We had another great week in K2, culminating in the apple-themed STEAM Day, from which I sent out a video to you last week. I hope you were all able to view it!
This Tuesday is a district-wide "no homework night." Since our homework bags are due on Monday, we don't typically have homework in kindergarten on a Tuesday anyway, but the intent of "no homework nights" is that you enjoy some family time, like a game night, an evening walk, etc. If you have older students, nobody should have homework, so I hope you do something fun as a family!
Wednesday the 28th is another school-wide Spirit Day. The theme is "Wacky Wednesday." Children can wear silly clothes and hats, backwards clothes, etc. Participation is totally optional. Since we normally do Grasshopper t-shirts on Wednesday, your child can decide whether or not s/he wants to wear it that day. However, we still do have P.E. with Coach Sierra, so please make sure that the Wacky outfit is one that they can participate in P.E. with.
This Friday is Picture Day. The order forms went home in last week's Wednesday envelope. You can either order online, or send in the order form with your child. Please make sure that you place your order by Friday, at the latest. The kids need to have their order envelopes in-hand (or an online order place) on Friday. Typically, they take the kindergarten picture right away so that you don't have to worry about clothes getting messy at snack or recess. :)
Language Arts:
We have begun introducing the sight words (also called high-frequency words). So far, we have introduced I and like. This week, we will introduce my. These are words that the children should know instantly, by sight, when the words are shown to them. Many of these words cannot be sounded out. There is a link on this webpage (called "High Frequency Word List") that has the list of sight words so that you can begin practicing with your child. We have also begun sending home a list of sentences for your child to read to you that have the sight words. Every time they read the sentences, they color a star at the bottom of the page. The first of these sight word sentence sheets should come home in this week's Wednesday envelope. There are 40 words that we will be covering this year. Words that have an asterisk next to them are words that I've introduced in class. I will be assessing the children on these words each trimester for report card information, and they continue using the sight words in first grade (their list has 100 words), so these are important words to master. If your child has already mastered the 40 kindergarten words, you can find the first grade words here.
This week's letters are Kk and Ll. We continue to use Heidisongs Singalong Songs for Letters to introduce/review the letters and sounds. If you'd like to offer further reinforcement at home, information on this DVD (it can also be streamed on Vimeo) can be found here.
This week's sharing will be "Letter of the Week share" for Kk or Ll. This is similar to toy share, except that the item hidden in the bag has to start with Kk or Ll. Remember that if you aren't sure of your child's sharing day or need more information about the sharing topic, to please go to the sharing link on the website.
Math:
We are still working our way through Module 1 in Eureka Math, "Numbers to 10." We are in the section "Numerals to 5 in Different Configurations." You can find a link for helping your children at home here.
Science:
We have begun our FOSS Science unit on trees. On Friday, the children went around the school and looked at two different trees during center time. This week, they will be learning the parts of trees and talking about how trees change during the different seasons. We will also be putting together some tree puzzles.
I want to remind you again that the Walkathon is coming up quickly on Saturday, October 15th! The children will do a practice lap with me some time before the 15th. The practice lap will give them a sense of where they will be walking and how big the lap is, and they will also earn their first "foot," which they will receive the Friday before the walkathon. The children will be collecting these plastic feet on a necklace on the day of the event. Every five laps at the walkathon, they add a foot to the necklace chain. When the children come to school on Monday following the Walkathon, they love to wear the necklace to show-off all the laps they completed! You can continue registering your children and checking our progress on the walkathon website: http://www.altavistawalkathon.org I hope you are all planning to come out for the Walkathon-- it is a great community event & your child won't want to miss it.
Remember your child's Blue Bag tomorrow, with the homework folder inside the bag :)
This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Ting), Centers (Anna R. & Annie), Sharing
Tuesday: Centers (Claire K. & Anna G.), Sharing
Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday, Recess 101 with Coach Sierra, Sharing, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Centers (Susan & Alison), Sharing
Friday: Picture Day, STEAM Centers (Marylu), Sharing
Upcoming Events:
Wednesday, 9/28: "Wacky Wednesday" Spirit Day
Friday 9/30: Picture Day
Monday 10/10: Field trip to see a play
Saturday 10/15: Alta Vista Walkathon
Friday 10/28: Halloween Parade & Party
Monday 10/31: No School: Staff Development Day
Saturday 10/15: Alta Vista Walkathon
Friday 10/28: Halloween Parade & Party
Monday 10/31: No School: Staff Development Day
11/1-11/10: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Friday 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day
Friday 11/18: Friendship Feast
11/21-11/25: Thanksgiving Vacation
Friday 12/16: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performances
