This week in kindergarten

This is a busy week in kindergarten.  Our most important item is introducing the routines of the classroom so we can focus on learning throughout the year.   We are also working hard on learning names - names of friends and names of the adults in our lives (Mythandra seems to be a tough one for the young scholars).

Here are some of the unique things that are happening this week
-- Our Artist in Residence, Bernie Duffy (Mr. Duffy to the students), starts today.  He will be teaching about friendship and feelings through storytelling and acting.  He will be in twice each week for the next three weeks.  This is a wonderful part of our year!
-- We got on a school bus yesterday in order to learn about bus safety.
-- Yesterday we had our first Mandarin class (Monday and Wednesday mornings) and our first music class (Tuesday and Thursday afternoons).  Students can look forward to P.E. (Wednesday and Friday mornings), Library and Guidance on Thursday afternoons and Reading Buddies on Friday afternoons.  I will be giving out a full schedule at Back to School night on Thursday.
--Our first Friday Roundup will be on Friday on the Steve Brand Field (the turf field in back of the school).  Your child should go directly to the field in the morning.

Here are some of the academic highlights of the week...
--Reviewing the letters A-E
--Working on Phonemic Awareness Routines
--Beginning to learn the kindergarten writing process
--Getting to know the math materials
--Beginning our Worktime Centers routines

Our song of the week is "This Land is Your Land"

Four major requests:
--If your child rides the bus -- please always make sure I know of any changes to the afternoon routine.
--Please be sure your child is here on time.  The late bell is at 8:00 and your child is considered late after the bell.  If you arrive after 8:10 please go to the office first to get a late slip.  This will insure that the attendance program is updated and you don't get a call saying that your child is missing.
--Be sure to check the blog often:  I should be sending out updates soon about student pictures on the blog (and privacy concerns), more information about back to school night, and lots of pictures of life in Room 2.
-- Finally, please, please, please be sure to attend Back to School Night on Thursday, beginning at 6:30 in the auditorium.  Childcare is available for your kindergarten student!

Fist Mandarin class

First day reflections

We had a great first day of kindergarten.

We learned a song (This Land is Your Land), we read several books including It Looked Like Spilled Milk and Good Dog Carl, we made self portraits, enjoyed some quiet reading time and had a great time during our two recesses.

It seems like a great group of kids.  It is always a joy to see kids starting to make friends and get to know one another.

Have a great weekend.  Help your child get lots of rest as they brace up for the first full week of kindergarten!

Thank you to everyone who packed a lunch.  My sense is that the lunch line should be much quicker within a week or two.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

First day of school - quiet reading time

Ready for tomorrow

Classroom supplies

Hopefully you have found your school supply lists.  Here is a link in case you have not:

http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/chapman/files/school-chapman/Kinder_Supply_List_2014-15_year.pdf

Be aware that all supplies are shared and distributed as needed; students do not keep their individual supplies (except backpacks).

We get questions about why we recommend specific products.  We do this when we have had issues (generic glue whose caps stopped opening, markers with different size lids, paints that are good for one art session)  When we do recommend specific brands / products we try to find ones that are widely available.

Welcome to the 2014 -2015 school year

Welcome to kindergarten!

This should be an exiting and fun year in Room 2.  Here are a few things to note:

The Ice Cream Social is this Thursday from 3:00 to 4:00.  This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your child to meet me (and Iris -- see below), make friends, and begin finding their place in the Chapman community.

Conferences are next Tuesday-Thursday.  During these days, I meet with families one by one for half an hour.  During this time I get a chance to talk with students and families, help everyone learn about life in kindergarten, administer the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment and do my best to answer your questions.

We have a student teacher -- Iris Law.  Iris will be here in September and most of October.  Iris was in the classroom last spring and brings a ton of energy, kindness and insight.  Iris will be helping in all areas of the classroom and will have a special focus on math.

Back to School Night is Thursday, September 11th from 6:30 to 8:30.  Please clear your calendar and make plans to attend.  This is a wonderful opportunity to learn much more about kindergarten.

We love volunteers -- please let me know whether you might be able to volunteer in the classroom.

I use this blog in place of a newsletter.  Please be sure to bookmark this site, or use the "Follow by email" function.  I usually update the blog several times each week.

I am leaving last years blog posts up for a few more weeks.  Feel free to browse back to get a feel for how a year in kindergarten evolves.