Week of 1/31

It was wonderful hearing about all the kind acts of our Grasshoppers during Kindness Week last week. I was so impressed with the things students were doing to be kind! It was wonderful emphasizing kind acts in the classroom, as well as at home. I hope you benefited from plenty of kind acts in your home last week!

There are still some openings on our Sign-Up Genius, including this Tuesday the 31st. There are special 100 Day centers this week, so it would be very helpful to have another parent. Please check it out if you have any availability on Tuesday from 12:25 to 1:40. Thank you! 

 

Spring parent-teacher conferences are coming up on March 2 through March 9. I sent the sign-ups out for those last week. These are optional conferences, but are available to anyone who would like an update on their child's progress.

Language Arts
This week is 100 Day! This is a fun celebration of the number 100 and being at school together for 100 days. We have many fun stories to read and center activities to do! Our sight word this week is his. We will also look at the ending digraph, ck.

We began Unit 3 of Fundations last week. Blending sounds to read words is now the main focus in our reading curriculum. If your child has not mastered letter sounds yet, it is really important to continue reviewing those since we are now spending the majority of our time working on blending skills and building fluency. There are some great resources in the Unit 3 Fundations Home Support letter.

Another big emphasis right now is using our knowledge of letter sounds, digraphs, word families, and sight words to write simple sentences. Children need to be able to put together a readable sentence on their own by the end of kindergarten. Encourage your children to write and spell phonetically as often as possible to build their abilities as independent writers. Try to resist the temptation to spell words for them if they ask, rather, encourage them to "stretch the word out" and put down all the sounds they hear themselves. They can write notes to you, grocery lists, cards for family members, etc.

Math

We will continue with Module 4 this week; just the addition portion of this module will last up until President's Week Break. Parent tips for this module can be found here. We will also have lots of number & counting fun this week in celebration of 100 Day.

Music
We begin our new music program this Friday. We are excited to have music class each Friday after lunch from now on. Thanks to your generous donations and fundraising for the AVHSC, there were enough enrichment funds to support this program.

Kimochis

This week, your child will learn the fifth Kimochis® Key to Communication: Redo hurtful moments. This key helps us remember to own and name our mistakes by apologizing and making things right. Although younger children may not always realize when they have said or done something wrong, they need to understand why it’s important to say they’re sorry. Learning the words “I’m sorry” comes faster than the genuine feeling behind it.1 As children develop the ability to take the perspective of someone else (between ages 3 and 4), their apology skills will improve. Kimochis® Cat comes with bandages that can help young children understand that hurt feelings are like an injury that needs attention. Children who can learn to redo communication mistakes will have healthier and more successful social relationships.

Upcoming Events
Valentines Day: I know that valentines are now available in most stores, and children will be asking about our celebration. We will exchange cards in class on February 14th, but this is not a "party." We have a fun celebration of friendship, exchange valentines, and take them home to show our families. So that you can prepare for this event, I wanted to share some information:

• Please send in a card for each child. There are 24 total students in our class: 13 girls and 11 boys.
• Please ONLY sign the card & put nothing in the TO box. It is challenging enough for kindergartners to pass out valentines to all their classmates. Having the "to" part filled out makes this extremely challenging and it takes far too long. Thank you for your help with this!
• Please try to purchase valentines that do not have candy attached. I know those can sometimes be hard to find, but there are good choices with stickers, play tattoos, and other non-food goodies.

Reminders 

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. This week, we have a make-up PE session with Coach Amy on Friday. 

**Library is every Wednesday. Please send your child's book back to school by Tuesday each week. 

**Grasshopper t-shirt day is Friday each week.

This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: NO SCHOOL: Professional Development Day
Tuesday: Centers (??? & Barbara)
Wednesday: Library (Katy & Bora), dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, centers (Fadime & Barbara)
Friday: Make-Up PE session, Music Class

Upcoming Events

Thursday, 2/2: 100 Day

Thursday, 2/9: Snow Day

Tuesday, 2/14: Valentines Exchange

Week of 2/20: President's Week Vacation

3/2-3/9: Spring Conferences

Week of 1/23

As you may have seen in Mrs. Bailey's weekly update, we are kicking off "The Great Kindness Challenge" this week at school. This is an opportunity to really focus as a family on how our kind acts can help make everyone's day a little better. In kindergarten, we will be keeping track of kind acts with a "kindness chain." Children can come in each morning and tell me about a kind act they did at home, and we will also celebrate kind acts done at school. When children tell me about a kind act, they will receive a loop for our kindness chain. They write their name on the loop, and we will add it to our classroom chain. We are hoping that by the end of the week, our chain gets all the way across the classroom! You can support children at home by reminding them to tell me about a kind act you saw them do and brainstorming ways that they can be kind & helpful, both at home and at school. You can find a list of some simple ideas here.

There are still some openings on our Sign-Up Genius, including this week. Please check it out if you have any availability this Thursday!

Spring parent-teacher conferences are coming up on March 2 through March 9. I will send the sign-ups out for those this week. These are optional conferences, but are available to anyone who would like an update on their child's progress.

Language Arts

We will continue reading snow-themed stories and do writing projects and crafts around this theme. This week we will focus on the book, Snowmen at Night. The culmination of this theme will end with "Snow Day" on February 9th. Children will come to school dressed up in any winter gear they have, and we'll have some snow-themed fun! Our sight words this week are this and that. We have also been introducing digraphs. So far, we have focused on the digraphs sh and th. This week, we will take a look at ch.

We are beginning Unit 3 of Fundations. Blending sounds to read words is now the main focus in our reading curriculum. If your child has not mastered letter sounds yet, it is really important to continue reviewing those since we are now spending the majority of our time working on blending skills and building fluency. There are some great resources in the Unit 3 Fundations Home Support letter.

Math

We will continue with Module 4 this week; just the addition portion of this module will last up until President's Week Break. Parent tips for this module can be found here.

Kimochis

This week, your child will learn the fourth Kimochis® Key to Communication: Choose helping words. This key helps us to both think before we speak and consider our word choices. Typically, children acquire a basic ability to understand another’s perspective between 3 and 4 years of age.This allows them to become caring people. However, they will need modeling and practice to do so. In our lesson, we will talk about words that make hearts feel good and words that hurt feelings and your hearts. Your child knows that everybody makes mistakes and can accidentally use words that hurt. Your child will learn to use the following communication tool when hurting words are used: 1. Place your hand over your heart. 2. Show a gentle, but hurt facial expression. 3. Make eye contact with the person who hurt you. 4. Say, “Ouch” in a soft, but hurt tone. The children now know that this is a safe, kind way to express hurt feelings. If a mistake is made, family members can use this tool so they can apologize and make things better.

Upcoming Events

100 Day: We will be celebrating our 100th day of school on February 2nd! Next week, our center activities will be around the number 100. The 100th day celebration is just a fun way to celebrate 100 days of school after we've been counting up to this day during calendar time.

Valentines Day: I know that valentines are now available in most stores, and children will be asking about our celebration. We will exchange cards in class on February 14th, but this is not a "party." We have a fun celebration of friendship, exchange valentines, and take them home to show our families. So that you can prepare for this event, I wanted to share some information:

1. Please send in a card for each child. There are 24 total students in our class: 13 girls and 11 boys.
2. Please ONLY sign the card & put nothing in the TO box. It is challenging enough for kindergartners to pass out valentines to all their classmates. Having the "to" part filled out makes this extremely challenging and it takes far too long. Thank you for your help with this!
3. Please try to purchase valentines that do not have candy attached. I know those can sometimes be hard to find, but there are good choices with stickers, play tattoos, and other non-food goodies.

Reminders

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. This week we are in the OT room for P.E., so your child will need shoes they can take on & off without help.

**Library is every Wednesday. Please send your child's book back to school by Tuesday each week.

**Grasshopper t-shirt day is Friday each week.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: PE in the OT Room

Tuesday: Centers (Fadime & Barbara)

Wednesday: Library (Brittny & Bora), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, centers (??? & John V.)

Friday: No Centers, Music Program begins next week

Upcoming Events

Monday, 1/30: No School: Professional Development Day

Thursday, 2/2: 100 Day

Thursday, 2/9: Snow Day

Tuesday, 2/14: Valentines Exchange

Week of 2/20: President's Week Vacation

3/2-3/9: Spring Conferences

Week of 1/17

I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend, despite the rain. We have another four day school week ahead, and this will be the last week of Friday centers, due to the new music program. If you were signed up for a canceled center date, you should have received a notification. Please see the updated Sign-Up Genius that reflects these changes, and there are also a few new openings available. 

This week, we will hit the half-way mark (90th school day) in our kindergarten year. This is where the kindergarten curriculum really takes off, and your continued support with the curriculum will be especially important at this time. Reading to your children and asking them questions about what they are reading, helping them blend and read/write short vowel words (eg: hop, can, rat, etc.) and reinforcing math facts and sight words is really important at this time.

Language Arts 

We will begin reading many snow-themed stories for the next couple of weeks, and do writing projects and crafts around this theme. The culmination of this theme will end with "Snow Day" on February 9th. Children will come to school dressed up in any winter gear they have, and we'll have some snow-themed fun! Our sight words this week are she and back. We will wrap up Unit 2 in Fundations this week, which will conclude the instruction of upper-case letters. Our emphasis in Fundations will continue to be blending sounds to read and write words with fluency.

Math
We will continue with Module 4 this week; just the addition portion of this module will last up until President's Week Break. Parent tips for this module can be found here. I do recommend that you look these over, because there will be some new vocabulary for those of you who do not have older students who have done the Eureka math program. Of particular importance are the words "compose" (finding numbers that add up to a given number-- like 3 & 2 compose 5) "decompose" (take apart a number-- like 5 can be 4 & 1 OR 3 & 2) and number bonds (a model to show mathematical thinking).

Kimochis

This week, your child will learn the third Kimochis® Key to Communication: Use a Talking Face and Body. We will practice strategies for maintaining a positive facial expression and body language when experiencing upset emotions and conflicts instead of a mean or hurtful facial expression (Fighting Face) and body language. When your child can keep his/her face and body from looking aggressive or hurtful, others will be more willing to listen. Your child will learn how to notice and read the facial expressions and body language of others as a way to understand the emotion behind the words. Your child will also learn a communication tool called the Talking Hand. This is a positive and effective strategy your child can use to respond to peers or siblings when they grab.

 

Art Vista

We have an Art Vista lesson this week, and we will get to do fish prints! We will use fake fish for these prints, and this is always a fun lesson for the students.

 

Reminders

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. We have a make-up PE session on Tuesday this week.

**Library is every Wednesday. Please send your child's book back to school by Tuesday each week.

**Grasshopper t-shirt day is Friday each week.

 

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Tuesday: No Centers due to P.E. make-up

Wednesday: Library (Katy & Bora), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, centers (??? & Fadime)

Friday: Art Vista (Lauren D., Michael I., Shereen, Natharin); Centers (Mallory & Azra)

Upcoming Events
Monday 1/16: No School: MLK Day
Monday, 1/30: No School: Professional Development Day
Thursday, 2/2: 100 Day
Thursday, 2/9: Snow Day
Week of 2/20: President's Week Vacation

Week of 1/9

We had a great first week back from the holidays! Children jumped right back into the routines so well-- I was really pleased with how well they transitioned back.  

Center Update 

While it is looking nearly 100% sure that I will need to cancel Friday centers due to the music program, the start date of the music program has still not been set. In the meantime, there are two center openings next week that have come up due to cancellations. If you are available either Tuesday or Thursday, please sign up here.

 

Language Arts 

This week will be all about bears! We will read both fiction and non-fiction books about bears, watch scientific videos, and do some writing and art around the bear theme. Our sight words this week are see and like. We will continue working on reading CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words and practicing upper-case letter formation in Fundations.

We are really working on our independent writing skills as we approach the second semester of kindergarten. Children will put together a book of facts about bears using the sentence stems: Bears can_____. Bears have _______. Bears are_______. We will also be working on a labeling unit. Children will be encouraged to add labels to their illustrations to practice working on their phonetic spelling.

Math 

As stated last week, we have launched Module 4 of Eureka Math: Number Pairs, Addition, and Subtraction to 10. This module has a lot of new vocabulary and tools that you may not have been exposed to when you were learning math. You can find some more information about this module here. This week, we will introduce and focus on the number bond.

Kimochis
This week, your child will learn the second Kimochis® Key to Communication: Use a Talking Voice. This key helps children stay aware of how they use the tone and volume of their voice. Sometimes when we have upset feelings, it is easy to yell or use a tone of voice that makes the situation worse instead of better. The lesson this week will teach your child how to use a Talking Voice rather than a defensive, aggressive, or Fighting Voice (see definitions on back). When we feel upset and are able to use a Talking Voice, we raise the odds that others will want to understand our feelings and resolve conflicts. Your child will also learn how to pay attention to the tone of voice of others as a way to understand the emotion behind the words.

Reminders

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness.

**Library is every Wednesday. Please send your child's book back to school by Tuesday each week.

**Grasshopper t-shirt day is Friday each week.

 

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: Outdoor P.E.-- wear shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness

Tuesday: Centers (??? & Barbara)

Wednesday: Library (Brittny & Bora), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, centers (??? & Fadime)

Friday: Centers (Ruby & Brittny)

Upcoming Events 

Monday 1/16: No School: MLK Day

Monday, 1/30: No School: Professional Development Day

Thursday, 2/2: 100 Day

Week of 2/20: President's Week Vacation