3-17-09 - Getting School Ready

Today, at MOPS we were joined by Heather Wong - a former Kindergarten teacher and ELL Specialist. She came to go over how to know if your child is ready for Kindergarten and give tips on how to get them ready. She was delightful to listen too and provided some very good resource websites & general information. We had a good time of asking questions and sharing advice from many other teachers in the room.

Below is some of her information and Jana did email out this handout.

Getting Ready for School
Characteristics of School Aged Children (from the Issaquah School District)
These are some characteristics of most five year old children entering kindergarten.
Share attention with others
Make short visits places without a parent
Accept limits set by an adult
Sit for short periods of time – work on project
Take care of personal property
Put on a coat without help
Share and put away toys when asked
Follow simple directions (1-3 steps)


Social/Emotional Growth Ideas for Calming the Butterflies:
Visit school before it begins
Show excitement about starting school
Listen to their thoughts about school

Play “School” at home
Help them feel good about what they can do
Focus on taking turns/waiting in line
Teach how to calm down/channel energy
Focus on describing feelings/needs
Role play making friends
Focus on taking turns speaking/listening

Health and Safety, Things to Practice:
Full name, address and phone number
Routine of how to get to and from school
Using the restroom alone
Good health care habits
Asking for things/help needed
Telling grown-ups how they are physically feeling
Fine Motor Skills
Gross Motor Skills
Start each day fed, well rested, and dressed for the weather!



Reading
Here are some skills to work on:
Print Awareness
Print Motivation
Vocabulary
Narrative Skills
Letter Awareness
Phonological Awareness
http://www.kcls.org/readytoread/

Math
Real World Contexts: Show how numbers are used in your child’s world
Ask questions – explain process
Sorting – identify categories
Shapes
Patterning
Calendar Skills
Estimation
Counting Games

Writing
Modeled Writing: Write for your child
Shared Writing: Write together about experiences you have had. Keep a daily journal or a vacation journal.
Writing Genres: Notice print everywhere, write lists, write a letter or a note, write directions, write a story
Create a Writing Center: Special paper, pencils, erasers, pens, note cards, stationary, letter stamps, alphabet cards, other ideas?



Parental Involvement – How Can I Help?
Establish a Daily Routine
Provide a place for things brought home from school
Provide a place for things to be taken to school
Check for homework every night
Look for classroom newsletters
Talk with your child about school : Subjects, friends, special events
Provide a home study environment/schedule
Help your child respect the work they are doing (vs. sibling)



Supporting Your Reader
Make a home book basket/reading center
Look for books that are:
Easy to read
Just right
Challenging
Read silently, read aloud, partner read
Check often for understanding
Use questioning techniques
Encourage choosing different genres
Encourage fiction and non-fiction reading



Supporting Your Writer
A piece of writing needs: Audience and Purpose
6+1 Traits of Writing
1. Sound Ideas
2. Good Organization
3. Word Choice
4. Voice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions
(The “+1” is the Publishing)
Tip: Have your child read their writing piece out loud to find areas of improvement

Supporting Your Mathematician
Work together on math facts
Look for mathematical vocabulary in story problems
Explain procedures and thinking process
Look for real-world math applications:
Newspapers, Restaurant Menus, Recipes, Travel Brochures, Catalogs, Grocery Ads, Sports Schedules, Nutritional Labels, Advertisements, Sport Player Cards



Communicating With School
By: Email, Letters, Phone Calls, Pinning notes
Provide teacher with background information on your child
Ask questions when information from school is not clear
Support parent activities/school events
Attend parent-teacher conferences


Ways of Getting Involved
Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA)
Classroom or Library Helper
Art/Science Docent
Technology Support
Field Trips
Book Orders
Photocopying/Filing
Jobs from Home (cutting/prep/etc.)




Presentation Resources: Issaquah School District, King County Library, Mem Fox, Getting School Ready
Websites to Check Out:
Getting School Ready: www.gettingschoolready.org
King County Library Early Literacy: http://www.kcls.org/readytoread/
Mem Fox’s Website: http://www.memfox.net/
WA State Office of Public Instruction: http://www.k12.wa.us/parents.aspx
Reading Level Comparison Chart (ATOS Scale is the Accelerated Reader Level)
http://library.springbranchisd.com/sbisd_library/reading_levels_comparison_chart.htm
Leveled Books Search and Benchmarks
http://registration.beavton.k12.or.us/lbdb/
Accelerated Reader (search for titles of books to find out their approximate reading level)
http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp

Book: Slow & Ready Get me Ready - June Oberlander

Banana Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 jumbo muffin cups or 24 regular muffin, or line with muffin papers.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 scoops protein powder (Vanilla, I get mine from Costco)
6 bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted or vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce



1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and protein powder.
2. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter (or oil)and applesauce.
3. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Depending on your oven time may be longer (it took about 27 minutes in mine).

**submitted by Alana O'Reilly**

Country Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 9x13 inch baking dish.

1 (16 ounce) package breakfast sausage
1 chopped green onion
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
10 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 (2.64 ounce) packages country gravy mix
1 package hashbrowns
2 tablespoons melted butter (optional)
paprika to taste (optional)


Directions:

1. Brown sausage in a large skillet; drain fat.

2. Combine sausage with green onion and spread evenly across the bottom of the baking dish.

3. Top with shredded cheese. Layer hashbrowns over the top.

4. Whisk together eggs, water, milk, and gravy mix; add mixture to baking dish. If desired, drizzle melted butter over hashbrowns, and sprinkle with paprika.

5. Bake 45-60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside 10 minutes before serving.

Tips: The baking time has varied for me, but almost always is closer to the 60 minute mark. I have also put mushrooms or onions in this dish. I just layer them in on top of the sausage layer. If you want more sausage up to two packages, it still works.

**submitted by Alana O'Reilly**

Spinach Fandango

Spinach Fandango Serves 15


Ingredients:

2 lbs. hamburger (or any ground meat…I use sausage)
2 large onions (chopped)
3/4 lbs. mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)

*cook the above together and add

1 tsp. oregano powder
2 tsp. salt
dash garlic pwdr.
4 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed to drain well)
2 cans cream of celery soup
2 cups sour cream
1 cup Minute Rice

*Mix all together and fill 9x13 casserole and top with 1 pound grated Monterey Jack Cheese

Sprinkle Paprika on top of cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 40 min.

**submitted by Ginny Taylor**

New Hair cut

So after Wesley Brian came to visit MOPS I made an appointment with him to get my hair cut. He did a fabulous job!! Check out my pictures below.

3/3/09 Meeting - Hair, Hair, Hair

Today was Spa Day at MOPS. Instead of our usual table decorations each table was decorated with some small candles. It was very tranquil as much as it can be in the church foyer.

Wesley Davidson was our guest today - he owns his own salon in Monroe - The Wesley Bryan salon. According to my fabulous friends sources he is amazing! Before he spoke about hair, products, hair tools and all that jazz our table got the pleasure of having him eat with us. Well, it might have been just been because our table was closest to the food table. I'd like to think it was because we are the funnest table there. My first thought was "Hmm, good dresser" - really it was. He immediately made us laugh and connected with each of us.




Here are some pointers we learned today from Wesley - Enjoy:

* We learned lots & lots about PH, the hair molecules etc...Hair is was a real science!
* Choose a good shampoo - preferably a salon based product
* Condition only the ends of your hair - the rest of your hair doesn't need it.
* Do NOT brush wet hair! It causes it to break off
* When styling: start from the moment you wash until you finish with the style. Use the correct products, section off hair if you are straightening it & use the truck & trailer method.(pull down the hair with the brush & hair dryer at the same time)

Wesley takes new clients but his salon is open by appointment only Tues - Sat.
His phone number is: 425-327-9051