The ABC's of Kindergarten
Arrival
Arrival begins at 8:45 when the first bell rings. The second bell rings at 9:15. During this time, students come in, unpack, get breakfast if needed and begin their morning work. Please keep in mind that it takes your child several minutes to walk down to the room each morning. Arrival is an important part of your child’s day that helps them transition into a full day of learning. Students who arrive to the classroom later than 9:15 are considered tardy and will need to go to the office to get a note.
Attendance
Attendance is imperative for your child to find success in Kindergarten. Many of the activities we do each day are group oriented and involve working with partners, the whole class, etc. It is important for your child to be part of these learning experiences. If your child is absent, please send a note in with them on the day of their return.
Birthdays
Birthdays are a special time for all children. We do not do birthday treats as some children have allergies, do not celebrate birthdays, etc. You are invited to send in a goodie bag that could include items like a pencil, stickers, etc. We will also give your student some birthday surprises in the classroom. You can also choose to send in your child's favorite book for us to read on their special day.
Contacting Mrs. Embler
If you need to contact me during the school day, you can: 1) Send a note with your child in their Daily Folder 2) Call the school and leave a message 3) Send an email at [email protected] I check my email before school begins and at the end of the school day. Communication with your family is of the utmost importance to me.
Conscious Discipline
Our classroom community is a school family. I follow the practices of Conscious Discipline. Conscious Discipline integrates social-emotional learning, discipline and self-regulation. It is a way for students to learn to respond to conflict in a way that teaches critical life skills. All students have a classroom job each week, we make our own classroom commitment and review it each day. We learn breathing techniques to help us respond to strong feelings and how to regulate our emotions. Conscious Discipline allows students to take ownership of their behavior and choices. To learn more, please visit our classroom website and follow the link to learn more about Conscious Discipline.
Daily Folders
Your child will bring home a blue daily folder each day. It should come to school each day. If you need to send in a note, please ensure it goes into your child’s daily folder. We check these folders each morning. When it is time for field trips or other important papers, all of these will go home in your child’s daily folder.
Dismissal
Early dismissals need to be recorded in the office. You will need to go to the front of the building and ring the doorbell to sign your student out. The office will call for him/her once you have signed them out. The front office will not check your child out after 3:20 pm. Students are dismissed to carpool, YMCA, buses or a day care van. If you have a change in your child’s transportation, please send in a note or email me. It is imperative that your student knows how they are going home each day. This will help them feel comfortable in a routine.
Extra Clothing
Please keep a seasonally appropriate change of clothes in your child’s book bag. Please keep them in a Ziploc bag with your child’s name on it. In this bag, please include socks and underclothes. Even if your child does not have accidents, things happen.
Field Trips
We hope to participate in both on campus and off campus field trips. This year, due to Covid restrictions, we cannot participate in off campus field trips until the spring semester. We will keep you posted as we learn more about field trips.
Guests
**Due to Covid 19 restrictions, we cannot have guests at this time. I will keep you informed about any changes.**
Homework
Homework will consist of reading to and with your Kindergarten student. Students will also have a few family projects to complete throughout the year.
Instructional Assistant
Our instructional assistant is Ms. Stover. She spends the majority of her day in our classroom. We are so fortunate to have her in our school family!
AdJustment
Kindergarten is a time of adJustment. The length of the day, being away from family, newness and routines are all an adJustment for your child. Please feel free to talk with me at any time about your child’s adJustment to Kindergarten.
Keep the Routine
Routine is an important part of Kindergarten. Many families find it beneficial to keep a routine for mornings and evenings. Some students prefer to do their reading each morning before school while others like to read before bed. Our day is centered around routines. Please help your child to arrive at school in time to begin their morning routine of unpacking, completing their morning “jobs,” getting breakfast (if needed) and completing their morning work/participating in morning centers.
Letterland
Letterland is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling to 3-8 year olds. The Letterland characters transform plain black letter shapes into child-friendly pictograms and they all live in an imaginary place called Letterland.
Simple stories about the Letterland characters, explain the full range of dry phonics facts so that children are motivated to listen, to think and to learn. These stories explain letter sounds & shapes, allowing children to progress quickly to word building, reading and writing. For more information please visit: http://www.letterland.com/parent-guide/alphabet-sounds.
The Steps are…
1. Letter Sounds-Once you have met the friendly Letterland characters, just start to say their names for the correct letter sound.
2. Letter Shapes-Simple stories about the Letterland characters ensure correct letter formation, avoiding confusion over similar looking letters.
3. Action Tricks-Actions for the alphabet are linked to each character, forging a strong connection between the action, letter shape and sound.
4. Word Building-Blending & segmenting all through words is introduced very early on, covering blends, digraphs and trigraphs.
5. Advanced Spelling-Phonics stories give children a friendly logic for remembering all 44 letter sounds and their major spellings.
6. Multi-sensory Learning-Letterland activates every learning channel through music, actions, movement, song, art, craft, games and role-play.
Lunch
We eat lunch in the cafeteria each day. Our lunch time is 11:35-12:05. Please make sure that you pack lunch and snack separately. Your student may choose to bring their lunch or get lunch from the cafeteria.
Monday Folders
Your child will bring home a manilla folder each Monday. In this folder will be your child’s work and projects from the previous week. Please take time to go through the work with your child. Have him/her tell you about all of the wonderful things he/she has learned and created! After you have reviewed the folder contents, take everything out and return the empty folder to school on Tuesday.
Notes
If you send a note in with your child, please put it in their Daily folder. These folders are checked each morning. It will be your child’s responsibility to turn in this folder each day.
Office
**Due to Covid 19 restrictions, if you are coming to campus, you will ring the doorbell at the main doors and an office staff member will assist you outside.**
Playground
Our class will be playing on the playground every day (weather permitting). Please keep this in mind when your child is choosing clothing and shoes each morning! Clothing worn to school should follow the Wake County Public Schools guidelines. Students are welcome to leave a pair of tennis shoes in their cubby at school to ensure they always have safe shoes for recess and PE.
Physical Education
Students will need to have appropriate shoes on for PE. Students may choose to keep tennis shoes in their cubby so that they always have a pair at school. If students do not have on safe shoes, they will not be able to fully participate in PE.
Quiet Time
Students will need a rest towel for our quiet time. Please make sure your child has a rest towel (rather than a rest mat). These will be sent home every Friday to be washed and sent back on Monday. Kindergarten is an adjustment and students need this time at the beginning of the year to adjust to the length of the Kindergarten day. I will let you know when we phase rest time out.
Report Cards
Your child will receive four report cards throughout the year. These report cards are sent home for you to see what your child is able to demonstrate for me at school.
Snack
We will eat snack every afternoon in the classroom. Please send in a healthy snack for your child. Please make sure that the snack and drink are packed separate from your child’s lunch. If your child will be attending the YMCA program after school, he/she will need to bring a second snack and drink to have there.
Specials
We have specials each day. This is a time that students get to enjoy different things such as Media, Music, Art & PE. Please make sure that your student has on tennis shoes for the days that we have PE.
Transportation
If there is ever a change in your child’s transportation, please send in a dated note with the bus number and/or carpool number. It is very important to discuss this change with your child before he/she comes to school so that he/she will know what to expect at the end of the day. If your child is going home with another child (car or bus), both students will need transportation notes stating that both families are aware of the transportation change. You may also call the office for a change in transportation and they will relay the message to me.
Talking Points:
I will be using Talking Points as well as email to communicate with your family. Talking Points is an amazing resource that allows messages to go straight to your cell phone.
Unexpected
Please keep me informed if something unexpected happens within your home such as loss of a pet or family member, moving to a new home, birth of a sibling, etc. These changes can impact your child’s social, emotional, behavioral and academic performance at school.
Volunteers
**Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are not able to have volunteers at this time. I will continue to keep you posted if/when things change.**
Websites
In Kindergarten, we use technology. I will share any websites and apps that we use in school. Students love using these at home. I will have a page on our classroom website called, “For the Kindergartners” and many of their favorite apps and games from school will be on there.
eXcited
I am so excited to be your child’s Kindergarten teacher!! This is my ninth year at Oak Grove. I have taught First Grade and Kindergarten. We are going to have a great year learning and growing together! Kindergarten is an eXciting time!!
You
You are the expert on your child. I look forward to working with you and your family this year to ensure that your Kindergartner has a successful and fun year!
Zzzzs
Transitioning into a full day of Kindergarten can be exhausting for young children. It is important to ensure that your student is getting enough sleep each night. This will help your child be alert and ready to learn each day.
Arrival
Arrival begins at 8:45 when the first bell rings. The second bell rings at 9:15. During this time, students come in, unpack, get breakfast if needed and begin their morning work. Please keep in mind that it takes your child several minutes to walk down to the room each morning. Arrival is an important part of your child’s day that helps them transition into a full day of learning. Students who arrive to the classroom later than 9:15 are considered tardy and will need to go to the office to get a note.
Attendance
Attendance is imperative for your child to find success in Kindergarten. Many of the activities we do each day are group oriented and involve working with partners, the whole class, etc. It is important for your child to be part of these learning experiences. If your child is absent, please send a note in with them on the day of their return.
Birthdays
Birthdays are a special time for all children. We do not do birthday treats as some children have allergies, do not celebrate birthdays, etc. You are invited to send in a goodie bag that could include items like a pencil, stickers, etc. We will also give your student some birthday surprises in the classroom. You can also choose to send in your child's favorite book for us to read on their special day.
Contacting Mrs. Embler
If you need to contact me during the school day, you can: 1) Send a note with your child in their Daily Folder 2) Call the school and leave a message 3) Send an email at [email protected] I check my email before school begins and at the end of the school day. Communication with your family is of the utmost importance to me.
Conscious Discipline
Our classroom community is a school family. I follow the practices of Conscious Discipline. Conscious Discipline integrates social-emotional learning, discipline and self-regulation. It is a way for students to learn to respond to conflict in a way that teaches critical life skills. All students have a classroom job each week, we make our own classroom commitment and review it each day. We learn breathing techniques to help us respond to strong feelings and how to regulate our emotions. Conscious Discipline allows students to take ownership of their behavior and choices. To learn more, please visit our classroom website and follow the link to learn more about Conscious Discipline.
Daily Folders
Your child will bring home a blue daily folder each day. It should come to school each day. If you need to send in a note, please ensure it goes into your child’s daily folder. We check these folders each morning. When it is time for field trips or other important papers, all of these will go home in your child’s daily folder.
Dismissal
Early dismissals need to be recorded in the office. You will need to go to the front of the building and ring the doorbell to sign your student out. The office will call for him/her once you have signed them out. The front office will not check your child out after 3:20 pm. Students are dismissed to carpool, YMCA, buses or a day care van. If you have a change in your child’s transportation, please send in a note or email me. It is imperative that your student knows how they are going home each day. This will help them feel comfortable in a routine.
Extra Clothing
Please keep a seasonally appropriate change of clothes in your child’s book bag. Please keep them in a Ziploc bag with your child’s name on it. In this bag, please include socks and underclothes. Even if your child does not have accidents, things happen.
Field Trips
We hope to participate in both on campus and off campus field trips. This year, due to Covid restrictions, we cannot participate in off campus field trips until the spring semester. We will keep you posted as we learn more about field trips.
Guests
**Due to Covid 19 restrictions, we cannot have guests at this time. I will keep you informed about any changes.**
Homework
Homework will consist of reading to and with your Kindergarten student. Students will also have a few family projects to complete throughout the year.
Instructional Assistant
Our instructional assistant is Ms. Stover. She spends the majority of her day in our classroom. We are so fortunate to have her in our school family!
AdJustment
Kindergarten is a time of adJustment. The length of the day, being away from family, newness and routines are all an adJustment for your child. Please feel free to talk with me at any time about your child’s adJustment to Kindergarten.
Keep the Routine
Routine is an important part of Kindergarten. Many families find it beneficial to keep a routine for mornings and evenings. Some students prefer to do their reading each morning before school while others like to read before bed. Our day is centered around routines. Please help your child to arrive at school in time to begin their morning routine of unpacking, completing their morning “jobs,” getting breakfast (if needed) and completing their morning work/participating in morning centers.
Letterland
Letterland is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling to 3-8 year olds. The Letterland characters transform plain black letter shapes into child-friendly pictograms and they all live in an imaginary place called Letterland.
Simple stories about the Letterland characters, explain the full range of dry phonics facts so that children are motivated to listen, to think and to learn. These stories explain letter sounds & shapes, allowing children to progress quickly to word building, reading and writing. For more information please visit: http://www.letterland.com/parent-guide/alphabet-sounds.
The Steps are…
1. Letter Sounds-Once you have met the friendly Letterland characters, just start to say their names for the correct letter sound.
2. Letter Shapes-Simple stories about the Letterland characters ensure correct letter formation, avoiding confusion over similar looking letters.
3. Action Tricks-Actions for the alphabet are linked to each character, forging a strong connection between the action, letter shape and sound.
4. Word Building-Blending & segmenting all through words is introduced very early on, covering blends, digraphs and trigraphs.
5. Advanced Spelling-Phonics stories give children a friendly logic for remembering all 44 letter sounds and their major spellings.
6. Multi-sensory Learning-Letterland activates every learning channel through music, actions, movement, song, art, craft, games and role-play.
Lunch
We eat lunch in the cafeteria each day. Our lunch time is 11:35-12:05. Please make sure that you pack lunch and snack separately. Your student may choose to bring their lunch or get lunch from the cafeteria.
Monday Folders
Your child will bring home a manilla folder each Monday. In this folder will be your child’s work and projects from the previous week. Please take time to go through the work with your child. Have him/her tell you about all of the wonderful things he/she has learned and created! After you have reviewed the folder contents, take everything out and return the empty folder to school on Tuesday.
Notes
If you send a note in with your child, please put it in their Daily folder. These folders are checked each morning. It will be your child’s responsibility to turn in this folder each day.
Office
**Due to Covid 19 restrictions, if you are coming to campus, you will ring the doorbell at the main doors and an office staff member will assist you outside.**
Playground
Our class will be playing on the playground every day (weather permitting). Please keep this in mind when your child is choosing clothing and shoes each morning! Clothing worn to school should follow the Wake County Public Schools guidelines. Students are welcome to leave a pair of tennis shoes in their cubby at school to ensure they always have safe shoes for recess and PE.
Physical Education
Students will need to have appropriate shoes on for PE. Students may choose to keep tennis shoes in their cubby so that they always have a pair at school. If students do not have on safe shoes, they will not be able to fully participate in PE.
Quiet Time
Students will need a rest towel for our quiet time. Please make sure your child has a rest towel (rather than a rest mat). These will be sent home every Friday to be washed and sent back on Monday. Kindergarten is an adjustment and students need this time at the beginning of the year to adjust to the length of the Kindergarten day. I will let you know when we phase rest time out.
Report Cards
Your child will receive four report cards throughout the year. These report cards are sent home for you to see what your child is able to demonstrate for me at school.
Snack
We will eat snack every afternoon in the classroom. Please send in a healthy snack for your child. Please make sure that the snack and drink are packed separate from your child’s lunch. If your child will be attending the YMCA program after school, he/she will need to bring a second snack and drink to have there.
Specials
We have specials each day. This is a time that students get to enjoy different things such as Media, Music, Art & PE. Please make sure that your student has on tennis shoes for the days that we have PE.
Transportation
If there is ever a change in your child’s transportation, please send in a dated note with the bus number and/or carpool number. It is very important to discuss this change with your child before he/she comes to school so that he/she will know what to expect at the end of the day. If your child is going home with another child (car or bus), both students will need transportation notes stating that both families are aware of the transportation change. You may also call the office for a change in transportation and they will relay the message to me.
Talking Points:
I will be using Talking Points as well as email to communicate with your family. Talking Points is an amazing resource that allows messages to go straight to your cell phone.
Unexpected
Please keep me informed if something unexpected happens within your home such as loss of a pet or family member, moving to a new home, birth of a sibling, etc. These changes can impact your child’s social, emotional, behavioral and academic performance at school.
Volunteers
**Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are not able to have volunteers at this time. I will continue to keep you posted if/when things change.**
Websites
In Kindergarten, we use technology. I will share any websites and apps that we use in school. Students love using these at home. I will have a page on our classroom website called, “For the Kindergartners” and many of their favorite apps and games from school will be on there.
eXcited
I am so excited to be your child’s Kindergarten teacher!! This is my ninth year at Oak Grove. I have taught First Grade and Kindergarten. We are going to have a great year learning and growing together! Kindergarten is an eXciting time!!
You
You are the expert on your child. I look forward to working with you and your family this year to ensure that your Kindergartner has a successful and fun year!
Zzzzs
Transitioning into a full day of Kindergarten can be exhausting for young children. It is important to ensure that your student is getting enough sleep each night. This will help your child be alert and ready to learn each day.