We hope that the journal writing has gone successfully this week. Our goal is that the children are excited about writing, not stressed out by it, so please let us know if there were any problems. A few other reminders about the journals:
- Writing should always be in PENCIL.
- Above the writing, in the blank box, children should draw a neat, (at least) four-color picture.
- Encourage your children to spell high-frequency words that we've introduced correctly.
- Please DO NOT copy a sentence from the book.
We have a new letter this week: Gg. The Alphafriend is Gertie Goose. We also have a new high frequency word: go. We have begun our new math topic on numbers 10-20. Numbers in the teens can sometimes be difficult for the children to identify, so if you feel your child needs some reinforcement with these, make some flashcards and practice at home. By the end of the year, children should be easily able to recognize, write, and count up to numbers 0-30. This week's sharing is Homemade Item-- no clues necessary for this one-- the kids just tell about how they made the item.
We have Martin Luther King's birthday holiday coming up. We will be talking about him in class and doing some art projects. When we discuss MLK, we will discuss some of the discrimination that took place in the past, and how he helped change that. So if you hear your children asking questions about that, you will know why. We try to keep it fairly simple in kindergarten in terms that they can understand and relate to.
We still need a few I Love to Read calendars from December. Please send those in tomorrow's Red Bags, or e-mail Manami/Margaret your child's minutes. The presentation is this Thursday. Thanks!
You will be getting a permission slip in your Wednesday envelope this week for our first field to the California Theater Center in Sunnyvale to go and see a play! Details will be in the Wednesday envelope. Please fill out the permission slip & return it as soon as possible. Children will ride a school bus to Sunnyvale, see the play, and ride back to Alta Vista.
We have SPARK P.E. this Friday. Please remember to send your children in sneakers, and let's also wear our Grist/Sheikh Great White Sharks shirts!
Helpers/Activities This Week:
MONDAY: Red Bags Due, Centers (Melanie & Tammy), Sharing, Library
TUESDAY: Centers (Manami & Margaret), Sharing
WEDNESDAY: Red Bags/Weds. Envelopes prepped (Karla/Derek/Angie), Sharing, Computers (Matt), Red Bags go home (due back Tuesday next week)
THURSDAY: Centers (Kristi & Arden), Sharing, I Love to Read (Margaret & Manami)
FRIDAY: Sharing, SPARK P.E. (Tim, Margaret, Megan/Mark)
Upcoming Events:
1/13: I Love to Read Presentation
1/17: No School: MLK Holiday
2/4: Field trip to CA Theater Center to see a play
2/7: Snow Day
Week of 2/20: No School: President's Week
