We have just finished with our last unit, “Ready for Kindergarten”.  Please continue to review all letters and letter sounds as well as writing first and last names.  It is important to review so that your child will remember all that he/she has learned and will be ready to go to kindergarten in the fall.

End of the Year Celebration

We are working hard on our songs for our end of the year celebration.  Please send back the paper telling how many will be attending and what you can bring before June 3^rd.  We hope to see you all there.

Sight Words

In kindergarten, your child will begin to learn sight words.  They are called sight words because the students must know them by sight.  They should be able to read the word within 3 seconds of seeing it.  They are not words that should be sounded out.  If your child can recognize all 26 letters and knows the sounds the letters make, he/she is ready for sight words.  You can print them on flashcards to review them.  Here are some sight words for you to work on:  a, am, it, is, and, the, here, come, like, I, no, yes, will, see, big, jump, up.  If you have time this summer, this would be a good enrichment activity for your child.  If it appears too hard, stop for a while and try again later as to not frustrate your child.  Learning and practice should be fun!  J

Dates to Remember:

June 11^th – Early Start Celebration @ 10:00

June 12^th-14^th – Early Dismissal Days (dismiss @ 12:45)

June 14^th – Last Day of School

We are working on our last week of our unit called “Ready for Kindergarten.”  We will be meeting our last Alpha-friend, Keely Kangaroo and letter Kk.  We have now learned all 52 letters and 26 sounds.  Please make sure to review these at home daily with your child. 

End of the Year Celebration

We are working hard on our songs for our end of the year celebration on Tuesday, June 11th at 10:00.  We hope to see you all there.

At Home Activities

*Play fun letter games.  You can use flashcards, games or computer activities to help reinforce letters and letter sounds

*Go to the library.

*If you are looking for a good video to practice letters and letter sounds, The Letter Factory by Leapfrog is good.

*Have your child practice writing his/her name (first and last) with a variety of materials. (chalk, paint it with water, in the sand/dirt, etc.)

*Count and sort objects in your home.

*This is a good website for letter review:  http://pbskids.org/superwhy/#game/alphabricks

This is the last week for our theme, “Growing and Changing.”  This week we will talk about the butterfly lifecycle and use pasta to make a butterfly lifecycle.   The new letter this week is the letter Dd. 

        Dog Day          

            This Friday, May 3^rd, we will be having Dog Day.  Please have your child bring in a stuffed dog that will fit in his/her book bag.  If you have a dog as a pet, your child can bring in a picture.  We will be reading about dogs, making a dog craft, and sharing the items that each student brings in. 

Kindergarten Registration

The next kindergarten registration will take place on May 8^th from 8:00 to 5:00.  Every student must register for kindergarten for next year.  You must go to your child’s home school to register.  If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Field Day

Field Day is Thursday, May 9.  We must have your child’s lunch order in by Monday, May 6 so the cafeteria can prepare the lunches.  I put an extra lunch form in your child’s folder just in case you needed another one.  If you are able to volunteer, please let me know. 

Home Activities:

*Looking for Dd – look for Dds on food packaging such as cereal boxes and on label cans.  You can also look for Dds on signs around your neighborhood.  Encourage you child to tell you whether the letter they found is a capital D or a lowercase d.

*Continue to review all letters and letter sounds.

*Practice all personal information

*Practice counting to at least 20.

Dates to Remember:

May 8 – Kindergarten Registration

May 9– Field Day at Nansemond Parkway

This week we will continue with the theme “Growing and Changing.” This week we will learn about spring.  We will read stories about how plants and animals grow and change in the spring.  The letter for this week is Letter E.    If you have not sent in a baby picture of your child for our board, please try to send one this week.  The children have really enjoyed seeing each other as babies.

                                                                                            Book Fair

On Friday we visited the Book Fair at school and made a wish list.  If you would like for your child to buy a book, you can send money in your child’s folder.  The book fair ends Friday. 

Kindergarten Registration

The next kindergarten registration will take place on May 8^th from 8:00 to 5:00.  Every student must register for kindergarten for next year.  You must go to your child’s home school to register.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Home Activities:

*Ee Egg – Draw an egg on drawing paper.  Write Ee at the top of the paper and Egg at the bottom.  Point out that egg begins with e.  Look for Ees in the newspaper and magazine headlines with your child.  Cut them out and help your child glue them on the egg.  Also look for pictures that begin with the letter E or have your child draw the pictures. 

*Practice counting to at least 20 and counting up to 20 objects. 

*Practice personal information.

*Practice all letters and sounds by using flashcards, games, computer games, etc. 

*READ, READ, READ J

We are beginning a new theme this week called “Growing and Changing.”  Using the topic “I’m Growing Everyday,” we will read stories about growing up.  Please send a baby picture of your child this week to put on a bulletin board in our classroom.  I think the children will enjoy seeing their classmates as babies.  The letter of the week is Gg.  Please continue to review all of the letters and letter sounds with your child. 

   Field Day

Our Nansemond Parkway Field Day is Thursday, May 9^th.  Please read the letters in your child’s folder and return the forms by April 29^th.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

 Home Activities:

*Gg poster – cut Ggs from newspaper or magazine headlines with your child.   Make a Gg poster. You can decorate the poster by adding pictures or photographs of things whose names start with Gg.

*Change and grow – your child will listen to a book titled Growing Like Me this week.  Ask her/him to tell about how frogs, ducks, and oak trees grow and change.  Share other books about animals and things that grow and change.

*Continue to work with your child on personal information (full name, age, birthday, address, phone number, and parent name).  Your child should know this information before going to kindergarten.

This is our last week in the theme, “Let’s Move!”  This week, we will read stories about following directions and solving problems. We will read a book called Do like Duck Does in class. The letter of the week is letter Ii. We will make inchworms from fingerprints, an igloo, and talk about itchy, itchy chicken pox.  Please continue to work on all the letters and letter sounds with your child. 

 Home Activities:

*Ii Poster – Look for Ii in newspaper and magazine headlines with your child.  Cut out the letters and glue them to a large piece of paper.  Encourage you child to circle capital I with a red crayon and lowercase I with a green crayon.

*Keep practicing personal information (address, phone #, birthday, etc.)

*Practice rote counting and counting objects.

*Practice sorting things into categories.  (In class, we sort by size, shape, and color)

*Have your child practice writing his/her name.  (First and last name with a capital at the beginning and lowercase letters in the rest of the name)

This week we are reviewing the letters that we have learned so far this year.  Please continue to practice all letters and letter sounds at home.

Egg Hunt

We will be having a Spring Egg Hunt and picnic on Thursday, March 28^th at 11:00.  We need each child to bring in 12 plastic eggs, a bag of individually wrapped candy, and a 12 slotted egg carton.  After the egg hunt, we will have a picnic outside. Please send in eggs, candy and egg cartons by Wednesday. 

Home Activities:

*Have your child practice writing his/her first and last name.  Make sure to practice having a capital at the beginning and lowercase letters for the remainder of the name.  This is the way they are expected to write their names in kindergarten.

*When reading to your child, have your child point to a letter, word, sentence and picture in the book.  Also have your child predict what may happen next.  After reading ask questions about the book. 

 *Continue to work with your child on personal information (full name, age, birthday, address, phone number, and parent name).  Your child should know this information before going to kindergarten.

This week is our last week in the theme, “In the City, In the Country”.  We will learn more about buying and selling things.  We will talk about the different things people buy and sell.  We will also compare the city and the country.  The letter this week is letter Vv.  Please continue to review all the letters and letter sounds that we have studied this year. 

            Please make sure you send back a change of clothes for your child if your child has used his/her clothes.  This way, we always have something for them to wear in case they need it. 

Kindergarten Registration:

            Kindergarten registration is Wednesday, March 13^th from 8:00 – 5:00.  You must register your child for kindergarten even though he/she is in the Early Start program this year.  You should go to your child’s home school to register.  If you cannot register this Wednesday, there will be another registration day in May.  If you have any questions, please let us know.

Home Activities:

*Vv Van – draw the outline of a van on a piece of paper.  Help you child find Vv in magazines and newspaper headlines.  Circle the letters and cut them out.  Help your child paste the letters on the van.  You can also find pictures of things beginning with the letter V to glue on the van.

*Reading together – children will listen to a story titled “The Apple Dumpling” on Wednesday.  Ask your child to name things the old woman in the story trades to get apples to make the dumpling.  Read other stories about buying and selling things with your child.

This week we will focus on the city.  Using the topic “The Busy, Busy City,” we will read stories abut what it is like to live in the city and how people get around there. We will be reading Dr. Seuss books on Friday to celebrate his birthday. Our new letter this week is letter Qq.  Please review the letters and letter sounds that we have learned this year with your child. 

Home Activities:

*Qq Hunt – Look at magazine and newspaper headlines with your child.  Circle the words that begin with capital Q and lowercase q.  Count the number of letters you find.  You can also cut out or draw pictures of words beginning with Qq.

*We will read the story “City Mouse and Country Mouse” this week.   Ask your child to tell what happens when the country mouse visits the city.  Read other books abut the city with your child.  Discuss what your child sees in the illustrations.

*We will begin to learn about money this week (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters).  Talk about each coin with your child and have them sort coins.  Have your child count pennies.  You could set up a “store” at home.  Assign items a price and have your child count out pennies to “buy” an item.  (Keep it very simple – use pennies only) 

               Wednesday, March 13  is Kindergarten Registration at your home school – Please make every effort to register your child on this day.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

We will begin a new theme this week called “In the City, In the Country”.  This week we will learn about the country.  Using the topic “Country Life,” we will read stories about rural areas and farms, and what it is like to live there.  The letter of the week is letter Cc.   Keep reviewing all of the letters learned.  Knowing all letters and letter sounds will give your child a good start in kindergarten next year. 

Home Activities:

*Country Poster – collect Cc from newspaper and magazine headlines with your child.  Write Country on drawing paper.  Find pictures of farm animals whose names begin with v, such as cows.  Help your child glue the animals pictures and letters Cc on the drawing paper to make a poster.

*Country Books – your child will listen to a story titled “The Billy Goat in the Garden” on Wednesday. Ask him/her to tell about the naughty billy goat.  Read other books about farm animals with your child.