Welcome to Mrs. Knudson's Kindergarten Class
by Jesse Knudson
September 05, 2010
Thursday, May 17
Today we had normal AM and PM centers. We did our last math lesson. It was a problem solving paper and the children did wonderful! This afternoon we had a special ice cream treat from Mrs. Marine. Tomorrow is a big, long, FUN day. Remember tennis shoes, sunscreen and a good breakfast to start off the day right!
Wednesday, May 16
WHAT A FABULOUS DAY AT THE PARK! THANK you so much for everyone who came. It was so wonderful to celebrate the end of kindergarten together. I am so pleased with all the children and their amazing work this year. A great question today about summer reading. It would be very helpful to work on comprehension questions this summer. Even if it is a harder book you have read aloud to them, you can follow it up with comprehension questions about things that happened in the story. Also, questions (and worksheets) they can read alone and answer independently is a great idea. A summer packet will be coming home of things to do over the summer full of worksheets and things leftover from the year. Today I sent home the brochure from the library about summer reading. Sign up starts the day school gets out - the 23rd. So, after you pick up report cards, you can head over and sign up for their program.
Tuesday, May 15
Today we had an afternoon full of snacks! It was popcorn day from Make a Wish. Miss Brandenburg (our High School Coop Student) brought everyone popsicles for her end of the year treat. Her last day will be tomorrow. She has had been a tremendous help to me this year! We ended the day with Joseph's treat. For tomorrow - we will have a normal morning and then off to the park for lunch. We hope to see you there!
Monday, May 14
Today we celebrated Reagan's birthday. She will have her official birthday on May 22. Today was a turn in library book day. NO MORE books will be checked out. Please return all classroom and school library books. We ended the day with an all school assembly. The jazz band and special edition performed from the High School. What Amazing Talent!!! Please remember to bring your money for Make A Wish.
Friday, May 11
Happy Mother's Day to all my fabulous moms! This morning was a great turn out for Muffins with Moms! This morning we practiced our tornado drill. Mr. Lowe sounded the alarm and the children did a great silent job. This afternoon we had our last science lesson. My lesson was a puppet show of the life cycle of the butterfly. Please have your child perform the puppet show for you - it is my favorite lesson!!! We ended the day with Addison's summer birthday celebration!
Thursday, May 10
We had a busy afternoon. TLC preschool came to visit. They are excited to come to school next year. We ended the day with an all school assembly. It was for the Make -a-Wish Foundation. We will be supporting the cause next week through donations. Each day will have a fun theme for 50 cents a day. Reagan was chosen to come up and do the tug-of-war with Mr. Hepner. She pulled with all her strength! We also celebrated Derika's summer birthday!
Wednesday, May 9
This morning with Mrs. Marine's center, the children performed their own little "plays" for the lunch room employees. Mrs. Marine said they did such a wonderful job! We had to do it again for ourselves. She was right - they were amazing! They wanted to each take home their scripts. Some were going to ask family members to help act out the play. This afternoon we finished our last MAPS testing in the computer lab. Tonight is Introduction to Kindergarten. It is VERY IMPORTANT for all children who will be in kindergarten next year to come. Please tell any neighbor or friend who has a preschooler.
Tuesday, May 8
A fabulous day at the zoo!! What great weather! Thank you to all my volunteers. This morning was normal activities. We are still working on contractions. I give MANY hints at the worksheets we do before I start the activity at their seats. Remind the students to watch the teacher - these last few days of school it is still important!
Monday, May 7
Today we started talking about contractions. I use the explanation of the apostrophe bandit that steals letters from the second word. He takes two words and makes them into one. Thank you for all the parents who volunteered for the zoo. However, I have my 4 that I am taking with me. We have prepaid with the zoo and are not taking any additional adults with us. If you still want to visit your child, you can see us at the park for lunch on Wednesday, May 16!!
Friday, May 4
This afternoon we did our end of the year DIBELS testing. The children are getting tired of tests (I know the feeling!) We still have next week in MAPS for math testing! Please start off the day with a good breakfast and plenty of sleep! We ended our Friday with celebrating Rachel's summer birthday!!!
Thursday, May 3
We had a busy day! We started the ocean unit. Today was the lobster. We got invited to go see 2nd grade perform in music. Mrs. Moen invited us down to see her students. They did a song to the book Swimmy. Perfect for our ocean unit. I was very impressed with the 2nd graders! We also got our live caterpillars in the mail today. They will turn into Painted Lady Butterflies. The students are very interested in seeing the transformation of the insects! This afternoon we celebrated Luke's summer birthday. Why not have a party everyday in K!!!
Wednesday, May 2
Wacky Wednesday Math again! We are getting harder in our math worksheets. Many students are asking me why so hard? To get ready for first grade I say!!! Keep practicing over the summer. A math workbook would be a great idea for days when you hear.... there is nothing to do! We ended the day by celebrating Elle's summer birthday. Happy birthday to her on June 26!
Tuesday, May 1
Happy May Day! We did not make May baskets, but the children were excited about the idea of giving a gift to a neighbor. They might come home with creative ideas! We are talking about math families. This is a great way to show how addition and subtraction work together. We are finishing insects. Today we talked about a spider (not a member of the insect family). We ended the day with delicious cookies from Lilly. Happy birthday to her on July 1.
Monday, April 30
It was so great to see so many of you at CR Hanna carnival night. This week begin MAPS testing to end the year. These are the reading and math tests done on the computers. Remind your child to do their best. It is NOT a timed test and they should think hard before selecting their answers. We go 2 times for reading and 2 times for math in the next 2 weeks. I am in need of volunteers. I really need an extra hands just for centers if that works for you in May let me know! AM centers is 8:10-9:00 PM centers is 1:15-2:15
Thursday, April 26
Today for my afternoon center we worked again on the missing number in an equation. This math skill is part of the new Illinois Core Standards. It went a little smoother today. Keep practicing! Please check the backpack today for a special invitation. Also, I updated the kindergarten grade level page with May Dates. Please click on the article and it will appear in bigger font.
Wednesday, April 25
Wacky Wednesday MATH! Ask your child who they saw today for math!!! Math is getting tougher! Lots of corrections and hard thinking! We will keep at coins, and time and addition throughout the end of the year. Math worksheets over the summer would be an excellent idea!
Tuesday, April 24
Today in math we talked about coins. Coin identification and counting is a very tough math skill. At the store or waiting in line somewhere or driving down 150 I suggest you hand your child a handful of coins and count them together.
Monday, April 23
Today was GREAT! Thank you to all who volunteered. We had lots of fun. The Geology Museum sent home a note about a program they are having on Saturday. The museum is free and open to the public. The Botanical Center sent us home with a plant!
Friday, April 20
Today we had another birthday - CJ! Today for careers was Mr. and Mrs. Gustafson. They spoke to us about space. The Astronomy Club will have their mobile observatory out at Niabi Zoo on Saturday at dark (9:00). The kindergarten students were invited to come. REMEBER FIELD TRIP on Monday!
Thursday, April 19
Tomorrow we buy books at the book fair. If you have sent money and your child gave it to me, I put the money on my desk. We have finished the bird unit and moved on to insects. Today we became entomologists! This afternoon we ended the day with a birthday treat! Happy birthday Nicolas!
Wednesday, April 18
Wacky Wednesday MATH! Ask your child who they had for math today? We worked on clocks and money. There were some challenging worksheets involved today. We will keep practicing these hard concepts throughout May.
Tuesday, April 17
We again worked on "harder" worksheets this morning. We discussed some strategies to use for them. This work will continue throughout the last few weeks. It can be very challenging. This afternoon we learned about the penguin. We each made a penguin but it will not be part of our bird book. Our bird book is titled Birds of Illinois and we learned the penguin does not live in Illinois.
Monday, April 16
This morning we worked on a few fill-in-the blank worksheets. We will be doing more independent work at our seats as we finish the end of the year. This was hard for some students today. Discuss these types of worksheets and some strategies for doing these types of papers. This type of worksheet or workbook for comprehension and understanding what you read is a great summer activity to prepare for first grade.
Friday, April 13
WELCOME to our new student, Derika Coleman. The students were very excited to have her join the class today. We now have 11 boys and 11 girls. Our total is back up to 22. Please remember to send that many snacks on your snack day. We had 5th grade buddies this afternoon. Make sure you re-read our little readers this weekend.
Thursday, April 12
This afternoon we did another book called Tiger, Tiger where the students had to read it independently and answer comprehension questions. It was a tricky one for question number 3, but we worked through it. Our bird of the day was the crow and blackbird. We did a fun poem about 2 little blackbirds. I sent home a copy of the words with the children.
Wednesday, April 11
The rocket launch was a GO! We were able to walk up after lunch. We stayed for about 45 minutes. We were able to see Mrs. Routt's son, David. His rocket was a success (on the second attempt). It was great to see all the hard work the high school students had put into their projects. Today we started Wacky Wednesday Math. We switched teachers and moved to different classrooms to work on math skills. Ask your child which teacher they had today.
Tuesday, April 10
WELCOME BACK! The students had many wonderful stories about what they got to do over spring break! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I got to volunteer in Elliot's classroom. I learned a few new games to play. Today we played Addition Crossout which I got from his teacher. Tomorrow we will be WALKING to the high school in the afternoon (weather permitting) to see the rocket launch. If it is too windy, the launch will be postponed. Please have your child wear tennis shoes and a jacket to school.
Friday, March 30
HAPPY EASTER! I hope you all enjoy our long, relaxing vacation. Today we took home all our books and things. Please read over spring break. We did not see buddies today, but we took home our books. Also, I would love to see any extra papers or writing the children do over break. They can turn it into the homework basket when they return.
Thursday, March 29
This morning we did scrambled sentences related to the bird unit. We have not done these for awhile, so it was a good review. Tomorrow is a big day with lots coming home for break. Please make sure the backpacks are emptied tonight.
Wednesday, March 28
Today for math we did tangrams again. The work mat that we did during class that stays at school was challenging. We will keep working with those manipulatives. We have been using Easter Eggs to solve puzzles with popcorn words. If you do not know your popcorn words really well, the activity can be hard. Keep practicing!
Tuesday, March 27
Today our school spring pictures were in my mailbox. IF you want to purchase them, you send a check to school and keep the pictures. IF YOU DO WANT to keep them, just send the entire packet back to school. You do NOT have to buy them if you do not want. This afternoon during afternoon centers we did a simple book and read it independently. Then, the students were given a worksheet with questions about the book. It was a great activity for comprehension. The students did a GREAT job. We will be doing more of these after break.
Monday, March 26
Today we started our last long vowel - u. We are looking for ui, ue, and u_e patterns. U is the hardest long vowel sound. It can sound like an "oo" sound. Of course, we do have Luke - which is an excellent example. We also began our bird unit today. Each day we will make a page for our bird book. It should be a TRUE fact about birds. A non-fiction book is the goal.
Friday, March 23
Today we finished transportation. We had Mr. Deets for our career speaker. He did a nice job of speaking to the children about his job as the "boss" of all the schools. There was one funny question....a student politely raises their hand and says... "how old are you?" HA! We finally had 5th grade buddies and emptied out our book boxes. It is very important to reread them at home. For science with me, we finished The Very Hungry Caterpillar sequence cards. Please cut them out at home and reuse them to tell the story. Sequencing a story is another important literacy skill.
Thursday, March 22
It was so great to see all of you on Wednesday. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to come to conferences. It really shows what great families we have here in Orion! Your support and practice at home makes all the difference!! Today we did water transportation. Tomorrow we will be finishing the unit on transportation.
Tuesday, March 20
First day of spring!!!! Today during calendar we talked about even numbers. We also reviewed tangrams. Each classroom received a Kindlefire from the T&A organization. I have turned it on and we have played with a little. Some students have read a few books on it! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Monday, March 19
Today we started the long vowel o patterns - o-e, oa, and ow. We also discussed o as a long vowel at the end of a short word - no, go, so. Today in math we made ABBC patterns. The children are doing a nice job at patterns. This afternoon it was so nice, we had snack outside!
Thursday, March 15
EVERYONE was here today!!!! AND..... the leprechauns had visited last night. We started off the day with a buzz in the air! This morning we finished up our long i words and sorting and patterning. We played a few quick circle games. Unfortunately, it ended in tears by a few. It is just a game... if you are out we talked about this is not that big of a deal. Enjoy the weekend and the three day weekend!
Wednesday, March 14
Well, we are down to only 3 students absent. I am hoping we are the rebound! This afternoon we played around the world with math addition facts. It was challenging for some and it brought out the competitive edge in others! We started transportation today. We will be discussing land, air and water transportation.
Tuesday, March 13
I am back! Mrs. Gustafson said the children did great. MANY, many children sick here at school. We have the windows open. Maybe the fresh air will help. We could use some clorox wipes, lysol spray or anti-bacterial spray for the tables. Today in afternoon we centers, we wrote letters to Reece. He had mailed us a letter and a few photos from his last day here.
Thursday, March 8
Well, the illness has struck! Many children are sick or complaining of symptoms. I know how they feel! Today we did a power point on long e and short e words. The children did great! This afternoon we worked on letter y and the yak. We are nearing the end of the alphabet. Tomorrow I will be gone for a funeral. Mrs. Gustafson is my sub.
Wednesday, March 7
What a windy March day! Recess was great but breezy!! I have developed a cough and the students were very patient with my constant cough today. This morning we reviewed our long e patterns. I projected a big book and the students got to use the pen to highlight words with long e. It was fun. This afternoon we played the card game War again in my center. The students love that game.
Tuesday, March 6
Today we worked on rhyming with our book of the week. We started our shamrock bulletin board. Miss Brandenburg asked them to read the words. If you make it to the pot of gold, you get a gold coin. If they don't make it all one day, they can try again another day.
Monday, March 5
We started long vowel e this week. Our patterns are ee, ea and y at the end of a word. Our book of the week is Sheep in a Jeep. It is a funny, short rhyming book. This afternoon in math we talked about nickels. We are also talking about finding ways to pay for things. For example: the pencil costs 6 cents. We could use 6 pennies or we could use one nickel and one penny.
Friday, March 2
Happy birthday Dr. Suess. We celebrated his birthday by reading the Cat in the Hat. We reviewed long a and the patterns. Next week we will start a new long vowel. Today was a sad day for us as we said good-bye to Reece. He will be moving to a new school district. We ended the day with some delicious treats, hugs and tearful good-byes.
Thursday, March 1
I can hardly believe it is March already! We have turned the calendar over again and prepared for a new month. Did March come in like a lamb or lion?? Lunch recess felt one way and then afternoon recess felt another. The playground is still VERY muddy. Please continue to send boots just for this purpose. Many times shoes only have to stay on the blacktop.
Wednesday, February 29
Today we talked about the weather and the beginning of March. We voted on if March will come in like a lamb or lion. We have 13 votes for lamb and 8 for lion. We will see what happens tomorrow! At the end of the day, we had JA with Mrs. DeBaillie. She reviewed the coins, money and saving your money for special things.
Tuesday, February 28
This week our book of the week is a chapter book. We are doing a read aloud from one chapter of it. The students are enjoying it. Junie B. Jones is a very funny girl. Although, we do discuss how she does not always do the right thing which causes her to get in trouble. If you haven't tried a chapter book at home, I encourage you to explore one with your child.
Monday, February 27
I got a nice note from Mrs. Gustafson on Friday. I knew the students could be as great with a sub as they are with me! Today we started our week of long vowel a. We learned there are three patterns to find long a = a_e, ai, and ay. We will be working on this all week. This afternoon we enjoyed a delicious treat from Joseph. He turns 6 today! Happy Birthday Joseph!
Thursday, February 23
Today we did the geoboards for math. Our actual activity went well using the boards and geobands. However, when we did the worksheet (and it was projected on the board) not everyone was able to make the correct shapes. During phonemic awareness time, we worked on putting words in alphabetical order. We did it as a whole group and then we did the paper individually. My son, Elliot, is sick. He has strep throat. I will NOT be here on Friday. I talked to the children about this and how it went last time I was not here. Mrs. Gustafson will be my sub. Let's hope for a better report!
Wednesday, February 22
Today we talked about George Washington. It was his birthday today. We made our own flags. We rarely have an opportunity to work on an "art" project. Our flags are displayed in the hallway. Today we ended the day with JA. The children are enjoying the stories from her book.
Tuesday, February 21
HELP - I have 9 people signed up for conferences from 2-3 on my March date. Can anyone come on their lunch break instead? I have no one in the middle of the day. All are signed up early or late. I realize this is the most convenient for work schedules. However, we may have to reschedule for other days or times if I can not fit everyone in on my one scheduled date. Today we did a zoo animal that is extinct - the quagga. A great vocabulary word - extinct! Ask your child if they know what that means.
Friday, February 17
A busy short morning. During morning centers, we experimented with some new math manipulatives - tangrams and base ten blocks. We also did writing with me like usual. We switched SEATS! The children were really excited about having new friends to sit next to. Have a wonderful long weekend!
Thursday, February 16
Today during afternoon centers we were detectives. We used magnifying glasses to search tiny font for popcorn words. The children did well. We also reviewed money (coins) again. We had a wonderful, warm recess.
Wednesday, February 15
Today we had our second lesson from JA. Mrs. DeBaillie came at the end of the day. She talked about selling items at a fair for money. The students reviewed money (coins). Identifying coins is on the kindergarten report card. So, if you have money out at the store, it is great time to review!
Tuesday, February 14
Happy Valentine's Day! We had a very busy and fun day. The wedding of Q and U was a big success! The children were very good during the wedding. Luke and Reagan did an excellent job as Mr. Q and Miss U. The letters were successfully united together for life! We then danced away at the reception. The children really enjoyed the dancing. The end of the day was another big celebration with our valentines's party. Thank you to PTA! It was a BUSY DAY!
Monday, February 13
Today we talked about Abraham Lincoln and his life as a boy and as president. We talked about his tall hat. We also talked about him with a beard and without a beard. In math we talked about dimes. The children are great at counting by 10's!
Friday, February 10
Today for careers, we had Mr. Filler. He talked to us about his job as the Orion Chargers Football Coach. The children loved the visuals he brought to show us. During buddies, each child was given a bag of opposite cards. Please match the opposites at home or play memory with the cards. Not all students got to finish playing after reading all their books.
Thursday, February 9
Today for math we did problem solving. I do find these activities to be very valuable. We discuss how important it is to follow all the steps in the process of solving the problem. The first most important step is to read the problem and obtain all the important information. Today we working on take away problems - subtraction. We also worked hard on showing our work to solve the problem. This afternoon we had our first JA lesson. We had Cindy DeBaillie come from John Deere. She talked about life on the farm and how people were trading things on the farm to get something else. In the story, they traded eggs for bread.
Wednesday, February 8
Happy birthday Kaden! We ended our day with treats from Kaden. Today during math we talked about subtraction. Please have your child actually take a pencil and cross off the items on the worksheets about subtraction (unless they can do it correctly in their head). This visual representation will help them understand the concept of take away.
Tuesday, February 7
Today I did a quick assessment of our popcorn words. Keep reviewing those words at home. The sight words must be memorized by the end of the year. The students should be able to recognize them in text and spell them correctly in writing.
