Spring 2008 News

KINDERGARTEN NEWS

What a FUN field trip we had to Stuft Pizza. We would like to extend a big thank you to all of the parents that came along to walk with us. The children were so excited and it was extra special to see so many families come along to help. For anyone that missed this trip, our next field trip to the grocery store and the bank will be coming up very soon. Stuft Pizza allows the children to tour the kitchen, help make their pizzas, enjoy eating them and have a drink. We learned that making pizza is fun, but a lot of hard work. When we returned to class, the children wrote that their favorite parts of the trip were eating the pizza (of course), the walk-in refrigerator, the large very hot oven, and watching Junior flip the pizza dough in the air.

JOURNEY WITH CHRIST

Lent began, as we all received ashes on Ash Wednesday to begin our 40-day journey with Christ. Lent is a time for all of us to grow and learn more about God’s awesome love for us. Each child wrote down their Lenten Promise and was asked to take it home and display it in a prominent place. In class, we share our acts of kindness that we are doing in our daily lives and talk about how this can make us become even closer to God. Remember to talk to your children daily during this beautiful Church season about prayer and good deeds. No act of kindness is ever too small to make a difference and this is a time to recognize and honor these good works and grow in our relationship with God. We have already planted our wheat grass and are watching our butterflies grow and change through the four stages of their life cycle. These hands on science experiments are always a class favorite. I am sure the children will keep you posted about our progress with these “miracles of nature”.

Mark your calendars that on April 20 kindergarten will be in charge of the
Out-Reach Dinner in conjunction with Joe Bauer and Community Ministry. It is a great day of service that allows us to get to know the members of our community even better. We set-up, prepare the food, serve, call “bingo” and clean up the entire event. It sounds like a lot of work, but with all of us helping, it ends being much more fun than work. Our room mom’s will send out a sign-up sheet as the day approaches.

READING

On March 3, we celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday by learning about this very famous author. Many children are familiar with his books because they are great beginning readers with fun made-up and memorable characters. We participated in the “Read Across America” day and even had Officer Green from the Police Dept. come in and read Dr. Seuss stories to the kindergarteners. They loved it!

What wonderful growth I have seen in all of the children. Many of your children are bringing in their own “beginning reader/early chapter books” for our read and relax time (previously known as nap time) and are asking to share the books out loud in class. This is very exciting for the children and they are so proud to read in front of the class. It is also one of the many reasons I became a teacher. Thank you for letting me share in your children’s academic growth – it is a blessing to be able to watch. As much fun and marvel goes into watching seeds grow or eggs turn into butterflies – my joy as a teacher comes from watching your children grow everyday. Thank you!!

We are currently on letter “X” and only have five more letters that we have not covered extensively yet. As you know, we have learned all of our vowels (except for “U” and sometimes “Y”) and many of our words have more than one syllable. I encourage you at home now and throughout the summer to start to read beginning leveled readers with your children. These can be purchased through Scholastic or any local book store or as another option, checked out from the library. The children now know enough sounds that with your help and guidance should be starting to read these books (similar to ones we send home in the homework folder every week).

As we finish the alphabet, please continue to review the word lists and keep reading with your child every night. Reading for, at least, 15 minutes every night with your child is invaluable. It is not only a special bonding time for you and your child, but it can assist them academically. Subsequently, this will help reinforce reading concepts that we are learning in class.

Up-Coming Events:

March 19th: 12:30 day

March 20th: Holy Thursday, 12:30 day

March 21st: Good Friday, No School

March 24th – 28th: Spring/Easter Break