SCHOOL SUPPLIES
I will supply your child with all the tools he/she will need in Kindergarten. I have already given your child his/her own pencil box to use in our classroom. It contains a school pencil, crayons, glue stick, and scissors. At this time, it is not necessary to send in any other supplies. However, if you wish to purchase supplies to be used by all the children in our classroom, we can always use additional glue sticks, markers, pencils, colored pencils, etc. These extra supplies will be placed in our classroom writing center and will be used by all our Kindergarten friends.
CALENDAR
We will have a calendar/circle time daily. During this time, your child will be learning the days of the week, months of the year, reading and writing simple words and sentences, and various math activities including adding, subtracting, graphing, printing and recognizing numbers to 100. We will be printing “incredible equations” for the date. We will be counting the days we’ve been in school. We will be graphing the weather. We will be printing and reading the daily news.
HANDWRITING
We will be following the Zaner-Bloser handwriting program. In the beginning of the year, we will focus on the proper techniques of posture, pencil grip, and letter formation. As the year progresses, we will focus on staying in the lines. Handwriting is a developmental skill that requires daily fine motor practice. Watch your child as he/she forms letters. Letters should always start from the top of the page, NOT the bottom. Check to see that he/she is holding the pencil correctly. The pencil should be held between the thumb and the first two fingers. The first finger rests on top of the pencil. The end of the bent thumb is placed against the side of the pencil to hold it. The pencil should rest on the side of the middle finger. Child should grip pencil about one inch from the point.
FLEXIBLE GROUPS
CURRICULUM 
READING/LANGUAGE ARTS/PHONICS
Our reading readiness activities are integrated throughout our day. We are using the Houghton Mifflin reading series. We will be working on phonemic awareness activities which include skills such as sound word discrimination, rhyming, blending, and segmenting words. We will also be working on alphabetical principle activities which include recognizing letters, printing letters, matching letters to sounds, and blending one syllable words. Throughout the year, we will be learning sight words and your child should be able to read some words in story format with understanding. Another component to our language arts program is understanding different types of literature. This includes things such as listening to and retelling stories, and identifying the setting, main characters and sequence of events in stories. Your child will bring home a monthly reading log. Please take at least 5 minutes each day to read to or with your child.
MATHEMATICS
Our math instruction is integrated throughout our school day. We will be following the Harcourt math series. We have already begun to learn about colors and shapes. We will continue to learn to recognize and print different numbers. Your child should be able to orally count and print numbers to 100 by the end of the year. Some other math skills we will work on are simple addition, subtraction, graphing, patterning, estimating, sequencing, and understanding sets of numbers. Later in the year, we will be introduced to telling time, recognizing and counting money, and fractions.
SCIENCE and SOCIAL STUDIES
These areas of our curriculum are integrated throughout the school year with our reading program. Many of our reading stories and thematic units include topics of discussion in these areas.
HEALTH and WELLNESS
Your child has enjoyed receiving a free school lunch during the first week of school. I hope by now, your child feels comfortable with the lunch procedures. Lunches are $2.00 per day. Your child is assigned a student idenification number and a lunch account. You can add money to your child's account at anytime during the school year. Simply place the money in an envelope and label it with your child’s name, identification number and Kindergarten – Mrs. Barron. Checks can be made payable to DASD Cafeteria Fund. If you choose to send money daily, I can not be responsible for cash lost in the classroom.
As the year progresses, snacks and ice cream treats will be available on Friday’s for an additional .70. This money needs to be retrieved from your child's lunch account.
SNACK
We have an afternoon snack time daily. Your child should bring one healthy snack to school each day. PLEASE do not put your afternoon snack in your child’s lunch box. It should be packed separately. Make sure your child knows that the snack is for the afternoon and not to be eaten at lunch time. I will have a few extra snacks in the event that your child may forget one. Any additional snacks that you are able to send in would be greatly appreciated. They can be sent in any time during the school year. If your child is sending a birthday treat to school, we will have the treat during our afternoon snack time.
REST/QUIET TIME
CENTERS
We will be doing a lot of center activities this school year. The children are separated into 6 or 7 small groups which rotate through different types of skills to build upon each child’s developmental level. These activities will include areas of free play (socialization), art (fine motor skills), reading readiness, handwriting, math, and computers, while incorporating the theme of the day. Centers are a way for children to learn to work independently on a project or cooperatively in a group. This enables me to get to know each child personally and help where help is needed.
RULES 
You and your child should have already received a copy of our classroom ‘I CAN” rules. Thank you for discussing it with your child and returning the signed copy to school. Our I CAN rules are:
1. I CAN BE KIND !
2. I CAN USE A QUIET VOICE !
3. I CAN FOLLOW DIRECTIONS !
We will continue to focus on positive reinforcement for Excellent and Good school behavior. I want your child to be successful and develop a positive attitude towards school. However, my job is to teach all the children in the classroom. I can not let one child prevent me from doing my job. All children in our classroom should feel safe, comfortable, and successful in school. If your child has difficulty following these simple school rules, I will contact you so that we may work together for the safety and well being of all the children. Each child in my room is entitled to the same amount of attention and support. Our Kindergarten allows for socialization and fun activities, but it is still a formal learning environment.
My goal for your child is to learn how to resolve conflicts by himself/herself. I encourage each child to become an expert “Problem Solver”. Therefore, when a problem arises between two or more students, I will discuss what happened with all students involved and together we will come up with a plan of how to solve the problem. I will not immediately give your child the “answer”. We will discuss the “choices” your child has to resolve the problem and what is the best choice he/she can make. We will discuss the difference between “tattling” and “telling”. “Tattling” is telling the teacher something to get someone into trouble. “Telling” is telling the teacher something to get someone out of trouble. Our classroom has made a friendship club and each child in the room will be treated fairly and show respect towards one another. We have one rule in our classroom and that is simply BE KIND !!!
HOMEWORK
Your child will have simple homework assignments. Homework is a very important part of our Kindergarten curriculum. It is a way for you to keep informed on what your child is learning in school. Please remember that it is your child’s’ homework and he/she should be the one completing it. Your child will have different homework folders. Sometimes your child may bring home an assignment which needs to be completed and returned the very next school day. Later in the year, as we begin to focus on letter sounds, your child will receive weekly homework assignments. A special folder will come home on a Monday and will need to be returned by Thursday. It is very important that the homework be placed in thefolder and thefolder returned to school. We will share our homework in class on Friday.
Your child will also have a special on-going individualized homework assignment. He/She will bring home a separate FAST START Folder. This folder will contain a poem and a family activity sheet. You and your child are to read the poem together. Spend a few minutes doing the activities on the family page. As you complete an activity, simply check it off. You can keep the folder at home as long as needed to complete each poem’s activities. These activities will seem “hard” and “challenging” in the beginning of the year, but please do not give up. These are very important pre-reading skills that your child will need to learn to become a successful reader. Some children will go through the poems quickly, others will take a little more time. Your child does not need to master all of the activities on the page, rather, just become familiar with them. Your child will receive a star for each poem completed. When your child finishes 3 poems, he/she will receive a ticket to go to the school prize box.
*** As a reminder, if you have a special note that must get to me, please DO NOT put it in the homework folder as I may not have enough time during the school day to look through all the folders. The note should be pinned to your child’s shirt where it is visible for me to see.
If your child needs to take medication during the school day, it should be sent to school in a clearly labeled bag with precise directions. The medication will be locked up in the nurse’s office and your child will go to her office at the designated times to take the medication. (This includes cough drops.) Our school nurse is Mrs. Freas.
ATTIRE
Please note, it is not necessary to dress children in their best clothes for school. We often use paint and glue. We also try to go outdoors for fresh air when the weather cooperates. Your child should be dressed comfortably everyday and in clothing your child can manage alone. It is embarrassing for a child to not be able to button their pants or undo a belt. I am not permitted to go into a restroom to help your child dress or undress. Also please be sure your child’s’ footwear is appropriate for outdoors and the playground. As the weather gets cooler, be sure to send a light jacket for outdoor activities. Your child should be able to put on his/her own jacket. Please take a few minutes to practice those important Kindergarten readiness skills of zipping, buttoning, snapping, and tying.
We do go outdoors during the winter months (if the weather is above freezing). If your child wishes to play in the snow, he/she must have boots, snow pants, and waterproof gloves.
We are very busy in Kindergarten. If you are able to volunteer some of your time to help prepare classroom materials, please let me know. There are always things that need cut out or copied. If you are able to come into our classroom to help with a special project or activity, please let me know. If you are unable to come into the classroom but would like to volunteer to do work at home or send in supplies for special activities, please let me know. Also, if you have a special talent or hobby or activity that you would like to share with our class, again, please let me know. Just drop me a note and I will see what I can do. Thanks a million.
