Dear Families
We had a great second week of school. We have stayed busy and we have continued to practice daily routines that support responsibility and independence. This will be an ongoing theme throughout the year as we encourage our students to be proud and self-sufficient. I have really enjoyed getting to know your children so far, and witness everyone's individual personalities and special qualities. I am looking forward to what I know will be an amazing school year. This week we worked on the sound for "A". Everyone knows the letter A, so it is a nice start and it coordinates with our beginning of the year 'Apple Theme'. However, from next week on, we will be exploring the alphabet phonetically. This means the letters will be introduced out of order. We do it this way because some sounds are easier to hear and isolate than others. We will do a letter a week and review all past letters as we move through the alphabet. Our goal is for the children to have a strong connection with each letter's sound, along with the letter's name. We plan to make the alphabet journey fun and educational. For A we made A is for Alligator. The students assembled fun alligators and cut out teeth to make it look fierce. In preparation for our alligators, we also painted a blue background to make each alligator “pop”. We also colored and cut out pictures of items that start with A and glued them on a big A. This supported our fine motor skills as we explored more things with the "A" sound. The children make their first calendar this week for September. We will make a calendar on the first of each month, or the closest school day. They practice number writing and they get to make seasonal art for the top. They have so much pride when doing this activity. I love hearing about who gets to hang theirs up at home. For art, we painted apples with stencils. Once our apples were dry, we built baskets around them to make very adorable, rustic apple baskets. We also painted and assembled an apple that was hidden in an A and made out of craft sticks. The children couldn't wait to take them home. You will be hearing about a lot of things that we are making, but not everything will be going home right away. Some things go home right away, so hang in the room for a bit and some things will go in their portfolios that will go home at the end of the year. Everything goes home eventually. Reminders for a successful TK day: WATER BOTTLES: Please send a clean and full water bottle to school each day. We want our children hydrated at all times. CHANGE OF CLOTHES: If you have not sent a change of clothes yet, please do so. And if dirty clothes go home, please send a replacement. SNACKS: Please send an AM and a PM snack each day. LUNCH: Please send lunch daily or sign your child up for hot lunch on days you choose. I think we have had a great start so far. Thank you for your kindness and support as we all adjust to the new school year. Have a wonderful weekend, Ms Kristine
