WELCOME TO MRS. BEIER'S     

                       KINDERGARTEN CLASS

                   
                         Happy Mother's Day
               Celebrate all the good things you do!!!! 
Our Units of Study in May and June will include: Spring, Life Cycles, Butterflies, Plant Life, the Ocean, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day.
* In the Ocean Unit, we will be exploring the many plants and animals that live in the ocean.   
* We will also be learning about the life cycles of animals.
* We will be planting sunflower seeds and watching them grow. I will be sending them home. Don't forget to plant them outside in a sunny spot and write about how they are growing in your journal.

Review Needed Skills
Please continue to REVIEW all letter sounds, vowel sounds, word families, memory words, and sentence structure daily.  Have your child read the stories to you that were sent home weekly and the other little booklets we read together in class. 
Have your child write sentences using their popcorn words and spelling words sent home weekly.   Remember when writing, use a finger space in between words, use a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and the proper punctuation at the end of the sentence.

In Math, we have started Chapter 11, Two–Dimensional.  In Chapter 12, we will learn about Three-Dimensional Shapes.  In this chapter your child will learn how to identify cones, how to compare solid shapes and how to identify and describe solid shapes in the real-word.
**Please continue to encourage your child to compare the lengths, heights, weights, or capacities of items around the house.  Look for opportunities in your daily life to count objects with your child and talk about numbers, review calendar math, patterns, 1-to-1 correspondence up to 30, practice writing numbers 1-30, count to 100 by ones, fives and tens and sorting objects around the house.

In Religion - We will celebrate Mary as our Queen and Mother during the month of May.  The children will know why we honor Mary and show their love for her in special ways.  We will be finishing our unit on God's Love by celebrating God's gifts of seeds, butterflies, light, air, joy, and life.  The children will learn that our greatest joy comes from experiencing God's love.
Please continue to pray the "Hail Mary, "Our Father, "The Glory Be".

May- Extra Practice Writing At Home
Many of these exercises say "draw and write". Let the children experiment with writing. Let them sound out words to spell.
If the children do any extra credit work at home, please have them bring it to school for a surprise or special recognition stickers.

1. Write and draw 4 things with the vowel a in the middle position.
2. Write and draw 4 things with the vowel e in the middle position.
3. Write and draw 4 things with the vowel i in the middle position.
4. Write and draw 4 things with the vowel o in the middle position. 
5. Write and draw 4 things with the vowel u in the middle position.
6. Write and draw what plants need to grow. 
7. Write all the upper case and lower case alphabet letters. 
8. Draw an egg with a tiny crack.  Write about the animal inside, trying to hatch out.  What is it thinking?  How is it feeling?
9. Write a story about your favorite part of Kindergarten.  Use words "First", "Next", "Then", and "At last" to guide the story.
10. Write two addition sentences and illustrate.
11. Write two subtraction sentences and illustrate.
12. Write and draw about your favorite ocean animal. 
13. Write and draw about your favorite thing to do at the beach. 
14. Draw a picture of your mom.  Tell me why she is special. 
15. Write and draw a picture of your favorite TV show.
16. Write and draw about your favorite family project this year.

Secret Message - Happy Mother's Day and Memorial Day!                   

~SPRING Books ~
Spring Literature
Are You Spring?  by Caroline Pitcher
As the Earth Turns Spring by Lynn M. Stone
Beginning to Learn About Spring by Richard Allington
and Kathleen Krull
Chicken and Egg by Christine Back and Jens Olsen
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller
Clifford's Spring Clean-up by Norman Bridwell
Dandelions by Mia Posada
Diary of a Sunflower Carol Pugliano  
Egg!  by A.J. Wood
First Day of Spring by Sharon Gordon
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Hamilton Duck's Springtime Story by Arthur Getz  
Hello, Spring by Mary Packard
Henry & Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant
Hopper Hunts for Spring by Marcus Pfister
How Do You Know It's Spring by Allan Fowler
How To Build A home by Maria Fleming
I Love Spring! by Stephen Kroll
I Wish I Were A Butterfly by James Howe
Insects Are My Life by Megan Mc Donald
It's Spring by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko
Let’s Find Out About Spring by Martha And Charles Shapp
Let's Look at the Seasons - Springtime by Ann Schweninger
Marshmallow by Claire Turlay Newberry
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Mrs.Toggle's Beautiful Blue Shoe by Robin Pulver
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
My First Spring by Matthew Lambert 
My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell
Poppleton in the Spring by Cynthia Rylant
Rabbit’s Good News by Ruth Lercher Bornstein
Rain by Robert Kolan
Rain Talk by Mary Serfozo        
Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt
Robin's Home by Jeannine Atkins
Seeds Grow by Angela Shelf Medearis
Simon Welcomes Spring by Gilles Tibo
Spring : An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
Spring Changes by Ellen B. Senisi
Spring Comes to the Ocean by Jean Craighead George
Spring is Here by Taro Gomi
Spring Song by Barbara Seuling
Spring's Sprung by Lynn Plourde
Spring Thaw by Steven Schnur
Step Into Spring - A New Season by Jane Belk Moncure
That's What Happens When It's Spring! by Elaine W. Good
The Amazing Dirt Book by Paulette Bourgeois
The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring by Lucille Clifton
The Easter Egg Artists by Adrienne Adams
The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous
The Great Smokey Mountain Salamander Ball by Lisa Horstwa
The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss
The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaola
The Reason For A Flower by Ruth Heller
The Reason For Seasons by Gail Gibbons
The Robins in Your Backyard by Nancy Carol Willis
The Seed by Eric Carle
The Spring Rabbit by Joyce Dunbar 
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
This Is the Rain by Jane Wattenberg
Turtle Spring by Deborah Zagwyn
Waiting for Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts
What Happens in the Spring by Kathleen Costello Beer
When Spring Comes by Robert Maass
When Summer Ends by Susi Gregg Fowler
When The Earth Wakes by Ani Rucki
When Will It Be Spring by Catherine Walters
Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne RyderWonderful Worms by Linda Glaser