For your Information

I came across this picture and story.  I am not sure how much reliability it has, but knowing that many children do drink these for lunch, etc., I thought it worthwhile to share with you.
Apparently a mother gave this to her child, who spit it out.  She opened the package up to find this.  There was nothing on the outside of the package to indicate anything wrong nor was it past the expiration date.  With this type of juice box, you can not see the contents (as with some others).  This might be something to consider and take it for what you will.

In my opinion, juice is something your child should be drinking on a limited basis anyways.  Juice can often have high amounts of sugar and is not a great choice for your child's dental health.  Your child is much better off eating a piece of fruit.  I would also make sure that if your child is drinking juice, it is 100% juice (often something Capri Sun is not).  As for lunch time, consider water or milk as more healthy options.  Your child can also buy milk from school (I believe for 40 cents) - but I would discuss the choice of regular white milk over chocolate milk (again containing high sugars) with your child.

Ok, I will get off my soap box now :)  I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable break, and we will see you all tomorrow!

100th Day of Kindergarten!

Last week, we celebrated our 100th day of Kindergarten!  Wow, how time flies!  Throughout the day, we did many activities with the number 100:
* counting to 100
* Building to 100 with various materials by making 10 groups of 10
* 100 Day hats with 100 things
* rolling to 100 with a die and 100s chart
* painting to 100 with q-tips
* attempting to write 100 words from around the room

We had loads of fun!

Here is a video that practices counting to 100 that we did together that day:
(A great activity to do at home too!)



Here are some pictures of our 100th day work:

Another digital scrapbooking design by Smilebox

Changes in Schedule

With our ice day on Monday, our schedule has shifted this week.  Our 100th Day of School will now be on Thursday!  Please send 100s collection projects in on or before Thursday.  I am still looking for more volunteers this day from 9:30 to 11:30.

Count Day is tomorrow (Wednesday), so please make sure your child is in school and on-time.

We will push our Valentine's activities until Friday.  Your child may bring his/her valentines on this day.  I am also in need of more volunteers on Friday from 9:30-11:30.  Our school will also recognize NAPID on this day.


February Book orders are due this Friday, February 15th!

Valentine's Day & 100s Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and yes, we will be celebrating!  On Thursday, your child may bring valentines to school, but there are a few teacher stipulations... :)
1.  Your child must bring one for every child in the classroom (see list below)
and
2.  Your child must do the writing/addressing of names.  This is great practice for sight words like to and from, and a great opportunity to write our friends' names.

We will be making simple bag-like mailboxes for valentines, but if you want to work on a special one at home, you are more than welcome!  Here are a couple ideas:
http://www.craftjr.com/valentine-mailbox-ideas/

I am looking for family volunteers next week:
WEDNESDAY (100s Day)
9:30 - 11:30
P.S. Remember the 100s Day projects for this day!  Has your child started collecting?

THURSDAY (Valentine's Day)
9:30 - 11:30

Please send me an email or comment below if you can volunteer during either or both of these times.  Thank you for your support!

  Valentine’s Day Class List by   csangeorzan

Love Legos?

Does your child love Legos?  Legos are an excellent learning toy that reinforce so many concepts for children of all ages: fine motor skills, construction, following directions, design, creativity, and so much more!  If your child does not yet have Legos, I urge you to consider this investment.

I came across this blog post about different learning activities to do with Legos:
CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

100th Day of School Project

One of my favorite days of the school year is quickly approaching - the 100th day of school!  This is a day we dedicate to number sense!  As a part of this celebration, each child is to create their own collection of 100 things to bring to school that day.  There is a lot involved in this project: collecting, counting, grouping, and of course creativity! :)

Here are some examples from past students:

It is best if the project reinforces groups of ten within 100.  A good way to count the objects would be to put them into groups of 10 and then count by 10s.  And yes, your child should be doing the counting! :)  You can also make each group of 10 slightly different.  For example, if your child wants to do 100 stickers, each group of 10 could be a different type of sticker.  You get the idea!  It is also best if you find some way to display the groups of 10 (rather then just putting 100 crayons in a bag).
I also encourage you to build off your child's interest.  If your child just LOVES legos, make a lego structure using 100 legos!
And last but not least, HAVE FUN with the project!

The 100th day of school will be Wednesday, February 13th - so be prepared to send in the project on or before that day.  Happy counting!