Hello Everybody,
We've finished 2 full weeks of Kindergarten and I have to say your kids
are doing well. We continue to establish daily routines, practice how
we walk around the school, and learn what good listening in the Meadow
"looks" like. I believe each child is feeling more and more comfortable
in The Hollow. Everyone is participating in our activities and all
seem eager to learn.
We had our first 2 fire drills this week. They are always interesting-
the alarm is so loud it's a little frightening. (OK it's a lot
frightening at first) Our class had practiced twice previously without
the alarm and the kids did great getting out of the building and to our
assigned spot. I had another K teacher mention how "together" our class
was.
We've started our Lively Letters and have done p and b (lip puffers) and
t and d (tongue dancers). Each letter has a great song and movement to
help the kids learn and remember. This program was developed by speech
pathologists with an emphasis on how the sounds are formed. Your child
may be able to sing the songs to you.
In Writing Workshop we are focusing on oral storytelling. Each child
gets to sit in the author's chair and tell a simple story from their
life. Oral storytelling is the first step in being able to put thoughts
together and then express them for others to hear or read. Your
children are learning they have important things to say. It's been
quite interesting- but don't worry, what happens in The Hollow stays in
the Hollow. Students have also had opportunity to begin making books,
which is the format we will use for their writing. This coming week we
will also begin guided drawing to aid them in their illustrations.
(Illustration is the bulk of their writing at this point in the
process.)
In Science we've continued with the Life Cycle of a Butterfly. We have
one more chrysalis we're waiting on. When we release the butterfly I
may try to take more pictures and get everybody's head this time. We'll
see.
Our Math stations have been mainly exploring various manipulatives.
This week I will add simple tasks to the stations. In our Math lessons
we've begun learning about zero, measuring, and the relationships
between pattern block shapes hexagon, trapezoid, square, triangle, fat
rhombus, skinny rhombus, and triangles.
Some things to ask your child:
what is metamorphosis
what is migration and where do monarchs fly
what is symmetry
where we line up during a fire drill
to sing you the Lively Letters songs
to sing you our butterfly song
to show you the exercises we do before handwriting
Looking forward to another great week,
Sandi