Mrs Barber's Class

Shutterfly Site

2012-03-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Please remember to check the shutterfly class page for the most recent updates! I try to upload the newsletters there to keep our classroom information private. You can see our photos and calendar there as well!

The final calendar for the PTA reading program is due this Friday.

Thank you!

February 6th-10th Newsletter

2012-02-09T10:18:00.001-08:00

The printed newsletter contains the wrong dates in the footer – my apologies!

The Shutterfly site would not allow me to upload this file, so here is the online version for this week:

February 1

Modes of Transportation!

2012-02-03T11:35:00.001-08:00

We are beginning our new unit on TRANSPORTATION! We’re loving this song this week. :)

Modes of Transportation from Readeez on Vimeo.

We also enjoyed playing this game in our afternoon class: ABC Ya! Build a Car

Have a great weekend!

Free Toothbrushing Chart!

2012-01-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

A Public Service by Dentist Advisor

Our favorite letter song!

2012-01-27T13:38:00.001-08:00

We have been dancing around to this a lot this past week.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Hayden!

2012-01-10T09:25:00.001-08:00

Hear his birthday song here!

Hear all the rest at 1happybirthday.com

Run, run, as fast as you can!

2011-12-07T10:12:00.001-08:00

This week, we had lots of fun with the Gingerbread man! We read stories online here and here! We also read Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. We made our own gingerbread houses with gingerbread babies inside. We also made a huge hallway display of our gingerbread man glyphs. You can read the glyphs using the key posted by our gingerbread house. Come check it out soon!

For more gingerbread fun at home, check out my pinterest page! (Click the pinterest logo below.) You can decorate your own gingerbread houses and men on many different pages or practice re-reading/retelling the story!

Donors Choose–matched donations this week only!

2011-12-05T16:45:00.001-08:00

Please consider donating to my Donors Choose project this week...all donations will be matched if you use the code SPARK - enter SPARK during check-out where it says "I have a gift or match code" - and voila! The donation is automatically doubled.

http://www.donorschoose.org/amanda.barber

Thank you!

Amanda

Marvelous Mice!

2011-12-04T06:39:00.001-08:00

This past week Room 115 was busy learning about the letter M. We also began our holiday study by singing Holiday Alphabet by Dr. Jean, Santa by Dr. Jean (where we learn to spell his name!), and Jingle Bells. We also read Mimi’s Christmas, Santa Mouse and the Ratdeer, and several Laura Numeroff books including If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, and If You Give a Dog a Donut. You can watch If You Give a Mouse a Cookie read by Laura herself at the Barnes and Noble website here!

In our class, we have been working VERY hard at learning all the letter sounds! We have also started sounding out short words. After winter break, we will begin learning sight words, too! We are getting ready to read.

This month, we are learning about AABB patterns. You can practice this at home with small toys or even snacks. Discuss reading the pattern by color/shape and then by letter. You can discuss how the letter A is always the same shape/color and the letter B will always be the same shape/color. There are some great games online to practice, including one at PBS Kids.

For the next week, we will be focusing on the letter C, candy canes, cookies, and The Gingerbread Man (and the many different books with similar stories/characters!)

We are looking for donations of red pom poms (craft supplies), candy canes (for the morning class only), gingerbread cookies, and icing.

Also, please note that if you have a fun activity/craft you would like to come in to play/do with the children on December 23rd, we will be having a small party. Please let me know what you would like to do and I can send out a request to obtain the supplies. If we do not have volunteers or supplies, then we will complete my planned activities.

Home Depot Kids Workshops

2011-11-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, children can make a snowman napkin holder to decorate your table or counter for winter! Check out Home Depot's Kids Workshops here: http://www.homeimproverclub.com/kidsworkshops.aspx

This is a great *free* activity to do with your child, especially now that the weather is getting colder!

Great Free Resource!

2011-11-20T17:47:00.001-08:00

School Sparks offers some great printables for practice at home. We will use some of the concepts and practice sheets at times within our classroom, but they offer so much more than we can squeeze into our short days! They have a free downloadable book that provides ways to work with your child at home and includes many great practice sheets. Check it out by clicking the image below!

Our Vegetable-Filled Week!

2011-11-17T17:11:00.001-08:00

This was a busy week in room 115! We enjoyed visits from two parents in the morning class, a visit from our afternoon volunteer, Mrs. S., and even a visit from our afternoon PTA mom, Mrs. Voegele! We focused on the letter V this week which included lots of activities on vegetables!

We met Miss V and read her book.

We also met Mr. V with his violet vest. You can see a bit of his silly video on youtube:

The children finished creating their handprint turkeys and we discussed other foods we could eat instead of turkey after reading many silly turkey and Thanksgiving books! We also worked on AAB patterns (turkey, turkey, dinner) and numbers 0-5.

Please remember to send the fruit or vegetable you signed up for to our Eating the Rainbow day. We will also be enjoying some student-made pumpkin pie, so children will not need a snack, but may want to bring a drink! There will be no newsletter next week with the very short week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

November Newsletter - 11.14-18.2011

Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinics

2011-11-16T09:54:00.001-08:00

There are two Build and Grow Clinics coming up that look like fun for busy, little hands! Check them out here!

Happy Birthday, Kaiah!

2011-11-04T08:44:00.001-07:00

Another friend turned 5 today!

Happy Birthday, Kaiah! Hear your birthday song here!

Excellent Energy!

2011-11-03T13:52:00.001-07:00

This week, we focused on the letter E.

We met Ms. E and learned about what everyone needs to live in her book on the computer.

We also read Elmer by David McKee. We colored our own Elmer pictures and also used Microsoft Paint to create elmer on the computer. You can practice this at home by going here!

We discussed many ways we can exercise and stay healthy. On Thursday, we discussed how germs can make us sick. We saw how Mrs. Barber’s fake sneeze germs spread quickly. (The germs were actually glitter!) When we high fived our friends, the germs flew everywhere! They went on other hands, on clothes, and even on toys and the carpet – ick! We learned about the best way to wash our hands and sneeze/cough (into our elbow or a tissue) in Germs are not for Sharing.

Check out this week’s newsletter:

November 1

We are looking for clean, clear plastic containers to create I Spy jars. They need to be label-free and clean/dry inside. Thank you!

Happy Birthday, Zoe!

2011-11-02T17:43:00.001-07:00

Listen to Zoe’s personalized birthday song here!

(Or, find your child’s own personalized birthday song!)

E-mail Issues

2011-11-02T04:21:00.001-07:00

The district email accounts are having some technical issues. I am receiving your emails, sometimes delayed, but am unable to respond via email at this time. They are working to resolve the issue. If it is something that requires a response, I will try to send a note home in your child’s folder or give you a call. Thank you!

Parent Observations

2011-10-31T14:08:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder of the parent observation calendar online. Also, if you have not scheduled something with me yet, please let me know when you can come in (preferably before December 23rd!) Thank you!!

Harvest Party

2011-10-26T18:38:00.001-07:00

Thank you to everyone who donated their time, cookies, frosting, plates, cups, juice, candy corn, pumpkins, and even treat bags today. The children are so lucky to have you as their classroom families and I am grateful to work with you!

You can see photos on our shutterfly share site and even upload your own.

I hope the children enjoy their extra days off!

Be safe trick-or-treating!

Pretty Pizzas!

2011-10-25T15:52:00.001-07:00

More pizza faces!

View Full Album

Pete's a Pizza!

2011-10-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

This week we are reviewing all of the letters we have learned so far this year! Today, we practiced the letter P! We read Pete's a Pizza by William Stieg. You can watch the story here:

We then made ourselves into pizzas.

Please remember to send the items for the Harvest Party. Also, please note that there will be no newsletter this week due to the very short week.

Popcorn and PJ’s!

2011-10-21T10:03:00.001-07:00

We had a fun week learning about the letter P! We met Ms. P and colored a pointy patch to match hers. We also read so many great books about pumpkins and Halloween! We practiced sorting books by fiction and non-fiction, too. On Friday, we had a great time wearing our pajamas to school, playing pass the pumpkin, eating popcorn, reading Pinkalicious and Pajama Time! and going to the PTA Reading Program Kick-Off! We also painted the letter P, practiced following directions, and learned a new roll-a-die game. Last, we made a penguin for the letter P.

Next week we will be reviewing the letters we’ve learned so far and having fun at our harvest party on Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who has offered items for our party and their time to help us. I look forward to the party!

Check out photos at our shutterfly site and please remember to add your photos (from the Halloween party or other school activities) to our site!

October 17-21

Free Fun Weekend Activity!

2011-10-19T17:12:00.001-07:00

If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend, you may want to sign up for a Lowe’s Build and Grow activity. They are free and this weekend children can make a monster truck! Click the photo below to register.

Pajamas and Popcorn

2011-10-19T06:15:00.001-07:00

This week, we are focusing on the letter P! Friday, please wear pajamas and we will enjoy a popcorn treat to celebrate all we’ve learned about the letter P!

Fabulous Friday!

2011-10-14T09:34:00.001-07:00

What a busy, fun week we’ve had here in K4!

On Monday, students enjoyed an extra day at home while teachers were hard at work! Tuesday and Wednesday, we started working hard on learning the letter F and its fabulous sound! We also read Ms. F’s book about her funny feet and discussed what our funny feet can do. We are continuing to learn about how to be a good friend. On Thursday, the morning class enjoyed a visit from the West Allis Fire Department. We learned about smoke detectors, items that are hot, and we even saw a firefighter put his suit on. They showed us how they sound and look in their full suit so we won’t be afraid if they ever need to come to rescue us. We read Even Firefighters HUG Their Moms. One of the firefighters answered our question and we determined that YES, even firefighters still hug their moms!

As a center activity, some students made fire trucks out of paper. Others painted houses on fire and we discussed that if a house is on fire you should get out and stay out!

Our class also enjoyed Fire Truck sung by Ivan Ulz many times this week. You can watch it with your child here!

Reminders:

There is no school for students on October 27th and 28th.
Parent/teacher conferences are on October 24th and 25th from 4:30-8:00. Please notify me if you would like to set up a conference; however, we will have a conference after your parent visitation.
We are looking for donations of mini pumpkins for our Harvest party on October 26th. We need 35 pumpkins total. Even if you can only donate a few, we would greatly appreciate them!
Show and Tell is on Friday, October 21st. We have a fall theme. Please bring in one thing that reminds your child of fall.
Book orders are due Monday, October 31st by paper or online. Also, you can get a $5 coupon for scholastic books on some Kellogg’s boxes. Find out more here: Kellogg's $5 Coupons

See this week’s newsletter here: