Welcome to Kindergarten’s Back To School Night!

1. Welcome to Kindergarten’s Back To School Night!

2. Let Us Introduce Our Kindergarten Curriculum… • READING CURICULUM: • 1ST Main Goal is to implement and support book skills through word and letter identification, an understanding of spaces, the front and back of the book, and punctuation • 2nd Main Goal is to support word analysis and decodingwhere students are sounding out words, putting letters together to form whole words and meaning behind the words • 3rd Main Goal is to provide solid vocabulary experiences where the students are practicing and understanding opposites, prefixes, suffixes, color and sight words

3. READING CURRICULUM CONTINUED… • To ensure your student the best reading success, we focus on: 1. Fluency- which is how smooth your child reads, speed and accuracy when your child is reading 2. Comprehension- the ability to understand the meaning behind the written text

4. READING CURRICULUM CONTINUED… • We use a variety of approaches to reach our reading goals. We do this using: 1. Sight Words- through activities, games, reading in texts and memory work 2. Phonemic Awareness- hearing sounds in words (hearing rhyming words, hearing different parts in words) 3. Phonics- learning to associate written letters with sounds (we do this through games, activities, puzzles, and paper work)

5. READING CURRICULUM Q. and A.… Q. How do you teach reading? A. We teach reading in whole groups and small leveled groups. We do this by using teaching methods calledShared Reading and Guided Reading. Shared Reading is a powerful way to engage our students in literary concepts, such as setting, characters, plot, action, and comprehension. Shared Reading takes place in a whole group setting where we read a big book or a theme-based library book. The students have the opportunity to make connections, I wonder statements, predictions, and opinions. Guided Readingis a strategy that helps students become good readers. The teacher provides support for small groups of readers as they learn to use various reading strategies (context clues, letter and sound relationships, word structure, and so forth). We differentiate our teaching to reach each individual students’ reading needs and abilities. Q. What is your reading curriculum called? A. We use the Hampton-Brown Reading Series to support our journey through letters and sounds. We also use supplemental series.

6. READING CURRICULUM Q. and A.… Q. How can I help to support my child in their reading development? A. While you are driving to the store, point out words, have kids find letters or sounds or read words on signs. While you are at home, let your child find easy words in books, newspapers, on cereal boxes, or in magazines, such as: I, a, the is. Read to your child daily and when we begin to check out library books or your child brings home their book bag, read with your child and/or have your child read their books to you!

7. LITERACY CENTERS AND WRITING… LITERACY CENTERS: • Word Work/Phonics, Word Building through games, puzzles, activities • Work on writing letters and sounds • Work on sight words HANDWRITING: We are implementing The Handwriting Without Tears Program along with Lucy Calkin’s Writing Program

8. MATH CURRICULUM Math Goals: shapes, patterns, number recognition to 30, number writing to 30, adding, subtracting to 10, measuring, ordinal numbers, telling time, and money We teach these skills through hands-on activities and games where the students develop a concrete approach to math with the use of manipulatives and math strategies. We introduce a concept, then we practice the skill or concept, the students have the time to have hands-on experiences with the concept, and then we follow up with a written activity page.

9. MATH CURRICULUM CONTINUED… Everyday Math is the Math program we use. This program spirals , which means it introduces then reviews the same concepts throughout the year. The program focuses on the following: problem solving, hands-on activities, sharing ideas, cooperative learning, practice through games, on-going review, daily routines, and informal assessments

10. SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE CURRICULUM… • We integrate much of our social studies and science themes into our literacy block, our math time and through arts and craft activities. We also introduce the basic scientific method through our Science Boot Camp and Science Fair. Social Studies Units include: • Wants vs. Needs • Basic Map and Globe Skills • All About Me • My Family • Traditions • Celebrations around the World and in the United States • Patriotic Symbols Science Units include: • Seasons • Living/Nonliving • Night Sky • Weather • Baby Animals/ Growing, Changing

11. KED Daily Schedule

12. Half Day Schedule

13. SCHOOL INFORMATION • The Laura Ingalls Wilder School website can be accessed through the Littleton Public Schools website littletonpublicschools.net or direct access at http.wilder.littletonpublicschools.net. • At these sites you will find pertinent information about school-wide events and answers to curriculum questions. You might want to refer to it to keep track of the days your child attends, when class parties are held, when vacation and non-student days are and all other important school information.

14. PARTIES • There are special all-school party days!! • The Halloween parties will be held Friday, October 31, from 2:30-3:30. Mrs. Swank’s morning class will have their party from 10:55-11:55. • Our Valentine’s party will be held on Friday, February 13 from 2:30-3:30. Again, Mrs. Swank’s morning class will have their party from 10:55-11:55. • Room mothers and their committees usually plan, organize and run these very special days.

15. IMPORTANT DATES Mark your calendars now! • Our Kindergarten Program will be on Thursday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. • Our Cowboy Day will be Thursday, January 29 from 9:20-11:30. • Field Day for all kindergartners will be held on Thursday, May 7 from 9:30-11:45. • Our Author’s Afternoon and Picnic will be held immediately following Field Day, Thursday, May 7.

16. BIRTHDAYS • We love to celebrate birthdays or half-birthdays (for summer birthdays) at school. • Your child may bring a treat to share with his classmates. Please have enough for 25 students. • Also, please send napkins and make sure your treat arrives either in the morning or by 1:30 p.m. as we like to enjoy our treats during our recess times. You are certainly welcome to stay during our short celebration.

17. MARVELOUS ME In kindergarten each child will be honored with a Me Day on one Friday. Your child is encouraged to bring in a poster board that he/she has decorated with personal pictures. Some ideas of what to include are: • recent pictures • baby pictures • family pictures • sports, dance or any favorite pictures • pet pictures • vacation pictures A favorite book or toy can also be brought in to share. Your child will give a short presentation of his poster and then the poster will be displayed in our classroom until the following Friday. Also, our class bear (along with his journal) will be coming home with your child for the weekend. Please take some time with your child to write about our bear’s adventures at your home and return the bear and journal on Monday.

18. COMMUNICATION • Kindergartners will bring home a newsletter every month. It will be printed on brightly colored paper for those who request a hard copy. Otherwise, we will e-mail our newsletters. The newsletters help to keep you up to date on everything that is happening in kindergarten! If you need to communicate with either of us, please call the appropriate voice mail number: Melissa Crouch—303-734-5923 Carol Riscoe--303-734-5947 Susan Swank—303-734-5951 Email addresses: mcrouch@lps.k12.co.us criscoe@lps.k12.co.us sswank@lps.k12.co.us If you need to get a message to us during teaching hours, please call the office at 303-347-4750. We also would like to have an email list from the parents. If you would like to give us an email address, please do so in the classrooms this evening.

19. VOLUNTEERS • Volunteers are always welcome in our kindergarten whether you’re here working with children, making instructional materials at home, gathering up donations, making scenery for a program, chaperoning on a field trip or any one of a hundred things you do for us. • For those wishing to work in the classroom, please sign up for those days for which you wish to volunteer through December on the calendars in our classrooms. Please do this tonight or give us a call to add your name to the list. • We plan our activities according to the number of adults we have in the classroom so PLEASE come for the time you have chosen. If a conflict arises please let us know as soon in advance as possible.

20. BOOK ORDERS • Once a month your child will bring home Scholastic book orders. Books offered are age appropriate and reasonably priced. If you are interested in purchasing any books, order forms must be turned back in to the teacher by the due date. Please make checks payable to the appropriate book company.

21. PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO • Many times during the year we make a photographic record of our trips and learning activities. We will be using the school’s digital camera on many of these occasions. However, we need to print these pictures at places like Target or Costco, so the printing can get rather expensive. If you would like to help us print a group of these, please let us know.

22. QUESTIONS????????? Please call. • A few reminders about school procedures: • If you are late in the morning, please check in with the office, so that we know your child is here. • If you are taking your child early, you must sign them out in the front office. • If your child is absent please call the attendance line. • When sending in money for lunch or field trips, please put it in an envelope with your child’s name on it. • Snacks—feel free to send in different varieties of snacks during the year, such as, fresh fruit, fruit roll-ups, etc. A good time to bring them might be when you come in to help. • Allergies—Each classroom has at least one student who is allergic to nuts. Please do not send in any snacks with nuts. • Please do not send toys to school. These become a problem when the children start “trading”. Many hurt feelings arise. • Also, for nap time the children just need a towel to rest on. Please leave the “blankies” and stuffed animals at home.