A Visit from Miss River City

 This week we had a visit from Miss River City (Jacksonville is called "The River City" and she read one of her favorite books to the class "I Knew You Could".

 The children could not take their eyes off of Miss River City and our very own "River City Princess" who accompanies Miss River City to various pageants and events.

"K" did not know that she would be getting crowned today by Miss River City and was very happy and surprised.

P.E. is Teamwork

The children had loads of fun in P.E. stacking cups by working together.  The standard (PE.K.R.5.1) says to "Identify ways to cooperate with a partner during physical activity."  Looks like they had a lot of fun utilizing teamwork...go girls!!

Work Over Time Bulletin Board 2013-2014

At the end of every school year, we are invited to celebrate student achievement by doing a "Work Over Time" bulletin board. This board showcases children's academic development from the beginning of the school year until the end.  On this board, Math is on the top limb with "J." writing his numbers in September (1-12), in January working on a 4-part math journal, and by the end of April, completing word problems. The bottom limb represents "L" drawing pictures coming into Kindergarten, writing a "How To" in November, and then writing a persuasive piece by the end of April.  It is amazing to see the growth in these and all of our students throughout the year.  With Kindergarten quickly coming to an end, the growth in First Grade will be even more amazing.  Time really does fly when you are having fun!!

Writers Learning the Power of their Words

 For the past month, students have been very busy looking around their school and the world around them and trying to make it a better place. They have learned how powerful their words are when they write them in letters,  signs and petitions. They have learned how they can convince people when they see a problem by telling their opinion with a story, giving lots of reasons for why they feel a certain way, giving a "fix-it" idea, being polite, including important information and writing a  "How To" piece to help them explain their solution. (These are lessons from "Persuasive Writing of All Kinds-Lucy Calkins".) The following is a completed letter that a child wrote to his brother. He explained his thoughts before he wrote the letter. EZ wrote that he was at a golf tournament this weekend and noticed a problem. People were putting recyclable trash into the regular trash can. He wrote the following letter to his little brother:

 May 12th, 2014

Dear Chi,
How are you? I am kind of proud for you throwing your trash away so it is not on the ground but I don't...

 ...like that it is in the trash can because it takes 100 years to dispose (decompose) and my recycling (reasons) are:  1) I do not want the world to be stinky. 2) I want my kids to be happy.  3) The world looks better with recycling. 

"Let's Recycle"
I hope this helps you recycle.
1) First find a recycling can.
2) Next put the recycling in the recycling can.
3) Finally fill the recycling can.
There - you have recycled.
Love EZ
Thanks EZ -- this helps us all to remember to recycle to preserve the Earth for future generations.

Firefighters Visit

We had a surprise visit from a very special firefighter this week who just happens to have his daughter in our class. Piper's dad surprised us with two of his firemen friends and taught the class about fire safety.  They brought the fire truck and the students had the opportunity to see it up close and walk through the front of the truck. It was a great experience for children to learn about this first hand.  Thank you Robert and fellow firefighters for your visit.

Walking through the huge fire engine truck.

Dressing in fire gear for children to see what they may look like so they won't be afraid if they are ever in a fire.

Spring Egg Hunt 2014

 A few weeks ago we had our Spring egg hunt and it was so much fun for our kindergarten students. Parents were busy hiding over 650 eggs...not an easy task but so worth it.

There was a lot of concentration counting their eggs.

It was a very windy day but that didn't stop our egg hunters.

The eggs were hid all over the softball field.

Looking for some treasures inside of each egg.

Pink Bow Day

It just so happened that it was Pink Bow Day in our class and we didn't get the memo. We just thought it was comical seeing these three "bow-tastic" bows on these adorable girls. Small, medium and large bows were the style on this day and they couldn't be happier!!

Fiction and Nonfiction: Noticing the Differences

Noticing the difference between a fiction book and non fiction book is a big discovery in Kindergarten. After students were introduced to the two books "Froggy Goes To School" and "Uncover Frog", their observations were charted and discussed. The children noticed how in the book "Froggy Goes To School" frogs really don't wear clothes or go to school. They noticed that the other book "Uncover Frog" taught them about real frogs. Reader's Workshop was " leaping" with excitement while they also noticed all of the "extra" information the non fiction book gave them about frogs. 

After the lesson, children were handed a book to look over and decide where it should go (either the "fiction" or "non fiction" bin)..

Students took it one step farther by sorting the books in their book bins.

Close Reading Bulletin Board: What lens are you using?

 This month our bulletin board features the work we have been doing in Reader's and Writer's Workshop. Students have learned a few elements of  what it means to "close read." Some students focused on the patterns in Eric Carle's books, some focused on the vocabulary used, and others talked about how their thinking changed from what they first thought about a book. Children had the opportunity to think deeply about not only about Eric Carle's literature but the author himself. His childhood years included lots of nature walks with his father which gives his books a special appeal to young readers.

 Kamryn had her "pattern lens" on while listening to "From Head to Toe" and discovered the question and answer pattern of this book.

 Ezekiel changed his thinking from what he first thought about "The Grouchy Ladybug" to his new thinking.

 Jacob thought is was going to be about a caterpillar eating a lot of food but then his thinking changed to discover that Eric Carl was teaching us how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

Ayden saw two patterns in "Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?". One was the pattern in the animal's skin and the other was the words repeating.

Eric Carle Celebration Day

On Friday, we celebrated the end of our three week author study of Eric Carle. We looked closely at the vocabulary he used, his writing patterns, the characters, and themes of his books. After a morning of center activities, including Eric Carle bingo, pancakes, and making caterpillar necklaces, we celebrated with our very own Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcake cake (Thank you to Susan E., Christa H., and Mary G. for all of the tasty treats.)

Some of Eric Carle books that the children love.

Eric Carle artwork - The Grouchy Ladybug and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Having fun with caterpillar necklaces.

This is one author that the children will remember for a long time.

Closely Looking at Eric Carle - Author Study

 

 The Eric Carle Author Study is one that all Kindergarten students and teachers enjoy. We took it a step further this year and started to look at Eric Carle and his literature a bit deeper in our close reading. By using different "lenses", students were able to focus in on the characters, settings, vocabulary, patterns or recurring objects. It was amazing to see how the quickly the children understood this concept and were able to share with the class what "lens" they used. For instance, for "Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?" one student used her "pattern" lens and was able to recognize the question/answer pattern and said how it helped her understand the book and  how Eric Carle likes to write. 
From "Does A Kangaroo Have a  Mother Too? students noted that Eric Carle must like animals.

"Do You Want to be my Friend?" we looked for evidence in the text to decide where this story takes place.
 

Bringing the stories back to Eric Carle himself, students noted that he must like cats a lot.

Fund Run - Fundraiser

 Children were lined up for the "Fund Run" on Thursday. Family and friends pledged a certain amount of money for running each lap. The kids had a great time running on this chilly morning.

 Students were checked off after each lap.

 They just kept running.

Making 3D Shapes Fun

 Students have been recognizing and learning about the 2D and 3D shapes all around them. Today they were invited to select a 3D shape and reconstruct it using mini marshmallows and toothpicks. Children are also learning the terminology when talking about their shapes: vertices, faces, and bases.  They were very pleased with their results.

 Students explained their strategies and gave tips on how to construct them to friends.

   Constructing a triangular prism.

Learning about George and Abe

It was no surprise when most of the children had two favorite presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They see them almost every day on a penny, quarter, dollar bill or a silly commercial selling cars or furniture. Their familiar faces made learning fun facts about each president and listening to books about them a very interesting time for the children. Did you know Abraham Lincoln carried his important papers in his hat and George Washington returned a lost dog to a British general during the Revolutionary War? We also visited the history of the presidents site and the children had the chance to see what each president looked like...not a good reaction for most...except, of course, for George and Abe!

Reader's Theater: The Hat

Getting up and performing is second nature with our class. The performance was "The Hat" by Jan Brett. Students picked what animal they wanted to be and acted out the play while it was being read. Hedgie could not get a sock off of his head and when he met different animals he explained how warm it kept him. The other animals got an idea and then they put clothes on themselves but everyone knows "animals don't wear clothes."

More from the 100th Day of School

100th Day of School - 2014 on PhotoPeach

Here are some random pictures from the 100th day of school. Students wore shirts or hats with 100 items on them. It was a benchmark day for all to celebrate.

100 Cans for 100 Days of School

As a community project and to celebrate the 100 Days of School, students brought in over 100 cans of food to donate to our local food bank. Each day, while counting up the 100th day, cans were tallied until our goal was reached. The children were eager to help and this was a great way to show them how good it feels to give to those in need. We actually collected 120 cans food!!

Math Shapes All Around Us

 Children have been digging deeper into shapes and noticing that they are all around them. They worked in small groups putting together a mural of shapes in the real world. 

They created pictures with shapes in the air, sea and land.

Table groups presented their shape worlds to the class when they were completed.