Ms. Dandino's Blog

May is here which means that our Kindergartners are truly getting so close to being BIG First Graders.  With only about 20 days left as Kindergartners, all of the children are not only excited about what they have learned this year, but are even more enthusiastic about becoming First Graders.  We will be exploring First Grade on Friday, May 24, visiting the classrooms and meeting the First Grade teachers and students.  At the end our visit, the First Graders and Kindergartners will enjoy recess together.

Please be sure to mark your calendar for our Kindergarten Spring Sing Program: Thursday, May 23, at 2:15 p.m.   Your children will perform a half-hour program of songs and poems.  Parents and other family members are invited to attend this special end-of-the-year event.

During the week of May 13, we’ll be touring Skokie in conjunction with our “Me on the Map” unit.  Our field trip takes us to each child’s home for an outdoor photo. (You do not need to be home as we do not come inside your home.)  We’ll also see some of Skokie’s community sites.  Our class will be enjoying this field trip on Monday morning, May 13.

This week our PTA is sponsoring their Mother’s Day Sale on Tuesday, May 7.  If you would like your child to purchase any items, be sure to send your money to school by Tuesday as this is a one day only sale.  Please place the money in an envelope with your child’s name and marked “For Mother’s Day Sale.”

As we wind our way through May, the children will continue to explore reading, writing, number facts, money amounts, time, seasonal changes and a springtime planting unit.    It has been a wonderful year.  I’m never quite sure how we get to the month of May so quickly, but here we are and your children are BLOOMING!

Welcome back from Spring Break.  We hope that everyone enjoyed our one-week vacation, and as we enter our last two full months of school, we know that our Kindergartners are now well on their way to being BIG FIRST GRADERS!   If you have any questions about your child’s last progress report (which you should have received over Spring Break) please contact me so we can discuss any areas that might need clarification.  Overall, the children are doing a wonderful job in Kindergarten, everyone in their own way growing into themselves.  Our last two months of school will concentrate on putting together the many literacy and math concepts/skills that the children have been developing throughout this important first year of “Big Kid School!”  In addition, we will continue to work on those important listening skills which are always so necessary and so difficult to maintain.

Please note that every Tuesday from now until the end of the school year will be Sharing Day in our classroom.  If bringing something to share, I encourage the children to bring an item that is a special treasure to them.  Please be sure your child is prepared to SHOW his/her treasure, but just as importantly “TELL” us something about it.  We like to see and hear about a variety of things, such as vacation souvenirs, an unusual gift your child might have received, some household item that your child has learned how to use, etc.  The more unique the item, the more interesting it is for everyone to see and learn about.    On Sharing Day, we also encourage the children to show us an activity they have learned how to do.  This might include jumping rope, demonstrating how a yo-yo works, playing a piece on a musical instrument, etc.   The children always love Sharing Day and it is a nice culmination of all the oral language and vocabulary development we have been working on throughout the year.

Looking ahead . . .Please mark your calendars:

PTA sponsored Family Fun Night on Thursday, April 25, starting at 6:00 p.m.

Kindergarten Spring Sing Program on Thursday, May 23, at 2:15 p.m.

Can you believe that we are ending March, heading out on Spring Break, and when we return it will be April?!

Over Spring Break, we will be sending home some blank stamp patterns for anyone who is interested in designing pretend stamps for our Kindergarten Post Office Unit.  All the directions will be attached and the children will have completed one stamp at school as an example.  This is a totally optional activity, but we do need lots and lots of stamps to keep our pretend post office open.

We hope that you and your families have a wonderful break and that our weather cooperates with some warmer springtime breezes.

We will soon welcome in the month of March, with hopefully some warmer breezes and more outside recess days!

If your child is working on the February Optional Activity Calendar, please be sure to return the signed copy at the end of February.  We will be sending home the March calendar toward the end of  this week.

This week is the last week of our Canned Food Drive for the Needy.  If contributing, please send your donation to school with your child…a small amount each day is better than a large amount all in one day as we like the children to carry their contribution all by themsleves to our boxes.  It helps give your child ownership of his/her donation and actually see that the entire school is working on this important cause.

By Spring Break your child will have been introduced to ALL the letters of the alphabet, including the names of each letter, at least one sound for each letter, and proper letter formation.   With all of this knowledge in hand, April and May will be ”Putting-It-All-Together-Months”  in reading, writing and literacy…Kindergarten style.    In like manner, the children will be putting it all together with their much expanded number sense and their many math concepts.

Please rmember that there is NO SCHOOL this Friday, March 1 and on Monday, March 4.   Enjoy the 4-day weekend!

We had a great celebration on our 100th day and now we are busy counting on from 100!  In the process, we are learning about those tricky teen numbers, and counting on by 2′s, 5′s, and 10′s all the way to 100 and beyond.  The children may bring home some of the songs we sing about numbers, as music is always a great way to help learn and retain information.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with you about your child during our recent Parent/Teacher Conference.  If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me.  Your child’s report card indicating his/her progress since November will arrive home over Spring Break.

And now it’s on to Valentine’s Day and our holiday party, hosted by the Room Parents, on Thursday, February 14.  Please remind your child to sign his/her Valentine cards and have them in school by this coming Thursday.  We have 18 children total in our class.  If your child wants to, he/she may address the envelopes with classmates’ names, but it is not necessary.  Each child passes out his/her own cards and it is always fun for the children to read their Valentine messages.

Thursday evening, February 21 is our annual Devonshire Culture Fest.  Be a contributor or just come join the fun for an evening of Devonshire Diversity!

Throughout February our Devonshire Student Council is sponsoring a canned food drive for the needy.  All non-perishable items are welcome, but please nothing in glass bottles.  You child will take whatever items he/she might bring to school to our collection boxes near the front office.  Our local Skokie Food Pantry always appreciates our efforts.

Looking ahead. . . please remember that there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, February 18: Presidents Day;    Friday March 1: Teacher Institute Day;   and Monday, March 4: Pulaski Day.

January is moving along and with our colder winter weather we are trying to get the children outside whenever possible for recess.   Please remember to dress your child for the outdoors and always make sure your child has a pair of gym shoes at school to wear during the day.

Along with all of the academic vocabulary your child is learning, we do continually add more and more words to their every day vocabulary.  For example, we’ve read and used many different words for look: stare, glare, peek, squint, gaze, glance…with each word having a slightly different meaning.  We encourage the children to listen for these words in our daily “READ ALOUDS” and in our “SHARED READING” texts, but we also encourage them to use these words when talking.  When you are reading with your child at home, look for new words in the text and help your child to understand the general meaning of the word.

This week we are introducing the words:   envious,     forlorn,     scorched,     politely,     ability,      overjoyed, which are all found in our book: The Popcorn Dragon.    Right before winter break, our words were: delicious,    fancy,     rather,    shaped,     boast,    devoured, from our story: The Gingerbread Man.  It is great to see that many of the children are remembering these words when we go back and use them over and over again.

Please remember that there is no school on Monday, January 21, Martin Luther King Day.  We remember Dr. King as someone who recognized how important it is to use “our words” and to try and be fair to everyone.  These are concepts we stress daily in kindergarten and little by little the children begin to understand that they are indeed in charge of their own thinking and actions.

I look forward to meeting with each of you on Jan. 31, or Feb. 5 to discuss your child’s progress in school.   Tomorrow, January 16, is our half way point…87 days in Kindergarten, with 87 days to First Grade.   Can you believe how quickly these days turn to weeks, to months, and now the year is half over!  What an incredible growing year it continues to be for each of your children.

See you in a couple of weeks and please remember to return the questionnaire sent home on Monday if you wish to share any thoughts with me prior to our conference.

Our first week back in school after winter break is always an exciting one.  The children (though sometimes a bit sleepy) are usually ready to get into the swing of things.   They’re happy to see their kindergarten friends and excited about all of our up and coming winter activities.  We’ll be catching up on their many vacation experiences, and they’ll be sharing in their writing activities some of their many adventures.  It’s always an exciting time…and on top of that, we’re also working our way toward OUR FIRST 100 DAYS IN SCHOOL!

Please remember to send your child to school with winter clothes for outdoor recess.  The children go outside every day and it is important that they have a winter jacket, snow pants, boots, gloves/mittens, and a hat to keep them warm.   They also need GYM SHOES every day, as walking around in snow boots throughout the day is very uncomfortable.  Since we sent home each child’s bag of emergency clothing, please be sure that your child returns to school with a new bag of winter emergency clothes: shirt, pants, underwear and socks.

Looking forward to meeting with each of you on January 31 or February 5 to discuss your child’s progress in school over the past several months.  I have attached to this week’s newsletter, my conference schedule which is based upon your requested dates and times.    Please let me know if any revisions are needed.

Welcome to our New Year!

The children have enjoyed an exciting week of stars, snowflakes, snowmen, gingerbread men and gingerbread houses, nursery rhymes, winter songs and stories, holiday parties, and even a ballet performance.  And now it is time to say good-bye to the old year and welcome in 2013.

Remember to visit our great Skokie Public Library where all kinds of reading activities take center stage.  Play dates with school friends are also a wonderful way for your child to spend some of his/her vacation days.  And don’t forget Chicago’s fantastic museums.  If travelling, have a great time visiting family and friends or vacationing somewhere warm or cold!

My best wishes to you for a relaxing winter break that is filled with many happy and fun-filled adventures.

See you in 2013!

And now December is upon us!

The next three weeks will be filled with learning and playing and art activities as we all prepare for winter break.  The children, of course, are all hoping for snow, snow and more snow.  If and when it does arrive, please be sure to dress your child for outdoor play.   Unless it is truly very cold, we do go outside for recess every day…so please dress your child accordingly.  Equally important, please be sure you either put into your child’s backpack a pair of gym shoes, or have your child leave a pair at school.  When boots are worn to school, it is very uncomfortable for your child to walk around all day in snow boots , and if it’s a gym day, it means no shoes…no participating in gym class.   THANKS!

As you have noticed, your child is bringing home every week a book he/she can read.  Please celebrate with your child this wonderful accomplishment.  Always encourage your child to look at the pictures, to use letter/sound knowledge, to blend sounds together, and to remember sight words as he/she reads with and to you.  After your child completes reading a fiction book, check for comprehension by asking: “Who are the characters?”  “What are they doing?”  “What happens in the story?”  Then ask your child to retell the story to you.  If it’s a non-fiction book, ask your child; “What information was presented in the text and what new fact was learned?” Since many children have “Wish Lists” this time of year, they can also use their letter/sound connections to write their own Wish Lists.

And now there is also the incentive of a free ticket to Great America!!!!  I sent home today all of the information on how to participate in this great reading program and at the same time earn a free ticket to Great America for summer 2013.

Making reading and writing a fun thing to do will make your child more and more interested in doing both!

Enjoy December!

Enjoy this special time of year with family and friends.

Our teepee is up and the children will be enjoying some Native American activities well into December.  Through dramatic play, they will be fishing for food, gathering fruit and vegetables in the wilderness, stringing beads, learning some Native American picture language, and even receiving a Native American Indian name.

When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will be winding down our fall unit and moving into our winter unit.  The children were all very excited to wake up to SNOW last week and since we graph the weather every day, they were delighted to add a snow square to our weather graph.

On cold days, please remember to dress your children for winter weather.  We do go outside every day unless it is really, really cold or raining, so proper winter weather clothing is a must.

I hope you enjoyed the photograph of our class in their Devonshire spirit wear T-shirts.  Every Friday is Devonshire spirit day…so get those shirts ready for November 30.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving break!