Newsletter and Updates

We will post the newsletter on the blog each Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.  We hope this helps you in case you misplace the paper copy.

We have been working hard on learning the letter sound and how to write a capital and lower case letter Ll. We are going to add a page with video links for our letter of the week so your child can practice at home by watching educational videos that support the letter sound concept.  If you see that your child is having difficulty mastering a letter sound please use these additional supports at home.  The extra practice will really help your child learn the new sounds.  This is the foundation for later blending letter sounds together to read words.  We are in the process of assessing each child for letter identification (capital and lower case) and their ability to produce each letters appropriate sound.  We are also assessing number recognition, if they can write their name (first name with first letter capital and the rest lower case).  Please practice with your child at home if they are struggling with any of these concepts.

This was the first week for our Mystery Readers to come in and read in the classrooms.  This was also the first week to have the Letter of the Week bags sent in.  Thank you for taking your time to support your child's education by volunteering for these activities.  These are exciting activities for the children and when your child sees you at school they know that you and their teacher are a team that works together to provide the best educational experience possible for them.

Next week the students do not have class on Monday or Tuesday.  Please make sure you have made alternative plans if you need child care for that time.  Chautauqua sent home a paper earlier this month for you to fill out if you needed child care at school that day.  Make sure you sent it in if you need to use that service.

Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate shoes on PE days.  Also, the PE teachers are spending a lot of time tying shoes and ask that you work with your child at home so they can tie their shoes independently.  This will help to make PE a more enjoyable experience for your child.  They hate to sit out of a fun activity because they do not have on proper shoes (flip flops are dangerous for many of the PE activities).

The school nurse asks that if you have any clothes that were sent home from school (due to accidents at school) that you please turn the clothes back in.  She is already out of Kindergarten size shorts and underwear.  If you have any additional Kindergarten sized clothes would you please consider donating them to the nurses office?  We would really appreciate your help.

Next week we will be learning all about the letter Oo and the color word BLUE.  Our site words for this month are "see", "I", "and" "red" and "blue".  Your new Kindergarten Binder should arrive home on Friday after school with your child.  Please read through the information on the front page so you know how to use this binder with your child.  The binder has a list of all of the "popcorn" words they will need to learn this year (words that are sight words, they need to memorize because they cannot be sounded out).  These words are critical for them to learn so they can become independent readers.  Words will be added each week or you may have received them all at once so you can make flash cards out of the.  Please keep them on a ring or in a zip lock bag (or both) and keep them with the binder so your child can practice at least three times a week.  In the binder you will find the poems we use each week for learning letter sounds and color concepts.  They will be added each week if they are not all inside the binder when you receive it this week. The poems they are familiar with are the letter Ll poem (about Larry the Lion) and the R-E-D poem.  Please read those with your child.  They should have them memorized because we read these together each day. The binders are an amazing tool to help your child academically and we encourage that you use the binder at least three times each week.  Have your child review the letter of the week poem with you and as they are introduced to more letters have them read the additional poems to you.

Thank you for remembering to initial your child's behavior calendar each night.  Please check the Take Home Folder each day.  This is the easiest way to stay in constant communication with us.  If things are in the Left At Home side of the folder please keep those items at home.  Please check the Send Right Back side of the binder for homework and important information that needs to be returned to school.  Please continue to make sure your child knows their lunch pin so they can get through the lunch line quicker and have more time to eat lunch.  Thank you for your hard work in helping your child memorize their number.

Please send in a labeled snack next week for three days.  Labeling the snacks help the kids learn each other's names and keeps the kids form eating the wrong snack.  Explain to your child that there is only one snack each day.

We all hope you have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend.  Please drive safely if you are traveling.  Keep safe in this heat and enjoy your time together.  Don't forget to read 20 minutes each day with your child!

The Kindergarten Team

August 23rd Newsletter

I hope this posts well enough for you to read.  It is a picture of the newsletter coming home tomorrow.  Please make a note of important upcoming dates.  Have a great weekend and remember to read at least 20 minutes a night with your child!  We also added several of the You Tube video songs we use in math and to teach letter sounds.  Please go to our video pages and watch with your child!  As a special treat go to our Read Aloud page and watch the teacher's read books to you.  Mrs. Otzenberger will be adding her video soon.  We hope you enjoy the additional resources to use at home.  Don't forget, Scholastic book orders are due soon and you can link to Scholastic directly from the website.  Each classroom has a unique code so you can order on-line.  If you have misplaced the code just email your teacher and they will send it to you.  Ordering books through Scholastic is one of the best ways to help your child develop a lifelong love of reading and you support the classroom. Every time you order the classroom earns free books!  Please consider ordering.  We appreciate your support in opening up an exciting world of reading for your child.

 

First Week of Kindergarten Update

Last week was a short week and all of the children were introduced to the expectations and procedures at school.  They have all been working so hard on walking quietly through the hallways.  If you hear them refer to "hallway hands" (hands behind your back), the "hair stare" (looking directly at the person in front of you while you are walking in line so you stay one behind the other) or "level zero" voices (making no noise in the hallway) then now you know what all of those crazy sayings mean.  You may also hear "put a bubble in your mouth" and "have marshmallow feet".  They also practiced how to come to carpet safely, how to clean up and be responsible for their materials and how to move through the room safely.  They spent some time getting to know each other and their teachers.  Some have learned where the nurse's office is and I think they can all find the bathrooms independently!

This week we are spending more time getting to know each other by starting our "Star Names" or "King and Queen" Units.  This is a unit of study that focuses on the child's name.  Each day their is one child chosen to be the "star".  The other children draw pictures of them and try to write their name.  We play word games with the letters in the "stars" name.  We compare to see if the "star" name is shorter or longer than ours, count how many letters in their name and see who else starts with the same letter as our "star" student in the class.  It is a fun word study unit and a great way for the children to bond and get to know more about each other and about letter formation and letter sounds.

We are also introducing "Reading Workshop" to the kids.  Right now we are introducing them to the procedures for how reading workshop runs.  This format will follow them through their middle school years in Wentzville for reading so setting a strong foundation for how to handle books, how to return books, how to care for books, how to read independently and how to read with a buddy are critical skills they are learning this year.  Right now we are practicing procedures and getting them used to the expectations during reading time.

We are following our schedules this week as closely as possible.  Word work, reading workshop, writing workshop, math and hand writing are all being introduced this week.  We will be working on stamina (the length of time they can stay actively engaged during an activity) over the next month.  They are getting used to working at the carpet and working at their desks.

The children are picking up new skills everyday and they may be tired and hungry by the time they get home.  Very few are actually resting during any part of the day but they are taking a "brain break" where there is a quiet time when they can work independently in their journals or enjoy a book.  They are doing a great in the cafeteria (although lunch is short and they eat slowly so some of the kids are not getting their whole lunch eaten and that is normal as well).  They are still learning bathroom expectations so don't be surprised if a few of the children have accidents during the first month of school.

Please make sure you check their back packs every night!  You need to be signing off on their calendars (the behavior record).  We send home a TON of important information in those folders so it is critical that you check them each and every night.  We have sent home Scholastic Book Ordering information, extra-curricular information, behavior reports, accident reports (if they had to go to the nurse) and information from other departments.  We appreciate your dedication to maintaining open communication between home and school.

School parties and the fall field trip will be here before you know it so PLEASE fill out your volunteer information forms so you can come in and be a Mystery Reader, attend class parties and go on the field trip.  Also, if you are going to volunteer to help with projects (like copying, cutting, reading to the children) you have to have your background check completed BEFORE you are allowed to be with the children.

Thanks for sending in their snacks each week and thank you for checking their folders each night.  We are off to a great start for the year.  We are so proud of the children and everything they are learning.  We will post again soon and let you know about the curriculum each week so you know what to reinforce at home.

And as always, make sure you are reading with your child 20 minutes each night!  This is the most important thing you can do as we work together to lay a strong foundation for developing a life long love of reading in each child!  Have a great week!

Team Kindergarten

Welcome to Kindergarten

Dear Families and Students,
     We are so excited that school is starting!  We all enjoyed meeting you at Orientation and Meet the Teacher Night!  We know starting Kindergarten is a big and important day.  Don't forget to pack snack for two days for this week.  Make sure you get plenty of sleep and eat a good breakfast so you are ready for all of the exciting learning that will happen.  The new students will be learning procedures this week.  They will tour the school, learn about the cafeteria and playground and how to be a good classroom and school citizen this.  The schedule will be different for them this week and next week we will start introducing them to the daily schedule. 
     If your child comes home hungry and tired that is normal.  The first four weeks are often exhausting for them.  Their brains are processing information every moment that they are here and that burns a lot of calories and requires them to focus very hard on new information.  They may need a snack or a nap when they return home even if they haven't needed a nap for a long time.  This is very normal.  We will keep you updated through this blog and we hope you will join by email (the tab is on the side of the blog).  This will send an email directly to you anytime we update the blog.  This may be easier for you rather than checking it each day.  We will be posting our newsletters on the blog for you as well each week and we will be sending home a paper copy for you as well.
     We also advise that you do not send your child to school in flip flops.  They tend to trip and fall over them during recess time and most injuries on the playground involve tripping over their flip flops.  They will want to check out everything on the playground and learn how to use the equipment safely so shoes with backs help them keep from losing their shoes on the monkey bars and climbers.
     We are always available for you if you have any questions.  We will be adding information to the blog (such as the videos we are using to teach basic math and language skills).  Please have them practice their lunch pin numbers.  They have a short window for lunch and the faster they learn the number the quicker they can get through the lunch line.  Have them practice their teacher's name and room number in case they have a hard time finding the classroom the first few days.
     Many of you will want to drop off your child in the classroom.  You may want to cry because this is a big day as a parent, but try to keep a big smile on your face, tell them they will have so much fun and tell them you will see them very soon.  If you cry in front of them they may think that you are afraid to leave them at school and it may make them apprehensive.  Crying after you drop them off is totally expected!  We promise to make them feel comfortable and we will take excellent care of them!  We know that this is a big day full of emotions for you and for your child.
     Thank you for entrusting your child's academic, social and emotional growth to us.  We are your partner in your child's education and we will do everything in our power to nurture your child and help them develop a life long love for learning.
     Thank you also for helping us with our giving trees!  Your involvement is paramount in your child's education and we look forward to your involvement in their learning process.  Try to enjoy your day and be ready for an amazing year full of wonder and learning.  As always, please read at least 20 minutes a day with your child. This is the single most important thing you can do to give them the best head start to an amazing life!
     School starts promply at 8:20 so make sure they are here on time and ready to start the day.  Lunch is at 10:40.  Snack is at 2:15.  Review the dismissal proceedure you recieved at Orientation.  Dismissal will take a little longer than usual during the first two weeks as the children learn where to go and how to get there quickly and safely.
     The last thing we wanted to tell you is we use the following phrases all of the time.  This is part of our school wide Positive Behavior Support Plan.  Use these phrases at home as well so they get used to them and what they mean.  We use "Be Safe", "Be Responsible", and "Be Respectful".  We call these the Big Three so you can always go over them and what they mean at home to reinforce the basic school expectations.  Again, try to get some sleep, be excited, and take faith that they will have a fun filled learning experience!
     Check your child's backpack each night.  Their Take Home Folder and instructions/information will be in their backpack everyday.  It needs to come to school everyday as it is our main way of communicating with you each day.

Your partners in education,
The Peine Ridge Kindergarten Team