November 25, 2008

Giving Thanks!

I wish everyone a relaxing and joyful Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you have the opportunity to be with those you love and to reflect on what you are thankful for.

Below are some turkey stories written by the Kindergartners. You can  find your child's story and turkey in the classroom, pinned up next to their elephant person.

One time I went to the farm. There was a lot of turkeys.
Brooke

Turkeys love to eat.
Ishika

Farm turkeys can't fly.
Ben

Turkeys gobble and they run and some fly.
Isaac

A turkey has colorful feathers. A turkey on a farm cannot fly.
Ryan

Once upon a time there was a turkey. He went to a mountain. He found a rock. He brought it home. The End
Simon

I went on an adventure and I found a turkey for Thanksgiving.
Ahria-Nah

Turkeys can fly.
Alejandro

My turkey lives on a farm. He cannot fly. I feed him everyday.
Dhruv

My turkey goes for a run because a human is chasing the turkey from the woods for Thanksgiving. Run deeper and deeper into the woods.
Livia

My turkey goes for a fly to go to the other turkey's house to have Thanksgiving with theirself.
Erin

Happy Thanksgiving!!

November 21, 2008

Pajama Day!

The week was off to a busy start with pumpkin pies! Thank you to all the parents who came in to assist with this special baking project. The kids had a blast and it was a great opportunity to expose them to fractions, measurement, and kitchen chemistry! After working in small groups to make the pies, we baked them and enjoyed them as a late afternoon treat; they were delicious!

The Grouchy Ladybug, by Eric Carle, introduced us to the letter "Gg". We had a group discussion about what might make someone feel grouchy and we used small clock manipulatives to tell time as we moved through the story. Each child made his/her own grouchy ladybug, which required patience, listening and following multi-step directions. These are areas that can be challenging for Kindergartners, so it is important to practice them often, both in and outside of school!

What an exciting day we had on Wednesday! The kids were thrilled to come to school in their pajamas (as was the teacher!!) and even slippers! The room was buzzing all day with the children drawing self-portraits of themselves in their pjs, reading stories, listening to Raffi music, doing "animal reports" on their stuffed animals and watching The Velveteen Rabbit. It makes us wish everyday could be Pajama Day!!

Thursday and Friday, we continued with the letter "Pp", but changed the focus from pajamas to penguins and pattern blocks. We studied a world map to see where penguins are found (four continents in all!), but also reviewed the seven continents and surrounding oceans. We read several stories including The Penguin and the Pea and The Very Smart Pea and the Princess To-Be, two fractured fairytales based on the story The Princess and the Pea (which we had just read for the number 20!). Each child completed a mystery picture that revealed a mother penguin with her baby and we completed a math sheet using pattern blocks that was quite challenging for the Kindergartners. This was a great visual activity for the students and also tested their addition skills!

In addition to all of this, we also celebrated Sports' Week by writing about our favorite sports, reading sport stories, and finally dressing up as athletes and illustrating ourselves in these great outfits...look for the drawings outside the Kindergarten classrooms!

Now that the cold weather has started, we are reminding students to bring hats, mittens, boots, snow pants, etc., each day. We have also asked the students to practice dressing themselves in their winter gear because this is not something we will do for them. Ask your child how he/she is doing getting dressed for recess and have them practice a few times at home.

Several kids are in need of more white glue. Please ask your child if he/she needs a new bottle of white glue for school.

Upcoming Events:
11/26-11/30: Thanksgiving Break
12/22-1/4: Winter Break
1/5: First Day Back

Snack Week of:
11/24: MPA
12/1: Emma
12/8: Brooke
12/15: Emma

Guest Readers:
11/24: Emma's mom
12/1: Isaac's mom