Embedded Files
January 9, 2026
What’s new…
This week we started our author study of Jan Brett. We have enjoyed many of her lovely stories showing beautiful illustrations and the special borders around the pages. After reading her remake of The Mitten, we compared and contrasted many other versions of this story. Next week we will read her story Gingerbread Baby and then read other stories around the gingerbread man, girl, pirate, cowboy, etc.
We have continued to write every day in Writing Workshop, sounding out each word. We are working on spacing between our words and ending with a period. We are working on research writing by researching from a book, online, or an expert. Your child is an expert in many things such as many animals, their family, and objects in the room. In Library, Mrs. C is also teaching the students about research. I sent home a sheet with the sight words we have been working on since September and ones we will work on in the future. You can pick one word a night and ask your child to spell the word and use it in a sentence. This is not to “drill” them but rather make it fun to learn how to spell these words.
We also started a rhyming bag. There are directions in the bag but basically, your child finds a small object and then comes up with a rhyming word for that object. The next day we try to guess what could be in the bag based on the rhyming word. Please return the bag the following day.
Choose Love:
This week we talked about uncomfortable, difficult and strong feelings Here is a quote from the Choose Love program…“Sometimes feelings are small, while other times feelings are big and strong. Remember, all feelings are OK, but some can be very powerful. When feelings are big and strong, they can be hard to deal with. We need to make sure that we know how to handle these difficult feelings in a healthy, positive way so we don't hurt
ourselves or others. What could you do if
you have a big feeling, like frustration or anger? How could you make that feeling smaller and calm down so you can make a good choice?”
We discussed ways to calm our body like deep belly breaths, going to a quiet place, reading a book or playing with a favorite toy or stuffed animal. Talk with your child about ways that work at home for your family.
Centers/Activities this week…
In science, we continue to talk about the winter weather and what animals do this time of year. We learned that some animals hibernate or migrate to warm southern places. We also learned that some animals stay around all winter long. We also started a new unit called Materials and Motion. In this unit we will learn about materials such as: wood, paper, fabric using our five senses.
In math, we have been learning subtraction within five and the formation of our teen numbers, remembering to put the one first. Please keep practicing all number sense skills with your child. A great place to do this is while driving in the car and waiting for other people or in the doctor’s office, etc. Have your child count as high as he or she can, count by 1’s and 10’s, count backward, and create simple number stories. Play board games or card games such as Go Fish, Top It(similar to the game named War), and number concentration at home and always remember to have fun while practicing with your child, stopping when your child is tired or gets frustrated.
Literacy Centers this week:
Listening: Owl Moon and then drew pictures and wrote about our favorite part
Word Work: sight word bingo
Writing: practiced letter writing and our “heart” words
Reading: read/literacy activities in a small group with Ms. Green
Reminders:
No School on Monday January 19th for Martin Luther King Day.
Parents:
Along with our Reading program about Being Fit and Not Sharing Germs, we are really working on sneezing and coughing into our elbow and not picking our nose but instead using a tissue and then washing our hands. We have lots of sick kids and many who still touch their noses. Also, if your child has a fever they need to stay home 24 hours after being fever free. Your help at home with this is greatly appreciated.
Wishlist:
We are in need of bird food and paper towel rolls and small boxes for the new year. Thank you!
December 23, 2025
What’s new…
Happy Holidays! It’s been a whirlwind of learning these past few weeks. We have discussed and learned about the winter solstice and four holidays that celebrate “light”. We learned about Hanukkah and what this holiday means. We pretended to light a menorah and twirled our dreidels. Next, we read stories about St. Lucia Day and how the oldest girl in the family dresses up in her white gown, red sash, and lighted crown of candles and passes out special buns in the early morning. Miss Haley came in wearing her own white dress and shared some special Swedish items we saw in our books we read about St. Lucia. We found out that Kwanzaa means “first fruits” and that African Americans celebrate the harvest in Africa. We also learned that at Kwanzaa you light a Kinara with 7 candles as opposed to a menorah that has 8 candles and a leader candle. We made a special gift bag using the colors of Kwanzaa.. We wore our pajamas and read the book The Polar Express, which is all about the meaning of Christmas. We drank hot chocolate, just like in the book. As you can see we have been very busy!
Literacy Centers This Week:
Listening: The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett and wrote and drew our favorite part
Word work: Rainbow Sight word activity and then a review of sight words with Ms. Green
Writing: practicing formation of letters Kk and Ss and write and draw in our Anytime Journals
Centers/Activities this week…
We have been busy little elves making gifts for families, writing letters and cards, creating holiday items, figuring out story problems, practicing our letters and numbers, and reading wonderful holiday stories.
Parents:
As we head into a new year, please take the time to read to your child on a daily basis in a nice comfy, cozy spot and celebrate the accomplishments each child has gained these past 4 months. We will start 2026 learning all about winter and hibernation using the author Jan Brett and her story The Mitten as well as other versions. We will also celebrate Martin Luther King Day, Chinese New Year, and our 100th day of school which should happen sometime in February. We will also continue with adding and subtraction, and learning our “tricky teen” numbers. Writing will take off for some children where they are able to write more than one or two sentences and spell more words independently. Celebrate with your child as they learn and grow!
Families--thank you so much for the wonderful, amazing, and very generous gifts given to me for the holiday season!!! I loved each and every one of the presents! You have all been so understanding, accommodating, and supportive in this school year. Let's hope 2026 will be an amazing year! I wish all of you a wonderful holiday and peaceful vacation!
“At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.”
From The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
December 12, 2025
What’s new…
Last week and this week we read many stories about holidays that celebrate light. We started with Kwanzaa learning the colors of the candles used in the Kinara and that Kwanzaa means “first fruits”. Then we learned about St. Lucia, a Swedish holiday that happens on December 13th. We know that the oldest girl wears a crown of lights and serves special buns at breakfast. We also learned about the Tomten, an elf-like creature that lives on farms in Sweden and takes care of the animals. We learned that if a Tomten isn’t happy, they will cause all kinds of mischief but if they are happy they will bring you good luck. Next week we will learn about Hanukkah and the Menorah which has eight candles for eight nights of Hanukkah. We will practice spinning dreidels and read stories about families celebrating this holiday. and ending with the winter Solstice and Christmas.
On Monday December 22nd, we will have pajama day and read the Polar Express and drink hot chocolate and eat cinnamon graham crackers. (Please let me know if you do not want your child to have hot chocolate or the crackers). We will not be bringing any stuffed animals for this day.
Centers/Activities this week…
We have been writing up a storm learning about research writing. We are working on spacing, ending marks, and writing our sight words correctly. In phonics we continue to learn the sounds and formations of letters, syllables, and new sight words. In math we learned how to use a number line when adding and subtracting. We also did some story problems with subtraction. We created our own stories and recorded them on paper and we also did some holiday story problems. We continue to practice forming our numerals correctly everyday.
Literacy Centers This Week:
Listening: The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy and wrote and drew our favorite part
Ms. Green: letters, sounds, reading, and sight word practice
Writing: practicing formation of letters
Word Work: I Spy letters/sounds/CVC words activity
Wish list:
Birdseed! Thanks!
Parents…
Reminders: Tuesday December 16th is the winter concert with the Kindergartners and first graders. It starts at 5:30. Please let me know if your child will be leaving before December 23rd.
Don't forget Monday to wear blue for Hanukkah for the school wide spirit week!
December 5, 2025
What’s new…
This week we started talking about the stars and how the Native Americans used them to guide them in their travels. This leads to our next unit about the winter solstice and holidays that celebrate “light”. We will learn about Hanukkah which celebrates for eight nights and uses a Menorah to hold eight candles that are lit each night. Kwanzaa celebrates 7 nights using a Kinara to hold special candles and the three special colors for Kwanzaa are red, green, and black as they are the colors of the flag from many African countries. We will also learn about St. Lucia, which is celebrated in Sweden on December 13th. This holiday also celebrates light and brings goodness to others. We will end with the holiday of Christmas concentrating on why we have Christmas trees, garland, wreaths and lights. Throughout December we will be learning about these holidays as well as others. If your family has any special books, stories, pictures, or artifacts that you would like to share regarding any of these holidays, please let me know.
Centers/Activities this week…
We continue to write every day in our writer's workshop and learn our letter formation. We have also added quite a few new sight words to our word wall and are expected to spell those words correctly. We are working on the words: the, am, is, said , was, from, you, to, and like. In math, we have been learning about subtraction. This can be more difficult than addition as it is more abstract. During math center time we play many games and activities that increase our skills in math. Practice helps children become more efficient in these skills which in turn helps them in upcoming concepts.
In science we are finishing up our unit of Trees and Weather and seasons. We will continue to talk about the weather and seasons in our Morning Meeting every day. After the holidays we will begin a new unit called Materials and Motion.
Literacy Centers This Week:
Listening: The Elves and the Shoemaker and wrote and drew our favorite part
Ms. Green: letters, sounds, reading, and sight word practice
Word work: Rainbow Sight word activity
Writing: practicing formation of letters j and l and the word “said”
Parents:
Thank you for joining me in teacher conferences. It was great to meet with all of you. If you think of anything else that you would like to discuss regarding your child please email me.
***Also, I will be placing the Scholastic book order Sunday evening as it needs to be ordered in order to receive the books before our holiday break. If you would like to order books for gifts, let me know and I will keep them at school until you can pick them up.
Wish list:
We are in need of empty toilet paper and paper towel tubes and any other small empty boxes for our art center. The children love creating with these items. Also, Kleenex and some bird food, we love watching the birds…and Pesky the squirrel eat at the window.
Thank you!
November 21, 2025
What’s new…
Happy Friday!!! Our walk to McQuade’s was very successful and we were able to contribute many items for the Food Closet! All the children were so excited to find items to add to the shopping cart. Thank you to all the moms for volunteering and walking with us to and from the store. And thank you families for sending in food donations and money for the shopping trip!!!
On Tuesday we went to the Native American burial ground which is behind the tennis courts. The children were very curious about this area that is marked off by a stone wall. There are no headstones, just a large area with overgrown grass and bushes and trees. In class, we continue to read about many various Native American tribes that live across the United States learning about their culture. We have observed how they lived, what they ate, what they wore, and the different names of Native Americans. We have practiced making symbols representing animals, people, nature, etc.
We also have been reading and discussing the First Thanksgiving and what the pilgrims were thankful for when arriving in Plymouth as well as what we are grateful for in our lives now. In our Choose Love lessons we are learning about gratitude, one of the ideas in the Choose Love formula. This week we learned about a “Gratitude Attitude”.
Reminders…
Remember there is no school from Wednesday to Sunday, November 26th through November 30th for our Thanksgiving break.
Centers/Activities this week…
We continue, on a daily basis, to read, practice our letter formation as well as sounds, and write about various topics. We wrote informational writing including our classroom and school, teachers in our school, and what we saw on our way to McQuades.. We are working on correctly spelling the following sight words: am, the, from, is, for, was, and of. This list grows throughout the year.
In math we are counting objects, how to add “one more” without using our fingers or manipulatives and we continue with two and three dimensional shapes. Ask your child to show you a square, circle, rectangle, triangle, cube, cone, cylinder, and sphere around your house!
Literacy Centers:
Listening: Thanksgiving Mice and then drew and wrote about our favorite part
Word Work: Turkey letter/sound game
Ms. Green: review of letters and sounds and reading
Writing: practice writing letter Oo and sight words from and your.
Wishlist:
We could use some toilet and paper towel empty tubes as well as tiny boxes for our art center in class. Thank you!!!
Families:
Scholastic Book Club orders are due Dec. 8th in order for the books to be delivered before our December break. If any families would like to order books for Christmas and would like me to hold the books until we arrange a pick up, just let me know in a note or an email. Also, you can order not only from the flyer sent home but from any flyer and any grade level from the Scholastic website.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you!
November 14, 2025
What’s new…
This week we learned that we all live in Jamestown and Jamestown is in Rhode Island and Rhode Island is in the United States of America. We discussed that we live on an island surrounded by the Narragansett Bay. We located on a map of Jamestown where we approximately live on the island.
All the children were very excited to learn that Native Americans lived right outside our window! It was the Wampanoag tribe that would come in the summer. Next week we will learn more about Native Americans, where they lived, how they lived in nature, what they ate, what they wore, and compare how we live in Jamestown today.
Next week I will be sending home the Scholastic book order. If you would like to order books for the upcoming holidays and want to keep them for a surprise, let me know and we can make arrangements for a special pick up.😊
Wishlist:
We are all set for now…thank you!
Field trip:
Next Tuesday we will be walking to McQuades to shop. Please send in your child’s permission slip and money on Monday Nov. 17th. On Tuesday please dress your child in good walking shoes and appropriate coats, hats, etc for the weather. All the children are very excited to shop and donate their food purchases for the local food closet. Thank you for your support in this meaningful activity!
Centers/Activities this week…
In math, we are continuing to learn about our numbers 0-10. We continue to practice forming our numbers, especially the tricky numbers, 2, 3, and 5. We are also learning about 2 and 3 dimensional shapes and finding them around us. Every day we go on our Ipads for 10-15 minutes and go to the iReady math program to Our Path. This program reinforces the skills we learn during our math lesson but on each child’s level and speed.
In Guided Reading, we read many stories about where we live, what is a community, and living on an island.
In writing workshop we continue to learn and write informational writing. We write what we know is true and a fact. We are learning to make spaces between our words and ending with a punctuation mark. Our favorite is the exclamation point!
Literacy Centers this week:
Listening- listened to A Runaway Pumpkin and then wrote about our favorite part
Writing-practiced writing our letters and the words “of” and “for”
Word Work- roll a word and write activity
Ms. Green–letters, sounds, reading
Reminders…
Please don’t forget to send in food for our Food Pantry Basket. The students are concerned it won’t be enough for the families in need! We are a very empathetic classroom!!!
Picture retakes will be Wednesday Nov.19th. Please let me know if your child is having retakes. Since it is all online, if you don’t tell me I won’t know to send your child to the photographer. Thanks!
Remember there is no school on November 26th through the 30th for Thanksgiving. Please let me know if your child will be absent any other days as you plan for the upcoming holidays.
November 7, 2025
What’s new…
In class, we discussed how some families in Jamestown need our help and as a “community” we can lend a hand. For the month of November, we will be collecting food for the local food pantry (we have a basket at the entrance to our classroom door). Nonperishable foods such as: cans of soup, tuna fish, peanut butter, jelly, boxes of cereal, etc, work best. Also, please have your child save his or her coins and dollars for a special field trip to McQuades to purchase an item or two for each child to donate to our food basket. We want this to be a meaningful experience and so please help out by giving them small odd jobs to earn coins and dollars for their special bank. We will go on Tuesday, November 18th at 8:30am. It usually takes about an hour to walk to and from McQuades and shop. Thanks.
Literacy Centers this week:
Listening- listened to A House is a House for Me and then wrote about our favorite part
Ms. Green- letters, sounds, reading
Word work-matching letter sounds to pictures activity
Writing-practice writing letters Pp and Cc and the words “was” and “you”
Centers/Activities this week…
In Guided Reading, we have been reading lots of “community” books that tie into our reading program as well as our social studies unit about where we live.
In science last week we went on a leaf hunt and then compared the shape, size, color, and how the leaf edges look. We wrote in our science notebooks drawing and labeling about our leaves. This week we observed the wind as it was a very windy day. Miss Haley shared her anemometer to see the wind speed. We also learned how to tell which way the wind was blowing.
In math, we are learning to count and correctly write our numbers 0-10. We are also learning to add or put numbers together using the addition and equal signs. We also have been learning the three dimensional shapes: cone, cube, sphere, pyramid, and rectangular prism. Have your child find these shapes around your house.
This week we began a mini unit on our community of Jamestown. We learned that we live on an island and saw on a map of Jamestown where we all live. Some students live near the town and the school. Others live in the middle of the island and others live in the north end of the island. Next week we will learn what it is like in the present then study about the past and Native Americans leading to the story of the First Thanksgiving.
Reminders…
-There is no school on Tuesday November 11th for Veterans Day. -Please send in extra clothes for cooler weather. We will exchange summer clothes.
Wishlist:
Scotch tape and more scotch tape! I cannot keep up with their creative projects that need tape to
complete! 😂 We could also use paper towels and toilet paper rolls.
If anyone has any extra greeting cards or stationery and envelopes, we would gladly use them for our writing center. Thanks!
October 24, 2025
What’s new…
The Wolf Pack Run was a huge success! The weather was sunny and perfect for running. All the students ran fast and furious and had a great time! Thanks to all the parent volunteers and the PTO for this event!
On Friday, October 31, Halloween, we will be doing a math project involving pumpkins. I am asking if each family could send in a small real pumpkin for this project. Please have your child bring in the pumpkin by Tuesday, October 28th. If you cannot get a pumpkin, don’t worry, I will have extras here at school. The pumpkin should be about 4-6 inches high and 5-10 inches around. Thank you! FYI...we don’t dress in costumes at school...save that for Halloween night!
Reminders…
Please send in a switch of clothing from summer to winter items.
Please remember you have to have your background check(BCI) completed by that date. If you have any questions, please ask Maggi in the front office. Thank you.
Literacy Centers This Week:
Writing: practiced writing letters Listening: The Bumpy Little Pumpkin and drew and wrote our favorite part
Word Work: letters and sounds with a, m and t
Ms. Green: reading, and letters and sounds
Centers/Activities this week…
We began discussing pumpkins and other signs of fall. We learned the life cycle of a pumpkin and how they grow. In our curriculum “Into Reading”, we have been reading books about being yourself and it’s okay to be different or unique.
In writing workshop we are continuing with narrative writing with characters and a setting for our stories. Our sight words we are learning are: the, is, am, to and do.
In math, we continue learning about counting objects and recording our answers forming the numerals correctly. We also learned about more and less.
In science this week we observed leaves and their colors and shapes outside with Miss Haley. We then collected many different leaves and sorted them by size, color and shape.
Wishlist:
We could use some Scotch tape. The kids love to use tape! Thanks!
October 17, 2025
What’s new…
This week we tasted three different types of apples: Red Gala, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious. Students predicted which apple they thought they would like the best and we graphed our predictions. Red had more than green or yellow but after the taste test, yellow had more votes than red or green. I hope you and your family get the chance to go apple picking or select different kinds of apples to have your own taste test at home!
Our students continue to follow our school wide behavior program using Wolf Paws for an incentive. We have been using these to encourage children to be responsible, respectful, kind and helpful in our classroom community. When we make it to 100 wolf paws we can choose a special activity to do as a class! So far we are at 70!
Parents:
The Wolf Pack Run is next Friday October 24th. Please have your child wear comfortable clothes appropriate for running and the weather that day. Also, good shoes for running and walking.
On Friday, October 31, we will be doing a math project involving pumpkins. I am asking if each family could send in a small real pumpkin for this project. Please have your child bring in the pumpkin by Tuesday, October 28th. The pumpkin should be about 4-6 inches high and 5-10 inches around or smaller. Thank you! FYI...we don’t dress in costumes at school...save that for Halloween night!
Centers/Activities this week…
Literacy Centers
Listening: The Lonely Scarecrow, drew and wrote our favorite part
Writing: Practice our letter formation for Bb and the sight word as
Word Work: upper and lowercase matching letter activity
Ms. Green: picture to sound matching activity
In Writing Workshop we continue to draw and write daily about various topics. This past week we learned and wrote about narrative writing choosing topics that include characters and setting. We are learning to be neat, add details to our pictures, and write the letters we hear in words. We have been learning about the period, question mark, and exclamation point and when to use them in our writing. We have also learned about finger spacing. Putting our finger between words.
In math we continue with learning numbers 0-5, one to one correspondence and correct numeral formation. We also practice mental math during our daily Morning Meeting where I ask questions that children need to figure out the answer in their heads.
Reminders…
- Please send in a winter pair of extra clothes for your child’s cubby and we will send home the summer clothes.
-Please help your child remember to pack their library books every Wednesday. Thank you.
Wish list:
We are all set now. Thank you!
October 3, 2025
What’s new…
It is hard to believe that October is already here! We have had a very busy week at school. We continue learning about changing leaves, pumpkins, and fall. Next week we will have a mini author study of Lois Ehlert. She is an author and illustrator with some great books about fall.
October is Fire Safety month. Later this month the Jamestown Fire Department will bring an engine up to school for a tour and meet some of the volunteer firefighters as well as a chance to climb onto a truck. (more info to follow) In class we will talk about basic fire safety such as stop/drop/roll, go low, and 911. I would encourage all families to go over your fire safety plan at home.
Student Showcase:
The children have been learning a poem and wanted me to share it with all the families. Ask your child to repeat it with you...
“Down, down
Yellow and brown
The leaves are falling
All around Jamestown”
Centers/Activities this week…
Part of our English Language Arts program, Into Reading, has the students learn how to discuss, share with partners, generate writing, opinion writing, narrative writing, and much more. The past few weeks we have been working on opinion writing with topics such as favorite parts of school, food, books, games, etc. The children are doing a great job sounding out the words to the best of their ability and creating wonderful drawings to go with their writing.
In math, we continue learning about measurement, sorting items and attributes as well as numbers 0-5. In our math program, children use their workbooks as we measure, sort, count and write our numbers. During center time we do activities and play games that reinforce the skills we learn during the math period.
In science, we learned about the parts of a tree: roots, trunk, branches, and leaves. We also went outside and observed the shapes of trees. We learned there are two types of trees: conifers and hardwoods and the difference between these trees.
Literacy Centers This Week:
Listening: Cookies Week and drew our favorite part
Word work: matched pictures with beginning sounds to the letters t and b
Writing: traced and practiced letters and wrote in our “Anytime Journal”
Ms. Green: letters, sounds, reading
Reminders…
There is no school on Friday October 10th for teacher professional time as well as Monday, October 14th in observance of Columbus Day. This weekend looks good for some fall activities: apple picking, visiting farms both locally and off the island, and going on a nature walk looking for signs of fall and various shapes. Enjoy!
Parents:
Today I sent home activities to help your child with handwriting which is from the Occupational Therapist. If you have any questions, please reach out to me.
Wishlist:
We are all set for now. Thank you!
September 26, 2025
What’s new…
We began discussing fall and how the leaves are just starting to change and the geese are flying in their V formation plus other signs that will begin soon such as the temperature. We will continue with our observations about Fall for the next few weeks.
We are learning about numbers 1-5 and positional words in our math books. We are counting, matching, and practicing writing each numeral. We also started measuring items in the classroom finding things longer and shorter and taller and shorter. I would encourage you to play counting board games at home teaching where to begin and where to go next. Some good games are Trouble, Candy Land, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, etc.
This week I sent home a letter telling about the Choose Love program that our school and our classroom are implementing. It is a wonderful program for children(and adults) especially in such trying times in our world. Please ask your child about our Choose Love formula. Ask your child about how we open our hearts to being kind to everyone and even to learning! Look for an upcoming special Book Bag with Choose Love books(social emotional) that will go home with your child for you to read and share with your family and enjoy!
Centers/Activities this week…
In science, We continued our unit on Trees and Weather. We talk about the weather everyday with the leader of the day telling what the weather is like outside and their prediction for the next day. We are reading many books about fall and all the things starting to happen in our environment at this time. This week we went outside with Miss Haley and used our five senses to observe nature. We will draw and record information about our trees in our special science notebooks, just like real scientists.
Literacy Centers this week…
Listening: Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons and drew our favorite part
Writing: practiced our letter formations
Hands-On: Created letters with our of play-dough
Word Work: activity with the letter Bb
Ms. Green: letters and sounds
Today we had our first Choose Love lesson this week talked about how to calm ourselves down when we are worried or anxious by taking Brave Breaths. We also learned about positive affirmations such as “I am important”, “I am smart, “ and “I am Kind”. We reviewed the Choose Love formula: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion in Action = Choose Love
Parents:
Please send in the school house paper with some pictures and description of your family.
Reminders…
October 1st is picture day. Don’t forget to select the package you want for your child. If you want your child to change into play clothes after their pictures just let me know.
Wishlist:
We are all set on extra snacks and supplies for now. Thank you to all the families that have donated!
September 19, 2025
What’s new…
Wow, we have had a busy week of school with Start with Hello, reading, writing, counting, and finally talking about the first day of Fall.
In phonics we teach letter recognition, sounds and letter formation. The letters are not taught in alphabetical order but by the way they are formed. You may hear your child talking about skyline, plane line, and grass line letters. We use those terms to help children know where to start a letter and where to finish the letter formation. Occasionally I will send home practice sheets that reinforce what we are learning at school. They do not need to be returned but kept at home for reference.
Reminders…
-Please clean out your child’s folder every night to make it more manageable for your child. Please send back the school shape paper with some information and pictures of your child and family. We will be creating our first class book with these pages.
Thank you.
Centers/Activities this week…
In Guided Reading, we read books about school including School Day, A Squiggly Story, One Happy Classroom, Brand New Books, Brand New Pencils, and books about Fall. We are learning about characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end of stories. We are learning about writing opinion pieces in Writing Workshop and learning the correct formation of uppercase letters and the sounds with those letters. We will be learning lowercase letters starting next week while still reviewing the uppercase.
In science we are discussing the seasons and signs of fall as well as the weather. We are beginning our first science unit called Trees and Weather. Next Tuesday we will go outside with Miss Haley from CISF who will come in every Tuesday. With Miss Haley we will observe trees and leaves found around the school as well as anything in nature! We are learning the parts of trees, how they grow, and what happens to trees during the four seasons.
In math we are learning about positional words: above, below, next, behind, between, under, etc. We played a freeze game using these words and drew a picture in our new math workbooks showing where we are: under the chair, next to the door, between the door and chair, etc. We also are learning about measurement with words like longer, shorter, fatter, skinnier, etc. Today we went to the Math Arcade which the children loved! Ask your child what they did in the “arcade”.
Literacy Centers this week:
Writing: tracing and writing letters I, L and H on paper
Word Work: Practicing with our dry erase markers writing uppercase letters correctly
Games and Puzzles: ABC order
Listening: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and then drew our favorite part of the book
Wishlist:
We are all set with everything. Thank you!
Parents:
Enjoy the Fall-like cooler weather this weekend! If you and your child see any signs of Fall, have them bring it to school to share with the class!
September 12, 2025
What’s new…
Wow, have we had a busy week of school! We have had the pleasure of getting to know one another and will continue next week with more activities that tell us about each other. I have particularly enjoyed meeting all your children and talking with each one to learn about him or her. We have begun chanting and cheering each child’s name and getting to know one another. We are finding out who has the shortest, longest, and names that start with the same letter. We will continue cheering next week filling our bulletin board with our friend’s names and pictures.
Today we observed the trees around our school and like real scientists we drew and labeled a tree in our science notebooks. Our first science unit is “Trees and Weather” where we will observe and learn about trees and leaves as well as the weather. This unit continues all year as the seasons change from Fall to Winter to Spring to Summer.
Parents:
Remember it is Start with Hello Week next week. A flyer went home about what we will do each day and what to wear based on the theme. Also, please remember to send in the All About Me page. Thanks!
Centers/Activities this week…
This week we read many books including Keisha Ann Can!, School Day, David Goes To School, Kevin Henkes books Chrysanthemum and Wemberly Worried, and many more. The books are about starting school and situations that arise. We used these situations such as making fun of others and what to do when we are scared or nervous as examples of what we can do here at our school should the same situation arise.
We are writing up a storm in Writing Workshop, which the children love. Some are able to sound out simple words, while others are at the stage of just writing random letters, both are developmentally appropriate. We also began our phonics lessons with the letters L, H, I, T, F, and E learning the corresponding sounds and how to form the uppercase of each letter.
In math we are learning to count numbers 0-5 as well as how to correctly form the numerals. Please practice counting at home when driving in the car, eating Goldfish or crackers, or playing board games.
This week we worked on our Ipads learning how to log on with our class code and to plug in our headphones. All of this will help us to complete the IReady reading diagnostic next week and the math diagnostic the following week.
Reminders…
I would like to remind parents to sign into Aspen and fill out the photo permission slots. There are two: one is to allow your child’s photo within the school and the other one is to allow your child’s photo to be on our public website, etc. If you can’t find this on Aspen, please contact Maggi in the office to help you. I do like to put pictures on my website (without names), but if you indicate “No” then I will not include your child. Thank you for your prompt attention to this detail. Also, if you would like to volunteer in the classroom or go on any field trips as a chaperone, you will need to get a background check(BCI). If you have any questions again, please contact Maggi in the office. Thank you.
Wishlist:
We could use some bird seed for our window bird feeder! Thank you!
September 5, 2025
What’s new…
Hooray! Our first week of Kindergarten has been wonderful! We have all been getting to know one another and how our classroom works. I have really enjoyed learning about each child this week and listening to their many stories! We are learning all about Melrose School, where the different rooms are, and the “rules” of the school and our classroom. We are learning how important it is to listen and follow directions the first time. Ask your child if they can tell you what “Give me five” means.
Centers/Activities this week…
This week we read many stories about starting school and compared them to our own experiences of beginning Kindergarten. We drew a picture of our families, a self-portrait of ourselves, and wrote about things we like…you will get to see them at Open House next month! In math we played number Bingo, practiced counting and recognizing numbers to 5 and discussed shapes. We will continue to learn about the calendar, weather, and the changing seasons during our Morning Meeting. But most importantly we are learning to get along with each other and how to be caring towards one another.
Reminders…
Although it’s been cool in the mornings, it still gets warm in the building and classroom so please pack water bottles. We have gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so please have your child wear sneakers and comfortable clothes. Please return the page or paragraph telling me about your child, the All About Me page, and a picture of your child if you have not done so yet. Also, some parents have inquired about the My Big List of Kindergarten Goals that was in your child’s folder. Those goals are end of year goals for a kindergartener. We will be working towards these goals all year. I wanted you to see how much your child will learn this year…you will be quite surprised at how much a 5 and 6 year old learns in Kindergarten! ***Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns regarding your child’s education! You can write in the blue communication book, call me, or email me at school. Have a great weekend!
Wish List…
For our Art Center we could use paper towels and toilet rolls, very small boxes, and other recyclable items that children can build and make creations. We also have a window bird feeder that we like to watch the birds eat birdseed so if you could send in a small bag of birdseed it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for all the supplies for our classroom! We should be all set for quite some time!!! I will let you know when we need something. Until then, thank you very much!
I can be reached at green.beverly@jamestownschools.org or calling the school at 401-423-7020
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