Young's Kinders : parents

This Friday, we had our first Four Winds program!

Parent volunteers came into our classroom to teach us about nature. This week, we learned about insect life cycles. We learned that caterpillars and grasshoppers are both insects that go through many stages (changes). They both eat a lot and grow and change. We watched a puppet show and then explored our school's garden for insects. Thank you to our parent volunteers! We enjoyed our time with you learning about nature.

Later that day, we wrote recorded our new learning in our Four Winds Science journals. We are real scientists - observing and recording what we see and learn!

As a follow-up activity, we created "butterfly life cycle" posters. These went home in folders on Friday. Ask your child to tell you about the life cycle of a butterfly!

Literacy -

We read many books about insects in preparation of our Four Winds lesson. Through our reading we learned a lot about insects:

insects hatch from eggs
butterfly/caterpillar eggs can be found on leaves
dragonfly eggs are in the water
a dragonfly hatches out as a nymph
baby insects eat and eat and grow and grow
we eat and grow too
insects change as they grow (metamorphasis)
we grow and get bigger, but we don't change like insect do

We compared and contrasted our learning about butterflies and dragonflies using a simple Venn diagram. The common core for kindergarten information text states:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.9

With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Phonics:

Our focus has been on letter knowledge. We are looking closely at the shape of letters so we can sort them by distinctive features. We have sorted magnetic letters by color, those with holes, those with no holes, letters with curves, letters with straight sticks, etc. By handling magnetic letters, children can notice their parts and how they are different from one another. Once the children can identify each letter, they can begin to match letters with the sounds they represent.

Word Wall:

We now have the following words on our word wall: a, I, see, children's names, color words.

We are utilizing the word wall by "borrowing" a word from the wall when we need it to copy for our writing.

Math:

Our primary focus continues to be counting, counting, and more counting. We are learning to represent quantity in many ways: on fingers, with objects, as tally marks, and on ten frames. Interwoven into our math work, we have been building upon the understanding and concepts of:

what comes just after
more vs less
subitizing (recognizing dot patterns automatically)
counting to tell the number of objects

Common Core standards associated with out work:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4
Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4.A
When counting objects, say the number names in the standard order, pairing each object with one and only one number name and each number name with one and only one object.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6
Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.

Welcome Parents! I am very excited to be your child's kindergarten teacher this year. Kindergarten is such a fun, exciting, learning filled year! I am sure you will have many questions along the way. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me! I am here to help.

Beginnings:

Summer is almost over. It is almost time for the school bells to ring again! Your child's first full day of school will be August 26.....only 29 days away! GULP!

In case you did not remember, or misplaced an earlier mailing, K students will come in with their parents for scheduled 20 minute appointments on August 25th. Please call the school to schedule your appointment if you have not yet done so.

Mid-August your child will be receiving a letter in the mail from me! Be watching for this important letter!

School supplies -

Many parents often want to know about supplies their child will need for school. Here are my 2 basics for the beginning of kindergarten:

1. Bookbag -The bag should be large enough for a regular sized folder and extra supplies your child may need to carry. ie: snack, cold lunch, sneakers for gym class, returned library books, extra mittens, etc.

2. A complete set of clothing for your child in a sealed plastic bag. All articles of clothing should be clearly marked with your child's name, as well as having your child's name on the outside of the bag. I recommend a large ziploc bag. This bag of extra clothing will stay at school in your child's cubby. I will send it home with your child over long breaks so that you can change the clothes out if needed.

Birthdays:

Birthdays are very special celebrations for kindergartners. In our class, we celebrate together with cupcakes or cookies sent in by parents. Please contact me as your child's birthday approaches so we can make arrangements.
No cake and ice cream please - finger food only.

Best Wishes for a Great Start:

Parents and students alike can be filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness on the first day of kindergarten. My goal is to help make this the best transition possible. I will do my very best to ensure your child is off to a great start.

On Wednesday, August 26- First Day of Kindergarten- Kindergarten teachers will meet their students near the playground door and lead them to their classrooms. This gives parents a perfect opportunity to wish students well before we begin our day at 8:15. It makes for a smoother transition if you separate from your child by this time. Thank you for your help!

Be looking in your child's bag for their new take-home folder. This folder will travel between home and school almost every night. Be sure to check this folder for student work and other important papers. Please establish a routine with your child of emptying the folder each night it comes home and returning the folder to your child’s book bag so that it is returned to school the following day.