Great Kindness Challenge
Last week was the "Great Kindness Challenge" in Union School District, and I was so impressed by how fully our kindergartners embraced the challenge. I encouraged the children to report the kind acts they had done during the week and then take a "kindness loop." We built a chain in our classroom as children continued adding loops through the week. Our goal was to get the chain all the way across the whiteboard, and I am pleased to say we went way beyond that! The week was very inspirational and I hope you saw (and will continue to see) many kind acts being completed at home.
Language Arts
This week, we will focus on the sound ee as in tree, see, and bee. We will be learning the sight word are. We are now up to 30 sight words. Please check the sight word link on
the website and make sure that your child knows the words we've
introduced, as this is a heavy emphasis at this time.Our story this week will be The Mitten by Jan Brett. We will study some of the animals in these stories, and do some non-fiction reading and writing about them.
Math
We are continuing with Module 5 this week: Numbers 10-20; Count to 100 by 1s and 10s. We will be breaking teen numbers into "a ten and some ones," continuing to use number bonds and ten frames to model teen numbers as a ten and some ones, and continuing to reinforce counting to 100 by 10s and 1s, which we've been doing on a daily basis during calendar time. Parent tips for this module can be found here.
Upcoming Events
Alta Vista STEAM Night:
This Tuesday, February 4th, bring the whole family out to the Alta Vista Makerspace from 6:00 to 7:30 pm for an evening of STEAM! There will be many different activities both in and around the Makerspace. It is always a great evening of learning and fun.
Global Play Day:
This Wednesday is Global School Play Day. This is an opportunity for children to enjoy playing some non-electronic games together. Similar to our holiday party, please have your child bring in a game (if they'd like to-- we really only need a few games) that is easy for them to teach to other children and can be played in around 15 minutes or less.
Valentines Day:
On Friday, February 14th, we will be celebrating Valentine's Day in class. This is not a party, but we will be passing out valentines. Just a reminder again that in kindergarten, we have the kids sign their valentines, but we do not have them write who the valentine is "to." This makes distribution much easier. Please send in 20 valentines so that there are enough for each child in the class. We have 9 girls and 11 boys. I know that many store-bought valentines come with candy attached. However, please consider candy-free valentines due to allergies in the class as well as candy overload. Valentines with stickers or tattoos, etc., are greatly preferred and homemade cards and messages are wonderful. Thanks!
See you all Monday, Blue Bags in hand!
This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Blue Bags returned, Daily 5, Centers (Tiffany & Doreen)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Claire & Jessica)
Wednesday: Daily 5, P.E., Global School Play Day, Music, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Gomathi & Ashwin)
Friday: Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Carlene & Hema)
Upcoming Events:
1/28-2/01: Frozen Play presented by AV Drama Club Tuesday 2/04: STEAM Night @ 6:00
Wednesday 2/05: Global Play Day
Friday 2/14: Valentine's Day Family Dance
2/17-2/21: President's Week Vacation
3/5-3/13: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Monday 3/16: Professional Development Day: No School
