Kindergarten News

Dear Parents,

We will be going on our field trip to the San Diego Zoo on Friday, May 10th. Here are some helpful hints to help your child have an enjoyable trip with us. Your child should:

• Be on time! Please have your child ready and lined up by 8:15 a.m.
• Wear comfortable shoes and clothing.
• Bring a hat and wear sunscreen.
• Bring a sack lunch and a drink or two… No glass bottles… water is great!
• Put his/her belongings in a backpack.
• Don’t bring anything that is too heavy to carry as children will be responsible for their own things on the trip.
• Be picked up at 1:30 in front of the school.

Kindergarten News

Dear Parents,

For the next few weeks we will be reviewing all concepts and getting ready to begin testing for first grade in mid-May! Please help your child by reviewing the letters and the sounds. Practice reading the word charts with your child. Review the high frequency word cards. Practice blending, segmenting, and rhyming.

For math, review the numbers from 0-30. Review the numbers and their values. Practice basic addition and subtraction problems. Also help your child to make simple and complex patterns (abab and abcabc). Review the shapes and help your child to be able to describe how they are similar and how they differ.

Please help your child to develop sentences and write some simple sentences about a topic. Be sure to check for punctuation. Make sure that the first letter in the sentence is an upper case letter. Make sure that there are spaces between the words.

All of these concepts will be on the test. Please help your child by beginning to practice now. I know that by working together we can make your child feel successful and enjoy taking the tests!

Thank you,
Mrs. Black

Kindergarten News

Dear Parents,

Last week we began our study of plants and how they grow. We looked at similarities and differences in plants. The children learned that there are many different kinds of plants. They enjoyed going for a plant walk during which they gathered plants to bring back to class and observe under the magnifying glass.

The students learned about the different parts of a plant: seeds, roots, stems, flowers and leaves. We made a book about what plants need to grow (sunshine and rain) and how they change as the grow.

We studied the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (I highly recommend it… the children loved it!)

We did a science experiment by putting celery into colored water to observe how plants drink! We are also waiting to see if our carrot top will grow a plant since we placed it in water.

During Art, we printed flowers using real fruits and vegetables.

Check your child’s homework folder for an idea on how to make a great terrarium. You may enjoy doing this at home with your child. Next week – we’ll continue our plant study!

Mrs. Black

Kindergarten News

Dear Parents,

We are currently studying our unit about the farm. Here are some of the activities that we will be working on during this unit:

• During Language Arts –
  We will study many farm books, including The Little Red Hen, Rosie’s Walk, Farm Animals and their Babies, Little Duckling, The Ugly Ducking, Sheep In A Jeep, Mrs. Wishy-Washy, The Farm, and Who Lives In The Barn.
• For Science –
  We will learn about animals and their babies. We will see the changes that take place in animals as they grow.
• During Music –
  We will learn Ba-Ba Black Sheep, Mary Had A Little Lamb, and Old MacDonald Had A Farm. We will learn other versions of Old MacDonald such as Old MacDonald Had A Pet and Old MacDonald Had A Zoo.
• At Math time –
  Students will be busy making patterns with farm animals as well as working on counting animals. We are also working on numeral writing, addition, and subtraction.

Please send any farm books this week for sharing. Thanks! Enjoy your week!

Mrs. Black

Kindergarten News

Dear Parents,

It is great to see all my students again! I hope that all of you had a great vacation!

For the next few weeks we will be reviewing all concepts and getting ready to begin testing for first grade in May! Please help your child by reviewing the letters and the sounds. Practice reading the word charts with your child. Review the high frequency word cards. Practice blending, segmenting, and rhyming.

For math, review the numbers from 0 – 30. Review the numbers and their values. Practice basic addition and subtraction problems. Also help your child to make simple and complex patterns (abab and abcabc). Review the shapes and help your child to be able to describe how they are similar and how they differ.

Please help your child to develop sentences and write some simple sentences about a topic. Be sure to check for punctuation. Make sure the first letter in the sentence is an upper case letter. Make sure that there are spaces between the words.

All of theses concepts will be on the test. Please help your child by beginning to practice now. I know that by working together we can make your child feel successful and enjoy taking the tests!

Thank you,
Mrs. Black