10 Days in Kindergarten

It has been a fast two weeks! I can't believe that we're moving into the third week of school.

In 10 days we have accomplished a lot!

We have learned how to walk in a line with calm bodies and silent voices.

We have built our stamina to sit at our learning carpet for 10-15 minutes at a time.

We have learned how to use the tools in our classroom, including pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, math manipulatives, classroom library books (among other things!)

We learned how to make an AB pattern and an AAB pattern.

  We developed our fine motor skills.

We learned about the letters S, M, R and T. We wrote the letter, read the letter and felt the letter! We identified words that began with each letter. We learned songs that focused on each letter.

We began building our reading stamina. We learned what "Independent Reading" means. Our eyes are on the book, our brain is thinking about the book, our bodies are in our seats and we are reading silently or with a whisper voice. We are not talking to anyone around us. Right now, we are able to do that for 1 minute. Our goal is 10 minutes.

We also started developing some social skills during our "Choice Time" every day. The children have the opportunity to choose an activity and play together in the classroom. During this time we learn about problem solving, sharing and working together.

Our class is doing a great job! We have already gotten multiple compliments about our hallway, specialist (PE, Music and Library and cafeteria behavior. Several of our students have been awarded grizzly tickets for their behavior.

We work hard every day. I am certain that your child is coming home tired every day. For this reason, I will not be sending a lot of homework home. I believe that if children work hard at school, they should have a break at home. Every child should be read to every night. This is a way to develop their literacy skills at home. Soon they will be able to read to you.

Also, please make sure that your child is getting plenty of sleep every night.

Every parent is more than welcome to come into the classroom. My only request is that you have your child come to class in the morning by themselves. They need to put their backpacks away and get right into our morning routine. This helps with continuity and cuts down on distractions at the beginning of our day. Routine is very important at this age.

Important Dates:

September 24th and 26th are conference days for Kindergarten. An email was sent to you asking you to sign up for a time. Please respond, if you have not already, with a time that works for you. If none of the times work, please let me know and we will work something out.

Remember that every Wednesday is early release at 1:15 PM.


October 7th is picture day! I sent home a picture order packet home on Friday. Please return it before picture day!

On Friday, October 10th there is no school.

October 21st-24th are all early release days for parent-teacher conferences. You will not be required to schedule a conference during these dates, since kindergarten is meeting earlier in the month.

On October 30th we will be going to the Bi-Zi Farm Pumpkin Patch for our science unit. More information will be coming out about this.

Have a great week! If you have any questions, please feel to contact me!

Mr. Mason