What an amazing week in Mr. Smith’s Kindergarten classroom!  We continued to work with red worms and compared them to night crawlers. The students dug for worms and focused on their behavior.  They tried to block their path and watched to see what the red worms and night crawlers would do.  The night crawlers were much larger and easier to observe than the red worms.

We also studied our pumpkin.  We learned that pumpkins grow on vines in a pumpkin patch. We discovered that they have an outer shell with seeds and pulp inside.  The students estimated the pumpkin’s weight and circumference. Finally, the students voted for the face to be carved on the pumpkin.

We added the letters Aa, Ff, Jj, Ww and Yy to the reading wall. Our “Letter Experts” memorized their letter’s name, sound, and how to write the letters (upper and lowercase). They read a sentence that used the letter sound at the beginning of at least one word. They, also, brought an item in a Ziploc baggy that began with the letters sound. Each expert was able to share their “All About Me Tee” with the class, as well.  Next week we will be finishing the letters of the alphabet with the letters Uu, Qq, Xx, and Cc.  On Friday we will have a “Letter Expert” celebration. 

After next week I will not be sending the little paper letter books home.  Each child should have a complete set.  If you are missing any, please let me know and I will try to send home another copy.  Decorate an old shoe box to keep them in. Have your child read the homework book I send home and choose a letter book to practice each night. Look for that letter in their reading and practice the sound each time your child finds one. Review all of the letters (especially those in your child’s name).  If your child is having trouble remembering the letter names and sounds, put them on flashcards and look for them in the books that you are reading with them.

We finished the week with a Harvest Party.  The students played sight word “Pumpkin Bingo,” dressed in their costumes and went for a parade through every classroom in the school.  When they returned to their room they had a plate full of treats.  They got to eat “DIRT,” made of pudding and chocolate graham crackers, with a surprise buried inside.  In honor of the completion of studying worms, the students found a gummy worm in every cup.  Each child also received a goody bag to take home with them at the end of the day.    It was a great way to end the month of October. 

Don’t forget the PTO Fall Carnival on the evening of Friday the 30th at the elementary school.  There’s trick or treating at the classroom doors, carnival games, and you can even have dinner in the cafeteria.  The event is free and the dinner is a  fund raiser.   You can come for dinner and support the PTO at the same time!

This week in Mr. Smith’s Kindergarten classroom we introduced our newest animal of study… red worms.  The students got to dig for worms, wash them off and then observe their body parts and behavior.  The worms were quite small so they used magnifying glasses.  With this tool they were able to see many more details.  Then they drew pictures of their worms. Next week we will move on to night crawlers and do some comparisons.   We will also be studying pumpkins.

We added the letters Oo, Bb, Hh, Vv and Gg to the reading wall.  Our “Letter Experts”  memorized their letter’s name, sound, and how to write the letters (upper and lowercase).  They read a sentence that used the letter sound at the beginning of at least one word.  They, also, brought an item in a Ziploc baggy that began with the letters sound.  Each expert was able to share their “All About Me Tee” with the class, as well.

Our weekly nursery rhyme was Baa, Baa Black Sheep. We sang it, looked for sight words,  and colored a mini-book of the rhyme to put in our book baggies.  It was a great way for the student to practice rhyming words and sight words.  Next week we will focus on Old Mother Hubbard.

Announcements:

The Harvest Party will be on Friday the 30th of October.  We need parents to help out with treats and send their child with a costume in a grocery bag on that day.  If you would like to volunteer to bring a treat, please call Misty Flynn at 389-6983. If you plan on attending the party/volunteering, please call her and let her know that as well.

Please read the homework book and the little letter books I send home in your child’s folder each night. Look for the letter of the day and practice the sound each time your child finds one and circles it. Review all of the letters that have been focused on.  If your child is having trouble remembering the letter names and sounds, put them on flashcards and look for them in the books that you are reading with them.  The letters focused on so far:  Bb, Dd, Ee, Gg, Hh, Ii, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, Vv, and Zz.

We finished studying apples this week.  We tasted red, yellow, and green apples and picked our favorite.  We, also, tasted three products made from apples and decided which was our favorite.  The product that was liked best was applesauce followed closely by apple juice.  Coming in last place was dried apples.  Finally, we ended our investigations of apples with stations designed around the apple your child brought to school.  If they didn’t bring one, we had several donated to choose from.  Apples of all colors and sizes were brought.   They were counted, weighed and measured (circumference).  After that the apples were cut, cooked and made into applesauce to eat.  Mmm, Mmm!

This week we continued to our study of land snails and compared them to water snails.  The students each chose a snail to race, placed it on the race track, watched and waited to see which snail would travel the farthest in two minutes.  The students worked on positional language like in front, behind and beside. 

The class continued to add letters to the reading wall by studying the letters Ii, Mm, and Zz.  Each letter was assigned a “Letter Expert.”  The experts were given the assignment of memorizing the letter’s name, sound, and how to write the letters (upper and lowercase).  They read a sentence that used the letter sound at the beginning of at least one word.  They, also, were responsible for bringing in an item in a Ziploc baggy that began with the letters sound.  Each expert was able to share their “All About Me Tee” with the class, as well.

Our weekly nursery rhyme was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. We sang it, looked for sight words, put it into sequence and colored a mini-book of the rhyme to put in our book baggies.  It was a great way for the student to practice rhyming words and sight words.  Next week we will focus on Baa, Baa Black Sheep.

Announcements:

Look for the Harvest Party letter in your child’s homework folder on Monday.

Please read the homework book and the little letter books I send home in your child’s folder each night.  Then check the box on the homework sheet every night you read for at least 15 minutes with him or her.  At the end of the week sign the last box on that week’s line.  Homework books must be returned in your child’s folder on Friday’s or the last day of the week so that I can send home a new one on Monday.  I will keep your child’s folder over the weekend to check homework and put new books in for next week.

Brrrr!  Fall is here.  With the cold, windy weather comes the need for students to wear warm clothing.  Students go outside in the morning before school and for a break around 10 am.  It has been down right chilly at these times. 

Also, as the weather starts to get wetter, it would be a good idea to put a change of clothes in a plastic bag in your child’s backpack.  You never know when s/he might slip in the mud or go down a wet slide.

Please send more snack, as we are running very low on supplies at this time.

We began studying apples this week.  We talked about what they looked like, how they grow, and their parts.  We will continue to study how different apples taste and the products made from apples next week.  We will end our investigations of apples with stations designed around the apple your child brought to school.  If they haven’t brought one in, there is still time.  We have a few extras if your child doesn’t bring one in.

This week we continued to work on the Life Sciences unit.  We started our study of land snails.  The students could barely contain their excitement as they watched how these little, slimy, shelled creatures moved in clear cups, as well as on their tables and hands.  They loved being able to interact with the snails (This was harder to do with fish).   Their discussions have been very interesting. 

We continued filling in our reading wall by studying the letters Ee, Pp, Dd, and Ll.  Each letter was assigned a “Letter Expert.”  The experts were given the assignment of memorizing the letter’s name, sound, and how to write the letters (upper and lowercase).  They read a sentence that used the letter sound at the beginning of at least one word.  They, also, were responsible for bringing in an item in a Ziploc baggy that began with the letters sound.  Each expert was able to share their “All About Me Tee” with the class, as well.

The color of the week was purple. We colored purple color sheets, read a purple book and learned the purple poem. Then we took blue and red paint and made purple. This completed our secondary colors.

Our weekly nursery rhyme was Hey Diddle, Diddle. We sang it, mixed it up and put it into sequence and colored a mini-book of the rhyme to put in our book baggies.  It was a great way for the student to practice rhyming words and sight words.  Next week we will focus on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Last Friday we went on our field trip to the Clayton Fair Grounds.  The High School put on a wonderful display of farm animals, equipment and activities.  It was great to have the whole class there!  Not even the rain could dampen the students spirits!!!

This week we continued to work on the Life Sciences unit. We made a replica of our fish tank for the students to take home and act out what they observed in the classroom.  We  studied goldfish and compared them to guppies. We, also, compared male to female guppies.  We discovered that the females were larger while the males were more colorful.  We made observations and then drew pictures of them.  The guppies also had a couple of babies.  The students enjoyed observing the little offspring!  Next week, we will begin to study snails and do some activities similar to the ones we did with fish.  Having live animals in the room has sparked some really good discussions.

We began filling in our reading wall by studying the letters Rr, Ss, Nn, Tt, and Kk.  Each letter was assigned a “Letter Expert.”  The experts were given the assignment of memorizing the letter’s name, sound, and how to write the letters (upper and lowercase).  They read a sentence that used the letter sound at the beginning of at least one word.  They, also, were responsible for bringing in an item in a Ziploc baggy that began with the letters sound.  Each expert was able to share their “All About Me Tee” with the class, as well.

The color of the week was green. We colored green color sheets, read a green book and learned the green poem. Then we took blue and yellow paint and made green. Next week we will be studying purple. For the poem click here > purple poem.

Our weekly nursery rhyme was the Itsy Bitsy Spider. We sang it, mixed it up and put it into sequence and colored a mini-book of the rhyme to put in our book baggies. We read a couple of books that expanded on the original rhyme.  It was a great way for the students to practice rhyming words.  Next week we will focus on Hey Diddle, Diddle.