Read with your child every night.  You can also practice the high frequency words that are on the ring in your child's folder.

A Day:  P.E.   

B Day:  Music   

C Day:  P.E. 

D Day:  Art   

Our class has Library every Thursday.

In Kindergarten, we use Heggerty and 95 Percent Phonics.  Learning to read is hard work, but it will be fun too, because your child will be using a highly motivational program.  

Phonics

The kindergarten program begins teaching children the foundational skills they need to become successful readers and writers. The program focuses on teaching phonics skills based on the science of reading, providing a systematic approach to learning letter-sound correspondences and foundational reading skills through whole-class instruction.  Students learn the letters of the alphabet, one sound for each letter, and how to blend the letter-sounds to decode words. They are also taught how to write the uppercase and lowercase forms of each letter and to encode (spell) words with the letters and sounds they've been taught.

Our Kindergarten math program is called Eureka Math² .  Eureka Math² helps students establish a foundational understanding of mathematics (the why) rather than only relying on procedural skills (the how).  Students begin to build and strengthen their reasoning and critical-thinking skills, which they can apply to solve real-world problems and also apply them  to many real-world situations. 
As we begin each unit, you will receive a Family Letter explaining the unit and what your child will be learning. 

Our primary focus is introducing your child to the importance of Math in his/her everyday life.  Our Kindergarten Math Units include:

• Counting and Cardinality

• Two- and Three- Dimensional Shapes

• Comparison

• Composition and Decomposition

• Addition and Subtraction

• Place Value Foundations

Our district has adopted a new Science program entitled STEMscopes. The children will begin to understand scientific concepts and skills as he/she engages in investigations about weather, energy from the sun, plant and animal needs and speed and direction.  The units of study include:

• Weather Conditions and Measurement of Weather:  Students are expected to use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.

• Energy from the Sun:  Students are expected to make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface.

• Speed and Direction:  Students are expected to plan and conduct investigations to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.

• Animal and Plant Needs:  Students are expected to use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. Students are also expected to construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.

In addition to STEMscopes, we will also incorporate two units from Project Lead the WAY (PLTW).  PLTW empowers students to develop and apply in-demand, transportable skills by exploring real world challenges.  Students learn to solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate, and collaborate.  Two PLTW units of study that students will learn this year are Structures and Functions and Pushes and Pulls.

• Structures and Functions: Exploring Design:  Students will discover the design process and how engineers influence their lives.  Then, in smaller groups, the students will design, build, and test a structure out of available materials to withstand a force.  The students will also use the design process to sketch, build, test, and reflect on a new paintbrush design.

• Pushes and Pulls:  Students will explore and identify forces as pushes and pulls through books, a scavenger hunt, learning centers, and observation of daily activities.  Students will identify the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.  Students will use the design process to design, build, test, and reflect on a model that can move a heavy object up a ramp using pushes and/or pulls.

The social studies program at the Kindergarten level focuses on helping students develop awareness of self as a growing individual.  The child's unique qualities as well as similarities to others are stressed.  Children learn about values, ideas, customs, and traditions. In addition, the child's relationship with others in the classroom and the school become sources for social studies learning. Social interaction skills are integral to the Kindergarten program.  Children also begin to learn about their role as citizens by accepting rights and responsibilities in the classroom and by learning about rules and laws.