Celebrating Fall

We didn't waste a minute of our shortened school week!  This week we were introduced to our Poems and Charts folders, the sight word me, celebrated the first day of Fall and Johnny Appleseed's birthday. We also continued to work in our math program and DreamBox.  A link to DreamBox is now on the right side of the blog if you need it.

Our Poems and Charts folders store exactly what the name suggests, all of our favorite poems and charts that we learn throughout the year.  Some of our favorites so far are Rain Rain, Sheep in a Jeep and the ME poem we learned this week.  Students can read their folders alone or with a buddy. 

Kindergartners read their Charts and Poems folders that are stored in
their book boxes.  Students practice how to read with a buddy.

Madison and Lucy practice reading our alphabet linking chart.

Ayler and Summit decide on a book.

There was lots to do on the first day of Fall.  We began the day by review the sight words it, is, I and see. We wrote two sentences on sentence strips: I see leaves and It is Fall.  We broke the sentences apart by carefully cutting the spaces between words. Each kindergartner got a chance to hold a word as the class tried to put the words in the right order.  We made a lot of silly sentences and had lots of laughs as we tried to put ourselves in the correct order.  After we practiced a few times, everyone got their own sentences to cut apart and build again.  We glued the sentences onto the colorful trees we made.

Joe, Charlie, Josh, Summit, Henry and Lia each hold a
word as the class works together to build sentences.

Ayler, Summit, Henry, Lucas R, and Charlie begin work on their trees.

Sadie and Samantha get ready to build their sentences.

Rose and Josh work together.

It was a beautiful afternoon to go outside and observe some of the first signs of Fall.  We couldn't go into the woods because of the bugs but we still found plenty of neat things near the building.  We will visit the woods once we get the okay and see what has changed since the first day of Fall.  Each kindergartner kept track of what they found using a scavenger hunt checklist.  It was a perfect afternoon!

We are ready for our first scavenger hunt!

Scientists make observations with their eyes.

We spotted a group of birds and checked it off on our lists.

Taking a break in the shade.

A chipmunk ran right in front of us.

Clara and Lia work together to check off some
 final items on their scavenger hunt list.

Clara and Joseph draw some of their findings.

Lucas L. and Josh collect lots of acorns.

Alice finds some moss.

Rose finds some pine needles.

We continued to write in our handwriting books and learned how to form the number four.  Last week I shared a little about how we use Wet Dry try while we are first learning to properly form letters and numbers.  Below are some picture that show you just what we do.

Charlie makes a four with his wet sponge.

Lucas L, Lia and Summit have got the hang of making fours.

After we are comfortable making our numbers
with a wet sponge, we give it a try with chalk.

Ayler and Sadie show off their number fours.

Next week, we will march in the school wide 3Bs parade.  Kindergartners are encouraged to wear black and/or yellow on Wednesday, October 1.  We will be making bee headbands to wear in the parade.  It will be an exciting week as we begin our first cycle of WIN (WIN stands for What I Need) groups...lots more information to come about WIN groups.

Constitution Day, DreamBox and a Birthday ...Oh My!

Of course, it was another busy week...that's just the way it is when you're having fun and learning in kindergarten!  Our class started out the week wrapping up our September assessments by taking the STAR assessment on the iPads.  The data collected from all of our baseline assessments help us to target our instruction for each child.

On Wednesday, we celebrated Constitution Day.  A few kindergartners had heard of the Constitution.  It was a perfect opportunity to review our school and classroom rules.  The 3B's contracts were also introduced.  Please sign them with your kindergartner and return them to school.  We had a nice conversation about voting and that it's okay to think differently from your friends!  Kindergartners voted on their favorite treat, pet and sport.

Mr. Carozza visited our classroom on Constitution Day.
Samantha, Lucy, Alice and Rose show Mr. Carozza how to fill out his ballot.

The highlight of our week was celebrating Mrs. Cowan's 50th birthday!
Our class presented Mrs. Cowan with balloons and a gift from everyone in the building...
a special package of 50 reasons why we love Mrs. Cowan!

We are finishing up our ME Books that we began when school started.  This week we also worked in our Math In Focus workbooks for the first time.  Chapter one focuses on numbers 1-5.  We continued to learn the proper way to form numbers in our Handwriting Without Tears workbook.  Ask your kindergartner if they can explain the Wet, Dry try.  It's a special way we practice making our numbers before we write them in our handwriting book.  Students use a tiny wet sponge on their own chalkboard to write the number for the first few tries.  Once they get the hang of it, we practice with chalk.

We learned the correct way to form the number three in our  Handwriting Without Tears Book.

Lucy and Henry work on their house page in their ME Magazine.

Students were also introduced to Dreambox this week. Dreambox is a math program that our kindergartners will be using this year.  My class had the opportunity to pilot Dreambox last year and the kids loved it!  The program adapts to each child's learning needs.  On Friday, students learned how to sign into the program, chose their avatars and a picked password.  Kindergartners explored the world of furry friends, pixies, dinosaurs and pirates all while being introduced to ten frames and math racks.  Students will be able to sign into their accounts at home once they have tried it at school a few times.  Next week, I will send home the information for their accounts and the school's access code.

 Looking ahead...we will celebrate the arrival of fall this week, have our first lesson with our district's numeracy specialist, Mrs. Jones and go on a scavenger hunt!  Remember this week is a four day week for students, there is no school on Friday.

Our First Full Week

We made it through our first five day week and what a busy week it was!  Kindergartners began the week finishing up Open House projects and deciding what they wanted to share with their families.  Our classroom was bursting with pride as students displayed their work around the room.  Thanks to ALL of our families who came back to school for Open House Wednesday night! Here are some shots of students with their ME projects.

Clara and Lucas R.

Lucas L. and Samantha

Lia and Henry

Alice and Summit

Sadie and Rose

Charlie and Lucy

Josh and Joe

Ayler and Madison

Ready for Open House!

Did you hear about the library?  Our class had our first visit this week.  Everyone got to choose a book.  Books can be kept at home for up to a week but can be brought back to school sooner.  Your child's book should travel back and forth to school in the yellow book bag students received Thursday.  In kindergarten, students may go to the library any day (or everyday) during our learning centers.   This month we will be teaching students how to use the library independently.  Once kindergartners get the hang of how to use the library passes and the book keys in the library, they will be able to go to the library with a buddy...no teacher!  It's pretty fun to see them skip down the hall the first time they are aloud to go with just a friend!

Mrs. Bohlman reads our class a story in the library.

The first time students go to the library they choose books from the library tables.

Lia, Madison and Clara find the perfect books.

Ayler and Josh enjoy reading some non-fiction books.

Charlie finds a quiet spot in the library to enjoy his book.

This week we were introduced to two new sight words, see and I.  Kindergartners were so excited to get their first two books in their book boxes, I See and I See Colors.  We built our own sentences using I and see and counted the number of words in a sentence.  We also learned that "dots" at the end of  sentences are called periods.

In kindergarten, you point to each word as you read.   Clara demonstrates this in her I See book.

Kindergartners worked in stations on Friday morning. Everyone had a chance to rotate through a literacy, math and technology station.  In math, we played a fun game called Waggles.  The concept of the game wasn't too hard but the focus of our curriculum right now continues to be on building a classroom community.  Student are learning how to work cooperatively and independently.  Kindergartners are learning to trust and help each other!

Ayler and Summit work together during a math game.

Lucas R. and Henry have fun with the dice.

Lia and Samantha also work together on a math game.

At the technology station, kindergartners were introduced to our six classroom iPads.  Our goal was to make sure that everyone was comfortable using an iPad.  This Tuesday, students will take the STAR assessment on the iPad.

The literacy and math apps were a big hit.

Our afternoons are full of activities that are meant to build and strengthen our classroom community.  Learning centers provide wonderful opportunities for just that!  

It may look like they are playing but they are busy learning about how to work together!

The week ahead...will be just as busy and exciting.  We will finish up our baseline assessments on students, begin work in our math workbooks and begin learning about fall.  We will hold off on our fall scavenger hunt until we've had a few frosts and we get the okay to go into the woods.

Hopes and Dreams

The idea of a Hopes and Dreams letter comes from the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching.  It is a form of communication between parents and the classroom teacher.  You will receive more information about the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching in a future newsletter.

My hope for the school year is that our classroom will be a community where everyone feels safe and secure enough to take risks.  I hope our classroom will be a place where children build confidence and make new friendships.  I hope that families will always feel that my door is open and together we will form an important team. This year, I hope that everyone will find something special, perhaps new, to accomplish with pride.

Students will be working on their Hopes and Dreams tomorrow morning. I would like to know what your Hopes and Dreams are for your child during this school year.  What is important for me to know about your child? Are there special things you would like for your child to learn or experience? Are there strengths your child has that you would like me to know about? Or any concerns you may have, whether they are academic or social? Please take some time, write down your thoughts and send them back to school.  I look forward to reading them. 

Gingerbread Tour

Did you hear about the gingerbread man?  He kept us on the go most of the afternoon.  After reading The Gingerbread Man, a strange puzzle piece dropped out of the back of the book.  There was also a clue, the first of many!  The clues lead us on a tour of the building as we tried to figure out where the gingerbread man was hiding.  At each stop there was also a piece of a puzzle. We visited the library, the arts (music and art) room, the MPR, the office and the nurse's office! The last clue led us back to the classroom where we discovered that the gingerbread man had left us our own mini gingerbread people to decorate.

SHHHH! You need to be quiet when you are looking for the gingerbread man in the library.

Madison, Lucy and Charlie are the first to find another clue and puzzle piece outside of the arts room.

When we put all of the puzzle pieces together it formed a gingerbread man.

Everyone had creative ideas to decorate their gingerbread people.

The afternoon flies by when you are surrounded by friends!