Mrs. Trotter’s Kindergarten Class

Dear Parents:

Welcome to the GREEN ROOM KINDERGARTEN! I am anticipating a stimulating and happy year with your child. My goal is to have each student succeed in this first year of formal education. I will strive to motivate each student.

This month, in addition to working on classroom and school procedures, we will also be learning about how to paint, cut, glue, and be safe in school and on the bus/walking.

Included in this letter is information that will help you as we work together to make this first school experience a positive one.

1. CLOTHING.  Whenever possible, we will be going outside to play. Please dress your child in a way that will foster independence. Select coats and boots that your child can handle with the least amount of assistance from adults. NAME TAPES PLEASE!!
2. TRANSPORTATION.  If you are going to pick your child up or if he/she is to get off the bus at a different stop, YOU MUST SEND A NOTE EACH TIME STATING THE CHANGE. Please be sure to pin your child’s nametag on him/her the first month of school.
3. SUPPLIES.  Please send a backpack or bookbag for carrying school projects and important papers. PUT YOUR CHILD’S NAME ON THE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF THE BACKPACK OR BOOKBAG!!!
4. BIRTHDAYS.  We love them and are happy to celebrate if you wish to send a special snack for EVERYONE. Please let me know in advance so that there isn’t a conflict with another birthday party or cooking project.
5. PARENT VOLUNTEERS.  We welcome parents to become involved in our classroom activities. If you are available for field trips or to come in and help in the classroom, please let me know.
6. HOMEWORK.  We will begin homework the second week in September. Please read to your child every night to  motivate and encourage him/her as much as possible.
7. AWARDS/INCENTIVES.  You will receive a notice when it is your child’s big day. Each child will get a chance to be a “FROGGY for the DAY.” He/she may bring in a stuffed animal (bear, cat, dog, dinosaur), a favorite suffed toy, a picture of himself or herself, and a favorite book. On ths day, he/she will be the leader and share/tell favorite items. ***Please remind your child that toys are only permitted on their “FROGGY DAY.” Toys should remain at home on all other days.***
8. NEWSLETTERS.  A monthly newsletter will be sent home at the beginning of each month.
9. TEACHER CONTACT.  If you need to get in touch with me, please call the school office or send a note. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. I look forward to meeting you and working with you throughout the school year.

LET’S MAKE THIS YEAR A HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL ONE!!!

OPEN HOUSE:

The Colonial kindergarten curriculum is concerned with the whole child–mind, body, and emotions. While children are at preschool they find out about themselves, their friends, teachers and the world around them. The informal atmosphere of the kindergarten classroom enables the child to share feelings, emotions, and ideas with others. Through such interplay the children develop personality, values, behaviors, and enhance self-esteem.

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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

The Colonial School District full day kindergarten program is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment that celebrates each child’s learning potential, while developing his or her uniqueness. The anticipated outcome of full day kindergarten is to acquire the essential skills necessary to be successful in first grade and beyond.

• To provide opportunities for children to have learning experiences that are child-centered and developmentally appropriate.
• To involove students in hands-on experiences that provide the opportunity for more in-depth exploration of skills and concepts.
• To emphasize language development and appropriate pre-literacy experiences.
• To implement the appropriate learning environment to address the diverse needs of each student as an individual learner.
• To provide experiences that foster development in the affective domains and encourage all children to recognize and attain their full potential.
• To creatively integrate technology throughout the instructional curriculum, there-by ensuring access to the learning tools of the 21st century.
• To provide experiences that empowers families to become partners in the education of their children.

AL’S PALS KIDS MAKING HEALTHY CHOICES

This program is designed to guide children as they explore their world and use their newly developed language and social skills. The teacher promotes interaction that builds social competence, problem-solving skills, and a sense of hope and future by providing opportunities for children to be involved in the decision-making process.

HARCOURT READING (STORY TOWN SERIES)

Story Town is a research-based developmental reading and language arts program for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The foundation of the program is its high quality children’s literature, as well as informational texts. Through the Student Editions, students are exposed to a variety of genres. Story Town reflects current, confirmed research and prioritizes and sequences essential skills and strategies into a clear, organized model for instruction.

Story Town features an organized, direct approach to teaching reading. The program emphasizes explicit, systematic instruction in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and writing.

Following instructions, the program provides ample practice and application of these skills, using a variety of meaningful tools and activities suited to different types of learners and classroom settings to reinforce instruction and learning.

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HARCOURT SOCIAL STUDIES (ALL ABOUT ME)

All About Me includes the following skills:  charts, graphs, maps, globes and citizenship. The children will be engaging in people and how they relate to each other. Additionally, they will explore what makes individuals unique, the kinds of tools they might see and use in a classroom, the people who work in a school and who help children, how to get around a school, and how schools today are similar to and different from schools long ago. In addition, children will learn how to use direction words to locate things and how to identify and solve problems.

Handwriting Without Tears

Handwriting Without Tears is a program that provides children with clear, simple directions for letter formation. It uses many senses–vision, hearing, and touch–to help children remember how to make the letters and what direction they face. The program also helps to make handwriting an automatic and natural skill so that children can focus on what they are writing, not just how to make the letters.

This is a writing program designed to promote GREAT FORMATION OF LETTERS. Encourage your child to use correct letter formation at all times. A sheet will come home periodically.

For more information about the program, you may want to visit the website:  www.hwtears.com.

Social Studies

• Understanding the self in relation to others in our world (working cooperatively within the rules)
• Learning about geography (land forms, maps, and weather)
• Learning about history (calendars, seasons, holidays, historical events)
• Learning about wants and needs

MATHEMATICS

• Counting
• Number sense
• Pattern
• Postition
• Sorting
• Graphing
• Estimates
• Measures
• Organizing information by graphing, sorting, or grouping
• Analyzing information and making comparisons
• Encouraging and developing thinking skills in simple problem solving

MATH–INVESTIGATIONS

Students are permitted to investigate with Math in a diverse setting. They develop first hand knowledge through hands-on experience–their world of math is sharpened.

SCIENCE

• Using the 5 senses in all seasons and in the study of tress and wood
• Investigating and exploring
• Using comparative language to describe observations
• Encouraging critcal thinking
• Recording observations thematic journals

Just a reminder-

The three units of Science are as follows:

1.  5 Senses

2.  Trees

3.  Wood/Paper

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Building a love for literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry)
• Encouraging and developing critical thinking about literature (predicting, evaluating, concluding, responding)
• Concepts of print
• Alphabet
• Letter sounds
• Rhymes
• Developing phonemic awareness (manipulating sounds by blending, segmenting, blending onsets and rhymes) (c + up = cup)
• Recognizing words by sight
• Encouraging risk-taking to write using letter sounds known
• Kindergarten students do not usually learn to read independently, but will learn elements necessary to become good readers. They will practice using sight words, phonics clues, and phonemic skills in authentic reading experiences (daily messages, class stories, easy-to-read books) in class. Many will begin to read during their kindergarten year.