KinderNews
Mrs. Richey
January 23, 2012

Thank you
A big, heart-felt thank you for all of the Christmas gifts I received.  This year I have such great classes and I enjoy coming to school each day.  I feel so lucky that I actually get paid for doing something I love.  In addition, it is fun to feel appreciated through the wonderful gifts that children and their families give me.  So, once again, thank you.

Thanks to all of our classroom volunteers who come each week and room moms who organize our parties.  We truly appreciate your time.  Remember to sign up in the office each time you come.  This helps the PTA know the amount of volunteer hours.

Recess
We go outside for recess.  I am on recess duty and the children come outside with me.  If it is too cold or too wet or too windy for me, we will have inside recess. Please make sure your child’s coat and outerwear (gloves, mittens, hats) are marked with his/her name.  (You have no idea how Kindergarteners have memory loss when it comes to identifying their own winter items that they wore to school that very day!)  And please dress your child appropriately that day.  I am amazed that some children come without a coat and wear flip-flops during the cold weather days.


Student Teacher
We have a wonderful student teacher from BYU, Miss Stabenow—we call her “Miss S.”  She brings fresh ideas for teaching Kindergarten and we work together to make an enjoyable as well as effective learning experience for students (and teachers).  She will be with us until February 23rd. 

January Poem
A chubby little snowman
Had a carrot for a nose.
Along came a bunny
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny,
Looking for some lunch,
Ate that snowman's nose
With a nibble, nibble crunch.

Task Cards
Thanks for all of your support with your student's task cards. I've made notes where students need extra help in certain areas. If you did not receive a January Snowman Task Card, please let me know.  You can also print one off the website. 

Curriculum Areas of Study
(to name a few)
Correct letter formation
Sight/High Frequency Words (reading and writing)
Reading groups—Careful reading
Retelling information from stories—beginning, middle, end and…
Making connections in stories
Writing stories using spaces between words and…
Sound spelling (beginning and ending sounds as well as middle sounds)
Vowels (long and short sounds)
Themes: Seasons—Winter & Snow, Bears, Color words, Penguins
Writing numbers 0-20
Counting (one more, one less)
Songs: Seasons, Bingo, Miss Polly, 10-20-30, Tony Chestnut, I Can’t Spell Hippopotamus,
Snowkey Pokey, I Can Sing a Rainbow, Color Words songs.

E-mail me at vrichey@alpinedistrict.org   
School phone number is 796-3141.
You will find a calendar, task card, sight words, curriculum, and more.

Literacy Corner
“It’s important for a child’s feelings of self-worth to be able to “read” without really recognizing the individual words at first.  After children have been exposed to wonderful whole stories and to the idea of whole words and separate letters, they can pretend to read a book.  And because we have read aloud the book in question so often before, they will be able to freely and quickly join in and “read” words and phrases all by themselves.  Any repetitive book makes this activity easy, and success associated with it increases children’s confidence and self- esteem.”
“When children have heard a book so often that they know it by heart and can fool us into thinking they’re reading—they’re turning the pages at the right time and saying the right words on the right page—we shouldn’t be tempted to belittle their efforts by saying:  ‘Well, of course they’re only reading it off by heart.”
“Turning the pages at the right time and saying the right words on the right page is a tremendous achievement for little kids, and not to be underestimated.  It’s a giant step toward really reading.”
                                 
Reading Magic  by Mem Fox