June Classroom Blog

Dear Kindergarten Families,

When I write this, there are only 6 more days of kindergarten. It is hard to believe that the school year flew by so fast! Your kids have grown by leaps and bounds both academically and socially. They are ready for first grade! I have enjoyed being your child's teacher and am excited to watch them grow up at Forest Park. Here are a few of our end-of-the-year happenings. If I don't see you before the summer break, have a safe and exciting summer!

Authors' Celebration - THIS Thursday. PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN IN AT THE OFFICE AS A VISITOR.You will receive a nametag there to indicate you have signed in. Then please meet us in the cafeteria at 1PM. The kids will be sitting with their toolboxes full of their written work - writing workshop, poetry notebooks, buddy work. When you arrive, your child may begin reading their work to you. Feel free to listen to other students read, if there is time. There are places to write comments in the published books - so please do so!  After the children have shared their work, we will watch a short slideshow of our kindergarten memories, followed by refreshments. Around 1:40, I will ask that parents and kids help clean up so that we can exit the cafeteria for Kidspace's use.

If you are taking your child home with you immediately after the Authors' Celebration, please come up to me & let me know personally.  ARTWORK  - We have many large pieces of art that can go home Thursday with families. It will be in the cafeteria for you to pick up before returning to the classroom for backpacks.  Those kids who are not going home with family will go back to the classroom for a short activity with me, before the 2:15 dismissal time.

We hope to see you on Thursday to celebrate the successes your child has made. Please remember to let me know if NO ONE from your family is able to attend. I will arrange for your child to read to another family.

Field Day- This Friday at 9AM is our field day. I have blue shirts for the kids for this event, to show our classroom spirit and team unity. Please remind your child to dress appropriately for the weather and athletic activities.

Summer Scholars Book - On the last day of school your child will receive a Summer Scholars book to read and enjoy over the summer. These books will "kick off" student learning in their first grade and help to create a common bond between students. There will be a flier inside the front cover that further explains the Summer Scholars program.

Report Cards and Placement - Report cards will be sent home in the mail about a week after school has ended. Placement letters for next year (that state who your child's teacher will be) go home in mid-August. Please ensure that the school has your updated address if there have been any changes or changes are planned for this summer!

Last Day- Tuesday, June 15th is our last day of school. If your child is going home differently that usual, please let me know ahead of time. Parking is extremely limited on the last day of school, so please plan ahead if you are coming in the building.

Have a safe and exciting summer!
Jaclyn

May Classroom Blog

Dear Kindergarten Families,

Thank You - Thank you so much for all of the amazing cards, letters, and notes this week! Teacher Appreciation Week was amazing! Not only were we lavished by the PTA, but the kids really made this week special. I will cherish the messages your child wrote for many years to come (I scrapbook them!). Thanks!

Scholastic Book Orders- LAST ONE! - This Friday, May 7th, our last Scholastic book order fliers will go home via purple folder. Stock up now for summer reading! You may order by returning the flier by Monday, May 17th via purple folder, or order online. Below is the information you will need to order online.

www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
User Name: mrsjaclynfordsclass  
Password: kindergarten
Here is the information letter regarding Scholastic Book Orders: Download Book Order Letter

Woodworking Art Project- Volunteers needed! Are you handy? Don't mind the sound of hammers putting nails into wood? We'd love to have you come in and help during choosing time! We are about to start our toolbox construction art project. The wood is cut, the nails and hammers are ready, the safety goggles are here, we just need you! If you are interested, please let me know ASAP so that we can set up a time for you to come in and help the kids nail their boxes together. If time allows before June 15, we will be painting the boxes and stamping them with designs as well.

Volunteering Now Through June- Believe it or not, June 15th is quickly approaching. We are in the middle of painting large self portraits that will culminate our self portrait studies. From now until they are completed, if you come in to volunteer I will have you help the children finish their self portraits. This will include morning and afternoon volunteers!  They take multiple settings of painting time and therefore we need your help! After they are complete, I will need your help to ensure authentic assessments that go onto their first grade teacher (I assess while you work with this kids during writing time or choosing time). It takes many weeks to complete reading assessments (for comprehension and accuracy), literacy profiles, and math profiles. I don't know how I'd be able to do it without your help. Thanks so much!
May Volunteer Calendar- email me to tell me when you can come, or sign up in the hallway
June Volunteer Calendar- email me to tell me when you can come, or sign up in the hallway

Library Books - Mrs. Jablonski has asked that I send a gentle reminder to all families that our library day is each Tuesday. In Kindergarten, the kids just get to check out one book at a time. If they forget their book, they are unable to check out a new one until the following week. Please help your child to be responsible by reminding them to put their own library book in their backpack.  A good habit would to be returning it on Mondays so that if you forget it that day, you still have one more day to return it. Thanks!

Author's Celebration - On Thursday, June 10th, we invite you to gather in the cafeteria to recognize the hard work your child has accomplished this year. For our Author's Celebration, the kids will be reading to you (informal small groups) from their published work. Each month we have been publishing a story that they wrote (I type up their story and they illustrate it). You will be amazed by the progress they have made since that first day of kindergarten. Invitations will be sent home in the next couple of weeks. Until then, reserve Thursday, June 10th from 1:00-1:45 on your calendar. I recommend that each student have at least one family member in attendance. Of course, the more the merrier. If someone from your family is unable to attend, please let me know ahead of time and I will arrange another family to listen to your child read.  The kids look forward to sharing their work with you!

Guest Speakers- We have our last METRO Puppet show this month to learn about natural gardening. We will also continue to have counseling visits to learn about, discuss, and implement positive social skills. In addition, Young Rembrandts will teach us an art lesson, thanks to the Foerster family. They purchased the art class at the Auction and donated it to our class! Thank you!!!


Assemblies - We have a few coming up before the school year's end. On the 3rd, we met with Mr. C to hear him read a book and teach us more about being helpful - our word of the month. On the 13th we will watch the 2nd and 3rd graders in their dress rehearsal of their spring performance. On the 28th we will meet together again to "Groove" for another Young Audiences assembly (paid for by Run for the Arts!). That leads me into thanking you once again for your amazing donations to this year's Run for the Arts. We plan to use it not only for assemblies, but to also help supplement the lack of of a schoolwide music program next year.

Volunteer Ice Cream Social - Please join us on Tuesday, June 1st to recognize...YOU! If you have helped in any way this year as a classroom volunteer, field trip chaperone, room parent, etc. you and your student are invited to join us for some ice cream! We will gather on the basketball court and covered area for ice cream sundaes courtesy of Forest Park Staff. This is just one small token of our appreciation for all of the dedicated hours you have put into helping our students. This school is outstanding because of the tremendous amount of parent volunteers and we appreciate YOU!

Sharing Schedule- Below is the last sharing schedule for the kindergarten year. Continued thank you to those who are helping prepare their child. It makes a big difference in their confidence and presentation even with 10 minutes of practice at home.
Download Last Kindergarten Sharing Schedule


Interactive Read Alouds- Our last two units will be combined as the school year comes to a close. In the unit "Going Places" we will be learning about the Coast Guard in Mayday Mayday. We learn to love the classics with a moral message in The Little Engine That Could. One of my alltime favorites teaches us about different types of transportation around the world in This Is the Way We Go to School. In the unit "Building Our Homes" we will learn about similarities and differences in Homes Around the World. Next we learn about beaver homes in Building Beavers. We will discuss and explore how not everyone works during the day in The Night Worker. To cap off our home unit we explore a wide variety of creature homes in Animal Homes. Be sure to ask your child about these stories. They have been such great listeners this year during our Interactive Read Alouds! 1st grade continues to the IRA approach to helping teach kids comprehension, so the skills your child has developed over this year has prepared them for the next.

Writing Update- Each student is working on their individual goals (taped on their writing folders - the same ones on their last report card) to help prepare them for first grade. We are shifting our writing focus away from literacy centers to writing longer and more descriptive free written stories. You will be able to see the amazing growth they have made at our Author's Celebration on June 10th!

Reading Update- Each day we read. Sometimes whole group, sometimes small group, sometimes individually. Please continue to practice reading at home with either the take-home books or books of your child's choice. For those who are reading beyond take home books, a good way to pick out a book is the five finger rule. Open a book. Put up five fingers. As you read one page, put down one finger for each word that is tricky. If at the end of the page, you have all five fingers still up - that book is not challenging enough. If you have no fingers left, that book is too challenging. If you have a couple of fingers up/down, that book is just right. Don't forget to discuss book elements. Nearly all of the children at this point in the school year are now being testing on comprehension. Discuss characters, setting, sequence of events, problem/solution (if applicable), how it relates to you, and about your favorite part.

Math Update- We are becoming solid on our math problem solving skills for addition! We even made our own addition problem solver with our 2nd grade buddies! We will begin to learn about how to solve math problems with subtraction. The most important part about math is HOW we get our answers. We will use pictures and labeling to explain our thinking. This is a skill that will be used every year as your child goes from grade to grade. Always ask them how they know an answer. Help them articulate their thinking with words, numbers, or pictures.

Science Update- The chicks and ducklings are now happily roaming free on a local farm. We had some amazing discoveries watching them hatch and grow. Below is a link to a video that one of Mrs. Huntley's volunteers edited for us. Be sure to have your child watch it with you and they will be able to tell you all about how those little chicks broke out of their shell! Next we will study and compare worms: nightcrawlers and redworms. We will also learn about isopods: pillbugs and sowbugs. Our learning is alive! We have also been diligently taking care of our vegetable garden behind the portables by the play structure. We are growing radishes, snow peas, carrots, lettuce, and spinach. We've learned alot about the planting process (especially weeding) and will harvest in June for a salad party!
Chicks Hatching Video

Special Request - If you know of anyone that has some expertise in developing a naturally terraced ampitheater (for sitting), please let me know. The teacher green team is in the process of writing a grant for supplies to construct a sitting area behind the portables, for class size use.  Thanks!

Dates to Remember:
5/3    Word of the Month Assembly with Mr. C
5/6    Mother Nature's Garden puppet show by METRO
5/7    Scholastic Book Orders sent out
5/13  2nd and 3rd Grade Dress Rehearsal Assembly
5/17  Scholastic Book Orders DUE
5/19  2-Hour Delay
5/24  Planned Substitute
5/28  Groove Assembly
5/28  Read Across the Playground
5/31  No School - holiday
6/1    Volunteer Ice Cream Social - volunteers and their student
6/4    School Carnival - evening
6/10  Ford's Author's Celebration - 1PM Cafeteria
6/11  Field Day - times TBA - you can come cheer them on!
6/15  Last Day of School for students

Thanks!
Jaclyn

April Classroom Blog

Dear Kindergarten Parents,

K and 1st Grade Performance- Please join us for our kindergarten and first grade performance on April 8th at 6:30PM in the gym. The kindergartners will be performing the musical Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the first graders will be performing Jack and the Beanstalk. Please have your kindergartner meet the class in the CAFETERIA at 6:15PM. We will have classroom t-shirts for the performers to wear, along with their personally created costume crown. Thank you to those families who have been helping their kindergartner learn the words to the ELEVEN songs and making hand motions to act out the songs. When April 8th arrives, the kids will have been practicing for this performance for over a month. Hope to see you there to applaud them for their hard work!

Guest Speakers- This month we have a variety of guest speakers visiting our kindergartners. We have two puppet shows - Kenji and the Three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) and Compost City (composting). We also have a forest walk scheduled (using the trail adjacent to the track) to learn more about trees and forest layers. Ms. Johnson and Ms. Green (counselors) will visit us twice this month as well!

Field Trip- Our last field trip is on Thursday, April 29th to the Tillamook Forest Center. We will be going with Mrs. Huntley's class. (Nelson/Walker go on a different day). Please join us! We can have UNLIMITED chaperones and it is free! The Tillamook Forest Center is an outstanding facility in between Portland and Tillamook, off of Highway 6 (about 45 minutes from the school). It is an interactive site with hands-on activities for the kids, a life-size fire tower to climb, a walking bridge that goes over the Wilson river, and forest trails with learning labels. If you can't come as a chaperone, plan to take your kids there one day for a free family learning adventure! Let me know if you'd like to volunteer on April 29th. It is an all-day trip (during school hours) and chaperones will need to carpool themselves.

Sharing - Below is the new sharing schedule, to start in a couple of weeks. Please be sure that you are helping your child prepare for their sharing day by listening to them introduce their sharing item and tell you a few things about it. Ask your child questions about it as well, as the kids will be asking them questions after they share. The kids feel more comfortable sharing in front of the class if they have practiced with family at home. Further instructions about our sharing times are written on the schedule paper.
Download Sharing Schedule 4.16-5.14

Upcoming Art Projects- If you are interested in helping with our end of the year art projects, please let me know and we can arrange times for you to come in and help. We will be making extra large painted self portraits, using tempera paint and paper. We will also be doing a woodworking project to construct toolboxes. Both activities will need parent volunteers to complete. You don't need to be creative or handy for either task, just patient and willing to help nurture budding artists. Let me know if you're interested. We plan to start them in early May, if not sooner.

Run for the Arts- Each year the kids at Forest Park raise money to fund next year's assemblies and art residencies. We do this by gathering sponsors on our sponsor sheet (coming home on Friday the 2nd) and running for a 30 minute segment of time on April 16th at 12:30. With these funds, we are able to provide next school year's enrichment for the entire school with a variety of multicultural assemblies. We also use the funds for author visits and art residencies. One among many, TAIKO DRUMMING, was paid for through last year's Run for the Arts. Please consider helping your child gather sponsors for the run on the 16th. The due date for forms to be returned is April 16th. Your form will then be returned to you that afternoon, with the number of laps your child ran, written on the form. Raised money is due Monday, April 26th. Thank you in advance for helping enrich your child's school experience with exciting assemblies, author visits, and art residencies.

Interactive Read Alouds - This month we will be continuing our "Let's Explore" unit with the stories, One Little Mouse, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, If You Could Go To Antarctica, and Abuela. In One Little Mouse, we explore what the forest has to offer for a wide variety of animals and habitats. If You Could Go To Antarctica takes us on a non-fiction exploration to the southern continent. Abuela leads us back to the imaginary but along the way we learn about New York City and its sights. Be sure to ask you child about the adventures our characters have in these stories and what kind of adventures they could have in similar places.

Writing Update- During literacy centers and writing workshop, the students will be working on improving their writing skills according to their last worksample. Each student has apprx. three skills that they are working on, with a focus on one at a time. These skills were listed on your child's report card. During literacy centers, the students work on completing literacy, math, science, and art prompted assignments. During writing workshop, the students write stories of their choice topic. Some skills that students may be working on are: writing a letter for each phonetic sound in a word, legible writing, writing complete sentences with proper grammar/language, punctuation, capitalization, writing stories with a beginning/middle/end, using richer/descriptive words. These are many skills that are listed on the writing scoring guide that parents received during Fall parent-teacher conferences. If you would like another copy of that guide and/or a copy of your child's most current writing worksample, please let me know.

Reading Update - We have assembled into new reading groups during literacy centers and during many choosing times. This reading time will be to read books and/or informational texts at your child's reading level. We will be discussing characteristics and information about the stories we read. As mentioned before, if your child is at a higher reading level than the take-home books, they will be using different books during reading groups. Copies of those books do not come home. If we are working on an information text/worksheet, a copy of that will go home when complete.

Math Update - We are starting our unit called "Counting Ourselves and Others". We will be collecting data about the class and representing that data with pictures and numbers. Some investigations will be to discuss and show how many children, eyes, and chairs are in the class. We will discuss why might need this information and what variables might change our data (absent kids, etc.). During this unit, we will also continue our studying on classifying and sorting. We will discuss similarities and differences objects such as our self portraits, 3D shapes, 2D shapes, and our even our shoes!

Science Update- In addition to our guest speakers and field trip science enrichment, we will be continuing our studies on salmon. Mrs. Huntley is spearheading a life-size wooden salmon art project. The kids will be using pastels to imitate the natural colors on their salmon.  We also are studying chicks. Mrs. Huntley is incubating chicken eggs. Soon they will hatch and we will study them. In the spring, we do many animal study comparisons. We will be comparing chicks to ducklings, redworms to earthworms, and pillbugs to sowbugs. We will also continue our garden studies. Last month we planted radishes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and snow peas. We will observe them in their stages of growth and hopefully if the weather plays nice, we will be able to enjoy a salad party before June. Our daffodils that we planted last Fall have started to bloom, soon we will be planting sunflowers in that same spot to enjoy.

Dates to Remember:
4/5    Morning Meeting Assembly with Mr. C about the word of the month
4/8    Kenji and 3 R's Puppet Show
4/8 K/1 Spring Performance - 6:30PM in the gym
4/12-4/15  Scholastic Book Fair in the gym
4/13   Planned Substitute
4/15   Forest Trail Walk & Discussion
4/16   Run for the Arts - 12:30 - on the track. Come and cheer us on!
4/20   Family Write Night at 6:30PM - details coming home soon!
4/21   2-Hour Delay
4/23   Compost City Puppet Show
4/26   Run for the Arts Money Due
4/29   Tillamook Forest Center Field Trip - Huntley and Ford only

Have a great month!
Jaclyn

Send a COLD LUNCH on Tuesday!

Dear Kindergarten Families,
Please remember that Tuesday, March 2nd is our field trip to the theater to see The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. We will be leaving before our scheduled lunchtime in the cafeteria. Therefore, we will need to eat lunch in the classroom prior to leaving. Please send a cold lunch for your child on Tuesday.

This week we will be...
*listening to Mr. C read the entire school a book about the word of the month
*participating in our last Taiko drumming session, brought to us by Run for the Arts
*participating in an activity with our counselor, Ms. Johnson
*going on our field trip to see the play, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
*finishing up our studies using our collections of 100 items
*working on finishing stories from past days and editing when our story is complete
*ordering our name trains from least to most/shortest to longest
*comparing guppies to goldfish using a Venn diagram
*exploring our March National Geographic
*learning about composting through a puppet show and worm demonstration by METRO
*listening to community members read us books during Read Across America
*2nd grade buddies, P.E., and 5th grade buddies
*and more!

Interactive Read Aloud - This week we will be learning all about chameleons! Our story Hide, Clyde!by Russell Benfanti guides us through an adventure Clyde takes as he learns the importance of camouflage. Be sure to ask your child why it's important for chameleons and other animals to hide from other creatures (prey and predator)!

Choosing Time Helpers - From now until just before Spring Break, if you are able to volunteer during our 1:15-2:15 time, we'd appreciate it! It is time to re-assess all students on literacy and math skills. Most of these assessments are done one-on-one.  If you see a blank spot on the afternoon volunteer time and you have it available, please sign up! Helping at choosing time is easy...you get to play games with the kids, draw with the kids, and best of all be creative and imaginative with the kids. You can be a good role model for social interaction while having fun. You will love it! (Thank you in advance!)

Friday - Pajama Day and Stuffed Animals - This Friday we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America. Kids will be going to a variety of different places around the school to hear community members read them their favorite Dr. Seuss books. This is an annual event that kids look forward to. In celebration, we invite your child to wear their pajamas to school. They may also bring a small stuffed animal if they choose. I prefer that slippers stay home so that kids are still able to run around and burn some energy during recess times.

Starbucks Art -If you have been reading your child's morning message (hopefully THEY have been reading it to you!), then you are aware that our artwork will be displayed in Starbucks this month. I will send out an email to let you know the exact date it will be up. I will also let you know when we will hold an informal reception there, to celebrate the kids' poems and artwork about our river tank animals.

Tuesday Weeding - On Tuesday at 2:30 after school, Mrs. Huntley and I will be behind the portables (by the play structure) to weed garden beds. If you would like to help out, bring your favorite garden gloves and tools and come on by. The more people that show up, the faster we will get it done. Soon we will plant seeds in our garden bed and study plant growth. Thank goodness for a mild winter!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU - Thanks to all the families who purchased items at the auction, big and small.  If you were unable to attend this year's auction (as was I), look forward to next year's. It is an annual event that parents and teachers look forward to.

Dates to Remember:
3/1   Morning Meeting Assembly with Mr. C at 8AM
3/1   Taiko Drumming Residency
3/2   Theater Field Trip - send a cold lunch for your child!
3/4   Compost City Puppet Show and Worm Observations
3/5   Read Across America - wear pajamas and bring stuffed animal
3/15  No School - Teacher Planning Day
3/17  2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
3/22-3/26  Spring Break

Have a great week!
Jaclyn

Send in Your Child's Collection of 100 Small Items by Thursday!

Dear Kindergarten Families,

This week we will be...
*Participating in Taiko drumming for our 2nd and 3rd sessions (out of four)
*Writing poems about our river tank animals for our March Starbucks Art Display
*Making an artistic representation of our river tank animals for our March Starbucks Art Display
*Celebrating our 100th day of school with a variety of activities (see below)
*Learning where our new literacy center table spots will be
*Listening to our Friday sharers:  Zia, Victor, Spencer, and Tony
*Music, 2nd Grade Buddies, Library, Technology, P.E., and 5th Grade Buddies
*and more!

Interactive Read Aloud - We will be reading Seeds by Ken Robbins. This non-fiction book teaches us about a wide variety of seeds. We will discuss how seeds travel, how they grow, what they need to grow, etc. Be sure to ask your child what new information they learned about seeds this week.

Auction - Mr. C has been highlighting the classroom art projects via his blog. Be sure to stop by the school hallway this week if you haven't already seen the amazing array of artwork. Auction catalogs went home last week that explains the process of the auction and what will be available for bidding. Remember, this is a very important fundraiser for our school each year. Hope you are able to participate.

100th Day of Kindergarten - On Thursday, Feb. 25th, we will be celebrating our 100th day of Kindergarten. We will be doing many special activities that day including...100th day workout, counting to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's, making a 100th day crown, using our 100th day collections for math and literacy activities, 100th day snack (100 items!), 100th day poem, writing numbers to 100, and more. Please help your child collect their 100 items and send them into school once complete. We will be using these Thursday and Friday. Thanks for your help in ensuring your child completes this homework (the collection of 100 items). A flier went home about these collections on Friday.

Dates to Remember:
2/23, 2/24, 3/1  Taiko Drumming Residency
2/25 100th Day of Kindergarten!
2/27 Forest Park School Auction
3/2   Theater Field Trip
3/4   Compost City Puppet Show
3/5   Read Across America
3/15  No School - Teacher Planning Day
3/17  2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
3/22-3/26  Spring Break

Have a great week!
Jaclyn

2-Hour Delay on Wednesday!

Dear Kindergarten Parents,

This week we will be...
*finishing up our Valentines Day packet and graphing heart candy
*learning about Chinese New Year
*beginning to practice our songs for our April performance (see below)
*learning more about our river tank animals - facts and how to draw them
*writing poems about a variety of stuffed animals in the room, focusing on descriptive words
*participating in our first TAIKO drumming session (four all together; one this week)
*listening to our Friday sharers:  Claire, Chloe, Calvin, Brock, and Annika
*library, technology, P.E., 5th grade buddies
*and more!

Scholastic Book Orders -Fliers were sent home Friday and they are now available online. Since the online order process was not made available until now, I have extended the deadline until Monday, Feb. 22nd. Thank you Natalie Kerrigan for getting fliers ready and sorting books once they arrive.
Here is the info for ordering online:
www.scholastic.com/bookclubs
User Name: mrsjaclynfordsclass
Password: kindergarten

K/1 Performance- On April 8th, the kindergartners and first graders will be performing in the gym. Each grade level is doing a musical. It consists of mostly songs and body motions, with a few narrators.  You are invited to come and enjoy the performance at 6PM in the gym on April 8th. We will be practicing these songs from now until April 8th and you will be seeing the lyrics come home as well. Please encourage your child to practice these songs. Our performance is called, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

Library Journals- Our librarian, Mrs. Jablonski, has been teaching the kids about journaling. She is gearing up for an author visit coming in April. This is what Mrs. Jablonski says of our author visit this year:  "Our guest this year is Jon Bernstein.  Jon is a writer who lives in Los Angeles.  Jon is a sreenwriter, playwright, novelist, and has written for television.  He teaches screenwriting at UCLA and most importantly, for us, teaches journaling and notebook workshops.  His most noted work is Disney's Meet The Robinson's."  If your child has been journaling at home, have your child bring their journal with them for their library time on Tuesdays. The journal can be something as simple as a spiral notebook.

Chinese New Year Luncheon - This Friday is our grade level Chinese New Year luncheon. If you signed up to volunteer, please come between 10:40-11:30 to help set up and help the children. We couldn't do this without your parent help!

Theater Field Trip- On Tuesday, March 2nd, we will be attending the play "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" at the Winningstad Theater in Portland. You already signed permission slips for this earlier in the year. Reminder fliers were sent home on Friday, with chaperone information on them. In order to catch the bus and make it to the theater on time, we ask that you send a cold lunch to school that day for your child. We will eat it in the classroom before we head out the theater!

Family and Baby Pictures - Later this week I will be emailing those of you who have yet to send me a most recent family photo and baby picture of your child. Just a heads up. Thank you for those who have already done so.

Auction is Sat. Feb 27th!- It's just around the corner! The classroom art projects are now displayed in the main school hallway. When you come to drop off or pick up your child, be sure to take a look at our "Many Colored Days" tiled mirror. The kids drew emotions on tiles and it is decorated with a colorful mosaic around a beveled mirror. You can bid on it at the auction! The auction is our most important fundraiser of the year, as it brings in money to pay for special teachers such as music, technology, library, and P.E. These are treasured activities that your child attends each week. Without your support of the auction each year, these special classes may not exist at Forest Park. Please help us continue to enrich our children with these important classes by attending the auction and bidding on your favorite items!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO CATHI JULIANO, TONIA REHN, JIMMY CHO, AND HYUN JOO FOR HELPING WITH THE CLASSROOM AUCTION ART PROJECT!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO CATHI JULIANO AND AMBER ETCHIESON FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THE AUCTION CLASSROOM BASKET!

Dates to Remember:
2/17 2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
2/18, 2/23, 2/24, 3/1  TAIKO Drumming Residency
2/19 Chinese New Year Luncheon
2/25 100th Day of Kindergarten!
3/1   Theater Field Trip
3/4   Compost City Puppet Show
3/15  No School - Teacher Planning Day
3/17  2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development

Have a great week!
Jaclyn

Send in Classmate Valentines When Complete!

Dear Kindergarten Parents,

This week we will be...
*listening to Mr. C read us a story about the word of the month: LOYAL
*making a class book about loyalty, with our 2nd grade buddies
*comparing body structures of guppies to goldfish and labeling their bodies
*predicting and observing what happens when we put fish food in the fish tank
*learning about our new classroom pets - zebra fish, pond snails, dwarf frogs, and algae eaters
*illustrating our "January Best" typed story from writing workshop for a class book
*continuing our composting lessons and figuring out what can be composting from snacktime
*making a class poster about composting to put up in the hallway for school education
*starting our poetry unit - learning some poetry elements and writing our own poems
*2nd grade buddies, library, technology, P.E., and 5th grade buddies
*and more!

Interactive Read Aloud - Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller is a heartwarming story about two friends (a duckling and a caterpillar) who change as they grow. At first, they do not recognize each other as they change. Be sure to ask your child how these two unlikely friends realized who each other was, once they had grown up. Continue discussions about how your child has changed as they have grown. Perhaps share with your child some of the exciting changes that you also experienced as you yourself grew up.

Valentines and Valentines Party - Don't forget to send in valentines this week so that kids can sort them out in student bags and be ready for our party on Friday. Parents are welcome to come on Friday at 1PM for our Valentine Party. The kids will be opening valentines, having a snack, and playing a heart game. PLEASE don't forget to sign in as a visitor if you come to the V-day party.

Taiko Drumming- Our first drumming session is NEXT week. Please help us out by volunteering. The TAIKO teacher asks that each session have TWO parent volunteers. Thank you for those already signed up to help. We'd appreciate a few more volunteers if anyone is available. Thanks.

Baby and Family Pictures - Thank you to those who have already sent in these pictures in the past week. If you haven't sent in a baby picture and your most current family picture, please do so. We are putting together a "Change and Grow' poster with our baby pictures and using the family pictures for an album. You can send in a hard copy picture and I will scan it and return it to you shortly. Or, you can email me the photos. Thanks.

Auction Art Project- Soon you will get the opportunity to view an art project that the kids worked on, for the auction. It will be displayed in the school main hallway shortly. Below is the description of the item. Once a picture is ready, we will send it out to you. You can bid for the artwork at our school Auction on Saturday, February 27th. It's an event you won't want to miss!!  Thanks to Cathi, Tonia, Hyun, Jimmy, and others I may not know about, for helping with this project!

Our class art project is inspired by the book “My Many Colored Days”  by Dr. Seuss
“Some days are yellow.  Some are blue.  On different days I’m different too.
You’d be surprised how many ways I change on different colored days.”

Each child in the classroom was asked to display an emotion.  Their pictures were taken expressing this emotion and then each child drew their self portrait for our classroom mirror. We hope you love their “reflections”  shown on this colorful mirror.  What color will you be today?

Dates to Remember:
2/12   Valentine's Party 1PM in the classroom
2/15   No School - Holiday
2/17   2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
2/19   Kindergarten Chinese New Year Lunch (Volunteers come from 10:40-11:30)
2/25   Kindergarten 100th Day of School (as long as there are no snow days)
2/27   Forest Park School Auction @ the Downtown Hilton
3/2 Theater Field Trip
3/15   No School - Teacher Planning Day
3/17   2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development

Happy Valentine's Day!
Jaclyn

We Welcome Tony to Our Classroom!

Dear Kindergarten Parents,
First of all, I'd like to welcome Tony Yu to our classroom! Tony joined us on Monday! The kids are doing a great job helping Tony learn the ropes of our routines and make new friends. Welcome Yu family!

This week we will be...
*making valentines for Kelly and Pam in the front office, with our 2nd grade buddies
*learning about what to do when we are worried, with counselor Ms. Johnson
*learning about composting and beginning to save snack organic matter for our school compost bin
*choosing our January best in our writing workshop folders
*choosing a story to finish, that we started writing on another day
*writing brave words in our sentences, with all the sounds that we can hear
*discussing shape attributes and how we see them in our environment
*learning how to draw the structure of a goldfish
*continuing our handwriting lessons
*listening to, asking questions, making comments, and making compliments...
for our Friday sharers:  John, Jake, and Hunter
*learning how to make paper, with our guest speaker on Friday
*learning a new math game: Fill The Hexagon
*2nd grade buddies, music, library, technology, and 5th grade buddies
*and more!

Interactive Read Aloud - We follow the first years of life with two twins in the book called See How We Grow by Katacha Diaz. We will be discussing how humans change as they grow. Be sure to ask your child about how they have changed since they were a baby. A fun activity may be to go through old photos or baby albums together and discuss how they were as a baby, comparing and contrasting how they are now.

Baby Pictures and Family Pictures- We will be making our own "Change and Grow" poster to go along with our studies of how we change as we grow. Within the next week, please send me a baby picture and current family picture via email. If you choose to send it via purple folder, I will scan it and get it back to you. The baby pictures will go on a poster for us to compare how we used to look compared to how we look now (I will use the kinder pics I have from picture day). The family pictures we will put in a photo album for future studies of families.

Valentines and Valentine's Party- Below is a link to a class list for writing valentines. If you child chooses to write valentines, I ask they they do the writing for at least the classmate's name and their own name. If your child chooses to give valentines, I ask they give one for each classmate. Once valentines are complete, you may send them in. We will open them at our Valentine's party on Feb. 12th. Parents are welcome to attend, but not required. The party will start at 1pm. The kids will be opening valentines, having a snack, and playing a valentine game.
Download Valentines List

TAIKO Drumming Volunteers- Thank you Anna and Jimmy for volunteering for a drumming session. There are still spots available. NO EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY - JUST THE DESIRE TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW AND HAVE FUN WITH ME AND 25 FIVE AND SIX YEAR OLDS! :-)
Thursday, Feb. 18th from 9:05-9:50 --- Anna and ________
Tuesday, Feb. 23rd from 9:05-9:50 --- ________ and _______
Wednesday, Feb. 24th from 9:05-9:50 --- Jimmy and _______
Monday, March 1st from 9:05-9:50 --- ________ and _______

Chinese New Year Lunch - Thank you to all of you who have returned your child's lunch slip back and those who signed up to volunteer for the New Year lunch. Volunteers, please come from 10:40-11:30 to help decorate the cafeteria tables and help with the students during their lunch.

Backpack Lunch Program- This week we are collecting food again for Portland school children who need food on the weekends, when school lunches are not available.  A flier went home Tuesday about this. Here is a copy if you are interested in knowing more about it and donating. It will be collected through Friday, Feb. 5th. Another collection time will be set in the spring. Food that is needed is very specific, so please read the flier if you are interesting in helping feed school-age children in Portland. Thanks!
Download Backpack Lunch Program

Newsflash - Last week's didn't get home. Here's a copy! The kids did a great job during a class writing lesson that I had to share with you!
Download Newflash

Dates to Remember:
2/12   Valentine's Party 1PM in the classroom
2/15   No School - Holiday
2/17   2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
2/19   Kindergarten Chinese New Year Lunch (Volunteers come from 10:40-11:30)
2/25   Kindergarten 100th Day of School (as long as there are no snow days)
2/27   Forest Park School Auction @ the Downtown Hilton
3/2    Theater Field Trip

Have a great week!
Jaclyn

Please Remember Tuesday Is Our Library Day!

Dear Kindergarten Parents,

This week we will be...
* Learning more about giant pandas and making facts and drawings for our bulletin board
* Using a non-standard unit of measure for comparing classroom items
* Using the words "longer" and "shorter" when measuring
* Reviewing our senses chart for writing workshop and applying it during writing time
* Watching a modeled lesson on writing a story with a beginning, middle, and end
* Playing a math game called "Compare" and using the terms "more" and "less"
* Learning how to make incredible equations during calendar math time
* Learning about ice skaters and the upcoming Winter Olympics in our Nat'l Geographic
* Continuing our handwriting lessons
* Counting sets of objects, recording our data, and writing numbers to represent that data
* Listening attentively to our Friday sharers:  Sarah, Palin, Michelle, Lucas, and Leah
* 2nd grade buddies, library, technology, and P.E.
* and more!

Interactive Read Aloud - We follow the story of a brave little duckling in the story Little Quack by Lauren Thompson. It follows the story of a little duckling who is scared to jump into the water. With gentle encouragement, the mother duck helps him get over his fears. Be sure to ask your child how Little Quack was brave in the story.

Drumming Volunteers - Thank you Anna Lio for volunteering for our Feb 18th drumming session! We are still in need of more volunteers for Feb 18th, Feb. 23rd, Feb. 24th, and March 1st....all from 9:05-9:50. If you are interested, please contact me. Thanks!

Library Day - Please remember that Tuesday is our library day each week. Most kids are remembering their book, but we still have a handful that are not able to check out books due to overdue books. It is your child's responsibility to return their own book, but if you could remind them to please to bring their book back on Tuesday, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!


DON'T FORGET TO SEND BACK YOUR CHILD'S HEART. THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN RETURNED ARE ALREADY UP IN THE MAIN SCHOOL HALL DISPLAY CASE. WE STILL HAVE SEVEN HEARTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED. THANKS!

Dates to Remember:
1/27   Kinder Roundup (for next year's kindergartners)
1/29   Planned Substitute Teacher
2/1 Planned Substitute Teacher
2/12   Valentine's Party (in the classroom)
2/15   No School - Holiday
2/17   2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
2/19   Kindergarten Chinese New Year Lunch (Have you turned back your form?)
2/25   Kindergarten 100th Day of School (as long as there are no snow days)
2/27   Forest Park School Auction @ the Downtown Hilton

Have a great week!
Jaclyn

Send In Your Child's Decorated Heart As Soon As It's Ready!

Dear Kindergarten Parents,

This week we will be...
*continuing our handwriting lessons on forming letters
*learning about the silent e and what it usually does to vowels in the middle of the word
*using our senses to discuss what writing workshop should look like, sound like, and feel like
*enjoying another Magic Tree House chapter book adventure with Jack and Annie
*learning about passenger safety and car seats from Safe Routes to School
*beginning our fish studies starting with goldfish this week
*making a panda puppet during an art activity
*finishing our individual Anno's counting books during literacy centers
*using the computer for the first time in technology class
*learning more about the science of snowflakes in our National Geographic
*making equations during our grab and count math activity
*watching a video about giant pandas
*showing respect and curiosity for our Friday sharers:  Zia, Victor, Susan, and Spencer
*library, technology, and P.E.
*and more!

Interactive Read Aloud - This week we are reading a book called Little Panda by Joanne Ryder. It follows the true story of a baby giant panda that was born at the San Diego Zoo in 1999.  We learn about how scientists took care of giant panda in captivity and about their natural habitat in the mountains of Western China. We will talk about how there aren't many around anymore and that they are on the verge of extinction.  Be sure to ask your child about what a baby giant panda is like in its first year of life.

Taiko Drumming Residency- As mentioned in last week's blog, we are looking for some parents to volunteer for our drumming lesson with Taiko in February and March.  We will be drumming on the following days...all from 9:05-9:50...Feb. 18th, Feb. 23rd, Feb 24th, and March 1st.  If you can't make it to all the sessions, that is okay!  We just need to have two volunteers per session.  Please let me know if this is something you are interested in.  Thanks!!

Hearts - Last week each kindergartner at Forest Park took home a heart. Each class is on a different color of construction paper. We are compiling those already turned in and will soon have them in the main school display case for all to enjoy. Please help your child come up with a creative way to decorate them. Kids can use beads, flowers, spices, beans, lace...really anything goes! Don't forget to have your child cut out their heart and put their name on the back of the heart. If you need an extra heart, please let me know as we do have extras.  Thanks!

New Sharing Schedule- It's that time again.  Below is the new sharing schedule.  Please mark in your calendar when your child will be having their show and tell.  Please have your child practice ahead of time what they will be saying about their object.  Each child should always introduce their object and say a couple things about it before asking if the class has any questions about it.
Download Sharing Schedule 1-22 thru 2-19

Take Home Books This Week - There is a delay from the District Print Shop. The black and white copies of the take home books have yet to arrive. We are still doing reading groups at school with the color copies of the books. When the black and white copies arrive, I will send them home. Thanks for your patience.

Chinese New Year Celebration - On Wednesday, a flier went home via purple folder about our kindergarten Chinese New Year lunch celebration. There are specific instructions on the flier for you to fill out regarding your child's lunch that day. We will be celebrating this event as a cultural experience on Feb. 19th. Please return the form in the envelope attached to the flier as soon as you can. There are also instructions on the form about volunteers that would like to help!

Dates to Remember:
1/20   2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
1/27   Kinder Roundup (for next year's kindergartners)
2/12   Valentine's Party (in the classroom)
2/15   No School - Holiday
2/17   2-Hour Delay for Teacher Professional Development
2/19   Kindergarten Chinese New Year Lunch (flier coming home soon!)
2/25   Kindergarten 100th Day of School (as long as there are no snow days)
2/27   Forest Park School Auction @ the Downtown Hilton

Have a great week!
Jaclyn