2 Days + Week of 1/8

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful vacation & are rested and ready to get back into the swing of things on Thursday! I wanted to thank you all again for the generous gifts I received before break. I shopped, ate meals out, and had many delicious sweet treats thanks to the Grasshopper families!

Smart Re-Start
We will ease into our first few days back with some fun Fairy Tale STEAM activities. We will build structures that the "Big Bad Wolf" (AKA a hair dryer!) can't blow down, and we will try and find a material to cushion Humpty Dumpty from his fall off the wall. The district calls this week a "Smart Re-Start" to get the kids excited about returning to school.

Language Arts
Next week, we will introduce two new sight words, the and she. We will begin Unit 2 of the Fundations program. The main focus of this unit is blending sounds to read words. We start with CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) three-letter words. We encourage the children to "tap" or "chop" these words into their individual sounds (see the parent letter for explicit directions on how to reinforce this), and then blend those sounds together to both read and spell the words. In this unit, we will also be reviewing the formation of several upper case letters each week. There is only one parent letter for all of Unit 2, which can be found here. There are many valuable resources and ideas for supporting the reading of CVC words in the Unit 2 parent letter, and I encourage you to check it out.  

During the week of 1/8, we will be studying bears. We will write about different attributes and habits of bears and do a few bear-themed crafts.

Math

We will begin Module 4, Number Pairs, Addition & Subtraction to 10. This is a core module in kindergarten, as it provides all the foundational skills to be successful at addition & subtraction. This module will continue for many weeks. Parent tips for this module can be found here.

 

Kimochis

Next week, your child will learn the second Kimochis® Key to Communication: Use a Talking Voice. This key helps children stay aware of how they use the tone and volume of their voice. Sometimes when we have upset feelings, it is easy to yell or use a tone of voice that makes the situation worse instead of better. The lesson will teach your child how to use a Talking Voice rather than a defensive, aggressive, or Fighting Voice. When we feel upset and are able to use a Talking Voice, we raise the odds that others will want to understand our feelings and resolve conflicts. Your child will also learn how to pay attention to the tone of voice of others as a way to understand the emotion behind the words.

Our Social Studies lessons in the TCI program will also focus on solving problems with others in more effective ways.

**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.

**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride.

Week of 1/8 Helpers & Activities
Monday: Centers (Bhavna & Sogol)
Tuesday: Centers (Anna & Sandy)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Bhavna & Sogol), Dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Centers (Sogol & Niki)
Friday: Music @ 12:30

Upcoming Events

12/21-1/3: Winter Break

Thursday, 1/4: School resumes
Monday, 1/15: No School: MLK Holiday
Monday, 1/29: No School: Teacher Work Day
Wednesday, 1/31: 100th Day of School