Language Arts
As
we help students understand the different genres in literature, our primary
focus in Kindergarten is to help children understand the difference between
fiction and non-fiction. As part of our
understanding of fiction, Kindergarten focuses more specifically on the genre
of “animal fantasy”. The children
understand that books within the genre of animal fantasy have animal characters
that talk and act like people and have the same problems and feelings as
people. The children enjoy recognizing
when they have chosen a book to read that is within the genre of “animal fantasy”.
The children are becoming more confident
when sounding out words to write in their journals. As we read books aloud, we
are noticing how authors organize the books they write. They have a beginning, middle, and end that
make sense. Even though we are beginning
writers, it is not too early to become aware of how good writers organize their
work. The children will sometimes write
the beginning of their journal entry and then dictate other parts of their
“story”. In this way they can practice
organizing their thoughts.
Sight
Words Introduced - I, a, the, is, it, in, to, at, are, my, and for.
Math
- We continue to work on the concept of
more than, less than, and the same as.
We compared numbers by using counters and discussed how many more,
how many less, as well as alternate ways to make different numbers the
same by adding or taking away.
- Calendar Math continues to provide us
with rich mathematical discussions each day. In November we began an exploration of
measurement by comparing the length of our feet. In December we will compare and order
objects by weight.
Science, Social Studies, and Health
We
finished our study of the Senses. We
will now focus on Social Studies as we
talk about different customs and winter holidays from around the world.
The
children enjoyed learning about the history of Thanksgiving, the importance of
Squanto, and how life was different during the time of the Pilgrims compared
with life today. We enjoyed sharing our
own Thanksgiving “feast” together.
Reminders
The cold weather
is here. Please help your children
practice putting on their coats, getting sleeves right side out, zipping,
snapping, and tying. Thank you for your
help.
Important Dates
Parent Teacher
Conferences are coming in December. The
following are the early release dates:
Thursday, Dec. 12th – Early
Release @ 12:00
Friday, Dec. 13th – Early
Release @ 12:00
No Lunch will be
served on these early release days.
Progress reports
will be sent home on Dec. 9th.
