As I write this, I hope your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I joke that I go “home for the holidays” (to my parents’ in Marblehead), but it is always nice to be with family and friends at this time year. Black Friday sales (we were out at 6 a.m.) and holiday movies are a fun way to spend your vacation. This kindergarten teacher gives the new muppet movie two thumbs up!

What a great morning we had on Tuesday! Being that I was “in the show” I didn’t get to really see our performance, so thank you to those parents who have sent me pictures! The kids definitely loved it and one even asked, “Can we do that again?” (Not for awhile…but we’ll see.) 🙂

The Full Cast!

December means not only lots of holiday excitement, but also our first term report cards and parent conferences. If you’ve had a child in Kindergarten before, the report card will look a little different this time. Last year we updated the report card to more accurately reflect our current curriculum and standards.

The Kindergarten report card uses the numbers 1 – 4 to explain your child’s progress.
1 – demonstrates independent consistent application of concepts and skills
A 1 means the child does not need any assistance and goes above and beyond to enhance their own learning
2 – Demonstrates application of concepts and skills
A 2 means the child is able to do many things without assistance and is becoming an independent learner
3 – Demonstrates developing understanding of concepts and skills
A 3 means the child is emerging in their skills and may need some adult assistance, but not all the time
4 – Demonstrates some understanding of concepts and skills with assistance
A 4 means the child requires assistance much of the time and just emerging in their skills

At our parent conference, we will discuss your child’s progress both socially and academically. Since the report cards go out before we have conferences, please bring them with you and any questions you may have. I take a lot of time debating and thinking about how I assess each child. It is not easy to put everything you see them do into a number. I am looking forward to being able to share with you all the things your child is learning and doing in our classroom.

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It’s been a busy month in Kindergarten! It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is on Thursday and the holidays are right around the corner. This also means report cards and parent conferences are fast approaching. (More on that in a later post.)

The children have been busy preparing for our Thanksgiving play, which we will perform for all of you on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. in the Cafetorium. It is my first time performing this particular Thanksgiving play, and I am pleased with the children’s excitement for this venture. Every time we practice, we get better and better. We performed it for our buddies on Friday, and they were impressed! Class plays were a tradition when I was in elementary school and I think it is a great learning experience for kids. It also gives them a common experience to share and to use for team building. I hope your child has shared with you a song or a line from our play.

Children work on macaroni necklaces for our play.

For Tuesday, while we have made costumes in school (thank you to the team of mothers for your help on Friday morning) I am asking you to please have your child wear the following if available:

Pilgrim Men and Minister: dark turtleneck or shirt, dark pants
Pilgrim Women: dark shirt, pants or skirt
Indian Men and Women: browns, khaki
Turkeys: brown shirt, pants

Thanks again and have a very happy Thanksgiving!

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Yesterday we began our parent volunteer program with a special morning dedicated to math! Thanks to Deb Schepens for being our first parent volunteer! For about 40 minutes, children rotated through 4 different math stations. Mrs. Schepens oversaw the messy but definitely most liked station – writing numbers in shaving cream, I worked with small groups to introduce the concept of “tricky teens” (teen numbers), while Mrs. Clark oversaw two stations with games we had previously introduced and children could do independently.

I do enjoy having parent volunteers (especially when we are doing something messy!) I know I have spoken to some of you who want to come in but have a conflict with Thursday mornings. I am going to look at the calendar and maybe add in some Fridays, since we have many projects and fun things coming up over the next couple of months.

Have a great weekend!

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