Happy Weekend!

We made it through our first full week of school!  Yay!  Below are just a few reminders as we get into the full swing of the school year.

Backpacks

If your child has a folder (other than the green Creekside folder), notebook, pencil, eraser, art box, etc in his/her backpack, you can take those items out and leave them at home.  Our assistant has gone through the backpacks and taken out anything your child needs at school, which are the items listed above.  Along those same lines, please be sure to clean out the left side of your child's folder each day so that those papers don't get lost.

Facebook

Our classroom Facebook page is important in sharing information and reminders with you, but as you may have already seen, it also gives you a sneak peek inside our day, including lots of pictures!  If you haven't yet LIKED our page to received up to date notifications, don't be left out!  LIKE our page today!  You can search: 

Mrs. Dunn's Kindergarten.

Superkids

You should have gotten an activation email from Superkids Wednesday to set up your online account at home for your child to play the games and read the stories. Please read below!

"Our Web Development Team was recently made aware of this issue. We ask any activation email that must be resent be delayed until early next week. Thank you for your patience while they work yo resolve this issue."   

So,  I will resend the Superkids email to you next week so you can set up the account. Thanks!  

Note--you will not get this email if you already have an account set up for an older student.

Math homelinks pages

Don't forget to do the math homelinks pages as homework on nights that they come home!  This won't be every night.  When there is a math homelink page to complete, I will always put it on the Bring Back to School side of the folder in front of the reading homework.  You don't need to return this sheet, unless I specifically ask for it though.

Car Riders

If your child is a car rider, please read below from the office:

We are still having quite a few kids get in and out on the driver side of their car during arrival and dismissal. Students need to get in and out of the car on the passenger side. This is a safety issue. Thanks!

Homework Directions

• Please be sure to do Letter Identification EACH NIGHT. You may move onto sounds and sight words once you feel your child is ready.

• Once your child is able to name a letter, sound, or word immediately, consistently (several days in a row), and without any help, circle that particular letter or word.  This will tell me your child is ready to be assessed for mastery.

• Please leave the Homework Sheet in your child’s folder on the “Bring Back to School Side” each day.  As your child learns and masters more skills, I will switch it out for a new one.

1. Letter Identification: Point to each of the capital and lowercase letters at the top of the page and ask your child to name them.  If your child is able to correctly name more than half in both boxes, go ahead and move down to sound recognition.  If your child struggles with naming a letter, simply tell him/her the letter and move on.  After a few days of letter practice, you will want to mix up the order in which you point to the letters.  You might also make flashcards and use those for practice.

2. Sound Recognition: Once your child can name half of the capital letters and half of the lowercase letters, add sound recognition to the nightly homework.  Beginning at Aa, state the letter, and ask your child to tell you the sound.  We only practice the “short vowel sound” for a, e, i, o, u so be listening for /a/ as in apple, /e/ as in elbow, /i/ as in igloo, /o/ as in opera, and /u/ as in umbrella.  Again, if your child struggles with any sound, tell him/her the sound and move on.  

3. Sight Word Identification: I will begin teaching sight words in a few short weeks.  At that time, I will let you know each week what words your child should be able to read.  Until then, if you would like to add sight words to the nightly homework (if your child is mastering all or most of the letters and sounds) feel free to move ahead.

4. Name Writing: Starting next week, name writing needs to be completed each night (Mon-Thurs).  On the back of the homework paper you will see ice cream lined paper. Your child only needs to practice his/her name once per evening.  Please ensure your child is writing their name starting with a capital letter, and followed by lowercase letters for the rest of their name. Please make sure your child writes it this way each time.  A few helpful hints:
1. Be sure your child is holding his/her pencil (no crayons, pens, or markers) correctly.
2. Check to be sure your child is not starting any of the letters from the bottom (brown) line.
3. Use the Superkids Handwriting Guide (found in your child’s folder on Monday) to help your child form the letters correctly.  This is how I will teach each letter this year.

Have a great weekend!