June 3, 2016

Hi Fish Families!

It has been a while since I last sent out a blog. I'm sorry about that! To make up for it, I put LOTS of fun pictures in FLICKR for you to enjoy.

The energy level in our class is high. The children are excited about the Grand Luncheon on Monday and Field Day on Thursday. I purchased matching orange tee shirts for the class to wear on field day. We will be decorating and personalizing them next week. 

The chicks left Monday for their forever home. The children were sad to see them go. 

We have been reading MANY Eric Carle books and further developing our theories about him as an author/illustrator. We know that he loves to write about insects and animals. He often writes using patterns and repetitive language. His stories take place in nature. Please ask your fish about his use of gimmicks in his books. We have been inspired by Eric Carle as an illustrator. We have been painting using texture and blending colors. The children are creating collage art all about a favorite animal. They will be using this art to write "All About" books. 

I have been busy doing end-of-the-year assessments in all subject areas. At some point during the next 2 weeks I will be sending home a summer reading list specific to your child's independent reading level. 

Up-coming Events:

• Grand Luncheon- Monday, 6/6
• Field Day- 6/9 (The Color Games) Wear orange! 
• End-of-the-Year celebration- Tuesday, 6/14 at 9:30 (Families are invited to join us for a few songs, a small slideshow and special snack.)
• Last Day of Kindergarten- 6/14 *School will end by 11:00 for the students on that day. 

Have a great weekend!

Kristen

May 20, 2016

Hi!

Thanks for your support with the costumes today. We had fun being dressed up. We also enjoyed the fabulous new garden today with our 2S buddies. Reading out there was enjoyable.

Next week, we celebrate May Day on Tuesday. We will be doing a service learning project during center time. The children are going to make spring cards and model magic flowers for the elderly. There will be a puppet show at 9:50 that you are welcome to come watch, if you would like to. Meet us in the classroom by 9:45. Feel free to bring younger siblings! We will enjoy ice cream sundaes in the afternoon. I can't thank you enough for how quickly you volunteered to donate those yummy items!

Wednesday is our trip to the See Science Center. Our bus will depart as close to 8:45 as possible. Chaperones are asked to be there before 10:00. Please order SMS bagged lunches by Monday, if you need one.

We have begun our Eric Carle author study! Please ask your child his/her theories about him as an author and illustrator.

Up-coming Events:

• SEE Science Center field trip- 5/25
• Grand Luncheon- Monday, 6/6
• May Celebration- 5/24
• No School- Monday, 5/30
• Field Day- 6/9 (The Color Games) Wear orange! 
• Last Day of Kindergarten- 6/14 *School will end by 11:00 for the students on that day. Please let me know if this poses a problem for your family!

Enjoy the warm weather this weekend.

Kristen

5/13/16

Hello!

Moms, your special day continues... I forgot to send along an interview we did with your gifts last week. They were sent home for you today. I also want to highlight 2 dates I haven't included in past "up-coming events". This Wednesday, 5/18 is an early release day. I apologize for omitting that! Also, May 25 will be our trip to the See Science Center.

A Huge THANK YOU for the amazing luncheon on Tuesday. It was nice to have that delicious food and time to eat it with friends we don't see as often as we like. Mrs. Quinn, Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Corbin and I felt appreciated!

Here is what we have been working on this week:

Science:  Please ask your fish about seeing the chick embryos today.

Wish List: 

• Band-aids for our dramatic play area. It will be a hospital for the next few weeks.

Up-coming Events:

• Early Release- Wednesday, 5/18
• SEE Science Center field trip- 5/25
• Grand Luncheon- Monday, 6/6
• Makers' Fest- 5/19
• May Celebration- 5/24
• No School- Monday, 5/30
• Field Day- 6/9 (The Color Games)
• Last Day of Kindergarten- 6/14 *School will end by 11:00 for the students on that day. Please let me know if this poses a problem for your family!

Enjoy the spring weather.

Kristen

May 6th

Hi Fish Families!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! The children have a little surprise for you in their backpacks.

Here is what we have been working on this week:

Readers' Workshop: We are working on our last unit of study, "Becoming Avid Readers". The children learned the characteristics of an avid reader (read lots, read everywhere, keep stacks of books to read, and pay attention to books) and know what a "blah" reader looks like. They are learning that readers react to books and feel the emotions of the characters. They are beginning to think about their books. 

Writers' Workshop: We began our last unit, persuasive writing. The children are thinking of ways to make SMS, our houses or the world a better place. They learned that you need lots of reasons to fix a problem. They are brainstorming these reasons to write posters, letters or books. This is a tough concept for many kindergarten children, so we have been talking and writing about rules and why we have them. Rules make our school a better (and safer) place. 

Math Workshop: We finished up Unit 7 and have begun Unit 8. I am in the process of completing our end-of-unit assessment and will be sending those letters home next week. This week we did some estimating (making a smart guess that isn't much too high or low.) The children are doing a nice job of getting pretty close with their estimations. We are working on combinations equal to 10, telling number stories, and reviewing 2D and 3D shapes.

Science:  We are hatching chicks in kindergarten! The eggs were set in the incubators this week and in about 21 days, we hope to have some chickens in our classroom. If anyone is interested, the chicks are available for adoption. Please let me know. The chicks do go to a farm if no one wants them, so no pressure! 

Wish List:

• boxes of tissues
• liquid hand soap
• zipper sandwich bags
• hand sanitizer

Up-coming Events:

• SEE Science Center field trip- 5/13
• Wellness Walk- 5/11 at 1:30 Feel Free to meet us in the bus loop and join us for the walk. We also plan to join our 2S buddies!
• Grand Luncheon- Monday, 6/6
• Makers' Fest- 5/19
• May Celebration- 5/24
• Field Day- 6/9 (The Color Games)
• Last Day of Kindergarten- 6/14 *School will end by 11:00 for the students on that day. Please let me know if this poses a problem for your family!

Have a great weekend.

Kristen

April 22, 2016

Hi Fish Families!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week of fun and family memories! I have added pictures from today's Earth Day/SMS garden planting and Jump Rope for Heart to FLICKR.

:) Kristen

Hi Fish Families!

It was wonderful getting to meet with all of you these past 2 weeks. The children have made so much progress since the fall and I loved sharing all of their accomplishments with you!

Here is what we have been working on recently:

Reading-The children are retelling their stories and finding "snap words in disguise" (going, liked, sees).

Writing- We are spending some time on poetry. The children are visualizing while listening to poems and are writing some poetry, as well. We will be writing fruit poems next week.

Math- I have been working on the end-of-unit assessing. The letters will be coming home soon. The children were introduced to a CHALLENGING app, Sum Stacker.

Wish List:

• bags of flour for our texture table
• boxes of tissues
• liquid hand soap

Up-coming Events:

• Grand Luncheon- Monday, 6/6
• Report Cards sent home- Friday, 4/15 *for attendance reporting only. We conference this marking period
• Jump Rope for Heart- 4/22
• April Vacation- 4/25-4/29
• SEE Science Center field trip- 5/13
• Makers' Fest- 5/19
• May Celebration- 5/24
• Field Day- 6/9 (The Color Games)
• Tentative Last Day of Kindergarten- 6/14 * This allows us time to screen the in-coming kindergarten students

Have a great night.

Kristen

March 31, 2016

Greetings! 

Here is a glimpse into our week. (I have a sick kiddo at home, so I'll be out tomorrow.)

Readers' Workshop:  As our books become more difficult, the children are learning new strategies to help them. Since I last filled you in on our reading work, the children are practicing reading through to the end of a word. Cat, can, car, & cantaloupe all look alike at the beginning, but differ lots at the end. This week we tried looking for known words before beginning a book. When a reader sees many familiar sight words, the book seems less intimidating. We are noticing that the patterns we are used to in books are slowly going away. Readers need extra strength picture power and sight (snap) word power to help us. 

Writers' Workshop:  We have finished our "How To" unit! The children selected their favorite book to edit/make the best it can be. We will be celebrating our hard work next week by reading our books to another class. I am going to spend the next few weeks on poetry before beginning our last writing unit in May. 

Math Workshop:  We had a 2 day problem solving math project this week where the children had to figure out if they are tall enough to ride an (imaginary) roller coaster. The children first need to measure themselves, then see how many post-it notes tall they were. The ride required them to be 12 notes tall to ride. I've included some pictures of our work at the end of this blog. We revisited attributes, playing a game where the children needed to find a block with 4 attributes (color, shape, size and thickness).

Visual Arts: We made pink pigs, sun catcher umbrellas, and spring flowers this week.

Some Books We Read: Mud!, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick!, The Treasure Bath, Where Once There Was a Wood,  Something From Nothing, The Terrible Tiger

Wish List: bags of flour for our texture table and props for our "restaurant" in dramatic play

Up-coming Events:

• Word of the Week- she
• Handwriting- reinforcing the use of lowercase letters in our names after the initial capital letter
• Grades close- 4/1
• Progress Reports- 4/15 *only to report attendance. We have parent/teacher conferences this marking period
• April Conferences- 4/6 & 4/13 *These are Early Release Days
• Jump Rope for Heart- 4/22
• April Vacation- 4/25-4/29
• The fish, otters, and pandas go to the See Science Center- 5/13
• Makers' Fest- 5/19
• May Celebration- 5/24
• Field Day- Thursday, June 9th (Theme- The Color Games)
• Tentative Last Day of Kindergarten- 6/14 *This allows us time to screen the in-coming students for next year

Fondly,

Kristen