Young Actors Project

Wow!  What an amazing workshop today from the Young Actors Project.  They used voice, body language, and movement to portray different emotions and act out scenarios.  Lots of opportunity to get up and perform in front of their peers.  So worth it!

KM Club

Primary classes started KM club yesterday.  We will be participating 3 times per week.  This is an opportunity for students to run/walk/skip around the field enough to get their hearts pumping.  It seeks to promote physical activity but we also incorporate some math skills as we add up our runs, and measurement, as well as goal-setting.  There are milestones to be reached and ribbons earned for those milestones.  As your child makes these achievements, they will be honored with a ribbon and applause at periodic assemblies.  Please ensure that your child has a safe run by providing them with proper running shoes, water bottle, and a hat for sunny days to come.

Our runs are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at about 11:30.

Concepts of Print Kindergarten

The 'concepts of print' are being assessed this term.  Concepts of print include the following:

• identifying the title
• knowing the difference between 'front of the book' and 'back of the book'
• words tell the story, not the pictures
• difference between 'words' and 'letters'
• words are formed by letters sitting close together
• words are separated by a space
• we read from left to right
• we read from front to back
• identifying marks like quotations, periods, and question marks

You can practice any of these things at home as you read together.  Practice doesn't have to mean quizzing your child (although it can as some quite like this).  Just being explicit about these concepts as you read doesn't go unnoticed - for example, instead of just reading the title, first say, "the title is..." or "I am going to start reading the story here (finger at the beginning of the sentence) and go all the way to the period, here."

Happy Reading!

Home Reading Kindergarten

Kindergarten students are bringing home their first home reading book today.  This book should be read nightly until your child feels successful in reading it.  Please make sure you make this a fun and positive experience for your child.  Remember, looking at pictures is part of the beginning reading experience. 

    Also, please remember that this is about your child enjoying reading and feeling successful and confidant.   This should take about 10 minutes each night.  Feel free to supplement these books with your own collection and/or the library.

    When you are ready for a new book, please return the one you have in your child’s folder and they will trade for another. 

If you have any questions about the reading program, please feel free to email me.

When you begin each book, here are a few things to try:

      Picture walk—Before reading the book, read the title with your child.  Look at the cover and the pictures throughout the book.  Ask your child what they notice and to make predictions and connections with the book.

      Go back to the beginning of the book and read the title together.

      Make sure your child is touching each word as they read.

If your child cannot read a word, here are some strategies:

      Ask your child about the word they said:  Does it look right?  Does it sound right? Does that word make sense?

      See if they are able to recognize sight words.   The sight words in your child’s books should be ones that they have/are learning.  

      See if they are able to recognize a pattern in the text.   Are the words rhymes?  Can they figure out the mystery word by looking for rhyming or pattern clues?

       

Can they recognize the sounds we’ve learned in class?  Focus on the beginning and ending sounds.  This means they will sound it out.