Getting Ready For Back To School

Every year brings new changes and this year is no different. We will have several new changes in the placement of teachers this year and I wish each of them a great year in their new positions. The Inow program will be new for all of us and I have tried to access it for information and I have not been able to gain entry from home. This is the new student information program for those of you who are new to this term. The parents should be able to access the new program but it may not be available for the first nine weeks.
You may want to access the summer issue of The Connection to read more about the news relating to our school system. The system web page address is http://www.ccboe.org/
The system plans to have community school meetings at which there will be a presentation by a leading authority on "bullying". I hope that you all will make an effort to attend the fall community meetings. This topic is very important for everyone who uses the Internet. I am currently working on a project concerning Internet Safety and I am reading that bullying is an issue for many schools in our state.
It is time to get back to work but I just wanted to let my new students and my new parents know that I am excited to see your names on my class roster and I look forward to meeting you all at Open House on Thursday, August 11 from 5:00 to 7:00. See you then!

Back To School Activities/Sand Buckets

 

 BEACH BUCKET ACTIVITIES

Jeannie Fine, Kindergarten Teacher, Hanceville Elementary

Please enjoy the beach bucket, alphabet letters, and/or numbers with your child.

I am excited about having you in my classroom this year. I tried to list these activities in order of difficulty.  Please continue to practice the activities throughout the year. Homework suggestions are near the bottom of the list.  The activities are meant to be fun so start with the activity at the top of the list. Please do not try to do all of the activities in one sitting.  At the end of the year, I hope that you get to celebrate your kindergarten accomplishments by taking your beach bucket to the beach to play in the sand.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask, I am here to help you in any way that I can.

Thank you for allowing me to share my love of learning with you all.

*Place alphabet letters in random order and say the names of the letters as you drop them into the bucket.

*Line up the alphabet letters in ABC order. Say the names of the letters as you drop them into the bucket.  (Sing the ABC song, as you pick up the corresponding letter-you will have to work together fast on this one.) 

*Say the names of the alphabet letters as quickly as you can and drop them in.  Speedy!  Time yourself as you say the names of the letters for one minute. Over forty letters in one minute is the minimum goal for k/1 to benchmark in Dibels testing.

*Say the beginning sound of each alphabet letter as you drop them into the bucket.

*Find the alphabet letter for the beginning sound of beach words. [Bucket, umbrella, sand, turtle, sun, fish, lobster, mermaid’s purse,  dolphins, manatees, goggles, surf, beach, ball, towel, and alligators] Drop into the bucket.

*Find the two alphabet letters for the beginning blend sound of the beach words and drop into the bucket.

[Starfish, shovel, clouds, flippers, snapper, crabs, sharks, blowfish, and snorkel]

*Find the ending sound letter/blends-crab and starfish

*Find beach related pictures in magazines and drop them into your bucket. If you need pictures to practice, let me know. Especially ELL(English Language Learners)

*Write the words for the pictures on index cards and drop them into your bucket.

*Write simple sentences for your words. Then we’ll move on to simple stories.

 I like the beach.

MATH-*Practice your number recognition by dropping the numbers into the bucket.

*Put the numbers in order and count as you drop them in.

*Practice your number words flashcards(will send you these later).

*Put the numbers in order and start with the highest number and count backwards as you drop them in.

August –May--------------HOMEWORK Suggestions:  The weekly newsletter or calendar will have a list of alphabet letters, words and sentences to practice for each week.  You must practice daily!

*Practice your weekly letters with your bucket.

*Practice your weekly words with your bucket. Use flashcards.

*Practice your weekly sentences with your bucket.  Cut them into strips and read.

*We are tested on this each week-usually on Fridays.

*Practice your high frequency sight words with your bucket. Think of popcorn popping and that is how fast we should learn to recognize the words.  As you get your first words learn to recognize, and then add in your speed/ fluency.

*Practice your color words.  *Practice your number words/number recognition.