Welcome to Kindergarten!
Meet the Teacher
About Mrs. Strickland
"In this classroom we PLAY. LEARN. GROW."
Hi NRE Kindergarten Families!
My name is Tara and I am so excited to learn and grow with you all this year! I am embarking on my 8th year teaching in Douglas County School District and my fourth year at Northridge Elementary. Before starting my adventure at Northridge, I taught in a Douglas County Preschool and loved every minute of it.
I graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder where I received my Bachelors degree in both Psychology and Art. I continued on to get my Masters in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Human Learning and Development from the University of Colorado Denver. I have been in the classroom ever since :)
In my spare time, I love getting outside and active, taking my dogs, Myla and Tilly, to the dog park, and spending time with my family.
I am so excited for this upcoming year and to get to know each family and each individual child for the special and unique person that they are!
Yours in learning,
Tara
About Kindergarten
Flow of the Day
Classroom Information
Thursday Folders: Your child will bring home a Thursday folder every Thursday. Please remove all the papers, read the information and return the folder to school on Friday. If you need to send anything to school (permission slips, papers for the class or office, etc.) or if you are sending me a note, put it in the folder and I will get it on Friday.
Snack: We are a PEANUT AND TREE NUT FREE classroom. Please refrain from bring nut products for snack. You may bring a small, healthy snack daily for your child to have in the afternoon.
Library: We go to the library every week. Our Library time is Monday mornings. Please help your child remember to return his or her library book on or before library day. Children who do not return their books will not be allowed to check out a new one. We have a library box in our classroom where children can put books if they return their book before our library day.
Birthdays: We love to celebrate birthdays in Kindergarten! While we do not celebrate with treats, we will sing and celebrate with your child. If your child's birthday falls on a weekend or a day that we are not in school we will celebrate either right before or after. Summer birthdays will be celebrated during the year. You may pass out invitations to parties only if you invite the entire class (or all the girls or all the boys). If you have invitations for individual children and not everyone in the class please deliver outside of class.
Appropriate clothing: When the weather starts to cool down please make sure your child has appropriate clothing for recess. Also, please be sure it is labeled with your child's name. It is important that you practice tying shoes, zipping zippers and putting on snow clothes at home too.
Change in Routine: Please, please, PLEASE be sure to let me know if there are any changes in daily routines for your child (going to a different place after school, new baby sitter, parents out of town, etc.) even if the change is just for one day. You can either write me a note or email me. I will make sure your child gets where he or she needs to be. Also, please let me know of any changes that may affect your child (death in the family, changes at home, etc.) as these changes often affect your child at school too.
Please feel free to email, call, or come in at any time if you have any questions or concerns or if you need more information. Parents are welcome in the classroom at any time. I appreciate your support and look forward to teaming up with you this school year.
Important Dates
Additional Resources
A little extra practice for home...
Fine Motor Activities
Fine motor control begins with strength in shoulders, arms and hands. Developing gross motor skills will actually help your child with fine motor control.
Shoulders and Arms
1. Tummy Time - have your child read, play games, or watch TV while lying on his/her tummy propped up on elbows.
2. Tug-o-war, rope swinging, wheel barrow walking, crab walking
3. Climbing and swinging on the monkey bars at the park
4. Writing and drawing on vertical services - chalkboard, dry erase board, and easels
5. Tossing and catching a ball
Hands and Fingers
1. Using a variety of writing materials - markers, short crayons or fat or normal pencils, chalk
2. Practice cutting, buttoning, zipping
3. Squishing things - modeling clay, play dough, squishy objects
4. Using pincher grasp (thumb and forefinger) to pick up small items (beads, buttons, chocolate chips, etc) and place them in a container - using tweezers too
5. Putting clothespins on a line or use clothespins to pick up small items and move them from one location to another
6. Using an eyedropper to move liquid from one container to another (they love to use food coloring and mix colors)
7. Make paperclip chains
Online Activities
Letters and sounds: http://www.starfall.com/index.htm?
Reading Skills Practice: http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.php#
Math Calendar Practice: http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/calendar/load.htm?f&n=main
Other Resources
Youth and Family Resource Guide: https://www.douglas.co.us/documents/youth-and-family-resource-guide.pdf/
Contact Information:
Mrs. Strickland's Email
Northridge Address
555 Southpark Rd.
80126 Highlands Ranch, CO
Northridge Phone Numbers
Attendance Line: 303-387-6527
Office Phone: 303 387-6525
Northridge Website
https://www.dcsdk12.org/school/northridge-elementary-school