January 28-February 1

We had so much fun celebrating everything we love about NDLC last week! We really do feel lucky to work at such a great place--thanks for being part of our school family!

Our field trip to the PAC is Tuesday, please remember to pack a lunch for your child if you did not preorder a lunch from school. Thanks!

Upcoming Events:
January 29: Field Trip to PAC
February 11: 100th Day of School
February 14: Class Valentine Exchange and Red, White and Pink Day

Reading:  Kindergartners will learn about being an avid reader. We will sort pictures of avid readers and "blah" readers to identify what readers can do to become even stronger! Students will start to post it ideas and notice character feelings to share with their reading partners. Share what being a reader means to you so that your child can be surrounded by avid readers at home and at school!

Writing: We will study other How-To books to see how we can make ours even better! Students will learn to use the word ‘You’ when writing a book of directions. We will focus on choosing descriptive words and giving our readers warnings, suggestions, and tips just like in published How-To books.

Math: This week we will continue to study and practice the +0 and -0 patterns we see in math.  We have been saying this rhyme to help us remember how these facts can all be solved in the same way!

It doesn't matter if you are adding

Or subtracting

When there is a zero

The number stays the same!

 We will also be using our very own flashcards to help us practice seeing and using this pattern again and again.  This is the first step to really knowing math facts fluently...it will kind of be like learning snap words!! 

Science:  The scientists continue to study animals this week. We have compared and contrasted different animals to determine what all animals need. Students will explore where animals live and why. We will learn how scientists conduct researching by figuring out what fish needs. We will read books and use Pebblego on the iPads for this research. The Kindergarteners do not know this yet...but their research will have a purpose! Once we find out what a fish needs, we will be getting a fish for our classroom!  Later in the week, the scientists will conduct research on an animal of their choice for another project.

New Directions' Families
As you know, New Directions' does not have an attendance area. This time of year is so important to our school for enrollment purposes.  Enrollment (for NEW families) for the 2019-2020 school year is underway! We find that word of mouth is the best way to market our school. In your friend and family groups, if anyone has questions about out school please invite them to contact our school or attend an informational session. The informational sessions are below:
January 29th at 6:00
As always, families can also call Mrs. Frischmann at 766-6116 to set up individual tours.

January 22-25

This will be a busy and exciting week as we take time to CREATE celebrations throughout our school!   Our class is celebrating working SO hard to do what is expected while we work and play!  If you are here for a family night, check out our classroom door to see ways we are doing this EVERY day!

Since it is tricky for younger students to coordinate outfits for twin day,  please feel free to have them wear black pants and a white shirt and the whole class can be 'twinning.'

Upcoming Events:
January 18: Half Day
January 21: No School
January 22 & 24: Family Nights
January 29: Field Trip to PAC

Reading:  Every reader that solves a word, monitors to see if the word makes sense in the context of the book, if it sounds right (like something we would read or say) and looks right (has the correct letters). This week, we will be digging in to how to check for those three things as we solve words. Here the chart we will reference.

Writing: These students jumped right into how to writing and are already writing some amazing teaching books!  As we continue to work with How To books, students will work with partners to act out the books to check if the directions/steps make sense. They will add labels to their pictures and diagrams. Finally, they will look at our charts to set goals to create the very best writing they can! For example, students may choose to focus on writing details about their topic. I am excited to see how the students set goals for themselves.

Math:  One way that mathematicians become more fluent in solving addition and subtraction equations is to study patterns. Students will explore +0 and -0 equations and discover that it doesn't matter if you're adding or subtracting, when their is a 0, the number stays the same. Students will practice solving 0 equations quickly on a page with many addition and subtraction equations and by using flashcards. We will continue to look for patterns to strengthen our fluency!

Science: This week we continued our unit about animals and their survival needs. One lesson was called, “How can you find animals in the woods?” We learned how every animal has the need to seek safety. When we see animals in the wild, very often they are seeking safety. We will also read aloud mystery with a book called, Who Lives in that Hole. In the book, Desiree notices all the holes in the trees around her house—and sets out to discover how they got there, and why they matter. Ask your child what happens in the book!


New Directions' Families
As you know, New Directions' does not have an attendance area. This time of year is so important to our school for enrollment purposes.  Enrollment (for NEW families) for the 2019-2020 school year is underway! We find that word of mouth is the best way to market our school. In your friend and family groups, if anyone has questions about out school please invite them to contact our school or attend an informational session. The informational sessions are below:
January 24th  at 5:00
January 29th at 6:00
We also have an Open House on January 18 from 8:00-1:00 for families to stop in and visit our school during the school day.
As always, families can also call Mrs. Frischmann at 766-6116 to set up individual tours.

January 14-18

New Directions' Families
As you know, New Directions' does not have an attendance area. This time of year is so important to our school for enrollment purposes.  Enrollment (for NEW families) for the 2019-2020 school year is underway! We find that word of mouth is the best way to market our school. In your friend and family groups, if anyone has questions about out school please invite them to contact our school or attend an informational session. The informational sessions are below:
January 24th  at 5:00
January 29th at 6:00
We also have an Open House on January 18 from 8:00-1:00 for families to stop in and visit our school during the school day.
As always, families can also call Mrs. Frischmann at 766-6116 to set up individual tours.

Thank you!

Upcoming Events:
January 18: Half Day
January 21: No School
January 22 & 24: Family Nights-More info to come!
January 29: Field Trip to PAC

Reading:  We will have our Super Reader celebration this week! Kindergartners will create a mask to show that they really are Super Readers! They will build snap word towers to knock down! Swat at letters to match a sound! Read with other Super Readers! It will be a day to celebrate how far we have come as readers!

Writing: We will be learning to write How To books during this unit. We will write a class book as a model in the beginning of the week. Students will begin writing their own books too! To help your child generate ideas to write about, talk through the steps of things your child does at home. For example, a bed time routine, cooking dinner, getting ready for school, etc.

Math:  One of the big ideas of math this week will be teen numbers. We want the mathematicians to start to understand place value by seeing teen numbers as ten and extras. To, students will use dice to race to be the first to make a teen number. They are encouraged to add numbers and group math tools in ten and five groups to see the numbers quickly. Secondly, mathematicians will dump of cup full of chips to find out what teen number is in the cup. Then, they will draw a picture of that teen number and fill in the blanks to tell how many 10s and 1s make up the teen number.

Social Studies/Science: Last week, instead of starting our new science unit, we spent a little more time digging into our social curriculum to learn about what's expected and unexpected. We learned that when unexpected things happen, it's weird and it can change how people feel. We also learned that unexpected things do happen, and we need to think about how we can react to those in an appropriate way. We created this chart to document our thinking:

January 7-11

It was a great first 3 days back with the students!  It is always so amazing to witness that growth that occurs this time of the year.  It seems they all came back to Kindergarten as expert learners who are ready for anything!

Upcoming Events:
January 18: Half Day
January 21: No School
January 22 & 24: Family Nights-More info to come!
January 29: Field Trip to PAC--more info to come!

Reading:  As these readers grow stronger and stronger, they will learn that they can rely on their knowledge of snap words and searching the picture for meaning to solve unknown words. Even after they solve an unknown word, the readers can check their reading to make sure that word makes sense in the book, that it has the letters they hear when they say that word, and that it sounds right in the sentence they are reading.  Toward the end of the week, students will think about how stories to help them think about what might happen next and how using those predictions can help us tackle tricky words.

Writing: Writers will publish a true story this week. They will bring all of their writing home on Thursday! Ask your child to read their stories to you by pointing under their words and checking the pictures to remember what their story was about. You might see who was in the story, where they were and what was happening. Writers also added what the people in the story were thinking, saying, and doing. Way to go true story writers!

Math:  This week in math we will take some time to really focus on seeing numbers as a whole and parts.  We will relate using the parts we see in pictures to the way we write equations (part + part = whole). We will also be introduced to a new way to see and organize partners of numbers...math mountains!


Students will use both tools and drawings to show partners and write equations to match.

Science: Kindergartners will dig into a new unit exploring animals and their survival needs. Our first lesson was called, “Why does a woodpecker peck wood?” We will learn how every animal has the need to find food. When we see animals in the wild, very often they are looking for food. We will practice being different animals and learn about how they search for food.

January 2-4

Happy New Year! We are excited to see the students after a long break and get back into the swing of things!

Here is the link to our January newsletter.

Upcoming Events:
January 18: Half Day
January 21: No School
January 22 & 24: Family Nights-More info to come!
January 29: Field Trip to PAC--more info to come!

Here's a sneak peek at what's happening in Kindergarten! 

Reading: As I have been meeting with readers this past week, I am amazed at how they are able to figure out their patterns and solve unknown words--they really are turning into readers! As their books become less patterned, they will need to amp up some of their strategies! Readers will learn to go back to fix up their reading if it doesn't make sense. They can search the entire picture to figure out tricky words and rely on snap words--even when they have endings! We call these snap words in disguise! Search through the books your child brings home for snap words in disguise. For example, seeing, looked,.

Writing: This week will be a chart review in Kindergarten! The writers will look at our how to write a true story chart to be reminded that every story tells who was there, where it happened, what happened, and how the people were feeling. Then, we will review the following chart to make sure our sentences have everything they need.

Finally, students will set goals for what they need to do in their writing to make it the best it can be!

Math: Mathematicians will continue to solidify our understanding of teen numbers.  We will be making teen number arrangements and working to write equations that show the number of 10's and ones in each teen number.  We will also be revisiting 2D shapes and will work to show how shapes can work together to make new shapes.

Word Study: I would encourage students to keep practicing their snap words so that they can read and write them automatically. Dry erase markers, with a spoon in the snow, or with paint and a Q-tip are fun ways to practice writing these words!

Social Studies: To reboot and start our year off right, we will be reviewing classroom expectations and working on social curriculum. The lessons will include expected/unexpected behavior in a group, how our behavior impacts the feelings of those around us, and listening with our whole body.