We had a great first week reading books about showing respect and following rules, and we did a few fun art projects to go along with those books. On Friday, we enjoyed the story, The King of Kindergarten, and made crowns afterward so that we could all be Queens/Kings of Kindergarten. Next week, we will begin formally introducing the letters Aa and Mm. We will not go in alphabetical order in the introduction of letters. We are using an order that allows children to start using the sounds to decode words more easily.
Handwriting/Name Writing
In the upcoming week, we will be focusing on names and letters. We will be creating a book where children will rainbow write their names, as well as reading the story Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom.
During the past week, I have observed that some of the students will
need to work on name-writing skills. One of our kindergarten standards
is writing a name with one capital letter and the rest lower-case. I encourage you to reinforce this at home-- we try and drop the
all-capital letter name writing as quickly as possible. The faster
children can write their names correctly, the easier it is for them to
get going on assignments, as we encourage them to write their names
first. I appreciate your help with this.
In class, your child will be using a program called, "Handwriting
without Tears." This is a wonderful program that really focuses on
correct formation of letters along with correct pencil grip. It is so
important to get in good habits (and in some cases, break bad habits)
with handwriting early on.
Scissor Skills/Fine Motor Tubs
Next week, we will launch our "fine motor tubs," which we work on first thing in the morning. In fact, starting Tuesday, we will no longer line up on numbered circle. Instead, children will go straight into the classroom and start working on their tubs. Either Mrs. Barbara or I will be inside the classroom, and one of us will be at the gate. Your children will want to come early so that they can get started on these tubs, as these are always very popular! They are a great way for us to sneak in some fine motor strengthening activities in a fun way. One skill we will be focusing on is scissor skills. We have noticed that this is another skill that has been quite difficult for a number of students. Continue practicing scissor skills at home by drawing lines on papers to have your children cut on different types of lines.
Classroom Volunteers
Thank you to so many of you for emailing me to volunteer in classroom centers once those begin, as well as Art Vistas & Cornerstone. Once we have more information around when these activities can start, I will send out a Sign-Up Genius for classroom centers. I encourage everyone (with COVID vaccination) to volunteer at least once in classroom centers-- it is truly a great way to get a snapshot of the classroom, meet the other children in the class, and spend some time with your child in the classroom setting. I am hoping we will be able to launch parent volunteers once we extend our day, on September 27th.
One area where I did not receive any specific volunteers (though several who emailed me may be open to it) was a Room Parent. This person will coordinate the class t-shirts, classroom parties, and organize the parents via a class contact list. If you are specifically interested in this position, please email me so that I can forward your name(s) to the Home & School Club for the informational meeting.
For your upcoming scheduling: There is no school on Friday, September 3rd or Monday the 6th.
I am looking forward to another fun week with your children!
