Hello October!

I can't believe tomorrow is October already!  Where is the time going!?  The first nine weeks will be over Friday.  And before we know it, the holiday season will be right around the corner!  Our class will be BUSY during the month of October with the Walk-a-thon (which is tomorrow), Fall Break (yay!), and our Kindergarten Halloween Program (details below).  

Superkids
On Monday we met a new Superkid!  Here are some questions to ask your child to prompt discussion:

• What is the name of the new Superkid?  Doc (short for Doctor)
• What does she like to do?  Fix toys and invent new things 
• What sound does Doc's name begin with?  /d/
• What letter makes the sound /d/?  Dd

Handwriting 
Superkids has a great handwriting program, and I think this class is doing a great job!  However, I have noticed some of the children forgetting the correct way to form the letters we have learned so far (Cc, Oo, Gg, Aa, and now Dd).  Please refer to the Superkids handwriting pages that were sent home earlier this year.  It is much easier to teach the right way to write a letter than to have to teach a child to "un-learn" the wrong way.  And many of the letters are taught by using the same steps from previous letters.   

Walk-a-Thon
Tomorrow is the Creekside Walk-a-thon!  We will be walking outside from 1:00-1:30 if you plan on joining us.  Be sure to check the weather so that your child is dressed appropriately.  Please also make sure your child is wearing tennis shoes.

Field Trip
Our field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo is Friday, October 9.  Money and permission slips are due this Friday.  More information specific to the trip will be coming home next week, including information on lunch and info for chaperones.

Halloween Program
Mark your calendars for the Kindergarten Halloween program!  An "official" invitation will be coming home soon, but until then mark your calendars for Thursday, October 29 from 6-7 pm.  Kindergartners will come dressed in Halloween costumes and put on a performance for families and friends! 

New friend

Today a new friend joined out class.  Welcome Aiden!  We hope you love Creekside as much as we do!

Lots of info today!

Sight Words
Our sight words for this week are: a, have, to
Make sure to add these to your flashcards or practice at home!!

Parent Teacher Conference Slips
In your child's folder this afternoon, you will find a small slip of paper that has your date and time for our parent teacher conference on it.  Please keep this paper in a safe place, and mark it on your calendar to be there!  We want 100% perfect attendance at conferences!  When you arrive for your conference, please wait in the hall, and I will come out and get you when I am ready.  There will be a paper leaf for you to write a note to your child.  I will try my hardest to stay on time during conferences.  Because I want to value everyone's time, please try your hardest to arrive on time to your conference.  If you feel like we need more time to discuss things after the 15 minute conference, we can always set up another time to meet.

Operation Bundle Up
Operation Bundle Up to help needy children get warm coats for the winter is underway.  September 28th-October 9th, please consider donating any gently used, outgrown coats to school to donate.  You can drop them off in the bin outside the office, or send them to class with your child.

Walk A Thon Money
Don't forget to send that Walk A Thon money in when you are finished collecting!  All money is due by this Wednesday!  Don't forget to write your child's name and t-shirt size on their envelope.  

Running/Walking Club
After Fall Break, Mrs. Leonard is going to start running club a couple of mornings a week.  This is a BEFORE school club, so students will need a ride to school.  If you are interested in having your child participate in this club, please let me know so I can let Mrs. Leonard know to send a permission slip home.  

Fall Book Fair

The Creekside Fall Book Fair is next week in our library!  Please note that the book fair is open during the two parent/teacher conferences evenings so plan to arrive early, or stay a bit late, from your parent/teacher conference and browse our excellent book fair!  Your child will also have an opportunity to go to the book fair during his/her library time here at Creekside next week. You can send money in with your child to purchase books.

Have a great week!

Happy Fall!

Walk a Thon Money
Don't forget to keep collecting Walk A Thon money!  You can send in the envelope when finished.  Don't forget to mark your child's name and t-shirt size on the outside of the envelope!  All money is due next Wednesday, September 30.

Parent Teacher Conferences--Time Confirmation
Teachers met yesterday to confirm dates and times for students that have siblings so there are no conflicts.  I will send home a little slip of paper with your day and time on Monday!  Please mark this on your calendar and plan on attending!  We want 100% perfect attendance! :)

Vision Screening Permission Slips
If you haven't yet returned the permission slips for the vision screening, please remember to do so by this Friday.  I am only missing a couple.  If you lost yours and need a new one, please let me know and I will send an extra home.  :)

Zoo Permission Slips
Permission slips and money for the zoo will be due soon, as well.  Please keep in mind we are in need of many parents to chaperone.  Volunteers will need to have a background check on file prior to the trip.  Also, because of lack of bus space, parents will need to meet at Creekside and then drive to the zoo.  Carpooling with other parents is a great idea to save on parking--the zoo will still charge you to park that day ($6) even though it's a field trip. :( 

Superkids
Wednesday we finished up working in the Alf book and I sent those home with the boys and girls.  Yesterday we read a poem together and talked about the differences between poems and stories.  Today we will have our Unit 4 Supersmart, which means Monday........A NEW SUPERKID!   I wonder who it will be?

Math
Our Kindergarten pizza bulletin board is beginning to fill up in the hallway!  We now have 9 boys and girls in our classroom who are able to count to 100.  Keep practicing at home.  Count with your child in the car, bath, before bed, etc.  Many kids get stuck at 29, 39, 49, etc.  To help with that, each time your child says a new "10" (20, 30, 40, etc), ask him to hold up a number of fingers.  For example, when your child gets to 20, they hold up 2 fingers, 30 is 3 fingers, 40 is 4 and so on.  That way your child can stop, look at their hand and decide what comes next.  

College Go Week!
College Go Week wrapped up today with blue and green/Creekside Spirit wear day!  Check out our picture below. 

Specials Schedule

Monday--Library

Tuesday--PE

Wednesday--Computer Lab

Thursday--Art

Friday--Music

Operation Bundle Up

Operation Bundle Up to help needy children get warm coats for the winter is underway.  September 28th-October 9th, please consider donating any gently used, outgrown coats to school to donate.  You can drop them off in the bin outside the office, or send them to class with your child.

Have a great weekend!

A little info....and a LOT of pictures!

Walk a Thon Money
Don't forget to keep collecting Walk A Thon money!  You can send in the envelope when finished.  Don't forget to mark your child's name and t-shirt size on the outside of the envelope!  All money is due next Wednesday, September 30.

Parent Teacher Conferences--Time Confirmation
Teachers met yesterday to confirm dates and times for students that have siblings so there are no conflicts.  I will send home a little slip of paper with your day and time no later than next Monday!  Please mark this on your calendar and plan on attending!  We want 100% perfect attendance! :)

Vision Screening Permission Slips
If you haven't yet returned the permission slips for the vision screening, please remember to do so by this Friday.  I am only missing a couple.  If you lost yours and need a new one, please let me know and I will send an extra home.  :)

Zoo Permission Slips
Permission slips and money for the zoo will be due soon, as well.  Please keep in mind we are in need of many parents to chaperone.  Volunteers will need to have a background check on file prior to the trip.  Also, because of lack of bus space, parents will need to meet at Creekside and then drive to the zoo.  Carpooling with other parents is a great idea to save on parking--the zoo will still charge you to park that day ($6) even though it's a field trip. :( 

Homework Sheets
Please have your child write his/her name on the weekly homework sheet.  Now that Monday's homework is no longer name writing practice, I have had a few papers without a name and had to guess as to who they belonged to.  Thanks for your help with this.

 Career Glam Day!  Lots of great future professions in our classroom!

Math Fun!

 No mess Finger Painting in baggies outside!  We practiced writing our numbers.

Gearing up for graduation day!  Students holding pictures of their parent's graduation or themselves graduating from preschool.  We even had a little fun with Mrs. Vidal's photo booth this morning! 

Dress up days!

Thursday--dress nicely for picture day (don't forget to send in order forms if you want pictures!)

Friday--Creekside spirit wear day (wear those Creekside shirts or blue and green)

Have a great day!

College GO Week!

College Go Week
Don't forget this week Creekside is celebrating College GO week!   In your child's folder last week you got a flyer with more details.  I will be taking lots of pictures this week of the children who participate (especially Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!) so be sure to remember to have your child participate!
Monday: College Colors Day
Tuesday: Career Glam Day
Wednesday: Gearing Up For Graduation Day
Thursday: College Fight Song Day
Friday: School Spirit Day
Drawing Contest papers will go home Monday, and are due Thursday to Mrs. Vidal.

CSREADS

Today is the day when our first #CSREADS book is announced!! Remember this is our GIANT book club where students, their families, and the staff of Creekside can all read the same book!

We are very excited that we will all be reading...Charlotte's Web by E.B. White! What wonderful conversations we will have with this amazing book!  If you have any questions contact Mrs. Bockover in the CS library!

Sight Words

Our sight words this week are: yes, no.  Be sure to add these to your flashcards or other way of practicing at home!

Recess
As the weather is finally turning cooler (yeah!  I love fall!), please keep in mind that our recess time is still early in the morning before we get any where close to the "high temperature" for the day.  While the afternoon temps are predicted to be somewhere in the 70's, it is still much cooler early in the morning.  As your child gets dressed and ready to come to school, take a quick look at the forecasted temperature for around 9:45am to make sure your child has the appropriate clothes for that time of day.  Jackets (and eventually hats, gloves, scarves) do not need to be worn the whole day, and can be stored in cubbies until it is time to go to recess.  

Lunch
We love for parents (and any other visitors) to come and join us for lunch.  However, we do turn in a lunch count every morning so that the cafeteria staff knows how much to fix each day.  If you plan to join us for lunch and purchase a lunch, please email me to let me know or send in a note, so I can add you to the lunch count!

Field Trips

Don't forget to keep those zoo permission slips coming in!  I have about half of the class' forms returned so far.  Also, I am still missing a couple permission slips for the vision screening at Northwood so please send those in too if you haven't already!  Please consider chaperoning our zoo field trip, and if you are, remember to have your background check done before field trip day!

Specials Schedule

Monday--Library

Tuesday--PE

Wednesday--Computer Lab

Thursday--Art

Friday--Music

Mrs. Vidal

Mrs. Vidal came to do her monthly guidance lesson with us today.  The topic this month was bullying.  Be sure to ask your child tonight what they learned!

 Happy College GO Week!  Here we are representing some of our favorite colleges!

Have a great week!

Sunny Thursday!

College Go Week
Next week Creekside is celebrating College GO week!   In your child's folder today you will find a flyer with more details.  I will be taking lots of pictures next week of the children who participate (especially Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday!) so be sure to remember to have your child participate!
Monday: College Colors Day
Tuesday: Career Glam Day
Wednesday: Gearing Up For Graduation Day
Thursday: College Fight Song Day
Friday: School Spirit Day
Drawing Contest papers will go home Monday, and are due Thursday to Mrs. Vidal.

Caterpillar Exploration
Yesterday Timothy brought in 2 caterpillars!  We observed them, watched a video about the butterfly life cycle, and drew/labeled the life cycle in our writing notebooks.  Thanks Timothy!

NWEA Testing

Our class is now finished going to the computer lab for fall testing.  I still have a few kiddos that have to finish the math portion of the test, but Dr. Heiden will begin pulling those children to the computer lab probably sometime next week.  So we can now get back to our regular daily schedule!

Zoo Field Trip

Yesterday in your child's folder you should have found a bright pink permission slip for our field trip to the Indianapolis Zoo coming up on Friday, October 9.  You can read more details on the permission slip itself, but I did want to be sure to invite any parents or grandparents who would like to chaperone to be sure to indicate that on the paper.  We need as many chaperones as we can get for the trip.  Please be sure that you also come to Creekside to get a background check sometime before the week of the field trip.  Thanks so much for your help!  It will be a fun day!

Superkids

Yesterday in Superkids we met a new Superkid...ALF!  Alf's name is short for Alfalfa.  The class thought that name was very funny!  Here are some questions to prompt discussion at home:

Who is the Superkid? ALF

What does he like to do? go on adventures

What letter is at the beginning of Alf? A

What sound does A make? /a/ like in apple--right now we are only doing the short vowel sound!

Math

This week in math we have been working on:

• finding patterns
• playing the Spin A Number Game
• describing shapes
• counting spaces on a gameboard
• recognizing numbers 0-10

Superkids Test

We completed our first Progress Test for Superkids in the computer lab yesterday.  Overall....we did....OK.  I'm sending the results home today. The first section of the test was very difficult for the students to understand what to do!  They had the first picture, and they had to pick another picture that started with the same sound.  Most of the class that didn't do well on this section picked the rhyming word instead of matching the beginning sound.  We will keep working on this!  So if your child didn't do so well on this section, I don't think it's because they don't know beginning sounds, they just got confused on what to do.  So for now, look at the 2nd and 3rd section to see how your child is doing in reading.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

VIsion Screening

Thanks to everyone who has sent in the vision screening permission slip for October 7th so far.  Keep them coming!

Specials Schedule

Monday--Library

Tuesday--PE

Wednesday--Computer Lab

Thursday--Art

Friday--Music

Have a great day!!

Fall-like Monday!

I love the cooler weather over 90 degrees, but I'm not sure I'm ready for winter yet! :)

Library Visit/Cards
Last Friday a librarian from the Franklin Branch of the Johnson County Library came to talk about library cards and read to our class!  They have a goal of having 100% of Kindergarten students owning their own library card!  After the library card drive is over at the end of the September, they will be having special activities for the kindergarteners who come to visit the librar ybetween October 1 and December 1.  You can earn pencils, stickers, and even a library bag!  Library card applications were sent home a while ago, but let me know if you need another.  I have a few extra copies!  Applications are due September 25.

Vision Screening
On Wednesday, October 7th, all FCS Kindergarten students will ride the bus to Northwood Elementary for vision screening provided by our health service department, along with several Franklin area optometrists.  Tomorrow in your child's folder you will find a permission slip for this day.  Please fill it out and return--the sooner the better!

Zoo Field Trip
I've had a couple questions--the Indianapolis Zoo field trip has been set!  We are going on the field trip Friday, October 9th.  Permission slips will come home soon.  We will need lots of chaperones to make this day possible!  You don't have to let me know now--there will be a spot to mark on the permission slip if you or a grandparent would like to chaperone.  I just wanted to give you a heads up for scheduling reasons!

Green Goggles
Today in Superkids our Read Aloud story was called Gregory's Green Goggles.  We even made our own green goggles to wear while listening to the story!  Ask your child tonight about Gregory's missing green goggles and where he found them!

Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/teacher conferences are quickly approaching!  Remember that they are schedule on October 7th and 8th.  Thank you to everyone who sent in their time preference sheet.  I do still have a couple missing, so if you haven't sent yours in yet, please do so as soon as possible.  If you need another copy, please let me know.  Teachers are meeting next week to schedule conferences (to make sure siblings are on the same day but not at the same time!) and I will send confirmation papers home with your day and time after that.  

Sight words
Today I introduced 2 new sight words during.  "The" and "little" are the words we will focus on this week.  Please add these to your flashcards or your practice time at home!

Walk-a-Thon
Tomorrow morning Creekside students will head to the gym for the kickoff to our Walk-a-thon fundraiser.  Look for information about this event to come home in your child's folder tomorrow.  

NWEA
Today we started NWEA testing in the computer lab! This week it is Kindergarten's turn to take NWEA testing.  This test measures how much your child knows in the areas of reading/language, and math.  The test begins with easy questions and gets progressively harder the better your child does.  Children will take the test again during the winter and spring to show growth.  Most of the boys and girls will finish with math tomorrow.  After results are in, I will send a copy home and we can discuss them at parent teacher conferences!  Please make sure your child gets enough sleep the nights before testing, eats a good breakfast the day of, and remind them to do their best!  They all did very well today for it being the first time we had ever done something like this!

Specials Schedule
Monday--Library (bring books!)
Tuesday--PE (wear tennis shoes)
Wednesday--Computer Lab (this week we will take our first Superkids progress test)
Thursday--Art 
Friday--Music

Have a great week!

Happy Friday!

Picture Day
School picture day is Thursday, September 24.  There was an order form in your child's folder yesterday.  You can either hold onto this until the 24th, or fill it out, send it in, and I will save it for your child to give to the photographer.  I believe there is also an option of ordering online.   If you do order online, please print something and send it in, so I know to tell the photographer that day.

Open Library
Open library is Wednesday and Friday at 12:50-1:20.  If your child is absent on Monday when we have library, or we miss a Monday of school like this week, you can send books in if your child wants to return them for new books.  You don't have to do this, only if you want to.  Several of the boys and girls did change books this week since we missed library Monday with no school.

Bucketfilling Party--20 fuzzies!
Wednesday we filled our bucket!  We have a class bucket with 20 fuzzies (cotton balls).  When we get a 5 in specials, everyone in the class is on green or higher at  the end of the day, or we get a compliment from another teacher, we get a fuzzy in the bucket.  When we fill the bucket, we have a party!  Wednesday we celebrated with having a special snack, and watching a Sid the Science kid video.  I don't think I've EVER had a class fill the bucket so quickly!! 20 fuzzies in just 24 days of school!  That is awesome!  Keep up the good bucket filling behavior!!

Homework
Please don't forget to have your child write their name on top of the homework sheet!  I had trouble with a couple today, because on Fridays I pull the sheets out of folders and put them on my desk....and a couple didn't have names!  Thanks for your help with this.

Praying Mantis!

Timothy and his grandma caught a praying mantis yesterday, and he brought it to school to show us!  I will admit, bugs are NOT my favorite, but it was pretty neat looking!  We observed it, watched a video online about them, and drew pictures/labeled the praying mantis during writing time. Then at the end of the day we released it back outside in the field! It actually was a pretty cool impromptu learning experience! Even if it did sit there on my desk all day staring at me.....

Math
Here are the skills we have been working on this week in math:

• Exploring shapes in different orientations
• Representing numbers on a tens frame
• Exploring numbers in our world
• Identifying, naming, finding, and sorting shapes
• Exploring and recognizing shapes by feel
• Using and understanding spatial vocabulary

Superkids
Today in Superkids we made our own Golly's Book of Sniffs! And it really actually smells!  Make sure to check this out in your child's folder over the weekend!  Monday we will have our read a loud, Tuesday will be our non-fiction SuperSmart lesson, and Wednesday we will meet our next new character!  I wonder who it will be??  Wednesday in Computer Lab your child will be taking their first progress test for Superkids.  When I have those results recorded I will send them home!  Please look over them when they come home and let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Specials Schedule

Monday--Library (bring library books)

Tuesday--PE (wear tennis shoes!)

Wednesday--Computers

Thursday--Art

Friday--Music

Have a great weekend!

Happy Tuesday (even though it feels like Monday!)

I hope you all had a great 3 day Labor Day weekend!  Now it's back to reality--even though it still feels like summer outside to me!

Mercedes' Cool Cups

Friday "Funday" Centers

Last Friday, we started our first round of "Friday Funday" Centers!  These six centers will be math based, and sometimes there will be a little science thrown in to.  Students will rotate through all six centers so they get to complete each activity.  Each Friday will have six new centers.  We do this block of time from 1-2pm instead of doing a math lesson and activity time.  I will always be one of the centers too, so I can work with small groups on a needed skill.  Check out the pictures below from our first Friday Funday!

 playdoh number mats

 dot paint pattern strips

 computers

 tangram pictures

ten frame trains

Sight Words

Today during Superkids time, I introduced 2 new sight words...our first two!  "I" and "am."  All week long, the children will be completing different activities in class to help them memorize and practice the sight words.  Although it is not going to be assigned as part of homework, I do encourage you to make flashcards for your child to practice reading the sight words as I introduce each one.  We plan on introducing 2-3 new words per week.  There will be a paper in your child's folder later this week that lists all the sight words for the rest of the year, divided by grading period. You may keep this list at home for your reference.  Please keep it in a safe place! You might even want to hang it someplace where your child will see it each day (refrigerator, bathroom mirror, etc).

Math

In math today the children listed the different attributes that make a specific shape that shape (What are the attributes of a circle?  Round, zero sides, zero corners).  You might ask your child to tell you the attributes of the following shapes: circle, triangle, square, rectangle.

Next, they worked in groups to find those shapes in magazines, and then glued those pictures to the giant shapes.  They did such a great job!!  I'm not sure I have ever had a class do as well at finding so many pictures, nor working together in their groups so well.  Check out our pictures below of this activity.

Speaking of using magazines in our classroom for different projects.....mine have just about seen their last day.  I'm not sure they will be of great use for upcoming activities.  If you have any "child friendly" magazines that you are finished with, I would love donations.  Please just be careful that magazines that may seem "child friendly" don't have advertising geared towards adults (alcohol, undergarments, etc).  Anytime you are about to discard one, feel free to send it in!  Thanks ahead of time.  

Specials Schedule

Monday--Library

Tuesday--PE (wear tennis shoes!)

Wednesday--Computers

Thursday--Art

Friday--Music

Have a great SHORT week! :)