Thursday March 31, 2011

The students had a great day today!

Mrs. Abbey met with guided reading groups where we reviewed the sight words we have learned so far and worked on reading the book, I Like This Flower. While Mrs. Abbey met with groups of students, the class rotated between literacy stations, the writing station, and exploring books.

In handwriting, the students practiced writing the capital and lowercase "H/h".

Alex brought in his baby picture book to share with the class for his Star of the Week sharing!

During large group literacy time, we talked about the tools needed in a garden. Mrs. Abbey read a nonfiction article called How Does a Garden Grow, where we learned about growing tomatoes in a garden. We also practiced reading price signs while looking at a picture of a market, and compared the prices of the different vegetables.
Mrs. Abbey read Anansi and the Melon, a folk tale about a spider who gets stuck inside a watermelon. Ask your child to tell you how the spider was able to get out of the melon.

Tomorrow we make paper! The students are very excited to try this out!

If your child has a speaking/microphone part in the kindergarten music concert, their part went home in their folders today (Jasmine, Blake, and Alex). Please help them memorize their part for the concert!

Magnets and Spring Pictures (or payment for them) are due tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also library day--please have your child bring back their library book if they would like to check out a new one.

I will accept the March reading logs through next Friday (April 8). April's reading log will go home tomorrow.

Wednesday March 30, 2011

The students worked on making a collage out of paper samples. We found many different paper samples from school and student's homes to add to our collage!

Alex is the Star of the Week this week! He brought in one of his favorite toys, Batman, to share with the class.

Mrs. Abbey read Sunflower House. This book is a fictional story about a boy who plants flowers in a circle-shaped garden. Once grown, he and his friends play inside their "sunflower house."

We went to the computer lab today and worked with the word processing program, Word. The students were challenged to make a list of more words than they had done last time. They worked real hard and did very well.

In guidance, the students are continuing to learn about I Care Cat's rules. Today they learned about feelings and emotions.

Thank you to the many parents who have sent back their spring pictures and/or money, magnet or money, and field trip permission forms. Please make sure all is sent back by the end of the week. Thank you!

Also, if you have finished your green March reading record sheet where your child colored in a kite for each 5-10 minute block of reading that you did together, please send it back for a prize!

Tuesday March 29, 2011

The students are doing a great job with our paper unit! Today, they drew the paper making steps in their Paper Discovery Journals. We read another book, called Paper, which taught us some more facts that we didn't know, such as a roll of paper can be as tall as an adult and weigh as much as a car! We talked about different kinds of paper: construction, cardboard, waxed, paper towel, tissue, tagboard, newsprint, etc. Tomorrow we will glue a collection of paper samples in our Paper Discovery Journals. Thank you to Blake and Kaylee C. for bringing in paper samples from home to share with the class!

We put our old literacy stations away and learned a new group of stations today. The students are enjoying these new stations, which focus on word building and word reading.

Please check at home to make sure you have returned the following items to school:
•your child's spring picture packet (or money to purchase pictures)
•the permission slip for our field trip in April
•the magnet from art class (or money to purchase it)

Monday March 28, 2011

Mrs. Abbey read a Liberian folk tale called The Talking Vegetables. This story was about a spider who does not want to help his neighbors plant a vegetable garden. We also talked about what we would plant if we had a garden here at school.

In math, we learned about the quarter. Some of the students mentioned that they collect coins. If your child has a coin collection (or money from a different country) that they would like to share with the class, they can bring it any day this week.

We are starting a paper unit in science. Today we read the book, Wood and Paper. The students helped me make a chart which shows the process to make paper. (1) cut down a tree, (2) chop the tree into sawdust, (3) soak the sawdust in water until it forms pulp, and (4) flatten out the pulp and let it dry into paper. The kids were amazed to learn new things about paper. One new thing learned is that cardboard boxes are made out of paper! Another new bit of information is that paper can be made out of recycled paper! Tomorrow we will begin recording information in our Paper Discovery Journals. If you have any paper samples at home that you would like to send in for our investigations, please do so by Wednesday. Thank you!

The students worked hard in music class, preparing for their concert! The concert is April 14 from 6:30-7:00. Last week, you received an informational sheet about the concert in your child's folder. Please let me know if you need another one.

Friday March 25, 2011

We had an exciting day today! This morning, the kindergarten community invited our class down to listen to an African Storyteller. She was amazing! The students loved her puppets, drums, and all the interactive opportunities she gave the students to participate in telling her stories.

I think today was a record for the number of library books returned in a single day! Way to go!

Thank you to Elijah's mom for helping the students finish recording their reading!

Next week is a very exciting week! The students will be getting new table spots, new floor spots, and will be learning a new set of stations! We are also going to learn about paper--the various types (newspaper, wrapping paper, waxed paper, writing paper, tracing paper, cardboard, etc.) where it comes from, and how it is made. Help your child look through the house and find as many kinds of paper as they can. If you would like to send samples in, we would love using them in our paper collages and experiments next week!

Have a nice weekend!

Thursday March 24, 2011

We are continuing our study of plants. The students put their first entry into their Seed Books, drawing a picture of what the seeds look like, and writing the name of the plant. The students are excited to work on their books and bring them home to show you when they are completed!

Mrs. Abbey read a folk tale called The Wind and the Sun. In this tale, the wind and sun have a contest to see who is stronger. Ask your child who won the contest and how they won!

We worked on identifying nickels in a group of coins (they easily get mixed up with dimes and quarters in black and white pictures). The students had to look at the details of each coin very carefully in order to find all of the nickels. Tomorrow we are going to learn about the quarter!

In handwriting, we practiced writing the lowercase "m".

Thank you to Ella's mom for helping out today! The students are using an iPod to record their reading with parent volunteers this week!

The students all did a great job in art class today, and it sounds like they did a lot of things including painting! They each earned a pipe cleaner which they are bringing home in their backpacks.

Tomorrow is library day. Please send back your child's library book (unless they just checked out a new one today and you don't have a chance to read it tonight). Thanks!

Wednesday March 23, 2011

Mrs. Abbey read Let's Go To a National Park, a nonfiction story about 4 national parks in the United States. We learned about the giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park in California, the giant saguaro cactus at Saguaro National Park in Arizona, the wetlands at Everglades National Park in Florida, and the rock formations at Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

In computer lab we started working with a word processing program. The students practiced typing our kindergarten sight words, using the return key after each word. We also learned where the delete key was! Some students practiced changing the size and style of font. They enjoyed working on these new skills!

Spring pictures went home in your child's backpack today. An order/payment form is included in the picture envelope if you would like to buy any of the picture sheets. Please send back any sheets you do not wish to purchase. Thank you!

The students practiced writing the uppercase "M" today in handwriting.

In guidance they practiced using manners and talked about the importance of treating others how they would like to be treated.

Please put Thursday April 14 on your calendar! On this day, your child will perform in a music concert with the rest of the kindergarten students from 6:30-7:00. Please arrive in the kindergarten community (not the 2nd grade community) at 6:15. A note went home in your child's folder today that gives you all the information about your child's upcoming concert! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Tuesday March 22, 2011

The students played baseball in PE, practicing hitting, throwing, catching, and running! Work on these skills outside this spring!

Mrs. Abbey read Dimes and the students practiced identifying the three coins we have learned so far: penny, nickel, and dime. The coloring sheet was a little tricky for some of the students to see the differences between the three coins.

We learned two new sight words today: "here" and "was"
We are focusing on the /u/ sound this week.

Today we reviewed the story, Seed Secrets and the different ways seeds get from one place to another.

In handwriting, the students practiced writing the lowercase "n".

We are finishing up our final copy of our food poems and should have those posted outside our classroom door by the end of the week!

Spring pictures came in today, right after the students left. I will send them home in your child's folder tomorrow. If you like the pictures and would like to purchase one or more of the picture sheets, information is included in the picture envelope. Please send payment and any unbought pictures back to school at your earliest convenience. If you do not wish to purchase any of the pictures, please send back the entire picture packet. Thank you!

Monday March 21, 2011

Welcome back! It sounds like everyone had an enjoyable spring break! The students shared something that they did during the break, and then they wrote about it. We are practicing writing in sentences, using capital and lowercase letters, spaces between words, and punctuation. In April the students will make a daily journal entry upon arrival to school each morning! This will give them some great writing practice for first grade, which is quickly approaching!

This week, we are talking and reading books about seeds and plants. Today, Mrs. Abbey read a non-fiction book called Seed Secrets. In the book, the students learned about seeds and how they get from one place to another (by air, water, animals, etc.) We talked about things that have seeds, such as flowers, trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables. We got to investigate a variety of seeds, making note of the different colors, shapes, sizes, and weights of the seeds. Over the next several weeks, the students will be making a seed book where they will draw pictures of the different seeds we have in our classroom, and label the type of seed it is. At the end of our seed unit we will be planting seeds of our own. Please let me know if anyone has a grow light we can borrow for the month of April...as we have no windows to let the sunlight into our room. Thank you!

Anita is Star of the Week this week! A big thank you to Anita's mom for coming to read one of Anita's favorite Olivia books to the class!

Friday March 11, 2011

The kids are coming home with packed backpacks. We did a little spring cleaning here at school and took home all of the half-done work which had gotten accumulated in our lockers and writing folders. Now, we can start fresh after spring break!

A big thank you to Ella's Dad for coming in to talk about his place of work: State Farm Insurance. The kids had a lot they wanted to talk to him about regarding house fires and car crashes! They also enjoyed the trinkets he brought with him, especially the little balls!

The students went to library today...some of the students are coming home with 2 library books, which was an option, since they will be gone from school for a week!

During our large group literacy lesson, Mrs. Abbey read a Japanese folk tale called The Sticky, Sticky Pine. This tale was about a kind woodcutter who helps out a pine tree that has been hurt.

We will continue our math unit on money and our literacy unit on plants throughout the month of March.

A blue packet went home in your child's folder today. Those blue sheets give ideas on ways to work on the 100's chart with your child. It gives many fun game ideas to play which will help improve their math skills! Take some time during break to play one or two of the games...the kids love the 100's chart!

Enjoy Spring Break! We'll see everyone back on Monday March 21!

Thursday March 10, 2011

The students enjoyed having Ella's mom come read one of their family's favorite stories. It was a cute story about a family of peas. The little pea did not like to eat his supper--which was candy, but he loved his dessert, which was spinach! At the end of the story, Ella passed out a small bag of candies for each of the students to take home.

We learned about the nickel today. Ask your child how many pennies equal one nickel. We talked about how much each was worth today.

Mrs. Abbey read The Conceited Apple Branch, a story about a branch of flowers that thought she was the most special and that everyone else wasn't as good as her.

We talked about the sound that -ck makes, and read some words: pick, sick, lick, ick, tack, rack, sack. If you come across a word that ends in -ck while reading with your child, see if they can sound it out for you!

The students had a substitute teacher in art class today. He said they did very well...they even earned a pipe cleaner!

Tomorrow is library day. Please send your child's library books back, especially if you received an overdue note last week. Thank you!

Three new books went home in your child's reading bag today! Please send them back to school on Wednesday March 23, after your child has gotten a chance to practice reading them aloud.

Please return your child's portfolio tomorrow if you still have yours at home. Thanks!

Upcoming:
•There is no school March 14-18 due to Spring Break!
•Monday April 11, which was previously scheduled as a No School Day has been changed to a school day. We are using that day to make up for the snow day we had earlier this winter.
•Thursday April 14 is the kindergarten vocal concert at 6:30pm. (The concert lasts 1/2 hour.) We hope everyone will be able to make it, as the students have been preparing for this day all year!
•Monday April 18, the kindergarten classes will be taking a field trip to Ames to see a play called Click, Clack, Moo! Our bus will need to leave at 8:45am that morning, so please bring your child to school promptly at 8:40 when the doors open. We will be staying in Ames to eat a sack lunch before returning to Horizon, so please make plans to pick your child up from school that day, as we will be returning after the half-day bus leaves. More information will be sent home after spring break! Thank you to Horizon's PTO for making this field trip possible! I'm sorry, but no parent volunteers will be able to come along on this field trip. (We will definitely need your help on May 12 for Field Day!)

Wednesday March 9, 2011

Happy Birthday, Blake! Thank you for bringing the yummy cracker sticks and cheese treat!

In celebration of Ella's Star Week and her Irish heritage, Ella brought a fun art activity for the students to do. Ask you child how they made their shamrock!

In computer lab, the students used KidPix to paint a picture of their favorite tree. A copy of their work is going home in their folder today.

Mrs. Canada came to our classroom for guidance. During this time, she talked about the importance of using I-Care language. The students learned how important it is to treat others with respect and to use your manners.

We have finished writing about our penny experiment, and our work samples are now hanging outside our classroom. Stop by and check them out if you have time!

Tomorrow, the students can wear their Team Kindergarten t-shirts!

Tuesday March 8, 2011

This picture shows some of the class showing me the Irish jig they learned in PE class!

We checked our pennies, which had sat overnight in Coca Cola, to see if they were clean. Yes, they were! We drew pictures and wrote about our experiment this morning. We will hang the writing samples outside our door later this week!

We practiced our sight words (we now know 21 kindergarten words!), including our two new words: "little" and "said."

Ella, our Star of the Week, shared one of her favorite toys--a pink My Little Pony!

In PE, the students played a Leprechaun game and danced an Irish jig!

Please send your child's reading bags to school tomorrow. I will be sending home 3 books over the break for your child to practice reading to you!

Also, if you are finished looking through your child's portfolio from conferences, please send that back. I would like to have all of them returned before Spring Break. Thank you!

This Thursday is the day we wear our Team Kindergarten t-shirts!

Monday March 7, 2011

What a great day! The students loved making our new student feel welcome! They were great helpers.

Ella is the Star of the Week this week! She brought her favorite stuffed animal, Daisy, to share with the class.

We are starting a new literacy unit: plants. This week, we will be talking and reading books about how trees grow. We started out our new theme by having the students share things that they already know about trees. They are very smart and had lots to share! Mrs. Abbey read Oak Trees today. This non-fiction book taught us all about the life cycle of an oak tree.

Our new sight words this week will be: "little" and "said."
We are focusing on the /k/ sound this week.

In science, Mrs. Abbey read a book about pennies. We then did a science experiment where we picked out a really dirty penny, put it in a small cup, and poured some Coca Cola on top of it. The kids loved watching the penny bubble! We will check the pennies tomorrow to see if they are shiny clean!

Friday March 4, 2011

Today was our last day focusing on weather for our literacy unit. Next week, we begin a unit on plants!

Mrs. Abbey read The Mitten, a Ukrainian folk tale. The students enjoyed listening to the story of how a bunch of animals crowded into a young boy's mitten. Everyone seemed to understand that this book was a make believe story and that animals that big could not really fit into a mitten, no matter how hard they tried!

In handwriting, the students practiced writing the uppercase "R".

We are working hard on counting by 5's to 100. This will help us when we start learning about the nickel next week and begin counting money including nickels.

The students went to the library today, and Mrs. Adair read them a story about dogs. Many of the students had already brought back their library books earlier in the week, so they had their books when it was time for library time. A few students have books checked out that are overdue--if so, you will find a small slip in your child's folder. Please send those books back next week. Thank you!

The students are excited about having a new student join our class next week!

Thank you to our parent volunteers who worked with the students on sound blending this week: Ella's mom and Elijah's mom. We appreciate all the help you give!

Have a nice weekend!

Thursday March 3, 2011

Today was picture day! The students did a great job of following the directions of the photographers. When you receive your portrait package from Lifetouch, you will have the option to purchase the entire package, part of the package, or nothing at all.

The students worked hard in guided reading groups. We practiced making words with letter cards, exchanging sounds in words, blending sounds together to form words, and creating our own words. The students also began reading a new book, In the Snow, which focuses on the words "this" and "what", as well as blending sounds to read simple names such as Deb, Ted, Lin.

In art, the students made clay pots! Mr. Spellman also gave each of them a colored pipe cleaner to play with and bring home.

We talked more about the penny today. Students looked at price tags and colored pennies to match the correct price. Everyone did very well with this activity!

The students used the 100's chart to practice identifying and writing numbers. Those half-sheets went home today--your child should have written at least 10 numbers on their paper. If your child did not have 10+ numbers written on their paper, I talked with them about the importance of focusing on their work and doing what they are supposed to be doing during worktime.

Tomorrow is library day! I have many of the students' books here in my room, as we have not made the time to visit the library this week.

Wednesday March 2, 2011

Kassidy's dad, who works at Community Choice Credit Union, came to talk to the class about the importance of saving money! He also brought Bill along with him--many of the students recognized him from television commercials. Bill passed out fun goody bags which the children are bringing home today!

We switched our day around a little bit today, starting with guided reading groups and literacy stations. It worked out very well--the students were focused and seemed to work a little more quietly together. I think we may make that a permanent change!

In computer lab, the students explored the Click and Learn website, found on Horizon's homepage. Many of the students chose BookFlix to read books during computer time.

In guidance, Mrs. Canada brought "I Care Cat" and talked about I Care Cat's rules.

In math, we focused on the penny. Mrs. Abbey passed around a penny and all the students got a a chance to look at the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the penny, where they saw a tiny Abraham Lincoln sitting inside! They thought that was pretty neat! We learned how to write cents (¢) using a small "c" and a line drawn through it. The students also practiced counting pennies and matching the correct number to the amount counted.

Tomorrow is picture day! It is also art day, so don't dress in anything too fancy!

Tuesday March 1, 2011

Kassidy's Nana came to school today to read one of her family's favorite children's books! She also brought hats for all the kids (which Mrs. Abbey forgot to hand out). Sorry! They will come home tomorrow!

The students made a money reference card, which will help them learn the differences between the coins...their colors, sizes, pictures, and how much each is worth. We colored them using fun crayons that we normally don't have at our tablespot--copper and silver!

We did a heads/tails game while flipping a penny. The students had fun with this game, trying to guess which would get more--heads or tails. Your child is bringing their recording sheet home today.

Mrs. Abbey introduced some new money games--where the students match the coins to the correct number of cents. The students use their money reference card to help them with these games.

We did a writing lesson today. Mrs. Abbey read My Friends. We then talked about our friends, what friends do for each other, and what we like to do with our friends. The students each picked a friend to write about. Over the next few days, the students will share their writing with the class.

In PE, the students rotated between stations. One of the stations was fun Wii games. They were very excited coming back from PE!

Your child's February reading record (pink sheet with hearts on it) can be returned any day this week. I know I sent it home late, so there was not as much time this month to complete it.

Just a reminder that Thursday March 3 is picture day at Horizon. All students will be getting their pictures taken!

If you are finished reading the books in your child's reading bag, please return it for more books tomorrow. Thank you!