Hello Mr. Eric!

Hello! Hope everyone has had a great week. This week in math, the students have really been focusing on what an attribute is, specifically connecting the definition with attribute blocks. One of the activities for them to do was go on a scavenger hunt all around the school to find specific blocks based on clues. For example, I left clues such as "I am a thin, blue, large, rectangle. You can find me where you create art." I would have about 3 different blocks scattered throughout the room, and it was their job to find the block that was described, and justify why the other blocks weren't the "mystery block." They did this in small groups so it was exciting for them to get their time out of the classroom and be able to explore their school with Mrs. Gentry.

In literacy, we have been focusing on making predictions about books based on what we know (it is called using our schema.)One of the activities we did was called "Preview, Predict, and Confirm." The children loved to preview the book first by only looking at the pictures, and then thinking of words that could be in the book based on what they saw. As we read the book aloud, we would check off the words they predicted correct. They were thrilled when a word was read that matched a word on the list. If you want to keep the fun going, try doing this at home with the books from their reading folders. Since the beginning of the year, we have been touching upon short vowel sounds, but these past couple weeks we have really been focusing on them. Any chance you have to reinforce these sounds would be greatly appreciated! The "e" (as in exercise) and "a" (as in a- a- choo!) seem to be the most difficult for them.

By using a web camera, both GSCELC and SCOPE had the honor of talking to a fantastic author and musician, Eric Litwin. He has such a wonderful, silly personality that the children absolutely adored. This was on Tuesday, and they were still talking him today. It was a great opportunity to take part in live music, an answer-question session, and a reading of his new book that will be coming out in May. We have been thinking about what we would step in if we were Pete. I have been getting answers like hot fudge, ice cream, and mashed potatoes. It is fun to hear their responses. Here is a video from the web cast for you to enjoy:

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Greetings! I hope everyone is staying warm in this frigid weather. This past week, the Kindergarten students have been rocking out learning about the author Eric Litwin and his popular children's book Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes. They had fun creating Pete's town out of blocks, and placing the strawberries, blueberries, water, and mud on the sidewalks that Pete stepped in. They each had a role in the process. Everything from making the speed limit signs to making the sun that hung over the town, everyone was thoroughly engaged making a suitable town for Pete. The students (and the entire school) are looking forward to the 24th of January when we will be taking part in a Skype session with Mr. Eric himself! What an experience it will be! Perhaps Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes would be a great book to read on Monday evening with you child. If you haven't read it, it is a family-oriented book that sends a great message to people of all ages: No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song... because it's all good.

In literacy this week, a major focus for the children has been learning their short vowel sounds. They had fun trying to "stump" their teacher by giving me a word that doesn't have a vowel in it. They were amazed! I even got the challenge of "Mississippi."The children loved pointing out vowels in environmental print, such as in their lunch food labels or in books. Try reinforcing this at home so they can take vowel sounds from their school classroom to their everyday life at home. They have also been excited about finding hidden words within other words, such as cat, cold, or one. They think it is so neat!

"I had 4 grapes but then I ate 2. How many grapes do I have left?" This is an example of subtraction stories the children have been introduced too. Last week, we talked about addition and what it means. This week was learning to subtract with manipulative's such as small blocks or crayons. We also talked about shapes such as hexagons, trapezoids and triangles. We studied the different characteristics of what makes a triangle... well, a triangle. They enjoyed making triangles with different shapes and angles today on their geoboards.

The veterinarian office is going to officially start on Monday. I would like to thank everyone who has donated items to the center. I couldn't have pulled it together without you! It will never be to late to donate, so don't hesitate to send something in if you have something just "lying around." I would also like to thank Bo James (J'Lyn's father) for coming early to shovel and put salt on the school's sidewalk. Such a kind gesture that is very much appreciated. Thanks again!

Here is J'Lyn exploring the bamboo tablet, something they were very excited to learn about!

Snow Fun!!

Hi Friends! I hope everyone had a fantastic Holiday filled with warm conversations and happy laughter. What a beautiful past two days it has been. I was outside for recess yesterday, and it was even hard for me to go back inside! The children were having so much fun with their friends making snowmen. There was about three of them pushing the bottom snowball on the ground to gather more snow, creating one large snowball. It was wonderful to see them working together to build something so magical to them. I wanted to capture the moment for you:

The students were very excited to be back at school (at least I think and hope!) In math, we have been getting ourselves familiar with a shape template that allows the students to trace the outline of shapes such as hexagons and trapezoids. They had fun making creatures and designs with the template. Jordan created an alien that was standing on Earth and Nathan created a boat floating in the ocean... very creative! They focused on making patterns with their shapes, extending patterns, and filling in the missing shape.

I also introduced them to a number game called "Top It" which they loved.

TOP IT Directions: Each player gets a set of cards number 1-20. Shuffle the sets. At the same time, each player turns over the top card of the deck. Who got the highest number? They get to keep all the cards. Count the cards at the end and whoever has the most wins the game! Many of the students moved on to a game called "Addition Top It" where you flip two cards over, add the two cards together, and whoever has the highest sum wins. There are your Friday night plans!

We have jumped right into the construction of a sentence. We have talked about capital letters at the beginning of sentences, periods, and how we sstttttrreeeetttccchhh out words to hear the sounds. If you want to encourage this at home, let your child use stretchy material such as an exercise band, silly putty, or a rubber band to sound out the word.

In the next two weeks, Miss Leslie's Kindergarten class will be turned into a veterinarian office! Based on the students interests, I am turning the grocery store into a vet office, where the students will have an opportunity to work in the office or take care of sick animals. Many learning opportunities will be Incorporated into the center, such as measurement, numbers, sentence writing, bar graphs, animal knowledge, poems, songs, and money just to name a few. I want them to understand what a veterinarian does and their responsibilities. If anyone has any supplies they would be willing to donate- extra leashes, water dishes, stuffed animals, boxes of pet medicine- the children would really appreciate it. Better yet, if anyone has a relative or friend that is a veterinarian, please let me know!

Again, I hope everyone had a great Holiday. I also hope you enjoyed your special present from your child. They worked so hard on that project and were SO excited to give it to you. I made sure to take a few pictures of the thoughtful process:

Pictures from our magical Polar Express day:

We got a mysterious present delivered to the school from the North Pole!

It was even cold to the touch. Here is the class anxiously awaiting to see what was inside!

Isabella's reaction to what was inside! They were the bells from the book!

Have a wonderful weekend with your Kindergartner.
Enjoy their age... I know I do!

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!