Ms Goldman's blog

Dear Families,

Just a closing note to say,
I have enjoyed your child in school each day,
A child is a gift in his own special way,
With a smile, a frown, or a personality so gay.

It's been a pleasure the whole year through
To work together while your youngster grew.
May the last days of school and the beckoning sun,
Bring forth a vacation with plenty of fun.

Best wishes for a wonderful summer,
Lori Goldman

Featuring kindergarten kids' news from Ms. Goldman's Class
Dear Families,
What a great time to start a sink and float unit! Now that the weather is so beautiful, we are starting to talk about boats. This will lead us to pose questions such as what makes boats float which will introduce our study of why materials sink or float.
Reading / Writing Workshop

Featuring kindergarten kids' news fromMs. Goldman's Class
Dear Families,
April 22 is Earth Day. We will celebrate by creating books and projects from recycled items. Maybe you can discuss with your child the reason for Earth Day and why we celebrate it.
Reading / Writing Workshop
In our Making Meaning read-out-loud lesson, we read A Letter to Amy and we are writing our own letters to pen pals in another kindergarten class. The lesson teaches us to wonder about a story that was read aloud, to refer to the story to support our ideas, and to share our ideas with one another.
Science
Next week the students will: observe, describe, and sort earth materials based on properties; explore places where earth materials are found and ways that earth materials are used; and compare the ingredients in different soils.

Dear Families,
This last week, I launched a new concept in our writing workshop. It is called "Storybox Writing: Writing Outside the Box." A storybox is a collection of items I have chosen for the students to use as props when they write a story. The props, placed in a box with sand, are linked to a theme. The storybox helps the children learn through their play. By manipulating the props, the children develop their oral language skills. Talking with their classmates makes creating a story easy, because the ideas flow naturally. The storyboxes are a stimulus for shared writing, small group writing, and especially individual writing which we edit with each child and then publish. After a child publishes a story, he/she can sign up to read it to the class while sitting in the author's chair. Storybox writing is a hands-on literacy experience which gives children the tools to be an author.
Have a wonderful vacation,

Featuring kindergarten kids' news from Ms. Goldman's Class

Dear Families,

We had a wonderful Valentine's party. I want to give a special thanks to our room mother, Mrs. Perl, who did an outstanding job in planning and presenting many exciting activities. I also want to thank the parents who came in and helped make the party a success.

We are very busy learning about how the post office works, how to write and send letters, and how to read letters from our families and friends. We will be having the post office for one more week. Please continue to send letters to your child as they enjoy reading them. We have run out of stickers to use as play stamps. Please send them in for next week.

After the postal unit, we will begin a study of rocks.

TOP 10 REMINDERS

Here is a list of reminders to help our class run smoothly.
Please disregard any reminders that do not apply to you.

1. Monday is Hundred's Day. Please send in your 100 snack items and 100 objects.

2. Check your child's mail folder every day, as there might be important notes for you to sign and return.

3. Please donate large, white envelopes (#10 ) or any stickers that look like stamps for our post office.

4. Send: 4 quarters, 10 dimes, 15 nickels, and 20 pennies in a small, plastic ziplock container with a lid (not in a plastic baggie). For the next few weeks, we will be studying money in our math unit.

5. Remind your child to bring home his clothing every day.

6. If your child happens to get wet playing outside or has an accident, please replace the extra clothing with long pants and long sleeved shirts.