Kindergarten B

Dear Families,

We are looking forward to our Apple Picking Trip this Friday! As is tradition, every student gets to bring a chaperone, making it a special day for all. We look forward to a lovely day together as a community, enjoying the season, connecting with one another, and celebrating the creativity, curiosity, and risk-taking that make our kindergarteners shine. 

Important Dates

• 10/10/25 - Apple Picking Field Trip

• 10/13/25 - School Closed - Indigenous Peoples’ Day

• 10/17/25 - Crazy Sock Day

• 10/18/25 - Pumpkin Patch & Great Halloween Costume Swap!

• 10/20/25 - School Closed - Diwali

• 10/21/25 - Guest Parent Speaker:  Jennifer Wallace - 6:30 PM Virtual

• 10/22/25 - State of the School - 6:00 PM Virtual

• 10/23/25 - United Voices, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM (Sign-Up Sheet)

• 10/24/25 - Snapshots shared in Parent Portal - 4:00 PM

• 10/25/25 - LS Haunted House 5:45 - 7:45 PM

• 10/31/25 - Dress Up Parade - No After School: Halloween

  • Costume Guidelines

Here are some important reminders for the week:

1. If you haven’t already, please let your child’s teacher know ASAP if you plan to attend the October 10th apple picking trip. We need a final headcount to ensure everything is ready for this fun and exciting day. 

2. If you are attending our Apple Picking trip, please plan to meet outside the building to board the bus at 8:45 AM. Don’t forget to pack a nut-free lunch and a water bottle for you and your child. We should return to school by 2:30 PM. Additionally, please click here for field trip chaperone guidelines. We appreciate you taking a moment to read through the expectations so we can all enjoy a fun and safe day together!

3. In Kingergarten, we celebrate birthdays in school with a few simple birthday traditions: a compliment circle, the birthday mix-up song, and a favorite story read aloud. While we don’t invite families in for this celebration, we do ask that you send in one of your child’s favorite books on their special day, which we’ll read to the class at the end of our celebration. We’ll be sure to share photos on our class site! Please note that we do not serve food during birthday celebrations, and we kindly ask that you refrain from sending goodie bags. Thank you!

4. Please take a moment to explore the Mindfulness website, where Ms. Marie shares lessons, activities, and resources. You’ll find information about what mindfulness is, what lessons look like in the classroom, and simple ways to practice mindfulness at home with your child. 

In addition, check out the other specialists’ websites for updates and happenings in their classrooms. 

Art      Dance       Library       Music       PE       Science      Spanish 

5. Kindergarteners will begin their Family Study soon. 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. 

6. If you have not already, please complete the Parents as Partners Questionnaire as soon as possible. 

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

8. If your child wears rain boots on rainy days, please also send an extra pair of shoes. This will make it easier for them to move safely on the stairs and participate comfortably in other classes such as PE. Please note that Crocs are not permitted at school, as they can be unsafe for climbing stairs and running. Additionally, please ensure your child wears comfortable clothing that allows them to run and play freely on P.E. days.

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

  • Optimism

  • Read Aloud: Almost by Richard Torrey

• Feelings/Emotions

  • How to overcome difficult feelings, especially at school

  • When feeling frustrated, sad, angry, worried, etc. we talked about the various ways you can deal with these heavy feelings:

    • Take deep breaths

    • Ask others for some space 

    • Share how you are feeling with your friends 

    • Talk to a teacher

Reading

• How to take a picture walk 

• Before reading a book, look through it from beginning to end using the illustrations to anticipate what the book will be about.

• Word of the week 

  • The sight word this week will be a. Have your child find the word “a” 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.

• Print Concepts 

  • Directionality

    • Understanding that text is read from left to right and top to bottom on a page 

  • Distinguishing between letters and words

  • One-to-one correspondence

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

Fundations / Handwriting 

• Letters a and g

  • Recognizing lowercase letters a and g

  • The sounds of a and g

  • Writing lowercase letters a and g

  • Letters learned: t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, o

• Fundations At Home Pack for letters “c and o” and “a and g”

  • 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.

• The writing process: Think, Draw, Label, Write

• We will practice the rhyme, When you think you’re done, you’ve only just begun. Children often say they are done, but we ask them to add more details to drawing, labeling and writing.

• We read Ish by Peter H. Reynolds to remind students that it’s okay if their drawings are “person-ish” or “cat-ish.” The focus is on creativity, effort, and meaningful storytelling, encouraging children to practice a growth mindset by celebrating progress over perfection.

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

• Seasons

  • Naming seasons and discussing why they change

  • What happens in nature and in our lives during the four seasons

• Apples and Pumpkins Life Cycle 

• We are also celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month or Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana. Every grade has been assigned a Spanish-speaking country to learn more about. Kindergarten is learning more about Mexico. 

• This week, we’ll read Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown. We’ll discuss why her animals were so important to her, and what we can learn from Frida about creativity, resilience, and following our passions. Then, we’ll make our own Frida-inspired self-portraits, celebrating individuality and Mexican culture.

What You Can Do At Home

• Read Aloud Your Child’s Favorite Books – Listening to stories helps children hear what fluent reading sounds like and strengthens their language and listening skills, while giving you a special chance to bond with your child.

• Have fun with a letter hunt! Use sticky notes to write letters c, o, a, and g and hide them around the house and have your child go on a letter scavenger hunt. As they find each letter, ask them to say the letter's name, sound, and motion.

• Letter Formation: use materials like building blocks, connecting cubes, playdough, or magnetic letters to form the letters c, o, a, and g. Encourage your child to trace the letters with their finger and say the letter sounds aloud.

• 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.

• Subitizing: Use dot stickers to create a set of “quick look cards” with eight dots or fewer, arranged in different ways (for example, 3 dots in a triangle, 4 dots in a rectangle, or patterns like those on dice). Hold up each card for about half a second and see if your child can tell you how many dots there are without counting. Ask them how they saw the total!

• Number Hunt: Hide number cards or objects around the house, each representing a number from 0 to 5. As your child finds them, ask them to find another card or object that when added to the first, makes 5. Feel free to add a challenge and increase the number.

• Story Problems: Create simple story problems related to everyday scenarios. For example, “If we buy 5 pumpkins and carve 4 into jack-o-lanterns, how many will be left?” Story problems help connect math to real-life situations.

• Discuss the importance of celebrating Heritage Months: In September, we take time to celebrate the history, cultures, and contributions of people whose families come from places like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America, and South America. We celebrate because Hispanic people have shared so many important traditions, stories, foods, music, and ideas that make our communities stronger. It’s a way to honor them and to learn about different cultures.

• National Hispanic Heritage Month: Introduce your child to famous Hispanic artists like Frida Kahlo or Pablo Picasso. Let them create their own artwork inspired by these artists using crayons, markers, or paints. You can also explore traditional crafts like papel picado (colorful paper banners) or molas (colorful textile art).

• On November 1, visit Green-Wood for their annual Day of the Dead Family Celebration.