Author Visit from Pamela Duncan Edwards and Illustrator Henry Cole

We were very lucky yesterday to have a visit from one of our school's favorite authors, Pamela Duncan Edwards and illustrator Henry Cole. As Ms. Edwards talked to the children about her new book (Princess Pigtoria and the Pea), the students were entertained by Mr. Cole who sketched pictures at the same time. Pamela Duncan Edwards is a bestselling author of more than twenty-five popular picture books. Her titles include: While the World is Sleeping, Livingston Mouse: Roar!, A Noisy Counting Book, Honk, Some Smug Slug, The Worrywarts, and Clara Caterpillar. Pamela grew up in northern England and taught preschool for eleven years. She moved to the United States with her husband and two sons over twenty-five years ago. After moving to the US, she became a children's librarian and author. After their presentation yesterday, many children and parents had the opportunity to get their books personally autographed by Pamela and Henry. It was a real treat and great experience for the students. Listen to a special reading of her new book below:

Untitled from Melanie Holtsman on Vimeo.

Eric Carle Author Study Celebration

Today we celebrated the end of our author study of Eric Carle and the fabulous books that he has written. Books that were studied during workshops included The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Busy Spider, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, From Head to Toe, The Very Lonely Firefly, and Eric Carl's favorite book, Do you want to be my friend? There were other books that we used as read alouds which children enjoyed making connections to and comparing them to other books they have heard. This was a wonderful way to introduce students to an author study.
Today, children wore their caterpillar shirts and had fun rotating in centers set up with other kindergarten classrooms. These centers included: reading Mr. Seahorse (a book that the children did not hear before) and an art tissue paper project whereby children glued tissue squares onto an outline of a seahorse, cut it out, and placed it on a blue paper background; next was the Pancake Center - a homage to the book Pancakes, Pancakes - they played bingo or watched an Eric Carle moving while waiting for their pancakes. Then outside fun - an obstacle course including running through tunnels while sequencing an Eric Carle book. Finally, we integrated technology by utilizing a Smartboard. Because Eric Carle books are about animals, the activity revolved around sorting herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. Special thanks to Melanie H., Pam G., and Nicki H. (all classroom parents) for that activity. The afternoon was full of more Eric Carle books that we did not get to read during the author study, include "Hello Red Fox" which was a big hit with the children - their eyes played tricks on them -- followed by more art activities and of course, our caterpillar cake compliments of Elizabeth H.which will be on the next slide show. The day was about the children celebrating a great author and our goal was accomplished!!
More pictures will be coming shortly.

Homework King and Queen

In an effort to get children over the hump of not wanting to do homework,we came up with the Homework King and Queen of the Week. Being chosen is taken very seriously and is considered a very high honor in our class. Children have been speechless when their names were announced. They have the opportunity to tell the class what their "secret" was in getting their homework picked. This tradition started months ago and each week the students wait with great anticipation for the drum roll and the announcement. Homework has to be done neatly and in its entirety. Miss Karen, our paraprofessional, carefully scrutinizes each sheet and then determines the winners. The children receive a crown and get to choose out of both the treasure box and the treat box! Wow - it gets no better than this!!

Voicethread with Us - Leprechaun Visits the Mall-ards!

We think the children will remember this St. Patty's Day for many years. They had so much fun bringing in their traps, telling us how they made them, setting them up, and hoping to be the one who caught the leprechaun. The biggest surprise came when they returned from lunch and saw all the mess that the little green man made while trying to take everyone's gold. Chairs were tossed, traps were closed, and gold was taken. Besides green footprints left on the counters, green glitter in toilet, and a note on the board, he did leave a cookie for each child.

We were very lucky to have Mrs. Holtsman come and photograph the events for all to see and today she came in to teach us about the fun in digital story telling. Today we are adding a special feature and would like for you to participate. It is called Voicethread.

Digital storytelling is using digital tools (online) to tell stories. The benefit to doing it online is that you have a much larger audience for your story and you can get immediate feedback and additions to your story. The website Voicethread allows you to upload photos and create a digital story from them. We uploaded the photos from our St.Patrick's Day activities yesterday. We would love for you to take a moment to add a comment with your child!

Here's how you do it. Go to the website for Voicethread. Click sign in or register for an account. When the login comes up, click register. Register for your free account. You may have to then go to your email account to verify this account you created. Now, go back to the blog to view the voicethread and click the bottom left hand button that says sign in. Once you are signed in, you go to the photo where you would like to leave a comment and click the comment button under the photo. You press "record" and it will allow you to record what your child would like to say for that photo. Some examples may be: what they liked in the photo, what they remembered about what happened...etc. Your computer microphone will record his/her voice. If you want to push the webcam button it can even record a video comment. If you have trouble with the sound, you can push the telephone button to get a phone call to record your comment.

Having all of the boys and girls share their thoughts and memories will complete our digital story. We can't wait to hear what the children and you have to say!

Very Hungry Readers- Let's Hear That Book Again!

Yesterday we had two special guests come in and read one of their favorite Eric Carle books to the class. "K" is in fourth grade and held the big book while her sister "M" who is in second grade read The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Both are former students from our class and we were so happy to have them share what they remembered from the Eric Carle author study. "M" also wore her Very Hungry tee shirt especially for the occasion. It was wonderful to see how happy they were to relay their memories with the class. Thanks girls - you both did a great job!!

Very Hungry Kindergarteners Love Eric Carle!

We are off and running with our Eric Carle Author Study. Students are learning about Eric Carle and his art, his family, and his love of nature. So far the class favorites are: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, and Eric Carle's favorite book, Do You Want To Be My Friend? In Writer's Workshop, children are writing a response to literature. Their retellings have great beginnings, lots of details, and great endings. A great beginning may sound like this, "Did you know Eric Carle wrote about a ladybug who wasn't friendly...?" In Reader's Workshop, they are making connections to his books and learning about story maps. Last week the children had fun in Reader's Theater retelling The Grouchy Ladybug story. We had a visit from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (one of last year's students came dressed up) for that retelling. Students also decorated t-shirts for our Eric Carle celebration at the end of the month. We are very excited about our author study and can't wait to read the next book.

Zoo Field Trip - One of our favorite places!!

The day was a little chilly, but that didn't bother a bus load of Mall-ards on their way to the Jacksonville Zoo! The children were waiting weeks to visit the zoo, one of their favorite places, with their classmates. The zoo adventure started with the educational presentation which focused on up-close and hands-on animal encounters in a traditional classroom setting. The program targeted Kindergarten curriculum and has been developed in conjunction with the Sunshine State Standards, NCEE New Standards, and the Duval County Schools District Performance Standards. Students saw an owl, chinchilla, and lizard to name a few. Then it was off to the zoo to gaze and admire the other animals including elephants, zebras, giraffes, and snakes. It was amazing to hear the vocabulary words students used to describe the animals. We heard "Don't they look cozy?" and "That giraffe looks curious." Also, we have just started our Eric Carle author study and have read the books, "Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too," and "From Head to Toe." These books talk about animal's movements and what their parents and babies are called. For instance, a kangaroo male is a boomer, the mother is a flyer, and the baby is a Joey. Science and Language Arts was explored during this wonderful trip to the zoo. While traveling the zoo sights, students were given a "Search for this Animal" booklet and received a sticker when they spotted one on the list. Thanks to Mrs. Holtsman for the great pictures and Mrs. Farrulla for the Search and Find zoo booklets. And thanks to our twenty plus chaperones who accompanied us on this trip!!

Letter of Thanks

If you remember, we collected over 100 cans (140 to be exact) of food for the 100th day of school. We recently received this letter of thanks from BEAM (Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry). We thought it was nice of them to send out a note of thanks so promptly. The students enjoyed seeing and hearing the letter and they know that what their families contributed went to a very good cause. Each student received a copy of the letter attached to the weekly newsletter. They were very proud of their community project and so are we! (Click on the letter to read it.)

Valentines' Day - another fun day in K

Valentine's Day was another day to celebrate! Students came in very excited to deliver their cards, candy, and flowers to their classmates and teachers. Homework for the week was to decorate their mailbox and address their cards. The boxes that came in were so creative. They were made out of cereal, tissue, and gift boxes. We think the parents had more fun making them than the kids!! During the morning, children delivered their cards and in the afternoon we made hats, cards, and read books. For math, students sorted and graphed candy Valentine conversation hearts. It was a great day to be in Kindergarten!

Science Standards: Day and Night

In Science, we have been learning about how the earth rotates around the sun, how the moon rotates around the earth, and how the earth rotates like a slowly spinning top. And because the Earth moves this way, day and night create a pattern every 24 hours. You might think that learning these concepts would be too much for kindergarten students but they are very interested in learning about it. One activity was having a student holding a globe while another walked around him representing path of the moon. Another activity was holding a flashlight and slowly moving the globe to show how day and night happen. The standard states that students recognize that day and night are a pattern. After the activities, students created their own day and night pictures and we taped them together representing the continuous pattern of day and night.

Math - Any Way You Slice It!

This month our bulletin board is called, "Math Can Be Divided Into Many Parts." We focused on Math and all the different ways we integrate it into the student's kindergarten experience. We start the day with "Calendar Math." This is a structured math activity whereby students use the monthly calendar as the central focus. Besides knowing the answers to today is..., yesterday was..., and tomorrow will be..., students are asked, "On what day was February 5th?" or "How many days until our field trip?" Each day we are in school, it is noted on a sentence strip and counted. Students may write/draw a story problem using dominoes or work as a small group to find an answer to a problem. In the afternoon, we start math with students writing the problem of the day in their math journal. This warm up serves as a review of previously learned math concepts. Students are called to the floor with a number song and/or math literature. Next, math vocabulary is reviewed by asking students to explain three words from the chart. For example, data, arrange, and representation are words on the chart. Then it is focus time where the actual lesson is presented followed by active practice and ending with share time. Choice time is incorporated every few lessons for students to have time to practice previous investigations. So as you can see, math is divided into many parts...any way you slice it!

100 Days to Celebrate

Today was the 100th day of school. The 100th day has become a milestone in the life of a kindergartener. We have been talking about reaching 100 since the first day of school. In Calendar Math, we represent each day with a straw and bundle groups of ten. The homework for the week was to come dressed in 100 of something. There were 100 stickers, 100 dinosaurs, 100 stars, and of course, 100 straws attached onto shirts. Students were delighted upon entering the classroom and found 100 balloons decorating the ceiling. It was a day to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of 100 days of school. Children shared their 100 shirts with the class and explained how they came up with their ideas. Activities included students drawing a picture of themselves now and what they will look like at 100 years old. There was a 100 day snack (10 different snacks on 100 place mat) and we hid 100 Hershey Kisses (numbered 1-100) and they had to find them and put them on 100's chart. We read books such as 100 Day Worries by Margery Cuyler and Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day by Joseph Slate.

The day was capped off 100 day cupcakes and a visit from Zero the Hero who talked about how things were 100 years ago. He showed antiques such as a washboard, milk jugs, and carpet beaters. This was surely a day of a hundred memories for our kindergarten students! (Special thanks to Melanie H. our class photographer, Elizabeth H. for the cupcakes, and Publix for donating the 100 balloons for our special day!) A slide show of the day will coming soon!!

Graduating Reading Mastery

We are very fortunate to be able to provide a safety net program for our students called Reading Mastery. This program is focused on phonics and blending sounds. Each morning some students in our class go out with Miss Karen and are provided small group instruction in phonics. We have found that this direct instruction approach bridges the reading gap for some children. When they make the letter-sound connection and they are reading using strategies, they are "graduated" out of the program. Our first graduate, "L." has been given her walking papers. Congratulation "L." we celebrate you and Miss Karen for your hard work and dedication to the students in the program!

100 Cans of Food for the 100th Day of School!

One of our 100th Day of school projects was to collect 100 cans of food for the local food bank. Well, we did more than that - we collected over 140 cans of food and the children were delighted in doing it! Each day, students would bring in cans of food and cross off the number of cans on the 100s chart. We worked backwards from 100 so we could see how many cans we needed to fulfill our goal. After all 100 numbers were crossed off, we started to make X's on the back of the chart and then count on to 100. The children were amazed to see how many cans the class donated. Thanks our wonderful Mall-ard parents for making this community service project a success.

Groundhog Day - Our Predictions Were Right

On Monday, the students learned the folklore of Groundhog Day. The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..." Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler's Knob was made on February 2, 1887. The children now know that if the groundhog sees his shadow, as the legend goes, we will have six more weeks of winter. Before the students left on Monday, we made a prediction chart as to who thought the groundhog would see his shadow and who thought he wouldn't. Well there were ten more children who thought that the shadow would be seen, and they were right! Many students came to school knowing that the groundhog saw his shadow and were very excited to tell their friends. They had a great time making groundhog headbands to celebrate!

Celebrating Our Adopted Friends

In December, we auctioned a decorated wreath and tree and donated the money to the World Wildlife Fund. The children picked three animals that they wanted the money to support: an Arctic Polar Bear, an Arctic Fox, and the Blue Footed Booby. This week we received adoption papers, stuffed animals, and a thank you letter from the World Wildlife Organization. The children were overjoyed to find out that their donations are really making a difference. They now have the cute stuffed animals and certificates of adoption to remind them of their new animal friends to the north and south of us!!

Writer's Workshop...after the holidays

When the children returned to school the first week after the winter holidays, it was time for them to enter their January writing sample in the monthly writing journal. They wrote about everything from waking up on Christmas morning to staying up on New Year's Eve. We had stories about going to Disney World and going to grandma's house. After the children were finished writing their stories, we asked them to go back to August's sample and see if they could easily read that writing? How about September's? When students flipped through their writing books, they found it hard to read. We discussed how much they have grown as writers and how important it is to write everyday. The journal they write in monthly is about five pieces of white construction paper, folded in half and each page slightly raised so that the names of the months are shown. At the beginning of the each month, a writing sample is taken so that student's writing growth can be easily assessed. They are free to write about any topic they choose. This is a wonderful way to glance at a student's work-over-time and for each child to feel proud of their writing growth!

Martin Luther King Remembered

Our read alouds this week included several books about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A classroom favorite was "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King" by Jean Marzollo. Children heard the story of how he loved playing sports when he was young, especially baseball and basketball with his friends in the neighborhood. But when it was time to start school, Martin was very sad when he had to go to a different school than his friends. Martin's father was a preacher and he loved the big words his father used in church. He wanted to learn those words and be a preacher one day too. The students learned that MLK was a very smart child. Did you know he started college at fifteen years old? After he graduated, Martin not only preached to love your neighbor in church, but preached peace and justice for all people. As a birthday tribute, the children created pictures of Dr. King and now know a little about the man who had a dream many years ago.

"The Mitten" - A Great Retelling on a Cold Day!

One of our favorite stories to share with the children after the winter break is "The Mitten" retold by Jan Brett. It's about a boy who asks his grandmother to knit him a pair of white mittens. She warns him that the color is not a good choice because it's the same color as the snow. It doesn't take long for Nicki to drop one outside and it is soon found by a series of winter animals who make it their home. After the class heard the story a few times, we decided to retell it again via Reader's Theater. Our characters included a mole, followed by a snowshoe rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear and, finally a mouse. And then, of course, there was Nicki and his grandmother. The story comes to an end when the bear has a big sneeze, all the animals fly out, and Nicki finds his mitten floating in the air. When he returns home, the grandmother is puzzled as to the grand size of the one mitten. By retelling the story and acting it out, students practice sequencing, learn new vocabulary, (swoop, lumber, trot), and most of all have fun. "The Mitten" has become a fast class favorite, especially with everyone wearing their mittens on these cold Florida days!

Hanukkah - The Festival of Lights

Today we were fortunate to have "S" (a former student), assisted by her brother "J" (a current student), and father, Chip present the "The Festival of Lights" tradition to our class. "S" told the class that the festival is observed by lighting the nine-branched Menorah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. An extra light called a shamash (Hebrew: "guard" or "servant") is also lit each night for the purpose of lighting the others. Hanukkah is a wonderful holiday of renewed dedication, faith, hope and spiritual light. It's a holiday that says: "Never lose hope." "S" told us the story of the victory, thru the miracles of Hashem, of a small band of Maccabees over the pagan Syrian-Greeks who ruled over Israel. The children loved hearing the story but, moreover, loved learning a new game "dreidel". Students were given eight Hershey Kisses and a dreidel and learned the symbols and how to play. A big "thank you" to the Chip, S and J for sharing this tradition with the class.