Thursday 1/31

I spent my day at the last iPad workshop.  I am so excited to begin working with the first graders on the iPads next week!!

The kids started their morning with a math addition game.  Instead of typical Centers, Ms. Dichter read a winter story that had illustrations made out of ripped paper.  The kids then made their own ripped art projects.  Library was this afternoon.  The kids finished their day with writing and sharing.  I look forward to seeing the kiddos tomorrow!

Wednesday 1/23

Oops! This never published last week!


This morning our Read Aloud was How Are You Peeling? We talked more about our feelings.

We had an assembly. The fourth graders led the assembly. They talked about bullying.

Liza came in for a great poetry time! We listened to poems about pirates and penguins. We then broke up into small grade level groups and wrote fantastic poems!!

Guest blogger: Isabelle :)

Wednesday 1/30

We started our morning with gymnastics! We worked hard during writing. Kindergartners did a retell of Night of the Ninja! They came out great!
First graders learned new math poems. They used magnified glasses to see all of the details on the coins.
We all learned about recycling. We watched Annie and Moby and made posters to remind our families to recycle.
Mrs. Melnik read I Wanna Iguana to introduce persuasive writing!

Monday 1/28

Writing this morning was extra quiet and productive! Must have been some fun weekends with so much to write about.

Kindergartners are creating ninjas!

First graders learned more about the ruler-measuring to the inch and drawing straight lines.

What amazing sculptures were made at art!! We had a share time and a "museum" to look at all of the creative work.

Ms. Dichter started to read the book Feelings during Open Circle this afternoon.

Early release tomorrow!!

Read-In

Thank you to everyone that came to our first read-in!!

Thursday 1/24

We started the morning with Math stations.  There was a wide variety of activities-shapes, measuring, patterns... The kids worked really hard for a long math block!

Everyone was busy finishing up this week's Centers.  The listening center book for all kids this week was Sadie and the Snowman.

Kindergartners listened to another chapter in this Magic Tree House book.  First graders are continuing to illustrate their penguin poetry books.

We ended our afternoon with Writing.  A few children shared their stories at the end of a great writing block.

We hope many of you can join us during our first Read-In tomorrow from 8:15-8:45.

Recyclables!

Please send in recyclables that we can use for crafts during choice.

We love toilet paper rolls/paper towel rolls and egg cartons.

What is a Read-In and Math-In?

Read-Ins and Math-Ins are casual gatherings we'll have in Room 8 once a month from 8:15-8:45.

You'll get to spend time with your child as well as other children.  You'll get to look around the classroom and spot your child's beautiful artwork hanging up.

During Read-Ins, the children will pick stories from our classroom library that they would like an adult to read to them.  You'll get to read a story to your child and possibly some other children.
During Math-Ins, there will be math games set up around the classroom.  The children will teach you how to play!  In small groups, you'll play the games.  You'll rotate around the stations to play different games with different children.

All family members are invited to attend.
No sign-ups required.  The more the merrier!
No preparation required. Just come ready to have a great time!

Please come to as many Read-Ins and Math-Ins as you can! :)

Friday, January 25 Read-In

Thursday, February 28 Math-In

Tuesday, March 26 Read In

Friday, April 26 Math-In

Monday, May 20 Math-In

Tuesday 1/22

We hope everyone had a nice long weekend!

We braved the cold and had a great morning recess.  The first graders even found icicles!!

We ended the day with Open Circle.

In today's Open Circle Meeting, we talked about feeling words. Everyone has feelings, and all feelings are okay — even though some feelings make us feel better than others. Feelings are inside us, but sometimes we can tell how someone is feeling by how they look or what they do. We made a list of many feeling words, such as excited, happy, sad, surprised, calm, and upset.

Ask your child to name as many feeling words as he/she can remember. Look at a magazine or newspaper with your child and try to identify the feelings people pictured in articles or ads might have. Use feeling words at home to name how you and other family members are feeling.

Body language is a way of communicating with our faces, bodies, or hands instead of using words. We practiced using body language to communicate with each other by using facial expressions and gestures to show that we were cold, afraid, or feeling great. Body language helps us to understand how people are feeling even if they are not telling
us with words.

Make a game of noticing body language when you are out with your child. Try to guess how people might be feeling from their gestures, facial expressions, and other body language. You might also watch a television show or look at a magazine with your child and take turns pointing out the examples of body language that you see.

Literature Connections

Here are some books that relate to the topics we discussed in Open Circle. You might want to check out one or two at the library and read with your child:

Cain, Janan. The Way I Feel. Parenting Press, 2000.
Through art and rhyme, the author describes a range of feelings, from anger and sadness to frustration and fear.

Evans, Lezlie. Sometimes I Feel Like a Storm. Mondo Publishing, 2007.
This book describes all kinds of feelings from proud to sad to angry.

Kachenmeister, Cheryl. On Monday When it Rained. Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
Different scenarios illustrated by photographs describe one boy’s different emotions over a period of seven days.

Menchin, Scott. Taking a Bath with a Dog. Candlewick, 2007.
A little girl asks a variety of characters what makes them happy, and then she comes up with her own list of positive thoughts.

Raschka, Chris. Yo! Yes? Scholastic, Inc., 1993.
Two boys communicate using body language and very few words.

Rotner, Shelley. Lots of Feelings. Millbrook Press, 2003.
Close-up photographs of children’s faces illustrate a range of emotions.

Help us clear up our winter gear confusion!!

    We are getting confused everyday... 

because winter gear is falling off the hooks and we can't always remember what our winter gear looks like!




Please label ALL of your child's winter gear!!!

Your child should bring a dry pair of shoes to school everyday!  Winter boots stay out in the hallway to help keep our classroom clean.

Kidstock Creative Theater

The Kindergarteners had a special assembly last week!  Check out how much fun they had!

Check out their website for more information: http://www.kidstocktheater.com/

The Snowman

On the snowy day we watched a video of The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs.
Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgTpoy91nWo
Then we made our own snow people, using q-tips, white paint and paper scraps. They look beautiful hanging up on the windows!

Pirate Day in K!

While the first graders were at the Aquarium, the Kindergartners were busy creating pirate "loot!"

Check out the treasure maps on the bulletin board.

Friday, 1/18

This morning we watched the Brain Pop video about Martin Luther King. We learned what segregration means.  We each then traced one of our feet and wrote something we can do to walk with Martin to help change the world and make it more peaceful.

This afternoon we listened to Martin's Big Words.  What an amazing person and story!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF_qgqTFPCw



Mr. Hanna ended the afternoon with an announcement- A quote from MLK.  He also left us with a question to think about this weekend: What does it mean that we are all equal?

Have a nice long weekend! 

Thursday

I spent the day at an iPad workshop today with some other Thompson & Stratton staff. I am so excited for the second day later this month. I am most excited to try out some of these apps with our kids! The iPad cart will be in Room 8 soon!

The kids had a great day today with Ms. Dichter. They started the morning with a partner math game. They ended their day with Time For Kids- the topic of this month's magazine is dental health.

Tuesday and Wednesday

We played Ms. Dichter's math game of Pop! We skip counted by 10s. The pop number was 80. Ask your child how to play this fun game.

We learned a new math partner game. We are working on using the strategy of counting on- put the big number in your head and then count on.

Kindergartners are making shape books. They are coming out great so far! Ask your child what they turned their shapes into.

First graders learned some more glues sounds. How do you mark a glued sound?

Mrs. Melnik read a beautiful story and we listened to the song too!

Caroline's Mom was our mystery reader! We loved listening to her two stories! Thanks Moriah!