Hi everyone! Welcome to the Kindergarten blog! Mrs. Frawley and I have been having a ball getting to know each and everyone of our wonderful Kinder Kiddos! We can't wait to see what fantastic things will happen this year in our room! Before I get started on the meaty part of this blog posting, I want to share something with you that I came across over the weekend. I wish I had found it before the first day of school, but, since I didn't, I'm still going to share it with you now!
Ok, now that I was able to share that with you... let's move on! (sniff, sniff)
This blog is where I will update you, the parents (and grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins,etc) weekly on the wonderful and exciting things happening inside our classroom. You will see photos of the students working, read about what your children are currently learning, and have access to different links that I think you will find helpful for you and your kiddo throughout the year. Please be sure to enter your email address in the upper right-hand corner in order to receive email updates from this blog. That way you will know right away if I have posted a new blog. I typically do not post requests or super important need-to-know info on this blog- think of it as more of a window into your child's academic life. For the record, please check your child's backpack nightly to make sure something important from the school office or myself isn't hiding in there = )
After seven years of teaching First Grade, I understand that when you ask your child, "So, what did you do today?" the common but unfortunate answer can sometimes be "nothing" or "I forget". I'm sure you know very well that we didn't do "nothing", so this is our way of keeping you in the loop! Sometimes I will update the blog after a special day, like Halloween, with great photos of those student whose parents gave us permission to have their photo on our blog. Other times, I will have to wait until the weekend to update it when I have the time. Typically on holiday vacations or long weekends I will not update the blog, since I like to spend as much quality time with my family and friends. If there is something special you'd like me to post on the blog, like a link to a great academic website, please email me the link and I will look into that!
I also try to use this site to remind you of upcoming events, like Picture Day coming up this Thursday! Be sure to fill out the proper forms and send it to school by picture day with the correct payment. We will do our best to make sure your child's hair stays nice and neat before the pictures are taken, but as a precaution, I'd use lots of hairspray/gel if I were you! There is a chance they will have PE before their time for photos (although Kinder is typically first up for photos). There is a picture re-do day later this month for those kids that are absent, or if the picture is notyour their favorite.
Please also remember that this week and next week are still half-days for Kindergarteners, and they still need a morning snack for recess. Some kiddos are complaining about their snack (shocking, I know!), and we encouraged them to speak with you about preferences for a morning snack. Half a sandwich, yogurt, dry cereal/granola, cheese and crackers, fruit, or muffins, are all great ideas! Packing a variety is also a great idea if you have a picky eater. We won't force them to eat too much food, but we do encourage them to eat more than a bite! If you are ever concerned that your child is not eating enough at snack, please email us or ask us after school.
For pick-up, we will meet you out at the parking lot, where we ask that you come up to either myself or Mrs. Frawley to check out your child. If you are the first car to arrive at our school and the gates are closed, please feel free to help us out and move the gates for us. We can always use an extra hand!
Speaking of extra hands... many of you are asking about sign-ups for helping out in the classroom. Your opportunity will be showing up on Shutterfly fairly soon! Mrs. DeGroote and I will be chatting this week to discuss when/where we need classroom volunteers, and we will be using Shutterfly to do so. I've placed a Shutterfly button on this blog, too. Please remember that all volunteers, whether they are mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunty, or uncle, must be VIRTUS trained in order to spend any time with our class. However, volunteering at home, for cutting out projects, scanning documents, etc, does not require any VIRTUS training. For instance, those wonderful ladies that came in last week to our "Paper Parties" did not need VIRTUS training, but boy did they help us out!!! In the meantime, we definitely need volunteers to help us supervise their morning recess! If you are VIRTUS trained, please sign up to do so ASAP!!! Otherwise, we will begin opening up this opportunity to earn service hours to VIRTUS trained parents in other grades (since they all LOVE coming over and helping out the Kinder Kiddos!) Please check with Ms. Charlotte for upcoming VIRTUS training workshops. FYI- You don't need to complete VIRTUS training at our Parish- you may do so at any Catholic Church!
Finally, a few parents have been asking about homework. Kindergarteners will begin having homework as soon as we have Back to School Night on Tuesday (the 10th). I want to take the time to discuss how homework is completed in Kindergarten in person with all of you, so please try to make it to that school event. Please note that Back to School Night is a Parent ONLY evening. In the meantime, we encourage you to begin reading with your child nightly in order to get into the swing of things. Nightly reading is part of their homework, so you may as well get started now to get their "toes in the water".
While this blog posting was filled with information and words, I promise I will be posting lots of photos of the kids and their work next time once I have every parent survey returned to me.
In the meantime, take care, enjoy the rest of this beautiful day that God has made, and we'll see everyone in the morning with bright, smiling faces!!!
Ok, now that I was able to share that with you... let's move on! (sniff, sniff)
This blog is where I will update you, the parents (and grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins,etc) weekly on the wonderful and exciting things happening inside our classroom. You will see photos of the students working, read about what your children are currently learning, and have access to different links that I think you will find helpful for you and your kiddo throughout the year. Please be sure to enter your email address in the upper right-hand corner in order to receive email updates from this blog. That way you will know right away if I have posted a new blog. I typically do not post requests or super important need-to-know info on this blog- think of it as more of a window into your child's academic life. For the record, please check your child's backpack nightly to make sure something important from the school office or myself isn't hiding in there = )
After seven years of teaching First Grade, I understand that when you ask your child, "So, what did you do today?" the common but unfortunate answer can sometimes be "nothing" or "I forget". I'm sure you know very well that we didn't do "nothing", so this is our way of keeping you in the loop! Sometimes I will update the blog after a special day, like Halloween, with great photos of those student whose parents gave us permission to have their photo on our blog. Other times, I will have to wait until the weekend to update it when I have the time. Typically on holiday vacations or long weekends I will not update the blog, since I like to spend as much quality time with my family and friends. If there is something special you'd like me to post on the blog, like a link to a great academic website, please email me the link and I will look into that!
I also try to use this site to remind you of upcoming events, like Picture Day coming up this Thursday! Be sure to fill out the proper forms and send it to school by picture day with the correct payment. We will do our best to make sure your child's hair stays nice and neat before the pictures are taken, but as a precaution, I'd use lots of hairspray/gel if I were you! There is a chance they will have PE before their time for photos (although Kinder is typically first up for photos). There is a picture re-do day later this month for those kids that are absent, or if the picture is not
Please also remember that this week and next week are still half-days for Kindergarteners, and they still need a morning snack for recess. Some kiddos are complaining about their snack (shocking, I know!), and we encouraged them to speak with you about preferences for a morning snack. Half a sandwich, yogurt, dry cereal/granola, cheese and crackers, fruit, or muffins, are all great ideas! Packing a variety is also a great idea if you have a picky eater. We won't force them to eat too much food, but we do encourage them to eat more than a bite! If you are ever concerned that your child is not eating enough at snack, please email us or ask us after school.
For pick-up, we will meet you out at the parking lot, where we ask that you come up to either myself or Mrs. Frawley to check out your child. If you are the first car to arrive at our school and the gates are closed, please feel free to help us out and move the gates for us. We can always use an extra hand!
Speaking of extra hands... many of you are asking about sign-ups for helping out in the classroom. Your opportunity will be showing up on Shutterfly fairly soon! Mrs. DeGroote and I will be chatting this week to discuss when/where we need classroom volunteers, and we will be using Shutterfly to do so. I've placed a Shutterfly button on this blog, too. Please remember that all volunteers, whether they are mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunty, or uncle, must be VIRTUS trained in order to spend any time with our class. However, volunteering at home, for cutting out projects, scanning documents, etc, does not require any VIRTUS training. For instance, those wonderful ladies that came in last week to our "Paper Parties" did not need VIRTUS training, but boy did they help us out!!! In the meantime, we definitely need volunteers to help us supervise their morning recess! If you are VIRTUS trained, please sign up to do so ASAP!!! Otherwise, we will begin opening up this opportunity to earn service hours to VIRTUS trained parents in other grades (since they all LOVE coming over and helping out the Kinder Kiddos!) Please check with Ms. Charlotte for upcoming VIRTUS training workshops. FYI- You don't need to complete VIRTUS training at our Parish- you may do so at any Catholic Church!
Finally, a few parents have been asking about homework. Kindergarteners will begin having homework as soon as we have Back to School Night on Tuesday (the 10th). I want to take the time to discuss how homework is completed in Kindergarten in person with all of you, so please try to make it to that school event. Please note that Back to School Night is a Parent ONLY evening. In the meantime, we encourage you to begin reading with your child nightly in order to get into the swing of things. Nightly reading is part of their homework, so you may as well get started now to get their "toes in the water".
While this blog posting was filled with information and words, I promise I will be posting lots of photos of the kids and their work next time once I have every parent survey returned to me.
In the meantime, take care, enjoy the rest of this beautiful day that God has made, and we'll see everyone in the morning with bright, smiling faces!!!
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