News

I cannot believe October is here! Halloween is just around the corner!

The beginning of the school year is now behind us!

The students have all adjusted to school very well. The routine is in place and everyone seems to follow it well. What more can a teacher ask for? Last month we focused on learning about one another and setting the atmosphere to promote learning. The students had a great time getting to know one another. Practices are in place to ensure we respect one another, demonstrate self- control, take turns and follow the rules. So far we are off to a great start J.

Themes:

September’s theme was about getting to know each other. Now that we have bonded as a classroom family we are moving onto to our next theme, which is “apples and fall”. We are kicking off the theme by visiting Apple Crest farms for some apple picking on Thursday, October 2nd. We will also be making applesauce in the classroom with the apples we collect during the field trip- YUMMY! A lot of the classroom activities are theme based so be prepared to have a house full of apple activities J

Reading and Language Arts:

We are just now reviewing letters and sounds. We are also learning book-handling skills, left to right progression and using picture clues to help us read words on the pages. This month we all received our own independent reading bags. We chose books to place in our bags and even received our own reading spots around the room to practice this important skill. Mrs. Guertin also made sure each child recieved a special reading finger to promote one to one correspondence with words- this was a big hit! I am a strong believer in providing children with developmentally appropriate activities. Many of the activities we do in class are hands on. I do not believe in skill and drill and therefore do not do a lot of worksheet type activities. I feel that modeling each strategy and having students practice each skill in a hands on way is how they learn best.

Our curriculum in mathematics is called Everyday Mathematics. This curriculum is a spiral type curriculum where concepts are introduced in Kindergarten and reviewed again on a deeper level in the upper grades. Concepts covered in this curriculum are as follows: (number sense, patterning, counting by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s, number formation, graphing and shape attributes). The focus for this month will be shape attributes. The students should master these six shapes this year- (circle, square, triangle, oval, rectangle and diamond). I am hoping you will also reinforce these skills at home with your children to ensure mastery.

The children are still in the process of learning the 5 basic writing strokes. These strokes include: vertical lines, horizontal lines, backward circles, slant lines and forward circles. In practicing these strokes the students will learn how to correctly form the letters of the alphabet. We also added rhymes and chants to make writing these letters and numbers more interesting. When working with your children at home, please refer to the handwriting information packet I sent home a few weeks ago. I want to ensure that students have consistency at home and in school with forming these letters and numbers. Pencil grasp is also a VERY important aspect of writing that needs reinforcement at home. I am also asking that each child practice writing their names appropriately. Please help you child practice writing their names using a capital letter for the beginning letter and lower case letters for the remainder of their names.

In addition to working on the strokes, students have been expressing their thoughts in their journals. I encourage them to draw their thoughts on paper and to try to sound out words to match their pictures. The children are having a great time expressing themselves and sharing their work with others.

*Recess time is outdoors this time of year. Please have students dressed appropriately for the ever-changing weather patterns.

*Please check your student’s folder each night. Not only will there be class work in it but homework and important notices too.

*If you child has lost anything please have them check in the lost and found for their items- the lost and found is located right inside the cafeteria.

*Mrs. Watson is our party mom for the year. She will contact you ONE time this year and ask if you’ll be able to provide a special treat for our upcoming school parties. Thanks Mrs. Watson!

**If you need to contact me the best way is to email me directly at the school. I cannot always answer phone calls during school hours so this is the best way to reach me.  I check emails before and after school and try to get back to you when I have a free minute. I can be reached via email at aeguertin@methuen.k12.ma.us

Happy birthday to our October children…

Kailey 10/12

Mackenzie 10/29

• Apple Crest Farms Field Trip- Thursday, October 2^{nd (rain} date the 3^rd)
• Halloween breakfast- Friday, October 31^st
• Halloween- October 31^st- HALF DAY

A special thank you to everyone who sent in the supplies from my wish list. It is greatly appreciated!

A special thank you to Mr. Barry our custodian who so graciously is providing each Kindergarten student with his or her own pumpkin to decorate in the classroom. We can’t wait for the fun!