We are excited to have parent helpers start in the classroom this week for centers! We will also send home our first blue bag on Wednesday. Blue bags go home on Wednesdays and are due back on Monday (in case you need the weekend to get in a few good readings of the book). However, the Wednesday envelope, which will now be inside the blue bag, is still due back (empty) on Thursdays, if possible. If you forget, it's ok to send it in on Friday or with the blue bag on Monday.
As a reminder to center helpers, centers run from about 9:50 to 11:00. Please come at 9:50 so that you can sign in & get a visitor's badge in the office. Then just come straight to the classroom-- enter on the playground side (it's unlocked) & you will catch my explanation of the center to the children so that you know what the expectation is. If there is clean-up involved at the end of centers, if you could stay for a bit afterwards to help with that so that things are ready for the afternoon class, I'd appreciate it. Thank you so much-- the schedule for centers each week is posted below, in addition to the link on the right, "Helper Schedule."
This week is "Walk and Roll" week at Alta Vista, sponsored by a program called Safe Routes to School. The idea is to encourage families to try and walk, bike, scooter, or carpool to school, rather than everyone driving a single vehicle. All children will receive a red bracelet on Monday in class (since our class starts earlier than the rest of the school, no need to go by the table-- I already have the bracelets). Your child can wear the red bracelet all week to show support for safety at Alta Vista. There will also be a daily prize drawing for children who walk/bike/scooter to school, but again, since kindergarten starts earlier, you may not have time to make it to the raffle table. In lieu of the prizes, we will have a popsicle party for all students. Please try and participate if you can-- I'm sure you've noticed how crazy the traffic around the school can be in the mornings!
This week, we will begin a unit on apples. Our math, science, and language arts activities will all revolve around apples. I did not hear that anyone had an apple tree, but if you do happen to have access to apples (non-edible is fine) just send them in on Monday. We have purchased plenty of apples, so no need to make a special trip to the store.
MATH:
We will continue with our math topic on numbers. I am especially reinforcing the formation of numbers in handwriting. Some of these numbers are quite tricky to make, so watch that your child is starting at the top and going in the correct direction.LANGUAGE ARTS:
We will introduce letters Gg & Hh plus continue working on rhyming. We will read both fiction and non-fiction books about apples. We will introduce our third sight word, my. You should have received your child's sentence sheet for the word like last Friday. Please have your child read those to you at home. We will also continue working on name writing. We really want to ensure that children are forming the letters in their names correctly, and using only one capital letter. The sooner they break any bad habits, the better. Any reinforcement you can provide at home with this is appreciated.
SCIENCE:
We will look at how the change in seasons affect how an apple tree looks throughout the year. We will begin reading and learning about apples and apple trees.
STEAM: (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math)
We will have our first STEAM centers on Friday. Children will work with Keva Planks, design a marble run, use Osmo, and program a Bee-Bot. We are incorporating STEAM centers into our program once a week, and we look forward to much collaboration, innovation, trial & error, and excitement in the process! For more information on STEM/STEAM (used interchangeably) in the primary classroom, read this article.
AUTHOR VISIT: Pete the Cat author Eric Litwin will be visiting Alta Vista at 1:30 on Tuesday the 12th. If you own any Pete the Cat books, you know that he is a big favorite with kids! Although this is outside of our class time, morning kindergartners are invited back to school to come and see him. Please feel free to bring your kindergartner to the cafeteria on Tuesday at 1:30, but please stay with him or her if you plan on attending. I believe Champions will be bringing the students over to see him.
Helpers & Activities This Week
Monday: Daily 5, Centers (Camille & Celeste)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Sarah B. & Josie), Assembly with author Eric Litwin @ 1:30
Wednesday: Recess 101, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Tanya & Elena)
Friday: Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Mary), Alta Vista Movie Night 6:00 pm
Upcoming Events:
Friday 9/15: Alta Vista Movie Night @ 6:00 pm
Saturday 10/21: Alta Vista Walkathon
Wednesday 10/25: Field trip to Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch
Tuesday 10/31: Halloween Parade & Party
Monday 11/6: Parent-Teacher Conferences begin
Thursday 11/9: No School: Staff Development Day
Friday 11/10: No School: Veteran's Day
