Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Kindergarten March News

Grant Elementary
Mrs. Conran and Mrs. Caya
March Reading Goal:  Writes unknown words with accurate beginning, middle and ending sounds
March Math Goal: 
Adds and subtracts (0-5) quickly and accurately

Family Project – Leprechaun Trap!
Legend says that a human who catches a leprechaun will be granted 3 wishes.  We have been learning about how things are built to perform specific tasks during our engineering science unit.  As a final project, you and your child will build a leprechaun trap together.  Be creative with your materials – recycled items work well.  Please send your trap to school by Tuesday, March 15.  Your child will talk and write about the making of the trap and demonstrate for the class. 
Writing
We will be working on opinion writing this month, using the OREO format:
O - State your opinion.  (example – I like cats.)
R – State your reasons.  (example – Cats are fun and furry.)
E – Give some examples. (example – Cats like to play with balls and string.  They are cuddly.)
O – Restate your opinion.  (example – Cats are the best!)
Try working with your child to write some opinions.
My favorite dinner is…
The best thing about winter is…
My favorite movie is…
Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) & Social Skills
Each day, our day begins with a Morning Meeting.  During this meeting, we engage in team-building activities, share news, solve problems and learn social skills.  We play games, role-play and simply listen to each other.  These activities support your child’s social development as well as Grant’s PBIS program.  We end each day with an Afternoon Wrap-Up to review the day and look to the next.
Word Study
We are working both on sight words and using sounds to write new words.  At this time, your Kindergartner should be able to read 40 or more words from the Kindergarten list.  The list is in your child’s folder.  You can practice at home by dictating sentences to your child and then talking together about his/her efforts.  You should expect your Kindergartner to spell sight words correctly and use beginning, middle and end sounds accurately in new words. 
Here are a few sample sentences for dictating:
I like to go down to the lake.
My sister likes to help me do my homework.
I will take my time to write neatly.