NEWSLETTER

Week of March 9 - March 13, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

March 9 - 12: Book Fair!

March 11 and 12: Student-Led Conferences! 4pm - 7pm

March 16 - 20: Spring Break!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 6, Lesson 21, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, students will be solving subtraction problems that involve taking away part of a group of 10 objects and finding how many are left. There is a continued focus on connecting story problems about subtraction to pictures, objects, models and equations.

Benchmark Unit 8, Weather and Seasons, Week 3: This unit focuses on our four seasons, and the corresponding weather. This week, we will read a drama called Alvaro’s Snow Day. A drama has characters and dialogue. The students have been learning about quotation marks in text as a way to know when a character is speaking. The author is Jeffrey B. Fuerst, and the illustrators are Liz and Kate Pope.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for student's to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 25: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 47

In UFLI Lesson 47, your child is moving from the "buzzing" sound of the th digraph to the unvoiced (quiet) version. This lesson helps them distinguish between two sounds that look identical on paper but feel very different when spoken.

The "Quiet" Sound: Unvoiced /th/

While some words like "this" or "them" have a vibrating (voiced) sound, Lesson 47 focuses on the quiet, breathy sound found in words like thumb, bath, and think.

The Tongue Rule: This is one of the few times in English where we actually encourage kids to stick their tongues out! To make the sound correctly, they should rest their top teeth on their tongue and blow air out without using their vocal cords.
The "Tissue Test": A fun way to practice at home is to hold a tissue in front of your mouth. When saying a quiet /th/ word like "thin," the tissue should move from the puff of air.

UFLI Lesson 48

In UFLI Lesson 48, your child is learning a new way to work with letters: the ch digraph. Just like the "sh" or "th" they learned recently, this is when two letters "team up" to make one completely new sound.

The "Choo-Choo" Sound: Unvoiced /ch/

The sound for ch is a "stop sound," meaning it’s a quick burst of air that you can’t stretch out (unlike the long /ssss/ or /shhhh/ sounds). We often call it the "choo-choo" sound!

The "Quiet" Rule: This sound is unvoiced, which means the vocal cords are "off." If your child puts their hand on their throat while saying "chip," they shouldn't feel a buzz—just a quick puff of air.
The "Mouth Shape": To make the sound correctly, children are taught to round their lips and put their teeth together. The tongue touches the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth and then quickly pulls away to let the air out.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

In kindergarten, we use the Wayfinder program to help children learn about feelings, kindness, and making good choices. Through fun stories, games, and class discussions, students practice being good friends, solving problems, and showing empathy. These lessons help build confidence and support a caring classroom community where everyone feels safe and valued.

Week of March 2 - March 6, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

March 8: Daylight Savings! Spring Forward!

March 9 - 12: Book Fair!

March 11 and 12: Student-Led Conferences! 4pm - 7pm

March 16 - 20: Spring Break!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 6, Lesson 20, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, students will be solving addition problems up to 10. Students will continue to connect story problems to pictures, objects, models, and equations. Students may also model addition problems with fingers, which can be useful and easily available tools for adding.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 8, Weather and Seasons, Week 2: This unit focuses on our four seasons, and the corresponding weather. This week, we will read an informational text. The title is Plants and the Seasons. The author is Margaret McNamara. We will look at the photographs in the book to help us understand how weather effects the growth of plants.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we are working together to create a great topic sentence. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for student's to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 24: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 45

In this lesson, students are learning about the sh digraph. A digraph is just a fancy word for two letters that work together to make one brand-new sound.

The Sound: We call this the "quiet" sound because it’s the same sound you make when you tell someone to be quiet: "/shhhh/."
Where it Hides: Students are practicing finding this sound at the beginning of words (like shop and ship) and at the end of words (like fish and bash).
Family Fun: While driving or at dinner, see who can find the most "sh" words in the room. Does the sh come at the start or the stop of the word?

UFLI Lesson 46

Lesson 46 introduces the th digraph. This one is unique because it’s the only sound in English where we are actually supposed to stick our tongues out a little bit!

The Sound: Have your child practice the "/th/" sound (as in thumb).
The "Secret" Two-in-One: Students will learn that th can be "quiet" (unvoiced) like in thin or math, or it can "buzz" (voiced) like in this or then.
Watch For: It is very common for new readers to swap the /th/ sound for an /f/ sound (saying "fumb" instead of "thumb"). This lesson helps them train their tongue to hit the right spot!

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of February 23 - February 27, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

March 8: Daylight Savings! Spring Forward!

March 9 - 12: Book Fair!

March 11 and 12: Student-Led Conferences! More information to come!

March 16 - 20: Spring Break!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 5, Lesson 17, Sessions 1-5: All year, we have been practicing counting to 100 by 1s and 10s. In this lesson, the students will learn to connect the rote counting sequence to counting objects. They will count groups of up to 100 objects to tell how many objects there are.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 8,Weather and Seasons, Week 1: This unit focuses on our four seasons, and the corresponding weather. This week, we will read an informational text. The title is Weather and the Seasons. The author is Margaret McNamara. We will look at the photographs in the book to help us understand dynamic weather events.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we are working together to create a great topic sentence. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for student's to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

UFLI Lesson 43

UFLI Lesson 43 introduces students to words ending in -all, -oll, and -ull, helping them understand how these specific letter combinations change the sound of the vowels that come before them.

In this lesson, your child is exploring how the double "l" (ll) affects the vowel sound in certain word families:

-all: The "a" sounds like /aw/, as in call, fall, small, and ball.
-oll: The "o" can have two different sounds:
- A short "o" sound (/ŏ/), as in doll.
- A long "o" sound (/ō/), as in roll, troll, toll, and poll.
-ull: The "u" also has two different sounds:
- A short "u" sound (/ŭ/), as in dull or skull.
- A /oo/ sound, as in pull and full.

We are also practicing three new "Heart Words"—words that have tricky parts to remember "by heart":

go, no, and so.

UFLI Lesson 44

UFLI Lesson 44 introduces children to the -ck digraph. A digraph is simply two letters that team up to make one single sound. In this case, c and k work together to make the /k/ sound.

The "Short Vowel" Rule

The most important thing for your child to remember is when to use -ck instead of just c or k. We use -ck at the end of a word right after a short vowel (like the sounds in apple, Ed, itch, octopus, and up).

Examples: back, sick, rock, luck, neck
What to watch for: We don't use -ck if there is a long vowel or another consonant at the end (e.g., milk or book).

We are learning two new irregular words that have tricky parts your child needs to know "by heart". They are goes and says.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of February 16 - February 20, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

March 8: Daylight Savings! Spring Forward!

March 9 - 12: Book Fair!

March 11 and 12: Student-Led Conferences! More information to come!

March 16 - 20: Spring Break!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish

Mrs. Kiehn: Art

Ms. Watson: Music

Math:

iReady Unit 5, Lesson 16, Sessions 1-5: This week we will begin Unit 5, Lesson 16. This lesson will focus on counting, reading, and writing numbers 11 to 20.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 7, Holidays and Celebrations, Week 3: This week, we will read an opinion text to the students. In an opinion text, the author tells us what she thinks. The title of the text is These Are the Best Ways to Celebrate Holidays. So, the text will be about someone’s opinion on holidays. We will focus on the front cover. We can see a girl wearing a big hat. The thought bubble says, “In my opinion.” The person thinking this is probably the author, Erica Chen, and this book is about her opinion on holidays.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we are working together to create a great topic sentence. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for student's to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 23: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 41c - Review of Short Vowels

UFLI Lesson 41c is the final check-in for the Short Vowel Review unit. Think of it as a "graduation" from short vowels (a, e, i, o, u) before your child moves on to even bigger reading challenges.

UFLI Lesson 42 - FLSZ Spelling Rule

UFLI Lesson 42 introduces the FLSZ Spelling Rule, often called the "FLOSS Rule". This lesson helps your child understand why some words have double letters at the end, even though they only make one sound.

If a word has one syllable, a short vowel, and ends in the sounds f, l, s, or z, you double the final letter. Why is it called the "FLOSS Rule"? The word floss itself follows the rule! It has one syllable, a short vowel (o), and ends in s, so it’s spelled with two s’s.

The Cheat Sheet: Many kids use the mnemonic "Jeff will pass Buzz" to remember the four letters (f, l, s, z) that get doubled.

Examples to Practice

Double F: puff, off, sniff
Double L: bell, hill, doll
Double S: mess, kiss, class
Double Z: buzz, fizz, jazz

Watch Out for Exceptions!

English has a few "rule breakers" that don't double up, even though they meet the criteria. The most common ones your child might see are if, pal, gas, us, bus, and yes.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of February 9 - February 12, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

February 12: Friendship Celebration! 2:45 to 3;30, more details to come.

February 13: No school! Professional development day!

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Tuesday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 7, Holidays and Celebrations, Week 2: This week, we will read the book Happy New Year! This book has five authors. Their names are Violet Mott, Jenia Marquez, Zerimar Ramirez, Joey Chau, and Rohan Moradian. This text is a collection of personal narratives about what the authors do on New Year’s Eve. We will wonder together what will be the same and different in the narratives.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 22: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 39 - Review of Short Vowels

In this lesson, students move away from focusing on just one sound and begin "shuffling the deck." The goal is to ensure they can quickly and accurately tell the difference between four short vowel sounds when they appear in the middle of words.

Vowel Switching: Students practice "chaining" words by changing only the middle sound (e.g., changing cat to cut, or pin to pan). This builds mental flexibility.

The "Short U" Sound: Solidifying the /ŭ/ sound (as in "up" or "bus") alongside the other vowels they've learned.

Automaticity: Moving past "sounding out" every single letter to recognizing these common CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) patterns at a glance.

UFLI Lesson 40 - Review of Short Vowels

This lesson is designed to move students from "learning" the vowels to "mastering" them. The focus is on speed, accuracy, and the ability to tell very similar-sounding words apart.

Vowel Mastery: Reinforcing the ability to distinguish between all four short vowel sounds (/ă/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, /ŭ/).

Reading Fluency: Shifting from slowly sounding out each letter to recognizing CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) patterns at a glance.

Mental Flexibility: Building "vowel switching" skills, where changing just the middle letter creates an entirely new word.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of February 2 - February 6, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

Wish Week Information! Let's make a dream come true! February 2 - 6, 2026

February 12: Friendship Celebration! 2:45 to 3;30, more details to come.

February 13: No school! Professional development day!

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Tuesday and Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 5, Lesson 19, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, students will learn about number partners that make 8 and 9. We will continue to work on counting within 100, and counting on from any number.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 7, Holidays and Celebrations, Week 1: During this unit, students will ponder the essential question "Why do we celebrate people and events?". This week, we will read Celebrating Earth Day by Barbara Andrews and Cindy Peattie. This is an informational text discussing facts about Earth Day.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 20: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 37b - Review of Short o

In UFLI Lesson 37b, students are focusing on a review of the Short o sound.

The goal of this lesson is to ensure that children have a strong grasp of the sound /ŏ/, as heard at the beginning of "octopus" or in the middle of words like "hot" and "pot". What Students are Learning:

Sound Recognition: Listening for the short "o" sound in different parts of a word.

Blending: Practicing putting individual sounds together to read full words (for example, /f/ /i/ /n/ becomes "fin," or /p/ /o/ /t/ becomes "pot").

Segmenting: Breaking a word apart into its individual sounds to help with spelling.

Rhyming: Identifying words that share the same ending sound, such as "pin" and "win" or "mop" and "hop".

UFLI Lesson 38b - Review of Short a, i, o

This lesson is designed to help students distinguish between and master the sounds for short a, short i, and short o. Key activities include:

Vowel Discrimination: Identifying the correct vowel sound (/ă/ as in "apple," /ĭ/ as in "itch," or /ŏ/ as in "octopus") within various words.

Blending and Reading: Practicing combining these vowel sounds with consonants to read a variety of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words accurately.

Word Building: Changing just the vowel in a word to see how it creates a new word (for example, changing "pat" to "pit" or "pot").

Fluency Practice: Reading short sentences that mix these vowel sounds to improve reading speed and accuracy.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of January 26 - January 30, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

February 12: Friendship Celebration! 2:45 to 3;30, more details to come.

February 13: No school! Professional development day!

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 5, Lesson 17, Sessions 1-5: All year, we have been practicing counting to 100 by 1s and 10s. In this lesson, the students will learn to connect the rote counting sequence to counting objects. They will count groups up to 100 objects to tell how many objects there are.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 6, Stories Have a Message, Week 3: This week we will read a book called Ly's Goldfish. This is a realistic fiction story focusing on having a pet and the responsibilities that go along with pet ownership. The author is Bao Phi and the illustrator is Bao Luu. The book centers on the experience of having a pet. Students will discuss the many responsibilities that come with pet ownership and what it means to care for a living creature. During shared reading, we will read the famous tale of a chicken who mistakenly believes the sky is falling after an acorn hits him on the head. The story ends with a lesson about not jumping to conclusions. Also, we will read "Do What's Right!", a poem that gives children advice on how to make good choices, such as sharing with others or cooking a treat for a friend.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

UFLI Lesson 35c - Review of Short a

In this lesson, the students will focus on reviewing and mastering the short a sound.

Rhyming: Identifying words that sound the same at the end (like cat and hat).

Beginning and Ending Sounds: Listening for the first and last sounds in a word.

Segmenting and Blending: Breaking words apart into individual sounds and then blending them back together to read the whole word.

UFLI Lesson 36b - Review of Short i

In this lesson, the students will focus on reviewing and mastering the short i sound.

Rhyming: Identifying words that share the same ending sound (such as pin and win).

Beginning and Ending Sounds: Listening carefully to identify the very first and last sounds in a word.

Segmenting and Blending: Practicing breaking words into individual sounds and then blending them back together to read the full word (for example, /f/ /i/ /n/ becomes fin).

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of January 20 - January 23, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

February 12: Friendship Celebration! 2:45 to 3;30, more details to come.

February 13: No school! Professional development day!

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 5, Lesson 16, Sessions 1-5: This week we will begin Unit 5, Lesson 16. This lesson will focus on counting, reading, and writing numbers 11 to 20.

We are continuing to work on addition and subtraction within 10, using number lines, linking cubes and counters.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 6, Stories Have a Message, Week 2: This week we will read a book called The Legend of the Coquí. This story is about a tiny, overlooked frog who lives in Puerto Rico. We will make connections between books we've read in the past, as well as thinking about how this story might connect to parts of our own lives. The author is Georgina Lázaro and the illustrator is José Feliciano. During shared reading, we will read poems to build fluency and expression. The first is "P-E-A-C-E!" & "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.". These poems focus on American heroes and the concept of peace. Students are practicing reading with inflection, changing their volume and tone based on punctuation like exclamation marks. The second poem, "February Celebration!", teaches about Presidents' Day, helping students use context clues to understand new words like "honor."

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 19: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 33 – The Letter Vv

In this lesson, students are introduced to the letter Vv and the vibrating sound it makes, like in "vest". The students will learn a special rule about the letter Vv. They will learn that in English, words almost never end with the letter v. If a word ends with the /v/ sound, it usually has a "silent e" at the end to keep the 'v' company, such as in the word "have". We are practicing two new sight words that have tricky parts to remember "by heart". They are what and have.

UFLI Lesson 34 - The Letter Zz

In this lesson, students are introduced to the letter Zz and the vibrating sound it makes, like in "zebra". We will connect previous learning to this lesson, reviewing how the letter Ss can sometimes make the /z/ sound at the end of words, such ae is "dogs" or "bugs". We will review all sight words.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of January 11 - January 15, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

January 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! No school!

February 12: Friendship Celebration! 2:45 to 3;30, more details to come.

February 13: No school! Professional development day!

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Monday and Thrusday)

Math:

iReady Unit 4, Lesson 15, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, the students will learn more about the meaning of the word "equal," and ways to show number pairs that equal 10. They will learn how pairs that equal 10 can be called number partners for 10. Also, we will continue to discuss how the equal sign is used to show that two groups have the same value. This will lead to a deeper understanding of number sentences and using the equals sign to finish an equation.

We are continuing to work on addition and subtraction within 10, using number lines, linking cubes and counters.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 6, Stories Have a Message, Week 1: This week we will read a legend called The Boy Who Fed His People. A legend is a story from the past that many people believe, but cannot be proven true. Legends are similar to folktales in that they are often passed down by people telling them over and over again. The author is Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve. The illustrator is Monica Rickert-Bolter. During shared reading, students will engage with poems and short stories that help them explore the unit's essential question: "How do we know what is right?" Our first shared reading is "Goldilocks Learns a Lesson", which is a poem and a story. This will be used to discuss character choices and moral lessons. The second shared reading is "Fox and Crow". This poem will help students focus on identifying the message or "moral" of a story.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 18: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 31 – The letter Xx

In UFLI Lesson 31, students are introduced to the letter Xx and the unique sound it makes. This lesson helps children build the foundational skills they need to become confident readers and writers. We will also introduce the sight word you, helping students recognize and read it automatically in text. Through engaging activities and hands-on practice, students will build their phonics skills, strengthened early reading confidence, and continue developing strong foundational literacy skills.

UFLI Lesson 32 – The letter Qq

In UFLI Lesson 32, your child is moving on to the letter Qq. This lesson is exciting because it introduces a "buddy" system for letters that helps children understand how certain sounds always work together.

🤝 The "Buddy" Letters: Qu

The Secret Rule: We teach the children that Q is almost never seen without its best friend, U.
The Sound: Together, qu makes the sound /kw/, like at the beginning of the words queen, quick, or quiet.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of January 5 - January 8, 2026

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

January 5: No School-Teacher Work Day

January 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! No school!

February 13: No school! Professional development day!

February 16: No school! Presidents' Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 4, Lesson 14, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, your child will learn to compose (put together) two numbers to make 10. They will also learn to decompose (break apart) 10 into two numbers. The number 10 is very important in kindergarten. Children learn to count by 10s and learn that 10 is a two-digit number. Your child will also learn that numbers can be broken into parts. Your child will use connecting cubes to explore ways that 10 can be broken into 2 or more parts. They will also use counters and 10-frames to find different combinations that make 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 5, Technology at Home and School, Week 3: Unit 5 will focus on how and why we use technology at home and school. Week 3 focuses on how children can have fun without tablets, computers, televisions and phones. During Week 3, we will read The No Tech Day of Play by Brenda Parkes and Jeffrey B. Fuers. The illustrator is Marcela Gomez. This story is realistic fiction. That means the story has characters, settings, and events that seem real even though they’re not.

During shared reading this week, kindergarten students enjoyed reading The Toaster, My Noisy House, and Deep in Our Refrigerator. These fun stories helped students learn about everyday objects and sounds they hear at home. We practiced reading together, looking at pictures, talking about what we noticed, and using new words. Students shared their ideas, made connections to their own homes, and built confidence as readers while learning that reading can be fun and exciting.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 16: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 29 – The letter Jj

During UFLI Lesson 29, students will focus on the letter J and learn its sound. They will practice identifying, reading, and writing words with the letter J. We will also introduce the sight word was, helping students recognize and read it automatically in text. Through engaging activities and hands-on practice, students will build their phonics skills, strengthened early reading confidence, and continue developing strong foundational literacy skills.

UFLI Lesson 30 – The letter Yy

During UFLI Lesson 30, students learn about the letter Y and practice identifying its sound. They will work on reading and building words with the letter Y, as well as practicing writing the letter correctly. Through hands-on activities and guided practice, students will strengthen their phonics skills, improve letter recognition, and continue building confidence as early readers.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of December 15 - December 18

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December 15 - 18: Holiday Spirit Week!

December 18: Holiday Celebration, 2:45pm

December 19: No School-Teacher Work Day

December 22 - January 2: No School-⛄Winter Break ⛄

January 5: No School-Teacher Work Day

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Tuesday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 4, Lesson 13, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, your child will learn to combine simple two-dimensional (flat) and three-dimensional (solid) shapes to compose (put together) larger shapes. The composite shapes may represent another shape or a real-world object. Your child will describe the attributes of the composite shape (for example, number of sides/corners, number of faces/edges) and, when appropriate, will name the composite shape.

We are continuing to work on addition and subtraction within 10, using number lines and linking cubes.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 5, Technology at Home and School, Week 2: Unit 5 will focus on how and why we use technology at home and school. Week 2 focuses on how to make something. During Week 2, we will read How to Make a Solar Oven by Zeynep Memecan. This is an informational text which tells readers how to make a solar oven.

During shared reading we enjoyed the texts “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Getting to School.” Students practiced reading familiar words, noticing print features, and joining in with repeated lines. We talked about different ways people get to school and made connections to our own experiences. This week helped build confidence, comprehension, and a love of reading as students enthusiastically participated and shared their thinking.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 15: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 27 – The letter Ll, Part 2

In this lesson, students continued building their phonics skills by practicing the letter Ll and its sound in words. We focused on blending and reading words with l and worked on strengthening letter recognition and sound awareness. Students were also introduced to the new sight word “are,” which they practiced reading and using in simple sentences. This lesson supported growing confidence in early reading and helped students apply their skills during literacy activities.

UFLI Lesson 28 – The letter Ww

In this lesson, students were introduced to the letter Ww and its sound. We practiced recognizing the letter, saying its sound, and blending it into simple words. Students enjoyed identifying words that begin with w and applying this new skill during reading and writing activities. This lesson helped strengthen early phonics skills and supported continued growth in confidence as readers.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of December 8 - December 12

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December 15 - 18: Holiday Spirit Week!

December 18: Holiday Celebration, 2:45pm

December 19: No School-Teacher Work Day

December 22 - January 2: No School-⛄Winter Break ⛄

January 5: No School-Teacher Work Day

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Math:

Subtraction and Addition Review: We will continue to work on understanding plus and minus signs, and using those symbols to accurately add and subtract numbers within 5. We will begin to work on addition and subtraction within 10.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 11 through 20.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 5, Technology at Home and School, Week 1: Unit 5 will focus on how and why we use technology at home and school. Week 1 focuses on the changes of technology over the years by comparing and contrasting technology from long ago and now. During Week 1, we will read Technology at Home and School: Past and Present, by Barbara Andrews and Cindy Peattle.

During our shared reading this week, we will read two texts about how tools help us. In the first text, “A Little Piggy Named Bob”, students follow Bob the pig as he uses simple tools to solve a problem. We talk about what Bob needs and how his tools help him. The next text, “Technology at School”, is an informational text which shows different types of technology used in schools and how they help students learn. Students will practice identifying key details, using new vocabulary, and talking about how tools make tasks easier.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

UFLI Lesson 25 – The letter Rr, Part 2

In this lesson, students learn about r-blends, which are two-letter combinations where a consonant is followed by r, such as br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, and tr. Students practice saying these blends smoothly so the sounds “stick together,” like in brag, crib, frog, and trap.

During the lesson, students will listen for r-blends at the beginning of words, blend sounds together to read short words with r-blends, practice spelling simple r-blend words, and read sentences that include r-blend words.
By the end, students should be able to hear, read, and write r-blends with growing confidence.

UFLI Lesson 25 – The letter Ll, Part 1

In this lesson, students are introduced to the letter Ll and the sound /l/ it makes, like in lion or leaf. They learn how to recognize both the uppercase L and lowercase l, and they practice making the sound clearly.

Students work on identifying the letter Ll in print, listening for the /l/ sound at the beginning of words, blending and reading simple words with l, and writing the letter Ll with correct formation. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to notice, say, and write the /l/ sound with growing confidence.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of December 1 - December 5

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December 1 - 5: Book Fair!

December 5: Family Movie Night!

December 18: Holiday Celebration

December 19: No School-Teacher Work Day

December 22 - January 2: No School-⛄Winter Break ⛄

January 5: No School-Teacher Work Day

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE - Monday - Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 4, Lesson 12, Sessions 1-5: We will continue to focus on comparing numbers to 10. The students will compare two groups of objects and two written numbers. They will use words like greater than, less than, and equal to compare. The students will also use the corresponding symbols.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 20.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 4, Writers Tell Many Stories, Week 3: Unit 4 will focus on why people tell stories. The students will think about different types of stories, such as realistic fiction, fantasy, and fiction stories. During Week 3, we will read The Little Box by Judy Goldman, illustrated by Yass Sánchez. This is a special kind of book because it is magical realism. Magical realism is a combination of fiction and fantasy. Like fiction, the characters and events seem real even though they’re not. But there’s also something magical in the story, like in a fantasy.

This week, our shared reading will focus on "Stone Soup" and "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". Both stories help children think about how characters solve problems in different ways.

In "Stone Soup", students learn how travelers use creativity and cooperation to bring a community together. The class talks about how sharing and working as a team can help solve a problem.

In "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", students explore how the goats use courage and smart thinking to safely cross the bridge. They discuss the characters, the problem with the troll, and how the goats resolve the conflict.

Throughout the week, students practice retelling the stories, identifying the problem and solution, and talking about the lessons each tale teaches.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 13: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 23 – The letter Hh

In Lesson 23, students learn the new letter h and the sound it makes at the beginning of words, like in hat and hop. They practice saying the sound, identifying it in spoken words, and reading simple words that begin with h.

Students also work with three new sight words: be, he, and me. These words don’t always follow regular phonics patterns, so children practice reading them, spelling them, and recognizing them quickly in text.

Throughout the lesson, students blend sounds to read VC and CVC words (such as in, him, hot), build words with letter tiles, and read short sentences that include the new letter and sight words. These activities help students become more confident and fluent readers.

UFLI Lesson 24 – The letter Rr

In Lesson 24, students are introduced to the new letter r and the sound it makes at the beginning of words, like in run and red. They practice saying the sound, identifying it in spoken words, and reading simple words that start with or include the r sound.

Students blend sounds to read VC and CVC words (such as at, rat, and ram) and use letter tiles to build and change words. They also read short sentences that include the new letter sound so they can apply their phonics skills in connected text.

This lesson helps students strengthen their decoding skills and become more confident, accurate readers.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of November 17 - November 21

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December 1 - 5: Book Fair!

December 5: Family Movie Night!

December 18: Holiday Celebration

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 4, Lesson 11, Session 1-5: This lesson will focus on numbers between 6 and 10 by writing the numbers and using manipulatives to represent the number. The students will count objects up to 10 using one-to-one correspondence and ten frames as tools to represent the number they are learning about.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 4, Writers Tell Many Stories, Week 2: Unit 4 will focus on why people tell stories. The students will think about different types of stories, such as realistic fiction, fantasy, and fiction stories. During Week 2, we will read Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. This realistic fiction story is a cautionary tale about taking care of your things, and listening to your loved ones. We will work on making self to text connections, recognizing the setting of the story, and character traits.

This week, our shared reading features two fun and familiar texts: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “What the Animals Say.” Each story helps students practice listening for important details and understanding how events happen in order. In “Itsy Bitsy Spider." Throughout the week, students work on talking about characters and actions, understanding the sequence of events, jsing pictures to help make meaning, joining in with rhymes, patterns, and repetition. As we reread these texts each day, children build confidence, comprehension, and early reading skills.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 11: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.
UFLI Lesson 21 – Ending s That Sounds Like /z/

In this lesson, students learn that the letter s at the end of a word can sometimes make the /z/ sound instead of the /s/ sound. Children practice reading and spelling simple VC and CVC words where the final s sounds like /z/, such as is and has. Students also work on blending sounds, segmenting words, and noticing how the sound changes even though the spelling stays the same. This helps them become more flexible and confident decoders.

UFLI Lesson 22 – The Letter k

This lesson introduces students to the letter k and the sound /k/ it represents. Children practice identifying the sound, forming the letter, and reading VC and CVC words that include k, such as kit, kip, and kid. Students also build fluency by blending sounds to read whole words and by writing words with k to strengthen phonics and handwriting skills.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of November 10 - November 14

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

November 14: Night of the Stars! 5-7pm

November 24 - 28: Thanksgiving Break!

December 1 - 5: Book Fair!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Math:

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 4, Writers Tell Many Stories, Week 1: Unit 4 will focus on why people tell stories. The students will think about different types of stories, such as realistic fiction, fantasy, and fiction stories. During Week 1, we will read My Big Family by Yanitzia Canetti, illustrated by Vanessa Belleza. This realistic fiction story is about a young boy named Alex, and his big and loving family. We will work on making self to text connections, recognizing the setting of the story, and character traits.

Our shared Reading, students read two fun poems, "I Have Something in My Pocket" and "A Sailor Went to Sea." Through these playful rhymes, children practice reading with rhythm and expression while recognizing patterns in sounds and words.

Students discuss what happens in each poem, paying attention to rhyming words and repetition that make the poems enjoyable to read aloud. They also talk about how poems can use sounds, actions, and feelings to tell a simple story or share an idea.

Writing: At Rock Ridge, we are working with a new writing curriculum called ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development). In kindergarten, we use read-alouds from our literacy program to facilitate our writing. The student's focus is the gist of the story, as well as the characters and what those characters are doing in the story. At this time in kindergarten, we draw pictures to tell our thinking, then we work together to spell out words to make sentences. Our goal by the end of kindergarten is for students to write a few great sentences directed to a specific prompt.

UFLI: UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) is a research-based reading program we use in kindergarten to help children become strong, confident readers. Through daily lessons, students practice connecting letters to sounds, blending sounds to make words, and building a strong foundation for spelling and reading. It’s hands-on, fun, and gives children the tools they need to grow as readers step by step.

UFLI Lesson 19:

In Lesson 19, students practice reading and spelling VC (vowel-consonant) and CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. These short words help children blend sounds smoothly to read simple words like up, at, cat, and sit.

Students review the letter sounds they have already learned and work on putting those sounds together to read whole words. They also practice writing the words they read, which helps them connect reading and spelling.

The irregular word (sight words) for this lesson is “see.” Students will learn to read and recognize this word automatically, since it does not follow regular phonics rules.

UFLI Lesson 20:

In Lesson 20, students learn that adding -s to the end of a word can mean “more than one.” For example, cat becomes cats and dog becomes dogs. Students practice reading and spelling words that use this ending, helping them understand how word endings can change meaning.

They continue blending and reading CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words and review previously taught letter sounds. Students also read short sentences that include words with the -s ending to build fluency and comprehension.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of November 3 - November 7

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

November 14: Night of the Stars! 5-7pm

November 24 - 28: Thanksgiving Break!

December 1 - 5: Book Fair!

Art Fundraiser! Click here for more information.

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 3, Lesson 10, Session 1-5: Lesson 10 focuses on understanding plus and minus signs, and using those symbols to accurately add and subtract numbers within 5.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 3, Rules at Home and School, Week 3: We will read a personal narrative text this week. There are three authors and three different stories! The title is The First Time I... by Kiara Davis, Felix Stan, and Joshua Harris. This story will continue to deepen the students' knowledge and understanding of how a book differs when photographs are used, instead of illustrations.

Our shared reading this week will be the poem "I Can" and the decodable story "Pam the Cat". As the poem is read, the students will listen for the important words of the poem, the words that are most important to understanding the poem.

UFLI Lesson 17:

In Lesson 17, students learn the letter b and the sound it represents: /b/ as in bat. They practice identifying, saying, and writing the letter b while connecting it to words and pictures that begin with the /b/ sound.

Students continue building their decoding skills by blending and segmenting sounds to read and spell simple words. They also review previously taught letters and sounds to reinforce their phonics knowledge.

This lesson introduces the new high-frequency word “of.” Students practice reading and writing this word in sentences and stories to support fluency and comprehension.

UFLI Lesson 18:

In Lesson 18, students learn the letter e and the sound it represents: /ĕ/ as in egg. They practice identifying, saying, and writing the letter e, and connect it to words and pictures that begin or contain the /ĕ/ sound.

Students also strengthen their phonemic awareness by blending and segmenting words with short e, as well as reviewing previously taught letters and sounds. They practice reading and spelling simple words using the short e vowel pattern.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of October 27 - October 31

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

October 28: Picture Make-up Day!

October 31: Fall Celebration - 2:45 to 3:30

November 24 - 28: Thanksgiving Break!

Art Fundraiser! Click here for more information.

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 3, Lesson 9, Session 1-5: We will begin Lesson 9 this week. This lesson focuses on subtracting numbers up to 5. The students will have many opportunities to practice applying subtraction within 5.

The students will begin to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 3, Rules at Home and School, Week 2: We will read a realistic fiction text this week. This means a story isn’t true, but could happen in real life. The title is Rules Are Cool by Brenda Parkes, illustrated by Sarah Jennings. This story will continue to deepen the students' knowledge and understanding of rules and why they are so important.

Our shared reading this week will be the poems "I Wiggle" and "Rules at Home and School". As the poems are read, the students will listen for the important words of the poem, the words that are most important to understanding the poems.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 10: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, segmenting, blending, letter names and sounds, and deleting and adding sounds to words.

UFLI Lesson 15:
In this lesson, students learn the letter u and the sound /u/ as in “up.” They practice saying, reading, and writing the letter u in both uppercase and lowercase. Students blend and read words with the short u sound and continue to build confidence with familiar letters and sounds.

UFLI Lesson 16:
Lesson 16 introduces the letter g and its sound /g/ as in “gum.” Students practice identifying, reading, and writing the letter g and blending it into simple words. The irregular words to and do are introduced, and students practice recognizing and reading them in phrases and sentences.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of October 20 - October 24

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

October 28: Picture Make-up Day!

October 31: Fall Celebration - 2:45 to 3:30

November 24 - 28: Thanksgiving Break!

Art Fundraiser! Click here for more information.

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Math:

iReady Unit 3, Lesson 7, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, the students will learn about addition. The students will learn that when you start with a group of objects, and add more, the group becomes larger.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 3, Rules at Home and School, Week 1: We will read an informational text this week. That means the text tells us facts, or real information. The title is Why Do We Have Rules?. A rule is something you are told to do. It keeps you safe. The author of this text is Margaret McNamara. She wrote the words we are going to read. We will discuss how this book has photographs instead of illustrations. The photographs are clues which tell us the book is giving us real information.

Our shared reading this week will be the poems "Let's Be Friends" and "Good Morning". As the poems are read, the students will listen for the important words of the poem, the words that are most important to understanding the poems.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 9: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

UFLI Lesson 13: In this lesson, students learn about the letter d and the sound /d/, as in dog and dad. They practice identifying, saying, and writing the letter d correctly. The new sight word said is introduced, and students practice reading and using it in sentences. They also blend and segment words with the /d/ sound, such as dog, dip, and mad, and review previously taught letters and sight words to strengthen reading fluency.

UFLI Lesson 14: In this lesson, students learn about the letter c and the sound /k/, as in cat and cup. They practice identifying, saying, and writing the letter c and listening for the /k/ sound at the beginning and end of words. They also blend and segment words with the /k/ sound, such as cat, cap, and cup, and review previously taught letters and sight words to build reading fluency and confidence.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

Week of October 13 - October 17

🍂 🍁 🍂 Happy Fall Break! 🍂 🍁 🍂

Week of October 6 - October 10

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

October 7: PTO Meeting - 6pm

October 8 and 9: Parent Teacher Conferences

October 13 - 17: Fall Break!

October 28: Picture Make-up Day!

Art Fundraiser! Click here for more information.

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 2, Lesson 6, Sessions 1-5: Shapes! Lesson 6 will focus on naming solid shapes and describing their attributes. We will also compare the weight of objects using words like heavy/heavier and light/lighter.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 2, Every Story Has Characters, Week 3: This week, we will continue to build genre knowledge when reading Dog Days of School by Kelly DiPucchio. This is a fantasy book.

Our shared reading this week will be the poems "The Gingerbread Man" and "The Little Red Hen". We will use these stories to identify rhyming words, build vocabulary, and continue our learning of concepts of print by focusing on the directionality of reading, punctuation, and expressive reading.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 8: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

UFLI Lesson 11

In this lesson students learned about how the short a changes slightly when it comes before nasal sounds (like m, n, ng). We practiced listening for that nasalized quality, and applying it when reading, spelling, and writing. Activities will include listening and phoneme-segmenting games to hear the difference (listen for an / am / ang), reading and decoding words with nasalized a (examples: an, and, man, ran, ham, hang, sang), and writing practice: forming the letter(s) and spelling simple decodable words and short sentences that include nasalized a. These activities help children notice sound changes and use those patterns to read and spell more accurately.
UFLI Lesson 12

This lesson introduced the letter o and its short vowel sound (as in on or not). Students will practice naming and forming the letter o, hearing and saying the short o sound in words, decoding and spelling short o words (examples: on, not, hot, dog, pot), and reading simple decodable sentences that use the new sound so they connect letter → sound → reading. This helps students add a new vowel to their decoding toolkit and read a wider variety of words.

🌈 Learning with Wayfinder

💛 Learning About Kindness and Bullying in Wayfinder

This month in Wayfinder, our kindergarteners are learning about kindness, friendship, and what to do if someone isn’t being kind. We talk about how our words and actions can make others feel, and how to stand up for ourselves and our friends in safe and respectful ways.

Students practice using kind words, including others in play, and telling a trusted adult if they see or experience unkind behavior. These lessons help children understand that everyone deserves to feel safe, cared for, and included at school.

Week of September 29 - October 3

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

October 3: Rock Ridge Fun Run Prize Day!

October 7: PTO Meeting - 6pm

October 8 and 9: Parent Teacher Conferences

October 13 - 17: Fall Break!

October 28: Picture Make-up Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 3, Lesson 8, Sessions 1-5: In this lesson, the students will learn about two-dimensional shapes, or flat shapes. We will focus on the attributes of these shapes, such as sides and corners (vertices). The students will have access to pattern blocks including a square, circle, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, trapezoid, and rhombus.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 2, Every Story Has Characters, Week 2: In this unit, we will continue to build genre knowledge when reading Wolf Cub's Song by Joseph Burchac, which is a folktale. We will learn that folktales are stories that were told a long time ago, and that all groups of people had their own special stories to share across many generations.

Our shared reading this week will be the poems "Little Bo-Peep" and "Gregory Griggs". We will use these nursery rhymes to identify rhyming words, build vocabulary, and continue our learning of concepts of print by focusing on the directionality of reading.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 7: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

UFLI Lesson 9
In this lesson, children practiced listening for the sounds in words and matching those sounds to letters. They learned the new letter n and practiced blending it with letters they already know to read simple words. We also introduced the sight word is.

UFLI Lesson 10
In this lesson, we continued practicing blending and segmenting sounds to build early reading skills. Children reviewed the new letter n and used it with other letters to read and spell short words. We also reveiwed all sight words: the, I, and, a, is.

Week of September 23 - September 26

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

September 22: No School - Professional Development Day

October 3: Rock Ridge Fun Run Prize Day!

October 7: PTO Meeting - 6pm

October 8 and 9: Parent Teacher Conferences

October 13 - 17: Fall Break!

October 28: Picture Make-up Day!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music(PE - Wednesday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE - Thursday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Math:

iReady Unit 2, Lesson 5, Sessions 1-5: This lesson will focus on comparing groups of objects and numbers up to 5, and we will learn to recognize that each counting number is one more than the last.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 2, Every Story Has Characters, Week 1: In this unit, we will continue to build genre knowledge when reading Horrible Bear! by Ame Dyckman, which is a fantasy/fiction book. We will define what makes a story fantasy while focusing on characters, setting, and concepts of print.

Our shared reading this week will be the poems "Little Miss Muffet" and "Humpty Dumpty". We will use these nursery rhymes to identify rhyming words, build vocabulary, and continue our learning of concepts of print by focusing on the directionality of reading.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 6: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

UFLI Lessons 7 and 8: In Lesson 7, children will learn the letter F and the sound /f/ it makes, like in fun and fish. The will practice saying the sound, writing the letter, blending it with other letters to read simple words, and learned the sight word a.

In Lesson 8, we will introduce the short vowel i (as in sit and pin). Students practiced reading and spelling words with the short i sound, read a short decodable story to build fluency.

Kindergarten Readiness:

GOLD: GOLD is a way for teachers to see how ready children are for kindergarten. Instead of a test, teachers watch and take notes during everyday play and activities. This helps them understand each child’s strengths, such as making friends, using language, recognizing letters and numbers, and moving their bodies. The information gives teachers a full picture of your child so they can support their growth and learning in the best way possible. For more information, please click the link below.

GOLD

Week of September 15 - September 19

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

September 19: Rock Ridge Fun Run! 1:20pm

September 22: No School - Professional Development Day

October 3: Rock Ridge Fun Run Prize Day!

October 8 and 9: Parent Teacher Conferences

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE - Wednesday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE - Tuesday)

iReady Unit 2, Lesson 4, Sessions 1-5: Unit 2 will focus on the numbers 1 through 5. The students will count, show, write, and compare these numbers. The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 1, Plants and Animals Have Needs, Week 3: In this unit, we will continue to build genre knowledge by reading the book My Desert Home by Charlie Alolcoy, which is a personal narrative. As a whole group, we will discuss how a personal narrative text is an informational text about a real person's experiences.

Our shared reading this week will be the poem "Baby Mice". We will search for the sight word I, and continue our learning of concepts of print by focusing on how letters make up words, and words make up sentences.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 5: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

UFLI Lessons 5 and 6
In Lessons 5 and 6, we will continue practicing letter sounds and blending them together to make words. The children are learning to look closely at letters, say their sounds, and put those sounds together to read and spell simple words. We will also practice recognizing the sight words the and I, as well as learning the sight word and.

Kindergarten Readiness:

GOLD

Week of September 8 - September 12

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

September 9: Fun Run Kick Off assembly

September 19: Rock Ridge Fun Run! 1:20pm

September 22: No School - Professional Development Day

October 3: Rock Ridge Fun Run Prize Day!

October 8 and 9: Parent Teacher Conferences

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Art (PE - Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Music (PE - Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Spanish (PE - Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 1, Lesson 3, Sessions 1-5: Lesson 3 will help the students understand how to sort objects into different categories based on their unique attributes. Then the students will practice one-to-one correspondence by counting the sorted objects.

The students will continue to work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 10.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 1, Plants and Animals Have Needs, Week 2: In this unit, we will continue to build genre knowledge by reading the book What Do Plants Need? by Debra Castor. As a whole group, we will discuss the differences between books which are meant to provide information, and books which are meant to tell us a story.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 4: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences. Our shared reading this week will be the poem "Soil, Water, Air and Light". We will search for words that begin with the letters S and T and circle them. We will also listen for rhyming words.

This week, during lessons 1 and 2, children will learn to listen carefully to the sounds in words and begin connecting sounds to letters. They are introduced to the letters s and t and practice blending them into simple words. We will review the irregular word the, and introduce the sight word I.

Kindergarten Readiness:

GOLD

Week of September 3 - September 6

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

September 3: Rock Ridge Run Kickoff!

September 19: Rock Ridge Run!

September 22: No School - Professional Development Day

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Music (PE on Thursday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Spanish (PE on Tuesday and Friday)

Ms. Watson: Art (PE on Wednesday)

Math:

iReady Unit 1, Lesson 2, Sessions 1-5: In lesson 2, the students will learn to describe and compare the length and height of two objects. We will use precise measurement language such as long/longer, short/shorter, and tall/taller The students will also work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence.

Literacy:

Benchmark Unit 1, Plants and Animals Have Needs, Week 1: In this unit, we will build genre knowledge by reading the book What Do Animals Need by Margaret McNamara. As a whole group, we will discuss the differences between books which are meant to provide information, and books which are meant to tell us a story.

Our shared reading this week will be the poem "Bears Eat Honey". We will focus on how letters make up words, and how we can tell the difference between the two.

This week, during lessons 1 and 2, children will learn to listen carefully to the sounds in words and begin connecting sounds to letters. They are introduced to the letters m and a and practice blending them into simple words. The sight word I is also introduced.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 3: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

Kindergarten Readiness:

GOLD

Week of August 25 - 29

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

August 27: Picture Day!

August 29: National College Colors Day

September 1: No School - Labor Day

September 19: Rock Ridge Run!

Specials:

Ms. Donohue: Spanish (PE-Tuesday and Friday)

Mrs. Kiehn: Art (PE-Wednesday)

Ms. Watson: Music (PE-Monday and Thursday)

Math:

iReady Unit 1, Lesson 1, Sessions 1-5: The students will learn to describe where objects are. We will use words like above, below, beside, in front of, behind, next to, across, around, beneath, between, down, far, inside, nearby, near, on top of, outside, over, under, and up.

The students will also work on number formation, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence for the numbers 1 through 5.

Literacy:

Benchmark Advanced, Launching Week 2: This week in Benchmark Advance, we continue helping children adjust to routines and build strong foundations for learning. Students practice listening and speaking skills, learn how to share ideas with the class, and explore stories together. We focus on recognizing letters and sounds, building vocabulary, and developing print awareness. Children also practice working with partners, following directions, and expressing their thoughts through drawing and early writing. These activities help set the stage for a year full of reading, writing, and learning success!

During Week 2, students continue building the foundation for reading success. We focus on hearing and identifying beginning sounds in words, practicing how to listen closely to the parts of spoken words, and strengthening alphabet knowledge. Children also play with rhymes, work on recognizing their names, and practice important routines that will help them feel confident when we begin formal reading lessons.

Heggerty, Phonological Awareness, Week 2: Heggerty is a phonological awareness program. This part of our day typically takes about 10 minutes. We will focus on rhyming, beginning sounds, ending sounds, compound words, letter names and sounds, and how many words make up different sentences.

Kindergarten Readiness

GOLD