Class Handbook
Dear Parents and
Students, August 19, 2013
Welcome to a new
school year and welcome to the 4-A Class.
My name is Sandy
Crider. This will be my 11th year teaching the 4's here at HOPE
Academy and I am excited about another successful year.
Our morning
assistant is Ms. Unique. This is her first year working with the 4's here at
HOPE Academy.
Our afternoon teacher is Mrs. Yolanda Valenzuela.
Ms. Yolanda has been with us for the past 7 years.
As you receive
your binders, please read through each section carefully. Inside the binder you
will find a daily schedule, classroom handbook and other helpful papers.
It is very
important to take the binder home each evening and return it to school the next
morning.
On the front of
your binder is a monthly calendar. The calendar will let you know about
upcoming events in the daycare or just our class. It also helps us and you to
keep track of your child's daily behavior.
Homework will be
given 3 days a week, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These homework
assignments are easy and are just meant as a review for you and your child of
what we learned during the day. Please make sure you return the completed work
in the binder the next day.
Checked papers
will go home every Monday. Please do not send these papers back to school. They
are for you to keep at home.
We are looking
forward working with you and your child this year. As always, remember that the
best way to success is good communication and parent involvement, so don't
hesitate to talk to one of us about any questions or concerns you may have.
In His service,
Mrs. Sandy Crider
Mrs. Yolanda Valenzuela
Classroom
Rules
4-A Class
1. Hands are for helping, not hitting.
2. Always use kind voices with each other.
3.
Use your quiet voice
inside of the classroom.
4.
Use walking feet inside of
the classroom.
5.
Always listen to the
teachers.
Curriculum Overview
In
the 4-year- old classroom, the students learn through the A-Beka program. The
A-Beka program is a phonics-based, Christian curriculum. It consists of 4 major
parts:
1.
Handwriting
2.
Phonics
3.
Reading
4.
Numbers/
number concepts
Handwriting;
Students
will learn how to correctly write each letter, using the A-Beka letter house as
a guide. They will also learn to write their name correctly.
Phonics:
The
students will learn long and short vowel sounds as well as all other letters.
After learning to blend these together, they will be introduced to the vowel
rules and learn to read 3 and 4-letter words.
Reading:
At
the beginning of our 2nd semester, the students will start reading
circles.
Groups
will begin with the "Little Book" series. This series consists of 10 readers.
These readers contain 3-letter-words only as well as short sentences. After
finishing the Little Books, students will move on to the "Little Owl Books"
series. This series of 8 readers starts out with short 3-letter word sentences
and will move on to sentences containing 4-letter words.
-Numbers/
Number concepts:
Students
will be introduced to numbers 1-20 by sight. They will learn how to correctly
write each numeral. They will learn to count 1-100 as we move through the year.
Students will be taught to count by 1's, 5's and 10's as well as how to count
with money and to read the clock by the hour and half hour. Students will learn
simple addition with pictures up to 10.
Other
areas of the A-Beka curriculum include:
Language
Development:
Language
Development will be taught on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The
Language Development portion helps students to enrich and develop their
vocabulary and ability to express themselves verbally. It helps them to learn
about and understand things around them. Picture visuals go along with each
lesson to aid with discussion.
Poetry/
Music/ Drama:
These
three subjects will rotate. They will be taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Students learn simple poetry, familiar songs and finger plays as well as acting
out stories and rhymes.
Bible:
Students
will have Bible class on Mondays and Wednesdays. Amber Lamb will visit us on Fridays.
Crafts and activities as well as songs go along with some of the lessons. They
will also learn Bible verses and familiar prayers such as the Lord's Prayer and
the 23rd Psalm.
Foreign
Language:
Spanish
will be taught to the students every Tuesday and Thursday from Aug. through
December. German is taught from January through May.
Students
will learn basic concepts of the foreign languages such as simple phrases,
colors, days of the week and counting 1-10.
Health
and Safety:
Students
will learn how to take care of their bodies through personal hygiene, good food,
and exercise. They will also learn about manners and character traits.
Visual
aids go along with this subject.
Classroom Centers:
Art
Center (2)
The
Art Center contains many different materials to help the children create things
on their own such as paper, crayons, markers, glue, pencils, scrap paper,
construction paper, magazines, scissors, glitter, pipe cleaners, materials of
different textures and Play Doh.
Children
are encouraged to use their imagination and create without a "teacher example"
of the finished product. Art center is open at center time through out the day.
Block/
Building Center (2)
Our
Block/ Building Center contains different types of blocks, Lincoln logs, cars,
a zoo with animals, people, train tracks, castles, super heroes, floor puzzles
and legos. Children are encouraged to build and construct in this center to
grow in their development of special concepts and logical thinking.
Home Center (2):
Our
home center is a very popular center. It provides a variety of materials for
dramatic play such as dolls and doll beds/ clothes, dress up materials, dishes
and play food, table and chairs as well as kitchen furniture. It is important
for children to express their feelings, worries, or things they are excited
about and to be able to act them out in a playful way. This center provides
that opportunity for them. Home center is open throughout the day.
Library
(2):
Our
Library is a place for the children to have some time alone, away from where
the action is or to share a book with a friend or stuffed animal. In addition
to the regular shelved books, we provide the children with weekly library books
to fit the topics we learn about here in the classroom and also to give them
new and exciting books to look at each week.
Science Center (2):
The
Science center was created to help the children learn about the things around
them through hands-on experience. It contains materials such as magnifying
glasses, magnets, rocks, sea shells and other living things we see each day.
Materials may be changed out according to season or what we are studying in
class at the time.
Language Center (2):
Our
Language center is designed to help the children develop their communication/
language skills. Some of the materials in this center include: magnetic
letters, letter games word puzzles a felt board and a listening center.
Math/
Manipulative (2):
Our
Math and Manipulative center helps children develop their logical thinking
through counting and sequencing, working with puzzles and shape tiles. It also
contains materials such as small and large beads to develop their fine motor
skills.
Daily
Schedule:
Our
classroom follows a Daily Schedule. Please take a look at the sample schedule
provided for you in this handbook. Please make every effort to have your child
here by 8:30 at the latest.
Our day begins early and it is difficult for the students to catch up on a
lesson when they miss it.
Binders/
Homework:
Each
student will receive a white binder with his/ her name on it. It will go home
each night and come back to school the next morning. The binder contains all
the information you need.
The
Binder has 2 sections labeled "Homework" and "Keep". Papers in the "Keep"
section are papers that have been checked or other work your child has done in
class. Please take these out each Monday. The "Homework" section contains new
information for you as well as your child's daily homework. Please make sure
your child completes each assignment.
Medication
Form/ Illness Policy:
If
your child needs medication while he/she is here at HOPE Academy, you must
first fill out a medication authorization form and give it to the office along
with the medicine. We are not allowed to administer any type of medication including
ointments without the form. Please do not bring your child to school if he/she
is sick, vomiting, running a fever, has diarrhea, or anything else that may be
contagious. Your child needs to be fever-free for 24 hours without medication,
before being able to return to school. If your child is taking Antibiotics,
he/she also must be taking it for 24hours before being able to return to
school. If your child develops any of these symptoms at school, you will be
called to pick up your child or arrange for someone on your emergency contact
to do so.
Here
in our classroom, we work very hard to prevent germs from spreading by teaching
the children how to correctly wash their hands and by disinfecting the toys and
surfaces daily. Please reinforce good hygiene and sanitary habits at home as
well.
Emergency
Release:
Please
make sure your child's Emergency Information is complete and updated. It is
very important for us to have a contact in case of an emergency. Also note that
we cannot release your child to anyone that is not listed on your Emergency
form as an authorized Pick-up. If someone comes to pick up your child that we
have never seen before, we will ask for proper identification of the person
before releasing the child. This is for your child's safety so please make sure
all info is updated.
Cubbies:
Each
student has a cubby labeled with his/her name, located in the big room. Your
child's daily white binder will be in his/her cubby in the evening before going
home. Please remember to take it home and complete homework nightly and return
it to the teacher the next day. Each student should keep a complete change of
clothes (weather and season appropriate) in his/ her cubby. Food and other
perishable items may not be stored in the cubby. Students are served 1 meal and
2 snacks here each day and there is no need to bring extra food to school.
Students may bring toys to school for use during center time only. Each student
should have a mat in their cubby to use during nap time. You may send pillow,
blanket and a mat cover. All nap items should be taken home and washed each
Friday. Please make sure to cover your child's mat with a clean sheet each
Monday.
Show-And-Tell:
Show-and-tell
is every Friday. You will receive a schedule to let you know what the topic is
for Show-and-Tell.
Treasure
Box/ Rainbow Chart:
We
believe in re-enforcing positive behavior with rewards rather than focusing on
negative behavior. Each child has a pocket on the Rainbow Chart. He/She can
earn "Rainbow Sticks" for positive behavior (i.e doing something
kind, remembering to listen,etc.). Teachers will give out sticks at their
discretion. Sticks are left in the chart all week. On Fridays, we will count
our sticks together. Children must earn a minimum of 5 sticks per week to be
able to pick a prize from our Treasure Box each Friday.
Classroom
rules:
Please make sure
you carefully read over these rules together with your student. Make sure
he/she understands what is expected of him/her before coming to class.
We believe that
each child in our class has the right to learn and grow individually each day.
Each child is entitled to safety and well-being while in our care.
We believe that,
with these rules we can achieve that goal. Rules are simple and few but they
will be strictly enforced.
- Hands are for helping, not hitting.
- Always use kind words with one
another. - Quiet voices in the classroom. Loud
voices are for outside. - Walking feet inside the classroom.
- Always listen to the teachers.
Students who
disobey any of these rules will be given 2 verbal warnings and/or will be
re-directed to another center during center time. After the 3rd
warning, the student will be given a time-out period of 1 minute per age of the
child.
If the behavior
continues after the time-out period, the student may be sent to the office for
further discipline by the directors. It may result in a phone call home if the
behavior is too disruptive. We do NOT use corporal punishment here at HOPE Academy.
........................................................................................................................................
I read and understand
the 4-year old class discipline policy.
Parent
Signature.......................................................................................