Week of 5/31

It's exciting and a little sad at the same time, but we are heading into our last week together. What a wonderful & unique year it's been! I'd like to thank you for the fantastic support you've given me all year long, through the ups & downs of teaching during a pandemic.

Here is a day-by-day run-down of the week:

MONDAY: Memorial Day holiday. No school

TUESDAY: Olympic Day. This is a school-wide event. Please wear class t-shirts and appropriate footwear, and bring a refillable water bottle! Sunblock would also be a good idea, and hats, too. Class t-shirts are REALLY important on this day because the whole school is out on the field together, and it is MUCH easier to keep track of students if they all have their Grasshopper green on! The event starts at 10:00 and goes on until 11:30 (our lunch recess). We will have snack before starting this activity, and lunch is immediately afterward. Thank you to Alexis & Deanna for volunteering to walk around with us, and Emily, Valeria, and Sarah for helping with different stations. **If you volunteered to bring a tent for our party on Thursday, please send it to school on Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY: This is a typical Wednesday, with dismissal at 1:15. No special events.

THURSDAY: Class party "camp out!" Wear your Grasshopper shirt again (not as important if you can't get it washed in time) and come prepared for a fun day of doing work and activities in a tent, making some crafts, and eating s'mores! Thank you to Emily, Deanna, and Van for their work on coordinating this party! Helpers who are running centers at the party are: Van, Deanna, Alexis, and Katelin.

FRIDAY: Our final day together! This will be a fun day of review, cleaning out our room, and enjoying our last day as kindergartners. No need to pack a lunch, but please do pack a snack and water bottle, as usual. Dismissal is 12:15!

Happy Summer!!!

Week of 5/23

Thank you for coming out to Open House last Wednesday! It was wonderful to see the children proudly showing off their work to their family members. With just 9 days left, we are now into the final countdown!

Next week is a Spirit Week. Every day has a theme. Participation is optional, but the children really enjoy these days and like to be involved. Here is the rundown on the themes: 

Monday: Anything but a backpack: Leave your backpack at home and pack your things in something else such as a beach bag, grocery bag, picnic basket, etc. 

Tuesday: Tropical Tuesday: Look ready for your island vacation! 

Wednesday: Wacky Wednesday: Wear mismatched socks, a shirt backward, silly hair, etc. 

Thursday: Traffic light day: Oldest child in the family wears red, middle child wears yellow, youngest child wears green, only child gets to choose any color  

Friday: Formal Friday: wear your favorite fancy clothing!

 

Language Arts 

We have our final sight word this week: have. We will do a review week on sounds and spelling patterns.

 

We continue to do a lot of writing in class and will be putting together several pages this week of our favorite kindergarten memories.

 

Math 

We are reviewing the concepts learned this year. I have also been and will continue to be administering the final round of assessments to evaluate your children for the 3rd trimester report cards. Those report cards will come home with your children on the last day of school.

Science/STEAM 

Two of the chrysalises hatched on Friday! I'm sure the other two will hatch over the weekend, so we will let our butterflies go on Monday. 

We will head into the Makerspace for our final time this Wednesday. We will get to have one last turn at Strawbees/Rigamajig/Snap-Circuits or Hexbugs.

Upcoming Events 

This week (5/25) we will send home our last Wednesday envelope. No need to return it! Instead, send a paper grocery bag or any bag that will stand on its own. I will be taking all the Open House projects down and will need a bag to put your child's projects in. 

 

On Tuesday the 31st, we have a school-wide Olympic Day. Children will participate in different fun fitness challenges throughout the event. We will be outside for two hours-- please plan accordingly with sunscreen, hats, and water bottles. Grasshopper shirts are our team t-shirt that day! It starts at 9:30, and I could use a few parent helpers to walk around with us & help organize the kids. Please email me if you can help with that event.

Our class party is on Thursday, June 2nd, and the Grasshoppers are "camping out!" More information is coming from the room moms, but we could use a few indoor play tents for this event. If you have a 2-3 person play tent and would like to let us borrow that for the day, please email me.

There are no events on Friday the 3rd, but you should know that school gets out early on that day. I believe it is a 12:15 dismissal.

Important Dates

Monday, 5/30: Memorial Day Holiday
Tuesday, 5/31: School-wide Olympic Day
Thursday, 6/2: Class Party: Camp Out

Friday, 6/3: Last day, early dismissal at 12:15

Week of 5/16

We are looking forward to showing off so much work for you in our room this Wednesday the 18th for Open House! Please drop by our classroom any time between 6:00 and 7:00 to have your child show you around our room and share many projects with you. This is a family event & your child's night to shine! Please join us!

Language Arts
This week we will ay sound, as in bay, say, and day. Our sight word this week, play, also has this sound.

Math 

We continue to review all the concepts we've learned this year, with a focus on addition & subtraction fluency. We are ending the year with a great website, Happy Numbers, which will help children review math concepts in an engaging way.

Thank You!!
Last week was our last week of afternoon classroom centers. I'd like to thank all our center helpers, especially those who came every week when we were so limited on how many people we could have in the classroom. Classroom centers are a very busy time, and I truly couldn't have done many of the projects and activities we did this year without the help of all the parent volunteers. Thank you so much!!

STEAM (Helpers Needed) 

Both this Wednesday and next Wednesday the 25th, we will head back to the Makerspace to choose a favorite activity to do again. We will put out Strawbees, the Rigamajig, Snap Circuits, and Hexbugs. If you are interested in helping, please see the Sign-Up Genius. I've added the dates there.  

 

Kimochis 

This week, your child learned about feeling proud and the Kimochis® kotowaza that accompanies pride: “Proud of me … proud of you.” This saying inspires and encourages children to feel pride in themselves as well as others. Young children want to be recognized and acknowledged for their accomplishments. The emotion of pride develops as children develop a clearer sense of self. This occurs over time between the ages of 3 and 5. Children will watch others and try tasks they see them doing. Children also begin to evaluate themselves against others and become more interested in how they are evaluated by others.1 Your child learned communication tools to both give and receive compliments as a way to feel pride and to celebrate the successes of others.

Last Art Vista
This Tuesday, we will have our last Art Vista lesson. We will be working on self-portraits. Thank you to Tiffany & Agnieszka for leading our art lessons this year.

Last Library
This week will be our last visit to the library. Please be sure to return your child's book this Wednesday. We will not check out a new book this week. Thank you to all our readers this year! We've had so much fun hearing the wide variety of stories!

**Children should return library books by Tuesday 

**We have P.E. every Monday. Please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness **Grasshopper t-shirt day/AV Spirit Day is every Wednesday. 

 

Helpers & Activities This Week 

Monday: COVID testing in the cafeteria, PE with Mr. Field

Tuesday: Return library books, Art Vistas (Tiffany & Agnieszka)

Wednesday: Grasshopper t-shirt day, trip to the Makerspace (helpers needed), PAWS assembly, Open House

Thursday: Return Wednesday envelopes

Friday: No Centers

Upcoming Events 

Wednesday, 5/18: Open House

Monday, 5/30: Memorial Day Holiday

Tuesday, 5/31: Olympic Day

Thursday, 6/2: End-of-year Party-- Camp Out

Week of 5/9

It was so wonderful to celebrate with all the moms on Friday! I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Our next opportunity to celebrate with all the Grasshopper family members is Open House on May 18th. Please come to K2 between 6:00 and 7:00 to see all the wonderful work your children have been doing! I hope to see you all there.

Language Arts
This week we will continue to focus on "tricky y," which is y as a vowel. This week we are focusing on the long e sound of this letter, as in silly, funny, and happy. Our sight word this week is where. 

We will wrap up our butterfly unit this week with several art projects, as well as a writing project. These will all be on display at Open House! Our live caterpillars are growing rapidly, and we think they will go into their chrysalises soon.

Math 

We continue to review all the concepts we've learned this year, with a focus on addition & subtraction fluency. We are ending the year with a great website, Happy Numbers, which will help children review math concepts in an engaging way.

 

STEAM/Special Project 

This Wednesday, we will head to the Makerspace for an activity where we will design mazes for Hexbugs to go through. This activity was scheduled previously, but was rescheduled for this week. I have added a few slots on the Sign-Up Genius for this activity, which will take place from 9:45 to 10:30. Additionally, on Friday, we will be painting life-sized paper dolls in the cafeteria. This activity will be during center time (12:25-1:35). I already have Tiffany & Shelley helping on Friday, but we could use a couple more helpers for this activity as well. Please check the Sign-Up Genius if you are able to help with either of those-- this is our last week of formal centers, so join us if you can!

 

Kimochis 

Kimochis will be back this week! This week, we will talk about feeling proud, which is a perfect way to wrap up our school year and talk about all our accomplishments this year.

Open House
Open House is May 18th, from 6:00 to 7:00. Just a reminder that you may only go to your own child(ren)'s classroom, due to COVID protocols. There will be lots to see in K2, so come out and enjoy the evening!

**Children should return library books by Tuesday, so they can check out a new book on Wednesday

**We have P.E. every Monday. Please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness

**Grasshopper t-shirt day/AV Spirit Day is every Wednesday. 

Helpers & Activities This Week
Monday: COVID testing in the cafeteria, PE with Mr. Field
Tuesday: Return library books, Centers (Kassie & Emily)
Wednesday: Grasshopper t-shirt day, trip to the Makerspace for Hexbug Mazes (Valeria & Sarah), PAWS assembly
Thursday: Centers (Adam & Matthew)
Friday: Paper Doll painting in the cafeteria (Tiffany, Shelley, Louise, Shaneil)

Upcoming Events 

Wednesday, 5/18: Open House

Thursday, 6/2: End-of-year Party