Happy Friday! This week, we have been focusing on winter and all that it has to offer. We read a wonderful book called Waiting for Winter, which is a book about animals in a forest who have never seen snow before, and end up mistaking items that are white, soft, wet, or cold for snowflakes. At the end of the book, it finally snows and the animals enjoy it by making a snowman. This sparked many conversations about what snow really is and hibernation.

The students are also in the process right now of getting ready for their snowman project, which will consist of them creating a snowman out of recycled items that have been brought in from their homes. The students have found containers, sorted, and labeled their items. I can't wait to see their creative snowboys/girls!

In math, we have been working on putting numbers in the correct order (0-20,) and then doing different activities with those numbers. I found that this was a great opportunity for student-led instruction. A student may choose to clap a certain number of times and have the students listen and point to the number that the student was thinking, or have the class point to the number that comes before or after the number that is said. Another opportunity for student-led instruction was when the students were playing "monster mash," a game that was also sent home for you to enjoy with your child. Two students were able to get up in front of the class and use words and clues to help the other children guess the number.

Here is Kaydence and Sophia working together to teach the class. It was interesting to hear them work hard at the words they spoke, for they knew they had a responsibility to say the "right words" for the students' sake! They did a great job.

I have also introduced the concept of addition and subtraction using concrete materials. This can be done by you at home as well: dinner is a great opportunity!

Heart words for the week of December 5th: away, in, it, find, go

Greetings from Miss Leslie's Kindergarten! Today officially marks the end of the 11th week of school. The amount of learning that has happened so far is just incredible! The children have been having a blast learning their sight words, especially with the following activity. The students were "word and letter detectives." I gave them each a newspaper, a highlighter, and a magnifying glass. I also told them each a letter to hunt for based on their own specific needs. By using their magnifying glass, they would find that letter and highlight it. Their big challenge was to find sight words. Because sight words are so common, they were finding them everywhere! This activity is something that can easily be reproduced at home. If you don't have a magnifying glass, the activity can be done without or you can help your child make one! Here are a few pictures and quotes from the children:

• Bella D: "Look, I found America!"
• Patrick: "I am good at finding n's, but I am not good at highlighting them."
• Aidan: "Can I do this during center's?"

In math, the focus of this week has been numbers through different representations, such as dice and dominoes. They played a game called "Roll and Record," which was done with a partner. As you probably can tell from the previous blog updates, I have been incorporating a lot of partner work so children can use their social skills to communicate and cooperatively play a game with someone else. Previously, we had talked about being fair, being a good sport, and what it means to share. I was anxious to put their social skills to the test! We also talked about using a pan balance to compare weights of two different objects, which intrigued them. Here is Sophia and Aaliyah playing the game together.

The children have been getting awfully creative during our project time. During this time, children are free to engage in whatever they would like using the materials and resources available in the classroom. Using the computer for letter and number games, mp3 players, writing materials, and puppet area have been a fan favorite. I have also found in interest in constructing things, whether it be putting together a puzzle or building something out of blocks or cardboard. I always make sure the children have a purpose for what they are doing. Play, and the opportunities instruction, becomes a critical part of teaching because I know that literacy learning should be embedded in the context of these authentic experiences. Rather than being taught in isolation, literacy knowledge and skill should be learned through meaningful activities in which young children use reading and writing for a purpose.

Here is a great example of children learning literacy through constructive play. Alexis and Melania are building a polar bear out of cardboard. They named him "Poley." Both girls are working on writing a creative story about him. My role as their teacher is to sit with each of them and help them sort their ideas, guide them as they listen to the sounds of words, and put what they hear onto paper. I am excited for the finishing report!

Hello to the families of the curious Kindergartners!

I hope everyone has been enjoying Fall as much as we have. The weather has been incredible. The children have been so excited to get their "wiggles" out at recess because the sun has always been shining! To take advantage of this weather, we have been investigating outside as much as we can. We boarded the "leaf express" and went searching for leaves, comparing what they looked like in September, for we have an ongoing leaf comparison chart hung in our classroom. The departure of the next leaf express will occur in about 2 weeks, in order for the children to compare, yet once again, what the leaves looked like in October.

Here are a few pictures of our young scientists outside with their science notebooks, making observations about their surroundings and the fallen leaves:

In math, the children have begun to investigate different ways to measure objects. They used different materials, such as cubes and counting kangaroos, to measure their finger, big toe, and foot. There was a lot of stinkiness going on in the classroom! They loved taking off one sock and shoe and lining up cubes to match the length of their foot and big toe. At one point, I looked around the room and just took a minute to take in the moment. It was so amazing; with a partner, they were all around the room, sitting with their clipboards and pencils, using different objects as a means for measurement. I wish you could have seen it in action. They also learned about the beauty of symmetry. We observed symmetry in nature, symmetry when we paint, and our faces as being symmetrical. The children were given each a mirror where they could look at their face and draw the symmetrical parts they saw, such as their eyes, nose, eyebrows, and mouth. Here are pictures of each learning experience:

The children have been having fun with their sight words, or "heart words," as we call them. Sight words are the words that they should know by heart, looking at the word and reading them automatically. They used homemade pumpkin play dough and wiki sticks to build the words on their own, then using their finger to say each letter and then the word.

The children have also shown in interest in learning about Africa. How did this come about, you ask? As I called out a number, they were showing me different ways to show that number using their fingers. The Africans have a completely different way of holding up their fingers to represent a number. When I was showing them, they were in awe. They had so many questions for me, which lead me to show them where Africa is on the map. Using the book that I read to them titled "A if for Africa," they have been building villages out of blocks and cardboard on their own during centers.

This upcoming week, the children will be investigating more, learning about similarities and differences between this culture and theirs. What do they live in? What games do the children play? What do they like to eat? Alexis raised her hand at one point and said "Because we are reading an alphabet book about them, what if we made an alphabet book about us and sent it to them." This is why I love my job! I am looking forward to the month of November. Time is really flying.

Our Happy Harvesters

Greetings! First, thank you all so much for coming and supporting the Fall Festival at our school. The turn out was incredible! I really enjoyed meeting all your families. One of the biggest hits was the harvest soup the children made. I had a bowl before the festival started and I was amazed at how yummy it was! Here is the recipe if you would like to try it at home.

• Carrots
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Aunt Vida's Fine Homemade Noodles (Kriegers, Figaroos, and Al's Meat Market)
• Chicken
• Le Gout #95 chicken base (This IS the secret ingredient) and can only be bought at RSVP.

Simmer all day until tender. Add noodles and stir in at the last 1/2 hour. The base depends on how much you are preparing. We used 1/2 a jar for one roaster, so 4-5 tablespoons should be plenty for a family meal.

The children loved cooking with Franco and Mrs. Graves in the kitchen. Here are a few reactions from the children:

• "I liked scrubbing the potatoes." (Bella A.)
  
• "My favorite part was getting the dirt off the carrots." (Isabella M.)
  
• "My favorite part is eating it!" (Patrick)
  
• "I liked when we went out and got the vegetables and we put stuff in the pan." (Sophia)
  
• "I liked cutting the vegetables." (Jordan)

Here are a few pictures from their cooking experience in the kitchen

In math this past week, the children were introduced to the "teen" numbers. Ask them about the "Number Rock" song and see if they can sing it for you (with their air guitar, of course.) I will upload a video next week so you will see your little rock n' roller in action. In phonics, we have been concentrating on learning syllables. They did a much better job with it than I originally thought.... they are naturals! It was fun for them to think of big words and then clap how many syllables they had. We have REALLY been focusing on polite manners and social skills this week. Complimenting and encouraging classmates, learning the proper way to greet someone, and using polite words in various social situations has been the focus for this week. I hope they are taking what they are learning about manners home to show you as well!

Autumn Greetings!

Hello everyone!
Happy Autumn :) Autumn is my favorite season- I love the colors, foods, smells, and the experiences. We started exploring and observing the leaves even before they changed colors on the trees. We talked about the different shapes of leaves, and even the purpose of leaves. They were amazed that they eat leaves! They compared the difference between tree leaves and leaves that we can eat as food.

When they were investigating spinach, they were able to try a spinach leaf if they wanted.
Here were some of their responses:

• "Tastes like a regular, old leaf." (Marlo)
• "Tastes like a tree." (J'Lyn)
• "Tastes kinda weird" (Patrick)
• "Can we have more?" (Andrew)

The children have also been busy filling their noggins with facts about apples. On Wednesdsay, the children learned that there are different types of apples and they all have a different taste to them. They were able to taste a slice of three different types of apples. After we graphed what our favorite apple was, we found out that the children enjoyed the granny smith and gala apples the best (7 votes for each.) J'Lyn was the only one to like the red delicious apple best. Interesting to see! Next week, we will read a book about making an apple pie. I will have an apple toaster strudel warming up in a toaster, so the students should REALLY feel like they are making an apple pie. They will be able to make a special apple treat as well :)

In math, they have been exploring their shapes both within the classroom as well as throughout the outside environment. They were also introduced to their first math game! They were so excited! They couldn't keep their hands off the colorful game boards and spinners. At home, please keep emphasizing the standard "rules" of playing games with a partner. We talked a lot about sharing, taking turns, and cooperating with one another. Also, you will be getting your Kindergarten class phone book on Monday. The students worked so hard on them, so please utilize them to the fullest!

Did your child tell you about technology on Thursday? They got to work on "real" computers as they would say. Mr. Tom taught them the basics and responsibility they have when handling laptops. They are itching to play games on them!

In phonics, we have been learning about how sentences are made up of words and that words are made up letters. They also were about to form their names with playdough which they LOVED. They did so well that many of them started on their last names!

The children have been working on appropriate social skills when interacting with their peers. I have been doing many games and activities to help them form positive relationships with their classmates, but support and help from home would be appreciated! There will be many upcoming projects that we will be doing in the next few weeks that calls for extra helping hands, so I will be sure to contact parents to see if they would be interested in volunteering! Thanks! Please let me know if there are any questions, comments, or concerns!

Few more pictures of the KIA (Kindergarteners in Action)...

Isaiah constructing his tower. Patrick, Melania, and Aaliyah hard at work researching the type of scientist they would want to be.

Hola Amigos!

Today was your child's first day of Spanish! They have been itching to learn new words ever since they met their Spanish teacher last week. Ask your child to see if they can remember their Spanish name, how to say "My name is ____," or say hello. The Spanish teacher will come to our classroom every Friday. They will also have a French teacher as well who will come to the classroom on Thursdays! Here are a few pictures from their Spanish class:

We have also been starting to recognize that letters are what make up words, building our stamina when we "picture read," and exploring our wonder table. On our wonder table were the flowers that were alive on the first day of school, but now they have lost color and are all dried up. The children observed the dead flowers with magnifying glasses and made observations to illustrate how the flowers looked before and what they looked like now.

The magnetic letters have been very popular with the children. They enjoy using the letters to make their friends names or words they can copy that are written around the room.

Look what Alexis did! She sounded out "Phonics" and then spelled it exactly how it sounds. Way to go Alexis! As far as Patrick goes--Watch out mom and dad, looks like he already has made up his mind on what college he will be attending! :)

As far as math goes, we have been learning about our birthdays, volume, and patterns. Linking volume and patterning at home would be a great way to show the children that math extends beyond the classroom!

Our week started with a visit from the Akron Zoo. The children loved to learn about animals in our neighborhoods, and to see ducks, turtles, and an owl up close and personal. The week ended with the class witnessing a butterfly hatching from its cacoon! Our friend Andrew brought in the cacoon to share with the class. Today it hatched right before our eyes! It was a beautiful monarch butterfly. It is observations like this that make me appreciate the little things in life! How amazing for the children, as well as myself, to experience something this beautiful. More amazement to come, I suppose! Have a great weekend!

** Please remember to put your child's snack in their book bags rather than their lunches so you make it easier for them in the morning!

The Second Week... A Success!

So the second week... a success! I cannot believe how much we have done this past week. Amazing! We have been working hard on our rhyming. The children love to make up silly rhymes ... the book "Sheep in a Jeep" helped us a lot. Did you see the rhyming book that your child made? They were all so proud of it... they couldn't wait to show you! We also have been looking at rhyming words within familiar poems, such as "Jack be Nimble" and "One, Two, Buckle my Shoe." The children were able to act out each poem, creating movements that made them enjoy the poems even more!

We have been exploring counting and numbers in math. Did your child tell you that "Zero the Hero" came to visit the classroom to teach them about the number zero? I don't have pictures, for Zero the Hero was me (shhhh... don't tell!) They absolutely loved it!

Families and exploring oneself has been a big topic this week. We talked about how each family is different, but all our families are "glued" together by the same thing: love. The children ended their week by making self-portraits of themselves. They were given a picture of themselves and their task was to draw exactly how they looked in the picture...everything from eyecolor to eyelashes! Take a look!

Hi, from Mr. Tom

Hey Gang!
This is Mr. Tom, your friendly neighborhood Music & Technology Teacher dropping in to say "hi!" We have lots of exciting things planned for music class as well as for technology class. In Technology, we have started learning how to interact with our SMART Board, and will spend the next few weeks going more in depth with it. See you all soon!

Hello to the families of our dear Kindergarteners! Thank you for stopping in and taking a look at our class blog. For the first week of Kindergarten, the students really worked hard getting to know their fellow classmates. We did many activities and games throughout the week to help the student's remember their friends names. They even have trouble remembering my name. They call me "teacher" if they ever cannot remember my name. It is quite funny!
The students started off their year by listening to the book "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. If you are not familiar with this book, it is about a raccoon who is going to school for the first time. His mother comforts him giving him a kiss on the palm of his hand and tells him to put his hand to his cheek if he ever feels lonely so he can feel the comfort of his mother. The students loved using paint to make their own kissing hand for their mothers while they are at school.
We have zoomed with full speed into our math lessons. The students were introduced to what a trapezoid, hexagon, and rhombus were and had fun making designs with the shape blocks. Check out the pictures!

I really have enjoyed getting to know your children during this first week. Their unique personalities and their eagerness to learn is what makes me get out of bed each morning. I love teaching! Please stop in and check out the blog on a regular basis, for it will be updated as much as possible.