A Short Family Note...

 Hello Families,

The year is winding down and the kids are winding up! It’s the same every year and that predictable energy, in some ways, brings us comfort in spite of the horrible event in Texas this week.

We want to pass along that we are so proud of your kids. As we watch them grow as young children do, we are especially warmed to see them forming strong bonds and friendships with their classmates. If this past week has shown us anything, it is that our connections to one another ground us, give us comfort, and give us support when we need it. Perhaps this is the real charge of our schools - to keep our children connected with their schoolmates and larger Middlesex  community and to help them genuinely feel a part of something bigger than themselves while celebrating their own uniqueness. 

It is easy to get caught up in the unspeakable tragedy at that small Texas school, as we have found while the adults process it here at school. As fellow parents, we know it hits us all a bit harder. However, we also take great comfort in being with our amazing 21 children. They know and show us the path every day - the path of love, forgiveness, and being truly present. We try our best to follow them. 

That is why now, as we begin to wrap up this amazing year, we give thanks to your wonderful children - children we have had the privilege to spend our days with. They keep us in the here and now, the only time they know. 

With gratitude,

Ben and Honi

Is It Almost JUNE!?!?!?!?

What a Week!

It has been a while! First, I really felt what Ms. Honi means to this room given her absence for a few days a couple of weeks ago. Man oh man, she is such a gift to your children and we were so happy to have her back in class! What would we do without her? It would be great for you to show your appreciation for her and the amazing work she does with your children in whatever way you can. 

When Ms. Honi was out a couple of weeks ago, we had to modify our literacy activities a bit, but the kids did a great job making literacy choices and meeting with me in small groups. They were focused and worked hard independently, a skill that they will be needing much more next year in first grade. This week they have been wrapping up some writing pieces about things they love/think are beautiful and have been reading some of the new decodable texts we have bought. 

 

Books we enjoyed this week

City Dog & Country Frog 

If You Take a Mouse to School

Mouse Was Mad 

Our next writing piece is going to be an opinion based one. We’ll talk about it, write a piece together, and then, using a writing organizer, have them work on one on their own. I wonder what kinds of topics they might have an opinion about…

The weather at this time of the year, as you most certainly know, is variable. Please do your best to make sure kiddos are dressed for the forecast. Also, we blew through a lot of dry changes of clothes on that scorcher of a day a while back. Boy oh boy was it fun, and some kiddos need new dry clothes for their cubbies. Thanks for your help.

I have started to do some iReady math comprehension checks with the kiddos on a number of the concepts they have covered thus far (making different numbers within 10, for example) and have introduced the use of cuisenaire rods to further their understanding of numbers. They are helpful tools to help kids not count when adding numbers and instead seeing numbers as groups of ones and tens as they move toward better understanding place value.

This week we made collage birds with our buddies. These birds will be hanging up as part of a community art project at the Kellogg Hubbard Library. We hope that your family can visit the library and find your child's bird. While you are at the library your (six year old) child can get their very own library card. The form to apply for a library card was sent home in your child's folder this week. Happy reading!  

Please be in touch if you have any concerns, questions or celebrations!

Have a super weekend!

Ben and Honi

Important Updates:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle and sneakers as well as their winter gear. 

• Drop-off is at the front door.

• Pickup will be at the traffic circle. We will no longer be dismissing your child from the back kindergarten door. You can still park and come and get them or you can do the drive-through, it is up to you!

Conversation starters:

* How did you make pictures of pussy willows in Art?

* What instruments did the "one man band" play? How did your body feel listening to the music?

* What did you write about when you were outside at the rock garden? (Spring)

* Tell me about blowing bubbles on the playground. 

* Tell me about listening to guest student readers.

Other Reminders

Class Blog

You can check out the blog here for the newsletter and resources

Pictures

The folder with class pictures can be found here. 

Book Order Information

 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XLZX8

Class Code: XLZX8

Tax Day!

 Phew! We made it!

I really appreciated all of the kindness the kids showed me today for my birthday, it was really sweet. That Ms. Honi sure knows how to keep a secret - and with twenty one 5 and 6 years olds, no less!

Speaking of Ms. Honi, she wants to pass this along:

Join us for a Kindergarten playdate during vacation!

 

If you are free on Thursday, April 21st join us for a playdate on the Rumney playground from 10-12. This is a time for classmates to connect during the week away, and for families to connect. If you have any questions contact Ms. Honi at hbarrett@u32.org. 

The kids have been doing some great story writing both during Writer’s Workshop as well as during their literacy station with Ms. Honi. They are working hard on spelling their word ring wrds (the, is, it, look, etc.) as well as starting their sentences with uppercase letters and ending sentences with punctuation. Ask your kiddo about their story and see what they are writing about and about their beginning, problem and solution.

Again, as we get into the muddy and wet days of spring, please be sure your kiddo has a change of clothes here at school as well as a pair of indoor shoes. These kiddos sure know how to enjoy the outdoors! 

We have been to the woods a couple of times this week, with more on the way. We’ll be doing some nature journaling as well as water coloring when we come back from vacation.

In math we are working in stations with some kids spending time with teachers (Matt, me, Ms. Honi), using the iReady program and practicing skills in their iReady journals. We have also started to do some word problem work in math journals as well. 

The kids had a great day with their buddies today! This is one of the highlights of the Rumney experience for the kids and adults and I hope your kiddo has been enjoying themselves. They got to spend time in the rock garden, the basketball courts and the playground. It was fantastic!

Please be in touch if you have any concerns, questions or celebrations!

Have a wonderful vacation!

Ben and Honi

Important Updates:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle and sneakers as well as their winter gear. 

• Drop-off is at the front door.

• Pickup will be at the traffic circle. We will no longer be dismissing your child from the back kindergarten door. You can still park and come and get them or you can do the drive-through, it is up to you!

Conversation starters:

 

*What did you write about with your buddy this week?

*What tools do you like to use when sitting on the rug?

*What is fun to do when you go to the gym?

*Did you draw on BIG paper at Art? What did you draw?

*Here are two current favorite Spanish songs to enjoy with your child: 

   https://youtu.be/P0jBXo2JhZA

   https://youtu.be/0qdlMipcsWQ

 

 

Other Reminders

Class Blog

You can check out the blog here for the newsletter and resources

Pictures

The folder with class pictures can be found here. 

Book Order Information

 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XLZX8

Class Code: XLZX8

April Fools!

 What a super week!

The kids are all working super hard here in class and we can really feel them growing into almost first graders. Can you believe it!? We can’t, either!

The focus of this week’s newsletter is about this time of year for many kiddos. As I mentioned to many of you during conferences, my daughter is a kindergartener as well. She is going through a period of high emotion at home and school and it has been tricky as a parent to navigate. I am sure many of you are (or have) seeing this from your kiddo. While not a medical journal, I found a good article in the New York Times that talks about these periods of big growth, both physical and mental, for kids of all ages. It was reassuring to read and mirrors what I see at my own home as well as what many of you mentioned to me as well. I hope you find it helpful. We are always here to help support your families in any way we can, so please let us know if you need any support. 

I thank you all for your flexibility around our masking policy for students. I know this was tricky for some folks, but I appreciate our district’s commitment to keeping immunocompromised students, their family members, preschool aged children who are not yet eligible for a vaccine and our staff. I look forward to the days when this is all a distant memory but in the meantime, again, thank you for your support. 

As a reminder, as we get into the muddy and wet days of spring, please be sure your kiddo has a change of clothes here at school as well as a pair of indoor shoes. These kiddos sure know how to enjoy the outdoors!

We have been doing a ton of work in leveled texts during literacy. It has been fantastic to see kids applying the many skills that they are learning from Ms. Honi, Ms. Kobb, myself and through their own hard work, independently. I hope you are getting a chance to do some reading with your kiddo at home as well. You may even see them noticing words elsewhere. The days of spelling out loud from adult to adult in your homes may be coming to an end soon…

The kids are going to start writing stories between now and April break. We have talked about how stories have a beginning, a problem (middle) and solution (end). I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with over the next 10 days!

Since Winter Wellness was canceled as well as A Spring Fling, we will be celebrating with our fifth grade buddies on the day before vacation. Details will be coming.

Please be in touch if you have any concerns, questions or celebrations!

Enjoy the weekend,

Ben and Honi

Important Updates:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle and sneakers as well as their winter gear. 

• Drop-off is at the front door.

• Pickup will be at the traffic circle. We will no longer be dismissing your child from the back kindergarten door. You can still park and come and get them or you can do the drive-through, it is up to you!

Conversation starters:

 

*What did you write about with your buddy this week?

*What tools do you like to use when sitting on the rug?

*What is fun to do when you go to the gym?

*Did you draw on BIG paper at Art? What did you draw?

*Here are two current favorite Spanish songs to enjoy with your child: 

   https://youtu.be/P0jBXo2JhZA

   https://youtu.be/0qdlMipcsWQ

 

 

Other Reminders

Class Blog

You can check out the blog here for the newsletter and resources

Pictures

The folder with class pictures can be found here. 

Book Order Information

 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XLZX8

Class Code: XLZX8

Mid March Update

 Phew! It was a full week!

The kids have done a great job getting back into the swing of a full week of school. We saw them burn hot at the beginning of the week and then settle into a nice pace by the end of the week. We’ll see what daylight savings does next week, but I think they’ll manage just fine.

We had a couple of great trips to the sugarhouse this week, one time to collect and another to see Brian boiling as well as doing some collecting. These kids are great helpers and we are so proud of their work in continuing this great tradition. 

As you know, we will begin optional masking on Monday. We recognize that this is a tricky road to navigate, and we want to be sure that you all feel supported in your family’s choice to mask or not. We will try to support your children as best as we can as we head into this new phase. If you have specific questions and/or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

We have been running low on snacks here in class for kiddos who need a little extra during the day. If you get the chance, please have a chat with your kiddo to see if they feel like they need a little more during the day. We are happy to have a little more extra for kiddos, but we have seen an uptick as of late. Your help with this is appreciated. 

Also, as we get into the muddy and wet days of spring, please be sure your kiddo has a change of clothes here at school as well as a pair of indoor shoes. These kiddos sure know how to enjoy the outdoors!

In literacy, Ms. Honi has been doing some great writing with her groups, practicing writing sight words and working on some writing pieces explaining how to do a number of tasks. They will be working on a writing piece about how to make maple syrup. I have been working on pushing sounds in words and reading books. You may see kids “tapping out” sounds with their fingers and this is a skill we have been working on as well. They have been doing a super job on their sight words and independent work time as well. 

The kids have enjoyed following the Iditarod as well. They are becoming something of 5 and 6 year old experts! I hope to get them pulling some sleds this week and we’ll dive into a fictional story called Akiak, which is about a sled dog. Funny thing, this fictional story is mirroring reality this year, as one of the team’s dogs that got taken off of the team at a checkpoint got loose after being sent back to get treatment. We’ll see how that one turns out!

I’ll be sending out conference information later on tonight, be on the lookout. I’ll try to include as many times as I can to accommodate your family’s busy schedules. I will be offering an option for in person and Zoom conferences, please indicate which you’d prefer via email to keep those decisions confidential.

We hope you enjoyed the snowy weekend!

Ben and Honi

Important Updates:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle and sneakers as well as their winter gear. 

• Drop-off is at the front door.

• Pickup will be at the traffic circle. We will no longer be dismissing your child from the back kindergarten door. You can still park and come and get them or you can do the drive-through, it is up to you!

Conversation starters:

 

*How did you get to the Sugarhouse?

*Share the "Maple Tree" song with me.

*What did you glaze in Art class? What colors did you choose?

*Tell me what you've learned about the Iditarod. (Where does it take place, how many days, how many dogs race?)

*What is your favorite part of PE?

Other Reminders

Class Blog

You can check out the blog here for the newsletter and resources

Pictures

The folder with class pictures can be found here. 

Book Order Information

 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XLZX8

Class Code: XLZX8

First Short Week Back

 Welcome Back, Everyone!

It has been quite the week back in Kindergarten! We have seen the highs of coming back to see friends to some pretty tired kiddos by the end of the day today. Phew! They did a super job with the transition and we are looking forward to some normal weeks to come. 

In literacy, we worked on rotating the kids through their literacy stations. I’ve been working with small groups on the sight words and reading, Ms. Honi has been working on writing skills, the kids have spent some time (~15 minutes/day) practicing skills on iRead and doing independent practice on phonics skills.

We continued our work in math with dot cluster flashcards, practiced counting by ones up and down within 25 and by tens to 100, finishing some make-10 sheets from their iReady workbooks and working on practicing math games.

We read a book about the dog Balto, one of the heroes of the diphtheria outbreak in 1925 in Alaska as we will begin our roughly 2 week study on the Iditarod sled dog race. The kids wrote about Balto today and we will do more following the race next week. We’ll even try to get the kids to try to pretend they are dogs and have them do some pulling of sleds outside. They’ll quickly see how hard it is to get a team of 10 or so people to pull at the same time in the same direction!

Thanks to all of you for having your kiddos all geared up and ready to go this week. They were bundled and comfy for these cold March days! It looks like the weather is going to be variable starting next week, so please keep your eye on the weather to make sure your kiddo has what they need to stay dry (change of clothes, rain gear, etc.)

Please let us know if you need anything or have any questions.

Enjoy the weekend,

Ben and Honi

Important Updates:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle and sneakers as well as their winter gear. 

• Drop-off is at the front door.

• Pickup will be at the traffic circle. We will no longer be dismissing your child from the back kindergarten door. You can still park and come and get them or you can do the drive-through, it is up to you!

Conversation starters:

 

*What did you do with your buddy this week?

*What is your favorite part of literacy stations?

*Who did you play a game with during math? What game was it?

*Tell me what parts of the morning message you remember? What part is the same every day?

*Who made you feel happy at school this week?

*Who is Balto?

Other Reminders

Class Blog

You can check out the blog here for the newsletter and resources

Pictures

The folder with class pictures can be found here. 

Book Order Information

 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XLZX8

Class Code: XLZX8

Spring?

 Happy Early Spring, Everyone!

It has been a wonderful week in kindergarten. It was wonderful getting down to the sugarbush today and tapping trees with Brian and the kiddos. The sap was starting to run! Some sneaky little rascals may have even snuck a taste…

In literacy, we finalized a new literacy schedule where kids will rotate between stations that involve book groups, writing, iRead and phonics practice. I hope you have seen the incredible growth these kids have had with their letter sounds, ability to solve 3 sound words and with their writing skills, both in handwriting and the inclusion of more and more sounds.

In math, the kids are working on their knowledge of the number 10 and we had a great time on our 100th day of school. The kids made collections of 100 objects, did lots of counting. Ask your child about Zero the Hero. It was quite something!We are also thinking about numbers on our weather chart, looking at temperature and the number of days of different kinds of weather. It’s a great way to introduce data and how to read it. 

We have been watching some Olympic clips and the kids have been doing a lot of great discussing about other countries, different sports and different athletes. It has been a great tool to have them see the world in a different way. 

We’ll have a week of love next week, I am looking forward to kids bringing home lots of great scrapbook worthy projects! There certainly is a lot of love to go around this room!

Next week we’ll be sending home everything in their cubbies as well, including changes of clothes. We’ll need new clothes to come in after break.

Please let us know if you need anything or have any questions.

Have a great weekend,

Ben and Honi

Important Updates:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle and sneakers as well as their winter gear. 

• Drop-off is at the front door.

• Pickup will be at the traffic circle. We will no longer be dismissing your child from the back kindergarten door. You can still park and come and get them or you can do the drive-through, it is up to you!

• RAINBOW DAY is Monday the 14th. Feel free to fill our class with colorful clothes!

Conversation starters:

 

*Who did you make a Valentine for this week? What did it say?

*What special snacks did you have this week?

*Tell me about your visit from Zero the Hero. (You can listen to the Zero the Hero story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29gNWloTL60 )

*What did you do with your buddy this week?

*Tell me how you tap a tree.

 

Other Reminders

Class Blog

You can check out the blog here for the newsletter and resources

Pictures

The folder with class pictures can be found here. 

Book Order Information

 

With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS).

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/XLZX8

Class Code: XLZX8