SASD 4K Family Newsletter
Grow. Play. Learn.
September 4th, 2023
Tomorrow, September 5th, is the first day of school for 4K and ALL students in the Stoughton Area School District! If you have questions, concerns, know that we are all here for you. We stand strong and committed to ALL of our students, families and staff members!
Send your 1st day of school pictures to: sarajane.lee@stoughton.k12.wi.us or text to (608)449-1918.
Erin Conrad, 4K Principal
Sara Jane Lee, 4K Coordinator
Mindy Holverson, 4K Administrative Assistant
OWL Curriculum in September
Week 1 Unit 1 Theme: You and Me
Week 2 Unit 1 Theme: Let’s Be Friends
Week 3 Unit 1 Theme: Friends to the Rescue
Week 4 Until 1 Theme: Friends Working and Playing Together
September Focus Learning Goals in 4K
Make friends and follow rules
Use new vocabulary words
Listen and comprehend stories
Understand the language of math
Rote count
Nurtured Heart
To kick off the year, I wanted to share information about the most magical thing we've ever used with our own children and for supporting students in the classroom- The Nurtured Heart Approach.
NURTURED HEART FOCUS WORDS in the 4K CLASSROOM:
Week 1-I am Full of Greatness! "I show my greatness by using my eyes to see and my words to say what is right about who I am and what I do."
Week 2-Kind "I show my greatness by caring for all, no matter their skin color, eye color, body and shape or size, clothes they wear or language they speak."
Week 3-Focused "I show my greatness by looking with my eyes and keeping my thoughts on school work."
Week 4-Energetic "I show my greatness by making healthy choices of running, climbing, jumping and swinging on the playground."
The Pyramid Model Framework
The Pyramid Model features Tucker the Turtle!
In September, the 4K teachers will introduce Tucker the Turtle:
Tucker the Turtle learns about his greatness!!
Building Connections
This new literacy-based product seamlessly integrates these skills, taking complex concepts and making them actionable in learning sessions. Students will be reading the book Join in and Play by Cheri J. Meiners and Share and Take Turns by Cheri J. Meiners this month.
Heggerty Phonemic Awareness
At school your child is engaging in Heggerty Phonological Awareness lessons. Phonological awareness allows children to recognize and work with the sounds of language. These activities are sometimes called ear exercises because the focus is on hearing the parts or sounds in words. Your child will not be seeing these words in print during phonological awareness instruction. Towards the second half of the year, your student will be working on primarily phonemic awareness, a subset of phonological awareness focused specifically on hearing individual sounds in words.
Why is Phonological Awareness Important?
Phonological awareness is a strong predictor of reading success. It is especially important at the earliest stages of reading development and is a foundation skill for reading and writing.
How Can You Support Phonological Awareness at Home?
Throughout the school year, you will receive newsletters sharing ideas of games or “ear exercises” you can play with your child. Phonological awareness is simple to support at home–all you need is language! Help your child understand that the words they hear in speech are made up of parts and sounds.
You can begin building phonological awareness in your child by:
★ Reciting nursery rhymes
★ Reading books with rhyming words
★ Playing with alliteration (words that begin with the same sound)
○ Example: Seven silly sisters said surprise!
★ Playing “I Spy” focusing on beginning sounds.
○ Example: “I spy something that begins with the sound /b/.” (books, ball, etc)
We look forward to supporting you and your child in building foundational literacy skills this school year!
Learning Without Tears
Learning Without Tears is:
Developmentally Sequenced for empowered teaching and active student participation.
Research-based: Award-winning curriculum that integrates play-based and academic learning.
Play with Purpose: Play-based, multi-sensory instruction specifically made for young learners.
Unique Pre-Writing Activities: Complete pre-writing program for future success.
The 4K kids will learn about MAT MAN this month!! Check out the Mat Man song!!
More about Learning Without Tears
In readiness & writing, students develop crucial academic readiness skills that set them up for success in 4K and beyond. The curriculum provides active, joyful ways to learn grip, pre-writing, and social-emotional skills as they progress from scribbling, coloring, and drawing shapes to tracing and copying capital and lowercase letters and numbers. 4K students will receive a workbook that they will use throughout the year!
WI Model Early Learning Standards
Emotional Development: Understanding & responding to emotions & perspectives
Self Concept: Personal sense of well-being, expressing wants & needs
Early Literacy: Listening & responding, deriving meaning, staying on topic, comprehending vocabulary
Math: Sorts objects, Comparing objects, Counting with 1-1 correspondence
EQUITY CORNER
District Core Values
- Excellence & Equity in Teaching & Learning
- Respect & commitment to each other
- Personal & Social Responsibility
- Community Engagement
- Sustainability of Resources
Click on the link for this month's and past month's resources
Ginger Bread House
Stoughton Public Library
1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a reading program at the Stoughton Public Library that encourages families and caregivers to read books with younger children before they enter kindergarten. This program is ongoing; therefore there is no starting date or end date. You may register your child (age 0 to 5) any time throughout the year. The goal is simply to read 1000 Books Before Kindergarten.
There are two ways to register:
- Visit the Beanstack site online or download the Beanstack tracker app on your smartphone or tablet and search for "Stoughton Public Library (WI)"
- Or you can email mostrander@stolib.org or call 608-873-6281 if you prefer not to use Beanstack and only use the paper tracking log.
Instructions:
Contact us!
Kate Ahlgren, Director of Curriculum and Instruction kate.ahlgren@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Sara Jane Lee, 4K Coordinator sarajane.lee@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Mindy Holverson, 4K Administrative Assistant mindy.holverson@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Website: https://www.stoughton.k12.wi.us/our-schools/4-year-old-kindergarten
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoughtonschools/