Thank-You!

Thank you to all who have been mindful about checking the 'wishlist' for classroom needs.  I truly appreciate your willingness to send in supplies for our classroom.  We had a great turnout of pumpkins also. As I don't know exactly which pumpkin belongs to which child, I will be sending home a mixed collection (and perhaps not the same number you sent in).  Kate M. has volunteered to make us pumpkin bread for a snack with a few of the pumpkins so she will take some first. If you'd like to create something for us, please let me know. If you would like a specific pumpkin returned to you, please also let me know. 

Calling all VOLUNTEERS!

The book fair is taking place on November 8th and November 9th from 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Your child may bring money in a labeled envelope on these days to shop at the fair during the school day. 
I am asking volunteers to take small groups of children from our class to visit and purchase books anytime you are available on these days. Providing children with an opportunity to visit the book fair in small groups really helps them be able to focus on finding a just right book to purchase and take home. Please e-mail the date and times you may be available to bring a small group down. Thank you so much! I appreciate your help in making sure the book fair is a success.  

Enjoy this short clip of "Five Little Pumpkins."

Pumpkin Day

Throughout the morning, students were engrossed with pumpkin related activities.  Students sorted the life cycle of a pumpkin, read pumpkin books, sang songs, read poems, practiced the letter /p/ and wrote various words that all began with the amazing letter.  In math, students used pumpkins to measure how tall they were and practiced their tricky teens.  This afternoon our fourth grade buddies came down for some Pumpkin Fun. The children measured and weighed their pumpkins, observed whether their pumpkins floated, balanced pumpkins on their heads, counted the ribs, and played a game of bowling using their pumpkins as balls. What an amazing integrated day of learning for all. INQUIRE with your child what their favorite part of the day was. Can they sing you, "The Five Little Pumpkins?"

Math Games

This week, students were introduced to two different partner games in math, BEAT YOU TO TEN and BUTTERFLY RACE.  Both games had children increasing their number sense by counting, adding, subtracting, identifying numbers, comparing quantitites, and of course helped all students increase their positive sportsmanship skills. INQUIRE with your child which game they liked better and why!

Interactive Writing

Many times throughout the year, our class has engaged in an activity called interactive writing.  Both reading and writing are practiced while engaged in this activty.  We have written letters together, lists, procedures, and a variety of other forms of writing.  During this activity, the students and myself share the pen to produce the piece, continuouslly re-reading throughout.  By the end of the writing, all children are able to read it fluently on their own.  Differentiation is able to happen during this activity, as students may be writing their own name, a beginning sound, a sight word, or an entire word.  The skills of all children range and it is important that opportunities are given for each student to be challenged at his or her own level. All these writing pieces are about an authentic experience the class has had, a classroom rule, a response to a text, or a piece about our current unit of study.  INQUIRE with your child what they like best about fall!

Published Writing

Last week, children "published" their first piece of writing that was completed during our unit on personal narratives.  We talked about what publishing means and brainstormed all the authors that we knew of that had published their books.  Children are beginning to understand that authors and illustrators are real people who publish many books. INQUIRE what books Audrey Penn, Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, and Todd Parr wrote. How are they like these authors?  Although the editing stage was shortened this time around, students spent time looking through their writing folders last Friday to decide on which draft was their, "best."  Further in the year, we will spend more time on the editing process and children will work to make their piece even better!  Enjoy the beginning stages of writing with your child as they tell you about their "First Published Stories" that were sent home.  
INQUIRE with your child how their work has changed over the year. 

Don't Forget, Pumpkin Day tomorrow!

We will continue looking closely at the life cycle of a pumpkin tomorrow, and compare it to that of a sunflower, butterfly, and apple tree.  Throughout the day, we'll be incorporating a pumpkin theme into literacy, math, and science.  Please see the notice sent home regarding wearing orange.  COSTUMES ARE NOT ALLOWED, however feel free to dress head to toe in orange!

Thanksgiving Family Lunch

UES would like to extend an invitation to all families to join your child for a thanksgiving day 'dinner' during lunchtime Wednesday, November 14th.  Exact time will be determined but will likely be around our regularly scheduled lunch.  Please let me know if you'd like to attend. I'm trying to figure out space and whether or not we will have the lunch in the cafeteria or the classroom. Thanks for giving me a heads up!

Friday Guest Reader Sign-Up

Following a request from a few, I've put together another volunteering option for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other teachers and administrators here in the Montpelier School District and community.  On Friday mornings after morning meeting, we will have "Guest Readers."  Please feel free to use this Wiki Space to sign up for a date that works for you. This 5-20 minute block of time can be used by you to bring books of your choice in to share with us and share your love of reading.  As students practice becoming independent fluent readers, they are still in need of models and mentors who can share their love and enjoyment of reading.  Happy Reading!

Please click on the link below if you'd like to be a guest reader in our classroom. 

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/508044AADAF2BA46-friday

Fine Motor

You may be wondering why your child is asking to use your shaving cream today. This afternoon, we continued to strengthen our finger muscles, practice shapes and handwriting using an interesting tool.  Students spread shaving cream around to create a work service and then their pointer finger to practice letters top to bottom and a variety of shapes.  We routinely provide varied writing surfaces, objects, etc to practice improving our fine motor.

WOW!

A grandfather of a Kindergarten student here at UES came to visit with a pumpkin he grew.  This pumpkin has made records for the largest pumpkin in the state of Vermont.  Students enjoyed making estimates about how big the pumpkin actually was and asking questions regarding the process of growing a pumpkin so big.  The pumpkin weighed 1,556.5 pounds and its circumference was 216 inches!

E.C.O. (pronounced with long E)

We care about ourselves....we care about others....we care about the earth.  We continued to review our three cares while participating in our outdoor education program on Wednesday.  INQUIRE with your child how they show the three cares in the forest.  Students are continuing to learn and practice routines and behaviors while learning and exploring in Harrison Field.  This week, after reading the book, Once There was a Tree, we pondered over the idea of who actually owns trees, especially those in Harrison Field.  In this particular story, a beetle, ants, a bear, a titmouse, a frog, a woodsman, and an earwig make the stump their habitat.  As we explored Harrison Field, we looked for creatures homes throughout the forest.  INQUIRE with your child what kind of home they found.  Also, what large animal did they see and hear once they reached the ridgeline??

Connections

We continue to write small moments (stories about ourselves) during writer's workshop every afternoon.  Today we focused on how to develop an idea to write. Students explored the idea and learned how you can take something that happened to you that you may think isn't a big deal and turn it into a story.  Students spent time sharing ideas with their peers about the current story they are writing.  Taking this time to share with one another allowed many students to connect their peers' moment to one of their own.  Students continue to explore with "best guess spelling" and are working hard to add words to their writing.  INQUIRE with your child what story they wrote today!

Bucket of Frogs

After reading a math number story involving counting insects, Munch, Crunch, What a Lunch, students explored with a creature that could eat insects.  Students spent work place time today counting frogs..100 of them.  Children explored different methods of figuring out how many frogs there were...while some counted by 1's, others challenged themselves to (attempt) to count by 2's and 5's and others realized that counting by 10's may be the easiest.  INQUIRE with your child how they went about counting the frogs.  Later in the week, students will have an opportunity to sort the frogs based on how they look.

Crackers, Pretzels, dried fruit, rice cakes, etc...

Please see our wish list on the side column of our blog.  We are in need of afternoon snacks for the entire class.  Let me know how you can help. The children will certainly appreciate it! 

Connect Four

Everyday, students are unpacking different games to explore at choice time.  The majority of our friends faced one another in a friendly game of connect four today.  Learning how to take turns, waiting your turn, offering kind words, being an empathetic winner and loser are just a few of the skills students are practicing as they enjoy tackling new games.

Number Sense

Differentiation is happening across many lessons in math and literacy.  For example, during this lesson on identifying numbers using 10 frames, students figured out the amount of insects before the numeral card appeared on the overhead.  While some children counted each individual insect to determine how many there were altogether, some added on from five and others subtracted down from ten.  This whole class bingo game provided a perfect opportunity for children to learn and practice numbers at their own level.  AND, students had fun while playing a friendly game of.  INQUIRE with your child which team won and how they showed empathy toward their friends when they lost and also when they won. 

Pumpkin Day

We need real pumpkins for our upcoming pumpkin unit. You can help make our learning fun by donating a miniature (ornamental), small or medium-sized pumpkin. We will be doing many fun learning activities using these pumpkins. If you would like to donate a pumpkin (or two!), please send to school by: Monday, October 29th (there was a typo on the note sent home).  Some children are unable to bring a pumpkin in, so please feel free to donate one so everybody can have their own pumpkin during our Pumpkin Day Celebration, October 31st.

Friday Guest Reader

Following a request from a few, I've put together another volunteering option for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other teachers and administrators here in the Montpelier School District and community.  On Friday mornings after morning meeting, we will have "Guest Readers."  Please feel free to use this Wiki Space to sign up for a date that works for you. This 5-20 minute block of time can be used by you to bring books of your choice in to share with us and share your love of reading.  As students practice becoming independent fluent readers, they are still in need of models and mentors who can share their love and enjoyment of reading.  Happy Reading!

Please click on the link below if you'd like to be a guest reader in our classroom. 

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/508044AADAF2BA46-friday

E.C.O.

Our second E.C.O outing is coming up this Wednesday, October 24th.  We will be traveling and learning with Mrs. Dostie's class.  I welcome parents who are interested in volunteering to participate in our ECO outings to join us for this outing and all others going forward. Please see our ECO schedule on this blog for future dates.  Please contact me via e-mail (jillc@mpsvt.org) if you are available to join us on Wednesday anytime between 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. beginning in the classroom, or just meeting up at Harrison field.

Thank-You!

Thank you for making the time this week (or planning to next week) to share in your child's learning and transition into their Kindergarten year. I appreciate every family's commitment to engage and be involved in your child's learning this year!  I look forward to continue to share with you what your child is working on throughout the school year. Looking for more information or are curious about something they do during the day? Just ask..I'll be happy to share! I'm always open to suggestions that will help make communication with families stronger!

Math

We have been exploring 10 frames in math using insects as markers and building fluency.  In addition to daily practice of math hands, students are beginning to count and organize numbers in terms of their relations to five and ten.  For example, if the entire ten frame is filled in except for 1, we know that the number must be nine.  If the top is filled in and 1 more we can think, what's one more than 5.  

Work places this week had students engaged in creating shapes.  Students tried to replicate a given shape.  We focused on directionality words to describe the location of where the corners/points began.  After creating the replication on geoboards, students used rulers and experimented with drawing straight lines.  Although a bit difficult task at first, the more practice students had, the better they became.  

Students continue to explore with pattern blocks, trying to replicate their friend's designs.  Children are also using unifix cubes to replicate patterns, color patterns, and name each cube using letters.

Today's lesson introduced tallying using popsicle sticks. This lesson was given using our overhead projector and IPEVO so all children could see with manipulatives what I was explaining.  As students practiced adding, subtracting, counting on, counting backward, counting by 5's, and using math hands, they were also given the opportunity to explore with tally marks.  INQUIRE with your child why tally marks are used? How did Miss Closter find out how many popsicle sticks total we were using?