What could be more fun for a kindergartner than exploring two and three dimensional shapes using toothpicks and marshmallows?
Yes, we have made it to day 100 in school! This afternoon the air was thick with the sweet smell of fruit loops and cheerios as the children counted the cereal into groups of ten and then industriously strung 100 of the toasty Os onto yarn to make a necklace. I’m always surprised at how quiet the class gets for this activity.
February is such a busy month! We welcomed the Year of the Tiger be reading information books to the children about Chinese New Year and on Friday, in their journals, they wrote one or two facts on how this holiday is celebrated. We also surveyed how many children in our class were born in the lunar year of the Monkey and how many in the year of the Goat. Of course they loved making these dragon masks and getting ‘red envelopes‘ from me at the end of the week!
Excitement was high on Friday as everyone gathered in a circle to exchange Valentines. 24 of our class of 25 brought Valentines to share. I do not think there were any two alike; from hand made to store bought with Power Rangers or Princesses and pop culture stars that are unknown to me, all the cards were appreciated. The little girl closest to me very dramatically said, “You know Mrs.Goethe, I had to write my name on these every night to get them all done!” which made me smile because that repetitive practice is so good for her handwriting skills and I am glad that her mom spread it out over 3 or 4 evenings.
Did you like the narcissus flower your child brought home on Thursday? They should be in bloom by now and filling the air with their sweet scent. We have Jay Potratz, a Sanislo parent, to thank for taking the lead on this planting project.
Hopefully you have checked your child’s backpack for homework to be done over the break. It includes a word list, some math activities to do together and a reading calendar. Don’t forget to send your child’s 100 collection to school on Monday the 22nd if you have not done so already!
There was room for plenty more of you to join us! I enjoyed stopping by the lanes on my way home to see these enthusiastic bowlers. Maybe some families will go bowling over the Mid Winter break. It is so easy now days when all the scoring is done for you.
Our investigations have moved on from fish to snails. If you find a common garden snail (We have plenty here in Seattle!), observe it with your child. Some of the vocabulary we have introduced in our snail studies: shell, mucus trail, foot, whorl, tentacles and radula. If you are perplexed about some of these terms you can visit this site for more kid friendly information on snails: kiddyhouse.com
and a little bit of that make for a mighty tasty snack. To end Unit 4 in Everyday Math the children measured 1/4 cups, 1/2 cups and tablespoons of various ingrediants to make a mighty fine ‘celebration snack’. You can see the recipe propped up in some of the ‘toolboxes’ on their tables. When it comes to food, they are all business. I think that they all can appreciate the concept of a “heaping tablespoon” after watching them at the m&m station! This week the results of the Unit 4 assessment will go home with your child this week. Continue to work on measurement at home through February and into March. It will be the focus of Unit 5. Have your child cook with you: measure the amount of water used to boil noodles or make oatmeal. You could even measure the 1/3 or 1/2 cup of milk that they pour on their breakfast cereal. Pace off the length of their bedroom: how many adult feet long is it and how many kid feet. Make sure they count the steps walking heel to toe.
They are SO excited to sing ‘Happy Birthday Dr. King’ at today’s assembly! Here they are practicing for teacher ‘J’ who is quite charming as she tells them not to start until she says “1,2, 3″ You know how as parents you hear yourself in your children? Well that happens 25 times over for me! They are priceless; especially when I can sit back and be like a ‘little mouse’ in the corner of the room (which of course is a rare opportunity). I’m glad I captured this sweet moment.
You are probably looking at this post and wondering if you have the right month and the right place. Sunglasses in December? In SEATTLE? Let me explain. In early November we finished our Science unit on fabric and each of the children sewed a pocket. They were none too pleased that we wouldn’t allow them to take their sewing project home on that day but we had a surprise planned for using those pockets. We bought these exotic animal frame sunglasses and tucked one into each ‘pocket’ along with a packet of hot cocoa and a candy cane. They were SO delighted! They raced from one desk to another to see who was wearing frames just like their own. As you can see they loved posing for the camera! Principal Seevers’ visit only added to the excitement as they posed for his camera too. Not to worry, all these lions, tigers, and bears minded their manners, said “Thank you!” and “Merry Christmas” as they headed out the classroom door to begin the L-O-N-G winter holiday break.
Be sure to look in your child’s backpack for their homework. Spread it out over the two weeks to keep their learning curve going up, up, up! Pay special attention to practicing the handwriting of their name, learning the sight words, and of course READ EVERYDAY! I highly recommend a family trip or two to a public library.
Peace and happiness in the New Year to everyone this holiday season.
A tailor and seamstress at work
and The ‘Wild Things’
Well, there were a few crushed looks on faces Friday afternoon when the final winner of the Food Drive was announced. Mr. Apostol’s 5th grade blew us all out of the water, when, in the afternoon one parent brought in boatloads of food. They ended up with over 800 lbs of food. WE WERE the winners up until noon, with over 400 lbs of food for our class. The exact numbers escape me just now but you can see the results for yourself if you look at the PTA board in the front office.
In talking to the class I focused on complimenting the team effort they gave to the drive and the fact that collecting food for our community is such a great way to show they care about other people that we may not know but are living in the Sanislo neighborhood. The organizer for the food drive said the school as a whole did such a fabulous job that all students will get some type of reward (but the coveted ice cream party goes to 5th gr)
This event really brought our class together. When food was brought in, they all shared in the job of bringing it into the hall to be weighed. I think it helped them to find their place as an important part of the school community. They really liked the surprised faces of older students watching all the kindergarten kids troop into the hall with their food. Thank you all for your generosity!
On Friday our Second Step Lesson (this is the anti-bullying curriculum) was about how to be helpful and caring to someone who has a problem. I told them they were to find one way to help/show caring at home this weekend. We will talk about what they did on Monday. Some ideas: watching a younger sibling so mom or dad can cook, helping to carry groceries from the car so you have to make less trips, if something is lost, helping to find it; I’m sure you can think of many more!
Last week we read lots of Gingerbread stories. Here is the class listening our librarian, Mrs. Horsley, read The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. In class they heard The Gingerbread Boy by Robert Blair which is a traditional version, The Gingerbread Man, retold by Toni Gunnerson in which an alligator eats the unfortunate cookie and The Gingerbread Kid Goes to School by Joan Holub and in this version a smart dog gets the last bite! Monday we will read them a Gingerbread Man story that has it’s setting in a big city.
Looking at our books before we leave the library.
One favorite pastime of this class is pretending to be the teacher. This little girl is reading one of the Gingerbread stories to her classmates. Other times someone will take out one of my big books that are a song and they REALLY get enthusiastic! BINGO is a favorite.
