Miss Rodriquez & Miss Megan

Aspens
Our kindergarten year is off to a great start! We are very much enjoying watching each student discover the Montessori Classroom. Each child is unique and brings their own energy and light into our environment. We have been working on learning our letter sounds. This includes repeating the letter sound, talking about words that begin with that sound, tracing the letter, and making the letter in the sand on our sand tray. We are practicing handwriting and strengthening our fine motor skills so that holding a pencil becomes more natural. We are doing this by tracing the letters they are working on, writing their own names, and using scissors. Art projects and various pieces of work in our practical life area also help develop these skills. In our Math area, we are working on number recognition, counting, and teen numbers. This is accomplished by tracing the numerals and repetition in counting. Our first Show & Tell was a great success! Each child really enjoyed showing the item that they so carefully chose to bring. The class had a great time listening to each others “tells.”

We will have Show & Tell every first Tuesday of each month. Our next Show & Tell is scheduled for October 4th. Our kindergarteners have had such fun discovering the Spanish language and exploring their artistic side in Mrs. McCalla’s class every Thursday morning! We will display their beautiful art work often. Thank you, Mrs. McCalla! Every Monday, our kindergarteners explore the world of music in Mr. Rangel’s music class. Thank you Mr. Rangel! It is exciting to watch the class develop the musical side of their personalities.

REMINDERS:

If your child still does not have indoor shoes, we would appreciate you providing them as soon as possible. Even though our afternoons are warm, the mornings can be chilly. Please provide your child with a sweater or light jacket. Please respect your child’s zone of independence. It is so important to set the tone of independence every morning as your child arrives to school. Our kindergarteners are capable of hanging up their jackets and backpacks. They flourish when they are given the responsibility of putting away their own lunch boxes and changing into their indoor shoes.

Aspen Art and Spanish:

I’ve been impressed at how much the students remember from last year and the enthusiasm of our new students. My approach is inspired by a Montessori Spanish workshop I attended. Many of the songs we sing are from that program. We have been working on greetings, the numbers 1-10, colors and parts of the face. We also have learned basic verbs caminar (walk), correr (run), saltar (jump), etc. I will start an after school Spanish program for preschool students Tuesday October 11th. In art class we drew faces, made trees by blowing watercolor through a straw, and created recycled creatures. I look forward helping the kids explore through art. I’m offering a camp on the teacher in-service days, October 31st and November 1st. Sign-up is on the Art room door. Thank you, parents, for all of your support as we begin our kindergarten year. We look
forward to a fantastic year with your child!