It's the weekend!

Homework
Next week--be sure to check the back side of the sheet with the ice cream lines.  I noticed this week that several kids were not flipping the paper over to the back and practicing name writing on the back.  Next week, please be sure to flip it over.  Each night there will be a different word to write (Monday will still be their name).  Please have them write it exactly like the example!

Bingo For Books
Bingo for Books is next Thursday!  There is a blue RSVP form in your child's folder today.  This event is free!  If you plan on attending, please fill out the form and return to school on Monday, so PTO knows how much pizza to order.

College Go Week
Creekside will be celebrating college go week the week of 9/26.  See below for the schedule of fun dress up days!
9/26--Hats off to College (hat day)
9/27--Time to Interview (dress up day)
9/28--We want to be... (dress up like your future career day)
9/29--College Gear (college tshirt day)
9/30--Creekside day (Creekside spirit wear--or wear blue and green day)

Zoo Field Trip
Planning ahead--Kindergarten will be going to the Indianpolis Zoo on Friday, October 7th.  Permission slips will come home soon, but I wanted to give you a heads up in case you needed to ask off work to come chaperone.  We need lots of chaperones to make this field trip run smoothly, so please consider going with us!

Creekside PTO Sign Ups

Our Creekside PTO is a very active organization that supports our students and staff by purchasing supplies, playground equipment, paying for field trips, school equipment, and by encouraging and recognizing academic accomplishments. We cannot do these things without volunteers. So, please fill out the form below to let our PTO know of your interest to help support our Creekside students and teachers.  https://goo.gl/forms/S59068npfXgdBp7U2

Creekside School Pictures

Creekside school pictures are upcoming on Thursday, September 22nd. You've already received an order form, but I have a few extras if you need one--just let me know. Remember that all students have their pictures taken on this day, but if you wish to order pictures you can do that through this form. You may either order online, or send your order along with payment with your child on Thursday the 22nd. 

Library cards and more!

Library Card Drive

Today we had a visit from a Franklin Public Librarian to tell us about this special program!

THESE APPLICATIONS ARE IN FOLDERS TODAY!

Please read below from the Johnson County Public Library:

It's almost time to start our next round of the Library Card Application Drive. 

Each child should return the completed application to school to get their FREE public library card.  If your child already has a card, you can check the box on the application saying this and return to school.

Cards will be mailed to your home address.

From September 1st to December 31st we will be running a new program called Library Stars. Kindergarteners with library cards will earn incentives for coming to the library three times during the program - stickers for their library cards, sparkly pencils, their name on our Wall of Stars, and a special Library Stars book back. Our hope is that we can encourage families to become regular library users.

The Franklin Elementary with the highest percentage of LIbrary Starts will win a fun visit from the public library!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Today we finished our first writing project and displayed it in the hallway to share!  We read the story Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom.  Then we made our own coconut trees and wrote about our names.  They did a great job!

Box Tops

Don't forget that Creekside collects Box Tops for Education!  When you purchase something that has a Box Top on it (cereal, Kleenex, even some butter tubs!) cut it off and send it in to school!  Each one we send in helps us earn money for projects around the school!

Bingo for Books

Mark your calendars! Creekside PTO BINGO for Books and Pizza Night is next week and you do not want to miss this FREE event at Creekside.  Please join us for free pizza and free BINGO on Thursday, September 15th from 5:30-7pm. Every child goes home with a new book! This event is FREE and for the whole family and loads of FUN!

Picture Day
School Picture Day is September 22nd!  Picture order forms are in folders today.  Every child will get their picture taken on the 22nd.  If you are interested in ordering pictures, please fill out the envelope and return to school on or before the 22nd.

Math
Today in math we played a memory game.  The boys and girls played in partners and had to turn over two dot cards.  If the dot cards matched, they got to keep them.  We had fun!

Have a great week!

3 day weekend!

DIBELS

After reading the title of this section, you may be thinking, "Huh?"  :)  A couple weeks ago we began DIBELS testing.  These tests are administered by Mrs. McCullough, our wonderful Literacy Coach/Title One teacher and her assistants.  DIBELS simply means Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills.  Translation?  How well does your child know letter names and sounds and picture/sound association? 

These tests give me a really good indicator of what your child is ready for and help me guide instruction to meet YOUR child's needs. The results are being sent home in folders today.  Please look over them, and practice needed skills at home.  We will be doing lots of practice at school!  And of course, please feel free to ask any questions about the test or results! 

Learning Objectives

Each of our 4 core subjects will have a learning objective to go along with the lesson.  This tells the children what they will be learning.  Often, they will learn more than one thing during Reading, Language (those are both Superkids) and Math, but we will just recite one.  At the beginning of each lesson, I point out, read, and explain the objective.  The children then read it with me.  Many times they will learn new vocabulary during my explanation of the objective.  For example, yesterday they learned what it means to "identify."  As the boys and girls get more and more used to the objectives, you can start asking your child to tell you what they were each day.  Don't expect them to remember all 4.  Maybe just one or two.  Here is a picture of today's learning objectives board:

Superkids Parent Portal

I have seen that many of you have completed the Superkids parent portal account set-up for your children!  That is GREAT!!  As we do more activities, and meet more Superkids, your child will have more books and games open to play at home.   I hope you will let them get on the website at home and have fun!  If you don't already have an account set up, please do so.  You should have gotten an email from Superkids.  If you need me to resend the email with instructions on how to finish the set-up, please let me know.

Math
This year we are setting a goal for 100% of Kindergartners to count to 100 by the 100th day of school.  I will often assess the children on counting on their own.  If a child reaches 100 WITHOUT hints or help, and without skipping any numbers, their star in our classroom climbs to 100 on our counting chart, they color a slice of pizza to hang on the Kindergarten wall in the hallway, and they are invited to come to a pizza party soon after we celebrate our 100th day of school in January.  So far we have 5 friends from our classroom that have a slice of pizza hanging in the hallway.  Keep practicing at home!  :)

Have a great 3 day weekend and Happy Labor Day!  See you Tuesday!

Happy last Monday in August!

Madelyn's Cool Cups

Have you made a recipe from Cass' Cookbook yet?

Sight Words

This week I am teaching the sight words: the, little.  Last week we did: I, am.  Please make sure to practice these four and make sure your child can read them!

Superkids

On Friday, we met our new Superkid, Oswald.  Here are some questions you can ask your child tonight to prompt discussion:

• What is the name of the new Superkid? Oswald 
• What is the sound at the beginning of Oswald's name? /o/
• What letter makes the sound /o/? O
• What are some other things that begin with the sound /o/?  octopus, ostrich, odd animal, etc.  

Online Portal--Superkids

I resent out the set up email from Superkids today to those that don't already have an account set up.  The email will come from Superkids, not me.  You might have to check your spam folder.  Please let me know if you don't get the email, or it still won't work.  Please take the time to set up your account, and make time to let your child read the stories each week (and play the games when they become available a little later in the school year).

Homework

Most of the children look like they have been doing a good job completing their homework each night.  Whether your child is still working on letter names, sounds, or writing his/her name on the lined paper it is important to sit down for a few minutes each night to practice.  Remember, homework should take no more than 15 minutes, max!  If your child is one who is already able to name all of the letters, you will notice a new homework sheet to begin working on tonight.  This sheet has rhyming words as well as 4 words/sounds to blend. Please remember to circle letters/sounds/words your child consistently reads correctly.  When your child reads all of the mixed up letters, continue practicing to increase fluency/speed.  We work a lot on fluency in Kindergarten and this skill is very important. 

RED Folders

RED (Read Every Day) folders were sent home for the first time last Tuesday, and hopefully returned by Friday.  Here are the important things to remember about RED folders.  Some of this information is different than what is printed on the information sheet inside the folder. PLEASE ASK IF YOU ARE CONFUSED OR HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

• RED folders are sent home most Tuesdays with a Superkids Leveled Reader that your child will have already read in class.
• A worksheet will always accompany the book.
• Return the worksheet in your child's GREEN folder the following day (Wednesday).
• Keep the book and RED folder at home the rest of the week.  Your child can read the book to you again and again before bedtime each night.  
• PLEASE take a look at the sample reading questions and choose a few each time your child reads to help increase comprehension.
• Fill out the reading log with the title of the book, the date, and your signature indicating that your child completed these tasks. You only need to do this ONCE per book.
• Send the RED folder (along with the reading log) back to school by Friday.  The book is yours to keep, so please take it out of the RED folder.

Have a great week!

Terrific Tuesday!

School Smiles
In folders yesterday you should have found School Smiles dentist applications.  School Smiles will be at Creekside on September 14th.  Please send the applications back as soon as you can if you are interested in your child participating in the dentist visit on this day.  Many of our students do not have a regular dentist and this prevents future problems!


R.E.D. Folders
Tonight your child is bringing home their first R.E.D. (Read Every Day) Folder assignment!  Inside the red folder you will find the Superkids book, worksheet, comprehension questions, and reading log.  Please do the following things:
1.  Have your child read (the first few books have no words--have them practice retelling the story to you) the book.
2.  Complete the worksheet that goes with the book--return to school tomorrow.
3.  If your child could answer at least 3 comprehension questions, and retell the story, sign the reading log in the back of the folder.
4.  Return R.E.D. folder Wednesday!  If your child could not do step 3, repeat step 3 Wednesday night for homework.  

My Cookbook--Cass
Today during Superkids time, we made our own Cass Cookbooks with 3 recipes inside!  The boys and girls were very excited about trying out these recipes at home!  When you try one out, feel free to take your child's picture and email it to me!  I'd love to see it, and include it on the blog!  Have fun!

Superkids
Speaking of Superkids, today we finished our Cass workbooks!  Look for those to come home tomorrow with all the extra Cass pages we have finished as well as a letter that describes all the activities.  Please look through those work folders, and then you can keep everything for Cass at home.  We will finish Unit 1 (Cass) on Thursday with a Super Smart.  Super Smarts are online, non-fiction texts and videos that we read and talk about as I project it onto the big screen.  We do one Super Smart at the end of each unit.  On Friday we will meet our second Superkid!  Stay tuned to find out who it is! 

Math

Here are the skills we have been working on in math so far:

• Comparing lengths to find the same, longer, and shorter
• Identifying the following shapes: square, triangle, rectangle, trapezoid, hexagon, and rhombus
• Practiced counting objects and realizing the last number said is the number of objects in a set
• Identifying numbers 0-10

• Begin recognizing numbers 0-9 by counting, drawing tally marks, drawing objects, and filling in tens frames.  We will focus on one number per day in addition to our normal math lesson.
• We will learn the game Count and Sit.
• We will make a class graph of our birthdays to be displayed in the room all year long and a class graph our ages that will also be displayed (and changed from 5 to 6) all year long.

Have a great week!

Happy Weekend!

We made it through our first full week of school!  Yay!  Below are just a few reminders as we get into the full swing of the school year.

Backpacks

If your child has a folder (other than the green Creekside folder), notebook, pencil, eraser, art box, etc in his/her backpack, you can take those items out and leave them at home.  Our assistant has gone through the backpacks and taken out anything your child needs at school, which are the items listed above.  Along those same lines, please be sure to clean out the left side of your child's folder each day so that those papers don't get lost.

Facebook

Our classroom Facebook page is important in sharing information and reminders with you, but as you may have already seen, it also gives you a sneak peek inside our day, including lots of pictures!  If you haven't yet LIKED our page to received up to date notifications, don't be left out!  LIKE our page today!  You can search: 

Mrs. Dunn's Kindergarten.

Superkids

You should have gotten an activation email from Superkids Wednesday to set up your online account at home for your child to play the games and read the stories. Please read below!

"Our Web Development Team was recently made aware of this issue. We ask any activation email that must be resent be delayed until early next week. Thank you for your patience while they work yo resolve this issue."   

So,  I will resend the Superkids email to you next week so you can set up the account. Thanks!  

Note--you will not get this email if you already have an account set up for an older student.

Math homelinks pages

Don't forget to do the math homelinks pages as homework on nights that they come home!  This won't be every night.  When there is a math homelink page to complete, I will always put it on the Bring Back to School side of the folder in front of the reading homework.  You don't need to return this sheet, unless I specifically ask for it though.

Car Riders

If your child is a car rider, please read below from the office:

We are still having quite a few kids get in and out on the driver side of their car during arrival and dismissal. Students need to get in and out of the car on the passenger side. This is a safety issue. Thanks!

Homework Directions

• Please be sure to do Letter Identification EACH NIGHT. You may move onto sounds and sight words once you feel your child is ready.

• Once your child is able to name a letter, sound, or word immediately, consistently (several days in a row), and without any help, circle that particular letter or word.  This will tell me your child is ready to be assessed for mastery.

• Please leave the Homework Sheet in your child’s folder on the “Bring Back to School Side” each day.  As your child learns and masters more skills, I will switch it out for a new one.

1. Letter Identification: Point to each of the capital and lowercase letters at the top of the page and ask your child to name them.  If your child is able to correctly name more than half in both boxes, go ahead and move down to sound recognition.  If your child struggles with naming a letter, simply tell him/her the letter and move on.  After a few days of letter practice, you will want to mix up the order in which you point to the letters.  You might also make flashcards and use those for practice.

2. Sound Recognition: Once your child can name half of the capital letters and half of the lowercase letters, add sound recognition to the nightly homework.  Beginning at Aa, state the letter, and ask your child to tell you the sound.  We only practice the “short vowel sound” for a, e, i, o, u so be listening for /a/ as in apple, /e/ as in elbow, /i/ as in igloo, /o/ as in opera, and /u/ as in umbrella.  Again, if your child struggles with any sound, tell him/her the sound and move on.  

3. Sight Word Identification: I will begin teaching sight words in a few short weeks.  At that time, I will let you know each week what words your child should be able to read.  Until then, if you would like to add sight words to the nightly homework (if your child is mastering all or most of the letters and sounds) feel free to move ahead.

4. Name Writing: Starting next week, name writing needs to be completed each night (Mon-Thurs).  On the back of the homework paper you will see ice cream lined paper. Your child only needs to practice his/her name once per evening.  Please ensure your child is writing their name starting with a capital letter, and followed by lowercase letters for the rest of their name. Please make sure your child writes it this way each time.  A few helpful hints:
1. Be sure your child is holding his/her pencil (no crayons, pens, or markers) correctly.
2. Check to be sure your child is not starting any of the letters from the bottom (brown) line.
3. Use the Superkids Handwriting Guide (found in your child’s folder on Monday) to help your child form the letters correctly.  This is how I will teach each letter this year.

Have a great weekend!

Happy first Monday of the School year!

Welcome to my first blog post of the school year!  A goal of mine for this blog is that it is a "one-stop shop" for a resource at home.  Along the top of the blog, you can find links for Creekside's webpage, Creekside's Facebook page (be sure to "like" if you haven't already!), My First Toolbox, which has links inside to all of the websites that we use here at school, and the Classroom Calendar, where you will see upcoming events and dates at Creekside and/or in our classroom..  Along the right side you can find links to Superkids Online, Scholastic Book Orders, and our Kindergarten Standards (what we will be teaching this year in a nutshell).  

Superkids
Today, we started our Superkids and Everyday Math curriculum.  We also met our first new Superkid, Cass!  As you talk with your child about what they learned during Superkids, here are some questions to prompt discussion:

• What is the name of the new Superkid character? CASS

• What sound does the Superkids name begin with?  /C/

• What letter makes the sound /k/?  C

• At this point in the year, we are only talking about each letter making ONE sound so as not to confuse the children.  

Book Rental

Don't forget about textbook rental.  Kindergarten is $73.  You can send a check in or pay in the office.  

Class Work

You will start seeing more papers in folders and bookbags at the end of each day.  Anything that can stay at home will go in book bags or in the "leave at home" side of their folder. Anything you need to see, sign, and/or send back in to school will still be in folders.  Please clean book bags/folders out regularly and keep those papers at home.

Snack Calendar

The August snack calendar is in folders to come home today.  Please keep it in a safe place so you know when it is your turn to send a snack in.  If your child's name is not on the calendar, you are off duty this month!  When sending snacks in, you don't have to send it something everyday, just one time sometime that week will be fine.

Everyday Math

Today your child is bringing home their first Everyday Math home letter.  This  is for you to keep at home.  The activities are great games to play and ideas for practicing math at home.  All the activities are what we are working on in class as well.   

Specials Schedule:

Monday--Library
Tuesday--PE
Wednesday--Computers
Thursday--Art
Friday--Music

Homework

Today your child is bringing home his/her FIRST homework sheet.  Make sure that anytime it requires writing, you watch as your child writes his/her name, and please use the Superkids handwriting guide that will come home later this week in as well. You will want to keep this guide in a safe place that your child can access as we learn to write letters.  As a rule on homework, please DO NOT tell your child the answers.  For math, if you notice an incorrect answer, talk about it, and allow your child to correct the paper.  Homework should not take longer than 10-15 minutes, especially at the beginning of the year.  For the language sheet, practice the letters, sounds, and sight words one time nightly.  If you think your child knows each one, circle it.  Keep practicing the ones that are not circled each night.  On Friday, I will collect these papers and update the sheet with more difficult skills as the year progresses.  The homework sheet should come back to school everyday on the right side of the folder.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  

Activity Time

Last week and this week during activity time, the boys and girls learned which groups they will be in, and were able to play at 3 of the 5 areas in our classroom (blocks, Legos, easels, loft, and puppets).  This week, we are adding one more center in, so they will have 3 choices by the end of the week (2 centers and snack).  They also use this time to eat their snack....although some children learned fast that they may want to eat their snack first, as to not run out of time and miss it before the clean-up bell rings.  The groups will rotate each day of the week. Check back later this week for pictures of activity time!

Have a great week!