We hope you are getting used to the new schedule after "springing forward." Please ratchet back those bedtimes accordingly tonight, or we will have some tired children all week long ;)
The upcoming week is a review week in language arts. We will start to have many more of these, as we have now learned 19 of the 26 letter sounds. We will be reviewing Dd & Zz this week, as well as reviewing for and have. From our expanded word list (those that are also covered in first grade) we will introduce the words of and not.
We will continue with a math review also. We will continue to cover the concepts of addition, subtraction, and number sense. Overall, we are very impressed with how well the children are understanding these topics. Thank you so much for all the reinforcement you've been providing at home!
The kids continued to enjoy our science unit, "Wood & Paper," this past week. We checked the absorbency of different woods and sawdust and even made our own particleboard. We will continue with a few more exciting lessons before conferences start next week.
This week's sharing is Song, Poem, or Nursery Rhyme. Children should be prepared to recite a short song or poem. If they are stuck for ideas, they can always sing a favorite Alphafriend song. Songs & poems in other languages are always welcome and enjoyed!
This Wednesday, your child will bring home a special homework assignment. We will be building leprechaun traps! Get creative and have fun-- traps are due next Monday the 16th, along with the Blue Bag journal (there will be no other homework this week). There will be more specific directions in the Blue Bag this week, but we do ask two things-- that the traps not contain any unwrapped food items (we've had trouble with ants in the past!) and that the traps are not overly large-- shoebox sized is perfect. We have to store traps from both the a.m. class & the p.m. class, and it gets tricky if we have huge traps. Plus, we're only catching tiny leprechauns :) It's exciting to see the children's creations, and they are so proud to share and talk about how their trap will work. On Monday next week, they will have that opportunity. They will share their design with the class and tell us how it will hopefully catch a leprechaun! Then, we will all come in next Tuesday (St. Patrick's Day) and see if we were successful!
For the Campo di Bocce auction/fundraising event, a final reminder that bidding begins Sunday the 8th at 10:00 a.m. The kindergarten movie night, which will be held on April 24th (note the date change!) from 5:00-7:00 p.m. should be a popular item. Bid early if you'd like your child to participate. We did add an 11th ticket per classroom (4 more tickets) that are not "buy it now." These last 4 tickets will be auctioned off at whatever price people are willing to pay. If you want to lock in the $40 price, bid early, but if you miss out on the $40 tickets, know that there are 4 tickets that will be auctioned for the remainder of the week, until the auction closes on Wednesday the 11th at 9:00 pm. We would prefer the movie night tickets to be for current Alta Vista kindergartners.
Parent-teacher conferences begin Thursday the 19th. If you have forgotten your date/time, please e-mail me. There will be no centers the week of 3/15 or the week of 3/22 due to Mrs. Sheikh's and my conference schedule.
Please note a new event below in the "upcoming events." On Thursday, April 2nd, we will have a fun celebration called Spring Fling. This is an annual kindergarten event. Children will participate in many special spring-inspired centers, starting shortly after opening in each session. There will be spin art, seed planting, outside games and activities, etc. We will need many parent volunteers to run the centers on this day, so please plan on joining us if you are able. Email us if you'd like to help with Spring Fling.
Please remember to send in your child's Blue Bag tomorrow. It really makes it MUCH easier to get the bags ready again for Wednesday if they all come in on Monday. Thank you!
Upcoming Events:
3/14: Bocce Ball Fundraiser at Campo di Bocce
3/19-3/27: Parent-Teacher Conferences
3/25: March's Wacky Wednesday
4/2: Spring Fling
4/3: No School: Staff Development Day
4/6-4/10: Spring Break
4/29: Wacky Wednesday & Field Trip to Emma Prusch Farm
5/5: All-Kindergarten Cinco de Mayo dance @ 11:15
5/8: Mother's Day Tea-- moms, mark your calendars!
