Kindergarten News: October 2007

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 at the class parties- your help is greatly appreciated.

In math, we were working 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! We continue with rainbow writing, letter bags and making our 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. 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 19th and 20th. This will be an opportunity to discuss the Kindergarten curriculum 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! Many parents have other teachers to see and if we get behind, they will be late for their next conference. We’ll be sending home a conference reminder the week before conference time.

Sincerely,

Your Kindergarten Teachers
Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. McClain, Mrs. Nolan & Mrs. Terry

Important Upcoming Kindergarten Dates:
November 19th and 20th: Parent Teacher Conferences