Grandparents Lunch Pictures - May 4, 2012

Here are some pictures of the kiddos eating lunch with their grandparents on Friday, May 4, 2012. They were so excited to spend this time with their grandparents!

Montarius and his grandmother

Kaylonnie, her older brother Grant, and their grandmother

Evan, mom, and grandma

Amaya, little brother Camden, and their grandparents

Chloe, little brother Spencer, and their grandmother

Ryliegh and her grandmother

Bryson and his grandparents

Brady and his grandmother

May 2012 Calendar

May 2012 Calendar -

Newsletter for the Week of April 30 - May 4, 2012

Newsletter for April 30 - May 4_ 2012 -

Unit 5, Week 5 - On the Move!

     This week our Focus Story will be On the Move! by Donna Latham.  This story uses rhyming to describe the many means by which people around the world move from place to place.  

      Our Target Skill this week is identifying the main idea of a story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story, and determining the causes and effects of certain events in a story.  Noun recognition and identification will be reviewed as well.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letters 'Vv' and 'Zz' to their phonemes--/v/ and /z/, respectively.  

Amazing Words:  travel, kayak, llama, dogsled, double-decker bus, submarine

High-Frequency Words:  where, come  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letters: Vv and Zz

Subtraction Bowling

     One of the fun ways that we have practiced subtraction over the past few weeks is through the game of bowling.  To introduce the concept, we used a big bowling set and bowled for fun as a group.  Then we discussed how we could make subtraction sentences to describe our results each time.  We know that we will begin with 10 pins.  The number of pins that are knocked down is the number that is subtracted or "taken away", and our difference is the number of pins that are left standing.  For example, if I knocked down 8 pins, my subtraction sentence would be 10 - 8 = 2.  I then divided the children into pairs and gave them a mini bowling set to practice making more subtraction sentences on their own.  The kids loved it! 

Newsletter for the Week of April 23 - 27, 2012

Newsletter for April 23 - 27_ 2012 -

Unit 5, Week 4 - The Little Engine That Could

     This week our Focus Story will be The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.  This story is a classic, and is a wonderful means by which to teach children about optimism and the good things that can come as a result of hard work.  In this story, a long train must be pulled over the mountain as it has toys and treats for the children there.  The dolls and toys try unsuccessfully to find an engine willing to pull their train over the mountain.   Finally, a little blue engine (the smallest of them all) decides that she will try to help, and with some hard work and encouragement is successful.  

     Our Target Skill this week will be learning to identify the plot of a story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story, and identifying the characters in a story.  We will again focus on learning to identify, form, and match the letter 'Uu' to its phoneme--/u/.  This week we will focus on the long vowel sound.  

Amazing Words:  engine, tracks, passenger, roundhouse, mountain, valley

High-Frequency Words: what, said, was  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter: Uu

Thank you to http://allthingsd.com for the cover image!

Newsletter for the Week of April 16 - 20, 2012

Newsletter for April 16 - 20_ 2012 -

Unit 5, Week 3 - Messenger, Messenger

     Our Focus Story this week will be Messenger, Messenger, written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Barry Root.  This story introduces us to the life of a bicycle messenger in the big city.  From dawn to dusk, no matter the weather, he is always on the move, receiving and delivering messages.
     Our Target Skill this week is comparing and contrasting information.  We will also continue to practice retelling a story, making predictions, and drawing conclusions about the text.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letter 'Uu' to its phoneme--/u/.  We will focus on the short 'u' sound this week.

Amazing Words:  messenger, delivery, radios, pickup, escalator, eyeshades

High-Frequency Words: what, said, was   (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words"!)

Letter: Uu


Thanks to www.barnesandnoble.com for the cover image! 

Newsletter for the Week of April 9 - 13, 2012

Newsletter for April 9 - 13_ 2012 -

Unit 5, Week 2 - Mayday! Mayday!

     This week our Focus Story will be Mayday! Mayday! : A Coast Guard Rescue by Chris L. Demarest.  In this story, the United States Coast Guard is summoned to the rescue of a yacht, disabled at sea in the midst of a storm.  We will join the Guard as it searches for and locates the boat through fierce conditions, rescues the crew, treats the passengers and shuttles them all to safety.
     Our Target Skill this week is learning to distinguish the cause and effect of certain events within a story.  We will also continue to work on retelling a story, making predictions, and identifying the sequence of events in a story.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letter 'Xx' to its phoneme---/ks/.

Amazing Words:  rescue, pilot, yacht, sailor, mechanic, shimmering

High-Frequency Words:  yellow, blue, green  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter: Xx


Thank you to http://store.coastguardrescues.com for the cover image!

Easter Egg Hunt Pictures - April 5, 2012

       Our Kindergarteners participated in an Easter Egg Hunt yesterday afternoon in celebration of the upcoming holiday.  They had tons of fun and each collected baskets/bags/buckets full of eggs filled with treats!  Once back in the classroom, we used the eggs to do a little math work.  Each student counted his/her own eggs and recorded it on a piece of paper.  We then compared the greatest and least amounts and subtracted the difference between the two to discover just how many more eggs the student with the greatest number had collected than the student with the least number of eggs.  Then we added up each students eggs to come up with a total number of eggs (723 eggs) and used this data to make fractions (a.e. This student collected 59/723 of our class's total.).

Jellybean Sorting/Graphing

In celebration of both our study of the letter 'Jj' and Easter, we sorted jellybeans by color and graphed our findings. We then took our recorded data and used it to create and solve math problems involving addition, subtraction, number comparisons, and fractions. As is always the case with edible manipulatives, the kiddos loved it!

Newsletter for the Week of April 2 - 6, 2012

Newsletter for April 2 - 6_ 2012 -

Unit 5, Week 1 - Max Takes the Train

     This week our Focus Story will be Max Takes the Train, written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Jody Wheeler.  In this story, Max and his grandfather experience a variety of different forms of transportation in their search for an ice cream shop.  Will their journey be successful?
    Our Target Skill for this week will be Realism vs. Fantasy.  We will also continue to work on retelling a story, making predictions, and identifying the plot of a story.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letters 'Jj' and 'Ww' to their phonemes--/j/ and /w/, respectively.


Amazing Words:  plane, jetway, subway, tunnel, ferryboat, sidecar

High-Frequency Words:  yellow, blue, green  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home with your child!)

Letters: Jj and Ww


Thank you to www.scottsboro.org for the cover image!

April 2012 Calendar

April 2012 Calendar -

Newsletter for the Week of March 26 - 30, 2012

Newsletter for March 26 - 30_ 2012 -

Unit 4, Week 5 - If You Could go to Antarctica

     This week our Focus Story will be If You Could go to Antarctica by Fay Robinson.  With this story, the students will be introduced to the creatures and terrain associated with Antarctica. We will meet penguins, seals, and humpback whales, just to name a few--as well as discuss icebergs, the weather, and why most plants cannot grow in this region.
      Our Target Skill this week is learning to classify and categorize gathered information.  We will also continue to work on making predictions, sequential order, and identifying the main idea of a story.  The students will work to identify, form, and match the letter 'Ee' to its phoneme--/e/.  We will focus on the short vowel sound this week.

Amazing Words:  Antarctica, continent, icebergs, penguins, seals, whales

High-Frequency Words: go, here, from  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter: Ee


Thank you to www.scottsboro.org for the cover image!

Newsletter for the Week of March 19 - 23, 2012

Newsletter for March 19 - 23_ 2012 -

Unit 4, Week 4 - Goldilocks and the Three Bears

     This week our Focus Story will be Goldilocks and the Three Bears, retold and illustrated by Valeri Gobachev.  This is the classic traditional tale of Goldilocks and her adventure in the home of Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear.  We will follow her as she eats the Bears' porridge, sits in their chairs and attempts to find the perfect bed to nap in--each time coming to the realization that Baby Bear's belongings are just right for her.  We will then discover what the Bears reaction is to stumbling upon her in their home, asleep in Baby Bear's bed.
      Our Target Skill for this week will be identifying the characters within a story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story, and identifying the setting of a story.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letter 'Gg' to its phoneme--/g/.

Amazing Words:  bears, porridge, cottage, big, middle-sized, small

High-Frequency Words: one, two, three, four, five  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter: Gg


Thank you to Sam's Reading Blog (http://salinaghi.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html) for the cover image!

Lucky Charms Math

As St. Patrick's Day falls during our Spring Break, we implemented discussions/activities about March 17th into our Review Week this week.  Yesterday, we sorted and graphed Lucky Charms cereal (well, the marshmallows, anyhow).  I also tried to incorporate some addition, subtraction, number comparisons, and graph reading skills in there as well.  Below is an example of the sorting mat used, and a student example of the graph:

Newsletter for the Week of March 5 - 9, 2012

Newsletter for March 5 - 9_ 2012 -

Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration

Here are some pictures from our celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday over the past 2 days.  Most are from our rotations yesterday. In my haste to finish as much as I could before having to dismiss the kiddos early today due to the possibility of inclement weather, I was only able to snap a few pictures of the costumes and birthday cupcake decorating this morning.  

In my Rotation, we focused on Dr. Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  We estimated the number of Goldfish crackers in a goldfish bowl (607), read the story, and made red and blue Jell-O Jiggler fish.  

Then, the students visited Mrs. Brown's room, where the focus switched to The Cat in the Hat.  They read the story, made hats, and a Cat in the Hat cookie/candy treat.  

From there, the kiddos traveled to Mrs. Shartzer's room.  There they read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, discussed the states of matter (as 'oobleck' is both a solid and a liquid at the same time!), then made and played in their own "oobleck".  

For their last Rotation, the students visited Mrs. Holmes' room to read Green Eggs and Ham, and then sample the concoction to decide for themselves whether or not they liked them.

Group shot with their Cat in the Hat hats and bow ties...

Making their "cat" faces...

Aren't they precious? 

Pictures of the students icing and eating their cupcakes in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday:

March 2012 Calendar

March 2012 Calendar -