UCS Kindergarten Newsletter
September 12, 2025
September 12, 2025
Last Friday the K and 3-4 buddies listened to a story which encouraged them to wonder and notice more around them. Then they used color tiles and looked for things in the garden that matched. They noticed so many more items in the garden when they looked closely. Today the buddies explored one of the outdoor classroom spaces. They looked for items in the woods that were different colors, shapes, sizes, and textures.
Important Dates
September 25th ~ Picture Day
October 2nd ~ No School
October 3rd ~ No School
October 6th ~ Chapin Orchard Field Trip
October 9th ~ Open House
Learning Highlights from the Week
We introduced a new activity called “The Counting Jar”. During this activity, the children will count a set of objects, make an equivalent set and then record the number. For example they might count 8 bears in the jar, then make a new set of 8 cubes before recording the number 8 on the counting sheet. We will practice counting objects in the counting jar throughout the year. We also practiced counting to 50 and showing numbers on our fingers this week.
We are learning what living things need by observing the caterpillar in our classroom. During our Organisms unit, we will explore what plants and animals need in order to survive. This week we watched our monarch caterpillar eat many milkweed leaves. It grew bigger and bigger each day! It crawled to the top of the box today and looked like it was ready to make a "J" shape. We are looking forward to seeing it change to a butterfly soon!
We have been busy playing many word games to build phonological awareness (the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in our spoken language). The children have been singing songs with rhymes and isolating the beginning and ending sounds in words. They enjoyed acting out different versions of the Five Little Monkeys. The kindergarten friends also listened to many books to discuss kindness, courage, and friendship.
The children continue to build good writing habits by strengthening their fine motor skills. This week they worked on using shapes and lines to draw. They explored with wooden curves and straight lines. This helped them see that little and big curves and straight lines help us write letters and numbers.
Reminders
Please be sure to write your child’s name on the water bottle. Thank you!
Please remember to have your child bring sneakers on PE days and return library books on Fridays.
If your child will be tardy or absent, please include Connie Arceneaux (in the main office) on your email as well. Thank you!
Email: kathleen.cowan@mmuusd.org
Location: 6 Irish Settlement Rd, Underhill, VT 05489
Phone: 802.899.4676