Carnival and Class Pictures

Tomorrow is class picture day. Please make sure your child is here on time tomorrow, so they don't miss out on the class picture. I've only had one year that all of the children were here for the picture. Hopefully tomorrow will make it two! If you would like to purchase a class picture, please send your check in the envelope that was sent home with your child yesterday. The pictures are $8.25. If you do not have the envelope, please send a check for $8.25 and I will fill out the envelope for you.

The carnival is tomorrow night from 6-8 PM. I also sent out a reminder with children yesterday which included 4 free tickets for games. Food is also available for purchase in the gym tomorrow night. Don't forget to check out all of the silent auction items and baskets in the library. Silent auction ends promptly at 7:50. Our class quilt will be in there as well. Check it out and even bid on it if you want:)

There will be a sheet going home with your child's folder tomorrow talking about our Author Visit next month. Each year we celebrate B.E.A.R. Week (Be Excited About Reading) with an Author Visit. The sheet explains about purchasing a book for your child that the author can autograph if you decide to participate. Orders need to be in by the due date to ensure the author brings as many books as ordered.

Three book order forms are going home tomorrow and are due next Thursday if you are planning on ordering.

Don't forget next week we have half days Monday - Thursday. School will be out at 11:30. Don't forget your conference next week. If you cannot make your scheduled conference, call the office to cancel and please reschedule. At Parkside our goal for conferences is always 100% participation. There will also be NO SCHOOL FRIDAY. Enjoy the extra day for Spring Break. There is NO HOMEWORK DURING SPRING BREAK. I will keep your child's folder when it comes in next Thursday and send it home the following week.

See everyone next week!!!

Leprechauns on the Loose!

Our classroom quilt for the carnival is finished. Here is a close-up picture. Each child has a handprint with their name that has been turned into a sea creature. The kids were really excited when I pulled it out today and showed it to them. This twin-sized quilt will be at the silent auction at the Parkside Library on carnival night. It would be great if a child from our room was able to take it home!

Our class basket for the carnival is "Garden". So far we have a few packages of seeds, a nozzle, and a kneeling pad. Volunteers will be putting together baskets Tuesday night. If you have a chance this weekend, please support our garden basket by purchasing garden supplies and sending them in with your child on Monday or Tuesday. There is a volunteer form coming home with your child in tomorrows homework folder. Please return A.S.A.P. if you would like to help set up, clean up, run a booth, or help put baskets together for the carnival. All help will be greatly appreciated. Money from the carnival goes to the Parkside PTA and in turn gets returned to our school:)

The Leprechauns are back to their old tricks in our room. Every year around St. Patrick's Day the Leprechauns sneak into kindergarten classrooms at night and play tricks on the kids. Sometimes they make messes by finding green things in the room and scattering them (crayons, unifix cubes, etc.) and other times they leave little surprises for the kids. The kids really enjoy coming into the classroom in the morning to see if the Leprechauns visited while they were away.

We have been reading decodable books during our reading time in the mornings. Decodable books have sight words and words the kids can sound out. I have the children highlight any words they know how to read by themselves. I try to call 1/3 to 1/2 of the kids each day we work on a decodable book so they can read the books to me. If your child has a sticker on any of their books, they earned it by reading to me that day. The decodable books that we work on throughout the week are sent home on Friday's with the other work they have completed for the week.

Conferences are just over a week away. I look forward to talking to you soon and sharing your child's progress!

March...Lion or Lamb???

March has been surprising so far with such nice weather. I hear next week we will be getting colder temperatures, rain, and possibility of light snow. Make sure your child is dressed for the weather. A few times this year kids have had to sit in the office at recess for not being dressed for the cold weather.

This week we have been learning about plants and what plants need to survive. Some items the class and I have decided that plants need to survive are sun, air, water and dirt. I have been reading them books that have to do with the lifecycle of plants as well. To go along with plants, we will also be learning about weather this month.

We just took our math test on time and money. Next week we will start learning the basics of addition and subtraction. This chapter should be easy for the kids because they have already proven to me they know how to do addition.

Don't forget that class picture day and school carnival are both coming up on March 19th. I have had one donation to our "Garden Basket" so far.

Hopefully everyone will have a chance to get out in the nice weather tomorrow before it changes to rain on Sunday.