Holiday Reading Coupons!

Dear Parents:

Since December is such a short but critical month in your child’s reading and literacy development, I have decided to do a fun reading incentive activity to allow students the best opportunity for retention during the long holiday break. Included in this packet are several reading coupons that can be filled out during the month of December and the holiday season. I have also included Dibels practice sheets that your child can use to read and practice for one or several of the coupons (these are especially important due to the upcoming Dibels test and Kindergarten Assessment in January). Your child will be familiar with these Dibels sheets, as we will be practicing them in class. Please do your best to read and provide reading time to your child during the holiday season. You may use books from home, library books, class books from the rainbow folders, or the included practice sheets. Students who complete and return the entire coupon package will receive a special prize when we return to school in January. I will also consider prizes for students who complete some or half of the reading coupon package, but it MUSt be returned. Please understand that this is an optional activity. My hope is that you will take advantage of this time to work with your child in literacy.  

If you have any comments or concerns regarding this reading incentive activity please call, come to the classroom, or e-mail me. Thanks for all you do! Enjoy the holiday season! 

Mrs. George   

Parent Christmas Gifts!

Dear Parents,


We have been working on a special Christmas gift for you! Each student needs to bring $1.50 to school by Friday Dec. 16 or ASAP to cover the cost of their gift. Please understand that this is a donation to assist me in buying the materials needed to make these special presents. Every child will be making a gift for their family regardless of cost, however, any donations will assist me in purchasing items needed to make the gifts. Please give your child a small job to do to earn the money they need to get you a wonderful and memorable gift for Christmas! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call, come to the classroom, or e-mail me. I will be happy to help! Thank you! Mrs. George

Hot Chocolate Party!

On Friday December 16, we will be having a class hot chocolate party! We will be reading the Polar Express, and we may even have a special Christmas visitor in our classroom that day! Here are the assignments for students who need to furnish an item for this party! Please have these items to school on or before Dec. 16! Please let me know if there is a problem with furnishing any of the items, and I will be happy to help!

30 thermal cups: Lexi
30 spoons: John
15 Hot Cocoa packets: Makenzie
15 Hot Cocoa packets: Jacob
30 mint candy canes: Jose Luis

Newsletter for Dec. 12-16

Curriculum  

Alphabet: *We will practice the capitol and lowercase letters. Your child needs to ba able to say the sound for each letter and write each capitol and lowercase letter for the next Kindergarten Assessment!

Word Wall: 

*We will practice the sight word “for”. Students need to be able to read 10 sight words on our next assessment! Practice! Practice!

Math: 

*We will practice calendaring skills, counting to 10, counting by 10s, 5s, and 2s, one to one correspondence, graphing, patterning, phonemic awareness, and phonics.

*We will review numbers 0-10 and practice numbers 11-20.

*We will continue our morning work folders. 

*We will practice fewer and more, most, greatest, and least.

Literacy

*We will continue the Harcourt and Fontas and Pinnel literacy programs.

*We will discuss Beginning, Middle, and Ending of stories. 

*We will predict and summarize.

*We will work on sequencing events in a story.

*We will practice asking questions.

*We will discuss book orientation and fiction and nonfiction.

*We will practice writing sounds we hear in words (beginning, middle, and end). 

*We will continue decodable books from Harcourt used in our power half hour groups when ready.

*We will continue our Power Half Hour literacy groups! These groups will be four days a week and involve intensive work toward literacy skills and reading! 

*We will NOT be having regular centers this week, however, I would still like volunteers to come into the classroom to help finish other projects! We will resume regular centers on Jan. 2!

All parent volunteers will need to begin signing in each time they are in the classroom to volunteer. There will be a volunteer sign in sheet next to the door of our classroom. I will show you where it is when you come to volunteer next. 

Books: Snowmen at Christmas, Mooseltoe, There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow, The Very Snowy Christmas, Olive The Other Reindeer, the Polar Express, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, and other holiday books. 

Writing: 

*We will continue writer’s workshop and be writing in our Kindergarten Journals and Scribble Journals.

*We will practice proper pencil grip and handwriting.

*We will practice handwriting upper and lowercase letters and numbers to 20.

*We will work on writing our last names, birthdays, and telephone numbers and addresses.

Announcements: 

*READING FOLDERS are due Dec. 12

Please be filling out your reading record, so your child can receive two new books. Remember once your child has completed 210 minutes of reading he/she will receive a prize and a new reading record! Please remember to practice the alphabet using the chart in this folder also! It is GREAT practice since we use the same chart at school! 

*Please work on Sight Word List #4 and Skill Sheet #4 with your child! We are practicing these words and concepts in class! Return the skill sheet as soon as it is completed. I have attached Sight Word List #5 and Skill Sheet #5 for January. 

*There will be some exciting holiday activities coming up before we dismiss for our Christmas break. We will have a special visitor, we will be watching a movie, we will be getting a special treat in the stockings we made, we will be having a hot chocolate party and reading the Polar Express, and we will be making a special gift for our parents! 

*School will dismiss Dec. 16 for our holiday break. We will resume class on Jan. 2. Happy Holidays!

*Please return ALL library books, and book in a bag before the holiday break!

*Blog! Blog! Blog! Please check out our class BLOG if you need to access the newsletter. To access the blog, go to the school web page and click on Teacher Websites. Click on my name below my picture and you will see our blog! 

*Our class will be collecting box tops for education. If you have any of these, please send them in a baggie in your child’s homework folder! Thank you1
*Remember that if your child is going to be missing a day of school to call the office and excuse them. In addition, if you are going to be picking up your child early, please make sure you check them out in the office before picking them up from class.

Early Out Wed. Times: AM class – 8:55-10:55. Please be on time to avoid tardies and classroom distraction.

*Birthdays  ABEY’S B-DAY! WE WILL CELEBRATE IT ON 12/14. HER ACUTAL BITHDYA IS 12/22

                JOHN’S B-DAY! WE WILL CELEBRATE IT ON 12/15. HIS ACTUAL BIRTHDAY IS 12/23

               PORTER’S B-DAY! WE WILL CELEBRATE IT ON 12/16. HIS ACTUAL BIRTHDAY IS 12/17

(You may bring a class treat on the day we celebrate your birthday. Please bring treats for 27 students.) Optional

Leader: AJ Wallin for Jan. 2-6 (You may bring a class treat on the Friday that your child is the leader. Please being treats for 26 students.) Optional

REMINDER: Please continue to remind your student to turn in their EAGLE FOLDER EVERY DAY! It would also be a good idea to remind your child on Monday to bring their blue READING FOLDER into the classroom to switch books! New books are always exciting!

HOMEWORK: We will have homework on Monday and Wednesday.  Please sign your name under your child’s name on the homework sheets. That way I know you have worked on it with your child. Please make sure you DO NOT have your child do homework with a pen, marker, or crayon. Pencil is best when handwriting.

Please make sure your name is on your homework and do you BEST work!

Questions or Concerns: 

sarah.george@ironmail.org

Home Phone: 586-2493

Call or come in if you have any questions

Class Themes: Holidays, Letter Celebration,