Friday News Flash!

Our first full week that we have had in a while and I think the kids were feeling it this afternoon, but we also did some amazing work as a class this week! 

Kindness Project

This week we launched the kindness project where students look for other students being kind and then write that kindness down on a strip of paper. We then put all the strips of paper together to make a Kindness chain showing how much kindness we have seen as a class. Our class has been so enthusiastic about finding kindness, even using their special kindness goggles to notice the kind things people are doing. Our class made a goal that we could get to 100 kindness strips on our chain by our last day before break! We got up to 24 today!

Snowflakes Galore

During choice time this week I taught students how to make paper snowflakes. This was wonderful practice with their cutting skills and they really had to think about how to make a reflected shape, for example making a half heart into a full heart. The kids loved making snowflakes and "donating them" to our classroom to decorate our windows.

Math: One More and One Less

In Math this week we have been looking at patterns in finding one more than a number and one less than a number. Understanding the sequence of counting both orally and with objects is vastly important for their understanding of numbers. This week I pushed them to their limits as they worked with a partner to match a poster with a story that I told. They had to not only work with their partner but make sure they had the parts of the story represented as well. They were rock stars and stuck with it!

Showing math bracelets with 1-10 pieces.

What a fantastic week. I truly enjoyed myself and can't wait for what else is in store before Winter break!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Friday News Flash!

Another week come and gone. What a fun filled week we had! Moving right ahead toward addition in math, learning two new letters, O and C, plus learning two new sight words, my and to, we were busy!

Next week the class will be doing more work around what we are thankful for, including doing a fun craft that will be coming home. I can't wait to see how they turn out! For today I want to update you on our writing progress!

Seussical Writing

On Thursday your students got the opportunity to watch Act 1 of Seussical that the High School is performing this weekend. The kids were mesmerized and were so attentive to the details of the play! In turn I had them write about their favorite part of the play this morning. I have a few examples that you will see below, but I want to emphasize that even if your child isn't writing full words yet, just letters jumbled together that is ok! The act of writing and getting into the habit of writing down our thoughts is a huge step for them and as they get more time and practice the words will come!

As students were writing today they were so proud that they could use their sight words in their writing! I have been absolutely thrilled at their progress. From the first time we wrote where most students wouldn't even attempt writing letters, today, every student made an attempt which is fabulous!

Here are a few examples:

I like the egg.

I like when Mazie protected her egg.

I like when the doctor helped her (Gertrude) grow her tail.

It is so wonderful to see the progress that students are making and how far they have come since the beginning of the year. Thank you for letting me share in their growth. I so enjoy being a part of it and seeing how much they change everyday!

Cheers to a great week!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Friday News Flash!

This week was one of our best so far! Students were so compassionate and hardworking with everyone working to make our community the best it could be. I even had students tell me "we are doing really good today." I am so happy that students are clicking and settling into our routines. A few quick updates for you as we start heading into our last full week before Thanksgiving!

 

Math

We have made it to 10! Counting, writing and working with story problems we are now in full swing with our numbers to 10. This week students were working on the different ways that they can make 10 and also coming up with their own story problems (we have been calling them number sentences) that they can act out. For example, I have 5 gummy bears and 5 Reeses. How many pieces of candy do I have? 10 pieces of candy! We have also been using our arms to make the plus and equal sign to help students remember what the symbols look like as we move into writing our number sentences next week.

 

Science

We have been continuing to study the seasons, with a particular emphasis on fall. This week students looked at leaves with magnifying glasses to examine the veins and parts of the leaf. We also did an art project using our knowledge of what color leaves can be, and having student use these colors to paint their leaves. Along with the seasons we have been studying different types of weather and talking about how predicting weather and noticing weather patterns can help us know what to wear, how to plan our days etc.

 

Reading at Home 

In your students red folders this week I sent home two books that students read in class this week. These books would be great ones for them to read to you, to read to a stuffed animal, even to a pet! The more practice they have reading out loud the better they will be with their fluency. Thank you for supporting them in their reading development by also continuing to read to them as well so they can listen and hear speech and enjoy stories too! Please remember to send back your reading logs on Friday (even if they aren't full!) as students get a special prize for bringing in their reading log!

Please contact me if you have any questions but thank you so much for all your hard work with your students. They love telling me about practicing at home and making those connections. I so enjoy all their moments of triumph and together we can continue to make those triumphs happen for your child.

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Friday News Flash!

Can you believe it is November already? I can't believe your children have been Kindergarten for almost 2 months! Our big push for the rest of November and December will be teaching almost all the rest of the letters, their sounds and of course more sight words. Your children are working so hard and are up for and even hungry for the challenge. In math we will be working at break apart numbers, writing numbers up to 10 and then making story problems within 10. Here are a couple highlights from our week:

Writing

This week I introduced your children to their very own writing folders for them to keep their writing and their alphabet chart in. They were so excited, they asked me if they could take them home to keep writing! When we did free writing where I let them pick their own topic, they went crazy over the writing! Some wrote fictional stories, others wrote about stories from their lives, but they were all wonderful. I really pushed them to use the sight words that they knew allowing them to get up and grab them from our wall so they could have help spelling them but I also encouraged them to just try. Even if the letters weren't right, they were enjoying themselves and telling their stories which is a victory if I've ever seen one. Here are a couple student examples:

I can see the deer.

The Frankenstein and me.

Jog-a-thon

I have some very exciting news about jog-a-thon. Drum Roll please ........ our class raised the most money in the entire school!!! We raised over $2000 as a class! I was absolutely blown away and at our all school assembly our class was recognized with the certificated below indicating that we would be receiving a popcorn party for our hard work! As a school we raised almost $15,000! It is quite the victory and I want to thank all of you for supporting our classroom and our school!

Our mantra in our classroom is "the more you practice, the better you get" and this is most certainly true of your children. Everyday I see them growing and maturing into very strong Kindergartners. I can't wait to see their growth over the rest of this month and this year!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Friday News Flash!

Is it Friday already? What a quick week that was with conferences, our pumpkin patch field trip and our fall celebration today! I really enjoyed getting to meet all of you at conferences and brag about your children. I am constantly amazed at how quickly they grow and how fast they learn and I love getting to share the growth and learning with you! Here are the highlights of our two day week:

 

Pumpkin Patch

Well, we couldn't quite get away from the rain but I think the rain made it even more fun. There is nothing quite like getting lost in a corn maze, trudging through the mud and it's pouring outside. While expanding on our learning of the pumpkin life cycle, students also got to see corn on a stalk and also play in dried corn in a corn pit (basically a sandbox but with dried corn instead of sand!) The students had a great time even though they got a little muddy and damp, and it was wonderful for them to make real world connections to the topic we have studying about in class.

The patch of pumpkins.

A group makes their way through the corn maze.

Pumpkin Investigation

Today was jam packed with hands on learning, all in the theme of pumpkins and fall! First we started with our pumpkin investigation. In small groups students got to examine a pumpkin, see how many cubes tall the pumpkin was, how many lines it had, and then finally how many seeds it had. I was so proud to see that almost every student stuck their hands in the pulp to help count seeds. Students were fascinated by how many seeds are inside a pumpkin! Then we had students predict whether they thought a pumpkin would sink in water or float in water. Naturally we had to test our prediction so we went outside and dropped 3 pumpkins, a small, medium, and large, in a bin of water. To their surprise all 3 pumpkins floated! Their reactions were priceless but the learning that was taking place was the frosting on top!

The pumpkin investigation sheet.

A student counts her pumpkin seeds.

A group piles the seeds in the middle to count.

The floating pumpkin! (the photo has been cropped for privacy)

Fall Celebration

To end our day we had a fall celebration. I read my favorite Halloween read aloud which is "The Monster's Monster" by Patrick McDonnell. Then as a follow up to our read aloud we made our own monsters! Students could put scars on their Frankenstein's bolts on the head and a bow if they wanted. They turned out great and students had fun creating their own monsters!

Some of Miss Adams' Monsters!

Such a fun two days. I can't wait to get back into the full swing of school next week! Thanks again for sharing your kiddos with me!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Friday News Flash

Wow, what an intense week we have had in Kindergarten. We learned two new letters this week and we have been preparing for conferences left and right. The students made so many wonderful projects to show you, and I can't wait to brag about how wonderful they are!

I don't have any photos this week, I'm sorry about that, but here are some highlights of what we have been working on in class.

Math

This week we have been honing in on decomposition. Students have been finding ways to break apart numbers using their fingers, beans and cubes. First we looked at 2 finding that we could break it into 2+0, 0+2 and 1+1. Then we moved onto 3s. This is such an important skill for the students as we move into addition and subtraction that they are comfortable and flexible with their number sense. You can support this at home when dividing up objects in your house say desert or even a toy with a sibling, using language like "so 1 and 1 make 2" or "we have 2 all together."

Reading

Students have added two new letters to their toolboxes. This week we learned about the letter P and T, and what sounds these letters make. If you ask students to show you the sound they should put their hands down to their sides like a penguin for P saying "puh puh penguin" and put their muscles up saying "tuh tuh tiger" for T. As part of our phonics program we use what is called "Zoo Phonics" that helps give children an animal and a movement to associate with the sound. You would be amazed at how much it helps them even when it comes to sounding out words!

Science

We are coming to an end of our pumpkin unit as we head to the pumpkin patch next week, but this week we discussed how pumpkins grow, the parts of a pumpkin, and the pumpkin life cycle. The real fun will come next week when we get to put this knowledge of pumpkins to use as we carve our own pumpkins in class as part of our pumpkin inquiry! Students will get to count the seeds, measure how big their pumpkin is and decide if a pumpkin will sink or float when submerged in water! It is going to be a blast!

Friday News Flash!

What a busy week we had! Finishing up our study on apples, going on our first Field Trip of the year and gearing up for conferences, the students and I have been running full speed ahead!

Pumpkin Unit

We started our pumpkin unit yesterday and I was astonished by how much your students already knew about pumpkins! We will be looking at how pumpkins grow and the different parts of the pumpkin as we move into next week. However, to kick off our pumpkin unit we read "The Bumpy Pumpkin" and made our own special pumpkins. Students cut and painted their pumpkins and got to create them as they saw fit. Here are some photos of a few. They all turned out wonderfully and I can't wait to hang them up on the wall!

Sight Words

As students have been learning letters and sounds, students have also been learning sight words to help with reading. The sight words your student has learned so far are I, We, The, Can and See. Students have been writing sentences using these words and using their fine motor skills in practicing making these words with play-doh. The play-doh is a great way for students to actually build the words and practice. (For fun ask your student if they remember the "THE" song, it has been a major hit in class). Your students have been great at practicing these words and applying their learning to the books that we read during reading group. They really are doing amazing work. Here are a few examples of the play-doh words that students did in class.

Addition

I know it may be surprising but we are quickly moving into simple addition in the next week or two. In class students have been grouping objects and looking at the different parts of a number that make up a whole. For example if we draw 3 flowers, 2 red 1 blue, then we can say the number sentence "2 red flowers and 1 blue flower makes 3 flowers altogether." As we move into next week we will be decomposing numbers within 5 to find all the ways we can make 5. To do this we will be using stories such as the flowers and by using umber bond worksheets which you will see coming home next week. It is amazing how quickly we move from counting to adding but I know that your students are ready and hungry for more math!

Foster Farms Fun!

Wow! I am so thrilled with your children. We had a fabulous first field trip and learned a lot! The students got to participate in 3 different stations. They got to harvest, grind and plant wheat, they got to grind apples to make apple cider, and they got to harvest seeds from varying vegetables. Seeing the connections that students were making and watching them have a hand in their learning was a magical thing to witness. To spark a great conversation, ask your student what their favorite part of the field trip was! I am sure they have many stories to share!

On a side note I apologize for not posting a Friday News Flash last week. With no school on Friday I got all my notes crossed and forgot to post! I will do better next time :)

Here are some photos from today. I have others of specific students that I am more than happy to share with you just send me an email or call me!

Students harvesting wheat seeds.

Students harvesting pumpkin seeds!

Pulling a bean from the pod.

Friday News Flash!

Happy Friday! What a fantastic week we had. I can't believe it is October already! Here are a few topics that we studied this week:

 

Mexico Letter Exchange

Our class has the wonderful opportunity to participate in a letter/picture exchange with a Kindergarten class in Mexico City! The first letter/picture was the topic "My School in Mexico" and "My School in Oregon." When I show students the pictures from the students in Mexico next week we will talk about similarities in their school and ours. This is such a great opportunity to expose students to a different culture while showing them that they also have a lot in common with these students. Here are a few pictures that the students drew to send to Mexico:

Eating lunch with my friends.

 

Apple Study

As we continue our apple study we had an apple tasting this week where students got to try 5 different apples! We discussed the varying sizes, colors and of course tastes. I was so proud of how many students tried all the apples, even ones they didn't think they would like! I can't wait for our field trip to Foster Farms where students will get to learn even more plus we are making apple cider so that will be great hands on learning!

 

Reading: Make New Friends!

The main idea in our reading curriculum this week was how to make new friends. Now that we are set in our routines, we are working to build relationships as a classroom community. I have seen that students do not know each others names and so this week we really worked to fix that. Students were incredibly insightful around how to be a friend (listen to each other, share, take turns, be kind). Today I had students work with a partner that they wouldn't normally work with to make a poster about how to be a good friend. This was a wonderful opportunity to bring different students together and also help them brainstorm ways they can be a good friend to their peers. Here are a few examples of posters students made:

Note: the yellow box is not on the picture, it is just for purposes of hiding student identities online.

Everyday I feel so lucky that I get to know your children better and I know that I am learning just as much from them as they are from me. So thank you for sharing them with me!

Cheers to a great week,

Ms. Adams :)

Welcome Parents!

Hello parents! Consider this my official welcome to our kindergarten blog! I will try to post 1-3 times a week about activities we are doing in the classroom, pictures of projects your students are working on and more. I will do my best to keep the calendar updated with important dates to remember! I will also post a "Friday News Flash" that has more in depth information than the Friday Home Folder allows room for :) Check back often and thank you again for stopping in to our blog!

Here are some fun photos of the apple craft that we worked on in class today. I have talked with students about developing their fine motor skills to help their brains learn more! They were so focused during the entire project and I was thrilled with how well these adorable apples turned out. As we launch more into our apply study we will be looking at how apples grow, the different kinds of apples and of course how they are used.