Alphabet Books

Dear Parents,
The best thing you can do for your child in regards to their literacy journey is to read to them everyday. Read the book then let your child retell the story to you. Have them read the pictures and try to read some of the words. These are all ways for them to read a book. It is important for them to have "Good Fit Books." Good fit books for kindergarten students are picture books, books with a few words to a few sentences on each page. I have asked the children if they have alphabet books at home and many have told me that they do not. I encourage you to have alphabet books available for your child at home to read.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Information

Dear Parents,
We have had a great week building stamina in reading and writing during Daily 5. We are up to 17 minutes in reading and 15 minutes in writing. This means that as a whole group with children are working on these skills uninterrupted.WOW! I am really proud of the kids! I hope that you have had a chance to introduce your child to First In Math the online program that makes learning math fun  and enjoyable. Your child's information was sent home last Friday in your child's red folder. Some of the kids told me that they have been working on  it at home. That is awesome! September homework is due on Monday and we will be celebrating next week those who turned in their homework. October homework calendars and goals are in your child's Friday folder. The expectation is that you are working with your child at home on these activities and goals.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Great Week

Dear Parents,
We had a great week in room 23. I am so pleased with how well the children are doing. Many important items are in your child's Friday folder so be sure to read it with them.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Great Week

Dear Parents,
We had a great week in kindergaten. I am so excited with how well we are doing.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs. Catton

Items

A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Soultz and Mrs. Gillihan for sending in some items to put into our "store" so the kids can go shopping on Friday. They are going to be so excited to see some new items to choose from.  We will be doing this activity all year long so feel free to send in items anytime that you are willing and able. Be sure to look through your child's Friday folder this week as Progress Reports are inside.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Great Morning!

I just had to tell you about our great morning. The kids are doing a great job with the morning routine and we are quickly moving on to Daily Five. We reached our Reading to Self goal of 11 minutes today and I was able to work individually with three children on letter recognition. I encourage each of you to have alphabet books for your children at home to read! We ran out of time during Writing because we had to go to lunch. When I rang the chimes to have the children put up their journals I heard "I'm not done yet." That was music to my ears so we will go back to writing after recess. Any prizes for our "store" on Friday is GREATLY appreciated.
Have a lovely day as we are here in room 23.
Mrs. Catton

Library Books

Dear Parents,
Please encourage your children to keep the library book that they checked out more than one day. Many books  come back the next day and when I ask them who read them the book. They say no one has read it  to them yet.  Library is on Wednesday and the books do not have to be returned until the following Wednesday. I also encourage them to practice building stamina by reading the book at home. They chose the book so it is obviously something they wanted to read.  If you read them the book they can retell the story, read the pictures, and read  some of the words. You could look for sight words in print, read a sentence and have them repeat it, etc. We did this today with the big book Buttons Buttons and they were so excited to be reading! We are busy building stamina. We are up to 9 minutes in reading and 6 minutes in writing. I am so excited about their progress. We made a list of possible fish names for our new class pet (model writing)  and Mrs. Parsons got to choose her favorite. Its name is Happy Feet.  HELP!!!!!!!I am looking for donations of prizes for the children to "buy" at the end of the week if they earn 5 sticks (one for each day of the school week) for following classroom procedures. Some suggestions are toys from fast food kids meals, small toys from the dollar store or dollar sections, etc. I am really pleased with how this is working with this class. Many of them are earning 5 sticks and the ones who are not are quickly figuring out that they can if they choose to do the right thing. I would greatly appreciate your joining  me as a friend on my blog so I know who is reading them. As of right now this is the only way to communicate in mass to my parents.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Next Week

I am going to be out of town next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My assistant Mrs. Frick will be taking the lead while I am gone. I have a few parent volunteers coming in to give her a helping hand. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Manley, Mrs. Gillihan and Mrs. Lahey for volunteering to come in and assist her. If you would like to come in just let me know and we will get you scheduled. On Tuesday we learned about Music Smart and today was Body Smart. Tomorrow we will learn about Nature Smart. I have a surprise for the kids in celebration of learning the 8 Smarts. The 8 Smarts are Art Smart, Self Smart, People Smart, Music Smart, Logic Smart, Word Smart, Nature Smart, and Body Smart.  You will want to ask them Mrs. Catton brought in for them to observe. The Daily Five is going great. We are busy building stamina and we are up to six minutes.  Please do not send in ice cream money until Friday. Thank you
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

IMPORTANT

Dear Parents,
Our email is down at this time so if you need to contact me please call the  school  office at 352-1243. Today I explained a positive behavior program to the children that I will be using this year.  The children will have the opportunity to earn a stick if they follow the classroom procedures that day.  (You received a copy of the classroom procedures in the Friday Folder sent home last Friday.)  Each child has an envelope with their name on it displayed in the religion center.  At the end of the week if they have five sticks in their envelope they will get to choose a small gift from a prize basket. I conference with each child as I hand out Friday folders to discuss how their week went and at this time they will get their prize. Beginning this Friday, weekly progress reports will be in Friday folders and I will note on the report how many sticks your child earned to help you  a facilitate discussion with your child. No child will ever lose a stick! They can only EARN sticks.  I believe in postivie reinforcement. The children were so excited when I explained this program to them. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Mrs. Catton

Off to a great start!

I am so pleased with the first two weeks of school. We will finish introducing the Eight Smarts this week. To date we have introduced Word Smart, People Smart, Self Smart, Picture Smart and Number Smart.  I want the children to understand that everyone is smart in their own way. We learned a song that we have been practicing at the beginning of each morning. Ask them if they can sing some of it for you.  PLEASE go through your child's backpack daily and Friday folder with them. There is some very important information in there this week. Thank you so much for sending lunch money for tickets in an envelope with what you are wanting to purchase.  It makes it some much easier for the volunteer to figure out what you are wanting for your child. Keep track of how many tickets were purchased and used. If you have any questions about what your child has left just email me or send me a note.  I encourage you to start letting your child walk into the building independently. If you drop your child off before 7:20 they will need to walk to the office and wait there. The tardy bell rings at 7:30. The children are counted tardy if they are not in the room. If you are running late and know your child is tardy, they will need to go to the office to get a Late Slip.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton