Waunakee 4K Family Newsletter
October 10, 2022
Contacting the Waunakee 4K Office
4K Administrator
1350 Arboretum Drive
Waunakee, WI 53597
608-849-1800
Email: waunakee_4koffice@waunakee.k12.wi.us
Email: waunakee_4koffice@waunakee.k12.wi.us
Website: https://4k.waunakee.k12.wi.us
Location: 1350 Arboretum Drive, Waunakee, WI, USA
Phone: 608-849-1800
Hello!
As you may know, our 4K classrooms are set up with various interest areas, toys, and materials throughout the room. Please read below on the importance of learning through play, and specifically the learning that children do while pretending. I hope 4K is a positive experience for your child. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns about Waunakee 4K
I can be reached via phone at 608-849-1800,or via email at mirandamoe@waunakee.k12.wi.us
Sincerely,
Miranda Moe
4K Director
Play in the Classroom
Play is the Way in 4K
Our program supports learning through play, as there is a great deal of research on the benefits of play for young children and future success in school. Through play, children learn and develop:
cognitive skills – like math and problem solving in a pretend grocery store
physical abilities – like balancing blocks and running on the playground
new vocabulary – like the words they need to play with toy dinosaurs
social skills – like playing together in a pretend car wash
literacy skills – like creating a menu for a pretend restaurant
What do children learn during dramatic play?
Children take on different roles and enact real-life experiences. They use props and make-believe to deepen their understanding of the world. Children who know how to make believe develop good vocabularies, which is important for reading. They learn to cooperate with others, solve problems, and think abstractly. You can encourage the same kind of pretend play at home as we do at school simply by playing with your child and providing some simple props. This excerpt is from A Letter to Families About Dramatic Play from the Creative Curriculum for Preschool. Please check it out for some examples of how you can encourage your child’s learning through dramatic play at home.
Parent- Teacher Conferences
Helping Children Learn Newsletter
Good Fit Books for Preschoolers
Waunakee Ecumenical Board (WEB)
Dear Waunakee Community School District families,
The Waunakee Ecumenical Board (WEB) provides a Thanksgiving Meal Basket and Holiday Gift Cards to families who are in financial need. If you are a family with students in the WCSD and believe your family would benefit from holiday programs, please click here.
Family Activity Calendar
Looking for some new activities to do with your 4K student? Each month you will receive a calendar with optional daily activities for families, created by our own 4K teachers. These calendars are posted on our website. Please check out our October calendar for some fun activities you may want to try with your child next month.
PALS Assessment
PALS Assessment Window
All students in four year old kindergarten (4K) classrooms in Wisconsin are required to take an assessment for reading readiness. The early literacy screener we will use is known as Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener (PALS). The 1:1 PALS assessments will take place over a two-week period, from September 30-October 13. The subtests (e.g. name writing, alphabet knowledge, etc.) are brief and your child will likely do one short activity per day, over the course of four or five days within the two week window. Here is a quick overview of the assessment in English and Spanish. (Please note we do not take the Nursery Rhyme subtest). We should have information about your student’s experience with PALS to share with you at our November conferences.
While we as adults might envision a literacy assessment as a “fill-in-the-bubble” test, this is not the case with PALS. It is a developmentally-appropriate, low-stress, low-stakes assessment. PALS subtests are given 1:1 with your child and his/her teacher, and will likely not feel like a “test” at all for your student. Children will be asked to complete tasks that are appropriate and typical in 4K classrooms, such as drawing self-portraits, writing their names, naming letters, and using pictures to identify rhymes, for example. The purpose of administering the assessment is for the teacher to use when planning whole class instruction, small group work, and interest area materials. Four year olds develop at different rates, and there is a wide range of what is considered to be appropriate development. There are no fall benchmarks in PALS that students need to reach. The only purpose is for us to guide our instruction.
Referendum 2022
Upcoming informational sessions for the Waunakee Community School District to share more about the upcoming 2022 referendum. The Board of Education is committed to community engagement as a high priority for this school year, with an interest in sharing information and receiving feedback on topics within our school district.
Please click HERE for the Family Communication sent 9/8/2022.
Please click HERE for the Referendum website.
4K Calendar
Waunakee 4K follows the same calendar as the K-12 students in the Waunakee Community School District. For your reference, here is a copy of our year-at-a-glance calendar.
Dates to Remember
October 14: No School
October 27-28: No School / Fall Break
November 12- Report Cards available in Infinite Campus
November 15-24 Parent Teacher Conferences
November 24-26 Thanksgiving Break
Waunakee Community Events
Waunakee Public Library
Preschool Storytime Tuesdays at 9:45am
Preschool Storytime Wednesdays at 10:45am
Jammies Jams Mondays at 6:30pm
Link to our calendar for full descriptions is here: https://www.waunakeepubliclibrary.org/calendar