Guess Who Likes

1. Guess Who Likes • See if you can find the “guess who likes” project that your child made • Take a minute to enjoy their work and think about the activities they chose • Write a note to your child inside the tent

2. Teachers*Students*Families…. Together we can make good things happen in Kindergarten!

3. About Us • Kathleen Xenakis • Mom of 4 • 11th year in Lincoln • 8th year in Kindergarten • Loves doing theater with kids • *We benefit from the expertise and support of several other talented teachers, specialists and tutors in our room as well* • Jillian Daly • New York • BC • B.A Early Childhood Education and Human Development • M.Ed Curriculum and Instruction (focus in English Language Learners) • Boston College Children’s Center • 6th Year in Lincoln (5th in K, 1 in 1st), some siblings this year! • Child centered, whole child learning

4. Let’s stay in touch: • Email—fastest, easiest, first mode • jdaly@lincnet.org • Phone—when you need to really talk rather than type • 781-259-9400 ext 2107 (or ask Beth for Ms. Daly) • Blog-current info, links to website, scholastic, remind 101, updated roughly every other week (peaks and valleys) • http://learninginkindergarten123.blogspot.com/ • Website-static, important information, link to my blog and specialist blog • http://www.lincnet.org/daly • Conferences-twice officially fall and spring

5. About our Room Parents • Ginger, Liz and Joe • Provide a link from me to the family community • Collect and distribute information, i.e, directory • Organize collection of supplies, volunteers, etc. • Work with Ms. Daly to plan events that invite families into the classroom

6. About Kindergarten • A time for children to • Become lovers of learning • Acquire tools for learning • Develop work habits • Develop Social Skills • These are essential to successful subject matter learning

7. Have You Filled A Bucket Today? Kindergarteners are Bucket Fillers! We all carry invisible buckets that have one purpose…holding happy thoughts about ourselves

8. New Phonics District Developed Science Units Curriculum Guides Guided Reading Handwriting Without Tears Investigations

9. Responsive Classroom elements Morning Meeting • Morning meeting is a part of responsive classroom • Greeting • Sharing • Message • Activity

10. “Take a Break” • Consistent “Responsive Classroom” language across the school • 2 ways to use a break, a teacher can ask you to take a break, or you can decide that you need a break • What to do when you’re on a break? • Cool down • Calm down your body enough that you will be able to rejoin the group • Volcano breath • Counting • Picturing a peaceful place

11. Yoga I am trained through “My First Yoga” check out www.myfirstyoga.com for more information Benefits to the body and mind Strength and flexibility Ability to be still and calm Ability to self-soothe, and calm down through breathing Savasana

12. Daily 5, aka “Reading and Writing 5” Reading and Writing Strategies and Skills Writing Workshop Choral Reading of Poems and Songs Poetry/Song Folders students take home weekly folders containing songs and poems read and sung together that week Vocabulary and Comprehension(primarily developed through conversations and listening to stories read aloud) Phonemic Awareness (e.g. sounds of letters) anduse of the New Phonics program Discrimination and Identification of Letter Sounds Recognition and Formation of Letters (upper and lower case) Handwriting based on Handwriting Without Tears program, using multi-sensory stations Language and Literacy (Speaking - Listening - Reading - Writing)Important Components of our Program:

13. Routines Calendar Attendance Today’s Question Counting Days of School Numbers and Counting Counting Jar Comparing Quantities Geometry Exploring Math Materials Pattern Blocks Unifix Cubes Geoblocks Buttons Attribute Blocks Mathematics Investigations Program

14. We focus on the development of observational skills, and also learn about: Living and Nonliving Things Life Cycles (apples, pumpkins, bulbs, ladybugs) Weather Balance Science Life Science * Earth Science * Physical Science

15. Getting to know one another Respecting and embracing diversity Sense of self, “Who am I? What am I good at?” Sense of community, “How do we all live, work, and play together peacefully?” Lincoln School CARES Social Studies Sense of self and community

16. Stickers/Happy Faces/Etc Invented Spelling Growth Mindset language Notes about Student Work

17. Grading/Scoring K-5: 4 pt scale: 1,2,3,4 for Academic Achievement based on meeting grade-level expectations: 3: Achieving 2: Progressing o 1: Performing Below 4: Exceeding Frequency scale for Growth as a Learner: Consistently Often Sometimes Infrequently Standards Based Report Cards

18. Important Reminders Children need sneakers on gym days, Mondays and Thursdays Mr. Cassidy keeps track, this becomes part of report card for gym Library books are due back on Thursdays, feel free to return early if you are done early and don’t want to forget Children can’t take out another book until the first book is returned Please pack healthy snacks and lunches of a manageable size for small children Think fruits, vegetables, whole grains rather than processed snacks to give your child lots of good “fuel” for their day Scholastic book orders are available online, I encourage online ordering, but can get you a flier if you would like one!

19. why weather-appropriate clothing and extra clothes make a BIG difference in a child’s day and his/her learning

20. Thank you for sharing your children with me! You are their first teachers and are doing a great job! They are friendly, polite, happy, curious, engaged and wonderful little people! I am so happy to have the opportunity to get to know them and to be a part of their first school experience Feel free to contact me via email, phone, or note whenever you have a question or concern or if you would like to set up a time to meet in person! jdaly@lincnet.org 781-259-9404 ext 2107 Thank you!