Next week we will be introducing the letter C. During the week we will talk about both the hard sound (k) and the soft sound (s). During the week we will sort c words into hard c and soft c categories, we will brainstorm and work on spelling words that start with c, and we will of course practice the correction formation of the letter. In Language Arts, we will read the books, Cookie's Week, Clara the Caterpillar, Charlie the Caterpillar, and Yes, We Can! We will work on sequencing events from the stories and discuss events that happen in the beginning, middle, and end of the stories. The sight word (popcorn word) CAN will be introduced and we will be telling the children about a special project. (details to follow in a handout). The kindergarten team wants to help your child learn that they CAN make a difference in the world!
In math next week, we will talk about clocks and begin to tell time to the hour. The class will also be introduced to symmetry and work with coins as well. We will also continue to practice tally marks and counting backwards. It is a good idea to look ahead to the second quarter math goals (they are listed on the math checklist you received at conferences) and practice the skills that we are working on in class, at home.
This week we will begin to set up our writing workshop. Students will learn what writing workshop looks like, sounds like, and how it works. Each child will get a writing folder and learn how to use their writing office boards. During writing workshop, the students are allowed to write about what THEY want to. It is a time for them to develop confidence as a writer and work on exploring different styles of writing. Each day starts off with a mini lesson on a specific skill or type of writing paper/genre and then the students are encouraged to try this skill/writing paper out during their writing time. Of course we also have a chance to SHARE writing with the class. The authors deserve the chance to CELEBRATE their accomplishments. Writing workshop is an exciting new addition to our kindergarten curriculum.
Once again I would like to ask that you work on teaching your child how to zip their coats and put on their own winter accessories (as well as how to pull a sleeve through when it is inside out). It takes a lot of time to help each child into their gear and the more independent they are...the faster it goes! Please remember to write your child's name on everything. It also might be a good idea to have extra gloves and hats at home to use in a pinch. You can not imagine how many lost gloves, hats, scarves, etc are on my floor at the end of the day. I will do my best do get them to their owner, but sometimes they just seem to disappear!
I hope that you found your child's conference to be informative (I know I still have to meet with some of you this week). Our team works hard to differentiate and meet the needs of each student in kindergarten. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you too for all the book donations from the book fair. They will make great additions to our classroom library. I appreciate your generosity!
