January

We are off to a great start since coming back from the long, long Christmas vacation! Our second grading period ends on the 20th with report cards following on the 27st. We are almost halfway through our Kindergarten school year!!! The K1 Kids "lost" their yellow cards last week - be sure to ask your child what this means.

We will also be starting a new incentive program soon at the begnning of the 2nd semester. Each day, your child will earn a "ticket" if he/she doesn't flip any cards. At the end of the day (or the next morning -time permitting), we'll draw 1 ticket & the winner picks something special to do for the next day. I won't be telling them about this program until 1/22, but anytime after that you can ask your child to tell you about the special "things"!!

Also, coming up in February, we'll be starting a 10 week program titled "2 Good 4 Drugs" presented by the Clarion County Drug & Alcohol Administration. Additionally, in early February, we'll celebrate our 100th Day of School ............. more info about these activities will follow.

Finally, academic skill areas to focus attention on at home for the upcoming 3rd grading period include: reciting the full names (first, middle, & last), saying the alphabet in sequence as well as their phone number, counting outloud to 50, identifing ordinal numbers first to fifth place, & visually recognizing numbers 0 - 20, naming ABC letters & sounds taught to date (Aa, Nn, Dd, Ss, Mm, Ii, Tt, Cc, Oo, Ff, Rr, Pp, Ll, & Uu upper/lower case) as well as all the colored sight word cards (the - a - my - that - and - I - is - said - & the following words not yet on their rings..... we - are - you - have) attached to your child's folder. Please continue reading the take-home books over & over & over!! I ask the children to read them 3 times to someone at home, but it shouldn't end there. If they struggle with reading, they need more practice & should read their book more than just 3 times. I strongly suggest you save the books & read over a couple of them each evening to help your child review what they know. Be sure to "track" each word with a finger & remember.......... practice makes perfect!!!

Motor skills (Large & Small) to practice include: walking on a balance beam, hopping, galloping, & bounce/catch a ball 5 times. zipping, buttoning & more improved coloring & cutting skills.

Lastly, remember the upcoming Book Fair from 1/20 - 27 & the scheduled Act 80 Day on 1/18 - NO SCHOOL for kids on that day.