September

September Learning Focus

During the first three days of the school year, kindergarten teachers have the opportunity to spend an hour with each student and their family in what we call Family Connection Meetings. At this time, we have you fill out more necessary school paperwork and we get to learn a little more about each student. We'll do a few get-to-know-you activities and assessments. I want to know who you are, your likes and dislikes, and things you're excited about or nervous for. This is also a chance for your family to see your kindergarten child's classroom and ask any questions you have. Welcome to Mrs. Edwards' Kindergarten Classroom at Jefferson Elementary School!

Classroom Routines to be learned:

• Check-in tags

• Cubbies

• Restroom/Washing hands

• Drinking fountain

• Lining up

• Carpet time

• Lunch numbers

• Weekly jobs

Music and Movement

• Good Morning!

• Days of the Week

• Months of the Year

• Number Rock

• Shapes Song

• Magic Words

English Language Arts (ELA)

Letters and Sounds: The first Alphafriends we'll learn are Mimi Mouse Mm, Sammy Seal Ss, Andy Apple Aa, & Tiggy Tiger Tt. Using our hands for sign language, and our bodies to dance and sing songs with motions is IMPORTANT! It develops a brain and body connection that helps with conceptual development and memory. It also keeps the blood flowing to our brains as we're learning. Kindergarten has lots of movement and motion!

Alphafriends and Letter Songs

Sight Words: I like, the, and, & see. We'll practice reading AND writing properly, these sight words. They're call sight words because they are common in early reading and we want students to be able to read them at first sight, not necessarily taking the time to sound them out. Sometimes I also call them snappy words. You gotta know them with a snap of your fingers!

Handwriting Without Tears: Students will learn the proper pencil grip for strong handwriting . We will do pencil pick-up activities, introduce Mat Man with our wood pieces and cardstock replicas, and learn where we start our letters. Of course, there are songs to go along with all of this learning!

Parents, please watch the first video below, simply to understand better how to best help your child with handwriting at home.

"Mat Man" song

"Picking Up My Pencil" song

"Where Do You Start Your Letters?" song

Handwriting Without Tears letter cards: With each card, I teach the picture, the letter name, and the letter sound. With lots of repetition, kids begin to learn it all pretty quickly! For example, we'll "read" this as, "Saw, S, /s/ /s/ /s/."

Epic! Reading Please go to Epic! Our class code is hts6167. Here your child can follow along with early readers, listen to books read aloud, and watch learning videos, all that I have assigned for our class. Make it a goal to visit Epic! for 15 minutes a day 😉

Math

These are the BIG SKILLS. We learn to recognize the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5. Also, we learn to write our numbers as well. We will also practice counting objects. This helps kids to establish one-to-one correspondence, or 1:1. This is a biggy! Touch one object and say, "One." Touch the next object and say, "Two." And so forth... Believe it or not, this can be a tricky skill to learn, but it's super important to master for both math and reading.

Counting to 10 using our fingers like a number line. I will demonstrate this for kids and they will mirror me. This will build their finger and hand strength. Using our fingers in math is IMPORTANT! It develops a brain and body connection that helps with conceptual development.

Each day has a new math lesson. There are videos to watch, practice pages to work through, and homework pages as well.

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 1

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 2

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 3

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 4

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 5

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 6

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 7

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 8

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 9

Eureka Math - Module 1 Lesson 10

Social Studies

Each morning we start our day respectfully reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Bucket Filler's Pledge. We will learn about the United States flag and the Washington State flag that hang in our classroom. In addition, the kids will learn about the stars and stripes and what they mean, by also studying about the United States map that hangs on the wall in Room 207.

Each month we receive four Scholastic magazines called Let's Find Out. For each magazine, there is a main topic to read about, a video to watch, a digital game to play, as well as a couple worksheets to complete to check for understanding. You can access our September magazines below. Click the "Log in" box, then choose "I am a student." Our classroom password is Welikepurple! From there, you can explore the weekly magazines for September.

Mystery Doug