Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a restful, rejuvenating holiday break! We’re ready to jump right back into the action of kindergarten!
K Family DROP-IN
Thank you to all who attended our December Kindergarten Family Drop-In. The children were excited to share what they have learned about the work of scientists through our investigation of bulbs.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Kindergarten progress reports will be available for families on February 11th. This will be your kindergartner’s first Newton standards-based progress report. The performance level scores are based on mid-year expectations. Kindergarten will continue to work towards June benchmarks during the second half of the year. We try to balance the focus on objective standards with thoughtful comments about your child’s individual growth and goals. If you have questions, please feel free to ask!
BALANCED LITERACY
Fundations: This month we will be introducing several new letters and sounds including Dd (Dd-dog-/d/), Ee (Ee-Ed-/e/), Uu (Uu-up-/u/), Ll (Ll-lamp-/l/), Hh (Hh-hat-/h/), and Kk (Kk-kite-/c/).
Read Alouds, Shared Reading and Poems: In January, we will continue to read folktales. We will add several new books to our Classroom Favorites collection. These will include, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. Our Classroom Favorites collection provides the children with a solid core of books that they can enjoy and retell independently. Repeated readings of these books are used to teach key comprehension strategies.
MATHEMATICS
This month we will continue to reinforce and work on counting skills as well as number writing and the “tricky teens”. In addition we will also introduce students to addition and subtraction in preparation for our math unit, “Bunk Beds and Apple Boxes”, which we will begin next month.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
This month, we will study the Season of Winter. We will discuss how we dress in winter, what we celebrate in winter, how the weather changes in winter and how plants and animals are impacted by winter weather. We will work on our winter self-portraits, winter collage and learn winter poems. We will also read and learn about Martin Luther King, Jr.
WINTER CLOTHES
Throughout the winter months, we will continue to go outside for recess each day. Please be sure to send your child with a complete set of labeled outdoor gear each day. This includes hat, jacket, mittens/gloves, snow pants and boots. Even with good outdoor gear, kindergartners often return from recess with wet socks or pants from their adventures in the snow! Please be sure to re-stock your child’s set of extra clothes as needed. Also, please make sure your child has shoes to wear in the classroom.
*Kindergarten Rule to Remember*
If there is snow on the ground students should have boots for recess!
