Plants are coming home today!

The children are taking their plants home today! They have been growing for about a week and the children have been observing their growth every day. 

This is a good time to ask your child: What are the four things plants need to grow? (Water, sun, soil, and space)

They will continue to grow with these four things into nice, big, hardy bean plants! 

Enjoy!

Missing Math Pages

The missing math pages from the homework packet have been sent home with the children. Please find them in your child's blue folder. If your child was absent yesterday, they will be going home with them today.

Ms.Victoria

Half Day Tomorrow

Please be aware that tomorrow will be a half day due to current turmoil and the children will be dismissed at 12:00. Please make appropriate arrangements.

Week 11 Update

In Language Arts, we added the word 'to' to our word wall. With quite a few sight words on the word wall, we can play many fun games to practice them. Some of our favorites are Blast off! (the children crouch down and jump up as they read the flashcard) and Memory.

We read the book What Do Wheels Do All Day? a few times during the week. We discussed many words that describe what wheels do- push, pull, tow, pedal, work, etc.There was a lot of new and fun vocabulary for the children like roller blades and skateboard.

We had our second Show and Tell this week and the children shared their favorite stuffed animal and toys. They always look forward to bringing their things in to show their friends! 

In Math, we worked on numbers 5-10 and practiced the concept of 'more than'. We are learning through games and activities. We played Pass the Potato- we sit in a circle and sing One Potato, Two Potato and every tenth person is out until there is one child left. We also paired up and practiced writing numbers on each other's backs. One child wrote a number and the other tried to guess the number. 

In Science, we recorded the growth of our beans by drawing what they looked like in the bags. On Thursday, we planted beans in soil and we will compare the growth to the beans in the bags. We also reviewed our chapter on animals and plants with reading and songs. 

In Social Studies, we will be learning about symbols of Egypt. We started by talking about how each country has its own flag and we colored our own Egyptian flag. The children also pointed out similarities and differences between the flag of the United States and the flag of Egypt. They both have stripes but the flag of the United States has stars and the flag of Egypt has an eagle in the middle.

In Art, we experimented with color mixing. We started with a rainbow with only three colors and, after mixing colors, finished with beautiful rainbows of many colors.

I have sent out multiple 'Family of the Month' notices this week. We are going through tissues very quickly with all the runny noses! To prevent any illness, we have been washing our hands several times a day, especially before eating. We also wipe down our tables and chairs several times a day. Thank you Parents for helping keep our classroom germ-free! 

Sunday is Picture Day. Please ensure your child is in the school uniform (no P.E. clothes). 100% attendance is ideal! 

Have a great weekend, 

Ms.Victoria 

Show and Tell Reminder

We will have another show and tell session on Wednesday. The children are very excited! Some suggestions are photographs, small toys, favorite books, and drawings. Please do not send items that are irreplaceable.

There have been many toys coming in with the children lately. This is very distracting. I ask that toys be left at home and only bought in if it is for show and tell.

I will post a reminder every time we will have show and tell in class!

Thank you Parents,
Ms.Victoria 

Week 10 Update

In Language Arts, we are starting to write sentences! We discussed using colors to describe things. Looking at a picture of many colorful birds, they chose their favorite and wrote, "I like the _____ bird." They are stating to learn that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends in a period. (They mistakenly call it a pyramid!)

We read the book MOVE! and discussed different ways animals move: they jump, swim, slither, slide, waddle, etc. We read this book several times this week and the children understood the vocabulary more and more each time.

In Math, we finished Chapter 3 with a Unit test and started Chapter 4, which focuses on the numbers 6-10. We will be focusing on how to properly write the numbers, especially the numbers 8 and 9.

In Science, we are finishing our chapter on plants by planting our own plants. The children placed beans into small plastic bags and we will be observing its growth. Eventually, the beans will be planted in soil. We planted three different beans and we made predictions on which bean we thought would grow the fastest.

In Art, we looked at the work of Kandinsky, a famous abstraction painter. We made a replica of his famous concentric circle painting. The children were encouraged to use a lot of colors and make it unique.

The children bought home their sight word books this weekend. Please review the words with your child and send the book back to school on Sunday so that we can add more words to it!

Many children have been finishing their food before lunchtime. Please make sure your child has enough food for breakfast, snack, and lunch. We will be on the Week 2 menu this week if you would like to purchase breakfast or lunch for your child.

Thursday, November 22nd, is a half day and the children will leave at 12:00.

Also, Sunday, November 25 is Picture Day. Please make sure your child is in uniform.

Have a great weekend everyone,
Ms.Victoria

Labeled Jackets

The children take their sweaters and jackets on and off several times a day and they are often mixed up. Please write your child's name in large, clear letters in English (in permanent marker) to prevent it from getting mixed up or lost.

If the label bothers your child, you can write his/her name on the inside of the jacket.

This will prevent a lot of confusion and save time.

Thank you,
Ms.Victoria 

Sight Word Practice

I can see from some of the children's work that many finished their homework for the week. If they are done, they may practice their sight words. One way to do so is playing the game memory. Please go to MatchtheMemory.com/KG2B. The children can try to find the matches and beat their time each time they play by finding them faster and faster. 

Thank you Parents for your help,

Ms.Victoria

Note about Transportation Changes

Hello Parents,

An important note from the school administration was sent home today about transportation changes. It states the following:

Dear Parents,
Since we are constantly working for the welfare and safety of our students, GP School will not accept any transportation changes on half days or short days unless you notify the administration at least one day ahead.

Thank you for your cooperation,
School Administration

Week 9 Update

In Language Arts, we are working on beginning sounds. The children practiced isolating the beginning sounds of words. For example: /c/     /at/ = cat
We also added the word 'a' to our word wall. It is our sight word of the week.We worked on reading it in a sentence, finding it in books and writing the word.

We practiced our sight words playing 'Swat the Flies'!

In Math, we continued Chapter 3 Patterns. We talked about the 'pattern rule' which is the part of the pattern that repeats itself. If the pattern is yes, no, yes, no, yes, no...the pattern rule is 'yes, no'. This is not as easy as continuing a pattern as the children have to identify when the pattern starts repeating itself. We will continue this in the beginning of next week before moving on to Chapter 4.

We made colorful macaroni necklaces using patterns!

In Science, we will be planting our own plants next week so we continued learning about how plants grow and change. Specifically, we learned about different stages of a plant's life this week. They start as a seed, then turn into a sprout, then a seedling, and finally- a plant!

We had a very special treat on Thursday with our trip to see Dora! The show was very interactive and the children helped Dora find her lost teddy bear.

The girls were so excited!

Waiting patiently for the show to start.

Dora finally finds her teddy bear in the City of Lost Toys!

Thank you Parents for checking the blog regularly! It is the best way to keep informed about everything going on at school.

Just as a reminder, there is no school on Thursday November 15th in observance of the Islamic New Year.

Have a great weekend,
Ms.Victoria 

Math Homework Change

Hi Parents,

There will be a small change in the math homework this week. I am sending home two math worksheets for tonight and tomorrow's math homework instead of having the children do work from the workbook.
We will be starting Chapter 4 next week.

Thank you,
Ms.Victoria

Dora Trip on Thursday!

Just some reminders about our trip on Thursday to see Dora:

-Please make sure your child is wearing the GPS uniform (no PE clothes please)
-We will leave at 8:00am so if you drop your child off at school, please make sure they are in school that morning by 7:45
-We may be eating breakfast and snack on the bus so please pack bus-friendly foods such as sandwiches, pretzels, etc. It will be difficult to eat rice and noodles on a bus!

We are all very excited for our first trip of the year!

Ms.Victoria

November- Week 1 Homework

Hello Parents,

It was so nice meeting with all of you yesterday. If you were unable to make it, please let me know when you are available to come in for a quick progress report meeting.

Today I have sent home the homework schedule for the first week of November. We are returning to a weekly homework schedule. As a reminder, the homework reinforces what we do in school and should be done on a daily basis. I will return the math booklet on Wednesday after I have had a chance to look over their October homework.

The schedule is posted in the homework tab. If your child loses the worksheets, please write me a note in the channel book so I can replace them.

Thank you for all your help at home,
Ms.Victoria

Week 8 Update

In Language Arts, we added the sight word 'we' to our word wall. We also read a book about our 5 senses and discussed how we use each sense every day.

In Math, we started working on patterns. The children are familiar with the concept from KG1. We will be working on more complicated patterns that differ in size, color, and shapes.

Halloween was very exciting! The costumes were fun and we went trick-or-treating around the school. There were some cute costumes and silly costumes!

Sports Day was a lot of fun! We did a lot of running and playing. Most children stayed in their Sports Day clothes the whole day but thank you to all that sent uniforms.

Progress reports were sent home today in a white envelope. Please look it over and return it signed. I look forward to meeting with parents on Sunday. We can discuss any questions or concerns during conferences.  The children do not have school on Sunday.

The children visited the book fair today in school. They looked through the books and made a wish list of books they liked. If you decide you would like to buy the book, please send the exact amount of money to school with your child.

Next Thursday is our trip to see Dora the Explorer!  If your child is not attending the trip, you may have your child stay home that day as all KG teachers will be accompanying the students on the trip.  

The October homework is due on Monday when the children return to school. On Monday, the children will receive their homework for the week. We will return to a weekly homework schedule as many parents expressed that it will be easier to manage.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ms. Victoria