St. Christopher School

Spring is here and our Kindergarten curriculum is 'budding and blooming' with new learning concepts! With the completion of the alphabet, a series of word families will be introduced weekly.  The focus is the short vowels families which provides additional practice with middle sounds in words. The words will be used in spelling and also simple sentences. Each day phonics and writing skills are practiced using sight words and adding word families. It is exciting for the students as they begin to put the sounds together they have learned. For others who are ready for more, this is a perfect opportunity for challenges for them. Now that the alphabet is complete, show and tell will end.  As a replacement for this activity, on Friday's the students may bring in a book to read for pleasure and share with friends.

In math, addition is introduced. Utilizing manipulatives as a concrete base for this concept is essential. We also combine hands on games and enrichment activities for grasping math concepts and also to make learning fun! We will also continue with the practice of counting money. During the month their will be a class store to buy small items using the correct amount of coins.  This activity will seem fun and easy but it will be challenging!

'April showers bring May flowers' is the science focus. We will collect rain in a gage and graph the amount throughout the month. Completing the activity, we will filter the water observing what we found. Rainbows are a favorite natural beauty. The class will do an experiment to create a rainbow...how exciting! This is also the time of year when colors come back and we can observe the changes in nature all around us. The class will plant flower and vegtable seeds and journal their observations with the development of plant life.

The character trait for the month is obedience. The elephant teaches to cheerfully carry out the directions and wishes of those who are responsible and care about them. In religion, we learn that there are beautiful gifts from Jesus all around us to be thankful for.

A special thank you to the many parents who came in and read to the class. The class enjoyed you sharing your favorite books! 

Also, Mr. Giancola (Dr. Tony as he is known by the students) gave an excellent presentation on x-rays. Everyone was facinatied seeing x-rays of bones and objects! We thank him for sharing his knowdlege and time.

Easter is a time to celebrate and Mrs. L and myself wish you a special holiday! 

Beginning the month of March with the celebration of  Dr. Seuss's birthday is a perfect time to join in on the merriment of reading his fun books! It is important to make reading and listening to stories a pleasurable experience and our class will enjoy his stories and the whimsical rhymes. They will learn about characters and settings, also they will depict the beginning, middle and ending of stories. As a challenge, the students will work on writing a simple book report. As a class we will learn the step by step technique for this process. It is an additional tecnique to practice the phonic skills in a fun way! Each Friday throughout the month, your child may bring in to share a favorite book during a quiet reading time. Also, as a bonus activity, parents are invited to come into the class to read a story. Attached is a sign up sheet if you are interested to schedule a date and time...usually a 15 minute book is best. We certainly would love to see you!

In math,we begin with the concept of fractions. Whole, half and quarters will be practiced. Also, equal and unequal parts. Next, telling time on the hour, followed by the half hour. Seconds, minutes and hours are terms they will become familiar with as we practice on clocks we make in class.

Experiments in science will focus on 'March winds'. How many objects will move on a windy day outside and how many will they be able to move inside? Stay tuned to find out as we explore!

The character trait for this month is the lamb which represents forgiveness. It is a perfect time to practice during Lent as we prepare for Easter. Each Friday we participate with the school by praying at the Stations of the Cross. The class has booklets to follow in to help them understand each station. This is a very meaningful experience for each of them.

St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated in the class on Friday, March 16th with a Healthy snack of fruits and veggies. Maybe a special treat will be left by a leprechaun?