Square 1 art 2013 at OneTrueMedia.com

We worked hard on our Square 1 art. You will be able to order mugs, holiday ornaments, and other cute items featuring your child's unique artwork. This information will come to you soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the cuteness!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Eye Color Graphs, Monkey Puzzles and Moose Skulls

Here are a few friends who worked together to complete the lowercase letter monkey puzzle.

Here is the eye color graph we completed during math class.  I mentioned this in the parent letter this week.

We had a fantastic presentation about wetlands today courtesy of Goodwill Hinkley.  We will have a presentation each Friday for the next 5 weeks.  Let me know if you would like to come see one.

Today we learned about wetland creatures like moose, frogs and beavers.    I learned that moose are very good swimmers.  I never knew that!  Ask your little one to tell you about this science assembly.

More Cuties.....

Those first few weeks of school were so hot.  We needed popsicles to survive those 85 degree afternoons.  Here are some picts of our really colorful tongues!

The kids might talk about their weekly jobs at home.  This is our job chart.  There is a job for each of the kiddos.  They are always eager to start their new jobs each week.  Line Leader seems to be the most sought after job.  Some of them are actually privileges. For example, the rocker gets to sit in my rocking chair whenever I am not sitting in it.  Many of the jobs really help make the room run more smoothly.

Sorting shapes during math time

A few picts...More to come throughout the week!

So, I'll admit. . . I do not love show-and-tell, but this group loves it.  I think they would show and tell items everyday if I let them.  Because of their interest, we worked together to pick one afternoon per week when they can bring in things to share.  Thursday is the day.  Here is one little girl showing off a pretty cool hat last week.

Here are a few picts from Friday's math centers.  The kids were playing a dice graphing game.  This was our first graphing experience.  We'll do lots of them throughout the year.  This group of kids was particularly into it.  Some kept playing after they left my center.

Self-Portraits....Cute and Short Video

We did self-portraits yesterday to get ready for Curriculum Night this Tuesday from 5-6.  For different reasons, we are missing 4 of them.  We'll have to get those done Monday!  Here are the ones so far.  Can you recognize your kiddo?

Things are really coming together.

We made it through our first 4-day week.  The kids are really starting to understand the classroom routines, which is letting us get some learning time done.

We worked on patterns, counting, sorting and shapes in math.

We watched this quick video to reinforce AB patterns before making patterns of our own with tiny frog and turtle toys. Click below to see it.

Simple Patterns

The kids also did LOTS of writing this week.  They did two free choice pieces and two prompts.
Practicing their names is also an important part of writing time for some of the kids, if they are still working on how to spell and write their names.

We took a picture of the entire kindergarten class on Friday.  That, as you can imagine, was quite a feat.
The funniest quote from one of the grown-ups during this event was, "No, no!  Don't eat rocks."

I am enjoying this class.  We are going to learn a lot and have fun this year.  I can already tell!

A Really Good First Week

So the truth is. . . . Wednesday was really tiring.  Everything was so new to the kids.
By Thursday, it got easier.  Friday was a great day.  We even began experimenting with the center board.  This was a big step.  They all did a great job staying at their center and picking up when it was time to rotate.  This practice is crucial for successful reading group time.  We need the kids to be able to stay at their centers and not constantly interrupt our reading instruction.  I was VERY pleased by how well things went the first time.  Each of the kids earned a fish for their good work in this area.
Thank you for sending me such cool kids to work with!

I am excited to start putting pictures of the kids on this blog.  I will send out a permission form soon.
I do not ever post the kids' names.  However, it you are not comfortable with your child being on the web, that's okay.  For those who are okay with it, it will be a great way for you to visit our classroom virtually.

Here are a few Youtube clips we watched this week.  Please be sure to monitor your child while on Youtube.  As you probably know, there are lots of great things on Youtube, but there are also some things we wouldn't want our kids accidentally clicking on.



Pete the Cat: Wheels on the Bus


Chicka Chicka (song version)


Here is a fun letter learning site that turns the letters of the alphabet into noisy animals.


Bembo's Zoo