- Please pack just one item for snack time. Some children are spending the entire 10:30 break time eating their snack items, and they never get to play. They are eating lunch again at just before noon, so they really don't need a giant snack.
- Please make sure your child is aware of which item is for snack vs. lunch. If they are having a school hot lunch, please make sure they know that.
- Please label snack containers & water bottles. We have had numerous items left behind on the lunch tables, and it takes a lot of time for the children to claim their items. Every item I hold up belongs to "nobody." It would be great to have these items labeled so that we can stop wasting time trying to figure out whose items they are.
Pets @ Pickup & Drop Off
I'm sure you've seen Mrs. Bailey's posts in her weekly Alta Vista newsletter about dogs at pick-up and drop-off times. Pets cannot come on campus in the pick-up and drop-off areas. We know it may seem like a good idea to walk your dog while taking your child to school, but there are several kindergarteners who are afraid of dogs, and this adds an extra level of anxiety at pick-up and drop-off times. Please do not enter the school parking lot with your dogs. Thank you for your cooperation on this.
Rhythm & Moves P.E.
The students really enjoyed their first P.E. session with Mr. Field, the Rhythm & Moves coach. P.E. will continue weekly on Mondays. Children should wear shoes and clothing appropriate for fitness on Mondays. Typically, what children normally wear to school is fine, but I would suggest sneakers on Mondays vs. slip-on shoes or sandals.
Language Arts
Our letters this week are Vv, Ww, Yy, and Zz. At the end of this week, we will have introduced all of the letters & sounds! Of course, there will be plenty of review and reinforcement of these letters, but if you are noticing that your child is having difficulty recognizing letters and knowing letter sounds, please provide additional reinforcement at home. Watching and singing The Better Alphabet Song is a great way to continually review letters and sounds. Next week is a review week of all the letter sounds, and then we will begin covering word families. We will start with the ap and at endings, reading and spelling words such as map, rat, bat, sap, etc.
Our sight words this week are the and see. The sight words we've introduced so far are: I, a, at, am, can, and, ran, that, it, and in. Please also continue reinforcing these words at home and listening to your child read the sight word sentences that come home in your child's Wednesday envelope each week.
Our stories this week will continue to be about apples, both fiction and non-fiction.
Math
In math, we will continue the module on shapes. We will be covering both 2D and 3D shapes over the next few weeks. We will learn shape names and attributes of those shapes. Going forward, most of our math involves hands-on activities in small-group centers, so you won't see as many math papers in the Wednesday envelopes. Parent tips for this math module can be found here.
Kimochis
This week, Bug will join our classroom to teach children about the feelings left out, shy, brave, and scared. Bug is the Kimochis® Character who is thoughtful and very careful. He is very smart and loves to talk. But Bug is afraid of change, and because he is a caterpillar, this is hard for him. Although Bug is afraid, he secretly dreams of flying, but it is hard for him to try new things. Children who have a temperament like Bug’s, benefit from learning how to be brave in order to manage shy and scared feelings and try new things.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 10/12: Virtual Field Trip: Mission to the Moon
Monday, 11/1: No School: Staff Development Day
Monday, 11/8: Parent-Teacher Conferences Begin
11/11 &11/12: No School: Veteran's Day
