Absences: If your child will be absent, please call or email our health coordinator, Kathy Walstrom. The phone number is (847 ) 657-2694 or her email is [email protected]. If you do email about the absence, please copy me on the email as well.
Arrival/dismissal: AM Kindergarten is 8:50-11:25 and PM Kindergarten is 12:55-3:30. Please try to have your child to school on time so we can start learning right away!
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Birthdays: We love celebrating birthdays in kindergarten! Your child is welcome to bring in a small item for each child to celebrate, but no food items are permitted. If you want to come read a story for your child's birthday, please email me in advance to set it up! Book orders: Occasionally throughout the year, I will send home a Scholastic Book Club Catalog for you and your child to look over. These clubs offer wonderful books at reduced prices--what a great way to build your home library! If you chose to order, I also receive book points to use on books and other items for my classroom at no extra charge to you. All ordering and paying is done online. Our class code is H8RNK. Here is the website: Scholastic Book Clubs
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Calendar: Here is a link to the district calendar: calendar
Class pledge: We say a class pledge everyday: "I am special and I am smart. I am loved by my family, friends and teachers. I care about others feeling and I use my hands for helping. I try my best everyday. I am proud to be me!" Conferences: You will have the opportunity to participate in two “formal” parent/teacher conferences during the school year--in October and March. Here is the link to the March conferences: www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a45ada622a64-spring2 Communication: Communication is very important to me! I send weekly emails starting the first week of school. I also share pictures of our class through our closed Instagram account. Your child shares their work through the app Seesaw. Both apps include pictures and videos of your child and allow you to get a sneak peek of your child's school day! You can learn more here: Communications
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Differentiation: We differentiate in many ways in kindergarten. In reading, students are in groups based on their skills and their needs are directly targeted. In writing, students receive different mini lessons depending on what skills they have already mastered. In math, we can make math games easier or more challenging depending on student need. We want to meet your student where they are at and nudge them further--differentiation lets us do that.
Dismissal: Please send a note if there is a change in how your child is going home. Please do not email me changes in dismissal--I may not get the information in time or if there is a substitute teacher, they will not have access to my email. If the change happens during the school day, please call the school office at (847) 998-5035.
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Email: Email is my preferred method of communication. My email is [email protected].
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Fine Arts: Kindergarteners attend Fine Arts classes! Your child's specific schedule can be found under the Fine Arts Schedule on this website. Students must wear gym shoes on their PE day in order to participate.
Folders: Folders will be sent home everyday and should be emptied everyday. Thanks for your help with this!
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Handwriting: We review letter name, letter sound and correct letter formation from September through mid November. It is very important that students are forming letters correctly because it goes into their "muscle memory." Here is a guide to the way we form letters and the language we use, so you can be consistent at home: letterformationguide.pdf We call the lines the sky line, plane line, grass line and worm line. This will show you what that means: Wilson lines
Headphones: Headphones are used often in our classroom with the iPads. If your child's headphones break, please replace them quickly. You may purchase them through Henking or on your own. Please do not send ear buds, they are too difficult for kindergartners and get easily tangled. Here is a copy of the headphone order form: headphoneorderform.pdf
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iPads: Students have iPads as a tool for learning. iPads should be charged to 80% or more everyday. We recommend using the apps IXL (Math) and Kids A-Z (Reading) as one way to help your child practice their skills. Please click this iPad tab to learn more!
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Kindness: Kindness counts! We encourage our kindergarteners to do and say kind things to each other on a daily basis!
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Label items: Please label your child's clothing items. Students leave coats and other winter items behind on the bus, in the gym. etc. If those items are labeled there's a greater chance they will be returned to you!
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Math: We follow the Common Core State Standards for Math: www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/K/introduction/. We use math journals to show our thinking. We love the app IXL to practice math facts. Students should be able to identify numbers 1-20 and quickly count to 100. Please practice those at home.
Money: It will be necessary on occasion for your child to bring money to school. Always send money in a sealed envelope with the following information written on it: Your child’s first and last name, the purpose for the money (headphones, Spirit Wear, field trip, etc.), the teachers name. With so many students to keep track of and several reasons to collect money, this helps us out tremendously and reduces the likelihood of errors. Also, if the envelope is left on the bus or dropped on the playground, this information will help the money to be returned to the correct classroom.
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Parties: We have three class parties that our Room Moms help plan: Halloween, Winter and Valentine's Day. The room parents will ask for three volunteers to help at the parties. The school policy is that only those three volunteers can attend the party. Siblings are not permitted. Thanks for understanding.
Play: This is a child's work! Play is very important to develop social emotional skills and of course it is FUN! Because our kindergarten is half day, we try to get play or "free choice time" or "tinker time" in a few times per week. Our great hope is that the other half of your kindergartener's day includes play time with you or with friends.
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Questions: Please let me know if there are any questions I can help answer!
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Reading: My hope is that each child will love reading in kindergarten! We use the Wilson Fundations program for letter name, key word, sound. For example, "a, apple, aaaaaa." Here is a link to show you the flashcards we use: Wilson flashcard You Tube file Students will be switching classrooms for reading groups. We will work on letter sounds, blending the sounds together and then fluent reading. Some students come into kindergarten already reading and we work on comprehension. We love the website Starfall: www.starfall.com/ Our students also have an account on Kids A-Z. This app is loaded on their iPad already but here is a link to it in case you want to access it on the computer: www.kidsa-z.com/main/Login The teacher log in name is "cmalnora" and then your child will find their name, enter their password and then be good to go! We have other reading website subscriptions including Book Flix and Tumble Books. I have sent home the log in info before, please email me if you'd like it again. Students should be reading (including being read to) for 15-20 minutes at home on a daily basis. Thank you for your help at home with this. Report Cards: Report cards are issued three times per year. The fall and spring report cards will come home in your child's folder and the final report card will be mailed home. The fall report card has only indicators for "learning attitudes and social skills" and the next two report cards have that plus academic parts.
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School Supplies: School supplies do not need to be labeled. They are "community supplies" in our classroom. The only exceptions that should be labeled are the binder and headphones.
Science: We follow the Next Generation Science Standards in kindergarten. We have three main units: Weather and Climate, Pushes and Pulls and Ecosystems. We also do many STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) challenges throughout the year. Please see the STEM tab on this website to learn more. We have online subscriptions to some great websites that have science content including Pebble Go...please email me if you need the log in info.
Second Step: This is the name of our social emotional curriculum. It uses photos, puppets, songs and little scenarios to help teach students about topics like empathy, dealing with disappointment and taking turns. Our school social worker, Ms. Lynn, helps teach it.
Shoes: If your child is wearing winter boots to school, please send shoes for them to change into. It would be great if you could practice so that your child can switch from boots to shoes (and back again!) independently. Please also practice tying shoes at home!
Sight Words: We have 35 sight words that kindergarters should be able to read and write independently. Here are the flashcards for those sight words: Sight word flashcards
Snack: We will have snack everyday. Snack may only be fruits or vegetables. Applesauce is ok--the pouches are great and mess free. If your child needs silverware, please send it with them. Fruit cups spill easily so if you could drain the juice and just send the fruit in a container, that works better! Also, please be sure your child can peel their clementine or banana on their own or send it pre-peeled. Yogurt or any dips are not permitted. Students may also bring water bottles. We usually have just 5-10 minutes for snack so please keep that in mind when packing your child's snack.
Social Studies: Social studies topics covered are ones connected to holidays and current events such as Thanksgiving and the presidential election.
Special Days: We want to make kindergarten fun! We have many special days: apple taste testing day, our Henking School pumpkin patch, the 50th Day of School (where we dress as if it was 1950!), pajama day, 100th day of school (where we dress like we are 100 years old!), and many more! Please read the weekly email so your child is prepared. The dress up days are optional but fun!
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Testing: There will be some formal testing that we do three times per year to help us understand what your child has mastered and how they are progressing. In the fall, winter and spring all kindergarteners take the STAR test for Early Literacy and Numeracy concepts. We also do AIMS Web Plus testing. These are not tests to study for and are very low stress for students. We call them "show us what you know" tests. We also assess kids in the classroom on skills like letter naming, letter sounds, identifying numbers 1-20, counting to 100 and sight words.
Toys: Please leave toys at home! Thank you!
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Volunteers: There will be many opportunities for parents to assist us this year. Volunteers are greatly appreciated throughout the year to keep our classroom running smoothly. Here is the link to the Volunteer Sign Up: www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a45ada622a64-classroom5
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Writing: We love writing in kindergarten! Providing a risk-free environment is paramount to your child's progress in writing. If possible, please provide your child with writing tools, such as pencils, crayons, markers and paper at home. Your child should be spelling "word wall words" correctly, but can "stretch out" the other words. Here is some writing paper you can download to use at home: wilson_writing_paper.pdf
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You: You are your child's first and most important teacher. Nobody can influence their life like you!
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Zzz's: Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest. Setting and keeping a bedtime is a wonderful gift you can give to your child. It will help them to be alert and ready to learn each day!