The 'Ville: School Days: K Third Nine Weeks {Riley}

Riley went back to kindergarten on January 4, after two weeks off. They jumped right back into learning. Here’s a recap of what they did during their third nine weeks.

In ELA, they completed three more SuperKids units.

They continued to learn lots of wacky words, as well as spelling words. They had five spelling tests; Riley did great on all of them. His grasp of spelling is really impressive. And his handwriting has improved so much. We are so proud of him.

They learned how to blend the sounds of two letters together, such as “sh,” “th,” and “ch,” and they talked about rhyming words. They also worked on building and reading sentences.

They did a lot of handwriting activities, and I loved seeing Riley’s work on those. His New Year’s resolution did not surprise me: he wants to work for Grandma and do chores so he can buy Legos from Toys ‘R Us. And Riley loved getting to bring Macaroni to school again for Buddy Bear Day in February, although he did take him outside during recess and get him filthy. The Mardi Gras writing project was displayed at Open House; he has come so far since then. Good to know that he likes to catch golden beads, doubloons, money, and green beads at the parades, though.

This rainbow project especially impressed me, although it did take me a minute to figure out what yellow is for (pencils). I also loved that Riley said he will show his love by helping his dad make his bed for 40 days. (Has this actually happened? No. But he has made a pretty good effort.)

In math, they completed units about shapes, patterns, simple addition and subtraction.

In religion, they talked about appropriate behavior during mass, Jesus as God the Son, His miracles, following Him, the Corporal Works of Mercy, faith and trust, Noah’s Ark, and Lent.

They learned about lots of different holidays, including King’s Day, Groundhog’s Day, and President’s Day. They did a number of fun art projects, too. They made snowmen and snowflakes, made Mardi Gras masks, and made “Rr” pictures out of rainbow rice.

In January, Riley’s terrific ticket was picked so he got to sit at Mrs. Allison’s desk to do his work. Then the very next day I surprised Riley and his class as the first mystery reader of the year (they LOVED The Book with No Pictures). They had a fun crazy hat day; Riley picked a silly Mardi Gras jester hat to wear. They also celebrated Catholic Schools Week and their 100th day of school. Whew!

They had kingcake every Friday leading up to Mardi Gras. Stewart’s mom Mrs. Kristen also came in as a mystery reader and helped them make a bead tree for their classroom. They learned about England during Global Awareness Week the first week in February, right before Mardi Gras break. Kindergarten presented the clothing of England, and Riley got to wear an authentic youth-sized England National Team soccer kit passed down to him from Nicholas and James. So special!

They attended the PK4 parade the Friday before Mardi Gras. I was off having fun with Jackie in the Quarter, but Dana took good care of my boy. And they got to see Alcee ride in her wagon float and catch some stuff from her.

They exchanged valentines with each other the day they came back after Mardi Gras break. Riley gave each of his friends a York and his teachers a glass measuring cup filled with candy. And he brought home a special Valentine’s writing project. I’m so glad to know that he loves us as much as a spider loves to spin a web and eat flies for dinner. So very sweet.

They had a visit from Ronald McDonald the first week of March and also celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday with some fun centers and activities.

And they also had a special morning with their moms that week: Muffins with Moms! Just like Donuts with Dads, but with moms and muffins. Kenny and lots of other wonderful dads came to help serve blueberry muffins, juice, and milk to the moms and their kids. We had a really nice time. And the kids even made us a special memento: our own muffin to take home with us. I’m glad to know that Riley thinks I’m the best because I give him hugs and his milk. Very sweet.