Important Information for Parents of Kindergarteners From Mrs.

Howard
Times of the AM session 8:17 11:25 Times of the PM session 11:59 3:00

Suggested School Supplies

Your child will need to bring these supplies as soon as possible 1. A standard sized backpack or tote bag labeled with your childs name for class papers and art projects. 2. Two large (0.7 oz.) glue sticks (to share with the class). 3. Box of 24 crayons (to share with the class) 4. Box of washable markers (to share with the class) 5. Athletic shoes for gym class, to be worn on our gym day. 6. A homework box, (this stays at home for weekly homework), it should contain scissors (Fiskars are excellent for kids), glue, pencils, and crayons. 7. Liquid hand soap 8. Disinfectant wipes 9. Kleenex or tissues 10. A dollars worth of change for our math centers. Please send it in this form: 2 quarters, 3 dimes, 3 nickels, and 5 pennies. Please send the change in a sealed an envelope or baggie. 11. A box of Ziploc gallon bags or a box of Ziploc sandwich bags. Several times during the year I will ask parents to donate napkins, or paper cups. I will let you know in our weekly newsletter.

Important Information for the school year

1. We have snack every day. Your child will be asked to bring snack about every three weeks all during the school year. Please send nutritious snacks that are easy to serve (cheese/crackers, graham crackers with peanut butter, cut up fruit/vegetables, etc.) Each month you will receive a calendar telling important events and snack days for your child. Please save the calendar, as it will be your reminder when to send snack. You do not need to send a drink with snack as we have a drinking fountain in the room. However, if you wish to do so, please send ONLY clear juice and cups. The children get hungry at school and are disappointed if snack is forgotten. Snacks do not need to be elaborate or expensive, just remembered and provided. 2. I will try to schedule your childs snack day on or near her/his birthday. If you wish to send a special treat on this day that is fine. Please make sure it is easy to serve. 3. Please put your childs name on backpacks, hats, boots, coats, and mittens, etc. When you are purchasing clothing for school, please take your child with you to the store to make sure they can handle the clothing themselves. Teach your child how to zip coats, and work with them in tying shoes. Buy hats that pull on rather than tie and mittens instead of gloves. Remember that I can have up to 26 children to get ready to go outside. 4. Dress your child appropriately for the weather. We go outside for recess. Our room is chilly in the winter. Girls should wear tights or slacks. We will paint and use messy materials all year. Clothing that is easily washed is a necessity. Make sure your childs shoes are rubber soled as slick soled shoes cause accidents on the playground. Dress up clothing is best saved for Sundays. 5. Bus students must have their bus tag on their backpacks for the first two weeks of school. If your child is not riding the bus home for the day you must send a note with your child for that day. If a note is not sent, the child will be put on the bus. 6. Please send back all permission slips for trips, and forms, as soon as possible. No child will be allowed to attend a field trip without a signed slip.

7. Parent volunteers are needed for many jobs in our classroom. I will be asking for help during the school year. Please make sure to fill out your volunteer form so you are able to assist. 8. If you child is going to be absent. Please call the office at 984-6507, to report the reason and the expected return date. If you cannot call, please send a not with your child when they return to school, stating the reason for the absence. If the school is not contacted it will be an unexcused absence. 9. Kindergarten newsletters will come home every Monday. Be sure to read it and keep informed of special events. 10. Homework will come home every Monday as soon as school gets underway. Check your childs backpack everyday for notes. Homework should be returned by Friday. You must have a homework box at home with glue, child sized scissors, crayons, pencils and erasers. 11. We will be participating in the Show and Tell type activity. We will not call it show and tell; we will call it the surprise bag. We will have a person of the day starting September 9th. Person of the day will be the person who brings a snack for the class, brings the surprise bag, and is our line leader and calendar helper for the day. The surprise bag should have something that is special to your child. It could be a souvenir from a vacation, a treasure found on the beach, or a special sleep friend. I ask that with the surprise, you and your child make up three clues for the class to guess. For example, it is red. It is juicy. It is a fruit. Be creative and have fun with this activity. 12. Field Trips and Booster Seats: The State of Michigan now requires all kindergarten age children to travel in a car booster seat. So when we go on a field trip where children will be transported, each child must bring in his/her own booster seat. 13. I welcome your visits, concerns and questions any time during the school year. I will have a parent meeting plus conferences during the school year. If you wish to leave me a message for me call at 984-6507.

Our Learning Environment

The learning environment in Kindergarten is very active, as young children cannot sit for long! Children are involved in learning centers that include reading, math, writing, art, science, dramatic play and blocks. Group times include music and movement activities. We read many times each day. Our activities help your child to be a listener, speaker, beginning reader and writer. They also focus on a child as a thinker and a problem solver. Our reading and writing program is balanced. It involves many activities using phonics and literature. Your child will be using a math program that is designed to teach a wide range of concepts. This program stresses real-life math experiences rather than pages of worksheets. Over the school year, children will work with patterns, sorting, classifying, number writing, number value, counting, graphing, measurement, money, time and problem solving.

Parents and Teachers working together

You are the expert on your own child; you understand their learning style and know their temperament. My goal is to have your child enjoy school and be ready for first grade. I cannot do it without you. I will have your child for about 15 hours per week and share them with up to 26 other children. I need your support with learning concepts taught during the school day. The newsletters and homework will keep you informed of what we are covering each week and what needs to be reinforced at home.

Expectations for success in Kindergarten

By the end of the school year, your child should be able to recognize all upper and lower case letters, understand many concepts about reading, know most beginning sounds, count to 100 and write numbers through 20. These will all be reviewed on a daily basis at school and will need to be reinforced at home. Some children will learn to read and others will develop a more complex understanding of math.

What parents need to teach at home

Your child needs to know his or her birth date, address, phone number and how to tie shoes.

Please save this for future reference.

I am looking forward to an exciting adventure with your child on this first official year of formal school.

Mrs. Michelle Howard