Welcome Class of 2029

Howard B. Thomas Elementary School

Kindergarten Readiness Meeting

Introductions

• Carrie Ahlstedt: Principal

• Andi Miller, Kelsey Hendry and Karen Conzelman

• Suz St. John is currently out on medical leave.

• PTO Members

Activities for Summer Practice

Have your child practice writing his/her name

• Encourage your child to write the “kindergarten way”. The first letter a capital letter and the rest lower case. For example: Jack

• Place sand or salt on a cookie sheet and write their name using their finger

• Practice on a Magna-Doodle.

• Use bathtub crayons on the side of the tub

Your child should be able to say the letters in his/her name and beyond

• Have your child say/identify the letters in his/her name.

• Write the letters of your child’s name on small cards.

• Have your child look for the letters in his/her environment.

• Alphabet cards (in the packet you will get)

• Magnetic letters

• Leap Frog Letter Factory

Activities for Summer Practice

Practice with numbers• Count in the car, as you brush your

teeth, as you set the table, etc.

• Have your child practice counting groups of objects using common household items, such as pennies, Cheerios, Matchbox cars, etc.

• Your child should touch each object as he/she counts it.

• Use magnetic numerals to practice.

Read and Discuss short stories with your Child• Use the list provided as a starting point

• Join your local library’s summer reading program

• Have your child practice making connections to the story

• When reading the story, stop at various places and ask your child to make predictions, talk about the characters, etc.

• When you are finished with the story, asked what happened first, second and last.

Activities for Summer Practice

Reading to your child• Have a conversation about the book.

• Have your child identify the main parts of the book: including the beginning, middle and

• Read rhyming books to your child and help them identify rhyming words in the story.

• There are rhyming cards in your packet.

Familiarize your child with…• Being independent in the bathroom.

This would include washing hands with soap, drying hands and taking care of all personal needs in the bathroom.

• When school starts in August, please send an extra set of clothes in with your child if you feel the bathroom might be an issue.

Typical Day in Kindergarten

Typical Day-(our plan but some days we just have to roll with it)

• 8:50 ~ students arrive

• 9:00 ~ Morning Work

• Math

• Specials (Art, PE, Music, Computer Lab, Social Work, Speech, Library)

• Lunch/Recess

• Snack/Read Aloud

• Guided Reading

• Math and Literacy Centers

• Science (life cycles, forest, pond, weather, etc.), social studies (holidays, communities, etc.)

• Writing (Handwriting Without Tears, Daily Journal Writing)

• Ball Words/Phrases (a sample of the baseball words are in your packet)

• 3:35 ~ students dismiss

Fine Motor

• If your child has not mastered the following fine motor skills, we would greatly appreciate you working on the following over the summer:

• Tying shoes (if this is not mastered before school starts, please send them in Velcro shoes)

• Zipping (coat, pants, back pack, etc.)• Writing first name• Practice cutting on a straight line (use age-appropriate scissors)• In a structured, supervised setting, let you child practice using washable

markers, crayons, scissors, water colors, pencils and glue sticks.

• In full day kindergarten, we move at a very fast pace and it really helps the students if they are coming in with the above fine motor and self-help skills.

Explanation of ISEL Testing

• Letter Recognition

• Story Listening

• Phonemic Awareness

• 1-1 Matching

• Letter Sound

Please be sure to sign up for your August appointment before you leave. The testing dates will be August 3rd and August 4th.

Expectations for the beginning of the school

year• In the first 9 weeks, Alphabet Identification,

Sounds, and writing, Number Identification and writing numbers 0-10

• The students will be writing his/her first name many times the 1st week of school. So please practice over the summer

Kindergarten Common Core English Standards(ELA)

• Text Types and Purposes

• Production and Distribution of Writing

• Research to Build and Present Knowledge:

• Comprehension and Collaboration

• Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

• Conventions of Standard English

• Knowledge of Language

• Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Kindergarten Common Core Math Standards

• Know number names and the count sequence.

• Count to tell the number of objects.

• Compare numbers.

• Understand addition, and understand subtraction.

• Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value.

• Describe and compare measurable attributes.

• Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.

• Identify and describe shapes.

• Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.

Transportation

• ATTENTION ALL INCOMING KINDERGARTNERS! Mark your calendars for Thursday, July 23rd. You and your child are invited to come meet “Toby the Tire”. “Toby” is a learning tool provided by the State of Illinois to help instruct bus safety information to the public. After the presentation, we will offer a short ride in a school bus. The presentation will be held in the Library of Prairie View Elementary School located at 10N630 Nesler Rd., Elgin, IL 60124, at 4:30 p.m.

School Supply Kits

• 2015-2016 school supply kits are available for purchase NOW! Order by June 1st, and your kit is shipped to school for FREE! Kits will be distributed at Meet-n-Greet on August 18 (2-3pm). Please contact Lesley Strout at TLStrout@att.net with questions.

• PTO will be in the hallway with more information.

Upcoming Dates

• July 23 (4:30 pm)

• Toby the Tire at Prairie View Grade School

• August 3 & 4

• Kindergarten ISEL & Aimsweb Testing (30 min slots)

• Mid-August

• Teacher Assignments Available on Skyward Family Access Username/Password letters will be sent with online registration

• August 18 (2:00pm-3:00pm)

• Meet n’ Greet

• August 19

• First Day of Kindergarten

First Day of School

• You may come to school the 1st day of school with your student.

• The Kindergarten students will wait on the busses until grades 1-5 are dismissed and are inside of the school.

• The Kindergarten teachers will be out front waiting for the students. We will have them line up by class.

• Parents can take pictures before we head into school and wave goodbye to their Kindergarteners

Questions/Comments/Kindergarten Packets

• Before you leave today, you will receive a kindergarten packet to take home.

• Thank you so much for coming tonight. We look forward to working with your son/daughter. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us

GO HAWKS