Kindergarten News
October 18-22, 2010

Weekly Theme:

Five Senses

Box Tops
Please continue to send in box-tops. It is a great say for our school to earn money! We appreciate your help!

OCTOBER

We have learned the letters A-O. We will continue with P and Q this week. Thank you for helping them form them correctly on their homework sheets. We have been doing quite a bit of writing in our class. The more kids write, the better writers they become. Research shows that kids who are good writers are usually good readers. Encourage your child to write grocery lists, make cards, write letters to their grandparents, etc. We have also been practicing “stretching out” words by listening for the sounds we hear in each word and writing down the sounds we can hear. Don’t worry that your child does not spell each word correctly—encourage them to (1) slowly say the word they want to write, (2) stretch out the word, (3) listen for each sound, (4) write down the sounds they know and (5) do their best!

Here is a head’s up for Halloween—we will have a classroom party on Friday, October 29th. Please do not have your child wear a costume on that day. We will have some snacks/treats and play some games. I try to keep the parties simple. If you signed up to bring something, I will send a reminder home a few days before the party.

I have had great attendance this year and appreciate you making school a priority! As always, please feel free to contact me anytime!

linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850

Kindergarten News
October 11-15 2010

Weekly Theme:

Five Senses

Early Literacy Idea
Please continue to read with your child or have him/her read to you. Visit the library and enjoy a new variety of books.

OCTOBER

We have learned the letters A-M. We will continue with N and O this week. Each student should be able to write both upper and lower case letters correctly as well as tell you the sound each one makes.

We have learned the sight words me, see, I, can, like, look, here, the. This week we will learn on, at.

We have been working on the numerals 0-10. Ask your child to name each one and write each one correctly as well.

Each child should also be able to identify a circle, square, triangle and rectangle. The rectangle is the one that is giving some of the student’s trouble.

Please encourage your child to write his/her first name with a capital for the first letter and all lower case for the rest. Thanks so much for your help at home. If they are receiving reinforcement from school and home, it is so much to their advantage! You are wonderful parents!

linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850

Kindergarten News
October 4-8 2010

Weekly Theme:

Colors/Shapes

Early Literacy Idea
Play with letters! Magnetic letters are good for word play. Also, let your child trace letters in sand, salt, rice, etc. as they say the letters and sounds.

OCTOBER

Please look over your child’s pre-assessment scores that will come home on Monday, October 4th in his/her homework folder. Keep in mind that this assessment was given five weeks ago. This year the guidelines have changed a little bit. We do not count reversals. This means that if your child writes a number backwards, for example, it is not counted as correct. You will notice a part on the assessment that says, FSF. This stands for First Sound Fluency. Your child is asked to tell the first sound he/she hears in a variety of words. It is timed for one minute. The goal for this time of year is 10. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know and I will gladly explain anything on the assessment that is unclear to you. You have wonderful children and it is exciting to see the growth they are making. Thanks for making a difference in their education!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850

Kindergarten News
September 27-October 1, 2010

Weekly Theme:

Colors/Shapes

Parent Volunteers
I will let you know for sure the week we will begin our centers. It will probably the week after SEP Week, but I will contact you to confirm the date. Thank you so much for your help!

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

During SEP Week, October 4-8, we will not be having individual appointments for kindergarten students because of our assessments in August. However, it you have concerns and you want to meet with me, I would love to do that. Please just let me know. I may call some of you as well. Remember that the students will be dismissed early, allowing me to more effectively plan and prepare our curriculum to meet the needs of your children. Students will be dismissed every day at 10:35 for the AM students and 2:30 for PM students, even on Wednesday for that week. PM students attend from 12:45-2:30—NOT the usual 11:45-1:30. Extended Day students will stay until 2:30 as well.

Your child will bring his/her pre-assessment and DIBELS scores home in the homework folders on Monday, Oct. 4th. Again, if you have questions or concerns about anything, I would love to talk to you about them. You may call or e-mail any time and we can set up an appointment.

Thank you for your support at home! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850

Kindergarten News
September 20-24, 2010

Weekly Theme:

Friendship/Feelings/Autumn

Early Literacy Idea
Help your child understand how books work. (Concepts of print) As you read, point to words to show left to right, spaces between words, and the word patterns.

SEPTEMBER

We are excited for our Field Trip on Monday! We will travel to Wood’s Ranch to look for signs of Autumn, which goes along with our theme for this week. Please send a sack lunch and have your child wear good walking shoes.

Last week we talked about the letters E and F. Your child should be able to recognize them, tell you the sounds they make and write them correctly. We also learned the sight word can. This week we will work on the letters G and H and learn the sight words like and look. We have also been working very hard on forming the numbers correctly. Thanks again for your help and encouragement at home.

There is an exciting free opportunity for all children in our community on Friday and Saturday. Keve Wilson, a touring artist and Broadway musician living in New York City will be presenting music demonstrations and discussions for families (kids get to try out the instruments). These events are very relaxed, enjoyable and kid friendly. Friday at 3:30 is a master class and a question and answer session. Saturday at 10:30--“Music Unwrapped”; 2:30--Open Rehearsal and 7:30--concert. All events are in the Thorley Recital Hall.

As always, please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions or concerns!

linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850

Kindergarten News
September 13-17, 2010

Weekly Theme:

Friendship/Feelings/Autumn

Names
I would love it if you could help me reinforce the fact that our names (with one or two exceptions) start with a capital and all the rest of the letters are lowercase. If your child is used to using all capitals, this is a hard habit to break, but I know if we work together we can do it!

SEPTEMBER

We are making great progress in kindergarten! Thank you for your support at home. We are focusing on alphabet letters at this time. Your child should recognize all 26 letters—both capital and lower case by the middle of November. In addition, he/she should be able to write them correctly. I appreciate you taking the time to reinforce how to form the letters correctly on the homework assignments. Parent involvement is such an important part of their success, so thanks again for making sure their homework is complete and reading to them on a daily basis. Just 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference! We have learned the sight words me, see, I. We have started working on numerals 0-10.

The “three books in a bag” come home today. These are the books that your child will read to you (with help if needed, of course)! Please keep them at home for the entire week and send them back the following Monday. I have not had a chance to listen to those students who are already reading, so don’t be alarmed if your child brings home books that are not on his/her level. I will get that done as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding!

As always, please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions or concerns!

linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850

Kindergarten News
September 6-10, 2010

Weekly Theme:
“All About Me”/Self-Esteem

Save your Box Tops!
Please remember to send in box tops with your child. Each box top is worth 10 cents for our school, so tell your relatives and friends to help with the collecting too! Help our class earn a reward by bringing the box tops in.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

We had a great first week of school! We have worked hard on establishing a routine and effective classroom management skills so optimal learning will occur with each child. Let me explain how our classroom management works. If a student is disrupting the rest of the class and needs a reminder of the rules, he/she gets a clothespin on the green stop light at the front of our room. This is just a reminder. If he/she needs two reminders, the clothespin goes to yellow and five minutes of recess is missed. If three reminders are needed, he/she sits on the “thinking chair” in my office, away from the other children. After a few minutes, I visit with him/her and ask if they are ready to join the class. If the problem persists, he/she will visit Mr. Oldroyd and it will be determined if the Skills Building program is needed. Your child will bring a paper home for you to sign if he/she was on the yellow or red stoplight. You will also receive a phone call from me if your child was on red so we can discuss how we can work together to improve your child’s behavior.

This week we have practiced the correct way to write the letters A and B and what sounds they make and have worked on many educational activities. Please continue to reinforce having your child write their name using a capital for the first letter and all the rest lower case. Thank you!

linda.wood@ironmail.org
ginger.ekker@ironmail.org
586-2850