Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Issue2 October 3, 2008 Dear Parents, It’s hard to believe but we are only days six school days away from our lower school student-led, activity based conferences. Today was our 34rh day of kindergarten, and October 16th is the official end of the first quarter of the school year. It just doesn’t seem possible, does it? Next week, all teachers in lower school will send home their students’ conference schedules. Our class has been working hard during this first quarter, and your child is eager to show you what s/he has learned so far. Your child will take you through a few centers which will include writing, reading, math, and portfolios. Together we will set goals for the coming quarter during the portfolio sharing. Our Halloween committee is planning a fun party for the class on October 31st. If you are at all interested in coming to the party, please notify one of our room mothers, Kathy Kai, Demi Wang, or Frauke Becker, and we will sign you up to help at an activity. I am very pleased to have your children in our class. They are a remarkable bunch, and I look forward to every school day. By the way, there are five pages to this newsletter, so be sure to advance to the next page. Best regards, Mary Portfolio Conferences ~ October 16 & 17

Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Page 2 Handwriting We are working on forming upper and lower case letters in your child’s name. We are also working on writing our numbers using proper formation. Here are the number poems we chant when we write our numbers in the air (we call it air writing): 0 “Around we go to make zero!” 1 “One is fun” ( it starts at ten on the clock and goes up to the left and around ) 2 “Around and back on the railroad track.” 3 “Around a tree, around a tree, that’s the way to make a three.” 4 “Down across, and down some more; that’s the way to make a four.” 5 “Across the top and down the side, and a big fat stomach to make number five.” 6 “Roll a hoop, and make a loop.” 7 “Across the sky and down from heaven, that’s the way to make a seven.” 8 “Make an S and do not wait; go back up and close the gate.” 9 “A ball and a line to make number nine.” With these ten numerals, we can form any number! We are working on our numbers in our number poem book. The children are learning that NO numbers or letters start from the bottom up! These poems help us remember. Other math concepts we have introduced* this quarter are: Coins (US penny and nickel), pattern, place value (tens and ones), counting by fives and tens, counting backwards, even and odd numbers, telling time to the hour, sorting, and exploration with simple geometric shapes, and symmetry. *introduced does not mean mastered

Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Page 3 I Like Me! by Nancy Carlson is a simple picture book in which readers are introduced a cheerful pig who teaches that you can have fun and confidence in yourself even when no one else is around. After listening to the book, we made our own class ebook based on Nancy Carlson’s colorful book. Here is our class adaptation of Nancy Carlson’s book, starring our class. This ebook may require some support from parents since the text is not as predictable as some of our predictable pattern books. Please read this book together with your child and enjoy! We also read Nancy Carlson’s ABC I Like Me! Review: "This concept book vibrates with bright colors, happy thoughts, and joie de vivre! A storytime natural." School Library Journal on ABC I Like Me! "The foundation of a healthy self-image, the cornerstone of a happy and successful life, is what Carlson's work is all about. Bright, colorful pictures complement the bouncy, upbeat text. Carlson imparts a positive message... loaded with appeal." Publishers Weekly I Like Me By Nancy Carlson Ms. Y’s Book Corner I Like Me! Introducing our E-book: by Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten Class

Page 4 Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News We also read these books by Nancy Carlson. These and many of her other books are available in the Lower School library. When she was in kindergarten, Nancy Carlson already knew that she wanted to grow up and draw pictures and tell stories. And she did. She has published over 50 books. Perhaps one of your children will be an author-illustrator like Nancy Carlson one day, too! You can find out more about Nancy Carlson by visiting her website with your child:

Page 5 Mark your PTA calendars: Monday, October 6 is Day 6 Thursday and Friday, October 9 & 10 ~ school holiday (Mid-autumn break) Monday, October 13 is Day 9 Thursday & Friday, October 16 & 17 ~ Student-led Conferences Monday, October 20 is Day 2 Monday, October 27 is Day 7 On Tuesday, after the typhoon day, we wrote about our typhoon experiences for our Weekend News. In our Writing Workshop, we are now working on telling a story over more than one page---not telling everything on the first page. Students are free to choose booklets if they want to write more than one page to tell a story. These booklets are their normal writing paper stapled together at the side. We are working on adding details to our pictures and to our writing. Our writers are at different stages of the writing continuum. Some are experimenting with “kidwriting” and using some initial consonants to write a word. Some are drawing their stories and labeling different people or things in their drawings. A few are beginning to leave spaces between words. No matter what stage, we are all writers in room 1A33. It is something to celebrate! Visit our photo gallery to see your young authors at work. Ms. Yamazaki’s Kindergarten News Writing Workshop Halloween Party on October 31st Students should bring their costumes in a bag and we will change after lunch before our party!