Kindergarten Here We Come!

Kindergarten Here We Come!

(ask your children the tune to our new song)

Kindergarten, here we come!

We know we'll have lots of fun.

Lots of things to make and do.

Reading, writing, counting too.

Kindergarten, here we come!

We know we'll have lots of fun!

Important September Dates and Information:

August 29:  Spirit Day (Graland gear and blue jeans may be worn)

September 1:  No School

September 10:  Back To School Night For Kindergarten 6:00 - 7:15

September 18 and 19:  Picture Days

September 19:  Family Movie Night at Graland 6:30 - 9:00

September 26:  Go Green With Graland

September 28:  Graland Gallop

Next Week:

During Morning Meeting next week we will be talking about why we come to school.  The boys and girls will also think about what they hope and dream they will learn or be able to do by the end of the year at school.  You could begin brainstorming some ideas with your children over the holiday weekend!  From their hopes and dreams we will create our West K Guidelines (rules).  We will talk about the things we can do in our classroom, in order to help ourselves and our friends achieve these goals.

Next week we will also be launching our writing workshop!  Our authors will learn how to choose a story topic that is real and true.  The first unit in writing workshop is all about developing the concept of story - narrative writing and picture telling.  Each child is at their own point in their development of writing and we celebrate each and every child as an author.

A strong focus during the first 6 weeks of Kindergarten will also be developing strong fine motor muscles.  We will be cutting play dough, coloring with broken crayons (to promote grasping with a tripod grip) and working on cutting.  All of these are great ideas for you to do at home with your child! Having a bin of paper, pencils, scissors and tape is a fantastic way to promote creativity and to develop fundamental skills for writing.  We will incorporate fine motor activities throughout the day, including math.  Boys and girls will do an activity with numbered cups.  They will have to pick up buttons, or pom poms with tweezers, and put the correct number of items into each cup.  

Please also note that on Tuesday we will begin encouraging students to give a hug to mom or dad at our classroom door.  However, Meaghan and I never want to discourage a parent from feeling welcome in West K.  We won't be blocking the door completely ;-)  Please also remember to send your child with a full water bottle each day.  Enjoy some more pictures from our first week.  Have a fantastic and restful holiday weekend!

Kaden creating with play dough

Ariana, Dylan, Anna and Claire coloring

Maxi, Lola and Sophia creating a castle

Logan discovering more about magnet tiles

Aluinn - 1/3 Monkey, 1/3 Dog, 1/3 Boy

Jack, Aiden and Sam finished a 

                                                                          number puzzle to 100!!

Brady cleaning our tables after lunch

Sophie helping to monitor for clean spots after lunch

Anna's job as meteorologist

Sophie and Dylan enjoying the swings

Lots of K kids playing soccer

Claire loves the slide

One day after her cast is off, Ariana is back on the bars

A sweet tea party between Sophia and Lola

Look at us at the end of the day!

You did it!

Congratulations!!  You made it through the first day of Kindergarten!

What a busy day we had today in West K on our first full day being Kindergartners!  We had PE, we explored the playground (and even got to play on it twice), learned about how to sit on the rug, shared our favorite books, had our first morning meeting and so much more!  

Around 9:30 this morning we had some friends asking, "How soon is nap time?"  By the time rest time came around, every child and teacher was ready for a little quiet time!  We enjoyed listening to books on tape during rest time.  Make sure to ask your child which story they enjoyed most!

Over the next week or so you will notice your child coming home hungry, tired and a bit grumpy.  At times they may say they are even bored.  Setting up classroom routines and procedures is time consuming and involves a lot of practicing.  However, once they are in place so much learning and fun can be had at a much quicker pace.  The first 6 weeks of school is laying all of the groundwork!  Please enjoy the pictures below of our first day together in Kindergarten!

P.S.  What a memorable first day pick up!  I hope everyone has dried out!

Welcome to West K!

Dear Wonderful West Parents,

          "Children want the same things we want.  To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained, and delighted."  -Dr. Seuss

This year is a special time in the lives of your children.  It's Kindergarten!  It is a time and a place to explore, learn, smile, and grow.  Each day we will strive to do all of these things in our West K community.

I am very excited to be joining the Kindergarten team at Graland this year!  For the past 5 years I have taught Kindergarten at Lancaster Country Day School in Pennsylvania, where I had the opportunity to co-teach in my classroom, coach soccer to 2nd-5th graders, and coach squash for middle and upper school players.  I moved to Denver a month ago for the simple reason of wanting a change and to be closer to my sister and two incredible nephews.  I love to teach.  I love to be a part of the families of the kiddos in my classroom.  Please know that the West K door is always open (even though it is always locked).  Please feel free to email me (hweaver@graland.org) or call/text (717-575-1364) and I will always do my best to get back to you as quickly as possible.

I look forward to working with all of you and to create a team that supports your child!

Best,
Helen Weaver