PJ Day

Tomorrow, Friday December 20th! 

Please wear warm pjs and appropriate shoes for outdoor play.

Tech Tip Tuesday # 3

One of the questions that teachers are frequently asked is "What are some quality apps that will help support my child's education?"

Common Sense Media has a great list of apps and websites for grades PreK- 5!

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/guide/essential-school-tools

There are also helpful tips for parents on the page, such as Read with your child everyday and engage them in conversation.

Tech Tuesday #2

Good Morning! Some families worry that their child will be behind their peers if they don't have a tablet or computer at home. The answer is NO!  Click the link below to learn more.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/screen-time/will-my-children-be-behind-their-peers-if-they-arent-already-using-tablets-and-computers

Winter's Coming

We had a little taste of winter this week with our snow day on Tuesday. Please make sure your children are dressed appropriately for these cold days. Hats, boots, snow pants, warm jackets and gloves or mittens are essential for the students to be able to enjoy their time at play outside. 

Tech Tip Tuesday

Parents often ask teachers questions about appropriate internet use and technology access. We will be offering a weekly Tech Tip every Tuesday to help families use tech at home.

Today's question is "What age should I get my kid a tablet? " Click the link below for more information.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/screen-time/whats-the-right-age-to-get-my-kid-a-tablet



  

Curriculum Updates

Reading: We are working on a unit called Looking Closely at Familiar Texts. Along with reading

old favorites we are reading pattern books that are at their independent reading level.  We are

creating books that the have the students pictures and that were written and created by the

class. These book allow for students to make personal connections to the stories. 

Writing: We  are learning to write pattern books just like the books we are reading!

Math: Everyday Mathematics Unit 4

Classifying by shape and size; Graphing and analyzing data; Representing numbers on ten

frames; Exploring teen numbers; Composing and decomposing numbers with snap cubes;

Exploring weight and capacity; Counting by tens; Playing “Top-It” with number cards;

Using the number grid as a counting tool

Integrated Studies:  Winter Season  and Animal Adaptations

Putting the Garden to Bed

Kindergarten helped but our garden boxes to bed for the winter. We added seaweed and hay to keep them protected from the snow and to provide nutrients for the spring.

Curriculum Updates

Reading: We are working on retelling old favorite storybooks! We have been practicing retelling familiar books.

We are encouraging you to read many books to your child and have them bring the books in to share and retell

to the class! We remind the students to look at the pictures, remember and read!  They are encouraged

to try and remember some of the exact words the characters say and to sound like the character when

they’re “reading” or retelling the book.

Writing:  We have been writing great stories! We learned to plan out our pages, sound out words , write labels

and even make our characters talk using speech bubbles! Next week we finish our narrative writing and will

start writing like scientists! We will zoom in on details to describe science objects like acorns, pinecones, leaves,

and gourds. We will “Notice”, Wonder”, and “Think about” attributes of these objects and describe them in detail.

Math: Everyday Mathematics Unit 3

   Using ten frames to show combinations of ten

   Writing and representing numbers

   Measurement- length

   Positional language (under, above, between, etc.)

   Numeral recognition and sequencing numbers

   Greater than/ less than

   Students will continue playing games to deepen their understanding of numerals. In “Spin a Number”

and “Number Squeeze,” they will practice recognizing and comparing numerals.

Integrated Studies:  Our Community, Pumpkins, Fall Changes

Important Dates

 Wednesday Dismissal 1:50

Nov 7th Flu Clinic 

Nov 11th- No School, Veterans Day

Nov 21  & 22- Early Dismissal at 11:20 for Parent Teacher Conferences

Nov 27-29 - No School, Thanksgiving Break

Apple Picking Trip

 We had a great time on our trip to Dole's Orchard. We learned about different types of apples, how apple trees change through the seasons, and orchard pests. We learned the correct way to pick apples, so as not to damage the buds for next year's crop. We enjoyed a wagon ride, a hay maze, and picking apples and pumpkins to take home.  Our friends at the orchard also gave us some pumpkin muffins and cider to take back to school for snack time. What a fun day!

October News

Curriculum Updates

Reading: We are finishing up Kindergarten Jump Start! We have had a letter of the day everyday,

where we focus on the letter identification, letter formation, and letter sound.  We are starting

Reading Workshop this month, the first unit is called “We are Readers!” The goal of this unit

is to create kids who want to learn to read and who believe that they can do it.

Writing: We think, We Draw, We Write!

We have begun the writing workshop! We are learning  that writers can write a story by

1.) Thinking of something that you want to write about

2.) Make a picture in your mind

3.) Drawing the story across pages of paper.

We are also learning to stretch out our words to hear as many letter sounds as we can.

This helps us write stories just like the authors we read everyday.

Math: This month we are extending early counting experiences by counting sets of objects in

different arrangements. We have introduced a tool called a “ten frame.” Students will use ten

frames to see and show numbers in a variety of ways. We are playing math games to reinforce

skills and develop problem-solving techniques. We are working on strategies to solve number

stories by using objects and drawings. We are working to identify properties of shapes and

recognizing the same shape in different sizes and orientations. 

Integrated Studies:  Apples, Pumpkins, Fall changes, Fire Safety

Wednesday Dismissal 1:50

Oct- 9 Curriculum Night 5-6

Oct 10- Apple Picking 9:15-1:00

Oct 11-14- No School

Oct- 19 PTO Pumpkin Fest

Oct 21- Picture Day

Parent Volunteer

If you would like to be a Parent Volunteer in your child's classroom please fill out the form attached in the link below!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZ6dHy8vJgBlMHdM6FYVH7XUeHuRZQPT_XOBcAqRnb_NSAsQ/viewform

Raising Monarch Butterflies

The kindergarten classes have been learning about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly. We have seen our caterpillars eat milkweed leaves, grow bigger, shed their skin four times, and then go into a chrysalis. Once our butterflies emerged from their chrysalises, we released them. We observed as the butterflies drank nectar from our garden flowers preparing for their long migration to Mexico. This has been a very fun and exciting project! 

Potato Harvesting

Kindergarten helped to harvest potatoes last week for a Maine harvest potato salad. 

We learned that potatoes are root vegetables so they grow underground and that Maine grows a lot of potatoes.

We tried the potato salad at lunch today and it was yummy!

Musical Monday

On Monday we had a presentation by Palaver Strings, a musician led string ensemble that is dedicated to strengthening and inspiring the community through music .They introduced us to three instruments, the Viola, the Violin, and the Cello.

After listening to a few songs and learning about the differences in the instruments we were given the opportunity to play one of the instruments that were kindergarten sized!

It was a great introduction to instruments and we loved having the chance to play one just like the musicians.

Little Learners

Kindergarten is in full swing! We are learning our new routines, making new friends and getting to know one another more and more each day.

We have started the year off with Kindergarten Jump Start! Focusing on a letter a day, we are learning the sounds, the correct way to form the letter and strengthening our small muscles to become better writers. We are also being exposed to sight words, such as can, is and me,  that will help us with reading in kindergarten.

Speaking of reading we have been reading A LOT of books.  Some of the favorites so far are The Book With No Pictures, Dooby Dooby Moo, and Don't Let the Pigion Drive the Bus. 

During math time we have been talking about shapes and using pattern blocks. We also did a fun activity where we needed to find a partner with the same length shoelace. It was more challenging then we thought it might be but we found our equal partners.

Stay tuned for more Kindergarten Learning!

Kindergarten September News

Kindergarten News

Curriculum Updates

Literacy: For the first six weeks of school we are using Kindergarten Jump Start curriculum.
Each day students are exposed to high quality literature. They will focus on one letter of the
alphabet at a time and learn the sound and how to write words using that letter. 
They are introduced to concepts about print and practice the skills of being a reader,
writer, and illustrator. 

Math: This month in math we are practicing daily mathematics routines. We are learning how to count and keep track of the days of school. We are practicing the days of the week and months of the year. We have begun to keep track of the date on our classroom calendar. We are also collecting, recording, graphing and analyzing weather observations on our daily weather graph. These routines will continue throughout the school year as part of our “Everyday Math” program. Over the course of the year, children will engage in many hands-on activities related to a range of math topics, including counting, numeration, operations, geometry, and measurement

Centers: Fine motor centers with a focus on ABCs and shapes using clay, scissors,
and math manipulatives.

Integrated Studies: Classroom Community, Weather

Important Dates

Sept 19- PTO meeting @5:30 in the Media Center

Keep In Touch!

Mrs. Kalloch: kalloj@portlandschools.org

Ms. Nealey: nealej@portlandschools.org

Mrs. Burke: burken@portlandschools.org

Ms. Boyd : boyda@portlandschools.org

Kindergarten News

Curriculum Updates

Reading:  We will be finishing the year with a unit called Growing Expertise in

Little Books: Reading for Information. This unit will immerse your young readers

in the world of informational reading for several weeks, giving them plenty of

opportunity for repeated practice, and mastery of skills that are particular to

reading nonfiction. They will look at texts and their features to learn all about topics.

We will be teaching children to think about what their books are about and then

reading closely, looking for new ideas, information, and vocabulary on every page.

Writing:  One of the wonderful things about working with kindergartners is the

delight they take in their own knowledge. This writing unit channels that energy

into writing “ All About” books. Each student will write lots of informational books

about many different topics. During this unit students develop important  

nonfiction writing skills and get to choose topics that explore their hobbies,

passions, and interests.

Math: Our topics include addition and subtraction facts, positional language,

measurable attributes, writing and solving equations, units of weight, and exploring

“doubles” addition facts. We will spend time reviewing math concepts previously

taught and celebrate the mathematical skills learned in kindergarten.

Integrated Studies:  We are learning all about plants. During this unit we

will be doing experiments with how plants grow and learning about different

types and parts of plants.

Important Dates

Wednesday Dismissal 1:50

May 9th- Art Gala & Silent Auction 5:00-6:30

May 10th- Riverton Red Day

May 10th - Wizard of Oz

May 27th- NO SCHOOL

June 5th- Field Trip to PATHS 9:15-1:30

June 6th- Literacy Night

June 10th- Rainbow Day

June 11th- Hat Day

June 12th- Field Day

June 14th- Last Day! 11:50 dismissal

Invest in ME

Invest in ME visited our classrooms in the fall. Here is a video explaining what they are all about :)

Kindergarten News

Curriculum Updates

Reading: We have started a reading unit called Becoming Avid Readers.

This units sets up the children to become less reliant on the teacher,

encouraging them to apply their strategies across multiple contexts.

This unit focuses less on new skills, but more about making sure that

what the children have learned has been internalized and automatic.  

Students will continue to be immersed in books, poetry and songs, but

children will now be encouraged to take more responsibility in making

decisions about what and how to read.

Writing: We have been having fun writing in our  persuasive writing unit.

We are busy working on posters and letters to fix problems we have noticed.

We are using our convincing skills to help readers learn about solutions to

problems. We are learning how to make the world a better place to be!

Math: Our topics include 2-D and 3-D shape review, “counting-on” from

various numbers, subtraction, place value, parts of ten, comparing numbers,

and ordering numbers from smallest to largest.

Integrated Studies:  We are starting a Science unit on Plants. We will learn all

about how plants are affected by our environment. Here are the topics we will

learn about: Living and Nonliving, Parts of a Plant, What Plants Need to Live,

Plant Life Cycles, How Plants Adapt to their Environment & much more!