Dear Families,
We’ve had a wonderfully busy week in kindergarten, and your children have been working hard in every corner of the classroom. Here’s a peek into what we’ve been learning!
Writing: Becoming Pattern Book Authors
This week, we continued writing pattern books. A pattern book is a simple text where the words follow the same structure on each page (for example: I see the… I see the… I see the…). Pattern books help young writers build confidence, practice high-frequency words, and notice how print works.
To support this writing, we are strengthening our phonemic awareness—the ability to hear and play with sounds in spoken words. Students are using their listening ears to tap, stretch, and blend sounds as they write.
Tips for Home: How to Segment & Blend
- Segmenting (breaking apart sounds):
Say a word like sun. Ask your child, “Let’s stretch it!”
/s/ – /u/ – /n/
You can use fingers, claps, arm taps… whatever makes it fun! - Blending (pushing sounds together):
Slowly say the sounds of a word: /m/… /a/… /p/
Ask, “What word did I just say?” (map!) - Play quick mini-games in the car or at dinner. Short, cheerful practice goes a long way.
We are also working on isolating the last sound in words, which is one of the trickier phonemic skills. You can ask, “What’s the last sound in ‘pig’?” Your child should answer /g/.
Phonics: Sight Words, Letters… and Stuffed Friends!
Our classroom has been full of excitement as we “taught” our McDonald’s stuffed animals their letters and sight words. Each word and letter was individually wrapped like a little present, so students had the joy of unwrapping and teaching their stuffed partner. This playful approach boosts engagement and helps students internalize important skills.
Reading: Patterns & Partners
In reading workshop, students are using patterns in books to help decode new words. Reading partners are also becoming powerful helpers—encouraging one another, pointing under each word, and reminding each other to check the picture for clues.
Please remind your child that their finger should be touching each word as they read. This builds tracking, one-to-one correspondence, and accuracy.
Science: Weather Experts in Action!
We wrapped up our weather science unit, and your young scientists have learned so much!
Here’s what we explored:
- Weather patterns and how they change day-to-day
- Seasons and what we notice in each
- Wind—what causes it and how strong or gentle it can be
- Precipitation—rain, snow, sleet, and hail
- Temperature—how it helps us decide what to wear
Students observed, compared, graphed, and even acted out different weather types. We really built a strong foundation for understanding the world around us.
Winter Gear Reminder
As winter arrives, please send snow pants, boots, hats, and gloves each day.
If you prefer, you may leave your child’s winter gear at school, and I will send it home every Friday.
Please continue encouraging your child to put on their own winter gear independently. With 20+ kinders, I can guide and cheer them on—but I can’t fully dress every child. Thank you for supporting independence at home!
Thank you for your partnership, your kindness, and the joy your children bring into our classroom every day.
Warmly,
River Eubanks
