Rudolph, Rudolph

With Christmas right around the corner, finding the right gift for everyone on your list can be quite challenging. Relieve yourself from some of that gift scavenging stress and enlist the help of your child. Encourage your child to help you make books to give to relatives, friends, and neighbors. Books are a great way to show off creativity and some of your child's newly acquired reading and writing skills.

Need a good book idea? Check out Rudolph, Rudolph and print out a copy for yourself. All your child needs to do is color Rudolph's nose the color outlined on each page and voila!...one gift is checked off your list.

Have a family member that lives far away? No problem, just check out Vocaroo and record your child reading the book and send it via e-mail or text to your loved one. You can also Skype friends and family, that way your child can read and show off his/her hard work at the same time.

It's a Cuba Cub Christmas!

With Christmas fast approaching, I know that your "To-Do List" is probably getting as long as mine. I wanted to post several holiday events that will be taking place at school in the next few days to help you juggle all the little extras that seem to go hand-in-hand with this season.

• The Christmas Ball will take place on Friday, December 16th beginning at 6:00 p.m. and ending at 8:00 p.m. The admission fee is $2.00 or FREE with a canned food item. The PTO is asking for the students to bring in donations for refreshments. Kindergarten students are asked to bring in chips and dip.


• Polar Express Day will be Monday, December 19th. We ask that each student wear his/her pajamas to school that day to help celebrate a wonderful piece of childhood literature.


• Tuesday, December 20th will be the last day of school before Winter Break. On this day we will be having both our Christmas Program and our Christmas Party. Our program will take place at 9:00 a.m. and will last approximately an hour. Our Christmas Party will begin at 12:30 p.m. Please remember to send in a $5.00 gift with your child on this day.

We have had a wonderfully successful school year so far--thank you for all of your support! Merry Christmas:)

Halloween Safety Video

Check out this video with your child and review safety rules before Trick or Treating this year:)

Red Ribbon Week

This week is Red Ribbon Week. The Red Ribbon Campaign was started when drug traffickers in Mexico City killed DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying Red Ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the Red Ribbon Campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a DRUG-FREE AMERICA.

Red Ribbon Week bracelets will be given to each child, and we would like for them to be worn each day. To show support of a DRUG-FREE AMERICA, please have your child participate in all of the week's fun activities. Thank you!

Monday: "These PAWS Don't Touch Drugs" Cuba Pride (Wear Cuba Shirts)

Tuesday: "Be All You Can Be, Drug Free" (Wear Camo)

Wednesday: "My Future is Bright, Shade Out Drugs" (Wear Sunglasses)

Thursday: "Team Up Against Drugs" (Wear Your Favorite Sports Team)

Friday: "Put a Cap on Drugs" (Wear a Hat)

Vowel or Consonant?

Watch this great video with your child and then play the "Vowel or Consonant Game?" using a set of homemade alphabet flashcards (made out of index cards). Each correct answer is worth

1 pt. The kids LOVE this video in class!

Reading Eggs

Our school has registered with Reading Eggs, an online program designed to motivate and excite your child about reading. Reading Eggs is custom designed to meet your child's individual educational needs. When the program was first introduced at school each child was given a fun reading assessment and then placed on a learning MAP that matched their current level of development. So now each child is moving at his or her own pace and working on personal goals to increase reading proficiency. This program is now available to you at home! Your child will be able to practice what they have learned in class, and you can view their progress. Tomorrow each child will receive a login card with username and password information. Please keep this information and use it to access Reading Eggs at your convenience. If you would like to learn more about this program visit http://readingeggs.com.

What's That in Your Mouth?

Whole Alphabet in My Mouth

View more presentations from Melissa Bazzell

We use this slide show during Language all the time! The slide show is used while we sing an alphabet song to the tune of, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." It goes like this:

I've got the whole alphabet in my mouth,I've got the whole alphabet in my mouth,

I've got the whole alphabet in my mouth,

And I can read!

I've got A /a/ /a/, in my mouth,

I've got B /b/ /b/, in my mouth,

I've got C /k/ /k/, in my mouth,

And I can read!

The tune is the same throughout the whole song. Go ahead, try it with your child!

"The" Song

Use this song to help your child learn the sight word "the"--it is very effective! The first few seconds are very repetitive, but then it gets going:) This is always one of the hardest sight words for the students to remember, but this video helps tremendously.

I Can Read!

This week we will be talking about how letter sounds work together to make words. We will begin with 2 and 3 letter words. A great way to help your child gain confidence with reading is to have him/her read a book several times. Point out words that are used over and over again. Encourage your child to "sound out" the words that he/she doesn't know. Make sure to point at each word as it is read--this helps with tracking print, which will become increasingly difficult as the text on the pages increases.

Click here for this week's Decodable Reader! If your child is not yet ready to read independently, you can still read the book out loud. After the book reading play "I Spy" and look for letters on the page, count the number of words on each page, and clap out the syllables of the longest words.

Back to School Dance & Beach Party

Make sure to attend the party tomorrow night in the Cuba Elementary gym from 6:00-8:00 p.m. To help celebrate we will be dressing for the event during school hours tomorrow. Encourage your child to wear their flip flops, Hawaiian shirts, and tropical accessories to school. Hope to see you here!

Scholastic Book Club

Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GQ6M6

Dear Parent,
Now it's easier than ever to find the perfect books for your child -- shop our NEW online Book Clubs Web site. Choose from a much-wider selection of books than in the printed flyer. Plus, you can send your orders directly to me online and use your credit card to pay.
Best of all, we earn a FREE book for the classroom library every time a parent places an order online.* It's so simple! Here's how it works: SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Register" button in the "First Time Here?" section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This unique code ensures that your order is sent to me. SELECT the books you'd like to order -- choose from thousands of titles -- many more than in our monthly flyers.
SEND your order to me online by the due date and your child's books will be delivered directly to my classroom. Ordering online is fast, easy, and secure. Of course, you can still order using the form from the printed flyer (which will be sent home tomorrow) if you would rather. Thank you and Happy Reading:)

Homework

This week marks the first week of our kindergarten homework packets. Typically, homework packets will be sent home on Mondays and will be returned on Fridays. There is a half sheet of homework to complete Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings each week. Many of these activities contain a hands-on activity, that can be easily completed with materials found in your home environment, and a written activity. In a couple of weeks we will begin sending home Reading Kits. These Reading Kits will be in addition to your weekly homework packet. The Reading Kits contain a leveled reader and a sight word ring. In total, your nightly homework, which will include your homework packet and Reading Kit should not exceed 20 minutes. This is just enough time to review the content learned from the day and share it at home. If you have any questions regarding our homework policy please don't hesitate to contact me.

Clothespin Spelling

A great activity to get ready for school. This activity is wonderful for helping your child learn to spell his or her first and last name or to learn sight words. For this activity you will need paint sticks (I got mine at Lowe's) and clothespins. Write your child's name or sight words (see sight words tab for list) on the paint sticks (front and back.) Write 1 letter of the word on clothespins until the word is spelled. Store the sticks with the matching clothespins on them. The kids choose a stick, remove the clothespins one at a time and them put them back. The child should then write the word on the recording sheet. The child should say the letters as they take the clothespins on and as they take them off.

Click here for the recording sheet.

Great Video!

This is a great video to watch with your child! It's a good preview of what their day will be like as well as an awesome review of some of the letters of the alphabet--check it out.

Open House

Open House will be on Wednesday, August 3rd from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Please come by anytime during those two hours and meet me, look around your classroom, get your school supply lists and goody bags! I will also be here to answer any questions that you may have regarding this year. If you have any questions beforehand you may e-mail me @ Melissa.Bazzell@Graves.kyschools.us. I'm looking forward to a wonderful year!

Language Game

If you want a fun way to practice language skills at home--try out My Jeopardy Template . Divide your family into teams and decide on a winning prize (losing team has to cook, do laundry, wash the cars, etc.).

Consonant or Vowel?

Spelling City

We have a new online resource for students. This online resource is completely free! I will be loading new spelling lists each week for the students to practice. In kindergarten we do not have formal spelling tests, but they will have tests in 1st grade. I am utilizing this online resource to help them practice for next year. It is hard to believe that there is only 11 school weeks until they move up!
To access this resource go to www.spellingcity.com. Click on the “Find a List” tab at the top of the page and then search by teacher name. Enter my entire name (Melissa Bazzell). The current lists will pop up and be available. Games and printable activities will be available to you and your child. Feel free to work on any of the lists.