Elf-ishness...

Today we had a visit straight from the North Pole! Santa sent one of his elves to read to us!

Speaking of elves, did you know that we have our very own class elf? Well actually it is a moose named Mooseltoe.  He happens to be Rudolph's cousin and has been keeping a watchful eye on our class!

How To....

This week we continued to write how to books. We made some delicious snacks to help demonstrate the importance of writing detailed instructions, telling steps in order and matching pictures to our words. Writing this week was delicious and fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From All My Little Turkeys!

Be a Leader!

Have you heard any talk of being a leader this year? I hope so!

One of my goals this school year was to implement The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. I am so proud of my class and of the leaders we are growing.

 In class we are trying to be proactive or responsible for our own actions, attitudes and moods. In addition, we are learning to have a plan and set goals. Most recently, we learned the value of putting first things first. These habits are valuable life skills that you can use at home to make your family function more efficiently, too!

Keep checking in because there is a lot more leadership to come!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road!?

We are all familiar with the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz. Last week we borrowed one of the wizard's tricks to teach how to retell a story! After a read aloud, students traveled the yellow brick road as they told the characters, setting, problem, solution and sequenced the major events.

Halloween Haunts!

Our first class party was a huge success. We had delicious food, exciting games, a fun craft and wonderful volunteers!  Click the link to enjoy the fun: Halloween Haunts!

Pumpkinology!

Last week our 5th grade buddies helped us explore pumpkins.  With their help we were able to learn more about many of our math and science standards.



Click on the link to find out more: Pumpkinology!

Building Number Sense

Today we worked on our number sense. We did some fun activities that you can do at home to work on counting, number recognition and formation. 

We started with listening and counting as I clapped. They wrote the corresponding number on their board. As the numbers got larger, this became progressively harder! 

Next, I held up fingers on each hand (3 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other, for example). Their job was to write the total number.  They loved this one and didn't even realize they were learning to add!

Finally, I gave a number and asked them to write the number that was one more or one less.

If you are looking for a way to help your child or for something fun to do, try these activities!

 

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

It was a great day for the pumpkin patch!  We got to see many exciting things on our tour! We learned more about how pumpkins grow and got to see pumpkin plants when picking our own pumpkin.

A HUGE thanks to our many wonderful volunteers for a safe and fun trip. We couldn't have done it without you!

Click on the link to see a little of the fun! A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Be Royal!

Showing a little support for the Royals today! We are so excited that they are in the World Series!

Story Elements Song

During Reader's Workshop, we have been learning that good readers ask and answer questions. Sometimes those questions help clarify something we don't understand and sometimes they help us remember the story. To make this unit a little more engaging, we have learned the Story Elements song to help guide the kinds of questions that we can ask.
Enjoy!

Weathering the Storm!

We have been learning about the 4 seasons and the kinds of weather we might experience during each season.

                         Snow in October!

In this unit, we also have been learning about how drops of water gather in clouds. The drops get bigger and heavier and pretty soon it rains. We used this demonstration to help the class get a better idea of how this works.

                            Thunderstorm in a Cup!

Exploring Static Electricity

On Friday, our 5th grade buddies invited us to do a Science Exploration with them!  We used our hair or our pajamas to create static on our balloon and then explored what we pick up or move with the static in the balloon.  We are so lucky to have big kids mentoring us!



Click on the link to enjoy our video: Exploring Static Electricity

Kindergarten Music Program

Thanks to all that attended! They were so proud to show off

 all that they have been learning in Music Class!

Favorite Storybook Character

Spirit Week!

 SUPER HERO DAY!

 GO ROYALS!

TRACTOR TUESDAY!

Pencil Poke Experiment!

We have continued to make predictions in Science this week. When we did the pencil poke we were certain that water would squirt out of this bag! Amazing!!

An Egg-citing Day for Science!

We are so excited about Science!

This week we are learning that Scientists make predictions. Sometimes those predictions are right and sometimes they are not!  We were pretty surprised by the results of this science activity!

 Click the link: An Egg-citing Day for Science!

Sorting It Out!

What fun we have had learning to sort this week!  I have heard news of toys and other interesting items being sorted at home! I love it when our learning at school carries over to home!

As you enjoy this video, see if you can figure out how they sorted each of the items. Some might surprise you!

Sorting It Out!

More Excitement With Science!

Ask your child to tell you which of the 5 senses they used when we made "Soap Soufflé" today!  

Kindergarten Writers!

Wow! Look at these kindergarten writers! So early in the school year and they are already using the sounds they are learning to write words!

We are scientists!

This week we are learning more about our 5 Senses. We practiced being scientists and used our sense of sight as we observed this exciting experiment. Then we recorded our observations!

Ask your child to tell you more!

Immersion into Literature

Today we introduced fiction and non-fiction text! We got to spend time immersing ourselves into books looking for similarities and differences in both!  We learned that to strengthen your reading skills, you need to read a variety of text!

Math Time Video

Here we are enjoying our math time as we work on number concepts to help us prepare for subitizing! We are showing different ways to make numbers using popsicle sticks and a five frame.

Click the link to enjoy :Math Time

Math Time!

We have been having a lot of fun this week learning some basic number concepts. We are learning different ways to represent numbers. To help with this skill, we played a game called "Quick Look" which teaches subitizing. Subitizing is the ability to immediately recognize the quantity of objects shown without counting. Learning this foundational skill will help us develop basic math concepts!

Community Building

We were working on community building and played a game which involved each student telling the class about something they really like! Many parents have been trying to figure out what their Chios might have said. Some were able to narrow it down to a couple possibilities....
Here are the answers!

When asked to tell the class their favorite thing...
Vanessa said pizza
Kinley- swimming
Lily C-playing at the park
Christian-video games
Jenna-riding my bike
Jacob-playing with my dog
Maddie-shotkins
Emily-pizza
Jaxon-riding my scooter
Joseph- my PlayStation
Brody-popping wheelies on my bike
Emma-Ponyville(even though my mom won't let me watch it)
Ashlynn- walking my dog with my family
Brynlee- playing with my cat
Owen-riding my electric scooter with sparks
Delaney-swimming
Lily S.-Kindergarten
 Luke-riding my electric scooter
Eli- riding my fast scooter
Rylan- playing with my goat
Elliott- playing XBox 360
Wyatt- playing with my friends
Rynlea- riding my bike

Partner Reading

We have been working very hard to establish routines and procedures in kindergarten!  We've been practicing what Partner Reading will look like and sound like in our room.  Ask your child to tell you more!



Click on this link to see us in action! Partner Reading

Math Time!

We are learning so much in Kindergarten in just a few short days!

In this video, we are learning to compare the lengths of objects. After we found a partner with a strip that was equal to ours, we built our vocabulary using words like longer, shorter, and taller as we created block structures!  Enjoy!

Click on this link to view the video: Math Time!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Another year has begun and I am blessed to have a great group to work with this year!

Here they are enjoying the First Day of Kindergarten!