Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Persuasive Writing: Which Would You Rather Be?


Our persuasive writing unit is well underway. Students are learning the mechanics of letter writing, why it is important to write a letter, and the joy in receiving one. The genre of persuasive writing has been the topic for the last few weeks and children have been learning what it means to give their opinion. While reading the book, "Which Would You Rather Be?" by William Steig, students had the opportunity to discuss what they would rather be and the reasons they would want to be it. For instance, in this question/answer style book, questions such as, "Which would you rather be...a stick or a stone?; a mouse or an elephant?; or thunder or lightning?" were asked. These writers discussed the reasons why they would like to be one thing over another. Some would rather be lightning because of the bright light and others would like to be thunder because of the loud BOOM. Students were tasked to write a letter trying to persuade Miss Karen (our para) of what they would like to be and the reasons why. The below pieces reference if they would rather be an elephant or mouse, an apple or banana, or the sun or the moon. See if you are persuaded...

Dear Miss Karen,
I want to be a elephant and what do you want to be? I want to be a elephant because their trunks can lift up heavy things and they can crush tiny little things with their big feet and they make a cool noise with their trunks and they have big ears that help them cool off.
Your friend,
Kyle


Dear Miss Karen,
Would you want to be a apple or a banana? I would be a banana because they are so yummy. I forgot to ask you are you doing good? I am. And they are easy to peel. And they are healthy for you and they are a good snack.
Your student,
Grace E.


Dear Miss Karen,
I'm going to be the moon. (It) is so bright and shiny and beautiful. An the moon is my favorite color silver and because the moon is bright its not so hot at night and not very much bugs at night and with stars too and on the moon there's astronauts.
Your friend,
Jack

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Cultural Arts Week


This week our school celebrated the cultural arts. Everyday there was an assembly featuring an artist of some kind. We had a drum ensemble, African story tellers, a poet, puppets, and a banjo player. Two days this week, we had a special visit by a dad of one of our students. Mr. Matt came to play the piano for the children in the front lobby. They enjoyed this close up view of a musician playing the instrument he loves. The Charlie Brown theme song was a favorite along with a jazzy version of Jingle Bells. The kids got up and danced to the music. We want to thank Mr. Matt for the great performance and to let you know that your son was beaming with pride. Come back and play for us again, Piano Man!!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Nothing Like a Good Book!


Pictures do say 1000 words. Snuggling up to a good book is a wonderful thing to do in Kindergarten. A parent sent this picture in and labeled it "My Little Reader". What a great feeling to see your child getting comfortable and excited in preparing to read a favorite book. After a few pages, the lure of sleep was too much temptation for even the most interesting read! That's OK - she can pick it up tomorrow!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Egg Hunt Fun for the Mall-ard Ducklings!!


Our ducklings were lined up in a row while traveling to Ryan's house. Our "walking field trip" to the bunny patch was one of the best ever and we didn't have to pay for a bus!! Mrs. Wilkening made sure the path was clearly marked with welcoming bunnies and hanging egg decorations. They were greeted by the Easter Bunny, too, who helped hide the hundreds of plastic eggs. The students were assigned numbers one through thirty-five and their quest was to find and collect only the eggs with their specific number. It was the calmest most relaxeing egg hunt we've ever been too. After the eggs were collected, activities were planned by Coach Hall with numerous variations of relay races. Before we knew it, the pizzas and side dishes which were provided by parents, were ready. Thanks to all our volunteers who made this a great kick-off to Spring Break. And thanks to Romy, Ryan, Nikki, Melanie, and all the parents for your help during this festive morning of fun and memories for the children! Afterward, the ducklings waddled back to the classroom for some "down" time, of course!

Kindergarten Pow Wow 2019

Our tribe this year was the Inuit. Our students learned about the Inuit culture which included their food, housing and shelter. They sang ...