May 25
It was a great day at Hugo Animal Farm!
It was a great day at Hugo Animal Farm!
We read a non-fiction book about pigs this morning. We made a K-W-L chart on the easel. I wrote things that kids know about pigs and things they wanted to learn about pigs. After reading the story, we wrote down a few things we learned while reading the story. Then, we made a graph of favorite farm animals on the smart board. Students recorded the data onto a recording sheet, using tally marks. Our class liked pigs the most! We also had a our last session of Art Adventure this morning. Students looked at a painting from Italy today. They discussed their obsevations and then made a postcard. Postcards will be sent to your house in the next week. (The kids could not believe I knew their addresses!)
This afternoon, we will continue to work on subtraction during math.
Just a reminder: Our field trip to Hugo Animal Farm is tomorrow. Please look over the checklist sent home with your child today. Your child will need a cold lunch tomorrow because we will not be returning to school until 1:30pm.
We read a book titled, "At the Farm." We read the book as a whole group and then focused on using expression in our voices while reading questions. We also circled our sight words found in the book. Please encourage your child to read this book to you. I tell the kindergarteners that "Good readers read books lots of times" so if you need to use this phrase at home, feel free.
This afternoon, we will practice using subtraction. You can practice using subtraction at home while your child is eating a snack. For example, you could say, " You have 10 crackers. How many crackers will you have left if you eat two?" Subtraction can be a difficult concept for young children, so using food or other manipulatives can be very helpful.
Just a reminder: All library books should be returned. We still have a few students in our class who have not returned their books.
Students watched a play titled, "Pirates of the Carrot Bean" this morning. The play was brought to Blue Heron by graduate students from UMD. The play focused on nutrition and healthy habits. The kindergarten students enjoyed every minute of this play! After the play, cast members visited each classroom to do a follow-up lesson and answered students' questions. We also read a non-fiction book about cows this morning. We learned that most of our milk comes from Holstein cows. We also learned that cows have 4 stomachs (students found this fact very interesting)!
This afternoon, we will work on comparing two numbers. We will use the greater than/less than symbol, but in the form of an alligator's mouth.
As the year comes to an end, here a few bits of info for you:
(1) Students will not be checking out library books for the remainder of the year. The library needs time to check-in books and organize before next year.
(2) If you are thinking ahead... you do not need to send in a snack for June. We will use up leftovers and I will purchase a few fun snacks.
(3) Report cards will go home on the last day of school.
We began our Farm unit this morning. We made a web of animals that live on the farm. Then, we read the book, Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Next, we made a class book. Each student chose an animal that lives on the farm and used it on his/her page. We also made short "u" words this morning. We made words on the smart board and practiced blending them together. Finally, students went back to their tables and used paper letters to make their own words.
This afternoon, we will practice counting dimes and make exchanges for a dollar.
This is my first year using a blog and I would love some feedback from parents! Please post a comment or send me an e-mail and answer the following questions:
(1) How often do you read the classroom blog? occasionally,weekly, or daily
(2) Which type of communication do you prefer? weekly newsletter, or blog
(3) What information would you like included in the blog or weekly newsletter that is not currently included?
I really appreciate your time and feedback!!!
This morning our class took part in the walkathon: The students were so excited! Everyone did a good job walking continuously for 30 min. You might have a tired kindergartener tonight! We also reviewed our sight words while working on a bee worksheet.
This afternoon, I will introduce the class to the $10 bill. We will practice making exchanges with $1 and $10 bills. Tyler's dad will also come in to read a story to our class at the end of the day.
As the weather keeps getting warmer, please remember to put sunscreen on your child each day before he/she comes to school. We will be doing a lot of outdoor activities in the last few weeks of school.
Have a wonderful weekend!
We worked in stations this morning. Our stations included: (1) Vowel Safari- Students turned over picture cards and moved game markers to the vowel in each word. (2) Trash or Treasure- Students uncrumpled pieces of paper to determine if a word was real or nonsense and then they wrote each word on a recording sheet. It was so exciting to hear everyone reading words!!! (3) Handwriting Review (4) Swat the Sight Word!- Sight words were written on bugs and students used fly swatters to get bugs and record sight words. (5) Pop & Match Vowels- Students used vowel poppers to fill in missing vowels. (We are trying to be experts with vowels before first grade!)
I noticed two things during stations today: (1) Students are doing an amazing job blending sounds and reading words. I am so proud of them! (2) Students are getting a little bit too comfortable writing letters. I am encouraging the kids to slow down and write neat letters. When your child is writing at home, please ask them to slow down and take their time while writing words or letters.
We will make our own surveys during math this afternoon.
Just a reminder: The walkathon is tomorrow. Please make sure your child wears tennis shoes and is dressed for the weather.
This morning we practiced read a book titled "Bugs." We worked on using expression in our voices while we read questions and setences with an exclamation point. We read the book together and then independently to improve fluency. We went to Cybrary and Art Adventure. During Art Adventure today, students looked at a painting and discussed their observations. Then, students had the opportunity to make their own landscape art.
This afternoon, we will make an insect with pattern blocks, graph it, and then add the shapes together.
For those of you who have some questions about graduation... I will be sending home some info about the special day soon. To answer a few questions... We do have school on June 6th and 7th. We were unable to schedule our graduation on the last day of school due to space conflicts at the middle school. On June 6th, your child will come to school as he/she usually does and parents will meet us at the middle school at 2:00pm. The program will be a little over an hour in length. You can feel free to take your child home after the ceremony. June 7th will be our last day of school.
This morning we read a book titled, The Very Greedy Bee and worked on story elements. We discussed characters, the problem, solution, and theme of the story. Then, I recorded students thoughts on chart paper. Students did a great job verbalizing the author's purpose for writing the book. Next, we made our own bugs! Everyone had fun using candy to make their very own insect. Each child made sure that his/her bug had the following parts: head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, and six legs. Finally, students drew a picture of their insects on a recording sheet.
This afternoon, we will work on a bug survey during math. You can encourage your child to make up various surveys at home. For example, your child could ask family members which type of ice cream they like the most. Your child can make the survey and record responses with tally marks. This is a great way to work on math and reading skills at the same time!
Our class earned extra recess time with Mr. Melde for bringing in the most snack cakes for the carnival. Mr. Melde will take students outside for extra recess this afternoon. (They are so excited!)
This morning we read a non-fiction book about bees. We learned that honeybees give us honey and help flowers grow. We used a variety of letters to make real and nonsense words in the "ug" family. We also made our own bees!
This afternoon, we will play "Clear the Board" during math. Students will use dice to practice addition.
Just a reminder: If you have walkathon pledges, please send them to school tomorrow.
Thank you to everyone who sent in candy for our "Build a Bug" project tomorrow!
