SNACK!!!

I just wanted to thank all the parents who donated snacks to our classroom.  I know the students really appreciate it too!

We made it through the first week!

We have had a fabulous week of school here in the Humphrey Hive.  I am so proud of all my students.  They have adjusted to the class and are to get into the groove of our daily routine.  We are still practicing rules and procedure but we have also touched on many other things this week.  We started our study on color and color names.  By the end of next week we will have studied all ten colors and be well on our way to recognizing the color names.  We also did a lot with a little raccoon named Chester. 

We read The Kissing Hand, and three of its sequals this week.  The Kissing Hand is a great book to read when just starting school because it talks about Chester and his fears...many of the same ones our kindergarteners may have when starting school. His mother comes up with a wonderful idea to help her little raccoon remember that she loves him and is thinking about him, even when she isn't with him.

I cant wait to see all my bees back, on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Calling all Milk Jugs!!!

We have a big mission ahead of us. We are trying to build an igloo in the center of our Annex building. Instead of ice, this igloo will be made with milk jugs. Please send any empty milk jugs you have to school with your child. Please make sure these milk jugs are thoroughly cleaned out. To make sure it is fully cleaned, it may be a good idea to bit a drop of bleach inside the jug with some water and shake it around a bit.
We need about 600 jugs, so ask your neighbors and friends for their empty milk jugs also. When the igloo is complete, we will have a fun and interesting place to curl up and read a good book! Please help up accomplish this mission.

There is a picture of the igloo we strive to make below. :)

Our Social Contract/ Classroom Rules

In the very beginning of the year, our class goes over the rules and procedures that we need to follow in class. As a class we write a social contract to show that we all inderstand and agree with the rules of the class. These rules can be summed up as:

1. Be a good student
2. Be a good listener
3. Be a good friend


Every student in the class signes the social contract and I hang it up somewhere in the room to remind the students of our goal.

If the rules in the social contract are broken, We use a color chart to document our class' individual behavior. There are four colors on our behavior chart. Below is a break down of what each clor stands for.

Green: GREAT day!
Yellow: OK day - 2nd Warning, Miss 5 minutes of center time/fun activity
Orange: NOT SO GOOD day- 3nd Warning, Note home, Miss 10 minutes of center time/fun activity
Red: SAD day - Immediate call to parent, and possible office visit.

*Every child is given one free verbal warning

What is Assessment?

What is assessment?
Assessment is a critical component of the teaching process. Even Kindergarten Teachers assess what their students know so they will better understand what they need to teach. Assessing our students will keep us from teaching concepts that have already been mastered- thus wasting valuable time. Assessing students allows the teacher to teach critical skills that must be mastered now in order for the student to be successful in the next grade. Your child will periodically come home with an assessment sheet to let you know where your child is, and ho far they have to go till mastery.

What skills will be assessed?
Through the year I will assess anything that is being taught in the classroom. For example, if I am teaching patterns, colors, shapes, rote counting, number identification, and one-to-one correspondence daily during math then those skills will need to be assessed several times throughout the year to see how well your child is comprehending what I am teaching.