Look for the Spotlight & more Tuesday

Monday afternoons involve a quick transition from the iPad lab to dismissal.  I was unable to get red folders home with kids today.  Tomorrow look for the Chapman Spotlight, and a permission form for our October 17 field trip to Kruger's Farm.

Despite the weather, an outside recess

Library books, readers & "Just Right Books"

Students should have a library book in their backpack.  Please enjoy with your child, and don't forget to send it back next week!

Today, most children brought home their leveled readers from this weeks reading groups.  Our order was short and a few students didn't get them.  My apologies to those children and their families.  I hope to find an extra stash...

Today, we also discussed the idea of "just right books".  These are books where a reader can read every word in the book.  This may be a wordless book, a leveled reader, or what we call a "pattern book" (one where the words make a pattern and the pictures tell the story).  Even if a child is not really reading, in the adult sense, reading a "just right book" helps a student in the process of learning to read.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Next week...

Come join us as Mr. Duffy visits the classroom for the last time.  Monday at 10:10.  This is a fun chance to see what has been happening when our wonderful Artist in Residence visits.

Feel free to sign up to volunteer!  Our sign-up sheets are ready for October, November and December.  I would love to see more volunteers in the classroom.

Don't forget to bring back library books (coming home today).  Books are due Thursday, but I recommend having your child bring them in early.

Expect your child to...

Keep working on reviewing letters and letter sounds, as well as rhyming, syllables, and beginning sounds of words.

Read a variety of books including Julius by Dav Pilkey, and to learn the song "The Sunny Side of the Street"

Learn more about months, weeks and years as we introduce the October calendar.

Work on a (paper) quilt, exploring concepts of tessellation, and, how shapes go together.

Continue to participate in reading groups, work at math centers, and write wonderful stories.

Singing "What Does The Fox Say"

Left coats

Mr Duffy, our artist in residence

SWIFT FAMILY FUN RUN

Today is your last chance to sign up online for the Run on Saturday.  Whether you are doing the Mile or 5k, sign up at www.friendsofchapman.com.

Race packets can then be picked up on Friday at Round-Up, and will be full of goodies!

It will be possible to register and pay on the day too, from 3.30pm.

The 5k will start at 4.45pm and the 1mile at 5.30pm.

If not a runner, then come anyway for the Carnival and bbq while we all enjoy one of the last nights of the Swifts before they head off to warmer climes.

Thanks so much

Sue and Claire

Quiet reading time

Ask your child

Here are some great Monday questions...

What center animal group are you in?
What activity was in your center box?
How do you remember how "the" is written? (some say the, some say thee, we all spell it T-H-E)
What was Mr. Duffy's story about today?  What planet did he go to?
How do you play "statues"?
What did you do in music? P.E.? Ipad lab?

Photos from Elena

Elena is a para-educator at Chapman and a fine photographer.  Here are some of her pictures of students in Room 2.

Volunteer Training Today

Don't forget...

After school at 2:30.  Childcare is provided  This is your chance to learn about how to best work in your child's kindergarten classroom.  The training should take less than 30 minutes!

Goodbye easel

Today we say goodbye to this easel, long a fixture outside of Room 5.  This was my blog, long before they invented blogs!

Privacy and pictures 2

I have received quite a few responses to my earlier posting on this subject (see the blog archive).  Thank you for letting me know your thoughts and wishes -- I will do my utmost to honor any concerns.

Next week I hope to post pictures of students that may be more identifiable.  Please be sure to let me know by Monday if you do not want me to post identifiable photos of your child.

Highlights for Next Week

The parent volunteer training will be after school on Monday at 2:30 in Room 4.  Childcare will be in Room 3.  This is a great time to learn about volunteering in the kindergarten classroom.

Tuesday is picture day.  Be sure you help your child dress appropriately!

The Swift Family Run is on Saturday the 28th.


Next week your child will:

Have two more sessions with our artist in residence, Bernie Duffy.

Begin a new round of centers, this time in "animal groups" (thus far they have been doing centers with their table-mates).  On Monday your child may report that he is a shark, or she is a zebra.  We will have five groups.

Learn the words "the" and "little" and continue reviewing letters and letter sounds.  We will also start seriously working on hearing the beginning sounds of words.

Learn the weekly song "What Does the Fox Say".  I try to mix it up when it comes to songs, and this song is pretty cool.  Check out the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE&safe=active.  As always, preview any videos before sharing with your child!

Finish working with shapes (for now).  Be sure your child knows her basic shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle).

Leveled Readers coming home

Check your child's backpack for leveled readers.

This week I met with almost everyone for reading groups.  Many students will be bringing home books that they read in their groups.  A few students will be bringing home books that they did not read, but are (hopefully) more appropriate for their reading level (two factors here -- we finished assessing students on Thursday, and we ran low on some books).  Enjoy reading with your child this weekend!

Friday afternoon choice time

Library

Ask your child...

Who sits at your table?
When you were in Mr. Duffy's (imaginary) garage, what were you?  How did you stand up for yourself?
What was funny in the book "Fix-It Duck"?
What song did you learn in music?
What book did Cynthia read in Library?
What did you write about at writing time?

Thursday centers

Busy day today!

We have a busy day planned...

After our morning  circle we will squeeze in some writing prior to recess.  After recess we will try to do centers / reading groups, math, and calendar before we break for lunch.  After lunch we will have games and stories with our artist-in-residence, Bernie Duffy.  Following this, we will go to music, the library, and P.E. before we head for home.

Whew!

Math workplaces

Volunteer news...

Here are 3 important pieces of volunteer news...

1) Our volunteer calendar is up, right inside the classroom.  Sign up and come in often (or just once).  Your child would love to see you in the classroom!

2) We have a kindergarten volunteer training session scheduled for next Monday, September 23, at 2:30.  We will try to cover everything you need to know about helping in your child's classroom.  The training session will be in Room 4 (Ms. Rodhe's classroom) and we will provide childcare next door in Room 3 (Ms. Andrew's room).

3) There is a general volunteer training this Friday, September 20, at 9:00 a.m. (following the Roundup Assembly and PTA meeting).  This is a great opportunity to learn about helping at Chapman!

Bus safety drill

Late Start Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first of our monthly "Late Start Wednesdays".  On these days, teachers spend the first two hours of the day working and learning together.  Everything at Chapman runs two hours behind schedule.  The early bell is at 9:50 and the late bell is at 10:00.  Busses do their best to run their routes exactly two hours behind schedule; a 7:25 stop should happen at 9:25.  I look forward to seeing everyone at 9:50 tomorrow.

5 Questions for your child today

What games did you do with Mr. Duffy?
What does the Zulu word Vulani (voo-lah-nee)  mean?
What is a syllable?  Can you clap some words with me?
How do you say hello in Mandarin? (Ni hao)
Can you write a story without using any letters?  How?

More Mr. Duffy

Mr. Duffy, our artist in residence

What we are learning this week

This week -- expect your child to:

Learn more about writing…  We are going to do some "real" writing this week.  We will be using writing paper, and my expectation is that each child not only draws a picture, but they write some letters or words on their paper.  This can be a time of something called “creative disequilibrium”.  Students realize that they don’t know something, and realize that they can learn it.

Go to a reading group at least once.  We will be reading “leveled readers”, that is books that are designed for students with a certain amount of literacy knowledge.  We have three levels of books that are a regular part of reading groups.

Work on rhyming and counting syllables. 

Sort shapes and work with math “manipulatives”.  If your child does not know her basic shapes (squares, circles, triangles and rectangles), please help her work on recognizing these shapes.

Learn some life lessons from our Artist in Residence, Mr. Duffy.

Have two music classes with our new music teacher, Debbie Jetton, plus P.E., library, and more.

Above all, expect your child to still be a little tired from the stress of long days and the effort of being good for long periods of time.

Web Resources

There are many great resources on the web for kindergarten parents.  Here are a few of my favorites.

The Chapman webpage http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/chapman/ is a great source for all Chapman news.  Portland Public Schools also has a good kindergarten info page.  Find it at http://www.pps.k12.or.us/departments/kindergarten/.

For Portland and Oregon news regarding children, check out the "Omamas" page at Oregon Live http://blog.oregonlive.com/themombeat/index.html.  This may be changing / morphing / being replaced by the kiddo blog http://www.oregonlive.com/kiddo/. 

Finally, I love information that help us make sense of kids in kindergarten.  Here are a few stories, including one on how to help your child adjust to a new school http://www.education.com/magazine/article/10-ways-child-adjust-school/, another on social changes in kindergartners http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/862-kindergarten-social-changes-what-to-expect and, finally, a great one on bullying in kindergarten http://www.education.com/reference/article/kindergarten-bullying/.

Richard Melling

Photos and privacy

So far, I am feeling that my experiment in blogging is working well.  In less than a week we have had more than 300 views of the blog, and some very positive feedback.

I am particularly enjoying posting photos; however this brings up a quandary.  As you may have noticed, I have taken some pains to be sure that the photos I have posted are not close-ups of individual students.  Before I do so, I want to have a discussion of how parents felt about having photos of their child on the blog, which is available to the wider web audience.  My sense is that the best photos really show children learning, working and enjoying friendships, however I am not ready to post “identifiable” photos until I have checked in with parents. 

So… my hope is to begin posting photos of students sometime in the third week of school (after the 16^th).  These photos would not have names attached.  However I will not post photos of your child if you let me know that you do not want their image on the web.

So please shoot me an email if you do not want pictures of your child used on the blog.  Feel free to email or respond on the blog if you otherwise have strong feelings on this subject.  

Next week...

Here are some highlights of next week:
Monday: 1st visit by artist in residence Bernie Duffy -- stories, games and life lessons.
Tuesday: Bus safety.
Wednesday: Late Opening -- Everything begins exactly two hours late -- doors open at 9:50, late bell at 10:00, buses will run two hours behind schedule.  Dismissal at usual time.
Thursday: Bernie Duffy visits again.
Friday: Roundup in the auditorium.  PTA & Volunteer training follows

Reading buddies

Practicing for tomorrow's roundup

Here's where the kindergartners will be on the field, first thing tomorrow...

Roundup Assembly Friday on the Soccer Field

Friday morning is our first Roundup Assembly!  Instead of coming to the classroom, we will meet on the Steve Brand (turf) field in back of the school.  You will find the kindergarten classes close to the center circle of the field fanning out towards the steel "Steve Brand" archway.  We will show the young scholars where they will be sitting later today.

Each Friday morning we start the day with a whole-school assembly -- usually in the auditorium.  Students go straight to the auditorium (without stopping at the classroom) and sit with their classmates close to the stage.  Children who eat breakfast at school should eat in the cafeteria before coming to the assembly.

Let me know if you have questions.

Water, hand sanitizer, and back to school night

Three quick items:

Water:  In these days of hot weather, having a bottle of water handy can be nice for the kids.  Students are welcome to have a bottle of water (not pop or juice) at their seat, as long as that bottle does not become a problem. If it becomes a percussion instrument, or a source of bottle battles, I have kids leave it in the lunch basket.

Hand Sanitizer: A parent brought up concerns about hand sanitizers.  I am not fond of hand sanitizer and I try to usually have students wash their hands with soap and water instead.  This year it looks as if, due to several circumstances, we will be using hand sanitizer during our transition from lunch recess to lunch.  Please let me know if this is an issue.

Childcare at Back to School Night:   We will have childcare for your kindergartner and any first grade siblings.  No childcare for non Chapman K and 1 students and siblings.  My apologies for any confusion here.

Science observation

Bits and pieces from today

We had a great first day of kindergarten.  There were a few tears as parents left, but things quickly settled down and we learned about kindergarten routines, we made self portraits,  sang "This Land is Your Land", read a book or two, and much more.  Your child should be exhausted; I certainly am!

We are still working on the childcare at Back to School Night quandary.  We hope that we can pull off childcare but things are still up in the air.  In any case, we really hope to see you! Stay tuned.

Look in your child's backpack today for a red folder containing hard copies of the Room 2 News and the Chapman Spotlight.  The Room 2 Newsletter may be the only one of the year.  Most of my general communication will be through this blog and via email.

I am looking forward to seeing you and your kindergartner tomorrow.

Having a great day so far...

Volunteer(s) needed Monday morning

While putting finishing touches on the classroom Friday night, I realized that I have lost my table signs (consisting of a red triangle, yellow square...).  I am hoping that a parent or two might be able to make these on Monday morning.  This should be a 30 - 45 minute chore.  The real challenges come in making a big circle, and in making a rainbow.

Let me know Monday morning if you can help out.

The classroom is ready for Monday

Welcome to the Blog

Hello all and welcome to the Chapman Room 2 kindergarten blog.  This is kind of an experiment.  Last year I realized I was one of the few teachers sending out a paper newsletter.  This year I hope to use this blog as my main source of general classroom information.  However, I will be actively seeking feedback and if this doesn't seem to be working, I may switch to an email newsletter or to a paper newsletter.

So...  Please bookmark this blog and visit often, or better yet, add your email address to the "follow by email button".

I look forward to seeing you Monday morning for the first day of kindergarten.

Richard Melling