Mrs. Grist's Kindergarten Classroom Website: April 2026

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Week of 4/20

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.

Language Arts

We will continue reading books about farms and farm animals this week in preparation for our trip to Prusch Farm on May 1st. We have many great fiction and non-fiction books that are still on the list! We will also be talking about oviparous and viviparous animals after reading the book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. Our sight words this week are who and here.

We will continue to focus on digraphs in Fundations. Ask your children to point out digraphs in the stories you read together. In Fundations, we focus on the digraphs sh, th, ch, wh, and ck.

Math

This week, we will begin our final math module, Module 6: Place Value Foundations.

In Topic A, students dive into place value concepts as they count and write numbers 11 to 20. They learn that each teen number, 11 to 19, is composed of 10 ones and some more ones and that the digit 1 in a teen number represents 10 ones. Throughout the topic, students use and discuss tools that highlight the structure of ten in our number system such as Hide Zero® cards, fingers, 10-frames, and rekenreks. They use the tens and ones structure to organize objects. This helps them count a group of 11 to 20 objects efficiently and accurately.

This Thursday the 23rd, students from UMS will again be coming over to run math centers with the kindergartners. This was a fun collaboration in the winter, and we are looking forward to their centers again this week.

STEAM

We have been adding some of the STEAM materials that are over in the Makerspace to our center time. This week, we will again use a building tool called the Rigamajig. 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.

Clay Glazing

This Friday the 24th, the students will be glazing their final clay project of this year. Thank you to Mary, Fatemeh, Claudia, Laura, Natharin and Eva for your help with Clay this year.

Movie Night

Our auction event, the kindergarten movie night, is happening this Friday the 24th from 5:00 to 7:30. More details will be sent out to those who purchased tickets later this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Fantasy Fair & Art Show: Alta Vista's annual school carnival, the Fantasy Fair, will be held on the evening of Friday, May 15th. Come back to school with your child(ren) for an evening of games, prizes, and fun! There is also a cake decorating contest that is part of the Fair-- I encourage you to participate in this event. It is fun & very kid-friendly and it is wonderful to see the cakes on the day of the fair. In addition to all the Fantasy Fair fun, your children will all have art on display at the Art Vistas Art Show! This art show is always a wonder to see-- artwork from all the grade levels will be on display in and around the cafeteria.

Open House: On Wednesday, May 20th, we will have our schoolwide Open House. This is a night to come check out all the learning we've been doing in class. Please mark your calendars and bring the whole family to celebrate all the progress your child has made this year!

Family Day: On Thursday, May 28th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! This is Mother's Day, Father's Day, and an end-of-year celebration, all rolled into one. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 28th, with a maximum of two guests per child. Unfortunately, younger siblings cannot join in this event (except babies under 1 year old) due to liability reasons. If your child will not have a family member joining for this event, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for your child to have someone as a guest in lieu of a family member. 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. Please mark your calendars!

Reminders

**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.

**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride

This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Centers @ 12:20 (Eva & Anda)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20 (Eva & Anda)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Anda, Check-out: Nadia, Music @ 12:15) Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: UMS Math Centers
Friday: Music w/ Mr. Jason @ 11:00, Clay Glazing @ 12:30 (Natharin, Claudia, Mary, Fatemeh, Laura & Eva)

Upcoming Events

Thursday, 4/23: UMS Student-Run Math Centers

Friday, 4/24: Clay Glazing

Friday, 4/24: Kindergarten Movie Night (Auction Ticket Required)

Friday, 5/1: Field Trip to Prusch Farm

Friday, 5/15: Alta Vista's Fantasy Fair & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/20: Open House

Thursday, 5/28: Kindergarten Family Day @ 8:15

Friday, April 3, 2026

Week of 4/6

We are heading into our last week before Spring Break. I always feel like after we return from Spring Break, the weeks just fly by. We have a lot to pack in during our remaining 39 school days, so keep supporting your children at home by reinforcing concepts and doing lots of reading & writing.

Keep sending in those permission slips for our field trip on May 1st, especially if you plan on ordering a school lunch. Lunch orders must be placed by Friday.

Spirit Week

We have another Spirit Week coming up this week! Participation in these daily themes is totally optional, but it is always fun for the kids to see everyone dressing up to the theme. Here are the daily themes:

Monday: Mismatched Color Day: mix up your outfit to make it totally mismatched!

Tuesday: Twin Day: find a friend or two to match with at school. Break out those Alta Vista t-shirts or walkathon shirts and match with a bunch of friends!

Wednesday: Class T-Shirt Day: that's easy-- we always wear class t-shirts on Weds.

Thursday: Sports Day: wear your favorite sports attire!

Friday: Crazy Hair Day: wacky braids, color, etc.

Spring Fling

This Friday the 10th we have a special event called Spring Fling. We will use both the indoors and outdoors for the activities. Children will do STEAM projects, planting, and

various crafts and activities. Parent helpers for this event are Kaela, Eva, Mary, and Laura. Please arrive at 12:20, just like at center time. Thank you!

Language Arts

Our sight words this week are what and where. We will begin reading books with a farm theme this week to prepare us for our field trip to Prusch Farm on the May 1st.

We will also continue to focus on digraphs in Fundations, particularly sh, ch, wh, th, and ck. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

Math

This week, we will wrap up Module 5. This module has covered addition, subtraction, and fact families to 10. After Spring Break, we will begin our final math module for the year, which covers place value.

Upcoming