Dear Friends,
What a great week it has been in Kindergarten. I cannot believe it is already February! Where is the time going? This week, the mathematicians have been focusing on measuring objects with a nonstandard "foot." They have learned that you can measure distances and lengths of objects by using their feet and the "heel to toe" method. They enjoy challenging themselves by making a prediction on how many "feet" it will be from their table to the door. They also learned how to measure objects vertically with their paper-cut out foot. Going to the gym was fun for them because they got to measure objects like the traffic light, play house, or stage steps. They were also introduced to counting by 5s, so any opportunity you have at home to reinforce that counting would be great! What is next? Using tally marks to graph data.

Out of all the fun objects in the gym, Andrew and Patrick decide to measure the length of eachother.






Jordan is exploring with the pan balance in the morning while he waits for the arrival of his classmates.




In literacy, the children have been working on making personal connections with a book to help them understand the text more. This is an ongoing concept, for last week they learned about "pulling things out of their brain" that they already know to connect with a text. This is called using schema. I used the analogy of pulling files from a filing cabinet. After getting blank stares and realizing they had no idea what a filing cabinet was or what it looked like, I actually brought one in to the room to show them. The light bulb all of a sudden clicked! The children have been doing great writing in their journals. They are working hard on building their stamina so they are able to sit down and write independently for periods at a time. Here are a few examples of their work:


Isabella M.'s journal say:
"My favorite animal is deers."







Melania's journal says:
"School is the best. You learn in school. I love school. School is cool. School makes you smart."

This week, Pete the Cat brought us fantastic, silly fun. They are working on an ongoing writing project that involves a paper Pete, a computer, pencils, and paint. I know you are at the edge of your seats in anticipation, but you will have to wait to see the final product! What I can say is that the children were mixing colors to create their own color to cover Pete's white shoes with. They even created their own color name. Look out, Crayola! They have connected their color with what Pete stepped in. They loved it and are proud of their work! I can't wait for you to see the results. Thank you to Mrs. Lamb for donating used Gerber containers to the classroom. They came in handy today with the paint!