Kindergarten 101

Welcome to Kindergarten at Pleasant GroveSchool! Whether you’re an old pro at this or brand-new-to-school, please read the important Kindergarten Parent tips below.

Breakfast

Please make sure your child has breakfast before school starts … either at home or here at school in the cafeteria. Hungry children have a hard time focusing on learning!

Snacks

We have a “community snack” process here at Pleasant Grove; parents send the snacks in, and I will pass them out at morning recess. Please plan on sending in a snack once or twice a month (enough for 20 children). Popular choices are pretzels, granola bars, fruit snacks, fruit, or crackers. I will send home reminder notices if we ever get low on snacks.

Reading Groups

Reading is, of course, a large focus in kindergarten. Our reading groups are leveled, which means that your child will be placed in a group based on his/her readiness to read. Some students will begin our SIPPS reading program early in the school year, while others will be learning letters, sounds, and other pre-reading skills. Regardless of which group your child falls into, all the small groups are still called “Reading Group.”

Volunteering

Parent (and grandparent) volunteers are vital to our program. Not only will you help us out, but you’ll learn so much about your child and his/her friends! We will accept volunteers at any time of the day; however the very BEST time to volunteer is during Reading Group/Center time from 9:45-11:25. Some parents enjoy selecting a day of the week and working it the entire school year. Others come and go, depending on their schedules. Please let me know how you’d like to help out!

Homework

Around the second week of school, your kindergartener will begin bringing home a reading envelope on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Your job is to complete whatever reading/letter card/sound card work is inside the envelope with your child, sign the paper on the front of the envelope, and return it the next day. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU HELP YOUR CHILD REMEMBER TO DO THIS! Very few kindergarteners will consistently remember to do all these steps every day, so it is YOUR job to help him/her. Celebrate all the little steps your child makes as he/she learns to read; your attitude toward reading in kindergarten will influence your child’s lifelong attitude toward learning!

Your child will bring home a “Thursday Folder” on … Thursdays!! In it you will find communication from the school, notes from me, flyers, etc. Please check this folder on Thursday night and return it by the following Wednesday with your child. Occasionally, if I see that there are some academic concepts that need at-home reinforcement, I will send homework in this packet. When this occurs, simply send the completed work in (inside the folder) on the following Wednesday. (Any homework I may send is designed to be a review of class work, so none of it should be too difficult for your child. However, he/she will need your assistance in reading the directions. Please look over the completed work to make sure it is correct, and have your child fix any mistakes … homework doesn’t do any good if it’s incorrect because it reinforces incorrect concepts!)

End-of-the-Day Sheets

These ½ sheets are my “behavior” slips. Your child will fill one out at the end of every school day. The idea is to draw a picture of something he/she did that day (which gives you a good conversation-starter about the school day). If your child had any behavior problems at all, I will write that information on the sheet. If there were no problems, then I’ll just draw a happy face at the top.

Class Parties

Parents usually organize class parties, so Please let me know if you are interested in helping out with these … that way we can get you parents in contact with each other to organize the parties. We typically have parties for the following holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving Feast, Christmas/Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Easter/Spring Break.

Toys from Home

Oh, these can be a problem!  Toys from home need to stay at home, except on Fridays when we do Show and Tell. Thank you for helping out with this!!!

Backpacks

Your child will really need a backpack to carry items to school and home. PLEASE check the backpack daily, take out any completed work, and make sure that reading envelope is there! Also, check for any incomplete work that needs to be completed at home, end-of-the-day sheets, and notes home. (Note: most of the “notes home” will go home on Thursdays in the Thursday Folder, but sometimes we have to send things to you sooner) Thanks!

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Mrs. Tudor

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