May 19

News From Kindergarten
Thursday, May 19, 2011

Language Arts
This week we learned the song “Rain, Rain, Go Away!” It may have worked because we learned it Monday and had pretty good luck the rest of the week! Reading familiar songs and poems helps with fluency and scooping/ phrasing. We used the Elmo/overhead to project poems and songs on the wall for reading. This new station was a big hit.

Mathematics
This week we began solving frog word problems. 8 eyes, how many frogs? Give your child some of these problems and see if they can solve them: 4 kids, how many feet? 2 cars, how many tires? 4 kids, each gets 2 cookies, how many cookies? Next week students will have the opportunity to make their own frog problems. We also worked more on estimating, exchanging 10 pennies for a dime and numbers over 20. Important update about Monday’s fieldtrip… We are now taking a bus to Castleton State College for the performance of Duck for President. No car/booster seats needed. We are planning to be back in time for lunch.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
This week we had a fabulous fieldtrip to the Audet Farm. Marie Audet gave a very interesting tour about the multiple ways that her farm recycles, reuses and reduces its impact on our earth. When we got back to school we listed 10 ways the farm helps our environment! Ask your child to share with you their sequence of how electricity is made on the farm. Enclosed is a quick print out of the process we toured. We also sorted pictures of objects that need electricity to work and things that don’t. Today we looked at a bean, the inside pieces that grow during planting. Ask your child about this. We also planted some seeds and are curious to see how they grow!

Your Help Requested
We are planning to create with recyclable materials next week. Any clean recyclable tubes, boxes, plastic containers, etc… that you could contribute would be very appreciated! Please send them in with your child whenever you can. Thanks!

Toys at School
Please remind your child that all toys should stay at home. Lately some have made their way into the classroom and been lost or broken, which leads to broken hearts.

Gift Giving Between Kids
Lately students have been bringing small toys and token items to school to give to their friends. I highly discourage this. Please talk with your child and ask questions if they bring home something that you don’t recall belonging to them. Let me know if I can help with returning items back to original owners.

Kissing…
Lately students have been kissing or trying to kiss each other. We have been talking a lot about how kissing spreads germs and is NOT appropriate for friends to do or at school. It is becoming a big problem on the playground particularly with the kindergartners. Could you please emphasize this message at home?

School Yard Sale This Weekend – Items being accepted tonight from 3-5 and Friday night from 3-7. We really need volunteers who could help work any time on Saturday or Sunday. Help needed to reorganize items, collect money, sell food, etc… Please call school and speak with Linda Barrett if you can offer any assistance. Thank you!