We are continuing to get used to our classroom routines and procedures! We have started our second week of our study on communities. We have read the folktale Abiyoyo and the fictional story Abuela. We've been discussing author's purpose for writing a story and have experimenting with different types of writing during our daily Writer's Workshop. In our focus centers, we have now opened all 6 of our center areas - blocks, dramatic play, art studio, drawing/writing, library/listening and discovery table. We are creating all kinds of things - castles, sea animals, sand castles, villages, and even rewriting our own versions of Abiyoyo!
You will be receiving Homelinks for each new week of our unit studies. The first two weeks are coming home today. They will give you some information about what we are focusing on in class, stories we are reading, and questions you can ask your child to discover more about what they are learning! These do not need to be returned - you can keep all of these at home for your own reference.
Beginning next week, your child will be receiving a weekly homework packet. These will go home on Mondays and be expected back on Fridays. They should be very brief and serve as a reinforcement of skills we are doing in school. These will not be graded - it's just extra practice for your child, and an opportunity to see firsthand what your child is working on. There will be games that you can keep at home that you can use over and over again! :)
We will be using lots of different educational websites in school this year. I will highlight a few of them every once in a while. Below are two that we are going to start using next week: www.zearn.org and www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
www.zearn.org is a website for math games. The skills build as your child progresses through each level. Each student has their own student login, so they will only be working on their own skills at their own pace. Once we start using it in class, I can send home a copy of the login cards so your child can work on this website at home as well, if you choose.
https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/u/1760469 is our class page for early reading and phonics skills. If you login to our page specifically, your child's username is simply his/her first name. Again, this website progresses through the skills and builds upon the previous level. You can also download this as an app (Teach Your Monster to Read). The class code for this is 1760469.
Lastly, just a reminder to send in a pair of headphones labeled with your child's name if you have not done so already. These will be important as we begin using our computers often in class. Thank you for your cooperation!
Lots of exciting things are happening in kindergarten. The class is building great friendships and I have a feeling we are going to have a fantastic year!
Enjoy your weekend, everybody!
