We are enjoying getting to know your children! What a sweet treasure to be entrusted with helping to mold their hearts and minds. We hope that your first week was a joyful and peaceful one. Do not be afraid to reach out to us or other parents if you feel overwhelmed or need some tips. Please make sure you have been added to our Private Kindergarten Facebook page as that is a wealth of information and encouragement!
The next few weeks in class we are going to be learning about the special Fruits of the Spirit! These are actions that come from our heart when our heart is in the right place. These actions will help us to be wonderful students and friends. We will work on growing our fruit all year long!
Mark 12:30 is our Kindergarten verse which we will recite every day.
Continue daily practice of the 26 individual letter phonograms from step 1 of All About Spelling. We will be working through step 4 of All About Spelling because the lessons are applicable to reading. After step 4, we will be taking a break to establish reading prior to introducing spelling.
Important Dates:
8/17 - Moms in Prayer 9-10
8/26 - Pizza Day/Spirit Day/DOGS day! Students can wear a Fortis T-shirt and jeans or uniform bottoms.
8/26 - Pizza Day/Spirit Day/DOGS day! Students can wear a Fortis T-shirt and jeans or uniform bottoms.
8/31 - Grammar Play Date 3-4 at the Fortis Playground.
8/30 - Open House 6-7
9/7 - Labor Day: No School (Since most holidays fall on Mondays, we have decided that Tuesday in-school classes will also be cancelled when Mondays are holidays).
9/7 - Labor Day: No School (Since most holidays fall on Mondays, we have decided that Tuesday in-school classes will also be cancelled when Mondays are holidays).
Math - This week we will be introducing the Estimation Jar...a kindergarten favorite. We will be practicing our estimation and counting skills each day by guessing how many objects are in the jar then counting them. If your child's guess is closest to the actual number of items in the jar then he/she will be able to take the jar home. When your child comes home with the plastic jar please put up to 100 (no more than 100 please) of any object in the jar. Please do not tell your child how many objects are in the jar so that they can participate in the following day's guess! Anything from around the house is great. Examples include cotton balls, toy cars, markers, small candies, clothespins, unifix cubes, oranges, etc. You do not have to fill the whole jar! Please return the jar on the next class day after you receive it. Thank you so much for helping make math fun for your child!
Reading:
- Please use this time to go over letter sounds! (Yellow Phonograms)
- Ideas: *call out a phonogram and have student write it with sidewalk chalk, wet paintbrush on sidewalk, shaving cream, a tray with sand or salt, playdough, etc. * Play hopscotch with phonograms. They have to say the sound before hopping to the next.
- Read quality literature to your child to encourage the love of beautiful books!
Writing:
- Please have your child practice writing their first name correctly (beginning with a capital and the rest lower case).
- Check for proper grip and that your child is starting their letter formation in the correct spot (from the top).
- Click here for a short video to help with correct pencil grip and using the handwriting paper correctly.
Spelling:
- If you have not already done so, please read over pages 6-14 in the AAS book to familiarize yourself with it.
- Phonograms, phonograms, phonograms! Go over them at least twice each home day.
- This week we begin oral segmenting. This is a crucial step for beginning readers. Please continue to practice this skill using your "chips" like the manual shows. **This can be a difficult skill for some students, so practice it each day at the beginning of your AAS lessons.
History:
- This week we are discussing what history is, what is important to include in history, and how to measure history. It began with God and it is HIS story. For an optional extension activity at home, you could make a family tree starting with your child, then parents (you), grandparents for both sides and discuss that if we continued to fill this tree in, we would get to Adam and Eve.
Science:
- This week we will begin our study of the Solar System!
- "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!...When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the starts, which thou hast ordained." Psalm 8:1,3
- We will be discussing what this scripture teaches us that God made and start practicing the order of the planets in our solar system.
Geography:
- Kindergarteners will be expected to be able to point to the Continents and Oceans on a map. The song that we will be using in class can be found under "Curricula", then "Geography", K-6, on the Fortis website or found here.
Memory Work:
- We have introduced 'Jesus Died Your Soul to Save' in class. This poem will be assessed on September 29th. Please practice daily! Don't miss the opportunity to really discuss with your child the meaning of this beautiful poem.
