Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Issue 4 December 5, 2008 There are six pages in this newsletter. Dear Parents, We have completed our first four months of the school year. Hard to believe, but there are only six more months to go! The 18th of December will mark the end of the first semester of the school year. Isn’t it amazing how quickly the school year is passing? During our writing workshop time, we are working on small moments stories. These are personal narratives about our own lives. We sit with our writing buddies, and we practice telling one another about what we are going to write. We are learning to tell our story over several pages and we add details to our writing. Ms. Yamazaki is working on a story about her dog, Spunky. We continue to do word work and directed drawing in our Zoo- Phonics books. We have now drawn Allie Alligator, Bubba, Bear, Catina Cat, Dee Dee Deer, Ellie Elephant, Honey Horse, Kayo Kangaroo, Nigel Nightowl, Timothy Tiger, and Vincent Vampire Bat. This month, we will draw Francy Fish, Gordo Gorilla and Robby Rabbit, We write words with the letter sounds that we know. In math, we learned to play the Dragon Squeeze Game. Students made the materials to play this game at home. Please continue playing this game with your child as it helps to develop number sense. We are working on making things with tangram puzzles. You can read more about this on pages 2 and 3 of this newsletter. Tangram puzzles help develop concepts about geometry and spatial awareness. Please practice counting backwards with your child, starting from 20 or a higher number. All the best from Mary T’is the Season!

Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Page 2 Tangram Puzzle In math, we have had an introduction to the tangram puzzle. Here are the seven tangram pieces made into a square: The seven pieces are below on the left. Some of the puzzles that can be made From the seven pieces are on the right. Other math concepts we continue to practice are counting backwards from 20, telling time to the hour, identifying geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus (diamond), trapezoid, and hexagon) and simple number stories using addition and subtraction.

Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Page 3 Our lower school reading teacher, Ms. MacKenzie, read this book to the class. I often use it to introduce the geometric shapes in the Chinese tangram puzzle. A tangram puzzle consists of seven pieces:two large triangles, two small triangles, one medium triangle, one square, and one parallelogram. Ms. Yamazaki Grandfather Tang’s Story By Ann Tompert Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker Ms. Y’s Book Corner PBS Kids has a website (Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat)with tangram puzzles. Here is the link to the website. I would like to recommend that you and your child go to this excellent site. There are five easier tangram puzzles that your child can try. There are also five harder puzzles to challenge you. Have fun! Website: There are links on this website to other activities that are also worthwhile.

Page 4 Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News It was a wonderful International Thanksgiving Potluck! Please view our Photo Gallery for December 5th to find out why we are thankful. We are thankful for our turkey’s feathers that are made from the old neckties donated by some of our dads.

Page 5 Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Welcome to our newest class member, Analise! Analise and her family moved to Taipei last month from Folsom, California, near Sacramento about an hour-and-a- half from San Francisco. A warm welcome to Analise, her mom Cindy, her dad Ted, and her sisters, Sophie and Lauryn

Page 6 Mark your PTA calendars: Monday,Dec. 8 is Day 5 Monday, Dec. 15 is Day 10 Tuesday, Dec. 16 Class Party Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, Dec. 18th Dec. 19-Jan. 2 Winter Break Happy Holidays! Monday,Jan.. 5 is Day 1 Monday, Jan.12 is Day 6 Monday Jan. 19 is Day 1 Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News American Thanksgiving Facts  PTA’s Winter Wonderland ~Dec. 13th (pre-sale tickets only, no tickets at the door!)  PTA Book Fair Dec  TAS Winter Break Thursday, Dec. 19-Jan. 2 School resumes on Monday, Jan. 5th We learned a few facts about the first Thanksgiving in America, The Pilgrims came to America on a ship called the Mayflower. Squanto helped the pilgrims by teaching them where to find the best places to hunt and fish and how to plant corn. The first recognized Thanksgiving celebration was with the Pilgrims and their friends, the Wampanoag Indians. It lasted for three days. Some traditional Thanksgiving foods are roasted turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. If you would like to find out more about the Pilgrims and native Americans and how they lived, please go to the Scholastic website listed below. You can see how they lived, what their homes were like, how they dressed, etc. There is more than one page on this interactive and informative website. The First Thanksgiving, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, ( )