Mrs. Miller & Mrs. O'Toole's Kindergarten Class

Please remember that there is No School Monday, Oct. 12th. It is a Professional Development Day for our district teachers.

Our popsicle party today was a great way to close out the week. Our classroom friends filled our puff jar by following the group plan and working together to earn their sweet treat celebration. Hooray for our wonderful K1 community!

In Bridge to Reading we worked a lot with sight words/Red Words: finding them in readers, poems and in various print. We practiced writing them, sang about them and used them in our story writing. We focused on the letter sounds, /h/, /r/ and /l /this week. Please look at this week’s A Peek at our Week handout. It has lots of ideas to support your child’s growing reading skills at home. Please continue to practice these important words at home with your child.

In math, we worked with five frames and ten frames, and identified and wrote numbers 0 to 10. A ten frame is a simple graphic tool that allows people to “see” numbers. Understanding that numbers are composed of tens and ones is an important foundational concept, setting the stage for work with larger numbers. A strong sense of "ten" is a prerequisite for place value understanding and mental calculations. The students worked together in pairs or small groups and  played number building games with cards, dice and counting cubes. Not only is playing math games  a fun way for the students to learn their numbers, but it also focuses on the social aspects of taking turns, working together and good sportsmanship.

Our theme this week was bats. We sang about these nocturnal mammals, recited poems and read so many informational books about these amazing animals. Our curious learners amazed us with how much they absorbed about different types of bats, where they roost, and their role in the ecosystem. We created spooky moons with water colors and coffee filters, added cutout bats, and made fun bat hats. Ask your child to share a favorite bat fact!

In social emotional learning, we continued to talk about expected and unexpected behavior. We read the fun book, “What would Danny do?” to help the children understand this concept. The main take away is that when someone has expected behavior, everyone feels comfortable and safe, and when someone has unexpected behavior, people feel uncomfortable. Using this same language at home when needed will help your child understand the importance of expected behavior.

Our Annual Rainbow Run is Friday, Nov. 6th. All kindergarten students are invited to wear the color red that day. We will be running on the lower track from 9:40-10:00 that day. All families are invited to cheer us on! 

Looking ahead to Halloween, please remember that ALL KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS attend 8:15-11:45. There will be a Kindergarten Halloween parade at 11:00 on the lower playground. All families are invited to attend! It is always an exciting time. Please take a minute and read what Mrs. Thallaug wrote concerning costumes.

Halloween: 

Halloween is getting closer! As your family plans costumes, please keep Springhill’s guidelines in mind. We value diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Costumes must not stereotype a culture or group of people or be offensive to any racial, ethnic, or religious group.

• Costumes and themes must be age appropriate.
• No costumes promoting or suggesting violence or terror.
• No costume weapons or large accessories.
• No masks or makeup that obscure vision or make faces unrecognizable. For safety, students’ faces must remain visible at all times.
• No inflatable or bulky costumes that limit movement or the ability to sit in a chair.

Thank you parents for volunteering this week! If you have not had the opportunity to sign up yet, there are plenty of opportunities to join us.

Have a wonderful long weekend.

-Kathy & Stephanie