A Week in Review

On Friday we enjoyed a visit by the NE Aquarium. Using guided imagery, a child-size costume and live animals, students explored and interacted with local tidepool animals while learning basic biology and anatomy. The children really enjoyed the presentation and especially liked touching the animals.

Literacy: The children are reading books in their folders. (on Wednesday many students even read to their 5th grade Buddies!) We are writing all about our terrariums. In handwriting we are trying to get as much practice as possible with lowercase letters in our daily work. Our sight word knowledge is going and we are using these words in our writing as well. Our Making Meaning journals are almost completed for the year as well.

Math: This week we worked on the concept of building teen numbers. Ten frames are being used to show that the teen numbers are one filled ten frame and some more. Through games we are also building our knowledge of number facts to 5.

Open Circle: We continue to apply the “traffic light” model to solve our school problems.

Upcoming Safety Assembly on May 24th: This week we continue to work on our song, we did some video taping on the playground, and wrote and illustrated playground safety rules.

Science: We added pill bugs and darkling beetles to our terrariums.

Here are some upcoming dates:

• Friday, May 24 (10:00) Grade 5-Fundraiser and Kindergarten-Safety Assembly (parents are invited to watch)
• Tuesday, June 4 (in a.m. ) Field Day (raindate June 11)
• Wednesday., June 12 (2:30pm) Mrs. Ellis’ Class Celebration (save the date…. more info TBA)
• Friday, June 21 Last Day of School – Spirit Dress Up  Day!  (No assembly and EARLY RELEASE)

 

A Week in Review

THANK YOU!!!!!!! Mrs. Slocum and myself greatly appreciated all of the special cards and flowers this week. We always feel appreciated by our class but this week you made us feel extra special.

Literacy: The children are using their lowercase letters. Almost everyone’s handwriting book went home today. Please use the book as a reference over the summer. The transition from uppercase letter writing to lowercase writing is challenging. We continue to read in small center groups. This week the children also used Lexia on the ipads durning a center rotation.

Math: We continue to practice addition and subtraction using story problems. It is important for the children to be able to know automatically the number the becomes before and after a number. At home practice counting up (and especially down) from many different numbers.

Open Circle: We wrote and illustrated school, bus, and playground problems and how they make us feel. We will use these problem sheets to practice solving problems in Open Circle using the traffic light.

Upcoming Safety Assembly on May 24th: The kindergarten students are learning a playground song to perform at our next assembly and creating ways to remind Thoreau students about playground safety.

Science: This week we learned about and wrote about the moss and tree seedlings in our terrariums.

The children worked very hard on their Mother’s Day Books. We hope you enjoy them and have a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Here are some upcoming dates:

• Friday, May 24 (10:00) Grade 5-Fundraiser and Kindergarten-Safety Assembly (parents are invited to watch)
• Tuesday, June 4 (in a.m. ) Field Day (raindate June 11)
• Wednesday., June 12 (2:30pm) Mrs. Ellis’ Class Celebration (save the date…. more info TBA)
• Friday, June 21 Last Day of School – Spirit Dress Up  Day!  (No assembly and EARLY RELEASE)

The First Week in May

Literacy: The children have finished learning all their lowercase letters! We will spend the rest of the year practicing using lowercase and uppercase appropriately in our work. The handwriting books will come home in the next couple of weeks to serve as a model. We continue to focus on sight words. The digraphs sh (ship), th (thumb), wh (whistle), ck (sock), and ch (chin) are also becoming more automatic.

Math: We practiced addition and subtraction using story problems.

Open Circle: The red light also means to identify your problem. We practiced identifying the problem in various situations. When you define a problem you say, ” I feel __________ because _____________”

Upcoming Safety Assembly on May 24th: The kindergarten students are learning a playground song to perform at our next assembly and creating ways to remind Thoreau students about playground safety.

Science: We are combining our science and writing workshop and the results are fabulous! Last week we created terrariums and added moss and pine seedlings. The children are writing an all about book as they are learning and observing.

Here are some upcoming dates:

• Sun., May 19 (11:00 )  PTG’s Road Race & Family BBQ
• Friday, May 24 (10:00) Grade 5-Fundraiser and Kindergarten-Safety Assembly (parents are invited to watch)
• Tuesday, June 4 (in a.m. ) Field Day (raindate June 11)
• Wednesday., June 12 (2:30pm) Mrs. Ellis’ Class Celebration (save the date…. more info TBA)
• Friday, June 21 Last Day of School – Spirit Dress Up  Day!  (No assembly and EARLY RELEASE)

 

A Week in Review

Literacy: The children continue to read leveled books using their decoding skills and sight words. In writing the children wrote small moment stories about vacation and are writing all about books. We are steadily increasing our independent writing as we approach next year. This week we learned the lowercase h, b, and f. In making meaning we read Knowing About Noses. Ask your child what a proboscis and a snout are. 

Math: The focus of our current math unit is on combinations, counting, and addition and subtraction. We are learning these concepts by playing games such as toss the chips, racing bears, and collect 15. The children are also expected to learn their math facts to five.

Open Circle: We are using the traffic light approach to learning to solve problems. Red light means to stop, calm down, and state what the problem is. This week we talked about why it is important to stop and calm down before you try to solve a problem and ways to do so.

Buddies: Our classes are working together to help spread the word of health to our school. Groups of Buddy pairs are working on nutrition posters for the cafeteria, a food drive, and creating a booklet of different games and activities kids could try at recess.

Science: We have been talking about what happens to tress in the spring and on Friday we created trees with sketchos and tissue paper.

Cube Jar We are working on filling a jar with cubes. There are many ways a student can earn a cube. When the class fills the jar we will earn a special activity like maybe a pajama day. We have all found the jar very inspiring!

Fire Safety Program On Friday Firefighters Sean and Billy came to our class to discuss fire safety. They should us the equipment they wear when they go into a fire. The class asked great questions!

A Week in Review

Big Bags will be sent home the Friday before vacation. (many treasures coming!)

Curriculum Notes:

• Our pea, kidney bean, sunflower, and pumpkin plants are growing! We have been learning about the plant life cycle and observing our plants. This coming week the children will bring home both their plants and their journals!
• In math we are working on combinations of numbers. Our activities focus on the idea that one number can be broken up in many ways: 6 is 3 and 3 or 5 and 1 or 2 and 2 and 2. Students also count sets of up to 20 objects, and continue making sense of addition and subtraction through story problems and games that ask them to combine or separate small amounts.
• In handwriting we practiced the lowercase letters, y, j, and p.
• Our Making Meaning story this week was Corduroy by Ezra Jack Keats. The students’ making meaning journals are becoming quite full of vocabulary and comprehension questions.
• This week we finished and shared our All About Books.
• The children continue to enjoy reading the books in their reading folders.
• On Friday we talked about the first flowers of spring and created paper daffodils.

 

This Tuesday, April 9th is the Annual Book Character Parade!

Please email me if you have any questions or concerns. 

A Week minus a Snow Day!

Spring Conferences begin a week from Tuesday. You can sign up on our wiki. I look forward to meeting with you. The children have grown so much this year!

Curriculum Notes:

• We finished up our Sink/Float unit with a fun dancing raisin experiment. Ask your child why the raisins sunk to the bottom in a glass of water but “danced” in a glass of Sprite.
• The children are very familiar with cones, spheres, pyramids, rectangular prisms, and cylinders. Some of us even learned about a rhombic prism. The children should be able to compare these solids using words such as faces and points.
• In handwriting we practiced the lowercase letters, u, i, and e.
• Our Making Meaning story this week was Brave Bear by Kathy Mallat. This book also fit into our Open Circle discussions of feelings and body language.
• Our planting unit is in full swing. We talked about, described, and sorted seeds. On Wednesday we planted peas, kidney beans, pumpkins, and sunflower seeds and began our planting journals.
• This week we finished and shared our How to Books!
• On Friday we watched a program DVD put together by the Emerson Hospital Pediatric Team. We also got a chance to try out stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs.

 

The following is information about the Annual Book Character Parade from Mrs. Pettyjohn. I found the challenge for kindergarteners is TO AVOID TV, MOVIE, and COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS> For some children the experience can be overwhelming and they decide to just walk without the costume. If this sounds your child, just send in something simple and we will help them make a choice when it is time. We    will be walking with our Buddy Class so they may feel more confident.

 

 The Book Character Parade

Each year at Thoreau School we celebrate National Library Week with a Book Character Parade. The Book Character Parade is traditionally held on the  Tuesday before April vacation at 11:00 A.M.  Students and teachers dress as in a simple costume representing their favorite book character. Lead by The Cat in the Hat and a surprise guest, we wind our way in and out of classrooms until the entire school is marching.  After gathering all the students in one enormous parade line, we repeat the route, this time dropping off the students in their classrooms. The entire production takes about 45 minutes. Parents are invited to watch the Book Character Parade as it moves through the Cafeteria and marches along the front of the school building.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Please avoid movie, TV and comic book characters.
• Keep it simple costume and homemade: a hat, a mask, a headband with ears, an article of clothing, etc.  
• Props and a copy of the book are great additions to a costume.
• In the interest of safety, no sharp objects or long sticks, including broomsticks and “swords”.
• We will be climbing stairs, so all costumes should be easy to walk in and see out of.
• Your child will be bringing the costume to school on Tuesday morning and putting it on with minimal help.

A Snow Day

I am taking advantage of the snow day to get caught up!

Spring Conferences begin April 2nd. You can sign up on our wiki. It looks like about have of our families have already signed up. Thank you!

Curriculum Notes:

• Last week we began our exploration of 3D shapes. The children have been looking around our classroom for 3D shapes and enjoyed sharing the 3D shapes they found at home. We practiced building 3D shapes out of clay.
• In handwriting we practiced the magic c lowercase letters, c, o, and g.
• We again turned to our Lively Letters and learned about the digraph th.
• In small groups we read a book called, Feelings. The children are working on both decoding and sight words. Use the little books we send home in the big bags as fluency practice.
• We wrote How to Books this week in Writing Workshop. The children wrote about everything from how to do a cartwheel to how to make a PBJ sandwich.
• On Wednesday we created and demonstrated Tabatas with our Buddies. Mrs. Murphy has been working with these exercises in PE.
• On Friday we began a little St. Patrick’s Day fun with lots of books. We learned about rainbows and created paper mosaic versions.