Dear Terrific Parents,
The first week is always full of challenges however your wonderful kids really stepped up to them!!
We toured the school, including the cafeteria, specials rooms, upstairs (just because they wanted to see it!), office, and most importantly the bathrooms. In the interest of safety, Kinders are always asked to go to the closest bathroom. This will depend entirely on where they are in the school, of course. This will probably take some time to adjust to but we're quickly learning to navigate our very large school. We also walked the perimeter of the playground boundary (side playground adjacent to parking lot) since they play there after lunch.
Other necessary and routine procedures were covered throughout the week to keep our kids happy and safe at BECS. On that note, please encourage your child to enter into the fenced playground at drop-off and pick-up times. Children that run to greet parents during these transitions compromise everyones safety. At drop off, escort your child into the fenced area. At pick-up, we assemble in area inside the fence. Please come inside the fence to pick up your child from that designated area. I know it may sound rather rigid but it's all in the interest of your child's safety. Plus, Kindergarten teachers get 10 gray hairs everytime a kiddo runs!! So, please do your part in keeping my hair it's current color!;o)
We looked at two important Aesop fables: The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Tortoise and the Hare. I feel both illustrate the importance of a consistant work ethic. The former also relates to our Habit of putting first things first (also known as Work, then Play).
I've introduced quite a bit of fine motor work in the Practical Life Area: large and small water transfer, lace cards, bead stringing (for now random order and eventually specific patterns), and sorting by color, geo-board (with written extension for some).
Introduced in the Language Area: geometric insets (circle, square, ellipse, oval, triangle), concentration/memory games, letter tracing, name/letter and number writing (paper and in the sandtray), proper use of the library corner, initial comprehension exercises based on Aesop fables, BrainPopjr videos on public signs/meaning/safety, BrainPopjr videos regarding peer relationships (being a good friend, what to do when you're angry) and and Starfall.com on the computer.
Pre-Math/Sensorial/Math: Knobbed/Knobbless Cylinders, Lavendar Tower, Broad stair, white cubes (presently just exploratory), number/quantity associations (0-9), and linear counting.
All of Science is currently exploratory but that will change this week with the introduction of Living/Non-Living work.
Other highlights of the week included a visit from our wonderful Principal Roberta Harrell who dropped in to read a story Monday afternoon! The kids loved it!
Thanks so much for all the parental support this week! I can't do it without you!!
More good news later!!
Sincerely,
Mel Wojcik
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