April 15th - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Friday, April 19th—Half Day—Good Friday

-Friday, April 26th—No School for Kindergarten

-Wed., May 8th—NWEA Testing—Math

-Monday, May 13th—Dibels Testing

-Wed., May 15th—NWEA Testing—Reading

-Thursday, May 16th—Fieldtrip—Midland Center for the Arts & Plymouth Park

-Monday, May 20th—Delayed Start

-Mon., May 27th—No School—Memorial Day

-Wed., May 29th—K-2 Track & Field Day—pm

-Friday, May 31st—Half Day

-Mon., June 3rd—Half Day—Last Day of School

DRESSING FOR RECESS: 

It’s that crazy time of year when the temperatures fluctuate significantly from am to pm.  Please continue to send mittens, hats, & warm coats for those cold mornings, as well as a lighter jacket/sweatshirt for later in the day. I will check the temperature before each recess and let them know what they should wear accordingly. Please continue to send boots as well; the playground will be muddy for a while yet and this will help protect your child’s shoes, as well as our classroom carpet that we spend a lot of our day sitting on:) I’ve encouraged the children to KEEP their boots and snowpants at school, in case, we need them.

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about the transportation used to take people from place to place. Children will learn about how families in the past traveled and how these vehicles compare with what is used today. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—transportation & vehicles—discuss the different kinds of transportation you take from place to place. Then invite your child to draw pictures of each type of transportation.

· Sightwords—here & me—Write sentences with these words and practice reading them together.

· Category Words—vehicles—Play ‘guess the vehicle’ - give clues about different kinds of vehicles and encourage your child to name them.

· Phonics—Letters Jj & Qq—Practice reading and writing words that begin with j & qu.

· Comprehension—character, setting, & plot—Have your child choose a favorite story and then read it together. Ask your child questions about main characters, setting, & plot (story sequence, problem, etc.)

WRITING: 

This week we will begin a new unit—Opinion Letters. We will learn how to give our opinion on a topic and practice writing a letter together on what we like about Kindergarten.

MATH: 

This week we will continue to work on addition and subtractions; we will use number lines & dominoes to help us visualize the process.

 SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES: 

We are learning about the Earth and how we can be responsible and take good care of our planet. We will be learning about the 3 R’s—Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle as we approach Earth Day (April 22nd).