How do you all celebrate birthdays in kindergarten?

We celebrate birthdays with a song and sweet treat! Please provide a sweet treat (cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts or another treat) for the whole class (22 students).  You are welcome to join us for the celebration! We will celebrate at snack time near the playground outside at 2:30pm. If you are unable to provide a birthday treat, please let me know and we will make sure one is provided. 

What is your homework policy in kindergarten?

Read! Read to your child every night for at least 15 minutes or more. Reading to your child will strengthen their language, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills. Always have a literacy-rich home and remember this does not mean buying a lot of books on Amazon (although as a teacher I must admit I am guilty of this). Make it a fun, weekly routine to check-out books from the public library and check your child's backpack for school library books to read together. 

Once your child is ready, they can start reading books to you! Remember not all books are created equal for our young readers. A lot of books that are advertised as "early readers" are not developmentally appropriate for your child. This can cause frustration and ruin the joy of reading!  Have your child re-read short passages that are sent home in our communication folder. Encourage your child to say each sound in the word before blending the word together. If your child is reading a book advertised as an "early reader" and you see they are reaching a high frustration level, offer to tell your child the word or read the page. Most likely the book is developmentally inappropriate for their current reading level. As always, feel free to reach out and schedule a conference with me. Bring in some of the books and I can guide you to find books or reading activities that are developmentally appropriate.

Never stop reading to your child even after they have started reading independently. Children need to constantly be exposed to higher level texts that they are unable to read independently yet. These texts will enrich your child's mind with more complex vocabulary, sentence structure and story plots. Reading to your child and giving them the exposure to higher level texts will enable them to comprehend higher-level texts when reading independently later on. 

Do I need to provide a snack for my child? If so, what kind of snack? What should I do if my child forgets their snack at home?

Yes, please provide a daily snack for your child and, if financially able, donate a "community snack" once a month. Community snacks are used when a student forgets their snack. Community snacks are also used to support students of families that need financial assistance and providing a daily snack may be a hardship.

If your child has a lunchbox, pack your child's snack separate from their lunchbox and write their name on the snack. This will make it easier for your child to put it in the snack bin in the morning and locate their snack in the afternoon.

Should my child bring a water bottle?

YES! We go outside every day. Our kinders work hard and play hard. We want to make sure they are hydrated throughout the day. Please have your child bring a leak-proof water bottle and label it with your child's name. Only put water in the water bottle. Any other drinks (juice, milk) should be put in your child's lunchbox.

Can I join my child for lunch?

Yes, any day after quarter 1 we would love for you to come eat lunch with your child if they are able to easily separate at the end of lunch time. We ask parents and caregivers to wait until Quarter 1 is over to allow our kinders to emotionally adjust. If your child struggles to separate from you, we ask that that you refrain from eating with the class until your child is able to separate from you without an emotional outburst. Although we know it comes with the best intentions, eating lunch with your child who struggles to separate from you can disturb your child's day and possibly impede academic learning for the afternoon. If your child is emotionally ready, we would love to have you!

In order for your child to make the most of their lunch time, please be sure they can independently open the items in their lunchbox (including the actual lunchbox). There is a limited number of staff available in the cafeteria and we want to make sure every student has enough time to fill their bellies!