What we have been learning...
Reading-- In reading we are still working on routines. We are learning how to rotate centers, work independently, work at a teacher's table for small group work, working quietly for longer periods of time, reading on our own, solving problems without adult help... These are all important routines to get set before we can jump into reading stories and learning new strategies. With our reading, we are also starting our daily phonics program (ECRI). We practice letter names, sounds, sight words, blending and segmenting through this daily whole class lesson.
**As we start reading groups, your child will begin bringing home small readers from our classroom. These are stories that we have read together in our reading groups and are most likely memorized. Memorizing stories is a GREAT step for beginning readers. It is ok to memorize stories. It is also important to look at the pictures to help us remember the story. We will be learning these as strategies to help us become better readers. When your child brings home a story in their ziplock, there is a letter to let you know what to do. Your job is to listen and celebrate! We are learning that we are already readers! Please listen to your child read the story at least 3 times and then send it back to school the next day. If they forget a word, it is ok to help them. It is even ok just to tell them the word if they are frustrated. We will work on sounding out, pointing to words, spelling... all the things, but it is a process. Just like when your child learned to talk and you praised every sound, the same should be true for reading. We are celebrating the steps they are taking. This should not be a stressful time AT ALL for your kiddo. They have already learned the book with me and are just showing off for you. :) It is even ok if they get a word or two wrong. We will learn to double check letters as we grow in our reading.
Math--We are practicing numbers 1-5 in our math program. Next week we will begin looking at ways to make combinations to 5. In our math, we are learning to explain our thinking and that we sometimes get different answers. Sometimes we get different answers and we are both right! Sometimes we get different answers and they aren't both right, but we can talk about our math and use kind words with our classmates.
We also continue to work on...
*Solving word problems
*Writing numbers 1-10 the "kindergarten way"
*Counting to 100 (We are focusing on numbers to 30 in our calendar right now, but our goal is always 100.)
*Recognizing all numbers 1-10
*Describing patterns
Science--Our first science unit will start in October.
Social studies--We will be learning about different kinds of families next week. We will also talk about our roles in our family. What do we do to help our families? Who takes care of us? What do our parents do? Who is in our family and who is in our BIG family?
We will also begin learning about fire safety in October.
Writing--Writing in kindergarten is HUGE. It is tough. We begin the year with learning to draw a picture that we can recognize. We use at least 3 colors and we are starting to look at what details will make our pictures better. We are also working on adding writing to our pages. Sometimes we label our pictures (add names to our family). Sometimes we write a word together with the teacher and sound it out together. Sometimes we use magic lines because we know what we want to say but we don't quite know what to write yet. These are all ok at the beginning of the year! Just like reading, we are learning that we are ALL writers and we are celebrating the awesome stories that we have to share.
Tardies and absences...
Students are allowed in school at 8:35 and class officially begins at 8:45. THANK YOU for helping your child get to school before 8:45. This makes a big impact on our class when we have students coming in late. If your child is going to be absent, please call the office to let them know. You can also email me and I can forward the info to the office. Thank you so much for all of the attention and thoughtfulness about keeping our class healthy. I have had a lot of parents checking in about their kiddos because they are worried about our friends with lowered immune systems. Of course, if your child has a fever, is throwing up, has "digestive problems" :), yes, they need to stay home. They need to be fever/vomit free for 24 hours before returning to school. If your child has a small cold, runny nose, a small cough, red eyes... they are still able to come to school. If it is pink eye, or strep throat, or something bigger than a cold, an email is great and of course seeing a dr to get meds. I am in communication with our families who need to know when we have sick kiddos. They have plans in place. Thank you so much for all of the concern. I love that we have such a great community of families this year who are taking this seriously and helping us keep these kiddos healthy.
Head lice...
SO, head lice is common in kindergarten. As far as I know, we do not have headlice in our classroom at this time...but we will. We always do. It is important that you check your child's head regularly. I have attached a link so that you know exactly what to look for. It is VERY UNcommon for lice to be spread through coats, hats, headphones... The little buggers like body heat. They also like clean hair, so it is not something that kids get from being dirty. Head lice is most often spread from head to head contact, which is pretty common in kinder. It is against confidentiality, technically, for me to tell you that we have head lice in our classroom. SO, if you see me randomly putting my hair up, or I send out an email with a reminder about how to check for head lice... I MIGHT be hinting that you will want to check your kiddos head twice that night. :)
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/index.html
Your head will itch after you follow this link. Sorry. But the best way for us to keep it under control in our class is for you to know what to look for. We DO NOT exclude kids from school for head lice. If we find that your kiddo has live bugs, we will be calling you. BUT, kiddos are allowed back in school with nits (eggs) in their hair, which will hatch...
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/index.html
Your head will itch after you follow this link. Sorry. But the best way for us to keep it under control in our class is for you to know what to look for. We DO NOT exclude kids from school for head lice. If we find that your kiddo has live bugs, we will be calling you. BUT, kiddos are allowed back in school with nits (eggs) in their hair, which will hatch...
Super folders and volunteers...
We have started our Super Folders! I love seeing the progress the kids make with these folders. :) Thank you so much to all of the parents who answered my distress call for help getting caught up! I was overwhelmed by how many amazing families offered to take things home and the parents who came into the class and spent HOURS helping us get things set up. I SOOO appreciate all of the help. Now that we are ready, we will have our regular volunteer schedule going out. Unfortunately, about half of our parents that offered to volunteer do not have cleared background checks. I have made the schedule but have not had time to email all of the parents who are not cleared. I am sending out the schedule today before I go home, but if you are not cleared, we can not have you in the school yet.
For Super Folders, please help your kiddo remember to bring it to school each day. I am working with them at school to help them remember to get them out of their backpacks. :) It is a process to learn the routine, and it may involve lots of prizes (bribes) as we get into the swing of it. Thanks for your help getting them into the backpacks. Thank you also for working with your kiddo each night on their folder. This makes a HUGE difference in how quickly they progress on their letters and sounds. We have started giving out popcorn awards already for kids who are passing their first pink words! YEAH! Also, there are days where I have a parent helper, but do not get the time to go through the folders before they go home. I will occasionally keep folders to get them updated. Or, I may send it home and update it the next day. Just a reminder, I have the kids pass 2 times with me at school before I add new words and letter cards.
For Super Folders, please help your kiddo remember to bring it to school each day. I am working with them at school to help them remember to get them out of their backpacks. :) It is a process to learn the routine, and it may involve lots of prizes (bribes) as we get into the swing of it. Thanks for your help getting them into the backpacks. Thank you also for working with your kiddo each night on their folder. This makes a HUGE difference in how quickly they progress on their letters and sounds. We have started giving out popcorn awards already for kids who are passing their first pink words! YEAH! Also, there are days where I have a parent helper, but do not get the time to go through the folders before they go home. I will occasionally keep folders to get them updated. Or, I may send it home and update it the next day. Just a reminder, I have the kids pass 2 times with me at school before I add new words and letter cards.
Field trip...
Our first field trip this year will be to the Firestation! We are waiting for final approval, but we are hoping to go on October 25th. I will let you know when it is finalized. If you would like to chaperone this field trip, PLEASE make sure you have a cleared background check now. Permission slips and more info will come home in a few weeks...
A little about me...
So, I have had several subs already this year. I hate missing class, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Luckily we have several awesome subs who have been in my class before and do a great job! I wanted to give you a little background on me and my family... I have Celiac Disease. I've had it for 12 years and it is not really a big deal for me anymore. Celiac means I can not eat any gluten without getting very sick. I am an expert at the gluten free diet by now. Kids are welcome to bring wheat or any food in the classroom. It does not bother me. I do keep my desk gluten free and the refrigerator and microwave are not for kiddos to use because of my special diet. The kids will learn that I do not eat some things that they do and that I nag about cleaning up from cupcakes. Otherwise, they aren't really aware because it doesn't affect the class much.
Recently, I have also been diagnosed with RA. Not all of my doctor's agree on the diagnosis (it is a whole process), but they generally agree on the treatment. I am on medications that lower my immune system. I've been pretty lucky though and don't often miss school for being sick. Since my doctor's don't always agree, they like to schedule lots of tests and appointments just for fun. :) This is not new for me either, I feel pretty good, I am used to all of the medical stuff, and it isn't contagious. But those darn appointments just take time away from school. Unfortunately, my daughter has also started to show signs of some strange autoimmune something. This means she gets her own appointments and tests. We work hard to keep appointments outside of school time, but specialists are not the most understanding and flexible. Hopefully my appointments are almost done! I am gone one more day next week for my daughter's tests and then we have to run to Eugene for a college tour. She is in her senior year and man...just don't get me started on senior year stress... I'd rather be at the doctor! (not really) Anyway, I don't generally share my big ol' medical file, but since I will miss work occasionally for appointments, it sometimes helps if you know a little background at the beginning of the year.
Recently, I have also been diagnosed with RA. Not all of my doctor's agree on the diagnosis (it is a whole process), but they generally agree on the treatment. I am on medications that lower my immune system. I've been pretty lucky though and don't often miss school for being sick. Since my doctor's don't always agree, they like to schedule lots of tests and appointments just for fun. :) This is not new for me either, I feel pretty good, I am used to all of the medical stuff, and it isn't contagious. But those darn appointments just take time away from school. Unfortunately, my daughter has also started to show signs of some strange autoimmune something. This means she gets her own appointments and tests. We work hard to keep appointments outside of school time, but specialists are not the most understanding and flexible. Hopefully my appointments are almost done! I am gone one more day next week for my daughter's tests and then we have to run to Eugene for a college tour. She is in her senior year and man...just don't get me started on senior year stress... I'd rather be at the doctor! (not really) Anyway, I don't generally share my big ol' medical file, but since I will miss work occasionally for appointments, it sometimes helps if you know a little background at the beginning of the year.
I think that's all for now! If you have any questions or concerns, always feel free to email me or call the front office. Email is easiest for me to respond to. I am also always available to set up a meeting if you feel like you need a little more time to talk. Thank you for all of the support and help getting this year started! We have an amazing class and they are doing such a great job! We know that it comes from having wonderful family support at home!
Thank you for all that you do!
[email protected]
Thank you for all that you do!
[email protected]
Important dates to remember...
October 11--No School (Teacher inservice)
October 25--Field trip (Tentatively scheduled...)
October 31--Harvest party! (We will be looking for volunteers on this day)
October 25--Field trip (Tentatively scheduled...)
October 31--Harvest party! (We will be looking for volunteers on this day)