June 2008

Dear Parents,

It has been an extreme pleasure getting to know each and every child on a personal level; what makes them tick, what they want to be when they grow up, their wants and needs. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of children.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you as parents for making this an extremely successful year in Kindergarten Without you, this rewarding time would be next to impossible. Your generosity and kindness is truly appreciated.

It is important for the children to retain what they have learned in Kindergarten. I have put together a couple of ideas to help you out over the summer to keep their minds engaged.

READING
The best thing that you can do for your child is to read to them everyday for 10-20 minutes a day. Listening to you read serves as a model for your child’s reading skills. Taking your child to the library and getting him his own library card will serve a couple of purposes; your child will feel ownership over that card as well as a giving him a sense of responsibility. Given the opportunity to choose his or her own book will fuel interest in reading.

MATH
There are lots of fun things to do with math! You can let your child sort common household objects by color, shape and size. To practice counting, you can take your child to the store with you and have them count back your change. Learning addition and subtraction problems using numbers less than six can also be done with a fun twist. For example, you can give your child three cookies and ask him how many would be left if he or she ate one of the cookies.

WRITING
Writing is a ton of fun! When you go on vacation with your child this summer have them keep a journal of their week by writing a simple sentence followed by a picture. This will serve as an excellent source of "what I did over summer vacation." Lisa and I would like to wish all of our families a safe and fun-filled summer! We look forward to seeing you in the Fall.

Best Regards,

Annie & Lisa