Week of 8/30

Thank you for signing up for afternoon assessments so quickly. I believe I have nearly all students who don't attend USD Extended Care signed up. I look forward to working with Extended Care students starting this week, as well as all other students next week.

Thank you also for returning the Wednesday envelopes on Thursday. I got all of them back right away! These will be a weekly item to look for in your child's backpack each Wednesday.

Morning Procedures 

 A reminder again that once the 8:15 bell rings, we will close Gate F. Children (with parent) who arrive after the gate is closed will need to go around the school to the front office to get a tardy slip. Do not enter through the Extend Care gate or other gates at the school.  Kindergarten students often get "lost" if they enter school from an unfamiliar gate/area. If they haven't checked in at the office, we have no way of knowing they are wandering around on campus looking for their classroom. Also, if your child forgets something (watter bottle, lunch bag, etc.) please leave those items by Gate F from now on, clearly labeled with their name. When we go out at recess, we will check the gate to see if any items are there. This is easier for us than leaving things in the office. We can see the items right away and get them when they are needed if they are at Gate F.

Language Arts 

This week is a review week with the letters & sounds. We will review the letters we've learned so far: Rr, Nn, Hh, Ll, Ii, Mm, Aa, Tt, and Bb. The expectation is that by the end of the first trimester (early November) students know all their letters & sounds. By the end of September, we will start reading centers, which we call "Daily 5," and all children will be meeting with me in small groups, addressing their specific reading needs. Those students who already know their letter sounds will work on other reading concepts in their small group. This week, we will introduce the next center that is part of Daily 5, called "Listen to Reading." Students will get to use the classroom iPads to listen to stories on the iPad on apps such as Storyline Online, Epic, and Raz-Kids. We will also continue to practice reading/looking at a books independently. 

 

This week, we will continue to focus on nursery rhymes & familiar stories/fairy tales for our readings. 

 

STEAM Activities 

We had a lot of fun last week with our Fairy tale STEAM activities. I hope you were all able to view the picture albums I sent out. We will have an additional STEAM activity this week where the kids will try and build bridges to help the Three Billy Goats Gruff get across to the other side of the river. 

 

Math 

Over the next few weeks, we will introduce numbers 1-10. We will learn how to write them correctly, and learn different ways to represent their value. For more information on this math module, please see the parent tips here. 

 

Donation Drive

The AVHSC has kicked off its C.A.G.E. Drive. Money raised through this drive goes toward supporting enrichment activities at Alta Vista such as: our P.E. program (we start going to PE once we extend our day), Art Vistas, Clay, grade level supplies for special projects, and much more. Please consider donating by going to this link:  https://altavistahsc.membershiptoolkit.com/store

Upcoming Events

Saturday, 8/28: Class play date @ Blossom Hill Park @ 3:00

Friday, 9/3: Staff Development Day, no school

Monday, 9/6: Labor Day, no school

Week of 8/23

We had another fun week in kindergarten! Everyone is adjusting to the new routines well and making new friends.

Language Arts

We will continue introducing the letters & their sounds this week. We are introducing a letter a day right now, with review weeks built in between. The expectation is that by the end of the first trimester (early November) students know all their letters & sounds. By the end of September, we will start reading centers, which we call "Daily 5," and all children will be meeting with me in small groups, addressing their specific reading needs. Those students who already know their letter sounds will work on other reading concepts in their small group. This week, we will introduce the first reading center that is part of Daily 5, called "Read to Self." Students will practice reading/looking at a book independently. Each day, we will build their reading stamina by adding more minutes. The expectation is that they look at the book quietly for the duration of the "Read to Self" time. 

This week, we will focus on nursery rhymes & familiar stories/fairy tales for our readings. We will read different versions of The Three Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff, Humpty Dumpty, and more.

STEAM Activities

Going hand-in-hand with the fairy tales & nursery rhymes that we'll be reading, we'll have some fun STEAM activities as well during the next couple of weeks. STEAM activities challenge children to solve problems in creative ways. We will be building trees out of popsicle sticks and KEVA planks to see how many letters they can support (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), we will be building houses to see if they can stand up to the huffing and puffing of a hair dryer (Three Pigs) and we will be building bridges to see how many goats they can support (Three Billy Goats Gruff). We will also test different materials to cushion Humpty Dumpty from his fall to see if we can keep his shell from breaking. We have some fun activities ahead of us!

Math

Over the next few weeks, we will introduce numbers 1-10. We will learn how to write them correctly, and learn different ways to represent their value. For more information on this math module, please see the parent tips here. 

Wednesday Envelopes

This Wednesday, you will receive your child's first "Wednesday Envelope." Since most communications from the school are now online, this will mostly contain completed work from the classroom. Please look this over to see any areas where your child may need additional support. Right now, we're working on a lot of handwriting/fine motor activities, so just check over how your child's letter formation is looking. Every Thursday, please return the empty envelope to school so that we can send their work home each Wednesday in that envelope.

Late Arrivals

Either Mrs. Barbara or I stay at the gate until 8:15, when the starting bell rings. After 8:15, when the gate closes, your child is considered tardy. You will need to walk your child all the way around the school to the front gate by the office to check them in & get a tardy slip, as we cannot leave our classroom to come and open the gate. Please do not enter the school by using the Extended Care gate. This is strictly for use by a.m. extended care TK students, and should not be used by kindergarten families. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Upcoming Events

Friday, 9/3: Staff Development Day, no school

Monday, 9/6: Labor Day, no school

Week of 8/16

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!