Ms. Nelson's Kindergarten:

A World of Learning

It is hard to believe it has already been a month since the first group of children began our school year.  What a busy month it has been!!!  I must honestly say that I have been AMAZED at the progress the class has made.  They have our morning routines down, successfully make it through the lunch line without prompting (and have since their 3rd day), are very willing to try new things, and are eager to learn.  I am so excited about the adventures ahead in our "world of learning."

To help your kindergarten child continue to expand and practice his/her learning at home, there are several activities you can do:

          *  Read DAILY with your child.  Encourage him/her to share what the story was about, how he/she felt about the story, what the story reminds him/her of, information learned from the story, what the pictures told, etc.

          *  Encourage your child to identify letters and words that he/she comes across in daily life:  product labels, store names, restaurant names, game names, book titles, magazine titles, print on clothing, etc.

          *  Practice counting in a variety of ways:  rote (orally), objects, sets, groups, etc.

          *  Practice sorting objects by at least one attribute (trait):  size, color, shape, purpose, number of sides, weight, etc.  There are many daily chores that sorting can be practiced with:  sorting laundry, putting away groceries, setting the table, preparing for different types of activities, preparing for meals, putting toys away, etc.

          *  Practice collecting data:  Ask family and friends about their favorites (animals, food, cereals, colors, holiday, weather, seasons, and so on).  Have your child share what he/she learned.  How can this data be shown?  (graph, list, drawing, etc.)

          *  Encourage your child to use writing for a purpose:  list making (this is great for upcoming holidays and birthdays, as well as grocery or shopping list), letters to share what they are learning with family and friends, inviting family and friends over, remembering a task they need to do at a later time, recording a game score, etc.)

         ***  ALWAYS look for that teachable moment with your child.  Letting him/her know that you are interested in what they are learning and the new skills they have acquired will only encourage them to keep going.  Helping to show your child how this new knowledge is used in everyday life helps them to make the connections and show an understanding of why school and learning is important.  Your attitude towards your child's learning and involvement with his/her development is an ESSENTIAL part of the success that he/she will reach. 

I am excited to announce that I was selected as a winner for a nice gift card from Bounty's Teacher's Wish list Sweepstakes to spend for our class.  As a result, I plan on purchasing a cordless listening center for our class to use.  This will be a great addition to our classroom and our journey to being life-long readers.  Soon, I will be posting our next project on donorschoose.org.  I will be working on building our classroom library of books on "tape" (most are actually on CD now) and the number of books with each.  This will allow children to have their own space when listening to a book on our new system.  Listening to books on tape is a great way for children to hear fluent readers, a variety of texts, and learn good reading skills.  The addition of this center will help strengthen your child's reading development.  Please consider making a donation to our project if you are wanting to do something for our class.  I would also appreciate it if you would pass on the information to anyone you know that supports children's learning.  Businesses can donate too.   We have been blessed with get resources in our class thanks to donorschoose.org.  Thank you for helping spread the word.

Thursday, September 29-  Early Release for Students:  School is dismissed at 12:00.

Friday, September 30-  NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Friday, October 28-  Early Release for Students:  School is dismissed at 12:00.

Monday, October 31-  NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS:  This will be our day for end of quarter parent conferences. 

Please remember to read our weekly newsletter, check your child's Take Home Folder each week, and check ALL parts of the EAGLE Book EVERY day for up-to-date information.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns.  My email address is nelsonjl@rss.k12.nc.us.  My voicemail box is 237 and can be reached by calling the school phone number, 704-278-2203. 

Sincerely

Jennifer Nelson, NBCT

A note from 2008-2009 that I still like to share: