December 17-21

We hope you have a wonderful break full of family, friends, rest, and laughs.
See you next year!

Upcoming Events:
December 22-January 2: No School 

Reading: Kindergarteners will work on making predictions, rereading, and using book talk power to become stronger readers. All of these skills help readers to really think about what is happening in the story; developing deeper comprehension. We will not be sending book bags home over break. Instead, cuddle up and read some of your favorite holiday or seasonal books:)

Writing: Writers will work on elaboration this week. Whenever we are writing true stories, we can add more details by showing in pictures and writing in words. Writers think about what more to add by asking the following questions:

• Who was there?
• Where is the story taking place?
• What happened?
• What did people say? (speech bubbles)
• How were they feeling?

Math: We will work on teen numbers this week. As mathematicians, the most efficient way to see teen numbers is to see the group of ten and the extras. We will create teen number books to practice building ten and the extras. We will also work on finding the partners of the numbers 2-6. This letter explains how we introduce and use partners in Kindergarten. Finally, mathematicians will use math tools to solve both addition and subtraction problems within 5.

Snap Words: Here is a list of the snap words we have learned and practiced at school:
I, a, the, is, and, it, me, here, can, we, see, in, you, look, like, come, to, and, this, at, am, have, to, my, on & do.
Keep reading and writing these as much as you can!

Social Studies: To wrap up our Holiday study, Kindergartners will participate in different games and traditions from holidays we learned about. We will create Kwanzaa mats and play the dreidel game. Ask your child about a holiday we learned about! You could encourage them to use their hand, putting the main topic (holiday) on their palm and sharing key details (the things they learned) on each finger. This is a fun way to organize our thinking about nonfiction!

December 10-14

Important Dates and Reminders:

December 11: No School

December 13: Family Night and PJ Day

December 17: Walking Field to Kindred Hearts (more info to come)

December 21:  Wear Red and Green or PJs

December 24-January 2: No School

Reading: This week we will kick off a new unit called: Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles.  This unit builds perfectly off of Super Powers unit!  This week we will learn to use a reading mat to organize our books from easy to more challenging and will then make a plan for the reading powers we will need to use to tackle our more challenging books.  We will rely on using patterns that books give us, snap words, beginning sounds and picture support to continue growing as readers.

Writing: Writers have learned about so many ways to make their true stories easy to read. We will work with partners and use the following chart to make our writing the very best it can be! We can't wait to share their work on Thursday's family night! Hope to see you there!

Math: We begin Unit 3 this week, which focuses on identifying 10 groups in teen  numbers, finding partners of a number (i.e. partners of 5 are 3+2 and 4+1), and addition and subtraction. When working on teen numbers, we want students to understand that a teen number is made up of a group of ten and extras. These are fun teen number puzzles to work on identifying the digit and quantity it represents. You could also work with teen numbers with toys at the house using this as a guide. Here is an easy way to practice working on partners of a number.

Social Studies: We have been using close reading to learn and think deeply about our holidays unit. So far, we have read books about Hanukkah, St. Patrick's Day, Kwanzaa, and Memorial Day.  When we close read, we talk about vocabulary and discuss what the author is trying to teach us. We have learned so much about these holidays already!

December 3-7

We hope you have been enjoying the chance to have your child read to you at home each night.  They have been so excited to bring books home.  Just a reminder to help your child remember to bring their book bag back to school each day so they can choose new books to bring home.  

Important Dates and Reminders:

December 11: No School

December 13: Family Night and PJ Day

December 17: Walking Field to Kindred Hearts (more info to come)

December 21:  Wear Red and Green or PJs

December 24-January 2: No School

Math: This will be our last week working in Unit 2.  We will be working in math centers this week to better finalize and consolidate the concepts we have learned while working in this unit.  Our math centers will be:

• Nearby Numbers: using forward and backward number sequence to fill in a series of missing numbers. This will help us to count on from a given number which is an early addition strategy. 
• Break Apart Sticks and Chips: representing a quantity using math chips and then placing a break apart stick to create 2 groups and recognizing how they work together as partners to make a number and then writing an equation to match
• +1/-1 dice game: using a dice, game piece and 1-10 number parade to practice automaticity with +1 and -1 equations and to better understand the connection these equations have to forward and backward counting.
• 5 frame subtraction:  filling a 5 frame with 5 dots/circles. rolling a die and then crossing out to show subtraction and writing an equation to match.  This will help us with our subtraction fluency within 5. 

If you are looking for some great at home activities to support the Kindergarten math standards we will focus on all year.  Here is a fantastic resource.  As always, let us know if you have questions or need specific feedback

Reading: This week we will kick off a new unit called: Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles.  This unit builds perfectly off of Super Powers unit!  This week we will learn to use a reading mat to organize our books from easy to more challenging and will then make a plan for the reading powers we will need to use to tackle our more challenging books.  We will rely on using patterns that books give us, snap words, beginning sounds and picture support to continue growing as readers

Writing: We have been working SO hard to make sure we are getting one WHOLE story written each day in writer's workshop!  Here is a chart we created to help us make our writing more readable:

This week we will reread our books as we write to make sure we are writing everything we can to tell WHO is in our story, WHERE they are and WHAT happened.  We will also learn to add more vowel sounds to our writing to make it easier to read and will also challenge ourselves to write snap words correctly every time.

Social Studies: We are sad to see our weather unit come to an end, but we will begin a new inquiry unit into holidays.  This week we will use a calendar to notice the many holidays that are celebrated across a year and will then identify holidays we already know about and those we'd like to learn more about.  Overall, we will be choosing 8 total holidays to study from now until winter break.  Stay tuned to hear the holidays we choose!

November 26-30

We have so much to be thankful for in Kindergarten!  Students took time to share and reflect on what they were most thankful for!  We are certainly thankful for the wonderful students and families we have the chance to work with!  We hope you enjoyed this time with your families!

Important Dates and Reminders:

December 11: No School
December 13: Family Night-more info to come!
December 24-January 2: No School 

NDLC Service Group December Project   

The NDLC Service Group will be tying fleece blankets during the December 13th family night.  Blankets are prepped and will be ready to be tied in various rooms through the school.  There will be a specific way to tie the blankets based on how they have been prepped.  We are asking that families stop by one of the rooms and help tie a blanket. A volunteer will be stationed in each room to help teach you how to tie.   We will have 34 blankets to be tied.  Blankets will be donated to Children’s Hospital in Neenah. 

What's happening in K this week?

Reading: Beginning this week, students will be bringing home a book bag each night. These book bags will have 2 books your child is interested in reading. One of our main goals is to have the students fall in love with reading. Feel free to read the book to your child! If your child is wanting to do some of the reading, here are a few ways you could support your reader with the books they bring home:

•  Have your child hunt for snap words they know
• Give your child the pattern on the first page of the book, then let them read the rest 
• Encourage your reader to point one time under every word as they read 
• Remind them to check the picture if they get stuck!

Please send the book bag back to school every day so we can exchange the books!

Writing: The writers will begin to work on true stories this week. In Kindergarten, we work on oral storytelling and transferring those stories to paper.  We will think about writing stories that people are excited to read. Then, we will make sure they can read them by adding drawing and making our sentences easy to read by using spaces and many letter sounds.

Math:  This week the mathematicians will be starting to review many of the concepts we have learned in unit 2. We will practice writing numbers using wikki sticks, paint in a bag, salt writing and more! We will learn about the characteristics of a hexagon and continue to review the characteristics of the other shapes we have learned. Students will apply their knowledge of the +1 and -1 patterns by playing different dice games.

Science: The scientists spent the last week gathering information by looking at photographs, reading books, and listening to iPads to learn more about weather. They took notes about their learning and will compile all of this information together to share in the form of a poster or presentation. We will be sharing our learning on Thursday and checking our learning with a weather assessment on Friday. 

November 12-16

It has been a pleasure meeting with you during conferences this past week. We are excited to continue sharing the awesome Kindergarten work on Tuesday night!

Just a quick reminder:

...we hope to see you there! 

Important Dates and Reminders:
November 13: Portfolio Conferences
November 15: Packer Wear
November 16: Bookstore Celebration
November 16: Half Day
November 19: Veteran's Day Concert
November 21-25: No School

Our Veterans Day program is coming up on Monday, November 19.  We are looking for volunteers to bring treats for the end of the program.  If you are willing, please click on the link below to sign up to bring something.

http://signup.com/go/NoWVZmT

Here are the links to sign up to help with PSC related events:

Fall 2018 Teacher Conference Meals

Fall 2018 Book Fair

What's happening in our room this week? 

Reading: Last week, Reader Man left a note and special witch finger pointers for our readers! They have been working hard to amp up their pointer power. Readers will learn that every word, no matter how long, gets just one point! We will also use our snap words to make sure we are pointing correctly in our books. So far, the super readers have learned about four powers: pointer power, picture power, partner and sound power!

Writing: The writers will be busy getting ready for the bookstore on Friday! We will spend the first few days of the week focusing on writing stamina to get as many books ready for the bookstore as possible. Then we will "fancy up" or illustrate and edit our writing to be ready for publishing. We hope to see you on Friday!

Math: This week, mathematicians will continue to work on the +1 and -1 patterns. We will create poems that help us to remember the pattern and equations. We will also continue our work with story problems. The mathematicians made the connection between our writing chart and writing a math equation. We use this chart to check that we have completed each step:

The mathematicians have loved playing “Garbage” This is a card game that focuses on number order. Grab a deck of cards and ask your child to teach you how to play at home!

Science:  After building knowledge about different kinds of weather, students will be rotating through the following centers: 

• Reading Center--Students will look through books on weather to learn even more! 
• Writing Center--This center will have supplies ready for students to write about what they have learned about weather
• Photo Center--Scientists will sort, uncover, label, and title weather photos
• Technology Center--scientists will explore weather using the Pebble Go app

November 5-9

Hello K Families! 
We are in need of flashlights for a science experiment. If you can lend us some please send them to school by Thursday! Thanks in advance!

Also, in case you didn't see it in your child's folder...

Important Dates and Reminders:
November 8 & 13: Portfolio Conferences
November 15: Packer Wear
November 16: Bookstore Celebration
November 16: Half Day
November 19: Veteran's Day Concert
November 21-25: No School

Here are the links to sign up to help with PSC related events:

Fall 2018 Teacher Conference Meals

Fall 2018 Book Fair

Here is a peek at the week:

Reading: This week is the beginning of our most EXCITING reading unit yet: Super Readers! Students will learn that readers are like super heroes because they can use super reader powers. After getting their very own book bins, they will learn about their super powers! For example, Super Readers can use pointer power to point at each word while reading a book.

Writing: Writers will learn to focus on the conventions of a sentence. They will learn that sentences start with an uppercase letter, contain mostly lowercase letters, and have words separated by spaces and end with a punctuation mark. They will use this knowledge to add more sentences and endings to their books to start to prepare for our writing celebration on November 16!

Science: This week we will study the sun and the impact it can have on temperature as well as the way it provides light.  We will learn about a city in Norway that is situated in a way where it can receive no light and will hypothesize and experiment with ways we could create light.  We are in need of flashlights for this experiment!  If you can lend us some, please send them to school by Thursday!!!

Math: Mathematicians will be introduced to the +1 pattern this week. Finding patterns in numbers is a foundational skill needed in mathematics. To study this pattern, students will use a counting mat to build numbers 1-10. We will discuss how to move from one number to the next and will write equations to  match.

1+1=2        2+1=3           3+1=4          4+1=5   and so on!

October 29-November 2

We hope the students enjoyed a few extra days off and will return to school refreshed and ready to continue working hard.  We cannot believe it is nearly November and we will soon be meeting you for conferences.  The link to sign up for a conference time went out through Campus messenger last week, please let us know if you have questions about signing up.  Also, the PSC is in need of help on conference nights, check out the sign ups below. 

Important Dates and Reminders:
October 31: Wear Orange and Black
November 8 & 13: Portfolio Conferences
November 15: Packer Wear
November 16: Half Day
November 19: Veteran's Day Concert
November 21-25: No School

Fall 2018 Teacher Conference Meals

Fall 2018 Teacher Conference Meals

Fall 2018 Book Fair

Fall 2018 Book Fair

Here is a peek at the week:

Math: Mathematicians will learn all about numbers 6-10 and how using a five group can help us to see and build those numbers quickly! We will use different tools to build these numbers and make equations to match. Mathematicians will also explore equal and not equal by comparing both digits to objects and objects to objects.  

Reading: This week in reading we will continue to read unknown books and learn more strategies to do so.  One thing readers will learn to do is take a picture walk by checking the cover and then looking at all the pictures to get an idea of how the book might go.  We will also pay attention to how many words are on a page and then try to match what we say to that (ex. if there are four words on the page, try to say four words).  Lastly, we will work on rereading books again and again using a smooth voice.

Writing: Writing this week will focus mainly on sentence writing!  Writers will learn that sentences are a way to share more information than labels.  We will be using the high frequency (or as we call them snap) words to create sentences in patterns across pages.  The snap words we have learned so far are: and, a, come, here, have, is, I, like, me, the, this, we.   These are words that your child can practice at home by writing them or finding them in books.

Science: This week we will begin an exploration of weather.  We will become "weather watchers" and will learn important things to be on the look out for when studying the weather.  We will be spending time outside to observe and write about the weather and will begin to discuss how the weather impacts people and the things they need.

October 22-25

What a fun and exciting week in Kindergarten!  Check out the creativity students displayed when creating props and acting out to tell their old favorite storybooks!  We also had a blast decorating pumpkins!  Thank you for all of the donations of materials!

Important Dates and Reminders:
This week is Red Ribbon Week
10/22: Wear sweats or team apparel
10/23: Wear crazy socks
10/23: Family Night 6-7pm
10/24: Wear Red
10/25&10/26: NO SCHOOL

Math: On Monday we will take our Unit 1 math test.  This week we will meet with each of the students to go over their test and celebrate the parts they were successful with and then talk about what (if any) mistakes they made and how they can grow from those.  This is part of a growth mindset and embracing mistakes as a way for us to recognize where we have room to improve!

Reading: This week we will start a new unit in reading that will take us one step closer to conventional reading.  We will explore different types of books and work to understand the way the we can use both the pictures and the words to really read.  Starting Friday, we will begin assessments to see exactly where students are at with reading skills so we are able to meet them right where they are at.

Writing: This week in writing we will move from writing about our favorite objects to writing about our favorite places.  To do this work we will write across the pages of a book by thinking of the parts of the place we love.  We will continue work to be brave spellers and try to add at least 5 labels to each page.  Writers will also learn that they can make decisions about the words and pictures on their page and will look at the work of other options to inspire them.

Social Studies: As a culminating activity for our school study unit, students will pick a topic and present what they've learned! Here are a list of some topics they may choose: 

• What problems do we have a school at school and who could help fix them? 
• A map of our school helper offices and important places in school 
• Choose one school helper and teach about their jobs and tools

After choosing a topic, students will create a poster or book to present about their topics. I can't wait to hear them present about what they have learned!

October 15-19

Our field trip is Friday! We will be outside exploring at Heckrodt; please dress your child accordingly.

We are still collecting socks for Kid President's Socktober!   Please send in new pairs of socks you wish to donate by October 31!  Our school goal is to collect 500 pair as a school to donate to Homeless Connections of Appleton.

Upcoming Events: 
10/19:  Heckrodt and Fire Station Field Trip--Please send back form if you have not already done so!
10/25&10/26: NO SCHOOL

Reading: As we wrap up our "Old Favorite" books unit, students will be acting out the books that they know and love! We will start the week off by creating puppets and thinking carefully about how those characters look, act, and feel. Then, we will think about where the story takes place and create settings. Readers are encouraged to think about the problem in the story and how it is resolved in the end when acting out. Acting out stories is a great way for early readers to develop comprehension skills.

Writing: Wow! The Kindergartners have been LOVING our new writing unit. They are so motivated to write about things they love. This week, writers will be encouraged to try their best to write words on the page, even if they know the words are not spelled exactly right! They will also work with writing partners to make their writing even better by asking questions and adding more. Finally, we will decorate pumpkins and write about our pumpkins.  The pumpkins were donated by a Kindergarten family...Thank you! If you are able to donate any foam stickers or fun things to decorate our pumpkins with, we would appreciate it! Please send donations to school by Wednesday.

Math:  At the end of the week, students will take the unit 1 assessment. As a culmination of this unit's big ideas, mathematicians will be rotating through centers based on adding and subtracting, subitizing, number order, and number identification.  Here are some pictures of what the centers will look like:

This bingo game support subitizing. Click here to download. 

A great way to practice number identification.
Click here to download. 

Social Studies: Students will finish our centers to dig even deeper and apply the knowledge they gained about our school helpers and school community. Later in the week, we will read about maps to figure out what they are and why we use them. Finally, groups of students will illustrate one room of our school and we will put them together to create a large map.

October 8-12

We kicked off our CREATE Kindness challenge on Thursday at our all school assembly!  We are collecting socks for Kid President's Socktober!   Please send in new pairs of socks you wish to donate by October 31!  Our school goal is to collect 500 pair as a school to donate to Homeless Connections of Appleton.

Upcoming Events: 
10/11:  PSC Family Event at Skate City
10/12: Scholastic Orders due
10/19:  Heckrodt and Fire Station Field Trip--Please send back form if you have not already done so!
10/25&10/26: NO SCHOOL

Reading: As the Kindergartners work toward more conventional reading, we will be working on learning "snap words", or words that appear frequently in books but are not easily sounded out. Our current snap words are I, is, and, the, & me. Another strategy for beginning readers is to look at the picture, think about what would make sense, and then read! If you have any pattern books at home, give your child the pattern on the first page and then watch as they use the pictures to read the rest! 

Writing: We will wrap up our very first writing unit and celebrate by having everyone edit a piece of writing, fancy it up by illustrating, and then reading it to the class. Students will bring home their writing work from the unit. If you are able, look through it with your child. They worked really hard! We begin a new writing unit on Wednesday and I believe it will be extremely exciting for the kiddos! The  unit is called Show and Tell. Look for a note and Ziploc bag to come home early in the week so that students can bring ONE thing in to show, tell, and write about! 

 Math:  We will work on number order this week, especially how to find missing numbers in a series.  We will also review the shapes and work on seeing numbers in various ways.  We will work with a new game called Tiny Polka Dots.  The cards for the game show numbers in a variety of ways and we will work together to sequence numbers in a variety of ways.  This would be a great game to purchase for home as there are SO many things you can do with the cards to promote math thinking.

Social Studies: The students love interviewing our school helpers! It is great to visit the different offices in the school to learn about what our school helpers do.  After introducing the new social studies centers, students will have a chance to work in each center this week. Students will create building block structures of where our school community helpers work. We will create webs that describe the work of the school community helpers. Finally, students will look at an assortment of pictures, determine the problem, and decide which community helper(s) could be called to fix the problem!

October 1-5

Important Dates and Reminders:

This week is homecoming week in Kaukauna, see dress up days below:

Monday-PJ/Comfy Clothes
Tuesday-Superhero day (just a t-shirt or parade, doesn't need to be a costume)
Wednesday- NDLC Wear for the parade
Thursday-Sports Team Wear
Friday-Kaukauna Spirit (wear black and orange)

10/11:  PSC Family Event at Skate City
10/12: Scholastic Orders due
10/19:  Heckrodt and Fire Station Field Trip--Please send back form if you have not already done so!
10/25&10/26: NO SCHOOL

Check out the October lunch menu.

This October students at New Directions will CREATE Kindness as they collect socks for Kid President's Socktober sock drive.  Look for more information to come home with your child on October 4.  Check out the link below for more information on Socktober!

  http://soulpancake.com/socktober/

We look forward to making a difference as a school!

Reading: On Monday, we will have a celebration to mark the end of our first reading unit. The readers will choose their favorite book to carry around during our reading parade through the school. Stay tuned for a video!  Students have worked so hard to learn to retell their old favorite storybooks using the exact words from the book, sounding like the characters, and using connecting words to keep the story going. As we continue to work in these "Old Favorites" in our next unit, we will learn to use the pictures and words to really think about how the character might be feeling and what they are thinking. These colorful stories provide a great base to begin that comprehension work with our emerging readers!

Writing:  Students will learn to plan their story across pages, add more details in pictures and words, and add speech bubbles to their writing. At home, you could help your child generate ideas to write about! Practice telling the story orally and asking questions to add more details. This helps students to write more vivid stories. Oral storytelling is a key component in the writing process and will help students to get their ideas on to the page. Here is how Kindergartners are taught to think about the writing process:

 Pretty amazing work for these young writers!


Math: This week, mathematicians will work on adding and subtracting using pictures. We will continue to work writing numbers 1-5 and seeing numbers of objects in a group. Students will work on number order using dot to dots.

Phonics:  Fundations as our phonics program. This program focuses on foundational skills necessary for successful reading and writing.
To help your student be successful, you can practice letter formation at home! Check your child's backpack for:

• A copy of the verbalizations to form each letter  
• Handwriting paper in a page protector. 
• You can use this with a dry erase marker so that it is reusable! Socks make great erasers:)

Social Studies: This week, we will begin our School Study unit. Throughout the unit, we will be exploring who the community helpers are in our school and conducting interviews to learn more about what they do! We will be learning about interviews and planning what kinds of questions we are going to ask our school community helpers. We will be conducting interviews with a few school helpers this week and some more next week!  We are excited to start this project!