What a fun week we have had!  I do believe we can probably say that every week! 😉 

We continued exploring SEL concepts this week by learning about the Zones of Regulation. We talked about how we all experience many different feelings, and this fun image helps us see how they can be grouped into different zones. All feelings are normal—it’s what we do with them that matters—and we are practicing strategies to help us return to the green zone.

We continued our social studies Civics lessons this week, focusing on treating others fairly, treating others equally, and being a good listener. These lessons help us learn what it means to be a responsible and caring member of our community.  

Our class began a new math unit called Counting Quantities, comparing lengths.  The focus is on counting and comparing quantities and beginning to explore measurement by directly comparing objects to see which is longer. 

Reminders:

**Please send in extra clothes for your child regularly, especially if they are having accidents at school.  Also, it would be really great to have some plastic bags donated for this reason. Thank you so much!**

• October 1st ~ Recycle Rhonda visit

• October 2nd & 3rd ~ NO SCHOOL 

• October 6th ~ Kindergarten Field Trip to Chapin: Please send in apple-picking permission slips, as our trip is coming up!

• October 8th ~ Student 2hr Early Release Day

• October 9th ~ UCS Open House (6:00 -7:00p) 

• October 10th ~ Visit from UJFD during All-School Morning Meeting 

 

This Monday marks the autumn equinox, when the whole earth receives equal amounts of daylight and darkness. Consistent fall weather will surely be on its way soon! Please continue to wear lots of layers!

This week, we continued our work on social thinking. We talked about how our brain is our thought maker and our heart is our feelings keeper. The ability to think of others, play collaboratively, and build lasting friendships all begin with our thoughts. We’re practicing noticing our own thoughts while also considering others’ as we act and react. Your child may have mentioned our red, yellow, and green thoughts—very similar to a traffic light!

In Literacy, we began a new unit that takes us on a journey with scientists, learning how their curiosity and drive to discover answers help them succeed. While reading, we are practicing our comprehension and reflecting on the characters and events of the story. We are also exploring the alphabet—learning each letter and sound, and noticing how we use our tongue, lips, and breath to make them.

In Social Studies, we’ve been working on our Civics unit, which focuses on how to be a good citizen. We’ve discussed being unique and the importance of contributing to a community. This week, our lessons will explore including others, equality, and listening.

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Looking ahead, I’d love for our class to pick lemon balm from the garden and make our annual lemon balm cookies. The recipe is simple—lemon balm, butter, confectioners’ sugar, flour, and lemon zest. Please let me know if this will not work for your child.

I would also like to begin having tea time in the classroom. Again, please let me know if this will not work for your child.

 Hello!

This week in math, students have been exploring the 5-frame. It’s a powerful visual tool that helps children see how numbers relate to each other (for example, 3 is 2 less than 5). Using the 5-frame, children begin to recognize “how many” at a glance, building their subitizing skills—the ability to instantly recognize a quantity without counting.

In our classroom community, we read books and had thoughtful discussions about how each of us is unique, and how those differences make our class a wonderful place to learn together. We also began our self-portraits, which we’ll continue working on next week. As part of our community-building, students brainstormed a wide variety of classroom “rules”—ranging from the silly (“don’t jump out of windows”) to the serious (“don’t hurt others” or “don’t break things”). After sorting them into categories, we noticed a pattern and decided our guiding expectations could be summed up simply: respect yourself, respect others, and respect the environment.

During ECO, we walked up to our outdoor classroom, the Bobcat Den. We reviewed our routines in the woods: singing songs, reading a book, or doing an activity, and then free exploration. Free explore time can look like theatrical performances on the stage, fort building, weaving, nature discoveries, and other creative play. This group showed great respect for each other and the space, choosing safe and imaginative ways to spend their time. I’m excited to see what possibilities this year will bring!

Important Dates:

• September 25th ~ Student Picture Day

• September 26th ~ Annual Zucchini Relays

• October 2nd & 3rd ~ NO SCHOOL 

• Field Trip - Save the Date!

     Monday, October 6th

     The Kindergarten classes will be going to Chapin Orchard on Monday, October 6th. Parents are welcome to join us       but must fill out the district volunteer screening. Please complete this form if you would like to volunteer on this field       trip or other field trips in the future. We will send a permission slip home soon. 

• October 8th ~ Student 2hr Early Release Day

• October 9th ~ UCS Open House (6:00p) 

Week 2

Greetings!

What a wonderful week of learning and growing together! This crew not only works and plays so well as a team, but they are also incredible cleaners—so impressive!

Our kindergartners practiced holding their pencils with a fun song and activity. They’ve had plenty of opportunities to paint, cut with scissors, and color. I love weaving the Arts into our learning, and all of these activities are fantastic ways to strengthen the fine motor skills in their little hands.

We also began our social-emotional learning this week. Ask your child about the group plan and what body in the group mean! A group plan is something we often follow at school, at home, or even on playdates. Group activities usually mean we’re all working together on a shared plan, while there are also times for our me plan, which are important too. The key is learning to recognize when it’s time for “we” and when it’s time for “me.”

“Body in the group” helps us think about how we move together as a class. Outdoors, I like to describe it as moving like a school of fish. It’s also about remembering that everyone needs their own space. Along with this, we practiced whole-body listening—another skill that helps us build a caring and safe classroom community. These are not only classroom expectations but also lifelong skills!

We also had our first ECO of the year! We spent time exploring the beautiful garden, starting with a book that sparked our curiosity about the world around us. Using paint chips, we searched for matching colors in nature—and amazingly, we found a match for every single one! This activity tied perfectly to the idea that, just like us, our natural world is full of diversity. It’s that diversity that makes our world so vibrant and helps it thrive.

Important Dates:

Wednesday 9/10  Scholastic Book Orders will be submitted!!

Wednesday 9/10 Early Dismissal