Kindergator Update 9.6.19


For a short week we sure did lots of work in kindergarten. The short week caused some schedule changes for us. And testing in 1st and 3rd grade caused us to be short Mrs. Ricci for part of the time as she proctors for those tests. Still, we managed to push forward on some big skills.

Reading: We did a mini unit on rhyming words. The full standard for the year requires that the students be able to identify rhyming words when they hear them and produce rhyming words for given words. This week we listened for rhyming pairs in poems, matched words with their rhyming partners and created rhyming word families. We saw great progress in our kiddos with this skill!

Math: We are diving into shapes. Our full standard means they have to name, define, compare and contrast: squares, circles, rectangles, triangles and hexagons. This unit moves fast and can be tough for some so we appreciate any reinforcement you can give at home. We focused heavily on squares as shapes with 4 equal sides and 4 “L” angles. Then we had a “Square Party” for all us squares who knew how to sneak into the party.

Writing: We focused heavily on our “slow motion robot” technique to help us stretch words to hear their beginning, middle and ending sounds. We still have some kiddos who are struggling with this skill. As we work with them, we see they have all they need to do it, they are just missing confidence in themselves. That made me think of a game of a car game I played with my own children that might help the kids get more comfortable with this skill. As we drove, my son and daughter would name the things they saw and try to find the letter it started with. We tried to find something for each letter of the alphabet: “American Flag, Boy, Car.” Once we finished the whole alphabet, which sometimes took a few days and required skipping of X word, we got ice cream. It helps us lots and maybe it will help you too.

Vocabulary: vowels, rhyming, square, side, angle, equal

Big Things:
Our PTA fall carnival is next Friday, September 13th. It is one of the most fun events we have here at Addison, mostly due to parent support. PLEASE consider signing up to volunteer for a short bit to help the night run smoothly. Even taking just one volunteer spot is a huge help, so please pitch in to make it a great night for the kids. As of right now we have lots of spots open. The link to volunteer is:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4cadaa28a13-addison

Thank You To:
  • Duncan or inventing the word “smonkeys” that the class has embraced completely.
  • Everyone who sent in Play-Doh. We have started using it already in our shapes and they kids LOVE it.
  • Our room mons, Mrs. Crosby and Mrs. Hammond. Their introduction letter was wonderful and a great resource for new families. They really are Addison experts and sweet ladies, so feel free to ask them any questions.
  • Jacob and Sawyer for incredible letter “s” transformation artwork into a ferris wheel and underground worm fighting a mole.
  • Fionna for sharing her birthday cupcakes with us. She knew we love the Pokemon!
  • Jacob, Mae-Claire, Eldabelle, and Hadley who earned their STAR behavior this week.
  • Gabe for almost sharing his strawberries with me.
  • Kendal for keeping us organized by putting our shapes bucket in order, organizing names on the board and the dozens of other things she helps put back together each day.
  • Lennox for jumping into his sounding out skills this week. His sentence writing this week was don quite confidently.
  • Daniel for always taking on a leadership role in group work and making sure they all share his competitive nature. He almost always leads them to victory.
  • William for a very original letter transformation turning “s” in to a road map.
  • Harrison for being our friendliest classmate who waves at everyone he passes and makes all Addison staff members smile.
  •  Carter for showing us all he can do, all day, every day this week.
  •  Arielle for writing an incredible sentence this week, independently.
  •  Mila for her future career as a jewelry designer.
  •  Hadley for her sounding out skills when describing her mean, tough shark.
  •  Mason, who always has a great story to share.


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