Healthy Skyhawks!

Welcome back!

We hope everyone had a very fun, restful Fall Break!

The kindergarteners are continuing discussions about healthy eating habits and the importance of good nutrition. This Thursday is an exciting day! We have our first guest speaker coming in. Mrs. Mary Ann Grainger, a registered dietician, will be here to talk to the kindergarten about how to make healthy choices. Be sure to ask your child what they learned about a rainbow of foods.

 In an effort to encourage our students to try new healthy foods, we are offering a food badge for each NEW food tasted at home. Please send in a note stating which food your child tried. You can jot the name of the food on any piece of paper, then have your child draw a smiley face or a frown to indicate what they thought about the new food.
 Happy Eating!




 

 

 

 

 

   

Science Update

Using cross curricula connections, the kindergarteners will be spending the month of October learning about healthy eating habits. Eating is the most important thing we do each day, and this unit of study will explain why.

We will find out:

• Which foods you need to eat everyday
• Where food goes after you swallow it
• Why it's good to eat breakfast
• What vitamins and other nutrients are for
• Why you can't eat only candy!!

Sight Word Study for the Week of October 20th

•  be
• have
• he
• she
• we

Looking Ahead to November

It's Turkey Time

In this week's Tuesday envelope, you will find a letter with directions for your family to disguise a turkey so that it won't get eaten for Thanksgiving dinner! This has proven to be an exciting project for the kindergarten students and their family members to enjoy each year. Please return your turkey no later than Monday, November 2nd. The "turkeys" will be displayed in the hallway then sent home before Thanksgiving break.

 Have fun, and be creative!

The pictures below are a few examples of turkeys from years past.

 

Kindergarten Skyhawks Are Back In The Swing!

 We are so excited to be with our Skyhawks! 

So thankful for our many blessings!

Healthy Days Ahead!

Hammond kindergarteners are beginning discussions about healthy eating choices as we begin to study Nutrition. We will learn that healthy habits include getting plenty of rest, eating healthy foods, brushing our teeth, and exercising. This unit of study is always a favorite!

Sight Word Study for the Week of October 7th

• are
• go
• here
• to

Be sure to look back at our first post for ideas and activities to reinforce these words. Don't forget to practice the sight words we have previously studied. We are learning how to make sentences with all of the words we know. We can even write them!

Math in Kindergarten

We have started introducing money. We are beginning with the penny. The children are learning this penny poem that you may enjoy practicing at home.

"Penny Poem"

Penny, Penny

Easily spent

Copper brown

And worth one cent.  

 

A Special Opportunity From Dr. Lynch 

Your Child is invited to join the statewide 2015-2016 “Read with the Gamecocks” reading program!  This program is designed to encourage reading among elementary students Kindergarten through sixth Grade.

Rules: From Tuesday, October 13 – Friday, October 23 each student will record the number of pages read on the Reading Log sent home in this week’s Tuesday Envelope. This reading time can also count for their regular classroom reading.  (Parents or guardians should initial the student’s reading sheet.)  Please total the number of pages read on the Reading Log and return it to your child’s homeroom teacher by Monday, October 26.

Prizes will be awarded to the highest reading heroes, Kindergarten through sixth grade at the literacy games (Women’s Basketball Game, 11/15/15 and Men’s Basketball Game, 11/16/15)  All reading Heroes will receive two vouchers (one for child and one for adult) for free admission to the select Literacy Games.

Join us as we “Read with the Gamecocks” and encourage our children to enjoy a good book!

Bonnie Lynch

Walker Library

Map Time!

Classroom and Bedroom Maps

Kindergarteners have been busy mapping our classrooms. We are enjoying reading Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney which gives us an overview of our foundational Social Studies unit. We have also read As the Crow Flies by Gail Hartman which gives a bird's-eye view of the world around us to help the children understand this perspective.
Now that the children have created a map of their classroom, we invite them to create a map of their own bedroom to share with the class. These maps should be drawn on the paper supplied in today's Tuesday Envelope, then colored to reflect various items in your child's room. Please help your child label the larger items such as a bed, dresser, table, toy box, etc. We would love for all maps to be completed by this Thursday, October 1st.

Thanks so much for helping our students gain a better understanding of map making. We hope that you enjoy working together on this activity!

 

September 29th- October 6th  Sight Word Study

in, is, it

• Place sight words in a container. Invite your child to shake the container, spill out the words and read the ones that fall face up. Give your child a score that is equal to number of letters in the word he/she reads. Record the total, then place the remaining words back in the container, shake and spill again. Add the total to the first score. Continue until all words have been read.

Fire Truck Visit

In preparation for Fire Safety month coming up in October, Hammond Kindergarteners had a special visitor on Monday. Kindergarten's very own Busy Bee, Mya Walker, knows a very special firefighter, her dad, Gregory Walker. Captain Gregory and his crew visited Hammond yesterday and talked with kindergarteners all about being a firefighter, their fire truck and even some fire safety tips. Thank you so much for all you do to make our community safe and sound! We look forward to seeing you again in October.

Kindergarten Treasure Hunt

Mr. Mancke - Our Treasure

As you may have already heard all kindergarteners found a real treasure map waiting for us in our classrooms. Well, of course we read the map and followed to see where it led us! We found one of the best treasures Hammond School has ....Mr. Mancke! He invited us in to his cabin and showed us many amazing things. He wants us to return every other week so we can learn to be "Nature Detectives". The only requirement is that we bring our "tools" with us. Those tools are our five senses and our thinking brain. On occasion we will also learn how to use the natural resources around us to make things. This visit he showed us how to use five sticks to make a star that you can throw. We know everyone enjoyed learning how to put the stars together.

 We look forward to many adventures with Mr. Mancke!


 

 

September 22-29 Sight Word Study

can, look, me, my

• While riding in the car, have your child look for familiar sight words on billboards and signs. If you keep a Magna Doodle or a small writing pad in the car, have them write the word when they see it.
• Choose a newspaper article and see if your child can spot one or two sight words at a time. Use a highlighter and count how many times the word appeared.

What is your address?

Thank you to those who have already emailed a picture of their Skyhawk in front of their house. If you have not had a chance please email your child's teacher that picture as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your help reinforcing your child's address and phone number.

 

Conference Day next Friday, October 2

We are looking forward to our time together next Friday. Please be on the look out for an email from your child's teacher regarding a sign up time for your conference. If you are unavailable to meet on October 2nd other dates and times will be available on your sign up form.

 

 

 

 

 

Hammond Spirit Week

Pajama Day and Neon Day

As you can see Hammond kindergarteners are enjoying Spirit Week! Go Skyhawks!

 

 

 

 

Social Studies Introduction

We are excited to begin our foundational unit...
"Me On The Map."
We are building our classroom communities and are looking forward to exploring the community that surrounds our school. We are learning to be good school citizens, and understanding the world we live in. Your child should be able to tell us the following information:
their address, including street number, street, city and state. Birthday and family selected phone number are also important to remember.

Sight Word Fun!

In today's Tuesday packet you will find the first set of sight words. Included is a letter explaining how we will introduce sight words each week. Below you will find a list of suggested activities to help reinforce these words at home. Thank you for all of your help!

September 14th-18th Sight Word Study

a, and, at, I, like, see, the

• Choose a newspaper article and see if your child can spot one or two sight words at a time. Use a highlighter and count how many times the word appeared.
• Turn the sigh words into rainbows. ask your child to write a sigh word on paper in big letters. Using different crayons, have your child trace around the word again and again, reading the word each time.

Marvelous Math

The kindergarten classes are learning four ways to sort objects: color, size, and shape. This activity can be done at home with just about anything you have around the house.

Tuesday Talk with Third Grade

3rd graders visited kindergarten today to talk about their upcoming service project SQ Rescue.
In order to help support this project kindergarteners have been asked to bring in Clorox Wipes and or dog toys. They would like these donations by next week. Thanks for your help with this project!

Happy Labor Day!

We hope everyone enjoyed a nice long weekend with friends and family. We have enjoyed hearing about all of the fun activities had over the weekend.

Hammond Honor Code in Tuesday Talk  

A Skyhawk... 

• is Kind to others

• is Courteous and Polite

• is Honest

• Works hard

• and never gives up

      During Tuesday Talk this morning kindergarteners discussed the Hammond Honor Code. Above you will see the code and what it means to be a Skyhawk. Today's focus was on being kind to others and what that feels and looks like. Take the time to say this together with your child and talk about what kindness means in your house. Sharing common vocabulary at school and at home can bridge more understanding for your Skyhawk. Thank you in advance for your help with this!

 

Sight Word Fun!

In class, we are beginning activities using sight word recognition. Next Tuesday, your child will bring the first set of sight words home. Throughout the weeks ahead we will give you suggestions of fun ways to practice these words at home.

 

 Kindergarten Milestone

After two weeks of school, we have enjoyed watching your kindergarteners gain independence as they walk confidently into their classrooms, ready to begin their day. For those of you who continue to escort your child to the classroom, it is now time to release them in the morning carpool line. We have ample fourth grade student helpers who are happy to escort your child into the building.
This gives each child a great sense of self-confidence!
Please note that if your child arrives between 7:30- and 7:45, they should walk to the Kiva where Mrs. Hall (a kindergarten teacher) and many other students are enjoying time together before the school day begins.

Me and My World

Happy September!

Your kindergarten teachers are busy assessing each student individually with a variety of tools. It is essential that we have a clear understanding of each child's level of development as we begin our year together.
Some of the skills assessed include the following:

• Letter recognition and sounds
• Sight word recognition
• Number recognition and concept to 20
• Fine motor skills
• Personal information (such as full name, address, phone number, and birthday)
• The ability to listen and follow directions
• The ability to work independently

At this time, kindergarten students should be able to recognize all of the alphabet letters and be able to provide the majority of their sounds. They should also be able to recognize numbers one to twenty and be able to count to 100 by ones and tens.

My Name Is...

Our kindergarteners are enjoying many games and activities to help us get to know each other. We are making several books and charts with photos of our classmates to help us recognize our friends and their names.