Kindergarten Newsletter
3/16/18
Classroom News!
One of the goals we have in Kindergarten is to instill in our students an appreciation for the beauty and fun of the written word. Dr. Seuss books with their silly rhyming words (using actual words and invented words), put our early readers and writers at ease with their own newfound abilities for reading and sounding out words. An example of this was a check-in question we put on the board one day this week. "What rhymes with tote?" The children got a big chuckle as they fearlessly wrote words like "Cote," "Hote" and "Mote." Additionally the rhymes in Dr. Seuss books help our students figure out how to read words that may be new to them. Above all else, Dr. Seuss books are funny and, for this reason, help foster a child's love of reading.
Also this week:
* We read "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss and used non standard measurements (cut outs of our feet) to measure various things in the classroom.
* We read the Lorax, created a portrait of the Lorax and wrote on the topic: What can each of us do to take care of the earth?
* Still more Dr. Seuss! After listening to "Horton Hears a Who" we drew, cut and glued various materials so make cards with rhyming words inside!
* We are ready to read our daily morning message in a new way! We each get a copy of the message and use highlighters to draw attention to various aspects of print: vowels, rhyming words, site words ... etc.
* Boy do we love Writers Workshop! During this time we stop periodically and ask for volunteers to read their work aloud. If only you could see the proud faces of our young authors as they read their stories to their peers. Our authors are working on stories about Piano lesson, mountain climbing, trains, Ghost Busters, magic and flying a kite - to name a few!
Conversation Starters
* I'll think of a word and you tell me a word that rhymes with it.
* In which Dr. Seuss book would we find this line: "A peron's a person no matter how small!"
* Why did you take your shoes off this week and trace your feet?!
Poem of the Week
Examination
I went to the doctor-
He reached down my throat
I pulled out a shoe
And a little toy boat.
He pulled out a skate
And a bicycle seat,
And he said, "Be more careful
about what you eat!"
Technology We Used
We have been using an app called "Osmo" which is unusual because it is a hands-on app. The activity we used this week involved using shape tiles that the children could manipulate to solve tangram pictures on the screen.
Reminder
On Wednesday March 21st Kindergarten will be celebrating "Wacky Wednesday." In the past children have enjoyed wearing their clothes inside out or backwards and/or wearing miss matched shoes and socks. We all look forward to a fun and wacky day.
Please keep the following in mind:
- Your child can be creative but safe shoes and appropriate clothes are necessary for outside time and PE.
- It would be best not to send your child in tights, because one art activity involves the children using their bare feet.
Thank you!