Sept. 27th, 2012- Apple Time

Dramatic Play

Next week, our dramatic play (pretend kitchen area) will change into a harvest center/farmers market.  We could use some items for this center.  A note was in your child's folder with details about some things we need.

Highlights from the Week

• In language arts, we focused on a story called, Jazz Baby.  With this story we practiced using the pictures to help us answer questions.
• In math, we continued sorting shapes according to their attribute (number of sides, number of corners, etc.)  We also began talking about patterns by making a paper quilt.
• In writing, we worked on adding details to our pictures (suns, clouds, coloring things in, etc.)  We also practiced using our heart words-I, can, we.
• During our theme time, we read some apple books and did some apple books.  One of our favorite books was 10 Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss.  After reading the story, we glued our picture on a piece of paper and then glued apples on top of our head.
• At community centers, we added a new science center.  This week at the science center, we examined apples, sorted apples, compared sizes, and weighed them.  At the art center, we turned a paper plate into an apple by finger painting.  In our dramatic play area, we added some special papers so we could practice writing a To Do list and doing "chores" off a list.

September 21, 2012 - Scarecrows

• Needed:
• 6-7 apples vatiety of sizes, shapes, and colors (By Monday September 24th)
• 4 red apples cut into 8ths (By Friday September 28th)
• 4 green apples cut into 8ths (By Friday September 28th)
• 4 yellow apples cut into 8ths (By Friday September 28th)

If you can donate any apples, please post a comment on the blog or send in a note.  Thank you!

• "Be Your Own Hero"- You may be hearing your child talk about Heroes and Hero Behavior.  We have a school-wide theme called, "Be Your Own Hero".  Throughout the year teachers and students will catch others being "heroes" and exhibiting hero behavior.  Some of those hero behaviors include: following directions, helping others, playing fair, etc.  When a student is caught being a hero, they receive a hero slip and it is put in a box.  At the end of the month, hero slips will be taken home.  The student from our class who receives the most hero slips for the month will be the "Hero of the Month" and he/she will have lunch with Mrs. White! 

Here are some highlights from the week:

• In language arts, we read a book called, Hands Can.  With this book we worked on "Concepts of Print".  This includes talking about where the title and author are, where to start reading, what direction to go when you are reading, etc.  We also worked on finding our heart word, "can".
• In writing, we practiced adding details to our pictures (grass, trees, sun, clouds, etc.).  I also practiced writing our heart words "I" and "can".
• In math, we sorted shapes by many of their attributes.  (Number of sides, number of corners, round/straight sides)
• During our theme time, we read many scarecrow books and did some scarecrow activities.  One of our favorites was making a scarecrow out of shapes.
• During community centers, we focused on sharing and using kind words while we play.  The art center also opened up this week and we used water color to paint a scarecrow.

September 13, 2012- First Full Week!

• Thank you, families, for coming to Back to School Night.  It was nice that you had the opportunity to get to know our classroom and the activities we do here!  There were a few papers left behind.  If you forgot a paper/bookmark let me know and I can send it home.  For those of you who were not able to make it, check your child's folder for information.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

 Below are a few highlights from the week:

• In Language Arts, we read an ABC book and practiced finding items in the picture that started with the letter on the page.
• In writing, we wrote "stories" about ourselves.  We drew a picture of our self and labeled it with our name.
• We are now exploring with play-doh first thing in the morning.  This helps us strengthen our hand and finger muscles, as well as expand our creativity.   
• In math, we were introduced to shapes and we sorted them by shape, size, and color.
• During community centers, we played with blocks, dinosaurs, peg boards and puzzles.  We also read books in the book hut and played in our "kitchen" for the first time.
• Heart word of the week: I

September 7th, 2012- First Week!

• Congratulations parents on making it through the first week of kindergarten!!  It is a big change for the entire family!
• This week, everyone is receiving a paper copy of the blog.  Next week, I will email the link to the blog and the web page.
• Next week, I will begin to post pictures on the blog so you can see what we are doing here at school.  I will never put a name with a picture.  If you would not like your child's picture posted, please let me know. 
• We had a wonderful first week of school, full of learning routines and procedures.  I am very impressed with how quickly your children have been catching onto everything!
• We read a book called, David Goes to School.  This book helped us think of some good rules for our classroom.
• We also read a book called, Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  We learned that everyone carries around an imaginary bucket and we can fill buckets by saying or doing nice things.

Welcome Kindergarten Families!

Welcome Kindergarten families!  This is where I will be posting what is happening in the classroom, as well as pictures!  I am looking forward to getting to know you this year!