Good Evening Families,

What's the matter with the first graders? Nothing is the matter.... but everything is matter! For the past few weeks, the children  have been investigating solids, liquids, and gases and how their properties can be changed to a new state of matter. In the very beginning of the investigation, I asked the children what they thought "state of matter" meant. One of the children raised her hand and said "OHIO!" I thought that was a funny story to share and just goes to show how much the children have been learning. The students and  have been following the scientific process carefully and have been conducting many experiments. This concept cannot be taught in no other way but experiments! We have done everything from putting mentos into diet coke to building an ice snowman and watching it melt through the day. The children also had a blast making ice cream and watching the liquid milk mixture turn into a solid. It would be a great weekend activity, even in the middle of winter! The children don't seem to mind :)

To the left: Miss Leslie knew what was coming, so she remembered to wear her poncho that day!

To the right: The carbon dioxide in the soda is so attracted to the mentos. which creates so much pressure the soda goes flying! This was an example of what happens when a solid means a gas (and liquid!)

Below: The children's reactions were the best! 

With these experiments, the children have the opportunity to choose an experiment and expand on their learning. What do they wonder about it? What questions do they have and what do they want to explore? The children have seen all the experiments once, but this is their chance to conduct the same experiment by themselves with a different essential question. For example, the class predicted why the gingerbread man was afraid of water. To test our predictions, we put a gingerbread man into a glass of water and made observations after 5 and 15 minutes. Did the gingerbread man float? sink? dissolve? After making the conclusion that the gingerbread man does indeed dissolve, Michael and Andrew wanted to test if the gingerbread man would dissolve in liquids other than just water. Claire and Marlo wanted to test how fast they could get the ice snowman to melt if they put salt on it, for they used their background knowledge and knew that salt was put on roads to melt ice and snow. All the children have been working hard at following the scientific process and conducting their own experiments, and their results will be displayed for the SCOPE Express on Thursday, December 20th!

Left: Sophia continues with the scientific process and moves her name down to "Observations."

Right: Jordan, Marlo, Alexis and Claire can't wait to find out if their liquids froze in the balloons!

For this math unit, the children will work with linear measures and review and extend their use of thermometers and clocks. They measure in nonstandard units, such as their feet or hand span, as well as in the U.S customary units of inches and feet. They use rulers and tape measures to practice measuring classroom objects and themselves. Children also begin the important work of achieving "aromaticity" (automatic recall) of basic addition facts. The children will also be starting math journaling, so please remember to send in a composition notebook for them on Monday!

In this math unit, the children will work with linear measures and review and extend their use of thermometers and clocks. They measure in nonstandard units, such as their feet and hand spans, as well as in customary units of inches and feet. They use rulers and tape measures to practice measuring classroom objects and themselves. Children also begin the important work of achieving "aromaticity" (automatic recall) of basic addition facts. On Monday, the students will also begin math journaling so please send in a composition notebook with your child. Thank you!

Above: Andrew carefully traces J'Lyn's feet so she can begin measuring in "feet."

Reminder: Please join us in your child's classroom at 3:15 on Thursday, December 20th to take a ride on SCOPE Express. The train will make several stops at depots where children's museum exhibits will be on display. Children are encourages to wear pajama's on Thursday (Bring slippers.)

To end, I would like to take a minute to say how overwhelmed and heart broken I am over the Connecticut shooting, as I am sure you are as well. The school shooting today defies explanation, words, reason, or understanding. I am looking forward to Monday, for I am going to give each of your children an even bigger hug that I normally do and will never take their smiles, laughs, hugs, and conversations for granted.

Have a restful and an appreciative weekend!

Hello Families!

I sit here today thinking how it could possibly be December 2nd already? I feel like the first day of school was only yesterday! I guess time does really fly when you are having fun.

The first graders have been really interested in learning about pollution and the harmful effects it has on our environment. They thought it was pretty cool that they could do things to reduce pollution simply by not littering and remembering to recycle. For the school-wide Thanksgiving feast, the children decided they wanted to show the other students what we have been learning so they decided to make "trash can mashed potatoes." They used recyclable pudding and fruit cup containers to serve as the trashcans, and the mashed potatoes represented the litter. They wanted to show everyone that trash belongs in the trash can, not on the ground. It was a joyful time making the mashed potatoes and homemade butter. Some children really enjoyed smashing the potatoes, where as some children enjoyed peeling the potatoes. The children helped each other with each of the jobs, working as a team. Thank you to Mrs. Neel who came to help with the process!

Above: (Left) Kaydence, Marlo, Aaliyah and Isabella peel and cut the potatoes.
(Right) Melania and Andrew wash the potatoes

Above: (Left) Claire, Andrew, and Sophia shake the butter! We used whipping cream, a marble, and a jar!
(Right): The children finally get to enjoy the feast!

The children are at the beginning stages of investigating the different properties of water. We started off by looking at the globe and examining how much water was on the earth compared to land. Because the earth is made up of 70 percent of water, we have come to the conclusion that it is very important to learn about water. The children have been creating a model to show the different ways water can be observed. Some made models of the ocean, some made models of lakes, and many of the children made a snow scene. Marlo even came up with the idea of the observation of water through a swamp.... Miss Leslie even learns from the children! We have also been studying the characteristics of solids and liquids. Jordan made the request of doing a science experiment he previously did at his house and that he wanted to share with the class. Responding to his request, the class made "gloop" on Friday! Gloop, or oobleck, is a mixture of cornstarch, food coloring, and water. Gloop has interesting properties of both liquids and solids. It normally behaves like a liquid, but if you squeeze it in your hand it acts as a solid./As you can imagine. the students absolutely loved it! Here is a link that will teach you how to make gloop at home:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Oobleck

ENJOY!

Above:

 (Left) Miss Leslie. Sophia, Marlo, J'Lyn, and Michael learn about how much water is on Earth.

(Right) Alexis, Sophia, Melania, and Isabella experience the gloop experiement! Is it a liquid? Is it a solid? No one really can tell!

Mark your calendars: On Saturday, January 12th at 11:00 am, the Green Branch Library will be having "Pete the Cat and Popcorn Pizzazz!" Your child will hear Pete the Cat stories, songs, and they will be able to create their own popcorn treat! Because it's all good! Sign-ups begin January 2nd. I am telling you now because the children LOVE Pete the Cat, and what a great connection it would be for them from our Pete the Cat author study that occurred last year! \

Another reminder: The Daisy's are having a hat/glove drive for both the families at our school and the families in our community who are in need of these items.  There is a box that is set up at the office. Please, if you are able, send in with your child any hats or gloves that are not being used at your house. Look for sales at stores as well! Spread the holiday cheer here at GSCELC!

 Introducing.... Fireball! Fireball is our new class fish, and a fan favorite of fourteen 6 and 7 year olds. Her name was decided by a class vote, which connected beautifully to the presidential election that was occurring at the time. The class came up with different names and chose a name through a fair voting process. Other names included, Mark, AZ, Luke, and George. Notice a common trend? The children sure do love their families! Fortunately, a marine biologist donated the fish to each classroom, and took the time to come in and teach our students different facts about Betta fish and how to care for them. The children compared different fish, noticing the size, shape, color, if it was female or male, and the behavior of the fish. They put the fish in order by the color noticing all the different shades of blue and red. On a different day, the children had an opportunity to make formal observations using other class fish, focusing on writing 3 complete sentences that describe the fish. It has been a fun, fishy kind of week!

Above: Evelyn, and Marlo observing the Betta fish. Michael, Andrew, and Melania were in charge of giving Fireball freshwater and food!

For the past week, the authors have been very busy writing for the personal narrative class project. The students have been writing about a nature walk we experienced together. The class project focuses on sequence and true information. Each child is drafting, revising, and publishing a personal narrative on the nature walk. To build on this, the children will soon be working on their own individual personal narrative, where they review the different features of a personal narrative and choose an episode from their own life to write about and draft, edit, and publish their work. Children will have partners who will read each other's drafts and give feedback to improve narrative qualities. Here are some examples of the children's writing thus far:

• "That was a happy day. It was a happy day because I spent time with my friends." (Andrew)
• "There was a daisy garden. I love my grandpa and it reminded me of my grandpa." (Kaydence)
• " I felt chilly and I felt happy. I though that a iceberg was hitting me." (J'Lyn)
• "I was cold. It was so cold my nose was running." (Aaliyah)
• "I saw a leaf plant. It was almost as big as me," (Alexis)
• "When I stepped in the wet dirt it felt squishy." (Sophia)

Happy writers, happy readers, happy kids.

I would also like to mention that the SCOPE Daisy/Brownie Troop 90790 are currently working on a service project that will help a family in need during the holidays. If you can, please donate a canned food or boxed food item by November 15th. There are two boxes located at the front office that are just waiting to be filled! If you do send in the food items with your child, we will make sure the food gets to where it needs to go. Next time you go to the grocery store, perhaps you can bring your child along and have them pick out a food item they think the family would like best.The more involved they are, the better! Thank you very much!

Have a wonderful weekend!



Online Homework

Wow! What a storm! It's exciting when work, school, etc is cancelled....but it's important to remember those people who will suffer true devastation due to this storm. Due to the cancellation, there is online homework for the children:

1. Please read and solve the following number stories. Make sure to tell a parent the strategy you used to solve the problem (use your fingers, count with tallies, count out loud, draw a picture, draw a number model, mental math, use a number line, etc....)

• Melania has 10 shirts. She gives 4 shirts to her younger sister. How many shirts does she have now?
• You have a nickel. You buy 3 pieces of gum for 1 cent each. How much money do you have left?
• You have 8 cents. How much more money do you need in order to buy a crayon for 9 cents?
• An eraser costs 8 cents. Scissors costs 10 cents. How much less does the eraser cost than the scissors?
• Evelyn and Aaliyah were trying to save up for a new ball. They have 2 nickels. The ball costs 15 cents. How many more cents do Evelyn and Aaliyah need to buy the ball?

2. Please write at least 3-4 complete sentences about your feelings about the storm and the effects it had on your neighborhood. What do you observe? Are there more leaves on the ground, fallen sticks from trees, did you lose your power, etc... You can start your piece of writing by saying "The storm made me feel _________ because ________________. I see ______________ outside.  Remember your punctuation and finger spaces!

If you did lose power at some point: Please discuss with a parent what people did when they did not have power. How did they live?

Also, practice your spelling words and the different patterns you notice about each word.

Stay safe, warm, and dry! I will thinking of you!

Hello Friends!

This week, the children completed the first step to winter gardening. They dug out all the dead plants and weeds and took all their stepping stones inside. They pushed the leftovers to decompose in the woods, some using wheelbarrows, and some preferring to carry piles in their arms. Some of the children's job was to rake the leaves that surrounded the garden . They were great at this job, so hopefully this weekend will be as nice as today so you can have them out with you raking your leaves!

Quick note: On Monday, it was one of the best "Read to Self" moments I have ever seen with these children, even in Kindergarten. There strangely was not a peep in the room and all eyes were glued to the books. I just stood there and looked around in awe of the students. I took it all in, and thought how lucky I was to be their teacher.

Report cards are to be mailed on Friday, November 2nd. Please keep an eye out for them. I would be happy to answer any questions that anyone may have about the report cards or your child's progress.

Have a spooctacular weekend!

Good day everyone!

Thank you all for your participation with the Parent-Teacher Conferences. It was so great to sit down with each of you and talk about your child's progress and their attitudes towards school. It is very important to me that your child feels safe and welcomed at school, and that they have a positive outlook on learning. To reiterate, please know I am always available if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns. I love hearing from parents!

In math, the children's minds are exploding with knowledge about coins. Boy, do they sure love money. They even love it more when they can count it! The children have specifically been focusing on exchanging pennies for nickels. I have found that when I expose the children to higher thinking throughout the day, they understand the concept so much easier when it is formally taught. In this instance, I have been incorporating dimes and quarters into our day in hopes that when I do introduce them to the exchange of the coins with higher value, they will understand better. There are some children who are already being challenged to exchange nickels for dimes. Here is a fun idea you can do at home: Have your child take off the seat cushions from your couch. Have them search for as many coins as they can can! No, stale Cheetos do not count! When they have found all the coins, help them count the nickels and pennies. Are there any exchanges they can do? If your child found dimes and quarters, don't be afraid to expand on the worth of the coins. During Daily 5 math, a favorite activity of the children was making designs out of coins. After their design is finished, they transfer their creation onto a piece of paper. They then have to count the value of their design. Here are a few pictures of the children in action: Jordan, Alexis, and Melania

Taking a look at the weeks ahead, the children will be learning about addition, subtraction, patterns, and higher level counting on the number line.

Regarding the children's reading, they have been working hard at using their schema (prior knowledge) to connect with the book they are reading. Good readers bring information from what they already know or what they have read before about a topic and connect it with what they are reading to increase their understanding of the text and to remember what they have read. I like to tell the children that it is like having a kind conversation with the book. They seem to really like that. The children have also been learning to identify the first and last part of a 1-2 syllable word, which helps them to both read and write the word. I like to cover up the last part of the word and have the children predict what the first part of the word is. The last part of a word is everything after the vowel. For instance, in the word "cat," the last part is -at. It keeps reading exciting, and almost a mystery!

The children have personal journals they write in everyday. Sometimes what they write is based from a specific prompt, and some journal entries are thought of entirely by them. They have been doing so well with the journals, I have to share what the authors have been up too:

The work above was written by Melania, Isabella M., and Kaydence

If you want to get more books based on your child's DRA level, go to:

1. scholastic.com

2. Click on the tab "Books and Authors"

3. Click on "Reading Level"

4. Choose the DRA option, choose 1st grade, and your child's DRA level

5. You now have a large list of well-known books connected to your child's DRA score. Pretty cool, I would say!

It looks like there is going to be spectacular fall weather this weekend--- go outside and wonder with your child!

Sincerely,

Miss Leslie

Online homework for Monday, October 15th, 2012 (due to Parent-Teacher Conferences)

Have a parent give you a handful of coins. Answer these questions:

1. How many pennies did they give you? What is the value of all your pennies combined? (Counting by 1s)
2. How many nickles did they give you? What is the value of all the nickles? (Counting by 5s)
3. How many dimes did they give you?
4. How many quarters did they give you?

Challenge questions:
1. What is the value of all the dimes combined?
2. What is the value of all the quarters combined?

Super challenge question:
1. How much money do you have altogether?

Trace the coins to make a fun design. Bring it with you on Tuesday to share with the class!

Hello scientists! The online homework for Wednesday, October 10th is as follows:

Please go on the Internet and watch this video with a parent. Click on the link below and it will take you to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZ9a5VgIqo

As you watch, think about the different needs of living things. Here are a few questions I would like you to think about:

• Do all living things have have basic needs to survive?
• What do plants eat for food?
• Do all living things have basic needs to survive?
• How is the environment, or habitat, of a living thing effect it's survival?
• What are examples of living things? What are examples of non-living things?

After you have watched the video, please look out your window and write and draw one living and one non- living thing you see outside. Discuss with your parent what that living thing needs to survive, and how their survival needs may be different then yours (Does it eat peanut and jelly sandwiches like you? Does it sleep in a house?) Please bring your observations to school on Thursday and we will discuss as a class!

Thank you parents for your participation with this!

Remember that the annual Fall Festival is tomorrow! Come for fun, games, and friends!

Ciao!
For the past 3 days, the chef's in Miss Leslie's 1st grade class have been busy preparing for the cooking of  garden tomato sauce. They originally got the idea of making tomato sauce from the abundance of tomatoes we have in our school yard. It would only make sense to  make something that required many tomatoes! On Wednesday, we went out and spent some time in our beautiful school garden harvesting the tomatoes. We compared what ripe tomatoes looked like compared to rotten tomatoes, and talked about why it was healthy to harvest vegetables straight from your own garden. Incorporating math into this scenario, the children thought of different number stories they could tell using the tomatoes and we had a "story share" on the logs. With the small cherry tomatoes, the children demonstrated what skip counting looked like (2 tomatoes, 4 tomatoes, etc...) On Thursday, the children learned the importance of washing hands before cooking, washing vegetables before we eat/cook with them, and what the term "blanching" meant. After the children washed the tomatoes, they put an "x" on it, and dropped it in a slow cooker filled with hot water. Would the tomatoes sink or would they float? The children used their schema from what they learned from COSI day of last year to investigate this question.  Shortly after, the children learned to gently peel off the skin of the tomatoes. They were comparing this cooking skill to brain surgery. Everyone participated, even the children who are not fond of tomatoes!

Above: J'Lyn, Isabella, Melania and Michael eagerly harvest tomatoes from the school garden.

Picture on Left: Evelyn and Kaydence just can't get over how juicy the tomatoes were!
Picture on Right: Sophia blanching her tomato. 

On Friday,  we added the onion, garlic and herbs, creating a delicious aroma throughout the classroom, and making us very hungry! Thank you to J'Lyn's mom for taking time out of her busy schedule to help us with the cooking. Her impressive garden knowledge made the day run smoother. Grazie!

 In math, the children have been exploring all the different ways we use numbers each day. The children discussed different reasons on why we need to be able to "read" and write numbers correctly:
Claire- Speedometers
Aaliyah- Clocks
Kaydence- Microwaves
Alexis- Money
Sophia- The calendar
It was interesting to hear all the different possibilities that the children came up with. We learned about the different parts of our phone numbers (area code, prefix, etc...) and noticed different number patterns found within a number grid. Math Daily 5 is really teaching the children independence, cooperation, and peer-to-peer checking, guiding, and praising.

Your child has been introduced to the accuracy strategy of cross checking. It is important to slow readers down when they come to a word they don’t know and teach them to apply the strategy of cross checking so they are able to fix the meaning and not just skip the word. Cross checking requires a person to constantly think and monitor meaning. It is a strategy for ensuring the words and pictures read make sense and match the letters on a page. To make your child aware of using this strategy, give him or her a piece of paper and tell him to make a tally mark each time he uses the cross checking strategy at home.

** FYI: Danimals Smoothie is giving away $30 000 to 5 schools for a playground makeover! Participants need to collect the codes that are found on the inside of the package, and then register that code under our school name at RallyForRecess.com. Our school has been registered but has not yet been validated, so I will let you know as soon as you can start registering the codes! For now, if you could start a collection of the Danimals Smoothie packages, you can register the codes as soon as our school is validated.

 

 With many thoughts always,

Miss Leslie

                                    

Happy Friday!

Teaching students voracious reading is one strategy I really have loved teaching and find very valuable. This strategy fits under Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary on the CAFE menu. I consider myself a voracious reader as an adult, and I love to guide these students towards their own love for reading.

Reading, reading, and more reading will help students gain word knowledge for their daily lives and for their writing. As a teacher, it is important for me to help my students learn at a young age the importance of reading. Voracious reading involves having many options for students to read, giving reading time every single day, reading to students every day, and modeling what it means to be a voracious reader. If I can surround students with my own love for reading, then hopefully this will help develop their own love for reading.

You will be aware of the strategies I introduce each week so that you can help your child at home with their reading as well. Knowing that you love to read and you love to help them read will help these children because the voracious readers we hope for!

In math, the children have been busy getting ready for their unit 1 progress check! It was a big today for all of them, because for some, it was their first time taking a formal test. We have been learning about counting by 2's and 5's, using tally marks to represent numbers and data, naming numbers that come before and after a given number, and counting forward and backwards on a number line to solve number stories and number line problems.

The children are well on their way making a model of what a desired habitat would look like for a frog. The children are learning that all living things have basic needs in order to survive, and that living things get the energy they require to respond, grow, and reproduce from their environment. Here are a very pictures of the children planning and creating their models:

Picture on left: Aaliyah matches her design of a tadpole to a picture she found in a book.
Picture on right: J'Lyn putting her discovery post-it note on the wonder/discovery board! She discovered the different predators of a frog.

21st Century Skills: Something that I have really been trying to embed into the children's way of life is their ability of self-direction, having them set goals related to their learning and planning for the achievement of those goals. It is really important for children at this age to have something to reach for, whether it be as simple as remembering to put their name on their papers or putting punctuation at the end of sentences. This was important to me in kindergarten, and the children are beginning to become aware of the importance as well. Just ask them what their goals are in school and they will be able to tell you. Goal-setting would be great to talk about in the car or sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's. Setting goals and being aware of what it takes to achieve those goals is not just for adults. Even our little ones can benefit from the confidence-boost that comes from setting a goal, working towards it, and achieving it.

Quotes of the week: Kaydence telling me that she would "break into her piggy bank" to help pay for the new house her parents are trying to design, and Jordan saying "I don't want you to have to do all the work, Miss Leslie!" as he washed play-doh tools without even being asked.

Here is a video for you to enjoy. It is a video of all the first graders in gym class with Mrs. Graves. They are our "dynamic dribblers!"

Hello Everyone!

What a great week it was in first grade! Our math objectives for the week were learning about the features of a calendar as well the routine of tracking the weather everyday. We spend time together as class practicing the basics of a calendar as well as recording the weather on the Smart Board. Temperature and the thermometer will be introduced to them next week. If anyone has an extra outside thermometer hidden deep in their garage, we would love to borrow it  and put it outside our window! The students are slowly starting to understand how we put our math materials away in the correct bins. I stress to them everyday how important it is to put materials and tools we use away in the correct places so that we can find it easily next time we go to use them.

Frogs, frogs, frogs! The children have really been diving head first into various resources to find more about frogs. This interest came about when we were out in the garden and we saw a frog hopping around.  The students have been learning through both non-fiction and fiction books, Ipads, and the laptops. The Ipads are their favorites, but they get really excited when I get new frog books at the library for them to explore with! With this project, the main objective, among others, is for them to understand that all living things have basic needs to survive. What are the basic needs of a frog? What are the basics needs of humans? Are they the same or different? They are interested in comparing the needs of different animals and plants. The children are learning to communicate with one another to share information and research that they find.

On Tuesday, we spent some time out in the garden thinking about what recipes we could come up with using the vegetables from all the gardens. Thought I would share a few:

• Kaydence: Vegetable soup
• Michael: Spaghetti with tomato sauce (making sure I was aware that we would need to buy the spaghetti at the store)
• Isabella A: A salad
• Melania: Pumpkin seeds

We sure did get a plethora of ideas! The children decided they were going to make spaghetti sauce because we have so many tomatoes in the garden. Our chefs will be making this on Friday, September 21st.

Also, today we had our first Chinese class! Wow... I still can't get over how engaged the student's were. They were asking Jing, the Chinese teacher, so many thoughtful and serious questions. I just had to sit back and enjoy! The students today learned how to say hello, eyes, nose, and mouth in chinese. Next week, they will be learning their Chinese names.


Thank you to Mrs. Neel for donating 4 amazing "I wonder why..." books to our school library! I just know the children will be so excited for these!

Starting Monday, I will be sending home reading folders for your child to work on throughout the week. The children will choose one good-fit book, as well as the guided reading book they will be working on in class with myself and a small group. The purpose of the reading folders is for your child to build fluency by reading the same book numerous times, as well as for you to sit and listen to your child read at their independent reading level.  Just like last year, there will be a log included that has different suggestions on ways you can enhance this reading time. The directions will be in the folder, so be on the lookout!

Have a terrific week! Looking forward to next week!

Hello to All!

Welcome to the First Grade! I would like to apologize for not having the blog updated on Friday. I am sure your child told you but I got engaged on Friday! Better yet, my fiance' proposed to me at school! We left right after school, and though I put up a fight, he just wouldn't let me stay to upload the blog ;)

The proposal was so special. Earlier that day, Mrs. Graves told me that we would be having a guest speaker come to the school and read each class a book at 2:15. Completely clueless, I settled the children down and we talked about how to behave when a guest speaker enters the classroom. To much of my surprise, in comes my boyfriend at the time, Anthony, with a bouquet of flowers for me and 2 boxes of cupcakes for the children. Still clueless, we had a great time enjoying our special time with Anthony. He is a banker, so all the children were interested that he worked with money and numbers, just like them! He then asked Andrew to hold the video camera and record what was about to happen. Sure enough, Anthony walked over to me, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him.

The children's reactions were priceless, it made it that much more special. Jordan and Alexis were covering their eyes laughing, and Marlo was clapping over her head. They thought I had just gotten married, but then I explained to them what happened. I then asked them if they wanted Anthony or Miss Leslie to read them a book, and they shouted "Anthony!!" They acted like he was a movie star. It was such a fun celebration. I will upload the video of the proposal on the blog later tonight, for the camera is at my home. Anthony sure does know me well to know to propose to me in front of some of the most people in my life. The day was perfect.

Back to the First Grade though...

The children came back to school and did not put their curiosity to waste. Within the first 3 days, the students were digging deep in books and laptops learning about frogs and butterflies. We found a frog out in the garden and they became instantly attached. They wanted to keep him, but they had to do research first on the habitat we needed to provide for the frog as well as how to care for a pet. We will see if their interest in frogs continues. Butterflies became an interest because Bella Ake and her family brought in caterpillars in their chrysalis for us to observe.

Sophia wondered: "How did caterpillars make their cocoons
Melania wondering: "How does it get out of it's cocoon?"
Kaydence wondered: "How does it get all of its pretty colors?"

Watching the butterflies come out of their cocoons was so amazing to watch! The children loved every minute of it. Did you know that if the cocoons are disturbed in any way, they start to shake? I learned that fact with the children. We researched what the butterflies needed to eat, and after a couple of days, we let the butterflies free near our garden.

We have been learning the basics of the scientific process, such as what it means to observe, predict, communicate, and experiment. We conducted an experiment on Friday to help with our prediction skills. Remember, a prediction is not a guess! It is an educated guess based on previous knowledge and experiences.

Below pictures: 
Right: Sophia and Alexis predicting what color yellow and orange make.
Left: The children watching the butterfly as it hatched from its cocoon!

The students and I have been talking a lot about the purpose of a calendar, the days of the week, and the 12 months. It is a bit of a struggle for them, because many of them get confused with the calendar vocabulary (difference between months, years, days, etc...) Why not show your child a calendar that you use at home? This could reinforce the idea that learning extends beyond the classroom. We also have been talking a lot about the skills you need to be successful at working independently as well as with a partner.

As far as our literacy block, the children have started Daily 5, and have been introduced to read to self and Work on Writing. They also have a block of time set called Writer's Workshop, where they pick a topic of their chose and free-write independently, using the writing skills introduced to them previously. Writing Workshop is one of our favorite times of the day!

Please let me remind you that their will be an online homework assignment for the children to complete every Wednesday. The homework assignment can be found on the blog, and will tell you and your child what to do.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments so far. My door is always open for you!
Above Pictures:
Left: Alexis, Kaydence, Claire, Sophia and Michael working hard on their nature portraits.
Right: Healthy habits are incorporated into the curriculum daily. This chart emphasizes what "sometimes" foods are and what "always" foods are. The children love to evaluate their snacks and lunches for the day, and are taught to always eat their "always" foods first!

Happy summer everyone! I don't know about you, but this year flew by for me! In case you didn't read the newsletter that was sent out, I wanted to repeat something that I said in it:
" It was Monday, August 29^th, 2011. I couldn't believe I was as nervous as I was to meet and work with fifteen curious and questioning minds, helping them wonder and create with the blank slate they brought with them. Because I was a first-year teacher, it was surreal for me to be in the classroom, greeting each child and their families, making them feel as comfortable and welcomed as I could. Looking back on that day, I realize that was the start to the busiest, most accomplished and fulfilled year, speaking about myself, but more about the children."
I really do feel that this year the children and I have accomplished so much, and we couldn't have done it without eachother. A lot of people think that as a teacher, you are the one to help children be the best they can be, and design each day so they leave with a smile on their face. Well, I think a bit differently. Yes, I did my best to do exactly that, but it was the children that helped me be the best I could be, with every morning greeting and smile, with every lightbulb that went off in their heads, with the countless number of notes, with "this was the best day ever!" kind of days, with every healing of a boo-boo, and with every lost tooth. I couldn't have aske for a better Kindergarten class.
 I have been reflecting lately on both the trials and triumphs of teaching and learning in a new world of challenges and opportunities. As I reflect, I smile. I smile because this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing with my life. I smile because I am happy. Thank you for all your support throughout the year! Have a safe, fun, and healthy summer!


Here is a slideshow of the year for you to enjoy with your child:

Photo slideshow customized with Smilebox

Greetings! Only 2 1/2 weeks left of school.... where did the time go? As we are winding down the school year, the students have been spending a lot of time out in the garden. Last week, they worked hard weeding the garden and spreading compost and mulch throughout, preparing a healthy environment for our vegetables to thrive in. We are sharing our garden with the other Kindergarten class, teaching them about team work and helping others. The focus for the garden is fairy tales and nursery rhymes. This interest sparked around the time the students were going to the Akron Civic Theater to watch the Under the Sea ballet, a fairy tale classic. My class spent a lot of time studying the different elements of fairy tales, and they always wanted me to read more of the enchanting stories. Thus, the idea was brought up to incorporate fairy tales into our garden and POOF.... it was started. The students love putting gloves on and using a shovel or rake to do their gardening, though some preferred to use their hands. Jordan and Patrick especially loved to push and pull the wheel barrow, for they said it was a "boy's job." With the help of our kind parent volunteers, our garden is ready for vegetables! The students have already started thinking about adding their personal touches to the garden, such as making stepping stones to act as a pathway. The other Kindergarten class thought of building a wall that Humpty Dumpty could sit on. On Thursday, the students will be transferring the vegetables that they have been growing and watching since before Spring Break. If you would like to help out with this process, please let me know! We will be going outside at about 1:15 pm. teamwork, teamwork, teamwork During our time out in the garden, there is also a small group activity if the children choose to take a break from the garden and need a small rest. Last week's activity was a sensory activity, where the children took a gummy worm and burrowed through mud. Some made tunnels for their worms, others burrowed all around their papers going in all directions! The ending product? Beautiful mud art that will look great above your mantel! On Monday, a master gardener came to our school to share her wisdom on worm composting. Worm composting in the classroom is a school-wide initiative that all classrooms are going to either start or continue in order to teach the students more about recycling and caring for the Earth. The students loved listening to her speak about the characteristics of worms and how they are our friends, holding worms, and building a compost system that would be suitable for a classroom. Andrew, Isabella and Aidan pick out recycled vegetables to feed the worms. There are so many distractions in today's world that some children might never see the sun come up except by watching it on television. National surveys say most children spend very little or no time observing or interacting in their natural environment and surroundings. My hope is that an outdoor classroom such as the one we have will help the children understand at a young age about natural resources and what their job is in the environment.

Hello All!

Goodness, what a beautiful week it has been! The children are loving the sunshine. As the days get warmer, please feel free to send a water bottle with your children to keep in their locker so they stay hydrated. That is extremely important with active children like the ones we have!
In math, the children have been practicing sequencing numbers and size, using a bar graph to represent data, and "bundling" sticks to  start thinking about place value. I was working with Marlo and I was teaching her how to "bundle" 10 popsicle sticks and place it in the tens container. She confidently looked at me and said "Oh, like bundling your car and home insurance!" If that wasn't making a home to school connection, I don't know what is! The children are doing great with sequencing numbers and size, and leads right into many discussions on putting stories into correct order The students are very excited to read and explore Pete the Cat and his Four  Groovy Buttons by the dynamic duo Eric Litwin and James Dean. The book came out on Wednesday, and next week we will take a deeper look into Mr. Eric's writing and the illustrations in the third book.  The children just love Pete the Cat, so I know this book will be  hit with them and I cannot wait to dive right in! Learning about birds has been so fun for both myself and the children.We were able to go outside right after a rainfall to seek out worms. Luckily, the rain did bring out many worms, and the children were able to answer the question "Is rain helpful or harmful to birds?" It is helpful, of course! It gives them water to drink and brings worms above the ground to eat. We learned that the feathers on birds protect themselves during a rainfall. Pretty cool! Incorporating Pete the Cat into our bird studies, the students were wondering what the bird in all the illustrations was thinking when Pete continued to step into messy things. The children also explored different bird beaks by using different tools (clothespin, toothpick, and large spoon) to represent the beaks of different birds. They became very frustrated when they couldn't pick up much food with just a toothpick. Jordan exclaimed, "Yeah! This is exactly how a hummingbird feels!" We took a nature walk today, focusing on things we found out in nature that weren't supposed to be there. How do you think they got there? What does this do for the animals and other humans? Some of the things we found were: litter, 2 old tires, wood, broken fench, an old tennis court, and a soccer ball. It was interesting to hear their thoughts on how the items got to be outside in nature. They are very concerned about the litter, and I just know this will develop into an ongoing project.



Isabella M. is working on representing the point of view of the bird from Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes







Jordan working very hard on grabbing as much food as he could with a clothespin, representing a cardinal he has been studying about.






Nathan, Patrick, and Andrew checking for worms to put in their worm environment they had made. We started off with a mason jar and a little dirt for our worm environment, and after lots of research and investigation, we found all the right materials to keep the worms happy and healthy! Well I am predicting, just as we do ever morning, that a big storm is rolling in. Everyone keep safe and dry!