Mrs. Hitchcock’s Kindergarten Class

Can you believe it? We have been in school for 100 days!

We celebrated at school today with a station rotation. The children made 100th day glasses with me, that they decorated with fun foam. They got to make “Fruit Loop” necklaces with Mrs. Hartley and trail mix with Mrs. Staley & Mrs. Baugh using 10 sets of 10 to equal 100 pieces of yummy edible party favors. They went to Mrs. Gonzalez’s room to make a 100 day badge and in Mrs. Thomas’ room to use a die cut of the number 100 to create a picture. To end out their day they got to go into Ms. Kerr’s room to record 100 stamps. A big thank you is sent out to the parents that sent in the “snack” type food for this special day. We couldn’t have done it without your generous help. A great time was had by all!

We will be testing all next week with progress reports coming home on Friday, February 15th so be on the look out!

I know that Valentine’s day is on the 14th, and we are looking forward to a lot of valentine activities in our classrooms, but we will not be having a Valentines “party”. We are encouraging the children to exchange valentines with their classmates. Notes went home last week with a class list of names, attached to that note was a request for a “mail box” so that we can deliver our valentines in class. Some of the children have already brought theirs in; (We have some very creative parents). If your child has not brought their mailbox in yet, please send them to school by Tuesday, February 12th. Again, I want to say thank you for all of your support. We are only able to have these special days because of your continued support. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Please check your child’s blue folder; We will be sending home notes requesting chaperones for our field trip to the Houston Zoo~ the date has changed due to TAKS testing. Please fill out the Background check and return to school as soon as you can. We’d love to have you join us on this wonderful adventure!

I know that basesball/soccer season is just around the corner…if your child plays a sport please email me a game schedule. I would love to attend one if possible. They work so hard, and they are so cute!

Please remember to keep reading with your child every evening. It’s important to practice, practice, practice! (It’s always reading season!)

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day filled with kisses and hugs! Love ya!

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. I came through my surgery with flying colors, but unfortunately, I came down with an infection in my lungs, so I was out longer than I had originally expected. I missed the children more than I thought I would, so I am glad that I am back at work.

We are still working on letters and sounds in Language Arts. In Math we are workign on ABC patterning and measurement. In Social Studies we are learning about our Five senses and also Christmas customs. The children are working very hard and having a ball.

As, you all know, this is a very busy time of the year. I just completed testing for progress reports…they came home Friday, (12-7), so check your children’s backpacks. We have lots of Christmas activies over the next week and a half. The chidlren will take part in building individual Gingerbread houses this Wednesday. We will also be writing letters to Santa and of course we will have our Polar Express day on Tuesday, (12-18). And our Christmas parties will be on the morning of the 19th. The 19th is also an early dismissal day, so be sure and mark your calendars. You are welcome to join us for our Christmas party, it should be a HO! Ho! Ho! lot of fun!

I can’t believe that we have almost completed the first semester. I hope that you have a safe & enjoyable Holiday season. I’ll talk to you next year!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already into our second nine weeks of school. The children are doing an amazing job reading and “Turtle-talking” out words. We have been really busy writing in our treasure books and filling up our guided reading logs. We have learned several letters and their sounds. We have learned letters A, B, C, D , F, G, H, I, K, L, M, P, R, S, & T. We will be learning letters E and J this week. We should have introduced all of the letters by the time we break for Christmas.

In Social studies, Science, and Math we have learned about apples, fall leaves and pumpkins. We have estimated, weighed, measured circumference, surface area, length and width or our pumpkins and leaves. We have explored items that sink or float. The children are doing a great job and we are having fun while they learn! We are also counting to 50! Can you believe how much they have learned already? It’s amazing to see what they are capable of. That’s why I have stayed in Kindergarten for ten years!

We will be learning about Pilgrims, Native Americans and of course we will start our Christmas around the world unit in December.

I hope that all of you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Remember we will be out of school the week of November 19-23rd. I aslo wanted to let you know that I will be out November 15 & 16th because I will be having surgery. I am planning to return on the 26th with the children, unless I have complications, but I will keep you posted. However, that means tha I will miss our Family Math & Literacy night on November 15th. It is a very entertaining “Make and Take” night, so I hope that if you are able, you will be in attendance.

I want to wish you all a wonderful and family filled Thanksgiving! One of the many blessings that I will be counting is the fact that I have such wonderful children in my class!

I can’t believe that it’s been two weeks since our Nursery Rhyme parade. We have really been busy. We have studied Community Helpers and Fire safety. We were fortunate enough to have members form the Deer Park Fire Department conduct a Fire Safety program for the all of our Dabbs students. The Kinder kidos had a special treat when members form the Houston & Pasadena Police Department (including a K-9 officer) come to talk to our classes.

I hope that your child has asked you to particiapate in a family fire drill and safety escape plan. It’s good to have a plan in place to help your child know what to do in the event of an emergency. We discussed how and why you should stay low if you are in a fire, feel doors before you open them and in the event that your clothes catch on fire you should “Stop, Drop & Roll!”

Our children had the opportunity to become junior scientists when we visited the science lab and conducted and experiment that showed that “Fire needs oxygen too!”

We are still learning our letters and the sounds that they make. This helps us improve our reading and writing skills. So far the letters/sounds that we have learned are A,B,C,F,G,I, M, & R. We will be learning letters S & O next week. I wanted to thank you for your continued support for our guided reading project. I know that it is not always convenient to read daily with your child, but it will improve their skills and their confidence level quickly. I try to meet with each reading group 2-3 times a week. Books are not always changed out because if there is a particular skill that needs to be worked on, it is better to have a familiar book to practice on….please look at your child’s log, I try to write a comment about your child’s progress with each group reading.

During Math time we are working on A/B patterning, recognizing numbers 0-5 and counting to 25! Next week we will introduce sorting, classifying and sequencing!

In the coming weeks during social studies we will be studying bat, spiders, apples (including Johnny Appleseed), pumpkins and Fall. We have a fall station rotation day coming up on Thursday, October 25th. I am looking for a few parent volenteers, if you are interested, please let me know.

We are busy, busy, busy! Report card testing will begin next week! Can you believe that we have been in school for almost 9 whole weeks? I have said it before, time flies when you are having fun!

One quick reminder, Friday, October 26th is an in-service day! Don’t forget to make arrangements for your children.

Have a great week!

I was so excited to come to school on Monday. It’s one of the best days in Kindergarten. It was Nursery Rhyme dress up day! I have to share the pictures with you. The children looked precious!

A good time was had by all!

Have a great week!

I missed a week of blogging, as some of you may know, and for those of you that do not, because I was out of the classroom for a couple of days because I under went a heart cath. I do have some blockage, but thank God, not enough that it requires surgery. I missed my babies while I was home, but the sub, Stacey Pruitt (she is also my sister), allowed the children to call and talk to me on the phone. That really put a smile on my face. The children have been very understanding and helpful as I recover.

We are in the midst of covering one of my favorite units….Nursery Rhymes! The children love this unit. We will be continuing Nursery Rhymes all this week, with the culmination of our Nursery Rhyme Parade on Thursday. Please make an effort to have your child participate in this by dressing them up. They get so excited as we go through the school. They get really upset if they get to school and they are not dressed up when everyone else is. The costume does not have to be eleborate, simple props work well. It’s just exciting and fun for everyone.

Some more exciting news…Guided Reading will start this week. Your child will be bringing books home. It’s very important that you read with your child daily. Practice does make perfect! A set of word cards will also be in their packets. These are our high-frequency words. We introduce one, sometimes, two words a week so your child may not be familiar with these words. Just keep flashing them, the repetiton helps make the words become familar.

As you can see, we have been very busy, and it’s going to get busier! I will begin testing for progress reports that will be coming home in a couple of weeks. I am very proud of how hard the children are working. I am enjoying watching the children adjust to Kindergarten and our routines.

If you have not signed up for a conference, I will be in contact with you. I like to meet with every parent to go over testing scores, guided reading practices and any academic or behavior concerns that I might have. So if you have not reserved a conference spot, please make arrangements now.

A freindly reminder…Friday, September 28th is a holiday for the children, so please make arrangments accordingly.

Have a wonderful week!