Grant El.
Kindergarten Weekly News
From Mrs. Conran and
Mrs. Caya
Important Dates
April 13 School
Resumes
April 16 OPT
Meeting 6:30pm
April 18 Saturday
Morning Book Club
April 23 Save
the Date: K/1 Music Concert 6pm
Reading & Writing
During 4th Quarter, writing will be a large focus
of our time. Students will be writing
about topics of their choosing, answering questions in writing and writing
about our Science and Social Studies topics frequently. By the end of the quarter, you kindergartner
will be writing a how-to book. You can
help your child by writing frequently at home together. Try writing a few how-to books together for
fun! Some topics could include: how to
make a sandwich, how to make your bed, how to clean your room, how to blow
bubbles… Be creative! Here are a few
ways to encourage your young writer:
• Encourage your child to express ideas and emotions by writing
them down.
Offer your help when she needs it. A birthday card, a letter,
and even a grocery list are all ways of communicating thoughts and emotions.
When you show your child how useful and necessary writing is in many different
situations, you encourage her to use writing to both imagine and communicate.
• Don’t worry about correct spelling.
Your kindergartner is just beginning to learn about the
relationship between letters and sounds. At this age, children generally know
how to spell some common words correctly, such as "go" and
"love," but they "invent spell" many words, using their
knowledge of letter sounds to record what they hear. Celebrate your child’s attempts
at spelling! The kindergartner who spells "Elephant" as
"LFNT" is thinking carefully about sounds and letters. You can help your child say the word slowly
to be able to hear more sounds.
• Encourage your child to read her own writing.
Many kindergartners are proud to read their work to a caring
adult. Although parents are not always able to decipher their kindergartner’s
writing, children are generally able to "read" their writing based on
the letters they wrote and their memory of what they intended to write. You can
compliment and encourage your child for reading his own writing by saying,
"I like how you used such interesting words."
• Provide a wide variety of pens and papers.
Children are motivated to write more often if a variety of
materials with which to experiment are handy. Markers, colored pencils,
sidewalk chalk, glitter pens, neon pens on black paper, chalk and easel,
colored paper, and old greeting cards are all appealing writing materials for
5-year-olds. They also enjoy keeping their materials in a special box or
drawer.
Show your child how YOU
write.
One of the most important ways to help your kindergartner
develop as a writer is by writing yourself and talking about the process with
your child. As you address an envelope, you might explain why you are writing
the name and address of the recipient on the front of the letter. Write grocery
lists by saying the items aloud and then writing them. You can even enlist your
child’s help in figuring out the letters to write in "bananas" and
"milk" as you make the grocery list together.
Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) & Social Skills
On Tuesday, we will be enjoying a PBIS carnival to review
school expectations. This review is to
help all students at Grant have a successful finish to the school year. Ask your child to tell you able the three
ideas below. These are the heart of PBIS
expectations.
Be Safe.
Be Responsible.
Be Respectful.
Math
We are working on writing equation
correctly. We are learning that + is
needed when we join things together and – is needed when taking quantities
apart. Please take some time to review
the +, - and = signs with your child. Your
child should be able to draw a picture and write the appropriate equation to go
with the picture.
