Pleasant Lake Kindergarten Newsletter

From Mr. Eubanks

Dear Families,

It feels so good to be back writing to you again! I want to begin with a heartfelt thank you for your patience and understanding. Due to some personal circumstances related to my spouse’s injury, I wasn’t able to send newsletters for a little while. I truly appreciate your grace during that time. The good news is that recovery is going much better—they are now able to move their hands again, which is a huge milestone for us, and things are steadily improving.

Here’s a little peek into all the wonderful learning happening in our kindergarten classroom.

In writing, we are working hard on becoming stronger storytellers. Your child now has writing homework that goes home every Monday and is due back the following Monday. Each week, students are asked to write three stories. Every story should begin with the words “One day…”. In class, we are focusing on writing one true story about something that happened to us and on staying on one topic throughout the story. This is tricky for five- and six-year-olds, and we are practicing it every day. At home, it is perfectly fine if each page is about something different. In school, however, we are working on building one complete story about a single event. We are also learning to use sequencing words to organize our ideas, starting with “first,” then “then,” “next,” and “last.”

In phonics, we are really digging into stretching out words and listening carefully for sounds. We are practicing identifying the sound at the beginning of a word, the sound in the middle, and the sound at the end. We are also working on word families and reading and writing CVC words, such as cat, hop, and sun. This sound work is a big foundation for both reading and writing, and the children are making wonderful progress.

In reading, we are learning about our reading “superpowers.” These are the tools we use when we come to a tricky word we don’t know. We use pointer power to point to each word, snap word power to recognize words we already know by heart, slide power to stretch sounds together, fix-it power when something doesn’t make sense, think power to use pictures and context, reread power to try again, and word part power to break longer words into smaller parts. The children love talking about their powers, and it has been so fun to watch them use these strategies with growing confidence.

In math, we have been exploring new concepts such as weight and capacity. We also learned different ways to make the number 10 and how to make a hexagon. The class has been enjoying hands-on activities and conversations that help make these ideas concrete and meaningful.

In social studies, we are learning about similarities and differences and celebrating what makes each of us unique. Last week’s theme was diversity, and we learned about Jean-Michel Basquiat and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This week’s theme is snow. We will be learning all about snow and what to wear to stay warm now that winter has fully arrived. Please keep bundling those little ones up — mitten season is officially undefeated.

Looking ahead, our Valentine’s Day Party is coming up soon, and the children are already very excited. I will be sending out a SignUpGenius for snack and supply donations. If you are interested in volunteering, please note that I am only allowed three parent volunteers for the party. You can sign up to donate items and to volunteer through the SignUpGenius link. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090A44ABAD2EA20-61721285-donation

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership. Your children are growing, learning, and shining every single day, and I feel so lucky to be their teacher.

Stay warm, everybody! ❄️

Warmly,

River Eubanks