Ms. Backhaus' Kindergarten Class
June 1st to 5th
First Week
We are off to a great start! It is so fun to watch how excited the kids are to be at school.
Thank you so much for all of the supplies and donations that you have sent into school already this year - we appreciate it so much!
We are working hard at learning how to be a great kindergarten student. We have been practicing sitting in body basics, standing in line basics, walking in the hallways, and working hard to be a responsible and safe kindergarten student in the classroom and at recess.
We have also been working on some basic academic skills that we expect from our kindergarten students in the fall. This includes holding a pencil (crayon, marker, etc) correctly, using scissors, writing our names, and learning the names of the letters and numbers. The following is a list of things you can continue to work on with your student to be sure they are ready for kindergarten.
- Writing and identifying the letters in their name
- Identifying the names of the letters
- Counting and recognizing numbers through 10
- Identifying shapes
- Identifying colors
- Read, read, read to your child and talk about what you read
Reading
We are already reading books - I am so very proud of your kiddos! We have been focusing on holding our books the correct way, reading from left to right, pointing to the words as we read, finding letters and words in our text, and using the pictures to help us read - good readers always use the pictures as a guide! We get time each day to read independently from our reading bag all of the books that we work on throughout the week. At the end of the summer they will be bringing these reading bags home so that you can continue to read for the rest of summer break.
This week we read the poem Jack Be Nimble. We also read the books The Classroom, The School, and Counting Letters. Your child is also practicing reading their ABC chart - next week we will begin working on letter sounds!
Literacy Centers
We introduced literacy centers to our class on Thursday. They will have the opportunity to rotate through different stations each week to work on a particular skill. Starting this week and moving into next we will be focusing on the letters of the alphabet.
Math
This week in math we focused on forming patterns. The kiddos got to rotate through stations where they manipulated unifix cubes and and snap cubes, made a patterned bracelet with pony beads, and drew a pattern on a crown that they wore home for you.
A Few Reminders
- Having your child wear tennis shoes to school each day is the safest way for them to play outside (if it ever stops raining) so that they don't get hurt!
- If the weather forecast looks good, please remember to apply sunscreen to your child before sending them to school.
- We are lucky to use the library each week on Wednesday. Please remember to send your child's library book back to school on Wednesdays so that they can check out another book!
- If you have not sent in a snack enough for 24 friends, please do that as soon as possible! :)
- Please don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions, concerns, or celebrations! abackhaus@liberty.k12.mo.us