Belford's Bulletin
Week 13: Nov. 16 - Nov. 20
Thanksgiving Break
Thanksgiving break is just around the corner. After 63 days in kindergarten the kids will be in need of a much deserved break. But of course, we want their brains to continue to grow so here are a few things that you can do with them.
Reading: I encourage you to continue to read to and with your child during that week. Studies show 15-20 minutes of reading a day can improve a child's reading ability significantly. If you read the story to your child, stop and ask them questions about the story as your read. Also, have them ask you questions about the story. Make it a game by taking turns. Finally, have them tell you the main event in the story.
Remember that the minutes you read can be recorded on the Six Flags reading program sheet to help your child earn a free ticket to Six Flags. Return the form to me by Dec. 11th. I sent a form home in your child's agenda last week, but if you need another one let me know.
Math: I'm going to send home a Connect Four activity worksheet that you can play with your child over the break. The only thing you'll need is two dot cubes (dice) and two different color crayons. The instructions are on the sheet but your child can teach you to play. As you are playing, encourage your child to "count on." This means, if they know the number of one dot cube without having to count them, then they should start with that number and "count on" to determine the number of dots on both dot cubes. For example, if your child rolls a 4 and a 2 and he can see that the one cube is 2 without actually having to count the dots, then have him start with the number to 2 and count on ... 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Of course, he can point to the dots to help keep track.
Science: We'll be talking about weather when we return from the break. Describe the weather each day during the break - sunny, cloudy, rainy, hot, warm, cold, cool. Talk about the way the sky looks and discuss what clothing you're wearing for the type of weather.
Social Studies: Talk with your child about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. We're discussing it in class so they know about the first Thanksgiving. Allow them to share their knowledge with you and help correct any misconceptions they may have.
What We're Learning Now...
Math: We're learning to compare two objects with a common measurable attribute to see which is heavier or lighter, holds more or less, longer or shorter.
Reading: We're learning to ask and answer questions about the text we're reading. We're learning to use our knowledge of letter-sound relationships to decode regular words in the story, such as consonant-vowel-consonant words. We're also learning to retell the main event from a story that is read aloud.
Popcorn Words: with
Writing: We're learning to write complete sentences and use ending punctuation (such as periods and exclamation marks).
Social Studies: We're learning about the first Thanksgiving and why we continue to celebrate Thanksgiving each year.
Specials This Week
Tuesday - Music
Wednesday - PE
Thursday - LOTS
Friday - PE
Arrival and Dismissal Reminders
The following information is a friendly reminder regarding arrival and dismissal procedures. Parents in our classroom do a great job of adhering to this, but I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of the procedures. Thank you!
Tardies
As stated in the NEISD Student Handbook: “Parents/Guardians are asked to help students learn to value education and understand the importance of arriving at school on time and ready to learn.” Students should be in the building by 7:30 am in order to arrive promptly in their classrooms before the tardy bell at 7:40 a.m. After 7:40 am students are considered tardy. Students must be accompanied by an adult and signed in through the front office upon arrival.
Dismissal Changes
Any changes in a student’s dismissal plan must be submitted in writing. For advanced notice, please send a note to the teacher with your child. For same day changes, please email your student(s) teacher and copy the office at cguill@neisd.net. Changes must be submitted by 1:45 pm.
Early Pick-Up
In order to minimize disruption to the instructional day, we urge you to limit picking up students early. Whenever possible, please make necessary appointments outside of school hours. If a student must be picked up early, parents are asked to do so prior to 2:15 pm. Students may not be signed out from 2:15 pm until the dismissal bell at 2:40 pm.
Home - School Connection
Visit my website at www.mrsbelford.com and click on the Symbaloo tab to find different interactive learning resources for your child. To make it easy for your child to access, bookmark my website on the bookmark's bar.
Upcoming Events
Nov. 17: Willie's Night (4:00 - 10:00 p.m.)
Nov. 19: College Shirt Day
Nov. 20: November Homework Packet is due
Nov. 23 - 27: Thanksgiving Break
Nov. 30: Lost and Found items will be donated
Dec. 1: 4th grade PE program and PTA meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 4: Spirit Shirt Day
Dec. 8: Cub Coffee
Dec. 10: Kinder Holiday program at 8:30 in the cafeteria
Dec. 17: College Shirt Day
Dec. 18: Lost and Found items will be donated
Dec. 18: KInder Winter Party from 11:45 - 12:30 p.m.
Classroom Needs
- glue sticks
- paper towels
- paper plates
- brown paper bags
- treasure box items
- stamp pads (preferably washable)
- freezer and quart size bags
Remind
If you haven't done so already, please sign up to receive important classroom information and reminders in the form of one-way text or e-mail messages.
To sign up for text messages, just text @mrsbelford to 81010. To receive messages via email, send an email to mrsbelford@mail.remind.com.
Mrs. Belford
Email: sbelfo1@neisd.net
Website: mrsbelford.com
Location: 307 Heimer Road, San Antonio, TX, United States
Phone: 210-407-2200