Busy September Days

Did you hear about the gingerbread man? He kept us on the go most of the morning one day last week. 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 led 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.

One of our favorite books so far...

We found these clues all over the building.

We also played a gingerbread math game. We practiced
counting and writing numbers.

Literacy
We've wrapped up our baseline assessments and are ready to begin our Fundations phonics program. The focus of the first unit will be on letter identification, letter sounds, and proper letter formation. We will continue to learn new sight words as we read poems, books, and charts throughout our day.

Math
Students were introduced to Dreambox this week, an online adaptive math program that students can use at home, too! Once we get the hang of it, a letter with sign-in information and the school code will be sent home.  We also began our Math In Focus Program which begins slowly, with a focus on same and different and numbers to 5.

Social Studies
Our focus will continue to be building and learning about the community around us!

Science
Our days have been filled learning about the life cycle of the butterfly and observing seasonal changes around us.  It hasn't felt like fall these past few days, but everyone has been a trooper putting up with the heat in the classroom.

Upcoming Events
A visit from the Hopkinton Fire Department for Fire Prevention Week, a visit from a dental hygienist and the special presentation on a new Buddy Bench for the playground.  Stay tuned for more details!

We released our last butterfly on Friday and wished
him safe travels on his journey to Mexico.

Making observations when a butterfly came out of its chrysalis.

Hoping his wings dry soon so that we could release him
before the end of the day.

At our art center, we created our own butterflies and
caterpillars.

We took our science lesson outside and observed early
 seasonal changes during a nature scavenger hunt.

Searching for signs of fall....

...around our school.

Everything is better when we work together!

Charlie and Leander record their findings.

Our hard-working bunch of kindergartners!

Jacob found seeds on our nature hunt.

As part of our classroom and school community building, our class has spent some time exploring the library and learning how to use it.

We all cheer for books!

Owen discovers a quiet reading tent.

Patiently waiting to sign out a book.

Lenna and Anna find the perfect book.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

It has been a pleasure to be back at school with such a sweet and caring group of kindergartners!  It is going to be another great year of learning and growing.  We are taking the time to learn about one another and how to take care of our classroom. The focus of the first few weeks of school will be building the foundation for a cooperative and caring classroom community. Students have been exploring tools and learning centers that we will be using all school year long. We've also really enjoyed our time on the playground.  Together we are learning about playground expectations and meeting new friends from all of the kindergarten classes.

What a great group!  We are learning so much about
each other and how to work as a team!

Charlie and Denver explore the slides.

Jacob, Tatum and Carly play outside.

Natalie and Anna use the bars together.

Denver and Autumn help paint letters of
our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree.

Painting letters that begin our name!

Marin and Carly work together during learning centers.

Natalie and Tatum explore in the writing center.

Owen and Lenna work together with the playdough.

Jacoby and Matthew explore the treehouse.

Penny, Anna and Denver serve up some delicious snacks.

Landon builds with Lincoln Logs.

Jacob calls in an order.

Leander and Jacoby discover the Marble Maze.

As the year goes on, we will add more text to the blog and have students update the blog with their own words. I will also update the blog with links to websites or other tools we are using in the classroom. On a really hot afternoon this week, students were introduced to TumbleBooks.  The TumbleBook Library  is an online collection of animated, talking picture books that students love.  Harold Martin pays for a subscription to this website but you can use it at home too.  The link is also listed on the right side of the blog.  The username is: haroldmartin. The password is: hms.

This week we will continue to focus on building a strong foundation for our classroom community. We will also meet other staff members in the building. Mrs. Jones, our district's numeracy specialist visited our class for our first math lesson. Yesterday we got to visit our school librarians on Tuesday when our class was introduced to the school's library.  Don't forget Open House is tonight from 6:00-7:00. Monday our class will get a visit from our school guidance counselor, Mrs. Kleiner to begin our weekly guidance lessons.  What a busy start to our school year!

Last, but not least, I would like to thank everyone for their patience as we develop our classroom routine.  It takes time teaching four, five and six year olds all of the different parts of our day.  Soon they all will be very independent and know exactly the type of milk they drink and how they are getting home.  Until then, all of the notes and emails about where your child is headed after school are VERY helpful. 

Our classroom is always in need of volunteers to make playdough.  If you would be willing, the recipe is below. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with us. I'm looking forward to a great year!

PLAY DOUGH RECIPE

2   cups     flour

1   cup       salt

4   tsp.       cream of tartar

2  Tbsp     cooking oil

2  cups     water

Food coloring

Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar in medium size pot.  In a separate bowl, mix water, oil and food coloring.  Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir.  Cook over low to medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes.  Keep stirring until the mixture forms a solid ball.  Place on counter top and gently knead warm dough until cool to the touch.  Cool completely before storing in a plastic bag or covered container.  This recipe can easily be doubled so you can have play-dough at home too!