Kindergarten Weekly Newsletter

Dear Families,

We had a very exciting and busy week in kindergarten! One of the highlights of our week was our visit from the naturalists. They brought several animals for us to observe and learn about, including snakes, turtles, and frogs. The students were incredibly curious and asked wonderful questions. We talked about animal habitats, how animals survive in nature, and how we can be respectful and gentle observers of living things. It was a fantastic hands-on learning experience that the children will remember for a long time.

In reading and phonics, we have been working very hard on decoding words using what we call our “slider power.” This means when students come to a word they do not know, they point under each letter and slide their finger across while saying every sound. This is a very important early reading skill. We are focusing especially on blends (like bl, st, tr) and digraphs (like sh, ch, th), along with reviewing short and long vowel sounds. We have now learned all the vowel sounds, and we are practicing making sure that every word we write has a vowel. This is a big step in becoming stronger readers and writers.

In writing, our theme right now is “How-To” writing. Students are learning how to write step-by-step directions for how to do something (how to make a sandwich, how to play a game, how to build something, etc.). We are using a writing checklist and focusing on several important goals:

• Using capital letters at the beginning of sentences
• Using lowercase letters for most letters
• Putting spaces between words
• Writing neatly so others can read our writing
• Adding details to our steps

Spacing between words is a big kindergarten goal and also a challenging one, so we are practicing this every day.

In math, we have been working on subtraction. We are practicing using our fingers, drawings, and counting strategies to solve subtraction problems and understand that subtraction means taking away or finding how many are left. The students are doing a great job learning how to explain their thinking.

We also spent time with our 5th grade buddies, and together we worked on our How-To writing. The kindergarten students love working with their older buddies, and it is wonderful to see the leadership and kindness from the 5th graders.

Our theme will continue to be How-To next week, and then we will begin transitioning into our spring themes and activities.

A few important reminders and upcoming events:

• Report cards will be available on Skyward on Tuesday.
• A field trip permission slip will go home on Monday. I will take the first four chaperones who text me first
• We will continue Star of the Day. Your child should bring a mystery bag with an item inside. Your child will give three clues, and the class will try to guess what is inside the bag. The kids love this activity and it is great for speaking and listening skills.

Thank you for your continued support at home. The students are working very hard and growing so much academically and socially. I am very proud of them.

Have a wonderful weekend!

— River

PS- At the bottom, there is a song with the reading decoding strategies and all the kids‘ names. It is really fun to listen to; they love it.