Back and Forth Bags
- Please check your child's agenda inside their back and forth bag daily! :) Remove everything from the clear agenda duotang each night after school, and send any parent communication (ex/ notes, volunteer forms, field trip forms, money, etc.) in the ziploc baggie inside the duotang. Forever Journals, Library books and Just Read books can be left at home during the week and returned every Wednesday in the back and forth bag.
- If your child takes the bus or attends Out of School Care (OSC) please put the appropriate tag in their clear agenda duotang (this is especially important if your home time transportation regularly changes). This greatly assists me in making sure that I know how the children will be getting home at the end of the day, and is especially useful for any occasion when there may be a substitute teacher. If there ends up being a change in your child's hometime transportation, you may send me a text through Remind 101 (I will acknowledge all messages received regarding home time so you know that I have gotten your message) or you may call the school office and leave a message with the secretaries (780-826-3992).
- Just Read books are sent home in labeled packages once per week. Library books are also sent home once a week in a special red labeled Duclos Library bag (please remember to keep library books in these red bags, separate from Just Read book bags so they don't get misplaced - on Wednesdays
- Forever Journals are almost always (unless it's a short week and/or we run out of time to complete them) sent home on Fridays in the back and forth bag. As a class, we work on writing simple messages to our families, and we look forward to reading the messages that our families write back to us each week. It is so rewarding to watch the kids' faces light up as they hear the messages that their families wrote especially for them. It's another way for parents to stay informed on what's going on at school (we often write about special experiences or what we've learned over the past week), they showcase your child's growth in writing over the course of the year, and they make wonderful keepsakes :)
- In our agendas, we keep some of our learning materials that we also use often during class time. Examples of these would be our red P.W.I.M. duotangs and our blue Math duotangs.
- Our P.W.I.M. duotangs contain a colour copy of our current picture, as well as flashcards with each of our picture words, and as we progress through each picture cycle, there will also be flashcards/papers that contain our popcorn (sight) words, as well as our picture sentences. We use these during learning center times to help us develop our sight word vocabulary by matching our words to the picture, making categories (ex/ words that all begin with a "b", colour words, words with 5 letters, sentences containing the popcorn word "I", sentences with the word "ball", etc.), and making "Humpty Dumpty" sentences (cutting apart a sentence and putting it back together again so that it makes sense).
- Our Math duotangs contain various small manipulatives and paper game boards/instructions on how to play some simple math games to help us practice basic skills such as counting, patterning, adding/subtracting and subitizing (instant recognition of familiar arrangements of objects/dots, such as on a die).
Some families like to develop a routine by setting aside 15 minutes or so to use these materials to practice working on these academic skills on a daily basis. Others, might do so a few times a week, such as when their child expresses an interest to do so, whereas some families might never use these materials at home. I like to remind parents that homework in kindergarten (or "home learning" as I like to call it) is never mandatory. If your child is expressing an interest/desire to show you what they've learned at school by using these materials at home, that's wonderful! If they seem tired or uninterested in practicing their P.W.I.M. words or math games, don't force it (you'll probably both end up frustrated!). If after running around after school to soccer, hockey, dance and gymnastics you just don't have the time or energy to do any home learning or just read, that's okay too! Always remember that these are all optional learning activities that you may do at home for enrichment; which activities you choose to do and how often is up to you! :)
- If your child takes the bus or attends Out of School Care (OSC) please put the appropriate tag in their clear agenda duotang (this is especially important if your home time transportation regularly changes). This greatly assists me in making sure that I know how the children will be getting home at the end of the day, and is especially useful for any occasion when there may be a substitute teacher. If there ends up being a change in your child's hometime transportation, you may send me a text through Remind 101 (I will acknowledge all messages received regarding home time so you know that I have gotten your message) or you may call the school office and leave a message with the secretaries (780-826-3992).
- Just Read books are sent home in labeled packages once per week. Library books are also sent home once a week in a special red labeled Duclos Library bag (please remember to keep library books in these red bags, separate from Just Read book bags so they don't get misplaced - on Wednesdays
- Forever Journals are almost always (unless it's a short week and/or we run out of time to complete them) sent home on Fridays in the back and forth bag. As a class, we work on writing simple messages to our families, and we look forward to reading the messages that our families write back to us each week. It is so rewarding to watch the kids' faces light up as they hear the messages that their families wrote especially for them. It's another way for parents to stay informed on what's going on at school (we often write about special experiences or what we've learned over the past week), they showcase your child's growth in writing over the course of the year, and they make wonderful keepsakes :)
- In our agendas, we keep some of our learning materials that we also use often during class time. Examples of these would be our red P.W.I.M. duotangs and our blue Math duotangs.
- Our P.W.I.M. duotangs contain a colour copy of our current picture, as well as flashcards with each of our picture words, and as we progress through each picture cycle, there will also be flashcards/papers that contain our popcorn (sight) words, as well as our picture sentences. We use these during learning center times to help us develop our sight word vocabulary by matching our words to the picture, making categories (ex/ words that all begin with a "b", colour words, words with 5 letters, sentences containing the popcorn word "I", sentences with the word "ball", etc.), and making "Humpty Dumpty" sentences (cutting apart a sentence and putting it back together again so that it makes sense).
- Our Math duotangs contain various small manipulatives and paper game boards/instructions on how to play some simple math games to help us practice basic skills such as counting, patterning, adding/subtracting and subitizing (instant recognition of familiar arrangements of objects/dots, such as on a die).
Some families like to develop a routine by setting aside 15 minutes or so to use these materials to practice working on these academic skills on a daily basis. Others, might do so a few times a week, such as when their child expresses an interest to do so, whereas some families might never use these materials at home. I like to remind parents that homework in kindergarten (or "home learning" as I like to call it) is never mandatory. If your child is expressing an interest/desire to show you what they've learned at school by using these materials at home, that's wonderful! If they seem tired or uninterested in practicing their P.W.I.M. words or math games, don't force it (you'll probably both end up frustrated!). If after running around after school to soccer, hockey, dance and gymnastics you just don't have the time or energy to do any home learning or just read, that's okay too! Always remember that these are all optional learning activities that you may do at home for enrichment; which activities you choose to do and how often is up to you! :)