The Kindergarten Family Mailer

The Kindergarten Family Mailer
September 22-26, 2014
By Mrs. Chien and Mrs. Lizarralde
The children were a little worn out by the end of the week, but they kept going! It will
be a few more weeks until they really adjusted to the schedule and routines. In the
meantime, remember that your child may need extra sleep and positive reinforcement for
the next few weeks.
**Thank you for getting your children’s homework in on-time!
Ways to help your child be successful in Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a wonderful learning experience for your child! We want to help make the
transition easier and smoother by preparing each child for this special time. Here is a list of
things to work on at home to help ensure their success. Thanks so much!
1. Unwrapping their own snacks and lunch item. (crackers, chips, applesauce, milk, etc.)
2. Zipping and buttoning jackets, pants, skirts, or shorts
3. Tying shoes. The dollar store has some 'shoes' to help practice lacing & tying.
4. Tucking their shirt tails in their pants, skirts, or shorts
5. Personal hygiene: washing and drying hands, proper use of hand sanitizer (one squirt) and
cleanliness during bathroom visits
6. Buckling belts
7. Naming and recognizing numbers 1-10
8. Naming and recognizing letters (upper AND lower case) and sounds of the alphabet
9. Naming and recognizing colors
10. Developing the fine motor skills for writing is so important in Kindergarten. Allowing your
child to manipulate clay and play-doh, cut with scissors, and play in sand will strengthen their
hands and fingers.
11. Routines: Research shows that children thrive on a consistent routine and discipline.
Having a plan for your child's afterschool routine--setting aside a time for homework, play,
and an early bedtime--will help your child be successful for this year and years to come.
MATHEMATICS
The textbook we use in kindergarten is entitled Progress in Mathematics
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Chapter 2 focuses on three-dimensional shapes such as cubes, cones, cylinders, and
spheres. We will use basic shapes and spatial reasoning to model objects in our
environment and to construct more complex shapes.
Legos were a fun and educational way to help develop an understanding of 2D and
3D shapes; they support and encourage collaboration and storytelling, and assist to
develop the use of descriptive language and an understanding of different roles and
emotions that relate to community life.
Stack, slide and roll concept:
You can see some of the
language the kids used when discussing whether or not 3D shapes could roll, slide or
stack and how it relates to the attributes of those shapes.
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Phonics:
Each week a new letter will be introduced. The children should know that the alphabet is made
up of two types of letters, 5 vowels and 21 consonants and that there are 26 in all. Letters Ll, Oo,
Gg , Hh and Tt are the letters we have discussed and worked with in class.
The rules we have discussed include:
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When a vowel is followed by a consonant, it is short, code it with a breve. Breve: a breve is a
small curved line that is placed above a vowel to signify the short vowel sound.
Example: bat
b ă t
Phonics Rule #15 compound words
A compound word is made up of two words that come together to
make a whole word. (doghouse, butterfly)
Phonics Rule #16 syllables
Syllables are word parts. We can identify how many syllables are
in a word by clapping it while saying it. (com-put-er)
We watched: Mo rri s t he Mi dge t Mo o s e f ro m 1 95 0 , B y W alt
D i s n e y: A bottle beetle elder tells the story of Morris, the moose about the size
of a rabbit. Thunderclap the moose is taking on all challengers, and Morris decides to
try, much to the amusement of Thunderclap. As a result, he meets Balsam, a full-size
moose with tiny antlers (Morris' antlers are full size). The two team up, and with the
help of a log that makes them very tall, defeat Thunderclap.
The original Disney classics are the best!
Handwriting:
**It is important that students learn the correct way to hold a pencil and the correct way
to write letters. Students should pinch the pencil firmly with their thumb and index finger.
Most letters begin with a stroke from the top to the bottom and curved letters are left to
right.
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Make sure to emphasize correct posture, a slight slant to the paper, and correct
pencil grip.
The proper techniques will last a lifetime!
Make sure to emphasize correct posture, a slight slant to the paper, and correct pencil
grip.
Books We Have Read:
This is where we will list the titles of all of the books read class. This provides parents an
opportunity to reread your child's favorites, and ask engaging questions at the dinner table.
Often parents ask their children about school and they respond, "Nothing" or "I don't
know". Won't they be surprised when you say, "Tell me about the story...??”
Fly Guy and the Frankenfly (Fly Guy #13) by Tedd Arnold Buzz and Fly Guy spend a day
together playing some spooky games and doing arts and crafts projects. When Buzz goes to bed, Fly Guy
stays awake and is "bizzie"! Buzz has a nightmare that a gigantic Frankenfly monster is out to get him! But
when he wakes up, all he sees is Fly Guy, who fell asleep making posters showing that he and Buzz are
best friends.
Fly High, Fly Guy! (Fly Guy #5) by Tedd Arnold Mom and Dad won't let Fly Guy go along on the family
road trip. They're afraid he'll get lost. But when Dad accidentally shuts him in the trunk, Fly Guy goes along
for the ride! First, Fly Guy gets lost at the picnic site--but he shows up in the garbage can. Then he gets lost
at the art museum, but he shows up as part of a modern painting. At the beach, he turns up in a shell, and
at the amusement park, on Buzz's hot dog (yuck!).
There's a Fly Guy in My Soup (Fly Guy #12) by Tedd Arnold
At a fancy hotel dinner, Fly Guy gets into some trouble--and the restaurant's soup!
When Buzz and his family have dinner in a fancy hotel's restaurant, Fly Guy isn't allowed in. After
searching through the hotel's trash, Fly Guy smells a wonderful aroma coming from the
restaurant's kitchen. Fly Guy causes some messy mayhem in the restaurant, and in the end,
everyone needs a bath
Social Studies
—We continue to work on building community: what it means to be a member of our classroom community,
and the importance of following rules to make sure that everyone is safe and valued. Part of this includes a
focus on friendship skills—how to be a friend, share, take turns, negotiates when you want something that
someone else has, etc.
Religion: The textbook we use is We Believe with Project Disciple. GOAL:
To help the children know God as loving Creator and to develop an awareness of the
presence of God in themselves, others, and the world. Our students learn about the
Catholic faith at school through daily prayer and religious instruction.
We are learning that the Bible is an important book of stories that tell us about God’s love
for us. The creation story is the first bible story we will focus on. The important message for
the children is that God created the earth and everything on it for us, and it is our
responsibility to appreciate this and take care of all the gifts of creation.
We will continue to discuss our school saint, St. Francis as we prepare
for his feast day celebration on Saturday, October 4th.
**Students should be practicing prayers at home.
We are Scientists!
The season of Autumn will be the focus as the children observe the changes happening
around them. We will learn why leaves change color.
Spanish
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In Spanish with Señora Seay we continue to learn greetings; hello, “Hola!” “Buenos días” Good day; Buenas Tardes - Good afternoon/evening is; Buenas noches - good night.
Siéntense = sit down) and párense = stand up. Reviewed color words: azul — blue, blanco —
white, negro — black, rojo — red, rosado — pink, verde — green, naranja — orange, amarillo
— yellow, anaranjado — orange.
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Watched Ferdinand the Bull, the Oscar-winning short.
Little Ferdinand would much rather smell the flowers than butt heads with the other cows. When the
men come to choose the bull for the fight, Ferdinand accidentally sits on a bumblebee. The men see
him dash around madly, so they pick Ferdinand. Comes the bullfight and all Ferdinand cares about is
the bouquet of flowers a woman tossed to the matador.
 Art
Students need to have an art smock, this can be an over-sized t-shirt, to
keep their uniforms clean.
Ask about painting!
Technology in the Classroom
Brainpopjr is a fun educational site of animated, curriculum-based
content in videos that engage students. Many of the topics
studied in Core Knowledge are covered and much more. After
watching a video, the students take a quiz to check for
understanding .or complete an activity.
Health and PE
In Health the children discussed emotions
Happy, sad, angry,
proud…help students understand and accept a wide range of moods and emotions!
In PE the kids are practicing catching and throwing techniques with a partner
Special Projects:
Saints Crown
Due Date: October 28th
Kindergarten is preparing for their first official visit to mass on Friday, November 7, 8:45
a.m. Each child will wear their saint crown for this special occasion.
Please pick a saint and read about this saint with your child. You may want to pick the
saint that your child was named after, or perhaps a friend or relative’s name. Decorate the
crown in the spirit of the saint (no character stickers or decorations that are not about
the saint such as Barbie or Batman), making the name of the saint clearly visible on the
front of the crown. Below is an example of how the name should be visible.
Saint
Michael
Celebrating Our Diversity
We wish to celebrate our diversity by
having family and friends come to present
information about their culture and
heritage. We would like to have one to
two speakers a month who come in to
share information about where they are
from (if you are from outside the United
States) or their heritage (e.g. Polish), as
well as their culture (e.g. dress, food, activities, music, housing). The presentation,
including snack, should be no more than 45 minutes. By celebrating what is special
about all of the people in the world, we can learn to better appreciate one another. If
you or another family member is available to come in to present to Kindergarten, please
let us know so we can start scheduling these wonderful opportunities for learning.
Reminders from Mrs. Chien:
1. SHOE TYING
As the children continue to develop self-help skills I wanted to share the following method and language that
an occupational therapist I worked with used to teach shoe tying in school.
 She did not use the “bunny ears” method as it actually requires greater fine motor ability.
 There are no tricks. Only consistent practice at home will help your child to master this task.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
 Think of tying as a multi-step task. Your child may master a few steps at a time before they are
able to do all of the steps consecutively.
 Use the language within this guide.
 Let your child do the steps that they can even if it means providing alternating assistance.
 Children learn to tie by watching the smaller steps being performed.
STEPS:
 Make an “X”.
 Bring front lace down and under.
 Grab the ends and pull side to side.
 Make a low loop with a tail, pinch and hold.
 With the other lace, go around the loop.
 See the bridge that you made?
 Push the lace under the bridge. (You may need to demonstrate this and the next step many times
before your child can do it.)
 See the lace under the bridge? Pinch it. It’ a loop.
 Pinch both loops and pull side to side.
 Your Shoe is tied!
GOOD LUCK!!
2. Does your child know this information?
1. -their address WHOLE addess?
2. -their full name
3. -their parents' first and last names
4. -their phone number.
Wish List
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Nerf or Nerf-like balls for outside play…
Up-coming
Events
Sept. 30th Crazy Sock Day
Oct. 3rd Francis Day in the Park – 10:00 AM Mass, Walk-a-Thon immediately following
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
mass
13th Columbus Day Holiday – No School
15th First Field Trip, Belvedere Plantation, “The Pumpkin Patch!”
18th PTO Chili Cook-off – 6:30 PM
28th Saint Crowns due in class
30th Halloween Party 1:30 p.m.
Oct.
Oct.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
30th Chick-Fil-A Fundraiser, Stafford, 5:00-8:00 p.m.
31st Diocesan Educational Institute – No School for Students
2nd Daylight Savings ends. You know the old saying: spring forward, fall back.
7th Kindergarten will begin attending mass.
10th 11:30 dismissal. Conferences
11th 11:30 dismissal. Conferences
General Information
Chuckles and Heart warmers
Pennies for Peru
The St. Francis School “Pennies for Peru” program was established in September 2007. This is an on-going
monetary collection to aid the members of our Sister Parish in Peru. Thank you for supporting this very
worthy cause.
Box Tops, Campbell’s Soup Labels, printer cartridges, pop-tabs for the
Ronald McDonald Homes and My Coke Rewards
We are collecting Box Tops, Campbell’s Soup Labels, and soda bottle lids for My Coke Rewards and toner/ ink
cartridges. Please send them in a plastic bag in the Boomerang folder. We will be collecting these throughout
the year.