Sept. 27th ~ Oct. 1st

I sure hope you were able to enjoy the beautiful weekend ~ we are finally getting our summer weather!

The letters this week are Xx, Ww, Nn, Ss, and Hh. We will again focus on the sound or sounds that each letter makes and proper letter formation. It is so important to reinforce the correct way to write each letter and imprint this into your child's muscle memory. It is much harder to break habits, than to learn new ones.

Our manner this week is to use "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" frequently. We will focus on one manner each week as we learn to be good citizens of Poly Drive Elementary and the world.

Show and Tell on Thursday will be “Kid’s Choice”. Your child may bring something that fits in the paper bag . . and he or she should write the letter that the item begins with on the outside of the bag.

Text Talk ~ We will begin a vocabulary series this week that focuses on more challenging words than we might regularly discuss in kindergarten. This builds comprehension and vocabulary skills, while exploring fun read-aloud stories. Our text talk words will be posted outside the classroom door and I encourage you to use these words in our room when you visit, and at home when applicable. You will see your child's eyes light up as he or she is able to recognize these new words in daily conversations. The read-aloud book this week is "It's Mine" and the vocabulary words are: bickering, defiantly, harmony, recognized, desperately, and selfish.

Math ~ We will continue working with and creating various types of patterns.

Science ~ Inquiry-based science is our focus in kindergarten and we will practice questioning techniques to use when we want to discover something. Specifically, we will explore various fall leaves from my yard and the school grounds. We will form questions about the attributes and characteristics of the leaves and create a class chart depicting our questions.

Rachel's Challenge ~ All Poly Drive students will attend an assembly on Tuesday titled "Rachel's Challenge". Rachel Scott was the first person killed in the Columbine, Colorado school shootings and although the manner of her death will not be discussed, the legacy for life she left behind will be. Rachel was mature beyond her years and her message of kindness and compassion is one we can all learn from. Although she was only 17 at the time of her death, she encouraged others to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion. You will see and hear more about Rachel's Challenge as the year progresses.

I will have a guest teacher in my room on Friday and I will let the kids know ahead of time. Brenda Sheehan has taught in my room before and the kids will really enjoy the day. I'll only be gone one day.

Have a wonderful week ~ can you believe it is October already!?!