We are now into our grand finale of our kindergarten year together! Here is an overview of what we accomplished this past month.

This past month we learned the following:

 

Letters & Sounds: We learned to use digraphs in words and practiced spelling them, reading them and using them in sentences. This added to our base of words that we were able to write and read, which was very exciting! We continue to learn a new trick/sight word each week and use it in reading and writing activities. We learned about the “magic e” and how it can tell a vowel to say its name and use the long vowel sound. We learned the “ing” sound and spelling and used it to read and write many new words. We have continued to practice using and writing words and sentences with digraphs and are writing longer sentences to expand our written vocabulary and stamina. We are trying to automatically and independently remember to begin each sentence with a capital letter and end with proper punctuation marks.

 

Writing:  In conjunction with our reading nonfiction unit, we wrote and illustrated expert books about favorite games with topics, table of contents and subtopic.We welcomed spring by reading books about bugs and insects; we learned about their body parts, what they eat, where they live, who their friends are, and special features and behaviors. We will take notes and turn our notes into sentences to create another nonfiction research report! We will illustrate our subtopic pages and covers to create beautiful keepsakes.

It has been rewarding to watch my students automatically and properly use uppercase letters, spacing and punctuation as they eagerly express their ideas. They have created beautiful written masterpieces!

 

We will conclude our year by rereading and  “reviewing” a favorite emergent readers, describing a favorite part and explaining our opinions for we liked our books. Your child was also given the opportunity to “free-write” about any special event and apply the writing skills we have learned this year. I was amazed at what my students could independently do; they have blossomed as writers! We will enjoy many creative writing activities through the end of the year

  

Reading:

During our current connections unit, we read books about children and multicultural lifestyles around the world. We discussed how we are alike and different than characters of our books. We learned how to read books and then make connections from our reading to ourselves and our own lives, other books we’ve read, and the world. These are called text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world connections, and these connections make reading meaningful to us as readers. I continue to meet with guided reading groups weekly to enhance my students' independent reading progress with fluency and comprehension.

 

We will celebrate and conclude our reading program by reflecting on our favorite books from this past year and discussing why they were our favorites-the characters, the plot, the emotions they caused us to feel, the illustrations, the words used to tell the stories. I continue to meet with guided reading groups weekly to enhance my students' independent reading progress with fluency and comprehension.

 

Math: We identified and described attributes of 2D & 3D shapes, sorted these shapes, went on shapes hunts in the classroom and outside, and played games with these shapes. As in reading, we compared and contrasted how shapes are alike and different. We learned and used positional language. We continue to practice counting by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s and using our addition and subtraction skills. .

We identified and described attributes of 2D & 3D shapes, sorted these shapes, went on shapes hunts in the classroom and outside, and played games with these shapes. As in reading, we compared and contrasted how shapes are alike and different. We learned and used positional language. We continue to practice counting by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s and using our addition and subtraction skills. We learned about height, length, weight, and capacity using cubes, rulers, scales and containers. We will learn about money and time as we prepare for first grade. We will continue counting, tallying, using place value and adding and subtracting up to our last day of school!

 

SS/Science Time: We have been practicing for our Kindergarten Show and creating beautiful masterpieces and keepsakes to help us remember and cherish our kindergarten time together! In addition, we will burst with excitement as we learn about and explore the magic of bubbles!

 

 

 

 

I will be sending home a summer review packet. Home support is essential during the long summer months to ensure retention and avoid regression of all that has been learned. Please continue to work with your child to maintain the skills they have developed this past year so that they are confidently prepared when they enter first grade in September. 

 

It has been an honor and pleasure to teach your delightful children and help them grow each day this year. I hope that it has been a magical year for them, and I am confident my students will flourish in first grade!