Fall is in the Air!

We have been very busy these past few weeks with all kinds of events, from the school's Literacy night to our classroom Fall Festival, and we are excited to share some of these moments with you!

Let's start by taking a look at Olaf the Pumpkin which won first place during Literacy Night! A huge thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Jarrett for helping our class win this fun project!

Next we wanted to show you some of the fun things we do during math centers time. The students get to rotate to a different math center each day of the week. Sometimes the center activities cover concepts we are currently learning, other times they help us review things we've learned in the past, and occasionally the centers challenge the students by giving them problems to solve and ideas to process that we have not spent much time learning as a group.

Another thing we want to share with you is a fun storyboard activity we did in Reading with The Three Billy Goats Gruff. After reading the story as a class and answering questions about the characters, setting, and plot, we set out to make a storyboard that would help us as we retell the story at home with our families. The students loved using the little Billy Goats and walking them across the bridge on their papers as they retold the story!

The students have also been excited about science as we spend more time diving into the process of science and learning about things like hypothesis, experiments, and conclusions. As we learn more about what scientists do, the students take a larger role during science so that they become the leaders of the experiment, the generators of the ideas, and the masterminds behind completing projects and finding answers to our greatest kindergarten science questions!

Click here to see more pictures of our math centers, reading, and science projects!

Finally, we were so excited to have some of our parents come in as volunteers and help us with our Fall Festival. The students rotated through four different stations and had the opportunity to make an edible turkey craft (who knew turkey's could taste so sweet?), create a silly pumpkin with crazy hair and a painted face, make an owl with big, googly eyes and long, silent wings, and practice their sight words while they colored a fall picture complete with pumpkins and the cutest kittens.

Click here to see more pictures of our Fall Festival!

We have many more events coming up and we can't wait to share them with you too!

Wonderful Writing

Today we read a story by Ursula Dubosarsky called Rex.  In the story, students get to take turns taking home a class pet - a chameleon named Rex. Each student in the story does something different with Rex, like taking him to the movies or the pool, and each student in the story has to write about what they did with Rex on the evening they brought him home. The story ends with a question, "What would you do if you took Rex home for a night?"
So, we used our imaginations and shared ideas of what we would do with Rex. Then we went to our seats to write about it. Take a look at what wonderful writing is beginning to happen in our classroom!

Brooks wrote that he would take Rex to the pond. He used phonetic spelling to describe where they would go and he is beginning to add details to his picture so that it matches his writing, like drawing the pond with the murky color that he sees when he looks at it at home.

Keith liked the teacher's idea of taking Rex to the beach, so he practiced writing by copying what he saw and remembered from the teacher's example. Then he worked on a picture that showed him and Rex on the sand.

Josiah said that he would take Rex with him to LegoWorld. He used phonetic spelling, sight words, and spacing between his words while working independently. He then began to draw a picture that told more about what would happen using details with his shapes and colors.

 Hollie wrote that she would take Rex with her to play at the park. She used phonetic spelling, like 'prc' and included details in her picture that would tell about where she and Rex played at the park.

Zayne used his imagination to draw about where he would take Rex. He also included letter strings to tell his story and is beginning to add sight words and some beginning sounds to his writing.

All of these students are at various stages in the writing process but are each doing their very best! We will continue to work on wonderful writing and soon you will see your child becoming a master at storytelling! :-)

Week one, already done!

This first week of school has zipped right by! Our class has 18 wonderful students who are learning so much about how to be responsible kindergarteners and how to have fun while still following the rules. Please take some time to talk with your child and have him or her share our classroom rules with you. The more they talk about them at home, the more likely they are to remember them at school.
We began practicing our color coded behavior chart this week as well. Starting Monday, the students' behavior will be recorded from the chart daily and will make up a percentage of their conduct grade.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in supplies, offered to help out in the classroom, and continues to check and sign the agenda daily. You are an awesome pit crew! :-)

Click here to see a few pictures of our race team working hard during the first week of school.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Hello and welcome to my classroom blog! I hope each of you had a fantastic summer.

It's hard to believe that another school year is already beginning. Your children are going to set out on a journey that will forever change who they are. From practicing in the classroom to racing around the playground with imaginations running wild. We will take risks, work hard, try new things, and (of course), have fun!  :-)

See you soon!

Goodbye Kindergarten!

Today our class celebrated the end of the year with a rock star color party. Our day was filled with so much fun. We took pictures, painted, listened to books read by celebrities, had extra recess time, played board games that the students brought in, ate chicken nuggets, and had an ice cream sundae party with our families while we watched a slideshow of the school year! *whew* You can view pictures of our party by clicking here!

 

If you were unable to join us today, check out the slideshow on DVD that each student took home with them in their summer gift bag today! :-)

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to making this year a success. From helping with classroom supplies to working with your children at home, you have helped turn these kindergarteners into first graders! I hope each and everyone of you has a relaxing and fun-filled summer vacation! Remember, the last day of school is Friday, June 6th, and dismissal is at 11:30am. Goodbye Kindergarten - Hello Summer!

Yummy Owls!

Today the students took to functional writing by creating a yummy snack! After learning how to make a "yummy owl", the students went back to their seats to practice what they learned. When their owls were complete, they had to write about how it was made, making sure to use the transition words first, next, then, and last. The best part about this writing? It was so yummy!
Challenge your children at home to practice using their creativity to make things out of food, write about what they did, then eat it! It's a fun and delicious way to practice writing.

To see more pictures click here.
 

Egg-stra Fun!

Today our class went on a short field trip to Sheffield Regional Park, located just a little walk away next to New Berlin. The students were eager to get there because they were very excited about getting started with math! That's right, math! Yes, it may have been disguised as a fun filled Easter egg hunt, but this trip was all about showing off math skills. :-)
At the park, the students were given instructions about our egg hunt. They had to find 15 eggs, and not just any 15, but the 15 eggs with their name on them. There were also a few extra smiley eggs, hidden a little more for whoever was able to find them first, and 1 shiny golden egg that was the hardest to find and gave one student a trip to the classroom store to get whatever they want! The students had a great time running around, searching for their eggs, and helping their friends find others. The golden egg was hidden up in a tree branch and the students ran by it several times before it was found. We practiced our counting and adding over and over as each one of the students checked their bag to see how many eggs they had and how many more they needed to reach 15.
When all the eggs were found, the students played a hula-hoop relay to see which group could get the hoop all the way around the circle first. They loved this game and were very excited to cheer each other on. The wind stopped us from having a spoon and egg relay, so we decided to have a hula-hoop-off instead. The kids came up two at a time and showed off their skills to see who could hula hoop the longest. We've got some talented hula-hoopers!
Before we headed back to the school, the students had some free play time and they ran around cheering with their friends and letting their imaginations run wild. 
Thank you for sending in so many eggs and helping to make this trip egg-stra fun!

Click here for more pictures of our egg hunt.