Kindergarten A

Dear Families,

What a fantastic week we had, full of learning, laughter, and festive Halloween fun! It was great to see so many smiling faces and friendly waves during the Halloween Parade. The children were beaming as they showed off their creative costumes.

This week, we’ll highlight Solidarity Week, where kindergarteners will learn about kindness, empathy, solidarity, and what it means to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. We’ll also recognize and celebrate Native American Heritage Month, an opportunity for the children and our community to explore the rich traditions, history, and contributions of Native American cultures. November is also a time for the children to reflect on thankfulness and share what they’re grateful for.

We’re looking forward to connecting with families during Parent-Teacher Conferences later this month!

Important Dates

• Monday, Nov 2: School Closed: Professional Day

• Tuesday, Nov 3: Solidarity Week

• Wednesday, Nov 4: Solidarity Week Celebration

• Friday, Nov 6: Fall Conference Sign Ups Shared in Poly Pulse

• Saturday, Nov 14:  HUGS B&L Friendsgiving, 6:00 PM (Details To Be Confirmed)

• Monday, Nov 16: POLY PM Winter Enrichment Registration Opens, 10:30 AM

• Tuesday, Nov 17: United Voices November Meetings, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

• Thursday, Nov 19: No After School: In-Person Conferences (3:30 - 6:30)

• Friday, Nov 20: Regular Day of School. After School Open.

• Monday, Nov 23: School Closed: Virtual Conferences (9:00 - 3:00)

• Tuesday, Nov 24: School Closed: Lower School Professional Day

• Wednesday, Nov 25 - Friday, Nov. 27: School Closed for Thanksgiving (Nov 25 - 27)

Here are some important reminders for the week:

1. Solidarity Day Colors for Wednesday, November 4: 

Solidarity Week is an opportunity to learn about and practice being in solidarity with others, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Solidarity Week is Tuesday, November 3 to Friday, November 6. Each year during this week, our students learn about difference, respect, and safety for every member of our school community. On Wednesday, November 4, we will join the Middle and Upper School to stand up against bullying, gender stereotypes, and name-calling in schools, engage in meaningful learning and community-building activities, and take a picture in the colors of the rainbow. Students are asked to wear the following colors:

• Pre-K, & Kindergarten wear purple. 

• Grades 1, 2, & 3 wear blue.

• Grades 4, 5, & 6 wear green. 

Some of our read alouds this week will include: 

• Federico and All His Families

• Love Makes a Family

• We Are the Rainbow: The Colors of Pride

2. Trying Let Grow!

This year, we are excited to try the Let Grow program, which encourages children to build independence, confidence, and problem-solving skills through everyday opportunities to do things on their own. The idea is simple: give children a little more space to make choices, take on age-appropriate responsibilities, and experience the small challenges that come with growing up. We’re sharing a short parent introduction packet to give you a better sense of the program and some simple ways you might try it at home. Here are this month’s activities where you’ll also find an activities ideas list. There’s no pressure to do everything or do it perfectly. Give it a try and see what feels right for your family! 

3. Our family unit has begun! Please sign up here for your Family Share. We would love for everyone to participate! Please sign up as soon as possible so your child has the chance to share something special about your family with the class. This is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to learn more about one another and celebrate our diverse classroom community. 

4. Toys from home: We talked with the children about keeping toys and special treasures at home. One small stuffed animal may stay in their backpack, but all other toys and trinkets should remain at home. We want to help keep their special things safe from getting lost or broken at school. Please take a quick peek in your child’s backpack each morning to help us with this. Thank you for your partnership!

5. Click here for a note from Ms. Carmen with your child’s specimen share date in science. 

6. Please take the time to sit down with your child to review lunch menu options from Cater To You. We are encouraging all of the children to try the hot food items. Please use this link to review the menu.

Please read below for this coming week’s learning goals and a few pointers for what you can do at home:

Social Emotional Learning

• Growth mindset trait: Optimism

• Opsimism: When you do something new, you think, “I can try,” and give it your best shot because that’s how you grow.

• Read aloud: Almost by Richard Torrey

Reading

• Words of the week 

  • The sight words this week will be he and me. Have your child find the words “he” and “me" in magazines and other printed materials around the home. They can circle, underline or highlight (also good for fine motor) every time they see the word. As you or they are reading books they can also count the number of times it shows up on the page.

  • Learned words: and, the, I, a, to, do

• Print Concepts 

  • Distinguishing between letters and words

  • One-to-one correspondence

    • Pointing to words as they are read aloud; Using your “pointer power”

• “Get your mouth ready.”

  • Look at the first letter in the word, think about the sound it makes, and then get your mouth ready to make that sound.  

• Phonemic awareness:

  • Rhyming 

  • Identifying beginning sounds 

  • Identifying ending sounds

  • Breaking words into syllables

Fundations / Handwriting 

• Letters e and r

  • Recognizing lowercase letters e and r

  • The sounds of e and r (e, Ed, /e/) (r, rat, /r/)

  • Writing lowercase letters e and r 

  • Review: t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, o, a, g, d, s

• Fundations At Home Pack for letters “e and r”

  • The Fundations Home Support Pack provides you with the “why” and the “what” regarding our reading program, Fundations. The Fundations Home Packet also provides you with the language that the teachers use when forming their letters. Please use the same language when instructing and practicing with your child at home.

Writing Workshop

• We will continue with our first writing unit called "We are all Writers!" This unit introduces children to writing by exploring both informational pieces and true stories. Students are encouraged to think, draw, label, and write about their pictures in their own way. It's an exciting step in developing their storytelling skills.

• A sentence…

  • Tells a complete thought. It has a who and a what.

  • Starts with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.

  • Has spaces between the words.

• Promoting independence: We are “risk-taker spellers!” When we’re unsure of how to spell a word, we won’t let that stop us, and we won’t say to a teacher, “How do you spell…?” Instead, we can:

  • “Tap it out” (touch thumb to index finger, say first sound; then thumb to middle, say the next, etc.)

  • “Rubber band the word.” Say it very slowly several times. Each time you hear another sound, write the letter that makes that sound.

  • Check the word wall to see if it’s a learned “trick word.”

  • Take a risk! Write down any sounds you can hear, even if only the very first sound. 

Math

Numbers to 10

• MIF School-to-Home Connections 

• Count, read, and write numbers from 6 to 10 

• Use ordinal numbers to tell order by naming the position of objects in a small ordered collection

• Order numbers to 10 in both increasing and decreasing order

• Students will learn how numbers work together and take numbers apart through purposeful activities

Social Studies

• Anti-Racist Read-Aloud: This month’s ARRA is Spork by Kyo Maclear, a playful story about a utensil which is part spoon and part fork. Spork feels like he doesn’t quite fit in because he is different from the other utensils. He tries to change himself to fit in with the spoons and then the forks, but neither feels quite right. When a very messy new arrival comes into the kitchen, Spork discovers that being different is actually his greatest strength. Through this humorous story, we are exploring identity, individuality, belonging, and the idea that our differences can be what make us special.

• Native American Heritage Month: In November, we take time to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, a time to honor the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of Native and Indigenous peoples. We celebrate because Native Americans have shared so many important traditions, stories, inventions, art forms, and ideas that continue to shape our communities today.  

What You Can Do At Home

• Memory with Letters: Using index cards, make two sets of lowercase letters t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, o, a, g, e, and r, and turn it into a game of Memory. You could also use the same set of cards to play Go Fish! Have them say the letter name and sound each time they find a pair. 

• Ending Sounds: Say a word. Then, have your child repeat the word and “punch out” the ending. 

• Lowercase letter formation: To practice letter building/formation, use materials like building blocks, connecting cubes, playdough, or magnetic letters to form “magic C” letters c, o, a, g, d, and s. Encourage your child to trace the letters with their finger and say the letter sounds aloud. Tell them to “fly back like a c” each time. 

• Rainbow Writing: Write out our current “trick words” (and, a, I, the, to, do, he, me) in pencil, then have your child trace them several times using different colors. You can use crayons, markers, or even colored chalk outside. 

• Counting Fingers: Use your fingers as visual aids. Ask your child to show different combinations of fingers to make 5. For example, they can show 2 fingers on one hand and 3 on the other.

• Number Hop: Place number cards 0-10 around the floor. Have your child hop (or skip, bear walk, etc) to different numbers. For an extra challenge, give them a number pair (5 and 5; 2 and 3) and have them hop to the total. They can use their fingers to help them add.