ABCs of Kindergarten

The “ABCs” of Miss Wheeler’s Kindergarten Class:

A Handbook for Parents - 2023

Absences: Please call the office if your child will be absent that day at 303-387-6725. THANK YOU for your cooperation!

Arrival: School starts at 8:35 a.m. Students may arrive anytime between 8:25 and 8:35. They are to enter via the front door and walk into our classroom (we will practice this a lot the first few days!!). Please try to have your child to school on time so we can start learning right away!

Allergies: If your child has food allergies, please provide me with a bag of safe snacks for your child to eat throughout the year (ten or so should be good). There are times I’d like to have something yummy and safe to give your child. Thanks!

Bathroom: Please help your child learn independence when it comes to using the bathroom. I cannot "help" them in the bathroom so please make sure your kindergartener knows how to use it appropriately. Even seasoned bladder-control experts can have an off day. In case of an emergency, there are extra clothes in the office for accidents. If this does happen, please just send the laundered clothes back to school as soon as you can.

Backpacks: Your child should bring his/her backpack to school everyday. They will have things to bring home daily in their blue folders.

Birthdays: Birthdays are VERY special in kindergarten! If your child is having a birthday party and would like to invite the whole class, or ALL the girls or ALL the boys they may bring the invitations to school. Otherwise, please invite children during non-school hours to avoid hurt feelings.

On your child’s birthday, feel free to send in prepackaged birthday treats or donuts he/she can share with the class. (We are banning cupcakes this year…the frosting is a MESS!!) 🙂

Blue Folders: Blue folders will be sent home everyday and will include any notes from the office or me as well as finished work. They are to be sent back to school daily.

Conferences: We will have the opportunity to participate in two parent/teacher/child conferences during the school year (October and March). Of course, if any concerns arise, we can always schedule a meeting at your convenience.

Dismissal: I'll dismiss Kindies at 3:25 to avoid getting trampled by those big kiddos running out of school (the dismissal bell rings at 3:30)! We’ll dismiss through the front door of the school. If you have a bus kiddo, they will be walked to the bus after school by a faculty member. If your child will be attending Base Camp, someone from Base will come and walk them to the cafeteria at the end of the day.

Dirty - Yes - your kids will get dirty. We play hard (both outside and inside), dig in the dirt, collect rocks, take neighborhood walks, catch insects, observe plant parts, etc. So much amazing learning happens outside the four walls of our classroom!

Drills: We participate in many drills over the course of the year. We will have fire drills, disaster drills, lockout drills and lockdown drills. When we do participate in a lockdown drill, I will lock the door, turn off the lights, and then we will quietly sit in the back corner of the room. Because they are 5 years old, I tell them we do this drill in case an animal like a dog or fox gets into the school - I tell them we need to be silent because when animals hear kids they tend to get more wild. I’ve done this for years and it works for me (and the kiddos) as opposed to causing them undo stress with the real reason why...

Email: Email is the quickest and easiest way to contact me. I am able to check email during lunch and will respond as soon as possible to questions or concerns! My email is lori.wheeler@dcsdk12.org

Email Sharing: I’d like to be able to share your email with other parents for party sign-ups, play-dates and invitations. If you would NOT like your email shared, please let me know as soon as possible.

Fun: Kindergarten is a time for FUN! I promise to have fun with the kids everyday!

Fine Motor Practice: Fine motor activities help develop hand muscles. Working with Play-Doh, using markers, crayons, pencils, pens, and scissors will strengthen your child’s hand muscles. Stronger hand muscles will help your child’s writing skills and encourage proper letter and number formation throughout the year.

Furniture: We were lucky to receive a grant from the district for new kindergarten furniture the last 2 years! We are fortunate to have new tables, chairs, kitchen, market, cubbies, a fort, easels, a new rug, bookshelves, and a rocking chair.

Giggles: I promise we’ll have fun and laugh A LOT!

Homework: Your child may occasionally be sent home with a small project to work on with your help. Other than the occasional project, please read to your child everyday. He/she can also start reading to you, too. Book Bags will be sent home starting in September or October and they are to read their little books nightly.

Independence: Kindergarten is a big transition for children and families! We gently encourage the children to be as independent as possible. Opening snacks, zipping backpacks and jackets, putting mittens and boots on, and cleaning up are skills they will learn how to do. Be sure to encourage your child to continue these behaviors at home.

I-Pads: We are incredibly lucky here at Heritage because we have one-to-one devices for every child in the school. In kindergarten, every child will have his/her own I-Pad to use at school.

Joy: Kindergarten is such a joyous time! They are happy, excited, lovable, curious and silly. More than anything I love seeing the joy in each and every kindergarten face all day long. Whether it’s rolling down a hill, learning a new math game or observing and digging through mud, they have such a sense of wonder and joy!

Kindergarten: The kindergarten year is a special time for you and your child. Although academics are important, they are not the sole focus of our program. We aim to support and develop your child’s social, emotional, and physical development as well. We want your child to become the best kindergartener they can be!

Kindie Cooking: The kiddos will have an opportunity to “cook” in kindergarten this year. More information to come...

Love: I promise to love your child and my hopes are that they will LOVE kindergarten, LOVE Heritage, and LOVE coming to school each and everyday!

Lunch: Your child has a choice of bringing lunch from home or eating lunch prepared at school. There are always 2 school lunch choices and you can view the lunch menu on the Heritage website. Purchasing milk daily is also an option. You can put money into your child's lunch account by paying online, although I’m about 99% positive school lunch is free this year. I’ll find out for sure and get back to you on that!

PLEASE practice eating “school lunch” with your child. Make sure they can open everything you send with them (drinks, packages, Lunchables). THANK YOU!

After the first few weeks of school, you will be able to join your child for lunch if you’d like. You can bring in something special from a fast food joint or simply just sit and chill while your child eats next to you.

Label all of your child’s wearable items: This includes jackets, backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles (and in the winter - boots, mittens, snow pants and hats). This cuts down greatly on lost items. Also, check through the lost and found throughout the year for any missing items.

Library: The kids will be checking out two library books per week.

Mystery Reader: We encourage all parents/grandparents/friends to participate in this fun activity! You will simply sign up with me in the weeks to come to share a story with the class. The “mysterious” part is that your child doesn’t know you’re coming… the kids love this! Keep an eye out for available dates and times in the weeks to come.

Math: Math concepts in kindergarten are explored through a variety of hands-on activities, play, and games.. We use Play-dough, rocks, leaves, dominoes, counters, etc. to explore mathematical concepts. Encourage your child to explain what they are learning in math throughout the year. You can always expand your child’s math knowledge by using everyday objects to count and add. Show your child how you use math everyday as well.

Newsletter: A newsletter will be emailed to you every week. Be sure to read it for important dates, what we have been learning about and other special news.

Outdoors: Recess is outdoors everyday, weather permitting. If the weather is rainy or too cold, children will have indoor recess. Please put sunscreen on your child before school on these hot sunny days. Also, please send your child in with weather appropriate clothing and extra warm clothes in the winter months! The school rule is that we will go outside for recess if the temperature is above 20 degrees. In the winter we go out almost everyday, so your child will need boots and snow pants.

Also, we go outside all the time during science and math. Any child would much rather add rocks or sticks together (found outside) than work on a worksheet. In science, a simple walk around the school creates SO many learning opportunities!

Play: Play is a child’s “work” and is an important component of our kindergarten day. Your child will participate in both structured and unstructured play at school. Play benefits the social, emotional, and physical development of children. During play, children are creative and innovative, learn how to socialize, and demonstrate resilience and problem solving skills. In our class, we call our unstructured playtime “Discovery Time ”.

Progress Reports: These will be sent home twice per year - in December and in May.

Phone Calls: Feel free to call my cell phone anytime. My number is (303) 717-3674. However, during the school day, I am actively engaged with students and can’t always guarantee that I’ll respond before the school day ends. (If you need to reach me regarding a change in your child’s “go home” plan, I recommend always calling the office (by 3:00) and they’ll get word to me!!

Parties: Kindergarteners love to celebrate holidays and other events. We will have parties throughout the year which I will let you know about ahead of time in my newsletters. Volunteers and donations are greatly appreciated – so be on the lookout for upcoming events! Three parties we always have are the Halloween Party and Parade, the Winter Party, and the Valentine's Day Party. All parents are invited to our parties so mark your calendars!

Parent Portal: You should have received instructions when you registered on how to set up your Parent Portal account online. If you need help, please contact the front office. You will access field trip payments, progress reports and lunch balances all on Parent Portal so please get it set up soon. Thank you!

Pete the Cat: Watch Out!!!! A cat is running and meowing about! Every Friday, a name is drawn to take our friend, Pete the Cat, home for the weekend. Pete is such a loving cat and I'm sure your child will enjoy the time they'll spend together. A journal and some books will come home with Pete. Encourage your child to draw a picture about their weekend fun with Pete. On the next day of school, return Pete and the journal to class. We will read ALL about his adventures!!!!

PTO: Our PTO is amazing and helps out our school in many ways.

Questions: Please don’t hesitate with questions or concerns! Feel free to write a note and send it inside your child’s folder, email me, or call my cell phone.

Reading: We love our reading program, Wonders, and know your kiddos will grow immensely!! Rest-assured that your child’s small group reading instruction will follow “the Science of Reading” and will have a very strong emphasis in phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency and vocabulary.

Recess - We have three recesses in kindergarten!

Snacks: We will enjoy one snack (outside) each day and this year I’m recommending this be a “heartier” healthy snack (½ sandwich, etc.) because the kids will be eating lunch a little earlier than in past years. PLEASE do not put the snacks in your child's lunch box. Just put them right into his/her backpack. Healthy snacks could be fruit, vegetables, pretzels, cheese sticks, etc. (not cookies, candy or brownies). PLEASE make sure your child can open his/her own snack.

Specials: Everyday your child will participate in "Specials" which consist of Art, Music, or PE. They will have each special for one week before moving onto a new special. During the PE rotation your child will need to wear tennis shoes to school.

Solitude: Solitude is what we call our alone and quiet time after lunch recess. It’s time to recharge before the long afternoon. For about 20 minutes, the lights will be off and the children will silently watch an educational video, look through books or color. In the beginning of the year, it is usually a Leap Frog video on numbers, letters and sounds OR a video on our first science unit (sun and plants). Sometimes, we even have a kiddo or two fall asleep. This recharge time is definitely needed in full day kindergarten!

Shoe Tying: Please work on shoe tying with your kindergartner! Once your child has mastered the skill, he/she will become a "SHOE TYING EXPERT" in our classroom.

SEL - The students will be attending a Social Emotional Learning class 2x per week every three weeks.

Show and Share: The kiddos will have a chance to bring items from home to share every once in a while…I’ll always send an email when it’s time for this special occasion!! If your child brings in a toy from home, please be sure it fits in his/her backpack and is inexpensive!!

Transportation: It is very important that we safely get your child to their proper mode of transportation each day. If there is a change in the way your child will be getting home, please send me an email by 11:30 that day (or call the office and they can get the message to me).

Technology - So, here are my thoughts on technology… many kiddos are just on their devices too much. It’s not good for them! We do have enough ipads for every child to have his/her own, but I will limit this as much as I can. Kids this age need to be moving, touching, experiencing things - not sitting like in front of devices for long periods of time. (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends one hour per day of screentime maximum for five year olds.)

Unique: Each child comes to us with gifts and needs that are unique to him/her. We rejoice in each child’s uniqueness and will do our best to teach him/her according to his/her individual needs. We strive to differentiate our teaching so that each child can be the best kindergartener he/she can be!

Voice and Choice: I feel strongly that the children need voice and choice in what they learn and in what goes on throughout the day. Now, this isn’t all day everyday but definitely at times. I take their lead in science and social studies and then fit our Colorado Academic Standards into what they’re interested in learning more about. It’s kindergarten and kindergarten is a year of curiosity and exploring. For example, if a child finds an insect outside and wants to keep it as a “pet” that’s great - tons of learning will happen. We might vote on a name, learn that names begin with capitals, research it’s habitat and food, learn about what it needs to stay alive, analyze its impact on the surrounding environment, and maybe write books about the insect. In other words, so much learning can happen depending on the interests of the class!

Visitors: When visiting the school, please sign in at the office and you’ll receive a “visitor” sticker. You'll need to bring your Driver's License in with you the very first time you come to the school during the school day. When leaving, please remember to sign out!

Volunteers: There will be many opportunities for parents to assist us this year. Volunteers are greatly appreciated throughout the year to keep our classroom running smoothly. Be sure to check your emails as I'll be setting up a volunteer schedule in the weeks to come.

Worksheets: There are better ways for 5 year olds to learn other than sitting for long periods of time filling out worksheets. You will see some, but not many worksheets coming home. Please don’t think that because they’re not bringing tons of worksheets home that learning isn’t happening all day everyday!

Water Bottles: Please send your child with a reusable water bottle each day. This water bottle should contain water only and should be labeled with your child’s name. These will be kept in your child’s backpack (and brought outside on hot recess days).

Writing: Kindergarteners are beginning to learn so many new things and writing is one of them. Your child’s writing will develop tremendously throughout the year. A kindergartener’s ‘writing’ may not look like an exact letter formation, and that is okay! Squiggles and scribbles are the beginning of the writing process! Encourage your child to write about what they draw at home. If you don’t know what it says, you can ask your child, “Can you read this to me?” or “Wow! Tell me what you are writing about. That looks interesting!”.These are ways to encourage your child to excitedly continue writing!

“X-tra” Time: Kindergarten students are notorious for learning at different speeds. Some might come in not knowing a single letter or sound while others may already be reading. Because of this, I will take each child from where he/she is and teach accordingly. In other words, if a child doesn't know letters and sounds, we'll start there. If a child can read, we will move on from where they are. There's no sense in boring children - or teaching over their heads. Some just need "x-tra" time...

YOU! - YOU are imperative in your child’s learning and for that I thank you!

Z-z-z-zs: Please make sure your kindergartner gets a good night’s sleep and has a good breakfast before coming to school! Being in kindergarten all day is exhausting! This will help your child have the best day possible. (-:

Thanks for reading through this handbook!

(I know it’s a lot!)

We're going to have a wonderful year together!