Schumacher Kindergarten

August 29 ,2011

We have successfully completed two weeks of school.  There was such a dramatic difference between week one and week two.  Our children have acclimated to school.  They know the school expectations and they know their dismissal plans.  Thank you so much for all your support.

Monday evening is our Parent Orientation.  It begins at 6:30 in the cafeteria.  We will then meet you in the classrooms for the informational meeting.  While children are welcome to attend, the meeting is not geared to entertain them.  They will have to sit quietly.  It is best to find a childcare solution.  At this meeting I will give you an overview of a day in kindergarten as well as discuss  the curriculum and behavior expectations.  There will be an opportunity for questions.

This week we will begin our phonics program.  We emphasize a letter each week, focusing on the letter sound(s) and words that illustrate the sound(s).  Our first letter is "T."  There is homework involved with this program.  Each week the children will complete a page in their alphabet dictionary by practicing writing the featured letter and by gluing pictures of things that begin with the sound into their notebooks.  Finding and cutting out and bringing these samples to school constitute the phonics homework.  I will provide the samples this week.  I hope everyone will get onboard and help their children find the pictures for the following weeks.  Magazines, newspapers, and clipart are the easiest sources to work with.

In math we have been working with position words.  We will continue to integrate these words in everyday conversation and activities.  We will begin a focus on sorting shortly.  We are also working on recognizing and writing numbers to 10.  For those who have already achieved this benchmark, we are working on  numbers to 20, then 30, and so on.

Please have your children wear shoes that are secure to school.  There have been a few instances of flipflops breaking and children getting hurt.  Mrs. Thomas has requested that children refrain from wearing flipflops to school.

Friday evening, September 9, our PTSA is sponsoring a Back-to-School Bash.  Information regarding this event came home last week.  It should be fun.

Thanks for checking the blog.  Get the class news here first.

 

August 22, 2011

Thank you for a great first week of school.  Thank you especially for your clean and precise dismissal information.  Your children are great.  I can tell that you take an active interest in what they are doing and learning.  I am sure we are going to have a fabulous year. 

Our Language Arts theme for this week is "Bears," a segue from Baker Bears.  We are still assessing during much of the Language Arts block so that we can direct our goals and curriculum appropriately.

In Math we will introduce and/or review positional words.  The children are also learning how to navigate independent math centers.

We went to the Media Center last Wednesday.  We will try to go every other week for an activity and checkout.  Children can return books and get new ones more frequently.  Right now we have to have time to escort them, but eventually we will let them go to the media center independently.

Remember that our Kindergarten Parent Orientation is scheduled for Monday, August 29th, at 6:30 p.m.  It is called "Parent Orientation" because it is a meeting that is not geared to entertain children.  If you can manage to coordinate childcare, that would be great.  However, do not forgo attending because you do not have anywhere for your child to stay.  Bring your child, but please explain to them that centers will not be open and they must sit and listen quietly.

Children brought home year book order forms on Friday.  Be sure to send in that information and money if you want your child to have a yearbook.  It is by no means a required or expected purchase.

Be sure that your child wears secure tennis shoes on days we have PE.  He/she will not be able to participate in the PE activities wearing sandals.  Also, we go outside to the playground daily, weather permitting.  Loose fitting shoes are not appropriate for running around on the playground.  It would be better if your child wore sneakers daily but please pay attention to which days are PE days.  The schedule is on the back of the calendar you received at Sneak-a-Peek. 

Class news will always be posted on the blog by the end of the weekend.  Thanks for making the effort to keep up with current information.

Welcome to Kindergarten

Welcome to Kindergarten!!

I am glad so many of you could come to Meet and Greet on Friday.  It was good to meet all of you and I look forward to meeting the remainder of our new friends on Monday.  I am optimistic that we are going to have a great year.

The first day of school is Monday, August 15th.  The main information we need on Monday is your child's dismissal plans.  Lunch or lunch money and a snack are nice to have, but we can't live without end-of-the-day plans.  Please use the name tags provided at Open House so that adults in the building will know where to direct your child upon his/her arrival, and I will be confident I know your child's dismissal plan.

The main focus during our first week of school will be learning rules and routines.  The children will learn how to interact with various learning centers and how to proceed in an orderly fashion from one activity to another.  We will also be obtaining baseline assessments to help us in maximizing our time and efforts here. 

Your child will bring home a folder on Monday that is full of information and forms to complete.  Please be on the look out for this official folder and make sure you examine the contents carefully and complete forms as appropriate. 

We will have our Kindergarten Parent Orientation on Monday, August 29th.  The meeting begins in the cafeteria with a brief PTSA meeting at 6:30.  Please note that the Orientation is for parents; it is not geared to entertain children.  Please try to work out some sort of childcare, but bring the kids if you can't make other arrangements.  We will discuss our curriculum, schedule, and expectations at this meeting.

There will be a Back-to-School Bash on Friday, September 9th.  We will send home specific information as it becomes available.

This blog will be updated every weekend.  It is the best way to keep up with class and school news.

Always feel free to ask questions.  You can send a note in your child's communication folder or you can send an e-mail to joyce.schumacher@cobbk12.org. 

I am looking forward to getting to know your children.