5th Grade Buddies

Yesterday we met up with our 5th grade buddies from Mr. Cottone's class.  We used the Ipad's to reinforce a concept we have been covering in math.  In our math curriculum students have been working on figuring out how to use different shapes to create new ones.  For example: You can use 6 triangles to make a hexagon.  Different shapes can be joined in different ways to fill the same space.  This concept has been a little tricky for the K kiddos.  When we met up with our buddies we played a game called "Slice It," where students had to draw different lines to break up the larger shape into smaller shapes.  Below are a few kids working with their buddies and then also an excerpt from our math workbook to show what the app was reinforcing.  Thanks Buddies!

Introduction to Our Science Unit

Our new science unit is Wood and Paper. We are going to be focusing on wood for the first part and then paper later in other investigations. We are also going to be using a visible thinking routine called, "Peel the Fruit" to track our learning. Think of an orange and all of its layers.  The outer peel is what you can only see when you are handed an orange. On the largest circle we recorded what we observed from looking at the wood.   When you peel the orange you come to the next layer which is white in color.  On the next paper, that is white in color we wrote down any questions we had thus far about wood.  We will also be adding to these questions as we go through each investigation.  Next when you open up the orange you get to that orange juicy layer.  On this orange paper that represents this layer we will be recording any answers our questions that we discover as we do our investigations.  The last part of the orange that you come to are the seeds.  The seeds are the core of the matter and represents the overall arching idea or concept children should take away from the unit and the investigations.    In the pictures below it shows children observing different types of wood closely. Students were asked to describe what they see/feel and notice about the wood the first day. One of our questions was, "why is wood for building things?  After some reading came to the conclusion that wood is stable, sturdy and strong and many things can be made out of wood.  We later were discussing that people can change wood and also machines can be used to change wood.  Wood can be painted, cut/sawed, carved, etc.... Today we later proved that theory when we sanded wood on our own.  Students will be bringing home the wood that they sanded and changed today. 

Halloween

 

 

A good time was had by all at our Halloween Party last Thursday.  Thank you to everyone who helped make our kindergarten party a success whether it was by donating something or your time. We couldn't have done it without you!The kids enjoyed parading around the school and seeing all of thier friends and buddies and costumes. Today they shared with me that they enjoyed making the crafts and all of the yummy snacks. They are very excited for the upcoming holiday party in December! Please remember Bemis Round Table is collecting any Halloween candy that your children either don't want or need. :) The last day to send it in is on Wednesday.  The candy will be donated to the Ronald McDonald  house and area children's hospital.  Our class already sent a grocery sack size down! Way to go!

Boulan Buddies

On Thursday we met with our Boulan Buddies for the second time.  Our buddies are in the "Effective Teens" class offered as an elective at Boulan Middle School.  The middle school students train and debrief weekly on how to be good mentors to the kindergarten kiddos.  Both Mrs. LaTarte and I have participated in this program the past 4 years and have found it to be very beneficial for both the kindergartners and middle school students. It is also fun to see some of our former students!  This week the buddies helped us with a Pete the Cat art/math project.  Pete was constructed completely out of the shapes we have been working on.  Students were able to make Pete's shoes any color.  The Pete the Cat stories has been a favorite in Kindergarten this year!

5th Grade Buddies

Today we met with our 5th grade buddies from Mr. Cottone's class! We try to meet every Wednesday afternoon to do something together.  Today we started working on a Keynote project on the IPAD.  5th graders worked with their kindergarten buddy to create a project that is centered around all of the important places in our room that they know about it.  For example, they made a slide featuring our math routines and what we do each morning in this area of the room.  This was a great way for the kindergartners to verbally explain to the 5th graders all of the important places/things in our room and what they do there.

New Playground Fun

The kiddos were so excited to use our new playground equipment that was bought for us by Mr. Whan! They loved walking on our new stilts, playing with the playground balls, jump ropes, kicking balls into the soccer net and and bouncing on the new bouncers. They couldn't stop smiling! Below are a few pictures from our morning recess today.  It was hard to catch them!

Welcome to a New Year!

We are so excited to be starting our fourth week of Kindergarten!  The kids are off to a fantastic start this school year! For the past few weeks we have been learning many new routines in our classroom. Children are learning how to line up, how to share their ideas, eat snack, have lunch at school, use the smart board, listen to stories, complete their work nicely, use math tools and much more! We have also been focusing a lot on making positive choices and being a bucketfiller. Children are learning how to use their BIG voice if someone is bothering them. We have been noticing a lot of very helpful behavior and friendships forming as a result. I am so proud of the kiddos! These first few weeks of school are critical to creating a safe and caring classroom environment. They are the foundation for the rest of the school year! 

They are doing a great job! It makes me so excited for what's to come!