1. Teacher – Ms. Dean Lake Wilderness Elementary - Room 1A hdean@tahomasd.us

2. A Little About Ms. Dean I live in Maple Valley. I have two boys: Graham (10) and Liam (4). I have been teaching kindergarten for 10 years (9 years at Lake Wilderness). My hobbies include: Running Hot Yoga Football Camping Starbucks My boys’ activities

3. What is Kindergarten? Kindergarten is the best grade EVER! I love teaching this age and the excitement the kids have for learning and school!

4. Report Cards Report cards come home in November, March and June Parent conferences are in November only

5. Learning Centers What are centers? Stations that are set up around the room that are designed for a specific activity Literacy centers (AM) and Math centers (PM) Why use centers? Promotes independence and responsibility Help develop social skills Engaging – They are a favorite among kindergarteners! Allows for pull-out time so that I can work one-on-one or in small groups with students on specific skills

6. Math District Curriculum: Math Expressions Kindergarten Math Concepts/Skills Identifying numbers Counting Shapes Writing numbers Addition and Subtraction Real-life applications Calendar concepts

7. Reading Independent Silent reading Center-time activities Shared Reading together on the carpet squares Guided Small Group Reading – students are grouped by ability or skills and taught in a small-group setting (during literacy centers)

8. Reading What are your responsibilities? Read the “I can read” binders – comes home this Friday, return on Monday, leave all papers in the binder. Sight Word Cards (October) – sight word practice Read At Home (November) – book bag that comes home nightly RAZ kids (November) – online computer reading program that we use in class too

9. Writing Workshop A few things I want you to know: We write stories in kindergarten. We learn about different types of writing. Phonetic spelling is OKAY! DO NOT spell words for your child! Types of writing we do in kindergarten: Narrative (Fall/Winter) Informational (Winter) Opinion (Spring)

10. Narrative Stories (Writing Workshop)

11. Handwriting Handwriting Without Tears Uses hands on, manipulative learning to teach the correct letter formation. Encourage your child to: Start letters from the top! Hold a pencil correctly Use the same “language” that is used in class to form letters (see handout) – Big line, little line, big curve, little curve

12. Integrated Curriculum Science and Social Studies integrated with reading, writing and math activities Our units include: Fall: Communities Winter: Our World Spring: The Environment (lifecycle units)

13. Volunteers You must complete volunteer paperwork before you can volunteer at LWES or chaperone field trips. I will send out a calendar at the beginning of each month to remind you of your volunteer days.

14. Field Trips Pumpkin Patch Field Trip: October 15 th (permissions slips to come soon, you can request to chaperone at that time) Fire Station Usually in December or January Walking field trip Spring Fieldtrip Undecided at this time!

15. Fridays! Friday is Popcorn Day: Please send 3 box tops OR 25 cents taped to a piece of paper or index card to school on Fridays if you would like to purchase popcorn. Popcorn is purchased at first recess for snack. There are other options like fruit leather. Friday is school spirit day! Send your child to school in their Dolphin shirts or Lake Wilderness school colors (blue/green).

16. Reminders District Calendar: Please note the days that your kindergartener will not come to school. Folders: Come home on EVERYDAY. Please return folders in your child’s backpack on EVERYDAY! Book Fair is in library A all this week!

17. Ms. Dean’s Classroom Wishlist: Baby wipes (unscented) Kirkland/clorox wipes Buttons Gallon Ziploc baggies Stickers/prize box prizes Pete the Cat books by Pete Litwin Piggie and Elephant books by Mo Willems Crayola water color paints Crayola crayons Black flair pens (fine tip)

18. Questions???