Mrs. Welcomer's Class News

Hello Families,

Our week was short, but productive! 

This week in social emotional learning we focused on the concept of “thinking with your eyes.” This concept helps children understand there is a purpose for observing others and the environment. “Our eyes are like arrows”, they point to what we are looking at, which suggests what we or others are thinking about. “Thinking with our eyes” is something that we will continue to work on as a group.

We read the book, Gratitude Soup, by Olivia Rosewood. This is a lovely book to talk about the importance of practicing gratitude with children. There is scientific evidence showing that gratitude dramatically changes brain chemistry, leading to a peaceful mind and healthy body. In one study performed at UC Davis, published in the Journal of School Psychology, those who had a daily gratitude activity had more positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness, and energy. Gratitude can lead to fewer physical ailments, as well as an enhanced feeling of well being. Children who practiced gratitude showed more positive attitudes toward their school and their families. They are less likely to judge others, and also less jealous. They are more likely to share and to want to help. Without a doubt, gratitude is a powerful life tool and part of our mindful moments each day.

In math we continued to work with; identifying shapes by their attributes, naming shapes and drawing shapes. We had a fun math talk about shapes and how they are similar and different. The children got lots of opportunities to talk about their thoughts. I am proud of the class. They are learning how to give each other time to think and they are beginning to understand the importance of listening to others' ideas.

We are doing shared writing each week. Shared writing is a collaborative technique teachers use to help children develop ways to begin to write or to improve their writing. Shared writing gives children a model of how the writing process works. Some mechanics of writing we are beginning to learn about include; leaving spaces between words, understanding punctuation and listening to the beginning sounds of words.

In Bridge to Reading we focussed on the sounds /m/, /s/ and

 /a/. We are also working on hearing words that rhyme and matching pictures that rhyme, listening for beginning and ending sounds in a word, and creating/blending new words that are made from two words. We also began using our handwriting program, Handwriting Without Tears. Handwriting Without Tears provides developmentally appropriate instruction for handwriting and number writing. The letters “s” and “a” this week were particularly tricky for many students. Please see this week’s Bridge to Reading Parent handout to practice these letters at home.

Please remember that the week of Sept. 23-27  is parent teacher conference week. All kindergarten students will attend school each day 8:15-11:45. There will not be early and later friend schedules. If you have not signed up for a conference, please do so on the sign up on our website or the All Things K2 that Jennifer Lamba sent out. I am looking forward to meeting all of you during your scheduled conference time. A parent-teacher conference is a great opportunity to share students' strengths, needs, behaviors, and answer any questions. 

Have a wonderful weekend! - Katherine