Mini Economy

We are off to a great start with mini economy. The children were assigned jobs for the week. They do their jobs at the end of the day and then they receive their pay for a job well done. On Friday afternoon the children will have the opportunity to visit Mrs. Catton's Kindergarten Store. They will have the opportunity to purchase from the store or they may choose to save their money until they have earned enough to purchase a more expensive item from the store. I am going to encourage saving. We got some really great items donated for the store- pencils,erasers, note pads, puzzles, books, play doh, matchbox cars, etc. Feel free to continue to send in items that you may run across when you are out shopping ( the dollar store is awesome especially after a holiday). I am really proud of how seriously the kids take their jobs!

Being paid after doing our jobs.

Using the Smartboard during math workshop!

Student ambassadors sharing a lesson on respect.

February- What's Happening

Wow! I can't believe that we are into February already. After a crazy January with snow days and delays we really have no time to waste. In language arts if your child knows all of their letters and sounds they should be working on site words and sounding out words as well as rhyme (Dr. Seuss books are great for hearing rhyme as well as poems), writing simple words by sounding out and writing the letters of the sounds they hear (do not worry about correct spelling at this point), identifying beginning, middle and ending sounds in words, and reading emergent text (remember that retelling a story, reading the pictures and reading the words are the three ways kindergarteners can read text). If your child cannot identify all of the letters of the alphabet capital and lowercase yet that needs to be their only focus. In math if your child can identify numbers 0-10 and can accurately count a set to a number they should be working on 11-20 identification and accurately counting a set to a number. If they can not accurately identify 0-10 and count a set to number they need to focus on those numbers and not worry about 11-20 at this point. We are talking about feelings, health and nutrition, President's Day, and dental health this month. We will be taking a field trip to Ruth Lilly on Thursday, February 27 to help us learn about what we can do to keep ourself healthy. More information about the field trip will be coming later in the month.

What's Happening

We are very busy this last week of January and hopefully we will be in school for a full week of full day! Next week is Catholic Schools Week. We will be celebrating that we attend a Catholic School. I love teaching in a Catholic School where I get to share my faith with my students and help to develop theirs. I have high expectation for my students in regards to their school work as well as their behavior. I believe that growth comes during the journey and that is one of the main reasons I love early childhood education because it is all about growth and setting the foundation for future success in school and in life. Please check the school newsletter for information on the color of shirt your child can wear each day with their school pants or jumper. Each color is significant of a theme we will be focusing on each day in a community circle. It is okay to wear the different color of shirt on gym day with their gym shorts and sweatpants.  We have our Eric Carle field trip on Wednesday. I will be informing chaperones who were chosen as soon as I make sure that all necessary paperwork is in the office. Thursday is 100's Day in Kindergarten. Each child has homework in their Friday folder to prepare for this day. If you want to come in and help out at 100's Day centers or volunteer in the classroom at anytime (this includes class parities) you will need to have a signed Code of Conduct, completed Safe and Sacred on line (this replaced Virtus) and the certificate turned into the office, and a background check filled out and on file with the office. The Code of Conduct and background check can be downloaded from the Holy Spirit website and Safe and Sacred can be taken online at safeandsacred-archindy.org. This is mandated through the Archdiocese.

Morning work. Busy making sympathy cards for Mrs Parsons