Week of 5/7

I hope to see all the moms at our Mother's Day celebration this Friday the 11th. We are looking forward to celebrating with all the moms or other "representatives" at 10:00. We have a short presentation of a mini-play and a few songs, and then you can enjoy some treats with your child. This is an event the kindergartners always look forward to sharing with their moms/someone special, so please try to have someone come. Let me know if there are any problems. Thank you!

This Friday is also the Alta Vista Fantasy Faire, and you won't want to miss it! This is a very fun school-wide carnival with game booths and bouncy houses, a cake walk, food, face painting, and a balloon twister. The Faire is from 5:00 to 8:00. Be sure to stop by for some fun! On another Fantasy Faire note, if your child enjoys baking, I encourage you to participate in the cake decorating contest. Bring your cakes or cupcakes to school on Friday morning before 8:15 for the contest. It is really fun to see the cakes and participate in this!

We are busily preparing for Open House, on the night of May 16th.  We will have much on display in our room that night, and the kids are very excited to show off their work. Please plan on attending with your child!  There is a Home & School club meeting that evening in the cafeteria at 6:30, followed by the classrooms being open between 7:00 and 8:00.  Stop by any time during that hour to have your child show off all of his/her projects to you!

Language Arts
We will be studying the word endings ed and id this week. We will be reading and spelling words such as red, bed, led, and hid, bid, did. Our new sight words are where and do. 

Our stories for the next few weeks will center around butterflies as we continue our unit on caterpillars and butterflies. This week, we will focus on The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and begin making our own version of this book in class, which will be on display at Open House.

Math
We are continuing with Module 5, Numbers 10-20. This unit covers number names and counting to 100, as well as foundations for place value. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

Science
We are continuing our unit on the life cycle of a butterfly. We had some real caterpillars arrive in class last week, and we will watch the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.

Upcoming Events
One final reminder to order your child's yearbook if you are interested. The kids usually love having a yearbook, and on the last few days of school, we have time to let them go around and sign each other's books. If you are interested, you must order by May 7th by going to this link.

For your future planning-- please review all dates in the "Upcoming Events" section below. Critical dates (where I'd really like a parent to try to come) are: Mother's Day (Friday the 11th @ 10:00), Open House (May 16th @ 7:00), and the Promotion Ceremony (June 5th @ 9:00). The Promotion Ceremony is our big last "hurrah" together, where we look back on our year & celebrate the children. Also, please be aware that the last day of school, Thursday the 7th, all K classes are on a morning schedule (8:05-11:25)-- there are no celebrations or parties as we will have 44 kids in the classroom and don't have room for any extra bodies!  

Please return your blue bags tomorrow-- the final blue bag will go home this Wednesday the 9th!! After that, please take advantage of our online programs: IXL, Lexia, and RazKids for learning reinforcement.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Jillian), Daily 5, Centers (Anastasia & Mary)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Pauline & Susan H.)
Wednesday: PE with Coach Sierra

Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Tanya & Jillian)
Friday: Daily 5, Mother's Day Celebration @ 10:00, Fantasy Faire @ 5:00

Upcoming Events:
Friday 5/11: Mother's Day Celebration

Friday 5/11: Alta Vista Fantasy Faire 5:00-8:30pm
Wednesday, 5/16: Open House
Monday, 5/28: Memorial Day Holiday
Thursday, 5/31: Art Vista Art Show
Friday, 6/1: Class Party
Friday 6/1: Alta Vista Variety Show
Tuesday, 6/5: Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony @ 9:00-- please attend!
Wednesday, 6/6: School-wide Olympic Day
Thursday, 6/7: Last Day of School