Week of 5/1

We have many exciting events coming up in May-- please keep your calendars updated! On Friday, you should have received a flyer about this Friday's Fantasy Fair-- the "Alta Vista Hoe Down" on May 5th. This event is back for the first time in four years! We are excited to have this school-wide carnival back-- it is a great family event. Please, please, please consider volunteering some of your time to make this event possible, either at our TK/K game booth, or at the many other areas that need support that night. To volunteer in the TK/K booth, please sign up here. To volunteer in other areas that night, please click here. And finally, to buy tickets or wristbands to attend this event, please click here. I hope to see you there!

Thank you SO much for filling all the slots for our final weeks of centers, library, and the Makerspace! We are all set for May!

Baby Guessing Book

I've already received several pages for the Baby Guessing book, and they are so adorable! Please send in your child's page by Thursday, May 4th at the latest. We will turn these pages into our final class book, which will be on display at Open House on May 24th. 

Language Arts
This week, we will continue focusing on vowel teams such as ai, oa, ea, and ui. Our sight word this week is your. We will also continue with our final unit of Fundations, Unit 5. This unit will focus on merging all the skills we've learned so far: spelling, sentence writing, writing conventions, and reading with fluency. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

We are beginning to study caterpillars! In a few weeks, we will have live caterpillars in our classroom that we will watch as they transform into butterflies. We will kick off this unit this week by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and making our own take-off of this book. 

Math

We will continue working on story problems this week in math. Students will be exposed to problems that will require both addition and subtraction skills to solve the story problem. Students are taught to listen for phrases such as "how many altogether or in all?" and "how many are left?" 

STEAM

This week, we will go to the Makerspace to use a wonderful building tool called the Rigamajig. Children will work in small groups to build something together. This is always a favorite activity because of the size of these projects-- children can build very large projects together.

Multicultural Fair & Art Vista Show

Mark your calendars for the Multicultural Fair and Art Vista art show on Friday, May 19th. The Multicultural Fair is another hallmark Alta Vista event! Several students in our class will be performing in the cultural presentations and dances, and helping sponsor booths. The art show is alwo that night, where every student will have art on display in the cafeteria. You won't want to miss it!

New Event: Family Day

Keep marking your calendars, as the upcoming weeks are packed with activities! On Friday, May 26th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! In the past, we've had a Mother's Day event, but have not been able to squeeze in a Father's Day event with the busy end-of-year calendar. This year, we will celebrate all parents with one event, Family Day. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 26th, with a maximum of two guests per child. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. 

Reminders

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. This week we have indoor PE in the OT room. Please send your children in shoes they can take on & off independently.

**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 @ 12:25 (Fadime & Shereen)

Wednesday:  Makerspace at 8:30 (Uygar & Srivatsan), Library @ 9:10 (Bora & Brittny), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, Centers (Shereen & Mike M.)

Friday: Music

Upcoming Events 

Friday, 5/5: Fantasy Fair: Alta Vista Hoedown 5:00-8:00 pm

Friday, 5/19: Multicultural Night & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/24: Alta Vista Open House

Friday, 5/26: Family Day @ 8:15

Wednesday, 5/31: Volunteer Appreciation Social

Week of 4/24

The final dates for volunteer opportunities are upon us, as we will wrap up centers, library, and trips to the Makerspace in the third week of May. I have updated the Sign-Up Genius with the final slots for volunteering. I hope everyone will be able to join us in the classroom or around campus at least once this year!

**We do have an opening for a library reader this Wednesday at 9:10. If you are available, please see the Sign-Up Genius.

Language Arts
This week, we will begin focusing on vowel teams such as ai, oa, ea, and ui. Our sight word this week is here. We will continue with our final unit of Fundations, Unit 5. This unit will focus on merging all the skills we've learned so far: spelling, sentence writing, writing conventions, and reading with fluency. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

Our stories this week will continue to center around farm animals. We have many great fiction and non-fiction books to learn more about farms! We will also be looking at oviparous animals and will read the book, Chickens aren't the Only Ones. 

Math

We will begin working on story problems this week in math. Students will be exposed to problems that will require both addition and subtraction skills to solve the story problem. Students are taught to listen for phrases such as "how many altogether or in all?" and "how many are left?" Parent tips for this module can be found here.

STEAM

Last week, we worked in pairs in the Makerspace on Snap Circuits. Children did a great job completing circuits that resulted in a lightbulb being lit, a buzzer played "Happy Birthday," and a fan turned on. This week, we will continue working with Snap Circuits. 

Art Vista

Mark your calendars for the Art Vista art show on Friday, May 19th. Every child in our class will have artwork in the show, and the Alta Vista Mulitcultural Fair is also that night. You won't want to miss it!

New Event: Family Day

Keep marking your calendars, as the upcoming weeks are packed with activities! On Friday, May 26th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! In the past, we've had a Mother's Day event, but have not been able to squeeze in a Father's Day event with the busy end-of-year calendar. This year, we will celebrate all parents with one event, Family Day. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 26th, with a maximum of two guests per child. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. 

Reminders

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. This week we have outdoor PE with Miss Amy.

**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 with Miss Amy

Tuesday: Centers @ 12:25 (Fadime & Yufi)

Wednesday:  Makerspace at 8:30 (Uygar & Shereen), Library @ 9:10 (Bora & ?????), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, Centers (Shereen & Barbara)

Friday: Music

Upcoming Events 

Friday, 5/5: Fantasy Fair: Alta Vista Hoedown 5:00-8:00 pm

Friday, 5/19: Multicultural Night & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/24: Alta Vista Open House

Friday, 5/26: Family Day @ 8:15

Wednesday, 5/31: Volunteer Appreciation Event

Week of 4/17

I hope you all have been enjoying a nice week off with your children. As I mentioned before break, we are now into the "final stretch" of kindergarten, and the time will fly by very quickly! I am looking forward to some great fun and learning in the weeks ahead.

**We do have an opening for centers this Thursday at 12:25. If you are available, please see the Sign-Up Genius. 

 

Language Arts

This week, we will wrap up our study of the "Bossy R," r-controlled vowels. We will take a closer look at the three that make the same sound, er, ir, and ur. Our sight word this week is come. This word is called a "heart word" because several letters do not follow their typical phonics patterns/rules. You can learn more about "heart words" here. The word "come" is the final heart word on this website.

Our stories this week will center around farm animals. We have many great fiction and non-fiction books to learn more about farms! 

Math 

We are continuing with the subtraction unit. We've been using 10 frames, number bonds, fingers, and other manipulatives to develop subtraction fluency. Thank you for your continued support with this concept. Parent tips for this module can be found here.

 

STEAM 

We are continuing to head over to the Makerspace on Wednesdays in April, using a variety of materials there. A big part of STEAM activities is collaboration. This is often hard for kindergartners, as they want the project to be exactly what they want, instead of compromising with group members. We will continue to encourage cooperation & collaboration with various STEAM activities.

 

Art Vista

We have our final Art Vista lesson this Friday. We will be drawing self-portraits. Thank you to Lauren D., Natharin, Michael I., and Shereen for leading art lessons this year.

 

Movie Night

Our Kindergarten Movie Night is this Friday, April 21st, from 5:00-7:30. If you bid on this item in the AVHSC Auction, we already have been given your child's name, and we will send you a few further details this week over email. If you find that your schedule has opened up for Friday, and would like to join us, I believe we can work this out with the AVHSC-- please email for details. 

 

Reminders 

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. This week we have indoor PE in the OT Room-- please send your children in shoes they can take on & off themselves. This week, we also have an extra PE with Miss Amy on TUESDAY. Please wear shoes for outdoor PE on Tuesday.

**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: Make-up PE at 10:50, Centers @ 12:25 (Fadime & Barbara)

Wednesday: Makerspace at 8:30 (Uygar & Aparna), Library @ 9:10 (Aparna & Ruby), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, Centers (Shereen & ???)

Friday: Art Vista @ 10:30 (Lauren D., Natharin, Shereen, Michael I.), Music

Upcoming Events  

4/10-4/14: Spring Break

Friday, 4/21: Kindergarten Movie Night 5:00-7:30 (tickets needed)

Friday, 5/5: Fantasy Fair: Alta Vista Hoedown 5:00-8:00 pm

Friday, 5/19: Multicultural Night & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/24: Alta Vista Open House

Wednesday, 5/31: Volunteer Appreciation Event