The Kindergarten Family Mailer

October 26-29, 2020 "Ill get you my pretty!...and all your candy too!!"

By Mrs. Chien, Mrs. McWhorter and Mrs. Cleveland

Have I mentioned…I LOVE FALL!! Although I grew-up at the Jersey Shore, we had huge oak trees in front

of our house and I can remember as a little kid, raking up piles of leaves with my brother and taking a running

start to jump in them.

BREAKFAST EVERYDAY IS A MUST!

If your house is anything like mine, mornings are rapid and sometimes chaotic. It's tricky just

making sure everyone is wearing clothing, has their teeth brushed and everything they need

to go out the door, so breakfast can sometimes feel like an afterthought. Cereal is an easy

standby because it's just so fast and simple. Yet, kids and adults both need a better start to

face the day. Something with the right mix of carbohydrates, protein and

fat that will keep us all going and focused until lunch time.

Here's to healthier, more filling school mornings this year.

School sweaters and sweatshirts all look a lot alike. Please check to confirm that YOUR

child’s name is written on them. The children take items off and inadvertently take the

wrong item home. There have been some mix-ups…

. This Week, Kindergarten…

Why is teaching rhyming important? Oh, teaching rhyming is important for so many reasons! To begin with, a multitude of research has shown a

correlation between rhyming mastery and eventual reading preparedness.

And, do you know what one of the best predictors of how well a kindergartner

will learn to read is? It’s if they know their nursery rhymes.

Jack and Jill went up the hill.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?

Jack Sprat would eat no fat. His wife would eat no lean.

All of those nonsensical verses from your childhood really DO matter. They

matter, because they rhyme. Rhyming is fun! And it’s a very important part of

reading success.

Phonics: Lessons 33-36

Mm, "m" as in "m"onkey, recognizing/ writing Mm, beginning sounds, reading: mop, ham,

mat, man, mom, hot, map, Word List #2, matching letters, matching words, HOP ON THE

MOP, counting sounds, title, author, reading left to right, comma, retelling the story/

comprehension, assessment #7

Reading/Writing: 1. We focus on concepts of print during reading. (following words left to right, top to

bottom, return sweep) It is important to encourage one-to-one match of spoken words to

printed words.

2. Identify environmental print (labels/signs)

3. Use before, during, after reading strategies to make connections, predict, ask and answer

questions, recall information

4. Comprehension: Recalling important details in a story

5. Story sequencing

6. Making predictions before reading

7. Compare and Contrast

8. linking reading and writing experiences

Language Arts: Books we have read:

Splat the Cat It's Halloween, and Splat is determined to be the scariest cat in the class. Unfortunately

he's just too much of a scaredy-cat. He's afraid of a little spider, and everyone says his

costume looks more silly than scary. And when Mrs. Wimpydimple tells a ghost story in the

dark, Splat gets so frightened that he tips over his jack-o'-lantern. But when the lights go

back on, the entire class is scared silly by a small, black, furry creature with a big pumpkin

head. Whooooo can it be?

We read this book by Steve Metzger…

One of my favorite fall reads!! It’s great for SO many reasons and there are SO many

teaching opportunities that come from it. I decided to use this book to teach the kids

about action words…aka: verbs :) We talked about action words and compared them

to nouns…then we played a quick little “Action or Not?!” whole group game before

reading. Basically, I just called out a lot of different words {nouns & verbs}. If they heard a

noun, they did nothing. If they heard a verb, they had to act out the word I said. Clearly,

you can’t act out the word “green” or “girl”…so that helped them to quickly see the

difference between the two.

At a fancy hotel dinner, Fly Guy gets into some trouble — and the restaurant's soup!

When Buzz and his family have dinner in a fancy hotel's restaurant, Fly Guy isn't allowed in.

After searching through the hotel's trash, Fly Guy smells a wonderful aroma coming from

the restaurant's kitchen. Fly Guy causes some messy mayhem in the restaurant, and in the

end, everyone needs a bath!

Room on The Broom, by Julia Donaldson The witch and her cat are happily

flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away

the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals

find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is

there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will

they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?

Math Prepositions:

Spanish with Señora Seay we continue to learn greetings; hello, “Hola!” “Buenos días” - Good

day; Buenas Tardes - Good afternoon/evening is; Buenas noches - good night. Siéntense = sit

down) and párense = stand up. Reviewed color words: azul — blue, blanco — white, negro —

black, rojo — red, rosado — pink, verde — green, naranja — orange, amarillo — yellow,

anaranjado — orange, numbers:

Health: If your child ever got separated from you, would they know your name and

phone number to give to a trusted adult? Does your child know their phone number?

Address? Parent’s first names (other than MOMMY and DADDY?)?

In this digital age, I believe many old school safety facts are no longer drilled into our

children’s memory banks. Young kids tend to rely more heavily on data that is stored on

devices rather than in their brains! In the good old days, when smartphones, tablets and

Google search engines were not the norms, kids had to actually memorize facts that could

potentially save their lives.

Library with Ms. Rayhel

When Ethan looks under the bed for his monster, he finds this note instead: "So long, kid. Gotta go. Someone needs me more than you do. –Gabe" How will Ethan ever get to sleep without his monster's familiar, comforting snorts? And who could need Gabe more than Ethan does?

Art with Mrs. Hess

Marigolds at the Marketplace: Our little artists

created these beautiful flower pots overflowing with

vibrant Marigolds commonly found at marketplaces

in central America.

Mrs. Hess and I need parental help! Have your child practice cutting. Thumb is

up and using their opposite hand to rotate the paper.

Social Studies Halloween:

BrainPOPjr: Halloween There’s more to Halloween than candy, trick-or-treating, and costumes! In this movie

the children learned how this spooky October holiday began. They learned how it

was first celebrated by the Celts in Great Britain and Ireland. They celebrated the

end of the fall harvest with a festival called Samhain and wore masks and costumes.

Once called All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween was celebrated the night before All Saints’

Day (or All Hallows’ Day) on November 1st and All Souls’ Day on November 2nd. The

kiddos also learned about common Halloween symbols and the traditions people

practice today.

Science

Owls https://www.youtube.com/watch/m0XgSrdYQRY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4spd2WO0r24

Bats:

Religion: The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. As we all know,

praying the Holy Rosary is envisioning the face of Christ through the eyes of

Mary. Mary, the Mother of God, the person closest to Jesus, the only person

honored to be united with Jesus so closely, will surely help us to know and love

her Son more. To pray the Rosary is to reflect on the life of Jesus and Mary,

working as one to fulfill God’s will. The will of God is the salvation of all creation.

Praying the Rosary is praying the Lord’s Prayer, the ‘Our Father’, the prayer

Jesus Himself taught his apostles to pray. As a class we continue to pray using the rosary.

**Students should be practicing prayers at home.

Special Projects

Important Reminders

Dressing In kindergarten, we are focusing on responsibility and

independence. We ask that you send your child to school with coats and

shoes that they can easily be put on by themselves or with minimal

assistance. Also we ask that you send an extra set of clothing with your

child to keep in their backpacks just in case it is needed.

Please pack a school sweater or sweatshirt, daily, for your child. The

classroom is kept cool!

☺ Please check book bags EVERYDAY!

☺ Please make sure your child can read a calendar, tell you how many days

are in a week, read the days of the week, tell you how many months are in a

year, and say the months in order. We practice this daily and they should be

able to tell you, too!

☺ Read, read, read to your child.

☺ Use flashcards with your child for letters, sight words, and numbers.

☺ Your child should be able to tell his/her full name, full address, telephone

number, and birth date - including the year.

Please remember to label all belongings of your child; the lost and found

has many items without names!

Daily Prayers Every day we say prayers in the morning and afternoon. The children are learning them and would benefit

from reinforcement from home. Please continue to review the prayers with your children. Thank you for your

help!

Chuckles and Heart warmers

After PE, Mrs. Chien asked the kiddos to please “tuck in your shoes!”

WOW, rewind, “Tuck in your shirts and tie your shoes!” Mrs. Chien

had a silly moment!

Wish List

We would like a statue of Mother Mary for Mrs.McWhorter’s side.

*Suggestions For Success*

Have your child practice tying their own shoes and zipping their own

jacket.

Have your child practice cutting with their thumb up and using their

opposite hand to rotate the paper.

A Note from the Teachers We would like to thank all of you for helping us get the year off to a great

start!

Thank you to those of you that have had “homework” to complete; tracing,

cutting, or preparing materials. All of your contributions to the classroom have

been tremendous and we could not do it without your support!

Pennies for Peru

The St. Francis School “Pennies for Peru” program was established in September 2007. This is an on-going

monetary collection to aid the members of our Sister Parish in Peru. Thank you for supporting this very

worthy cause.

HOW TO EARN BOX TOPS MAKES IT EASY.

All you need is your phone! Download the Box Tops app, shop as you normally would, then

use the app to scan your store receipt within 14 days of purchase. The app will identify Box

Tops products on your receipt and automatically credit your school’s earnings online. Twice

a year, your school will receive a check and can use that cash to buy whatever it needs!

Funds generated from the collections go directly back to the school to purchase school

materials.