Mall-ard's "Incredible" Kindergarten Happenings 2011-2012

Bingo Book Bonanza - 25 Book Challenge

2012-01-29T20:24:00.009-05:00

This week students were rewarded for reading their 25 books for this quarter by attending the principal's Bingo party. Every student in the school who attained the 25 Book Challenge had the opportunity to play bingo with the principal. There were all kinds of prizes: stuffed animals, books, and games. Every student in our class was a winner and went home with a special prize. It was a great way to reward the children for something they love doing anyway...reading!!

Double checking to make sure they didn't miss one!

Lots of prizes to choose.

Saehae Bok Mani Badseiyo.- Korean New Year - Year of the Dragon

2012-01-24T20:46:00.010-05:00

Korean New Year on PhotoPeach

Saehae Bok Mani Badseiyo which is Happy New Year in Korean. On Tuesday, we celebrated the Korean New Year. Ms. Hanna came in to teach the students about the biggest holiday for the Korean people. It is a time to celebrate the family - past and present. The first thing they do on this special holiday is to wish each family member a Happy New Year. After first having bowed before each other, the parents will sit down on the ground and will receive their children's greetings for the New Year. While doing this, the children kneel down in front of their parents, performing a deep bow by touching the ground with their forehead (Sebae). Ms. Hanna taught the children these bows and "B" was gifted a hand-made headband for her most gracious bow. The students learned where Korea is on the map and were shown a slide show of the special holiday foods. The children were also given special Korean cookies. Thank you for sharing your wonderful traditions with the class!
Celebrating the Year of the Dragon on PhotoPeach

Martina Una Cucarachita Muy Linda; Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: Un Cuento Cubano / A Cuban Folktale (Spanish Edition)

2012-01-21T18:41:00.009-05:00

Martina the Cockroach Retelling on PhotoPeach
Every month Principal Phillips chooses a book that the whole school receives for their classroom library. This is called our "Book of the Month." This month we received the book "Martina the Beautiful Cockroach" by Carmen Agra Deedy. However, the book was in Spanish. The lesson was to experience how children who speak other languages must feel to be handed a book and asked to read without understanding. This opened our eyes to feeling what others must feel in this situation. Luckily, a few days later, we were also given the English version of the book and were grateful so that we could share this wonderful book with the students. Then we thought that we didn't want the Spanish version to just "go away." Again luck was on our side when our room mom (who is Cuban-American) not only read the book to our class in Spanish, but brought props and food to accompany the experience. Thanks Lourdes for the excellent performance of "Martina Una Cucarachita Muy Linda"...and such a lovely cockroach you were!!

Morning Message

2012-01-17T20:56:00.007-05:00

One of the student's favorite activities each day is reading the morning message. This is when they find out some of the news of the day. In the beginning of the year, the morning message had all the letters and punctuation. As time has gone on, the message changes...a capital letter may be needed, some letters in words may disappear, and punctuation is added. During this ten minute time frame, students learn everything from sight words to quotation marks. Vocabulary words, compound words, antonyms, and synonyms are also sprinkled in from time to time. Children are called on via name cards to go up and correct the message. If they get stuck, we help them remember some basic rules: the first letter of people's names are capitalized, days of the week are too, and if it is asking a question, then of course it gets a question mark. As you can see from the before and after photo, they are learning a lot about sentence structure in kindergarten.

Learning about Dr. Martin Luther King

2012-01-15T21:43:00.012-05:00

Students were very interested in the books displayed and wondered who the man was on the covers of these books. We read the book "Martin Luther King - A Picture Story" to the children. It told the story of Dr. King as a young boy. Interesting facts included his love of baseball and other sports, he loved to use "big words" like his father the preacher, and how he started college at age 15. After two years in school, he decided to become a minister. The book also told how he felt when he didn't go to the same school as his friends. It was hard for many of the children to understand the reasoning behind some of the things that happened, but they did understand his message of being kind to one another. We celebrate his birthday on Monday...he would have been 83 years old.

Blend Ladders - Using Short Vowels

2012-01-12T21:40:00.004-05:00

Recently we have added "Blend Ladders" to our Skills Block each day. By using the short vowels and consonants each ladder is created. For instance, ba, be, bi, bo, and bu would be the first ladder. This CV (consonant, vowel) will help students recognize most short vowel words - especially when adding the next consonant letter. After we brainstorm words on the ladder, students write and draw the ladder in their Skills notebook for extra practice. They are now noticing these words when they read and write.

Author Visit: Carmen Agra Deedy

2012-01-07T22:29:00.013-05:00

What a treat it was to come back to school after the winter break and have an author visit our school. This was not just any author...it was Carmen Agra Deedy! Carmen is a New York Times bestselling author and has been writing and traveling around the world telling stories for more than twenty years. Her books, including 14 Cows for America, The Library Dragon, The Yellow Star, and Martina the Beautiful Cockroach , have received numerous awards and honors. Born in Havana, Cuba, she came to the United States as a refugee in the 1960s. She told the story of her journey when she was just three years old. She didn't want to leave the land she knew but it was not safe to stay there. Carmen loved to listen to baseball games on the radio and told of her first trip to see a baseball game. The students were enthralled with her storytelling and so were the adults. Afterward, some students went to have their books autographed and they just loved meeting her.
Carmen Agra Deedy Visits Chets Creek on PhotoPeach

We Are Back in 2012

2012-01-03T21:15:00.009-05:00

Everyone was back in school today excited to share how they spent their holidays and what they got for Christmas. It was great seeing all the children and we noticed a slight growth spurt in some of them. Today was "Resource Day" which means the students have the opportunity to go to Music, Art, P.E., or the Library and have a teacher who specializes in that subject teach them. Today they had Art. They learned about Origami (折り紙?. This is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. The children created their own origami dogs. They had a great time and were very proud of their puppies!

Our Holiday Breakfast and Celebration

2011-12-19T20:42:00.007-05:00

Our Holiday Pictures and Party - December 2011 on PhotoPeach
Our Holiday Party was all it could be. We started off with a wonderful breakfast. Students brought in everything from orange juice to pancakes and sausage. After the breakfast, children participated in making holiday crafts. Snowflake ornaments, reindeer food bags, snowman buckets, and decorating sugar cookies were some of the activities. After lunch, a student from last year shared Hanukkah traditions with the class and taught them how to play driedel.
Coach Hall visited and read "The Polar Express" to the children. It all culminated at the end of the day with second grade students running in and singing "Feliz Navidad" - a super ending to a terrific day. The Mall-ards will be back in January, 2012 - Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Very Happy New Year!!

Oh Where is the Gingerbread Man?

2011-12-14T20:54:00.008-05:00

The Gingerbread Man on PhotoPeach

For some reason, this year, this class has been into the "The Gingerbread Man" series of stories. We had read "The Gingerbread Man", "The Gingerbread Boy", "The Gingerbread Friends", "The Gingerbread Pirates" and other gingerbread folktales. In order to add to that excitement, today we made our own Gingerbread Man. The children stirred all the ingredients: cake mix, oil, eggs and water and we poured the batter into our gingerbread man mold. The smell was delightful in the room and the students couldn't help but stare at him baking in the oven. Then we had to leave the classroom for lunch. When we returned to class, the Gingerbread Man was GONE!! He slipped out of the oven and the children where determined they were going to find him. We went outside, to the Media Center, up to the second floor and we finally found him in Mrs. Alvarado's kindergarten classroom! We took him back to the classroom and decided to lock him in the office while we made a few more for the class to share. It was such a fun time and one the children will remember for a long time!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-13T21:24:00.003-05:00

Gingerbread Houses on PhotoPeach
It is a tradition in our classroom that we make Gingerbread Houses in Kindergarten. Parents supplied the needed sweets: candy canes, graham crackers, Skittles, cereal, pretzels, ice cream cones, gum drops, and icing. The children had a wonderful time creating their very own Gingerbread House!

The Christmas Tree

2011-12-11T15:00:00.008-05:00

The lobby Christmas tree is decorated with a string of pictures from every classroom in the school. We just had to get a picture with the kids all around the tree.

Don't Forget About Books!

2011-12-07T21:37:00.006-05:00

This is a great video that just had to be shared. "It's a Book" was written by Lane Smith. In this digital age of laptops, iPads, Nooks, and other technology, it's just great to sit back and read a book. During the holidays, remember to read to your child and add a few books under the tree. They don't need batteries!!

Bulletin Board: "Hear the Pitter-Pattern"

2011-12-05T22:10:00.009-05:00

Our bulletin board this month, "Hear the Pitter-Pattern" features our work in Writer's Workshop, Science, and Math. In Writer's Workshop, we have been creating pattern books much like the books they bring home each night to practice. They feature a general topic and then each page refers to that topic in some way. The books on this board were written after our nature walk a few weeks ago. The students described the items they collected by writing a pattern book about it. For instance, "I found a leaf." "It is pointy." In Math, they completed a pattern, created a pattern with stickers, created a hopscotch pattern and labeled these patterns, such as AABB, ABCABC, etc. For the past few weeks, we have been able to refer to patterns across the day in Reader's, Writer's and Math Workshops. The students are getting a true sense of what a pattern is and how they are found in the world all around us.

Better Not Pout Bags

2011-12-04T22:30:00.003-05:00

Here's one way to keep the holiday excitement in check -- it's our "Better Not Pout" bags. Each day in December the children are awarded a special treat in their bag for good behavior. The treats may include lollipops, stickers, pencils, candy canes and other miscellaneous goodies. The bags serve as a constant reminder that we are still in school and we have to adhere to our class promise. If there is someone who does not make good choices on a certain day, then the treat is not put in the bag (just for that day). The students are so excited with these bags and can not wait until the last day before winter break because that is when they receive their reward...so you "better not pout!"

Trimming the Tree

2011-11-30T21:08:00.005-05:00

It has been a tradition at our school for every class to decorate the enormous tree in the front lobby. We put each child's picture on a strand of stars that go around the Christmas tree. Today all of us went to the front lobby to add our decoration to it. When it is completely adorned, we will be taking our holiday class picture in front of it. Now we will start our countdown to the big day!!

Pow Wow Video 2011

2011-11-29T18:14:00.003-05:00

Below is a video (thank you Melanie Holtsman) of our Pow Wow day. This will explain the tradition and also show some of the happenings during this celebration.

Pow Wow 2011 from Chet the Eagle on Vimeo.

More Pow Wow Pictures

2011-11-24T10:38:00.015-05:00

These pictures will give you a glimpse into our wonderful Pow Wow day. Thank you to Melanie Holtsman, our school photographer, for capturing the spirit of the day.

Thanksgiving Turkeys and Happy Wishes

2011-11-22T21:19:00.006-05:00

With only two days of school this week, we decided that it would be a great time to talk about the Mayflower, Pilgrims and make hand-turkeys. We talked about all the people and things of which we are thankful: our moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, friends, our houses, the food we have to eat and the great school we attend. During this time time of giving thanks, we want to thank the Mall-ard parents. Sharing your child with us is our greatest joy. Thank you for all you do for our class. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday...and see everyone next week!! gobble, gobble :)

Pow Wow - The Best Ever 2011

2011-11-20T20:28:00.009-05:00

We were so excited that Friday was finally here...the day of our Pow Wow. We have learned about the Lenape tribe, practiced our dances, and had our attire ready to put on. After the the ceremony, students enjoyed a day of activities including: music, art, taste-testing and outside activities. The day was superior in every way and one that the children will remember for a long time. To read more about our Pow Wow and the history behind the event visit timmonstimes.blogspot.com

Pow Wow Kindergarten 2011 on PhotoPeach

Family Night - Making a Wigwam

2011-11-16T22:49:00.007-05:00

On Tuesday night families were invited to come into the classroom and make a wigwam. For several weeks we have been collecting plastic gallon milk and water jugs. The containers were cut off at the middle and it left us with a base to build the wigwam. Paper towel strips were cut up and glued to it. This represented the bark to cover the wigwam. It was a great night to have parents come in and work with their child on this project.
Making a Wigwam - Family Night on PhotoPeach

Lenape Family Project

2011-11-16T22:12:00.004-05:00

Lenape Nation on PhotoPeach

Students and parents were invited to research the Lenape tribe for homework. They were given a card board cut out to dress their Native American accordingly. Students presented their project to the class and told how they created it. Our Pow Wow is fast approaching. The children are learning so much about the "Original People."

Independent Reading in the Wigwam

2011-11-14T21:20:00.004-05:00

Each day we invite a few students into the wigwam for "Wigwam Reading". This special place at the entrance to our classroom is a great place to have a few benches for the kids to enjoy their books. Our "wigwam readers" love their books even more with the quietness inside the tent. Sometimes a little change of scenery and a comfortable spot makes a book a little more enjoyable. I wonder who will be our "wigwam readers" tomorrow :)

Learning About the Lenape

2011-11-12T20:53:00.010-05:00

If you were to enter and exit our classroom, you would be going through our wigwam. The children just love it and they are getting more excited by the day with our Pow Wow next Friday. Parents are helping with getting the Lenape dress and accessories ready. Students are also working on painting colorful shakers for the various dances we will be performing.

Today we read a wonderful book called "Rainbow Crow" (a Lenape Legend). This is the story symbolizing the value of selflessness and service to others. We love this story so much we want to share it with you - just click on the link - and we know you will also find this Lenape legend touching and heartwarming.

Writing Like Scientists

2011-11-09T21:34:00.010-05:00

Today for Writer's Workshop we went outside to observe and collect some of the world around us. First we adopted a tree which we will watch change as the seasons go by. The class chose the tree (above) to be "our class tree". Then we gathered leaves, flowers, bark, shells, stones, and sticks in large zip lock baggies. They picked up anything they found to be interesting. Tomorrow we will be observing our collection with magnifying glasses to really notice all of the special characteristics of the objects we found. Our researchers will be writing about how these items look and feel. They will be noticing the world around them and writing about it like never before. We can't wait to read all about their findings.

Children are proud of what they have found.

Looking for anything that looks interesting.

Knots on a Counting Rope - Our Pow Wow Begins

2011-11-08T21:19:00.009-05:00

Every November Kindergarten students at our school enjoy a Social Studies Unit on Native Americans. It culminates at our annual Pow Wow. Our class is the Lenape tripe. The Lenape are called the "Original People". They were a peaceful tribe from New York to Delaware. The Lenape helped early settlers learn how to fish in rivers and grow vegetables native to this land. Students learned that they did not have televisions, phones or iPads back then. The art of storytelling was valued as a way to pass history on from one generation to another. The story "Knots on a Counting Rope" by Bill Martin and John Archambault is about an Native American boy who hears the story of his birth from his grandfather. He was born very sick but the grandfather would not let him die. He had named him Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses and the boy did grow strong but the sickness left him blind. The homework this week was for parents to tell a story or stories to their child and then knot the counting rope every time they heard it so that they could one day tell the story. Enjoy listening to story "Knots on a Counting Rope."

The Science of Pumpkins

2011-11-04T22:09:00.014-04:00

There are so many activities related to pumpkins. For the past few weeks in Science, the children have been learning about this very special seasonal fruit. Oh yes, it is a fruit. We learned that fruits have seeds in them and vegetables do not.This was a big surprise to everyone. Children were invited to scoop out the pumpkin's pulp so that we could estimate the amount of seeds that were in it.

After all of the seeds were gathered, students wrote their guesses on a sticky note and placed it on the chart. The estimates ranges from 40 to 80,000!

Then they came up and placed ten seeds each onto plates so that we could count by 10's and find out the number. That pumpkin had over 300 seeds! Today our experiment was a sink and float activity whereby the students predicted if they thought various items might sink or float. There was a pen, paper clip, cup, bracelet, water bottle, stapler, gourd, and a few different sized pumpkins in the tub of water. The children were quite surprised to out what actually sank and floated.

Fire Prevention with Fireman Chris

2011-10-29T22:13:00.007-04:00

Fire Safety With Fireman Chris on PhotoPeach
Every year we are lucky enough to have Fireman Chris come to talk to the children about fire safety. He brought with him all of his equipment and a slide show of the various fires he has experienced. The main focus was centered on having the children see how different he looks with his firefighting equipment on and not to be afraid. The fact is that many youngsters may hide during a fire if they see and hear someone that looks scary - which is the way a child sees a fireman with his gear on. After the presentation, Fireman Chris read a book about fire safety. The students loved having him visit and so did we. Thanks again Fireman Chris for taking the time to teach our kindergarten students about fire safety.

Literacy Character Parade

2011-10-26T21:49:00.005-04:00

Literacy Character Parade Oct.2011 on PhotoPeach

It was the perfect time to take a few pictures before the parade started. We had characters from cowboys to Star Wars. After the parade, students came back to the room the enjoyed a variety of center activities. They made orange and black patterned bracelets, spider hats, ghoul bags, boo pops, and decorated sugar cookies. The fun continued into the night when the children came back to school and trick-or-treated through the halls and then outside to the Fall Carnival.

Halloween Reading and Rhyming Time

2011-10-24T21:25:00.006-04:00

Just before our Literacy Parade (pictures to come), Mr. Hector read a few books to the class. For this book, he had the children name the rhyming words they heard after he read the sentence. It was a great "treat" for our students to once again see someone enjoy reading as much as Mr. Hector. Right after the reading, the children lined up for the parade. They were all dressed as characters from the book they were carrying in the parade. Reading a few books was the perfect way to kick-off our literacy celebration.

Mother Goose With Some of Her Favorites

2011-10-20T21:08:00.013-04:00

The Mother Goose Pumpkin Masterpieces are on display in the front lobby of the school. Represented are: "Jack and Jill", "Three Blind Mice", "The Old Lady and the Shoe", "Hey Diddle Diddle", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", 'Little Miss Muffet", and "Hickory Dickory Dock", "Humpty Dumpty", and "Little Bo Peep." The children had a wonderful time creating their nursery rhyme pumpkins. Thanks again to are great parent volunteers for all of their help.

Common Core and More About the Standards

2011-10-19T21:31:00.009-04:00

The Mission Statement for the Common Core Standards is:
The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.
Our state is one of the 45 states that now have adopted these standards. The standards are not a curriculum but they do spell out what students should know and be able to do at the end of a school year. If you are interested in what these standards are, look on the extreme right side of this blog. You will see a tab labeled "Common Core App." Click on this widget and you will find out what the standards are for kindergarten through 12th grade. It is our goal to give our students the tools they will need to become successful in their lives and these common core standards are the first step in attaining that goal.

Discovering Number Worlds

2011-10-17T20:59:00.007-04:00

Today every student received a log in name and password to SRA Number Worlds. This program's math instruction is explicit, intense, and supportive. It takes students from where they are and systematically guides them to each new level of mathematical thinking. This is a supplemental activity that can be done at home to enhance your child's math skills. We are looking forward to hearing comments on how your child is enjoying these activities. A link "Number Worlds" can also be found on the side of this blog directly under the "Reading Tip of the Day."

Literary Pumpkins: Stage One

2011-10-13T21:19:00.010-04:00

Every year during this time, the lobby is festooned with Literary Pumpkins. Each class picks a favorite class book and they decorate a pumpkin or pumpkins to emulate the cover of the book. Throughout the years, our pumpkins have been "Piggies", "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and the "Australian ABCs". This year our pumpkins are going to be from Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose Book . There will be one big "Mother Goose" pumpkin and various nursery rhyme characters around her, for instance (The Dish and the Spoon, Humpty Dumpty, and Jack and Jill).
Today, we had parents come in to supervise the children's painting of their pumpkins. We can't wait to see the finished products tomorrow!!

Helping with color choices.

Having a lot of fun working with the children.

Llamas, Pajamas, and Dr. Horner

2011-10-08T19:28:00.042-04:00

On October 6, 2011, we were visited by a special visitor, Dr. Donnie Horner. He helped us celebrate the "Jumpstart - Read for the Record" campaign just as thousands of other kindergarten students from around the world were doing by reading Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. Dr. Horner is Jacksonville's Education Commissioner. Dr. Horner read Llama Llama Red Pajama like he wrote it! The children were on the edge of their seats with the way he interacted, questioned, and made connections with them and the book. It was a treat to have Dr. Horner in our class and hope he can visit again soon. As for our little llamas, they came dressed in their pajamas and some decided to stay in them all day!! That made for a very comfortable and memorable day at school!

"Llama, llama red pajama feels alone without his mamma." Dr. Horner asked the children if they knew how the llama felt and if they ever felt this way.

A group picture of the class with our guest reader.

Morning Readers

2011-10-01T15:32:00.006-04:00

In August, kindergarten students would meet in the dining room to be picked up and brought to their classrooms. Now that the children are familiar with the school and where their classroom is, they have the opportunity to use this early morning time to read a book while they are waiting for school to begin. Starting at 8:30 a.m., students are invited to sit outside their classroom and read and discuss books until the start of the school day @ 9:00. We have a wagon of books for them to choose from at all different genres and reading levels. The patrols that are assigned to our hallway are there to ensure each child's safety, make sure each child has a book, and then collect their blue communication folder and book in a bag. When the bell rings, the students hand back to the books to the patrols and line up to come into class. We are now ready to start the day!

Three Billy Goats Gruff - A Retelling

2011-09-25T20:24:00.015-04:00

Being able to retell a book that has been heard several times is a key indicator in a child's readiness to read. The above video is a retelling by "J" of the Norwegian folktale, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". He confidently tells the story with his own special flare. The details that children include during a retelling serve as a determining factor into seeing if a child may be an emergent reader. From the findings of E. Sulzby, (Professor of Education at the University of Michigan and is best known for her pioneering work in emergent literacy) (1985), states that children eventually move from pointing and labeling pictures in a book, to "reading" a story through the illustrations, to telling the story using book language, and finally to reading conventionally using the text of a story. Enjoy this very well done retelling of Norwegian folktale "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." (It may have to buffer.)

Writer's Workshop - Peer Sharing

2011-09-24T14:29:00.011-04:00

Our writing folders were jammed packed with all kinds of stories. There were stories about dog walks, visits to grandma's, pool parties, and trips to Orlando. Who knew that kindergarten children had so many "small moments" in their lives to share? On Friday, students cleaned out their folders of all the stories that have been accumulating over the past few weeks and put them into their writing portfolios. These beginning pieces are a wonderful foundation and visual reminder of a child's writing and reading progression. From drawing pictures, labeling beginning sounds, then beginning and ending sounds and finally to writing sentences are all steps in the process. Being able to read the writing back is also very important. Our writers are beginning to feel the power of words and of telling a story that comes from their every day life. The pictures show student's excitement from sharing their works with a writing partner.

We Know Where the Wild Things Are

2011-09-23T23:25:00.005-04:00

This week the children created their own "Max" from the book "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. Having an art project go along with a book makes it more meaningful for our kindergarteners. This is always a popular book from our "Star Book" collection of classics. These projects are two-fold - they have the students cutting, pasting and creating which are wonderful kindergarten skills. As they were completed, they went up on the board for all to admire.

PTA Popcorn Party

2011-09-23T23:15:00.005-04:00

Our class was gifted a popcorn party from the CCE PTA for 100% participation from our class. Thank you parents for joining the PTA. They do so much for us. For instance, at the beginning of the year every child in the school received a school tee shirt. The PTA replaces the mulch in our playgrounds, buys books for our classrooms, and sponsors numerous other activities and events. All we know is that the Mall-ard class is 100% happy that we have such great parents who joined our PTA. And, as you can see, the children really enjoyed their popcorn!

Book in a Bag - Daily Routine

2011-09-20T20:26:00.009-04:00

This week we started kindergarten homework. A major part of the homework is reading a book a night and logging it in their Book Log. Every day the children will have the chance to pick a book from their personal book bins that he/she wants to take home that night. They take the one they already read out and exchange it for a new one to take home. It could be a leveled book or "Star Book." A Star Book is a book that has been read aloud several times in the classroom. These may include The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Caps for Sale, Where the Wild Things Are, and miscellaneous fairy tales. They can picture walk through these books and orally retell the story as they are paging through it. The students are very excited to bring home the books they read in school. It is also a great way for families to share the reading together.

Environmental Print Is All Around Us

2011-09-19T20:15:00.019-04:00

Environmental print is the print that is all around us. We find it on road signs (STOP), stores (Publix), cereal boxes (Lucky Charms), and snacks (Chips Ahoy). These are often the first words that children recognize and can read without realizing it: McDonalds, Target, Burger King, and Chick-fil-A. Everyday in class, we are celebrating these words. The "print" that the students brought in is changed out everyday on the chart. By changing the logo, wrapper or sign on our "I Can Read" sentence strip holder, they are adding to their lists of words they can read. By reading this chart, students are not only becoming reacquainted with the environmental print but also the sight words "I", "can" and "read". This is such a fun activity for the class and they surprise themselves when they can "read" these words with confidence.

Kindergarten Open House

2011-09-16T22:39:00.005-04:00

Last night was Open House for Kindergarten. We thought it would be a good idea for parents to see the day in pictures. We created a slide show of "The Day in the Life of a Kindergartener". The day starts out with Calendar Math. We talk about the name of the day, the date, abd how many days until a certain birthday or event. Each day is counted and put on a counting strip in groups of ten. The day is also marked by a straw and bundled in groups of ten as time progresses. Next is the "Good Morning Song" followed by the "Class Promise". The "Morning Message" is printed on the board each day. This is where we find out the highlights of our day and what is planned. The children find letters and letter sounds, sight words, and fill in missing letters. Writer's Workshop, Reader's Workshop, Math and Science round out the day. A few days a week they go to P.E., Music, Art and/or the Library. We also have Developmental Centers where children have the opportunity to work on puzzles, Play-doh, blocks and Legos. The thirty-six students we have grown so much in the eighteen days we have been in school and we are enjoying every minute watching them learn and grow.

Humpty Dumpty Sits On Our Wall

2011-09-12T20:29:00.013-04:00

An important part of the first nine weeks of Kindergarten is our Nursery Rhyme unit.
When children hear and repeat these rhymes, they are becoming aware of identifying and manipulating sounds in language (phonemic awareness). Research in the past decade has shown that phonemic awareness is a predictor of success in learning to read. Once children have some degree of phonemic awareness and letter knowledge they can begin to decode the letter/sound correspondences that make up our written language. Nursery rhymes provide opportunities to hear rhyme, blend and substitute sounds.
In these pictures, students drew, cut out, water colored and decorated their own Humpty Dumpty's. Now they are sitting up on our wall...we hope they don't have a great fall too soon!

Reader's Workshop - Independent Reading

2011-09-09T21:22:00.012-04:00

Each day we have Reader's Workshop. This hour long workshop is divided into several parts. First is a mini lesson. This is a ten to fifteen minute block of instructional time that teaches a specific reading skill or strategy. The students go back and practice what was learned and then come back to share their discoveries such as what they learned, wondered or noticed. This week we practiced "Independent Reading". This requires children to "read" books from their book bin for ten minutes. "Star Books" which students have heard several times and can "read" by themselves are in their bins. For now the Star Books are "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and "Caps for Sale". These books will expand to "Where the Wild Things Are", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Harry the Dirty Dog", and "Corduroy". Also in their boxes are their nursery rhyme poem folders, favorite books from home, and Level A beginning readers. This ten minute block of time will be lengthened as stamina increases.
It is important to note that research supports the fact that during primary and elementary grades, even a small amount of independent reading helps increase students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling facility, understanding of grammar, and knowledge of the world. (Bernice E. Cullinan, New York University). So you can see why giving students this independent reading time is very important.

Homework - Beginning Sounds

2011-09-08T21:22:00.005-04:00

The next step after kindergarten students begin recognizing specific letters of the alphabet, is working on beginning sounds. Learning the beginning sounds of letters is one of the first steps in learning to read. This week's homework assignment was for children to look around their house for small objects that begin with the same sound as their name. A paper bag was provided for the students to put these objects in. Today we started to share the bags that have come in so far and tomorrow we will finish. In this picture we have a car, keys, crown, comb, crayon, colored pencil, cards, cookies, a cat, and keys. Do you know what sound this kindergarten student's name starts with? :)

Literacy Stations in Reader's Workshop

2011-09-07T20:31:00.005-04:00

After ten minutes of independent reading, we open what is called "Literacy Stations". During this time, children have the opportunity to explore the books, charts and writing all around them. The stations that are now open are "Read the Room" where students use pointers and point to the words. "Write the Room" includes writing whatever they see on clipboards. This includes student's names, the alphabet, and color words. "Magnetic Letters" are used on cookie sheets for name practice. "Star Names" are cut up names (in envelopes) and students put the name in the correct order. "Big Books" are used for reading and pointing and ABC puzzles are a wonderful letter reinforcement activity. The children look forward to this time to explore the classroom and learn so much doing these hands-on activities. We will be introducing more Literacy Stations as the weeks progress to reinforce and challenge new learning.

Caps for Sale - A Retelling

2011-09-06T21:32:00.003-04:00

All it takes is a couple of sentence strips, a tree drawn on the board, a peddler, and some monkeys to retell one of our favorite books "Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina. After reading the book a few times, students had the chance to make the book come alive in Reader's Theater. Our peddler placed the caps very carefully on top of his head and yelled, "Caps, caps for sale...50 cents a cap!" After re-enacting the book, children now feel comfortable "reading" it by paging through and telling the story. This is a very important step in the reading progression and a precursor to actual reading.

Writing Samples Month-by-Month

2011-08-30T20:31:00.014-04:00

Our kindergarten students are getting accustomed to the daily rituals and routines of the day. There is always morning work at their seats. This varies from day to day. It could be letter, number or name practice, an art project, or other hands-on activities (such as making the "Three Billy Goats" stick puppets) that we completed on Monday. There are always books in the middle of every table. When the children are finished their task, they may "read" until the papers are collected.
Another activity that the students complete is a monthly writing sample. At the end of each month, students are invited to draw and write about anything. For this first writing sample, it is very interesting to see how comfortable each child is in his/her writing experience. Some will draw a picture, some will start to label beginning sounds, and some will be able to write a few words. Below is a sampling of the August writing. At the end of each month, another sample will be taken. It is amazing to see the amount of growth that can take place in one month.

Here we have a drawing.

This is the start of labeling.

Here we have color words and words that she is confident in knowing how to spell (yellow sun, me, black, grass).

Ten Black Dots Marks the End of Week One

2011-08-26T22:03:00.007-04:00

It is hard to believe but the first week of Kindergarten is over. Looking back, we have been very busy - the way Kindergarten should be. We learned new songs, played new games, danced, read books, painted with watercolors, played outside, worked on puzzles, drew pictures, experienced an assembly with Omega-man, had a fire drill, made a class promise, and so much more. No wonder everyone slept so well this week!!
Today in Math, we read "Ten Black Dots" by Donald Crews. This is a counting book where children notice the circle shape in the world around them. Students were invited to use their imaginations and use dot stickers to create their own dot picture. Afterward, they each shared their creation with the class.

Oh, one of the best things about today was that it was fun Friday! Below is an incredible treat that was shared with the class today.

Ten Apples Up On Top

2011-08-25T22:58:00.005-04:00

One of our favorite books to read during the first week of school is Dr. Seuss' "Ten Apples Up On Top." In addition to hearing rhyming words, counting is integrated into this wonderful book about an apple-balancing competition between a dog, a tiger, and a lion. Today, the children were invited to draw themselves and put any number from one to ten apples on top of their heads. We had some unbelievable balancing acts going on with the apples! In addition, we had a lot of laughs when we modeled the activity by balancing apples on top of our heads :)

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Day

2011-08-24T21:37:00.011-04:00

Today we celebrated the third day of kindergarten with Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault's rhythmic chant Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This read-aloud is always a class favorite. The alphabet comes to life as the letters travel up the coconut tree and back down again. Students were read the big book and then created their own coconut trees with the letters from their name traveling up the tree.

Students also had time to explore pattern blocks. These blocks come in various shapes including hexagons, trapezoids, and triangles. They eventually discover how the shapes fit into each other and what shapes can make other shapes. Discovery and exploration is a big part of kindergarten and giving the children this time to talk about their findings with each other is very important.
Other activities today included singing, dancing, drawing, and more read-alouds. Today was a wonderful Chicka Chicka Day :)

Settling in on day two - The Class Promise

2011-08-23T20:24:00.011-04:00

It is amazing to see the transformation in children even after one day in school. They went directly to their cubbies to drop off their lunches and backpacks and then to their seats. Each child was given a dotted sheet with his/her name on it for practice. When finished, they were encouraged to "read" a book in the book bin placed at each table.
Our focus today was determining what our "class promise" should be. We read books on friendship, following rules, and having respect for one another. Then we asked, "What do you think are some good ideas to help the class run smoothly?" We had responses such as being nice to each other, not to hit or be mean, listen to the teacher and waiting your turn. These wonderful responses were turned into 1) being a first-time listener; 2) being kind to others; 3) being ready to learn: and 4) having self-control (which was a direct student response). We all agreed that these were great rules to abide by. Then each child was invited to draw his/her face and it was attached to the newly created "Class Promise". We will recite this promise every morning to help us remember to be good school citizens.

Incredible First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-22T21:36:00.015-04:00

It was an "Incredible" first day of kindergarten. We started the day with two of our favorite books. "LLama, Llama Misses Mama" by Anna Dewdney and the classic "Corduroy" by Don Freeman. After "Llama, Llama" each child had the opportunity to hold the stuffed animal llama and we played "Hickity, Pickity." This is where we chant, "Hickity, Pickity bumble bee, won't you say your name for me?" Then the child says his/her name and we clap out the syllables and then whisper his/her name. Then the llama was passed to the next person and that person was introduced. We stretched with "The Freeze Dance" and then we noticed that Corduroy had lost his button. We read the book and then went searching the school looking for his lost button. We went to the Art room, Media Center, and playground which is where we finally found it!! In this way, the students received a mini tour of the school and we were so glad to find that button!!

After lunch, we decorated our very own super hero capes and couldn't wait to put them on. There was so much more in store for our first day kindergarteners. A special assembly was prepared to "WOW" the students.

"Omega Man" put on a show for the children where he bent iron, ripped a telephone book in half, and lifted two children on a bar. He told them they can be whatever they wanted and not to let anyone keep them from their dreams. He spoke of bullies and how we have the super power to be dream-makers and stay away from those dream-breakers.

All of our dream-makers will be back tomorrow with their incredible super powers to enjoy the second day of kindergarten. "Oh the places we will go..."

New School Theme: Empowering the Future

2011-08-14T20:01:00.004-04:00

We are so excited with our new theme "Empowering the Future"! Our Kindergarten students will be "The Incredible Kindergarten Class" and we will be discovering lots of superhero strengths among each individual student. We can not wait to get started!

Chets Creek Elementary – Empowering the Future! from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Goodbye Hog Heaven - Returning to Kindergarten

2011-08-09T21:15:00.007-04:00

It was the last day of school and you would think a happy day but not for our Hog Heaven students. The realization of moving on to a new grade...being big second graders was a bit much. As the students were in the hall saying goodbye to the fifth graders, they were overcome with emotion as they too are moving on. We are confident that they will love the rest of their years at Chets Creek and visit us often. The "Hog Heaven" banner is coming down and we are getting ready for a new group of Kindergarten students in a few weeks. We will be known as "The Mall-ard's Incredible Kindergarten" utilizing our new "Superheros" theme. Thank you so much parents and friends of Hog Heaven. The joy we shared with your children is priceless. And now, we can't wait to greet our new batch of incredible students!!

Work Over Time Bulletin Board - From K to First

2011-06-12T15:36:00.004-04:00

The last bulletin board for the year is called the "Work Over Time" bulletin board. Because we have looped these students from Kindergarten to First Grade, we have kept writing samples from each child. The title "Turning the Page to a New Chapter" is appropriate in that these children are now moving from "The Mall-ards Hog Heaven" to the second grade. Included on this board is a monthly writing sample from kindergarten and then varying genre samples throughout their first grade year. These samples represent the excellent gains in confidence and ability to write in multiple genres. Going on to second grade, the students are equipped with the tools necessary to build on their solid foundation. Congrats to R & H for their representative samples for this board and we will be looking for their writing on future bulletin boards in the years to come.

End of the Year with Our Dads "Dads & Dogs"

2011-06-06T21:33:00.008-04:00

At the end of first grade, we have a celebration called "Dads & Dogs". Our dads are invited into the classroom for a slide show and song and then we have a BBQ lunch with hot dogs (not family dogs)! It is a real treat for the dads to come in an be the focus of our celebration. They are the unsung heroes of our student's learning success and it is our pleasure to give them the attention they deserve. The children made up their own acrostic poem using the letters FATHER to think of words that represent what their father means to them. After the slide show, we went over to the Wilkenings (who live next door to the school) and had a BBQ hot dogs with all the trimmings supplied by the moms. It was a great day for some wonderful dads, uncles, grandpas and other family reps that made this so memorable for their kids!
Thanks to Romy, Chip, Melanie and all who have helped us make "Dads and Dogs" a special day.

Yoga Class in Hog Heaven

2011-05-25T19:44:00.008-04:00

The Mall-ard students were very fortunate to have one of our parents teach a children's yoga class this week. Mrs. Leigh CJ teaches yoga and thought it would be fun to have the children learn some techniques. They were so excited and really got into the moment. Yoga is known for building confidence and self-esteem. It can improve concentration and focus. It is excellent for bodies and health and it promotes balance, flexibility, coordination and strength. The students had a wonderful time learning from Mrs. L and we appreciate the experience you gave them...we are now centered!!

Science of Plants

2011-05-14T14:10:00.012-04:00

In Science, students have been learning about the parts of a plant and the specific function of each part. We employ the 5 E's when starting a new science unit. First we engage the learner. In other words, getting the student interested in the subject matter. Exploring gives the child the chance to have hands-on experience and to start forming questions. Questions are answered during the "Explain" part of science. Extending and then Evaluating their knowledge are the last of the 5 E's. Children had two different kinds of plants at each table. They listed what was the same and different about each plant. For instance, they both had leaves but they were different in size and shape. They shared their findings and then posed questions. "What do plants need to survive?" and "What are the functions of the leaves, stems, and roots?" were discussed. Our pre-intern Mrs. D.S. was wonderful in explaining the parts of plant. Their knowledge was then evaluated by having them label and list the plants parts and why the plant needs them to survive.

Mystery Reader - Fireman Chris Gets Fired Up About Fire Safety

2011-05-13T21:27:00.014-04:00

We had a very special mystery reader this week - it was our old friend Fireman Chris. Fireman Chris shared a slide show stressing fire prevention and safety with the students. He talked about the importance of a safety ladder if you are on the second floor, staying low to the ground to get air, and having a meeting place for the family outside the home if there is a fire. Students learned tips such as touching the door with the back of their hand to feel if it is hot. Of course, he reviewed "Stop, drop and roll" with them. He read the "Magic School Bus Gets All Fired Up" to the children and had a question/answer session afterward. Thank you Fireman Chris for coming to our class during your off time to discuss fire safety with our class. They learned a lot and enjoyed your visit.

Mother's Day - The Mall-ard's Way

2011-05-09T21:53:00.006-04:00

Mother's Day is BIG in the Mall-ard's classroom. On Friday, students invited their mothers to a special "Mother's Day Breakfast". It started with a short video called "What I like best about my mom" where each child mentioned something he/she especially liked about his/her mom. This included her famous chocolate chip cookies, reading and playing games with them. The children sang three songs (one was done in sign language) and then a special slide show was presented (below). Mrs. Holtsman's special project for the last two years has been to take a picture of each child one day a month. The results were great and tear-jerker to many mothers as they watched their child growing before their eyes. We finished with breakfast and coffee punch. At the tables were specially made gifts including a beaded black and white necklace that each child made and a recipe book created by the children of the favorite things their moms make. It was a great way and kick-off off the Mother's Day weekend. Thank you Mall-ard Moms for a wonderful two years with your child...we enjoyed every minute with each of them.

Untitled from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Letter Writing and America's White Table

2011-05-01T21:10:00.014-04:00

A friend asked if we could participate in a special "surprise" for some World War II veterans who will be visiting Europe this month. On the way home in the plane when they think the day is done, the Vets will have a "Mail Call" with letters from students and family members telling them how proud they are of their service and how much it means to all of us. Of course we were very excited to participate in this project. In an effort to explain how brave the men and women of the armed forces are, we read a previous book of the month called, "America's White Table" by Margot Theis Raven. The White Table is set in many mess halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and solemn, it is the table where no one will ever sit. This story is about a little girl's Uncle John and the white table they set for him. Each item placed on the table has a special significance.
Writing these letters couldn't have come at a better time. The students have been writing during our persuasive writing unit and writing to the servicemen came very naturally. Below is a sampling of the student's heartfelt gratitude of the remarkable job the armed forces has done for all of us. I am sure they will enjoy reading these notes from some very special first grade students.

Dear Sir,
How was your trip? My name is Grace. I'm in first grade in the Mall-ard's class. Thank you for serving our country. We just read a book called, "America's White Table." Thank you for letting us have freedom. you were fearless. And thanks for stopping the war. You did a good job! Have a great day sir.
Sincerely,
Grace E.

Dear Army men,
Thank you for risking your life for us. You are so brave and fearless. Thank you for saving our country.Thank you for freeing us.

Spring Fling and Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T21:28:00.004-04:00

We had a great time at Ryan's house for our Spring Fling and Egg Hunt. We walked over to his house for our "field trip" into a backyard that was ready for 35 children to have a great time. This picture was taken right before the egg hunt began...and were they ready for it. Each child was assigned a number. In this way, it helped keep the egg hunt going for longer then two minutes. Each child had 12 eggs to find. Coach Hall was there for organized games and Mrs. Holtsman took great pictures. Thanks to Romy for inviting all of us to her house and to the parents who sent in the great food and extra treats for lunch. It was an Egg Hunt to remember!!

April Mystery Reader - Passover & Easter Bunny Books

2011-04-25T21:10:00.006-04:00

We had a very special mystery reader last week. Not only was she a former student who is now in fifth grade but she is the sister of one our first grade students. Reading "The Matzah Man" by Naomi Howland and "The Easter Bunny is Missing" by Steve Metzger, S. had the students listening to every word. The "The Matzah Man" is basically the Passover version of "The Gingerbread Man" and all children love that book. In "The Easter Bunny is Missing" no one could really replace the bunny with his monumental job of delivering decorated eggs but several animals tried. "S" had special treats for the children after her reading. Each student received a sampling of Matzah and chocolate Kisses. "J." was very proud of his sister and the children loved hearing the books and of course the wonderful treats.

FCAT Spirit Week

2011-04-13T19:55:00.011-04:00

In an effort to support our third, fourth and fifth grade students during their intensive week of FCAT, we had our first annual "Spirit Week." The FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) is the standardized test used in the primary and secondary public schools of Florida. The kindergarten, first and second grade students enjoyed getting dressed up each day last week. On Monday, they were farmers (because of our theme), Tuesday was mismatched clothes day. Wednesday was wild hair and sock day. For Thursday, we pulled out our oldest Chets Creek tee-shirts (we get one every year designed for the theme), and for the finale, on Friday the children came dressed as rock stars. At this age, our first graders know that the FCAT is a big test and that they will be taking it one day. But for now, they just enjoyed the excitement of Spirit Week and being a part of it all. Rock On!!

"Cheesy Little Stories" Bulletin Board

2011-04-04T22:05:00.009-04:00

The April bulletin board boasts of writing big stories in little packages. Our "cheesy little stories" are fictional writings whereby the students wrote about themselves and Kevin Henkes' characters. These moments are wonderful displays of the children's imaginations running away with these whimsical characters. They include: "Wemberly's Dentist Trip", "Lilly Goes on a Cruise", "Lilly's Sleepover", "Lilly's Masterpiece", "Victor Meets Victor", and "Wemberly at the Dinosaur Exhibit"." This was a great way to extend the author study and have it even more meaningful for the class.

March Mystery Readers

2011-03-24T21:09:00.011-04:00

It was March Madness for our Mystery Readers this month. Today we had Mr. & Mrs. S. dressed up as Vincent Van Dough and Leonardo Da Munchi for the book "The Great Pizza Contest" by Riley Roam. The contest is set in the town of Mozzarella where one thought the dough was more important and the other thought it was the sauce. This was a wonderful book with the theme of conflict resolution. They did an excellent job portraying these two characters.

Last week our Mystery Reader, Mr. M., came dressed as a baseball player and read two baseball books "Casey Back at the Bat" by Dan Gutman. The mighty Casey gets a second chance at bat...what will happen this time? The other book was called "Oliver's Game" by Matt Tavares. This is the story of grandfather who shares his love of baseball with his grandson...and a baseball secret from his past.

And of course, Mrs. R. was our "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" by Kevin Henkes imposter and entertained the students with her rendition of that story.
It was a great month for bringing books to life with our Mystery Readers!

Letter Combinations and Blends Chart

2011-03-23T20:32:00.006-04:00

We have had several requests for the above "Letter Combination" chart. We alternate this chart with the below "Blends" chart every day. Students chant it as "ay, ey, ai See kids play, etc." They see these letter combinations in their reading and use them in their writing. These two charts are also kept in easy eye-sight for students to refer to as needed. Smaller charts are also put into their writing folders and reading bins earlier in the year to use as reference tools.

Kevin Henkes Celebration Day!

2011-03-21T19:41:00.012-04:00

Well, the day finally came...and oh what a great one it was. We celebrated the end of our Kevin Henkes Author Study. Students were welcomed to four different centers by visiting other classrooms. There was "Fun at Lilly's" where they made purple purses, wallets, and ties like Mr. Slinger's. They brought in board games to play at "Chester and Wilson's House." The other two centers were Kevin Henkes bingo and a movie and "cheesy snacks". In the afternoon, they were treated to a mystery reader, "Lilly" who read her book "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse." Students wore black mouse t-shirts that they made earlier in the week. It was a festive author celebration that all the students thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you to Melanie for the great pictures.

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Reader's Theater: A Weekend with Wendell

2011-03-18T19:53:00.005-04:00

The students have been practicing their Reader's Theater scripts during Reader's Workshop. Each week they rotate and practice a different story from the Kevin Henkes Author Study with a different group of children. This video is a sampling of the Reader's Theater performances that have been going on for the past few weeks. By acting out these scripts, student's fluency has been enhanced along with comprehension. Also, by knowing these stories so well, they have been writing quality Response to Literature pieces in Writer's Workshop. Enjoy the following performance of "A Weekend with Wendell."

Untitled from Cheryl Dillard on Vimeo.

Our Own "Box Full of Treats"

2011-03-16T21:22:00.029-04:00

As our Kevin Henkes Author Study draws to a close, the last week has been devoted to utilizing the small moment stories in "A Box of Treats". This is a collection of five "small moment" stories: "Lilly's Chocolate Heart", "Owen's Marshmallow Chick", "Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star", "Julius's Candy Corn" and "Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick". In each short story, a treat of some kind is the focus, namely,an ice cream star, peppermint stick and chocolate heart. Each treat represents a different holiday or season. Using these books as our inspiration, students were invited to think of their own "small moment" story and include one of their favorite Kevin Henkes' character. They were reminded that even though this is a small book, it still needs to include a great beginning, details and events with a problem and solution, and an ending that "stays in the moment". The results have been amazing. We now have "Owen's Birthday", "Wemberly's Day @ Disney", "Lilly's Christmas", "Owen Lost His Blanket at the Zoo", "Lilly's Masterpiece" and "Wemberly's Dentist Trip".

The following story is Caroline's treat to all of us -- "Wemberly's Dentist Trip". It is delightful to see how author's craft is used in this piece especially reading the mouse's words in the pictures.

Wemberly's Dentist Trip

One hot sunny day, Wemberly went to the dentist.

Wemberly was worried that Petal won't get her teeth checked.

Miss Caroline called Wemberly in the dentist room. (Can Petal come?)

Then Wemberly forgot Petal. Wemberly was worried that she had cavities.

Miss Caroline said, "Open Wide" to Wemberly. Wemberly was trying to think about Petal. (When is Petal coming?")

Wemberly thought that Petal was lost forever. "I found her," said Miss Caroline.

But Miss Caroline said, "Wemberly has cavities." (What if Petal has cavities?)

Kevin Henkes Puppets for Retelling

2011-03-13T15:04:00.004-04:00

Students had a wonderful time creating characters puppets from Kevin Henkes books for homework. They had the opportunity to pick their favorite characters and retell the story using the puppets they created at home. Children practiced with others for a short time before their presentations. The students know these stories inside out so having their puppets act out their lines was no problem at all. All of the practice with retelling the stories and Reader's Theater presentations have layed the ground work for excellent response to literature writing. There are a few shows we still have to see and are enjoying each of every minute of them.

Read Aloud with our Principal

2011-03-12T21:31:00.018-05:00

Principal Phillips is "mad about books" by declaring "March Madness" as the time when she reads aloud to each class a past book of the month. She visited us this week and brought one of her favorite's called, "Apple Batter" by Deborah Turney Zagwyn. This book is a story of perseverance and optimism. The main character, Loretta loves apples and wants to grow them, and her son Delmore loves baseball and wants to become a hitter. The woman can grow many things but not apples and the boy can catch but not hit. Eventually, she plants apple seeds and he continues to practice. "One for the past, one for the present, and one for the future" is a repeated phrase said throughout the book. With time and patience, apples appear and the boy hits the ball. The students loved the book but especially loved seeing and hearing their principal read and make meaningful connections to the story. Mrs. Phillips hit a home run with her reading of "Apple Batter" in Hog Heaven!

Creating Bird Habitats in Science

2011-03-07T21:48:00.006-05:00

In Science, we have been working on the 5 E's with the Big Idea "Interdependence".
The Essential Question was "What do animals need to survive?" The standard states,
"Through observation, recognize that all plants and animals, including humans, need the basic necessities of air, water, food, space and shelter." Over the course of a few weeks, student's became engaged and explored a number of animals that live in the air, land, and water. The unit culminated as our scientists made birdhouses that will help meet the needs of birds in our area. They used what they have learned about birdhouses to help guide them. The students worked in groups to create their birdhouses and had made sure their shelter included a water and food area. Their creations were innovative and thought out. Any bird would be proud to live in one of these houses!!

Reader's Theater - Kevin Henkes Stories

2011-03-02T21:09:00.009-05:00

We are now in the middle of our Kevin Henkes Author Study and the students are becoming very comfortable with the characters from his books. They feel strong connections to Chrysanthemum, Lilly, and Owen together with the other very likable personalities in his books. The children have been practicing their parts in Reader's Theater plays for the past two weeks. In the first week, groups were set up and parts assigned for individuals in the play "Chrysanthemum." Each of the groups presented and did a fine job. This week, each group is practicing a different Kevin Henkes books. Groups practice their lines during Reader's Workshop. They are learning to read with fluency and intonation during the readings of these scripts and enjoying every minute of it. Students are learning the importance of following along and to not let the group down during their performance. These practices are taken very seriously and interesting to observe. In a Reader's Theater presentation, scripts are held by the readers and lines are not memorized. The focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and gestures. In this way, comprehending the text becomes more meaningful and fun for the students which is the most important thing!!

Kevin Henkes Author Study

2011-02-23T21:57:00.011-05:00

Over the past few weeks, our Reader's and Writer's Workshops have been immersed in the works of Kevin Henkes. Characters such as Chrysanthemum who is named after a flower gets made fun of at school and Lilly who is asked several times by the teacher to put her items away during class, and Owen who loves his blanket so much but is getting ready to go to school and cannot take it with him - are all characters that the children are making meaningful text-to-self and text-to-text connections. Finding so much in common with these characters make them real and lovable to the students.

We have been working on story elements (the characters, setting, problem, order of events, etc.) using graphic organizers. They have also been comparing and contrasting books and characters using Venn Diagrams. By learning to use these organizers in Reader's Workshop, it helps to develop their stories in a Response to Literature in Writer's Workshop. A class developed Response to Literature rubric was created in order for students to gauge how their writing compares to a standard response. These responses include a great beginning that makes sure to have the author's name and in the first few lines of the response. They learn how to start with a question or statement. The response also has a short retelling or summary of the story with a connection and then a closing which can give a personal feeling from the book.

We can't wait to share these writing responses in future posts and we know your response will probably be like that of Mr. Slinger's in Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse when all he could say was --"Wow"!

Computer Lab Time

2011-02-15T21:03:00.016-05:00

Students had the opportunity to go to the Tech Lab with Mrs. Holtsman and get some practice on Apple Laptops. Mrs. Holtsman, our Technology Specialist, showed the students some specifics of the keyboard, such as using shift key, the colon and the backslashes. These are very important beginning lessons in learning how to log on specific sites. They had a lot of fun logging onto to a sight called http://www.buildyourwildself.com/.
We can not wait to go back and learn more about different learning sites.

Listening and watching how Mrs. Holtsman is logging onto the laptop.

Echoes Across the Day

2011-02-11T21:41:00.009-05:00

We are very excited about our bulletin board this month. It features our Science space unit and also reflects on how we incorporated that theme throughout the day's lessons to make them more meaningful. It features Reader's and Writer's Workshops, Science and Math. In Reader's Workshop, students were learning about nonfiction conventions such as labeling, closeups, comparisons and cutaways. They made a book that sampled each of these major conventions. The piece chosen came from a book which compares Earth and Venus because they are just about the same size. In Writer's Workshop, another child chose to write a report on the stars and planets. In Math, we used star and planet word problems, and in Science, students created their own constellations and named them. These "Echoes Throughout the Day" unify the teaching and learning for the students. It is a wonderful way to bring cohesiveness to a unit and theme. Also, it worked out superbly with our "Sleepover Under the Stars" event!

100th Day of School for First Grade

2011-02-07T21:35:00.008-05:00

On Thursday, we marked another milestone in First Grade - the 100th day of school! It is a very exciting day because we have been counting each day since the first day of school just waiting for the momentous 100th day event. Each day has been noted by affixing a dot sticker in a tens-grid. Students are taught place value using these tens-grids and also taught the base ten number system utilizing counting the days and marking the calendar. We enjoyed many activities that centered on the number of the day 100. In Reader's Workshop, every child read three or four books to equal 100. Afterward, they signed their names to the chart (above). In Writer's Workshop, each child was given "a hundred dollar bill" and asked to write about what they would buy with it which included cars, houses, and lots of animals!. They filled in numbers on a hundreds chart and stretched for 100 seconds. During lunch, we hid 100 Hershey Kisses around the classroom and when the children returned, they had a great time finding them and placing them on the big 100's chart (below). The day was capped off with "A Hundred Day Snack" whereby parents sent in in items such as Skittles, M&Ms, pretzel sticks, mini Oreos, crackers, red hots, and gummy bears. The children were given a big tens-grid and placed ten items in each section to create their own 100 day snack. Another great day...the hundredth day...in first grade!

"Make Way for Ducklings" Mystery Reader

2011-02-04T23:02:00.006-05:00

Our very own Coach Hall was our mystery reader this week. Coach Hall reminisced about hearing her Grandmother T read her a favorite book called "May Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey. Coming from the Boston area, this book mentions familiar locales, from Beacon Hill to Louisburg Square, and over the Charles River--often from a duck's-eye view. This story is about Mr. and Mrs. Mallard Duck who need to find a safe place to raise their eight ducklings. It follows the adventures of the ducklings with a happy ending on a little island pond where they follow Swan boats for peanuts. Afterward, Coach Hall had the children acting out different animals, including ducks, lions, and snakes. Then she shared some Boston cream cakes with the children for another very happy ending!!

Word Family Focus During Skills Block

2011-02-02T23:05:00.008-05:00

During the Skills Block portion of our day, we focus on two word families a week. On Monday, we introduce the word families. This week was the "-ake" and the "-ide" families. By writing on these blank picture cards, students brainstorm words that are in that family. For instance in the "-ake" family, there is rake, make, and stake. We review these words daily by pointing to each and having them say the rhyme and onset together "r-ake - rake." By teaching the children word families, they learn how to make multiple words from just knowing part of word. We say, "If I can spell "-ake", I can spell rake, take, and make." By the third day, students pick four words from the family. They draw a picture and write a short sentence using each word. In this way, we can check to see if they understand the word and use it appropriately in the sentence. Below is a sample of the activity.

More Pictures From Sleepover

2011-01-28T11:47:00.005-05:00

The "Night Under the Stars" was just the beginning. After a few weeks learning about the solar system and constellations, in Reader's, Writer's and Science Workshops, the culminating activity was the "day" of Sleepover. It started with a parade, breakfast, dancing, and then center activities. They created pictures of galaxies, learned how to work together like the rings of Saturn, ventured in an imaginary rocket launch, learned space songs in music and had a great party in the Media Center with Miss KK and friends leading the way. There was a puppet show with the theme "You can be anything...even an astronaut." There was dancing, songs, popcorn and movie - just like at a real overnight sleepover. The following pictures were taken my our own Mrs. Holtsman. It was such a wonderful day!

Sleepover Under the Stars - Part One

2011-01-22T12:23:00.012-05:00

Blast off into the first phase of our sleepover -- to galaxies far, far away!!

Mallon Dillard Astronauts 2011 from Patricia Wallace on Vimeo.

First Grade Prepares for their "Sleepover"

2011-01-14T21:53:00.005-05:00

For the past few weeks, students have been learning about our solar system in Reader's, Writer's, and Science Workshops in preparation for their "Sleepover". This is the big event for our first grade students. The "Sleepover" has evolved from reading books about sleepovers years ago to a unit about stars, planets and space. The students do not really sleepover night at the school, but next Thursday on the official day, they will be wearing their pajamas, slippers, and parading around the school as if they were. Last night was the official kick off of the sleepover called, "Night Under the Stars". Students and parents came to school at night and had the opportunity to gaze at the Moon and Jupiter through telescopes. Then they came in the classroom to watch "The Magic School Bus Gets Lost In Space" and enjoyed Moon Pies and Cosmic Brownies.
Learning about the solar system and constellations has given the first grade sleepover more meaning and has made it a genuine learning adventure for the students. They are keenly interested in knowing more about what is outside our Earth and they are learning how precious it is being the only planet with air and water. Hopefully we will have a future astronaut or two in our class who was inspired by this unit on space...next week...our sleepover festivities!!

P.E. Fun in the New Year

2011-01-05T21:35:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year 2011 from The Mall-ards! We are just getting adjusted to our routine after two weeks off for the holidays. Today the students had fun in P.E. stacking cups on a cool January morning in Florida. They were very proud of their accomplishment and asked the P.E. teacher to take their picture so that it could go on the blog. It is amazing to see how much technology is a part of these young children's lives and how aware they are of how important it is as a communication tool. They have been born into a time that has them surrounded by computers of one kind or another - iPhones, iPads, iPods, and ereaders of one kind or another. Well, just like they expected, their picture is up on the blog of the fun they had one day in P.E. stacking cups...how nice that is to share with you.

Holiday Crafts to Brighten the Season

2010-12-17T22:21:00.004-05:00

After our Holiday Breakfast, the rest of the morning was centered on creating some holiday favorite crafts. As you can see, it took a lot of parent help at each table in order to keep thirty-five children organized and moving in order to successfully complete each one. We had snowman hot chocolate, reindeer hand bags, popsicle stick snowman ornaments, to name but a few. The best part of the morning was having us all eat a great breakfast together, provided by our parents and of course the fun crafts. This is a special time of year and "The Mall-ards" would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Nadolig LLawen, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Maligayang Pasko, I'd Miilad said oua sana saida, Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan, Sretan Bozic, Glædelig Jul, Vrolijk Kerstfeest
Hyvaa Joulua, and/or Kala Christouyenna!

Mystery Readers Galore!!

2010-12-17T21:44:00.006-05:00

The last few weeks were highlighted by our "Mystery Readers" who delighted the children by reading some of their favorite books to the class. Claire L. read "Oh Christmas Tree" Phineas and Ferb series by Scott Peterson and then donated the book to the class! Melanie H. was the Cajun Red Riding Hood complete with the costume and accent. She read "Petite Rouge" by Mike Artell. Crystal C. came in with "Frosty the Snowman" and Carmen D. read one of her favorite books "Piggie Pie" by Margie Palatini. Each Mystery Reader brought her special love of reading and showed the students what fun reading can be. We appreciate our Mystery Readers taking time out of their busy day to spend some moments with first graders who are just starting to understand how fascinating books can be.

Procedural Writing - How to's in First Grade

2010-12-12T21:06:00.007-05:00

How To Trap a Mouse by Lexie
Need: cheese, string, wood, mouse, fly paper
1. First you check if you have a mouse hole. Then put fly
2. paper by its hole. Then to catch t, tie a string
3. to wood then the string to the cheese. Then get ready.
4. Put the cheese by the fly paper and the mouse's feet are stuck to the fly paper.
Writing "How to" papers is one of our classes' favorite genres to write about in Writer's Workshop. Learning that they are all experts in something makes this writing a fun type of writing that they look forward to. They have written "How to" papers on "Getting Ready for School", "Washing the Car", and "Going on a Plane". They have also put their "How to" books together and made one big "Book of How To's" which includes a title page and table of contents. They have also learned that Procedural Writing includes: recipes, directions to locations and rules for board games. So, if you would like to learn how to trap a mouse or grow a flower these two papers may help you. Each paper provides a clear title, what you will need, and pictures with captions. "How to Grow a Flower" includes where to go to find out more information on growing a flower. These are great examples of the writing we are doing now in Writer's Workshop.

How to Grow a Flower by Sarah
Need: seeds, water, dirt, sun, flower pot
1. First you get a pot and put dirt in it. Then you plant a seed.
2. Put water in the pot. But not too much - just middle size.
3. Put your plant in a sunny spot.
4. Just wait and wait and wait.
For more information, go to a plant store.

SBBB: Pigs in a Blanket

2010-12-11T21:53:00.003-05:00

In Math, we completed a unit called, "Making Shapes and Designing Quilts" (2D Geometry) in our Investigations Curriculum. This included students designing their own quilt pattern and repeating it over several times. In this way, they can see different shapes in their quilt patterns.

As a culminating project, this bulletin board called "Pigs in a Blanket" involved the entire class in its creation. By copying a design, each child made a piece of the quilt and together we made a blanket. When the blanket was formed, the students noticed the different shapes that appeared. The repeating squares made combinations of triangles and rhombi. Because we are "hog heaven", we thought it appropriate to have our pigs in a blanket. The students wrote their own commentary on each blanket demonstrating their understanding of the assignment. The kids just love this bulletin board and so do we!

Hanukkah Traditions and Story 2010

2010-12-11T21:25:00.009-05:00

We are so fortunate to have a previous student S. come to our room each year and share the story and traditions of Hanukkah. Her brother J. was also assisting in explaining the history of Hanukkah to the class. Most of the students were very familiar with it because of her visit last year. However, this year they understood it better and were very ready to play the dreidel game.

S. & J. explained the story as follows: After three years of fighting, the Jews defeated the Syrians and, to celebrate, they restored the Temple of Jerusalem. As part of the celebrations they lit an oil lamp which should have been kept burning all the time, even though they could only find enough oil to keep it burning for one night. However, the oil lamp stayed lit for eight days, which was the time it took to make new oil for the lamp. This was the Miracle of the Oil.

Following the story, the fun of playing dreidel began. Everyone received their own with chocolate kisses to use as gelt (coins). The game was explained again and the children had a wonderful time learning the story and traditions of Hanukkah. Next year S. will be moving on to sixth grade, so J. will visiting us from second grade to keep our tradition going!!

Pine Cones and Turkeys - Thanksgiving Fun

2010-11-25T20:28:00.007-05:00

On Tuesday, the day before our Thanksgiving break, we tinkered with some pine cones, feathers, and pom poms. We came up with some very cute pine cone turkeys for each student to take home. These were just too cute not to share. A very Happy Thanksgiving from the Mall-ards in Hog Heaven!!

Thanksgiving Day Read Aloud - Magic Tree House

2010-11-23T21:13:00.008-05:00

During the past few days, the children have been learning about the Pilgrims, the Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving. We have been reading several books on the subject but the one they most liked is from the Magic Tree House series. The book is called, "Thanksgiving on Thursday" by Mary Pope Osborne. Eight year old Jack and his seven year old sister Annie get transported in time whenever they open a book in their magic tree house. On this adventure, they are in Plymouth on the first Thanksgiving. They meet Squanto, Captain Standish, and Governor Bradford. They befriend a pilgrim girl, Priscilla, who has them helping to prepare food for the feast. The first book in the series, "Dinosaurs Before Dark" was read last week. "Thanksgiving on Thursday" is book #27 in the series. Reading these chapter books aloud is a great way for the class to come together as a community. Reading aloud is the best way we have to immerse children in the glories of reading, showing them both how and why one reads (Calkins, 2010). We will be going on several more Magic Tree House adventures in the future, such as mummies, knights, and moon visits...and we can't wait!

Calkins, L. (2010). A guide to the reading workshop. Heinemann.

Mystery Reader: P is for Pom Pom!

2010-11-21T20:46:00.011-05:00

Our mystery reader this week surprised her brother,sister and the class by coming in and reading "P is for Pom Pom" by Laura Purdie Salas. Her arrival was announced and then five clues about our mystery reader were read. Some of the clues were: She used to go to this school; She was our patrol; and she has siblings in this class. While students were guessing, V came in and we all clapped. She was wearing her cheering uniform, brought pom poms, and was carrying the book with her. She then read "P is for Pom Pom! The Cheerleading Alphabet Book to the class. The girls could not wait to imitate some of the moves she read about. V was brave enough to chant and show us the routine of some of her cheers. During the finale, she showed us a jump and the kids just loved it. Thank you V for a great reading and being a wonderful mystery reader. The children enjoyed it and C and L were very proud of their big sister!!

Literacy Centers - Time to Practice Reading

2010-11-16T21:16:00.006-05:00

A favorite part of the student's day is when they get to enjoy authentic reading by engaging in Literacy Centers. A popular station is "Books on CD". Children have the opportunity to read along with the CD. By listening and reading along, they get to hear and practice fluent reading. The books we are using are from the county sponsored Houghlin Mifflin series for first grade and each come with a CD. These readers have some wonderful trade books incorporated into one leveled book. The CD players were sponsored by some of the student's parents. We asked for CD players at our Open House and now have six which makes a great listening center. Other stations the children visit are the computers. We have four that they visit on a rotating schedule. Also there are various genre baskets of books and magazines that they love to dive into. This is a time where students have time to practice reading either on the computer, CDs, books or magazines. They can read about sharks, finish up a chapter from Magic Tree House, or grab a Dr. Seuss book...Oh, the places they can go...during literacy centers.

Readers to Leaders: Principal Slimed

2010-11-10T22:25:00.004-05:00

The whole school was in for a special treat today when Mrs. Phillips, our principal, kept her promise and was "slimed" because most of the students met their twenty-five book challenge this quarter. Readers to Leaders comes from a county incentive to have students read one million words a year. The one million words is broken down to approximately twenty-five books per quarter. The students are also recognized during our awards ceremony every quarter for this achievement. Mrs. Phillips was a good sport and the children really enjoyed seeing her get slimed! What's next? Oh...it only gets better!!

Koala Lou...We Do Love You...bulletin board

2010-11-09T21:50:00.011-05:00

The Mall-ards actually look forward to creating a new bulletin board presentation each month. We love sharing the learning that is going on in our classroom and the bulletin board is one way to do just that. Our board this month was on reading which featured our Author Study of Mem Fox literature. It consists of a sampling of the work that was completed by our first grade students during Reader's Workshop during this study. The first piece is a text-to-text connection between Shoes from Grandpa and There Was An Old Lady. Next is a a retelling of Possum Magic by sequencing the story in six parts. Then we have students reporting on story elements from Hattie and the Fox listing characters, setting, problem and solution. Finally, there is a Venn Diagram showing the similarities and differences between between Shoes From Grandpa and On Halloween Night. These pieces are just a sampling of showing how students are making meaningful connections and comprehending text every day in Hog Heaven!

Character Parade and Fall Fun Festivities

2010-10-30T15:09:00.006-04:00

It was another festive day in Hog Heaven as our First Graders came dressed as their favorite literary characters. We had everyone from Toto to Darth Vader present and accounted for. The day started with a Character Parade that went around the first floor of the school. Students brought a book with them to represent their costume. Older grades lined the halls and cheered on the Kindergarten and First Grade students as many of them remembered when they were the ones parading through the halls. Afterward, students worked on center activities including Q-tip skeletons, stained glass (tissue) pumpkins, and bat hats. In the afternoon, students also tinkered creating their own haunted house. In the evening, many students returned to school for trick-or-treating through the hallways and then enjoyed the fall carnival on the school grounds. October ended most memorably for all.

Mystery Reader Delights Students

2010-10-28T20:42:00.010-04:00

Today we had a mystery reader come to visit. Mrs. W. came in to surprise her son and the class. Dressed up as the Reader Queen, she delighted the students with "Trick or Treat" by Bill Martin, Jr. Also, Lola, the Chihuahua was the featured guest and had treats to give to all the children. Everyone loved the surprise visit and we are looking forward to having more mystery readers come in to class and read aloud a favorite book to the students.