Welcome to a new week in Kindergarten!
We have started to learn more about our core values. Respect has been our focus in September. Students are recognized when using respectful words and showing respect towards others. It is always important for children to understand what respect means and the different ways we can all express ourselves when dealing with difficult emotions or situations in a respectful way.
As part of our Social Studies unit, during Circles and Guidance, we have taken time to teach words we can use when we are feeling happy, angry, sad or frustrated. We believe in the importance of having the tools to channel different feelings, whether with words or taking some time to breathe and calm down. Respect is also shown in actions! Our students are learning about those actions that makes us feel appreciated and respected.
Here is an article about how you could support the work we’re doing in class and teach respect to your child.
Weekly reminders
Health Forms! (important announcement)
September 28 is the deadline to submit student health records to the health office, students will not be allowed to attend school without complete health records. Please contact the health office with any questions regarding this.
Monday - Half Day
This Monday all students will be dismissed at 11:30am to allow teachers to extend their professional development on campus. We kindly ask that you make sure your child is picked up at 11:30 sharp, if you plan on changing dismissal arrangement, please email your child’s teacher ahead of time or send a note in their folder. There will be no lunch or after school activities on this day.
Calendar updates
This will be a busy week for Kindergarten! On Tuesday, in addition to the activity planned by the Egypt Culture department, we will have a fire drill at 10:50 am. Students have practiced how to line up and exit the building in order to calmly follow emergency procedures. We ask that you also talk to your child about the importance of fire drills.
We continue to add events to our grade level calendar, we encourage all parents to check it out consistently.
Reading practice at home
Students will begin taking home leveled books. They will put in practice what they have learned about picking Just Right Books, and will be choosing books that are easy enough for them to read. Teachers will take some time to guide the students these first weeks, however the purpose of this “homework” is for them to choose these books independently, and identify the level of difficulty in each book. This is a process for your child so don’t worry if they seem to choose books that are too easy or too hard at the outset. Choosing “Just Right” books is an important skill that will be used by students throughout their elementary years.
Parents can support this activity by having their child read this book to them, sharing the reading, and/or reading the book to their child. You can also support your child by asking why they chose that book, and if they feel it’s a good fit for them.
Every day children choose a new book to take home and it will be in their Take-Home Folder. Books must be returned the next day for students to be able to take a new book.
Feel free to email us with any questions you may have about this new and exciting step!
Learning In KG!
Reading
Our young readers have been working hard to increase their stamina during independent reading. Students continue to work on reader behaviors as they use their pointer fingers to point at the words or use the pictures to help tell the story and solve unknown words. This week readers will learn about how readers share and talk about books with others:
- Readers pause on each page to think about what has happened.
- Reading partners sit “hip-to-hip,” with the book between them.
- Reading partners take turns telling about the book, asking questions, and making predictions.
- Readers learn how to talk about pages in their books by noticing characters, action and details.
- Readers learn ways to make connections to texts by saying, “This reminds me of…”
Our phonics focus will be beginning sounds with letters /c/, /h/, /f/, and /d/.
Writing
After completing some on-demand writing assessments last week, our kindergarten writers are excited to continue the work of making books! This week students will explore elaboration by learning how to add more pages and how to add more detail to each page of their books. One way to do this is to “make characters talk” by adding dialogue and speech bubbles. We will also review how to “stretch out” words in order to record every sound. This will make student writing even easier to read and re-read.
As kindergartners continue their writing journeys, you may also wish to provide them with writing opportunities at home. Ask your children to help you with shopping lists or write about fun moments you spend together. It is important for writers to feel successful in this early stage and this can be nurtured by having a variety of opportunities to write.
Math
Students will continue to learn about hidden partners, using manipulatives and drawings to demonstrate understanding. They will continue to work on counting different number configurations, extending this work to numbers 6 to 10. Configurations such as horizontal and vertical linear, arrays, circle and scattered. They will work with the concept of 5-group which allows students to subitize as they count groups of 6 - 10 . Students will continue practicing tracing and writing numbers using Handwriting Without Tears guides. Students will also be introduced to number stories and different strategies to solve these problems. Number stories provide an opportunity to also learn about number sentences.
Social Studies
In the past two weeks students have been learning and having great conversations about ways to be responsible learners in Kindergarten. They have been focusing on 4 important behaviors and their applications to what responsibility looks like in class:
- Listen to others as they speak
- Focus on the work
- Respect other’s work time
- Try your best
This coming week students will explore what it is to be a responsible student in class and they will be brainstorming what responsibility looks like. They will also be thinking about who is in our CAC community to gather ideas about who are other responsible community members in our school community.
Circles
Kindergarteners have enjoyed having circles in class! Each classroom teacher plans circles according to the needs of their students. Some of the themes we have chosen for our circles are friendship, connections and belonging, communication and feelings! We value these moments we have as a community, and the connections we are all making. Has your child mentioned anything about the circles we’ve had? We’d love to hear from you!
As always, thank you for taking the time to read our weekly newsletters, and please send us an email with questions or feedback you may have!
Ms. Ana
Mr. Balazs
Ms. Paola
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