  As we go along, it will be more difficult.  We really want them to practice writing their name and making sure it is their FULL name and not a nickname.  I am not concerned with last times at this time-that will come later.  Please make sure to help them write it using proper formation (I will be adding a paper about this tomorrow) and using the lines.  If you have any questions about homework please don't hesitate to ask.

This is a two pocket divider.  The first pocket will be homework.  The other side will be papers for you to keep at home or to sign and put in the pencil pouch.  Please make sure to empty it every night so we don't cram the folder full.

The last section of the BEE Binder is the P.S.S. Communication Log! I will add notebook paper behind the cover.  This will be a place for you to write me a note or questions.  It is just a way to communicate when I might not be able to see you at dismissal.  I will also write notes to you if there is something I want you to be aware of! I love positive attention and look for ways to praise positive behavior.  One of those ways is to let you know how well your student did during a lesson or with an assignment.  Be sure to check it often!

There will be a paper in the back of the folder which will also explain what everything is.  This will help if you have a question and cannot get a hold of me immediately. I will be making that later today and putting it in tomorrow.

The BEE Binder is place that we will keep everything. Make sure to empty it and take good care of it.  If you student happens to lose it you may replace the binder, pencil pouch and 2 pocket folder and I will supply all the papers or we can use a paper folder. That will be up to you. 

Make sure your student has it every day. Starting in September if they do not have it then they will automatically flip their clip to a warning.  I am a believer in making them responsible for their items and start teaching that the first day of school. 

Some changes that will be happening starting tomorrow:
1-Your fast pass is expired.  You will need to give your ID to the office staff in order to enter campus.
2-We are starting to pick up outside in the grass area to the right of the blue gate (by the preschool playground).
3-I am starting the Baseball Behavior Plan that was outline in the Welcome Letter (if your student on or after the first day of school and you did not get one-please let me know! I have lot of copies and want you to know how our classroom is run).  I will start implementing the positive incentives and punishments.
4. Your child NEEDS their ID every day. Starting in September if they do not have it, they will not be able to play at recess.  This is, once again, a way to help them be responsible.  If they lose it, you will need to replace it. You can order a new one in the office. It is $5 for the ID, lanyard, and plastic cover.

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know! 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Mrs. Leopold

The First Week!

We survived the first week of school! It was a busy, crazy and fun week.  I was not able to take as many pictures as I had originally wanted, but I did get some!

We read several books about the first week of school, books about school and a book about what we do when we miss our families! It was great to see how independent all the students became even after just the first week. 

We have learned many things already.  We learned about the rules of our school, classroom, and the  playground.  We learned how to walk in a line, sit on the carpet and follow directions. 

Academically we have learned how to write our name (we will be continuing to work on this for quite some time), we practiced cutting paper, write lines to help with letter formation, glue, color, and the sounds of letters! Personally, zoophonics is my favorite time of the day! :)

On Friday, we did a roll and color for the book "The Kissing Hand".  They had a picture of a raccoon that had numbers on it. They had to roll a dice and color in the corresponding number.  Some students struggled figuring out what the numbers on the dice looked like in written from, but eventually that will be an easy task to do!

We also practice tracing vertical lines.  This is a pre-writing skill that we practice at the beginning of the year so that they are ready to write letters that include vertical lines.  We will also practice horizontal, slanted and circles throughout the next week.

For math we had a number worksheet that had numbers 1-5.  The students were to color the pictures of the raccoons and then put the number of raccoons by each number.  1 to 1 correspondence is a task that we will be continuing to work on for several months.  Some students understand it right away and some take a little more time.  Either way, they will all learn it! :) They enjoyed being able to cut the paper, although that was a tough task in itself! 

That is a summary of the first week of school! I hope your child enjoyed their first week of school as much as I did! I will be posting tomorrow about the BEE Binder along with some changes to our dismissal routines for those that don't already know!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me or call me (emailing is better than calling over the weekend). 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Mrs. Leopold

Meet the Teacher Night

Thank you for coming out to meet me (or just see our classroom if you I met you for Jumpstart)! It was an amazing turnout! I am so excited for Monday to get here!

Remember to read through your purple Welcome Letter and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me and ask any questions! I will not be at school this weekend, but will be checking my email periodically throughout the weekend.  I caught an error in the purple letter. My email has changed to sleopold@gesd40.org.

Remember to make sure to bring your student to our classroom (room 24) on Monday.  On Tuesday we will have you drop your students off at the Kindergarten Playground. You will see me out there at 7:45 with all the other teachers.

We are doing dismissal in Room 2 (the office staff can help you find it if you are unsure of where it is) and do not forget your "Kinder Fast Past".  This will only be happening for the first week of school and then we will transition out to the front of the building. 

Enjoy your last weekend of summer break! I hope you come in on Monday refreshed and ready for an amazing school year.  If there is anything I can do, or any concern you have please let me know so I can make this year the best year for you and your student.

Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Leopold