Week of 9/13

We've made it to an exciting week in kindergarten, where we start centers, sharing, computer lab, SPARK P.E., and homework!

As a reminder to center helpers, centers run from about 8:45 to 10:00. Please come a little before 8:45 so that you can sign in & get a visitor's badge in the office. Then just come straight to the classroom & you will catch my explanation of the center to the children so that you know what the expectation is. If there is clean-up involved at the end of centers, if you could stay for a bit afterwards to help with that so that things are ready for the afternoon class, I'd appreciate it. Thank you so much-- the schedule for centers each week is posted below, in addition to the link on the right, "Helper Schedule."

Homework will go home in the Blue Bag on Wednesdays and is due back on Mondays. The Blue Bag will have a book inside that I'd like you to read with your child a few times. There is also a homework folder.  On the right side of the folder is the homework pages for the week.  On the left side of the folder are two laminated reference sheets, that stay in the folder all year.  One sheet explains the Blue Bag program, and has a letter formation guide from Handwriting without Tears on the back.  The other sheet has discussion question ideas for when you finish reading the book with your child.  Please keep in mind that the book in the blue bag is not a book that I expect your kindergartner to read alone. These are mostly to be read to your children.  Also, the books in the program are of different genres and themes, and there are both fiction and non-fiction selections. The idea is to expose your children to different types of literature.  If the book is really not a favorite of your child's, just read it once and move onto other books that your child prefers.  Please try to keep the blue bags in a place where the dog won't eat it, food won't be spilled on it, etc.  I'd like to keep them nice for the future years of kindergartners! Finally, please try your very best to always return the blue bag on Monday. Each week, I have to switch the books in each bag & put the new homework in, and I like to start doing that right away. When a bag is missing, I cannot switch the books because each bag gets a book from the previous bag. If your child is absent on a Monday, please send the blue bag with a friend or sibling, if possible. Thank you!

Sharing also begins this week! Our sharing topic this week is Toy in a Bag. Your child should bring one item, hidden in a bag or backpack, with clues attached. The clues are very important and are part of the preparation for this oral language activity. Please work with your child to come up with three clues that will help the other children guess what is in the bag. If you are not sure of your child's sharing day, please click on the link on the right-hand side called "Sharing  Info."  Sharing topics each week are posted under the "calendar" link.

We will continue with our math topic on numbers.  I am especially reinforcing the formation of numbers in handwriting. Some of these numbers are quite tricky to make, so watch that your child is starting at the top and going in the correct direction.

We will also continue with our overview of the alphabet, plus working on rhyming. Letters Pp through Tt will be covered this week. Additionally, we will continue our "Apple" theme with science, art, and math projects involving apples.

I began introducing some of our line strokes last week using the Handwriting without Tears program,  and I also worked individually with each student on his/her name writing.  This week, we will continue working on name-writing, and it will also be reinforced in homework this week. Please watch your children as they write their names in homework and check the handwriting reference guide in the homework folder to ensure that they are forming letters correctly. The sooner they break any bad habits, the better!

Helpers & Activities This Week
Monday: Centers (Johanna & Camille), Sharing
Tuesday: Centers (Lizl &Tanya), Sharing
Wednesday: Computers (Conrad), Sharing, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Centers (Lawrence & Jill), Sharing
Friday: SPARK P.E. (Jill)

Upcoming Events:
9/18: Alta Vista Movie Night
10/08: Field Trip to California Theatre Center
10/17: Walkathon
10/30: No School: Staff Development Day