Kindergarten News: October 2008

Dear Families,

What a busy time we had last month! Halloween is always an exciting holiday and this year was no exception. We completed many creative projects, learned descriptive poems, and shared many stories and songs. Our parties on Halloween were enjoyed by all! A big “Thank you” to our room parents and all who helped to make our class parties such a success- your help is greatly appreciated.

In math, we focused on patterns and our first math folders were sent home. As these folders come home, your child is encouraged to be your guide as you review them together. This gives your child the opportunity to explain his/her “math reasoning.” We will continue math folders, working on the concept of number.

We are introducing the reading and spelling of “high frequency” words in our reading program and are sending home mini-books to read. Your child’s book box is growing! Please read the mini-books at home with your child- daily reading practice is very important. We continue with rainbow writing, letter bags, and making our weekly dictionary pages. As we “rainbow write,” children are learning to form letters correctly, starting most letters at the top and carefully touching the lines. Clues to guess the contents of the letterbags get better all the time. We continue to work in our journals with words that have to do with the letter of the week, a special event or a story. Our “word bank” words for each letter give us the opportunity to read and write familiar words. And of course, everyone enjoys our special letter projects which often involve cooking something that starts with the letter of the week!

In science, we are watching and recording the weather and enjoying the signs of Fall. We will be drawing a tree with its fall colors very soon and will continue to draw the same tree as the seasons change throughout the year.

Thanksgiving will give us the opportunity to develop oral language skills as we learn more poems and songs and present our first play of the year, The Thanksgiving Story. Hopefully you all received the invitations this week, along with your child’s lines for the play. Please help your child learn and practice their lines at home.

We look forward to meeting with you at our scheduled conferences on November 24th and 25th. This will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and plan ways to encourage your child’s growth throughout the year. Children are not expected to be present. Conferences are scheduled one after another. We will work very hard to stay on schedule, so please be on time for your conference! We’ll be sending home a conference reminder the week before conference time. As always, we are available for any questions or concerns as soon as they arise. Please don’t hesitate to call, e-mail, or come in after class. (Please use e-mail for non-emergency messages only.)

Sincerely,

Your Kindergarten Teachers

Rm 1: Mrs. Nolan & Mrs. Terry
Rm 2: Mrs. McClain

Important Upcoming Kindergarten Dates to Note:

November 24th-25th, 2008 Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Previous 2008-2009 Kindergarten Newsletters:
September 2008