1. October 7, 2016
Dear Parents,
This week, our class enjoyed participating in all the schoolwide activities for National Week Of Respect. We discussed what kindness and respect looks like and sounds like. We brainstormed ways to be a kind, respectful friend and challenged ourselves to do one kind thing for a classmate each day, as well as to take notice, and share, when someone does or says something kind to/for us. We enjoyed doing something kind for our school, by beautifying the Kindergarten Garden with colorful mums, and by signing and decorating the Washington School C.A.R.E.S. poster.
We continued our focus on rhyming, by making our own rhyming books with the picture cards from our A-Hunting We Will Go rhyming sort. We also sorted picture cards by rhyming with number words. We enjoyed reading the poems A Friend, Red, and One, Two Buckle My Shoe. We highlighted the sight words a, and, it and to in the texts and added them to our Word Wall and word rings. We added the poem My New Friend to our Poetry Journals and had fun illustrating our visualizations. We enjoyed reading the Star Book The Little Red Hen. We grew our thinking by identifying and discussing characters, setting, problem, solution, story theme, and vocabulary, as well as making personal connections and discussing favorite parts.
In Writing Workshop, we learned that writers create interesting books by planning and sketching their ideas across many pages. We practiced planning and drafting our teaching book topics across a three-page booklet, by sketching and labeling a related topic idea on each page. In Reading Workshop, we learned that good readers make a plan for their reading lives by having books “waiting in the wings.” We received our own individual book bins and made a plan for our own reading lives by selecting books for the week and placing them in our book bins, so that we always have a fresh supply of books on hand. We learned how to read “back to back” independently and “hip to hip,” with one book in between each person, when sharing our books with our reading partners.
In Math, we deepened our understanding of the concepts of the same, same but a little different, and very different, by closely observing and comparing sets of classmates. We practiced showing, counting, and writing corresponding numerals for sets to 5. We also practiced using our language to tell addition stories to five by observing pictures and describing similarities and differences in sets of objects within the scenes. In Science we took a tour of the schoolyard, observing and comparing the similarities and differences of the shapes and sizes of the many types of trees that were planted by people and those planted by nature. We charted our observations and

2. Looking Ahead: Special Notes:
had fun putting together a variety of tree puzzles, including oak, maple, palm, apple, cottonwood, fir, and pine by following the structure of the trees. We read several books about trees and learned that trees have identifiable parts: roots, trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, and bark.
Thank you for supporting all the Week of Respect activities. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Linda Yelvington
Looking Ahead:
Writing Folder Collages Due: Monday, October 10
Power of One Assembly: Monday, October 10
Columbus Day: Monday, October 10
Yom Kippur- Schools Closed: Wednesday, October 12
Harvest Fest: Thursday, October 13
WEF Family Fun Run: Saturday, October 15
National School Violence Awareness Week: October 17-21
Special Notes:
Thank you for the beautiful mums donations and for sending in garden tools for the children to plant with. A very special thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped prepare the garden soil and helped the children plant the mums on Wednesday. The children and I deeply appreciate your generosity, thoughtfulness, and time. Our Kindergarten Garden looks beautiful!!!
Please help your child practice reading, spelling, and using their sight words in sentences. Also, please be sure to read and discuss your child’s Book Buddy book selection with your child each night.
Kindly let me know if you need assistance with your child’s Writing Folder Collage.