I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. I always come back from winter break so rejuvenated and refreshed. This week we are focusing on a non-fiction text called Little Panda. Our amazing words this week are examine and discover. We are going to talk a lot about the scientific aspects of growing...
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It is great to be back and seeing all of the kindergartners; it seems they have grown since I last saw them! This week the lead story is “Little Panda”, a non-fiction book about panda facts. During work time centers, children are working on labeling parts of a panda, observing fur, writing panda facts...
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Our final week before winter break is busy as can be! We have been doing many gingerbread activities and reading different gingerbread tales. Yesterday we did a rotation and our class got to visit Ms. Cindy and Teacher Dana’s classrooms to do a gingerbread project. Thursday we will get to see our first drama...
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I hope you all have a restful and fun filled holiday break. After teaching kindergarten for 12 years, I have noticed that every year my students come back more mature after winter break. January is always a wonderful month in kindergarten. Take the opportunity at home with your child to encourage them to read...
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In Mathematics the children are learning to find all the possible combinations of coins to equal a given amount. During Mathematics Workshop we have made many combinations for 15 cents and 50 cents using pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Today I’m sending a Family Connection Activity that you can do together to practice this...
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No homework this week.  Just keep reading and enjoy family traditions and celebrations.
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Who are the main characters in the story?  How does the story begin?  What is the adventure and how does it end?  We have been writing our own gingerbread stories focusing on a beginning, middle, and end using the character that was developed last week.  Brandon has a bear who wants to trick the...
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MONDAY: Spelling with prefixes- un, re, mis, dis. TUESDAY: Math- Centimeters, meters, and kilometers. WEDNESDAY: Winter break reading log. THURSDAY: More centimeters, meters, and kilometers.
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The trip to the Willamette River to release our salmon was a wonderful success. Thank you parents and family for stepping up and helping with such short notice. Each child released a fry (a salmon without the yolk sac) under the careful supervision of Tim Burkhart, Tina Russell, Blaine Ross, and Rachel Kitanga. These...
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Homework for the week on December 14-18: Reading Log – Please review reading log expectations to ensure that you pass in quality work. Subtraction Snap Game – practice subtraction facts through 20. There will be a quiz on Friday.
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We began the week by releasing our salmon into the Willamette River. Thank you to all the parents that joined us on the trip. We used Google Earth to view the route the salmon will take to reach the Pacific Ocean before going on the trip. This is a week of wrapping up items...
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One of last week’s highlights was baking, decorating, and eating the gingerbread cookies. We did other activities around that topic, including smelling each of the spices that are used: fresh-grated ginger, fresh-ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. We also read several versions of the folktale, including The Gingerbread Boy, The Gingerbread Man, The Cajun Gingerbread...
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Happy Holidays! There will be no formal reading homework or math homework over Winter Break; however, I do expect students to keep reading daily and working on those math facts. Remember…books and flashcards make great gifts for your children! Have a great vacation and see you next year.
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As we begin the second trimester of the year, the weather is chilly, and the days are short. Because repetition is so important for the students in room 5, we have lots of routines. So far, in the classroom notes, we have talked about our monthly themes. We also have daily and weekly routines....
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***Gosh! It’s already time for our last “Classroom Notes” for 2009. That presents the perfect opportunity to thank our volunteers for the gift of their time in the classroom. Special thanks to Judy (Sally’s mom), Maia (Lillian’s mom), and Colin (Zachary’s grandmother.) I so appreciate ALL of our parental support. We are all on...
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The Lewis kiln has been cooking and our students have been kneading, rolling , impressing and glazing the clay pieces to go into it. It is such a great hands on learning experience for these children and they are so excited to present you with their clay creations this winter break:) Last week we...
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This is the last week before winter break and the kindergartners are finishing up worktime centers, our gingerbread boy unit, decorating gingerbread boys, going to the garden with Julia, meeting with our buddies for the pajama party on Friday and finishing up our clay pinch pots. Please remember to have your child wear shoes...
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We had a wonderful field trip on Monday releasing our chinook salmon fry in Willamette Park. Thanks to all the family members who came on this field trip with us. We were pleased that we did not have the freezing temperatures like last week! My math group is finishing our geometry unit this week...
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During Mathematic Workshop we are investigating strategies that the students will apply to solve addition and subtraction combinations to 20. In an effort to provide numerous opportunities for your child to apply the strategies they are learning in class I’m encouraging families to play the games given out during Parent/Teacher Conferences. Close to 20...
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I want to remind parents and students in Band and Strings that instrument rental slips are due this week. Your student should have brought one home the week before the Thanksgiving holiday. Remember that you do not need to include full payment at this time. I understand that December can be tough on the...
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Brrrrr! Hope you are staying warm! Please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, and gloves. Many of our students are going outside without adequate outerwear…blue children are not attractive. We finished our investigation of pendulums on Tuesday and have started investigating lifeboats and capacity with the fifth grade science...
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We are having a wonderful week in Room 3! This week we are wrapping up our work around the story Bear Snores On. We will begin our final worktime unit around the informational text A Bed for Winter. In this text we examine different homes that animals make for the long, cold winter months....
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