Last Friday was filled with so much fun, laughter, learning, and good times.  We spent the morning in Harrison Field and Forest exploring ways we can help protect the forest so animals and plants can survive.  Students traveled to four different areas of Harrison to document in their journals their observations.  That afternoon, we enjoyed listening and dancing to a famous Jazz musician, Johnny Rawles teamed with Dave Keller. Students at UES gathered on the amphitheater steps for an outdoor show.  Kinders were partnered up with their buddies for the afternoon 

Kinder Show

Thank you all for coming to last night's KinderShow.  We have been working, believe it or not, since September to prepare for this extraordinary evening music and art show.  Every month or so, we integrated a new song, based on the curriculum into our daily routines. We also studied artist in connection with content area, beginning with Cezanne back in September/October when we were studying life cycles and harvest.  The evening was amazing, in every way. Thank you to all the students for doing a phenomenal job!

ECO Date CHANGE - AGAIN - PLEASE READ

Miss Closter and Mrs. Wrigley’s classes will have ECO on Friday, April 19th. We would love to have parent volunteers come along - feel free to meet us at UES in our classrooms at 9:15 a.m. or join us at Harrison Field. Please e-mail your child’s teacher if you can attend.

Please help your child prepare for a morning outdoors on Friday. They should bring a healthy snack and water bottle. We will not be having school snack on this day as we will be eating outdoors so it is imperative that your child pack a snack that can be taken outdoors.  Our Spring weather can quickly go from warm to cold, and it is almost always wet. This time of year children should wear:

-non-cotton socks

-boots

-layers of clothing (long sleeve shirt, sweat shirt, vest)

-water-repellant or water-proof jacket with a hood

-rain paints or snow pants

-hat

-mittens

*bring a change of clothes

Thank you very much for supporting your child’s learning outdoors!

Everything you Need to Know......

Tuesday, April 16th 2013

1.  What time is the show? 6:30 p.m.

2.  When should the children arrive and where? 6:15 p.m. at their own classroom( a light supper is helpful-nervous tummies can be challenging)

3.  Should my child wear special clothing? We will provide a special t-shirt. Your child may wear dark pants– navy blue or black

4. Where can I meet my child after the stage portion? Come pick up your child in the classroom, and
follow the art show scavenger hunt located in your program.

4.  Will there be refreshments? We will offer popcorn while viewing child’s artwork. Thanks UES Parent’s Group.

5.  Should we take the artwork on display home with us?  No. Your child’s artwork will be sent home at a later date.

***We could use volunteers right after school on Tuesday to help hang artwork. Please let your child’s teacher know if you can come to help. We also would appreciate help taking down the art show at 7:45.****

REMINDER

On Wednesday and Thursday of this coming week, there will be no school for kindergarten students.  We will see each other on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday of this week.  On Tuesday, I am hoping to do an ECO lesson as a make up for our previously scheduled Wednesday's outing.  If you're interested in joining us outdoors, please let me know. STUDENTS WILL NEED RAINPANTS (most likely) as the weather is forecasting rain!

Student Art/Music Show

As the students practice for our upcoming show, I am also working on getting together last minute art. Each student has 5 pieces of art that will be hung up in the big gym for everybody to view.  Our team is looking for volunteers still - to help after school on Tuesday to hang the artwork.  The more bodies, the less time it will take!  Thanks for considering! 

Please have your child at school at 615 and bring them to our classroom.  It will be helpful for siblings to not hang out in the classroom at this time.  Please drop off your child and head to the auditorium to find seats.  You will see a sign letting you know where to find the best seats to view your child.  If you plan to video or would like to help me out and take pictures/videos, I'd appreciate it. I'm hoping to show the students the performance on Friday.  If you can help out, let me know!  After the music portion, you can pick your child back up in our classroom - before heading to the art show.  

Please let me know if you have any questions at all!  Some children experience a bit of anxiety before the evening - perhaps this weekend or on Monday and Tuesday. Please talk about how it is normal to have butterflies, worries, and feel nervous.  Please help your children to assure them that they will do great!  

Book Fair Donations

Thank you to parents and the parents group for our recent class donations of new books. Our friends thoroughly enjoy listening to, reading, and exploring new books - especially those books about animals in the wild!  If you're looking to donate something to our classroom, our students are always looking for new books to read and enjoy! 

Egg Drop

We joined our buddies this afternoon to attend the 27th annual 4th grade Egg Drop Competition.  Some of our buddies participated in the competition to create a device that would keep a raw chicken egg intact when dropped from a 10 foot platform.  The goal was to create a contraption with a limited amount of materials to support the egg.  Familiar faces were also spotted playing the role of the comical judges who put on quite a show.  One of our friends stated during the competition, "I'm laughing so hard, it's making me cry."  What a fun activity for a Friday afternoon! Because one of the judges was our technology teacher, we did not have technology this afternoon.

ECO News from NorthBranch Nature Center

Social Play

Creation Station - creating mazes

Putting on a puppet show

The social play component of Kindergarten is just as important as the academic. Students continue to work on C.A.R.E.S. during their choice time at the end of the day. Lately, we have been noticing close friendships forming, students solving problems independently, all children using their words to solve disagreements, laughter, and fun times during the end of the day center time.  INQUIRE with your child what their favorite thing to do at centers is. Which friends do they enjoy playing with?

Lego Table Exploration

Magnetic Doll Story Telling

Alleviating Stage Fright

In both the classroom and during music time this week, students have been talking about what it looks and sounds like to put on a performance.  Students have been practicing their songs and learning how to stand and be safe with their bodies while on the risers.  Next week, we'll move the risers into the auditorium, where we will practice as a whole grade.  Please let me know if your child will not be attending the evening performance. REMEMBER, the performance is next Tuesday, April 16th at 6:30. The art show will follow the music presentation.  We are looking for a few people to help set up and clean up. If you're willing to help, please let me know by returning the form sent home on Tuesday.

Animal Graphic Organizers

Throughout the last few weeks, students have been listening to nonfiction stories about their vermont animal.  We have been learning about how writers use 'facts' in their writing and identifying the difference between what we call a fact and opinion.  In connection with our all about expert books, students are preparing to write a mini-report about their vermont animal. Today, students learned how to organize their knowledge in a graphic organizer.  We are focusing on four different areas of our animal - how it moves, it's characteristics (covering), what it eats, and where it lives. The class has been looking closely at frogs over the last month and completed an outline as a class on this amphibian.  Students drew pictures and added labels to describe it and after set out to do the same with their own animal.   Later in the week, we will be organizing these notes and putting it together into their first "report."

Peace Tiles

Students are finishing up their second week of peace tile creations in Art. My friends used both their ideas from poems created in class about peace and their five senses, materials from home, and a piles of magazines during art class today.  Their final products truly show what peace feels, looks, sounds, tastes, and smells like to each of them.  The final product (every student and teacher's tiles) will be displayed in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned! 

Technology in the classroom

Students have been using IPADS during their center time this week. Over the next few weeks, this new technology will be used for exploration and gradually integrated throughout our day. Student are developing skills to navigate the devise independently and are having fun working on a variety of numeracy and literacy skills.  INQUIRE with your child what app they have tried this week!

HOOT HOOT!

Thank you Suzanne and Steph for a great 4 Winds lesson on Owls.  Students heard a puppet show and learned about an owl's adaptations - how it uses it's eyes, ears, and digestive system to help it survive.  The children learned how owls eat and how they have two stomachs - one to break food down and the other to store the fur and bones from their prey - which gets regurgitated.  All students had a chance to dissect this owl pellet and figure out what bones belonged to what prey (rodents, birds, etc).  The children also enjoyed watching a slideshow and hearing different owl's sounds.  INQUIRE with your child what owl they found the most interesting and why. Do they remember the sound this owl made?