Kinder Weekly Updates Q4W2 (March 23-27)

 Hello, Kindergarten Griffins!

We hope everyone had a great Spring Break!  We need students to bring in Little Bear by 3/30 (as listed below in our complete list). 

Looking Ahead: 

Classics to Keep

We're nearing an exciting milestone in Kindergarten as our Literature classes will shift from teacher read-alouds to the student-led reading of some wonderful books!  As we look forward to the start of the 4th Quarter, we will begin reading our first Classic to Keep.  As you purchase these books and prepare to send them in, please help us preserve our class Sense of Wonder as we explore these stories and have the scholars experience them for the first time in class.  We will be sending them home as we finish each book, and we love when the students enjoy them again and again at home.  Stated simply, please do not read the books with your child before we read them in class.  

Below is a list of all 5 books we will read in the upcoming weeks, along with the ISBN.  Please try to purchase the same ISBN as we will be using in class so that all students will have the same page numbers to follow along as we read together.  All books are readily available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, for about $5 each.  

Little Bear                                   978-0064440042
Little Bear’s Visit                        978-0064440233
Mouse Soup                                978-0064440417
Mouse Tales                               978-0064440134
The Grasshopper on the Road    978-0064440943

We begin with Little Bear. Students will need this book no later than Monday, March 30th.  It is important that each student have their own copy at school to complete with the readings for Literature class each day.  Please only send in one book at a time and label the book with your child's name (inside cover or on the front- we already have a few lost by the cubbies).  Thank you!

Book order and Dates:

Little Bear- 3/30

Little Bear Visits- 4/13

Mouse Soup- 4/20

Mouse Tales- 5/4

Grasshopper on the Road- 5/11

Promotion: Caps/Tassels

Each student will wear a graduation cap and a tassel along with their Great Hearts uniform. Your child’s cap and tassel can be ordered via the following link: Caps and Tassel order Link. These are one size fits all and sold as a set for $12.  The set will be delivered to school.  Please complete your order by Wednesday, May 14th so we will be ready for Promotion!

Additional details, including times, will be sent at a later date, but you may mark your calendars for the morning of Wednesday, May 20th. 

Each ceremony will conclude with light refreshments for the families and scholars to enjoy before the students return to class.  Family and extend family will be able to attend and RSVPs will go home closer to the promotion date. 

All scholars will need to arrive at school on time as usual, and we will have our regular mid-morning/afternoon schedule following the ceremonies.  Great Hearts scholars' complete academic lessons through the last day of school, so we will have lessons and activities planned for the remainder of our ceremony day.  

This Week: 

Reading Bags/Check-Ins:

Reading logs still need to be signed and completed each night for homework.  Please make sure that your child brings their reading bags back to school each day in their backpack.  We have started reading with your child one-on-one, and our goal is twice a week per student, however, it varies by week when your child reads with their teacher and how often. Your child will receive a new list or book, as the teacher assess for fluency and comprehension when reading with each scholar. 

Library: 

KA/KB - Wednesday

KC/KD - Thursday

This Week Academics:

Math Skills

• Subtraction

Language Arts Skills

• Spalding Phonograms: ei, eigh (4 letters)
• Spelling Words: no new words
• Identify letter names
• Isolating sounds in words
• Identify phonogram sounds
• Identifying rhyming words
• Letter formation/pencil grip, writing phonograms on paper
• Distinguishing upper- and lower-case letters; naming letters
• Identifying rules and markings on spelling words.

Grammar

• Media Literacy

Literature

Eric Carle Unit:

A House for Hermit Crab, Walter the Baker

• Author's Purpose
• Fictional (narrative) story
• Non-fiction (expository) story

Core Saying

none

Poetry

It's Raining, It's Pouring

History/Science

• Science:
• 
  

• History:
• George Washington; first president; create portrait
• Thomas Jefferson; Declaration of Independence; 3rd president
• Abraham Lincoln; 16th president; "Honest Abe"; lawyer
• Mount Rushmore

Homework Reminders

• Be sure to read daily for 20 minutes; 100 minutes this week. Reading Logs will be collected next Monday. Please record on the Reading Log page. If you miss a night, please record 0 minutes and initial rather than leaving it blank.
• Spalding handwriting practice. Spalding homework will continue to be in the Written Phonogram and Spelling Word Review format-please read the GH logo homework sheet for instructions.  On Monday-Wednesday scholars write the list of phonograms and words once; on Thursday in preparation for our spelling test the list is written twice.
• Memorize poem by Friday!

Upcoming Assessment

• WPR Assessment – Thursday, March 26th
• Spelling Assessment – Friday, March 27th

Upcoming Events

• March 27 ~ Early Release; Spirit Day
• April 3 ~ Good Friday Holiday; No School

Have a wonderful week!

Together for our children - The GHNO Kindergarten Teachers