Happy First Blog Post PreKPals Parents!

Thank you all so much for joining Class Dojo! Mrs. Minifield and I can keep you up to date and share pictures with you through this app. If you need to send a message, you can do it through Dojo or email. Remember- if you don’t get an email or dojo reply, then we didn’t get your message and you will need to call the office regarding dismissal changes.

If your child is always extended day or always a car rider, then we do not need a weekly note each week. We only need a note or an email if your child’s normal means of transportation changes. If you have different transportation for every day of the week, you can send a weekly schedule with the dates and the modes of transportation listed.

Please remember to send snack daily. Snacks should not be packed with lunches. Some of you send snacks (only) in the lunchbox (because your child gets a tray in the cafeteria) and that is fine. Snacks should be quick and simple and we use our water cups to drink. We refill water cups all day long, so don’t worry about them running out. Make sure your child’s cup has a valve and is not a “free pour” cup. We do not drink juice at snack because of spills and sticky messes that invite ants.

You may want to send a light jacket or sweater that your child can leave in their cubby. Sometimes it is cold in our classroom and our thermostat has a mind of its own. The best jackets and sweaters are those that zip or button in the front and do not need to be put on over the head like a sweatshirt.

Please make sure to send your child to school in the shoes they need for PE. We don’t have time to change shoes before PE.

For morning drop off, please bring your child to the Multipurpose Room. We are the last classes to leave so if you see bigger children walking down the hallway, come to the MP room to find us. We will walk down as a class. Parents are not allowed to walk children to the classrooms. Smooch and go from the MP room and our day will go a lot smoother. When your child is upset and you linger or keep coming back in to check on them it makes it harder on both you and the child. We have had some criers, but everyone has settled in nicely and we think that next week will run like clockwork!

We have had a great 8 days of learning together! This week, we will start classroom jobs. Eventually everyone will have a weekly job to do. It is a big part of our classroom community. We will be using Conscious Discipline in our classroom to make everyone feel safe and valued. We look forward to sharing more about this method with you and hope you will find it valuable at home as well. Look for a handout in the Bear Binder this week about some things you can try at home.

We are having a great time learning class procedures and how to be a PreKPal. We expect to have a few more friends added in the next few weeks bringing our total to 18.

This week we will begin our weekly science experiments, have our first Let’s Find Out Newspaper, make our Birthday Graph and learn how to go to the library! We will also start focusing on letters and sounds. Our first anchor chart will be about the letter M!

You can find us on our closed Facebook at RQ PreKPals#1 – just ask to join.

Thanks for sharing your children with us! Have an awesome week! Alicia