Senior Kindergarten

Dear Senior Kindergarten Families,

As we wrap up a wonderful year together, we want to take a moment to thank you for sharing your amazing children with us. This final week of school has been full of laughter, exploration, and special moments. 

We kicked things off with creek exploration, where the children were filled with curiosity as they splashed, discovered, and took in the beauty of nature around them, especially the big tree, which is always a staple to climb! 

Then came a day that definitely needs to become a tradition, Board Game Day! It was epic! The classroom was full of excitement and friendly competition, and lots of giggles. Watching the children explain rules, take turns, and cheer each other on was a wonderful reminder of how much they’ve grown socially and emotionally this year.

PJ Day brought cozy comfort to the classroom. The children cuddled up in their favorite pajamas, enjoying stories, warm conversations, and of course, popcorn and a movie! It was the perfect way to wind down and celebrate the end of our year together.

This year, we’ve had the privilege of watching your children grow in many ways. They’ve become more confident and more connected to one another. Whether learning how to read, exploring math concepts, sharing stories, or solving problems together, they have consistently shown us their unique strengths, kind hearts, and joyful spirits.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership and for trusting us with your little ones. We will miss them dearly, but we know they are ready for all the adventures that await them in first grade!!! 

Wishing you a wonderful summer!

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

UPCOMING DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Hello SK Families!
While the title might sound a little bittersweet (we know… cue the tissues), this week has been nothing but smiles, laughs, and happy tears in SK. We’ve been soaking up every moment together by learning, playing, and making the most of our final stretch as Senior Kindergarteners!

We kicked off the week with a brand-new phonics activity: Read to a Friend! While this can be a big leap for some kiddos, our SK crew jumped right in like reading rockstars. We paired up, spread around the room, and took turns reading from our book boxes. The best part? Hearing kids who once said, “I don’t know how to read!” proudly use all of their reading strategies to share books with their friends. We even had a special treat and the kiddos brought in stuffed animal reading buddies! That’s right, our favorite plush pals joined in on the fun, and the joy on their faces said it all. This week, we also dove into the world of coins and money value. Our little learners loved discovering who’s featured on each coin, how much each is worth, and what they could “buy” with them. Seeing them explore how smaller coins can be combined into bigger ones was magical.

Our Annual “Water Play Wednesday” was a huge splash! We joined the rest of our Early Childhood crew for water stations, soaking fun, and squeals of joy. The laughter echoed all day long! On Thursday, we experienced one of our most touching traditions, the 5th grade Weather Balloon Launch. With teary eyes and hopeful hearts, we watched JoJo XI float into the sky, waving goodbye, and just looking up. To our surprise, he was found before dismissal! That’s a record! We also need to give big cheers to 4th grade’s stunning Attack Theater performance! Our class was inspired and mesmerized. We’re so grateful for our older students who continue to set beautiful examples for our curious learners.

To wrap up this unforgettable year, we’ve got a week FULL of fun and themed days to celebrate all we’ve accomplished!

🪣 Monday – Creek Day
Please come dressed in your creek clothes, creek shoes, and don’t forget a towel & change of clothes!

😴 Tuesday – Pajama Day
Snuggle up in your comfiest PJs while we enjoy popcorn, snacks and of course movies!

🎲 Wednesday – Game Day
Bring your favorite board game, card game, or puzzles and let the games begin! This will also be move up day. In the morning the students will take a walk up the “Big Stairs” and visit 1st grade. Getting acquainted with their new space and teachers.

🏅 Thursday – Field Day
Field Day activities begin at 12:30. We ask that your child comes dressed in your their swimsuits with a towel and we will give them their blue or gold shirt. Families are welcome to join in on the fun!

🎓 Friday (Optional)– 5th Grade Promotion
If attending, please wear Monday attire (blue shirt, khaki bottoms). The ceremony begins at 10:00am and we will dismiss directly after (11:45am).

This has truly been a magical, growth-filled year. Our hearts are full watching how much these amazing kids have grown. Academically, emotionally, and socially. Let’s finish strong, and go out with a bang! 💥

UPCOMING DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Wednesday, May 14th– Water Play Day! Your child will need to come to school dressed in water play clothes, and bring a towel with a set of dry clothes to change into!

Hello Families,

What a magical night we had on Thursday!

Michael J. Fox once said, “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” In the busyness of our day-to-day lives, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters. That’s why having a night like Thursday, full of connection, creativity, and joy, felt so special.

Spending that time together, celebrating your children and the amazing work they’ve done this year, was an absolute blast. The children were so proud to show off the beautiful ideas they created — and rightfully so! Their creativity truly knows no bounds.

Thank you for celebrating their work with us. Seeing the children light up with excitement as they shared their projects with you was such a special moment. It was a reminder of how much they’ve grown — and how meaningful it is to celebrate that growth together.

This week in phonics, we read the beautiful story Only One You by Linda Kranz. The children took time to reflect on how much they’ve grown this year—not just in height, but in their learning!

We went on a rock hunt, and each child painted their very own special fish rock, symbolizing their unique journey and the exciting path ahead as they prepare for first grade — can you believe it? FIRST GRADE!

They also shared some of the wisdom they’ve gathered this year. This group has always had a natural curiosity for science and discovery, and that enthusiasm stayed strong throughout our final trimester. Whether they were experimenting, asking big questions, or practicing how to be kind friends, they leaned into every learning moment with wonder and heart.

In Fine Arts, Miss Dean worked with the class to create a special Mother’s Day gift just for you. We hope you enjoy it — the children put so much love and care into their creations!

As we head into the weekend, we hope it’s filled with whatever makes you feel special and appreciated. You all deserve a big pat on the back! What wonderful children you have — thank you for sharing them with us this year.

We can’t wait to see what their final DAYS as an SK’er bring!!

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In the words of our dear friend Justin Timberlake… It’s gonna be MAY! The weather surely showed us that. From beautiful, sunny skies one minute to torrential downpours the next. Wild, unpredictable weather to match our wildly unpredictable days. Here in SK no two days are ever alike, but this is especially true this past week! With the end of the year creeping up on us rather quickly, we are doing all we can to cram in all the fun activities we can in a short period of time. Thankfully, we have a very patient, adaptable group of kiddos. No matter what our days look like we can be sure that they will blow us away with all they can accomplish.

In phonics this week we hit the ground running, quite literally! In an action packed trick word race this crew showed us that not only are they quick on their feet, but their brains work super speedy, too! It was such a delight to see them recall and write the trick words we’ve been working with the past few weeks and their ability to show good sportsmanship throughout the entire game was one of the best experiences. In math, we are continuing to review all of the various concepts we’ve learned this year and we are truly amazed by how much these kiddos have learned. From telling time to measuring, weighing, examining shapes, patterns, addition, AND subtraction this crew can truly do it all. We can hardly keep up!! We’ve been eager to introduce them to something new and although it was hard to SAVE for last, we feel it just makes CENTS to teach next week… Stay tuned!

In provocations we’re wrapping up our Solar System with all of the finishing touches. Seeing the students come in dressed as the creatures that inhabit their planets was surely one of the highlights of our week. Their imagination will never fail to amaze us and their ability to bring their ideas to life is even more astonishing! We cannot wait for you all to come next week (Thursday May 8th at 5:30-6:30) and see all of the wonderful things this crew has been working so hard on.

The 100 days of May are upon us and although there’s lots to do, these next couple of weeks are going to fly by and we are going to fly right with them! As we wrap up our days together we are making sure that we do all the things, all the time. We’re not missing the opportunity for a dance party when our dancing shoes are laced and ready to go. We’re not missing out on extra recess time when the sun’s shining a little brighter than normal. We’re not missing out on hugs, laughs, or even tears because we know that every moment is precious and we cannot miss out on the few moments we’ve got left together. MAY everyday be filled with precious, priceless moments.

Have a great weekend,
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

UPCOMING DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mark your calendars: 

The Early Childhood End of the Year Showcase: Thursday, May 8th from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 

What to expect:

Families should drop off their child/children to their classroom by 5:15. Parents can then go to the gym, where the evening will begin. At 5:30, the children will come to the gym with their teachers and take their place within their exhibition space. Parents will be invited to explore their child’s exhibit and the other classes as well. Following the exhibits within the gym, children and families will be invited to enjoy refreshments in the amphitheater (weather permitting) and tour classrooms.

Hello Families, 

The topic of this week is….We have less than 20 days left to bounce around SK’s outer space!  The children are still full of excitement about their planets — what happens inside, what happens outside, and everything in between!

After reading all about Ms. Frizzle’s class taking an epic adventure to the center of the Earth and discovering the inner core, we asked our curious space travelers, “What would be in the center of your planet?” They said anything from sand, diamonds, rocks, and more! This discussion also led us into what the creatures ON their planet would wear. So we asked! “What kind of clothes would someone wear on your planet?”

Here’s what they had to say:

• Ollie – “Clothes with a shirt collar.”
• Gemma – “Heart clothes.”
• Makayla – “Dresses!”
• Milo – “Awesome clothes for dancing, it’s gonna be short sleeves, shorts, and also a hat, an awesome hat.”
• Finn – “Axolotl costume. Scuba diving clothes.”
• Felix – “Wear real clothes.”
• Pierce – “Gaming sweatshirt, gaming pants, gaming tattoos, hair with gaming creepers.”
• Mia – “Butterfly wings and a shirt with an ice cream cone.”
• Kyler – “Red clothes.”
• Ellie – “Rainbow shirts.”
• Savannah – “Astronaut clothes with cat ears.”
• Winston – “Hockey gear.”
• Regina – “Well, you have to wear an I love my planet’ shirt with hearts on it and a space helmet.” 
• Griffin – “Alien shirt and a hat.”
• Rowan – “You have to wear bathing suits so the baby calves don’t splash me in the water.”
• Leo – “A t-shirt and khaki shorts.”
• Hudson – “Bathing suits because I’m going in the ocean.”
• Roman – “T-shirt and shorts.”
• Isaac – “Sweatshirt and sweatpants.”
• Jackson – “Sweatshirt and sweatpants.”
• Bradley – “A pink dress and blue jeans.”
• Nora – “You have to wear a candy outfit with candy jewelry.”
• Joanna – “Something with cats on it.”
• Dermot – “Pajamas.”
• Caston – “Bathing suits.”
• Edna – “Bathing suits.”
• Eileen – “Bathing suits to wash my flowers.”

How “out-of-this-world” are these answers?! Our little space explorers had so much fun dreaming up their planets, the clothes they’d wear, and what lies deep inside their cosmic creations! 

After sharing their planet ideas, each kiddo picked a special word to describe their very own galaxy. We mixed all those magical words together in our galaxy name-drawing can and came up with the names:

 On the block side, our galaxy came to be named: SK Color Shine-Up Flower
And the light table side, our galaxy is known as: SK Hearty Awesome Stars 

Aren’t those the shiniest, brightest, happiest space team names ever?! We are truly blasting off into the final weeks of SK! Next week on Tuesday, April 29th, we are asking each child to bring their imagination to life. Please come dressed in the proper attire for your planet! 

To end the week we hopped aboard our very own Magic School Bus and zipped around the world for International Day…here on campus of course! 

The children loved exploring different countries and cultures, and here are just a few of the exciting stops on our adventure:

In Pakistan and India, they got beautiful henna tattoos—so many swirly, sparkly designs! In Thailand, they learned to play a fun and active new game called So Larr—so many giggles and teamwork! In Italy, they discovered that we eat pasta just like they do! Bellissimo! To top off our globe-trotting day, we all met in the gym for a taste of each country—yum yum and delizioso! Our little explorers were so curious, respectful, and excited to learn about the big, beautiful world around them. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

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This week, we added even more magic to our days… Literally and mathematically! We continued exploring the world of addition, using everything from counting bears and unifix cubes to our very own fingers to see what equations we could solve. Whether we were adding tiny numbers or stretching our brains to add BIG ones, our mathematicians were locked in and loving the challenge. Watching them confidently combine numbers and proudly announce their totals is such a joy and is true math magic in action! Next week we plan to take things away and start discussing the wonderful world of subtraction!! We can’t wait to see how their big brains tackle this new topic.

Our studies of space continue to take us out of this world! We’ve begun putting together the pieces to our very own classroom galaxies and let us assure you, no astronomer could’ve guessed it’d look this good! Coming up with names that outshine the Milky Way wasn’t easy, but after lots of imagination, collaboration, and a few giggles, both sides of our class now have their own uniquely named galaxies. We can’t wait to show you the final creations as they take shape in our cosmic classroom universe!

Even though the rain tried to rain on our parade, we still managed to soak up plenty of fresh air this week. The pollen may have been high, and so were the sneezes, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying nature’s beauty. The white flower buds floating through the breeze looked just like snowflakes, prompting the most adorable chant: “SNOW. IN. APRIL.” It’s moments like these that remind us how magical it is to watch their love for nature grow and to be a part of it.

Of course, the egg hunt was the ultimate highlight! The fifth graders really showed up, keeping their promise to make it “The best egg hunt yet” and boy, did they deliver! Our kiddos were over the moon to crack open eggs filled with fidgets, tiny toys, and of course, candy galore. Their smiles said it all!

Even with a short week, the learning didn’t stop. We’ve been diving into short decodable passages, and let us tell you, these kiddos are becoming true readers. The excitement in their eyes when they decode words and read sentences on their own is priceless. First grade, here they come… almost.

From space adventures to flower-filled “snowy” weather and lots and lots of learning. We’re so proud of each and every student for their hard work, their curiosity, and their joy. We hope your long weekend is full of sunshine (and maybe fewer sneezes)!

Have a great long weekend,
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

UPCOMING DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mark your calendars: 

April 17th, at 11:30  Early Dismissal

Thursday, the fifth-grade class will be hosting a Spring Egg Hunt for our PS-4th-grade students on the main campus. We have lots of plastic eggs from previous years but we need your help in gathering items to fill the eggs. If you are able to donate a dozen small toys, trinkets, stickers, or candy for the school, we would love to have them by Monday. April 14. Thank you in advance for your help in making this a special event for our students!

April 22nd Classes Resume with a 10:00 am start 

May 8th, 5:30-6:30 Early Childhood End of the Year Showcase

Nothing but little astronomers here in SK!! “Miss Gina, are we gonna learn about the black hole??” was the question that kicked off our exciting space adventure this week!

We found the perfect book, Journey into a Black Hole by Franklyn M. Branley. It was just the right introduction to inspire their little minds and start some BIG thinking. After reading, we explored the concept of a black hole using a balloon to demonstrate how it might begin in the center and pull things in with no way out. Before reading this story they all wanted to take a field trip to a black hole, but then we discovered there is no way out! They all changed our minds!! 

This week, the children continued to work together to bring their galaxies to life—what magic! We started by painting our backdrop black, of course, to represent the night sky. Then came the stars! Using watercolors and oil pastels, the children carefully created beautifully shaped stars, noticing that not all stars are the same size or color—just like in real space! To help with the placement of our planets, we painted a big hula hoop that will serve as the structure to bring our galaxy pieces together. 

Our math adventures continued with the book Missing Math A Number Mystery by Loreen Leedy—it was the perfect way to launch our explorations! The children loved the fun riddles and playful patterns. We also continued practicing how to write our numbers correctly, focusing on taking our time and forming each one. Throughout the week, we explored different ways to add and discovered that we use addition all the time—even when we’re not thinking about it! Whether we’re setting the table, counting blocks, or sharing Sharpie markers- which they ALL love, we’re adding all day long, and without it so many daily routines wouldn’t even happen. 

In phonics this week, the children began reading decodable stories—an exciting step in their literacy journey! As they read, we focused on retelling the story to support comprehension and understanding. Together, we searched for familiar sight words, practiced identifying L blends, and worked on distinguishing each part of a sentence, from capital letters to punctuation.

Have a wonderful weekend! We will see you next week for just a few days! 

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

UPCOMING DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
A Message from 5th Grade: On April 17th, the fifth-grade class will be hosting a Spring Egg Hunt for our PS-4th-grade students on main campus. We have lots of plastic eggs from previous years but we need your help in gathering items to fill the eggs. If you are able to donate a dozen small toys, trinkets, stickers, or candy for the school, we would love to have them by Monday. April 14. Thank you in advance for your help in making this a special event for our students! 

This week in SK, we “added” a little extra excitement to our learning as we dove into the world of addition! The students counted on each other as they explored different ways to add during our math centers. From adding the dots up on dominos, stacking unifix cubes to match the colored equations, squishing playdoh to show numbers, and flipping playing cards to make equations, our mathematicians were totally on a roll! Next week, we’ll be blasting off beyond 20 as we take our adding skills to the next level! Speaking of blasting off, our provocations continue to launch us into the depths of space! This week, we read the captivating story “Little Comet”, and the students were in awe of the journey a comet makes through our solar system. We compared comets, meteoroids, and asteroids, and let’s just say our class is full of future astronauts and astronomers! The creativity exploded like a supernova as students began constructing their own versions of space rocks using recycled materials, loose parts, and (for the first time ever for some) even tried out the glue gun! Their enthusiasm is out of this world, and we can’t wait to showcase their stellar solar systems soon.

Phonics was nothing short of magical this week as we introduced our friend magic e! The students were amazed to see how one little silent “e” could completely transform words. Turning tap into tape, rip into ripe, and hop into hope made everyone feel like word wizards. We are so proud of how quickly these young readers are picking up on new concepts. They are truly first-grade ready! But don’t worry, we’re not ready to let them go just yet. We plan to soak in every moment and make the most of these last few weeks together! We capped off our incredible week with a PJ, popsicle, dance party!! Thank you all for helping sell Disney raffle tickets for our school’s Celebrate event. The gym was filled with laughter, music, and enough dance moves to fuel a rocket ship! From conga lines to dabs, our SK kiddos sure know how to bust a move.

We’re so proud of their energy, kindness, and commitment and we’re already dancing into the weekend with joy. See ya next week!

Miss Tylar & Miss Gina

UPCOMING DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Conversations this week are all about Space!! The children have been fascinated by the idea of space travel, black holes, and what it takes to explore beyond our planet. We read Space Boy, a story about Nicholas, who thought the world was just too noisy! So, he did what any great explorer would do—he packed his snacks, put on his space suit, and blasted off into outer space for some peace and quiet. With excitement, the children imagined what it would be like to travel beyond Earth. Their interest in space travel led to a perfect real-life connection. We had the opportunity to watch a historic moment as the SpaceX capsule carrying two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, splashed down off Florida’s Gulf Coast. The children were in awe as they witnessed the parachutes opening and the astronauts landing safely back on Earth! As our conversation about space continued, the children became curious about what astronauts experience while they are in space. They wondered what astronauts eat, drink, and even what they see while floating high above Earth. To explore these questions, we read Can I See My House from Space? We talked about what a galaxy is and how the universe is still growing. To help visualize this concept, we used a balloon to demonstrate how the universe stretches and expands over time. We began building our own galaxy by starting with our very own planets! Each child picked what size planet and named their own unique world—some of the creative names included Cat World, Food Planet, Flower Planet, and Love Planet. After naming their planets, the children painted them with vibrant colors and designs. Some even looked like “eyeballs.” To bring their planets to life, the children wrote about the adventures they would have in their new worlds. Some imagined, “Dancing with aliens on Planet Fun!” while others dreamed of a “Playground Planet with giant swings!” We can’t wait to dive deeper into this next week!!

In math, the children rotated through centers to review and strengthen their math skills. One center focused on telling time, allowing the children to practice reading clocks and understanding the parts of an hour. Another center challenged them to build numbers using tens and ones, reinforcing place value. They also worked with Unifix cubes, adding them together to create the correct number and visually see how numbers come together. The children enjoyed also enjoyed a game of Uno!

If we don’t get a chance to see you at Celebrate tonight, be sure to check out the children’s hard work on their “timeless” art piece! Every child played a special role in bringing this project to life, and their dedication shines through in every detail. Their little fingers were hard at work carefully selecting the perfect beads, mixing just the right amount of color to tint the glue, and patiently waiting for it to dry before using it to showcase their own handwritten numbers. They also put their creativity to work as they painted the wooden piece for the background. This project was a beautiful blend of math, art, and fine motor skills, and we are so proud of their effort!

Have a wonderful weekend!! 

Miss Gina and Miss Tylar

What an exciting and adventurous week we’ve had in SK! The beautiful weather allowed us to take our learning outside, where we enjoyed writing with chalk, playing in our outdoor spaces, and getting some extra playground time. One of our favorite things about campus is the beautiful outdoor spaces we get to utilize during wonderful days like these!

Inside the classroom, we’ve launched right into our space exploration unit! We read a multitude space-themed books, including Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty. The students loved listening to all the fun facts about Earth, especially since the story was told from Earth’s own perspective! We also created a KWL chart to map out what we already know about space and what we want to learn. There’s so much to discover, and we are ready to blast off into more learning next week!

In math, time has truly taken over which is perfect timing as we’ve completed our TIMELY Celebrate auction piece. We can’t wait for you all to see and bid on the final masterpiece at Celebrate next weekend. We hope everyone has secured their tickets! If you haven’t yet, you can get them here: Celebrate Wonderland Tickets. It’s also not too late to grab your Disney raffle tickets! We all dream of going to Disney, and this is your chance to win! Get your raffle tickets here: Disney Raffle Tickets.

In phonics, we have been exploring the different components of a book, including the title, characters, author, and illustrator. This is helping our little readers become more familiar with books and making their love for reading grow even more! We’ve also been working on what the components of what makes a sentence, a sentence such as using capital letters at the beginning, proper punctuation, and of course finger spacing! We’ve also been paying close attention to trick words. As trick words continue to be tricky, we are finding fun ways to practice them so we can recognize and them in the books in our book boxes! We are beyond proud of these fabulous young readers!!

Have a great weekend!
Miss Tylar & Miss Gina