Mrs. Giffen came to read a favorite story of hers on Friday.  We are enjoying having a variety of faculty join us on Friday mornings! 

The beginning of the story that led to our creation of magic wands!

Father Spring

With their owl eyes, deer ears, nose smell, raccoon touch, and fox feet guiding their way to Harrison, students used these senses to help them pinpoint signs of spring.  A surprise snowfall on Thursday had our group wishing away winter, after having some intense snowball making adventures.  Students observed the changing snow consistency and used their knowledge of forces and pushes/pulls to explore the sticky and dense snow surrounding Harrison.  After a fire and story about Father Spring defeating Mother Winter, students set out to find sticks to turn into"magic wands" to help Father Spring bring on some color and spring around us!

Teamwork

Persuasive/Opinion Writing

We have launched our last unit of study in writing which focuses on Persuasive Writing of All Kinds.  This unit focuses on using words to make change.  Students will be crafting petitions, persuasive letters, signs, and books to rally people to address problems in the classroom, the school, and the world.  Already, students have been engaging in writing letters to ask for earlier bedtimes (a surprise for me too), posters reminding kids of hallway expectations, books about whole body listening, and many other topics.  INQUIRE with your child what kind of writing they've  done this week? What problems do they see around them that they are wanting to change?

Subtraction

This month we have started to look and understand the concept of subtraction in math.  Students use manipulatives, pictures, number bonds, and number sentences to show their understanding.  New workplaces and white board practice have children learning that when you take something away from a group, you subtract that much from the total, leaving a smaller amount leftover.  We will continue connecting their understanding of subtraction and how it relates to addition and continue to grow our math vocabulary as we learn new words (minus, take away, sum, difference, etc.)  

Mr. Jarred joined us last week to read a favorite of his.  He shared his love of reading and thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the computer world to come read a classic to our Kinders!  We look forward to having a variety of teachers and staff from MPS join us in the coming weeks.  

Students have been learning about digraphs and have been generating a variety of words that begin with ch, sh, and th, and finding them in their books, documenting them on the white board and sharing them with the class. All children are listening for these sounds as they segment words and hear them in the beginning, middle, and end of words. Students are also focusing on identifying them while reading and noticing when they appear in longer words. INQUIRE with your child how they "chunk" a word or look for little words inside of bigger words. 

 

Yoga Welcome

Scholastic Book Fair

We are visiting the Scholastic book fair on Friday, April 10th. Your child may browse or shop at this time. If you would like your child to buy an item, it helps to have a labeled envelope with planned purchases listed on the outside or a note saying that the choice is theirs. If your child is free to choose at the fair, please let me know. I generally encourage students to buy only books when shopping at school. If you would like them to purchase trinkets, please indicate this on the envelope as well. Families can visit on Friday afternoon after school and evening as well to purchase books. Our classroom will have a wish list available at the book fair of books that could enrich our curriculum. Please consider helping out our classroom library and donating a book.

Volunteers Needed

In order for the Kindergarten Show to be a success, we need your help! Please consider one of the following volunteer opportunities:

 Help to hang art in the big gym on Thursday, April 15th at 3:00 pm (we will need at least 15 people to help).

 Help with clean up immediately after the art show (taking down the artwork) on Thursday, April 16th.

If you can help, let me know!  

Force and Motion

How do things move? How do people move?

What is motion? What is force?
Can something move without touching it?

Testing force on objects of varying weight
Our latest science focus has Kindergartners "playing" around with these big ideas to ask questions and make learning discoveries. Students are being introduced to the basic concepts of physics through information text read alouds, small group activities, some structured experiments and playtime using balls and ramps, marbles and tubes. Students are learning to ask on-topic questions, make observations and put their thinking into action!


This unit is also a wonderful opportunity for building science rich vocabularies, and we are careful to name objects and actions accurately. Ask your child to share with you what they know about... how people move, and the location and direction of objects?

Celebrating!

Students celebrated earning over 100  hoots with a "movie" and lunch in the classroom.  We enjoyed listening to the story of Chrysanthemum, written by Kevin Henkes as we ate as a class community in the classroom this afternoon.  Students continue to work hard to show Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self Control throughout the day!  Nice job, Kinders! 

Bird Nests

Signs of spring - RAIN!  Even though the forecast called for 100% rain for 2:00, kindergarteners were prepared and ready for outdoor exploration in the inclement weather. Yesterday, students spent time with Mrs. Bates' class building birds nest to prepare for a predator/prey tag game, helping birds by building more feeders, and enjoying and warming up by the fire with a cup of tea!  Thanks to our parent volunteers and Amy Butler for your help!

Art Project with Mrs. Kane

We were inspired by French artist Edgar Degas, who is famous for his sculptures and paintings of ballet dancers.  For our sculptures, we turned "stick people" made of pipe cleaners into "super bubble people" formed with Model Magic Modelling clay.  Students looked at their own bodies as models for their clay figures.  Students then painted their own individual brown skin colors by mixing white and the primary colors red, yellow and blue.  We created fun costumes for our figures - who are active ballet dancers, gymnasts, ninjas and even pirates- because unlike stick people, bubble people can do anything!  

Mechanics of Writing

This past week, and over the next week, before we begin learning about persuasive writing, students are immersed in learning about the important mechanics of writing.  As our students develop fluency in their writing and quickness to get their thoughts down on paper, they often lose focus on handwriting, spacing, punctuation, neatness, capitalization, to name a few.  This week, we've been focusing on reviewing these important skills and spending time learning what a writing hand's job is, how our bodies look when sitting in the chair, how to form letters correctly, all with the overall goal of making our writing readable.  I am amazed at our hard workers every day, striving to do their best.  INQUIRE with your child how to spell their last name - another skill we've practiced this past week!

Kindergarten Art/Music Show

The end of the year kindergarten music show will be on Thursday, April 16th at 6 p.m. in the auditorium here at Union School. Immediately following, students and families are invited to walk through the big gym, where student artwork will be displayed. We are looking forward to a wonderful evening. Here are a few ways you can help your child prepare.

Students will meet in their own classrooms at 5:45 before the show. Plan to walk your child to their classroom, then head to the auditorium to find the perfect seat!

Please be sure your child wears black pants and comfortable shoes. Students will be entering and exiting from the the stage floor via stairs as well as standing on risers. Each student will have a color t-shirt to wear for the show, and should should wear a simple t-shirt from home to school. Teachers will provide students with their show t-shirt that evening. Other planned props will be provided in the classroom at this time as well.

It is helpful if your child has a light dinner before arriving. Students will be excited, and nervous tummies will feel best with this approach.

Please check your child's green communication folder tomorrow after school for an order form for the show t-shirts. All shirts are child sized. Please complete the form and return it to school in your child’s red folder ,with payment in an envelope labelled with their name. Please send cash only. No checks!