Sunday, September 30, 2012

Family Night

Good evening Kindergarten families,

I just wanted to say that it was so lovely seeing you all come in to check out your child's work.  It was super neat to the feel the buzz of excitement in the air and hear the friends speak so confidently about their space and their ideas!  Here are a few snapshots from that night of students sharing their work with families.

Friends have been working on administering surveys to check who does and does not have certain letters in their names.  Many friends are getting a lot of practice writing their names thanks to responding to surveys and helping the surveyor do their job.













 


The students also showed their families the other areas of our classroom.  I heard some friends explaining to their parents about what to do in these parts of the classroom during Open Choice Time, such as Observational Drawing, Mosaics, Sorting and Sifting, Insect Exploration, Construction







Friends also took the opportunity to show their families their Work Portfolios, which is where their work will be archived throughout the year.







Lastly, friends and families were able to enjoy our movie of this month's Songs and Poems.  I can't figure out how to upload it yet, so come in any time to watch it on the computer!

I hope you all had a great weekend!
Love, Gaby

Friday, September 21, 2012

Documenting Our Theories

Hello Kindergarten families,

During our Morning Meetings we will often do a Share to help us get to know each other better.  One of our Shares this week was "What is your favorite food?"  One friends' response was "fish," and that inspired a discussion about how one goes about catching a fish?  It was super exciting to hear students give a step by step description of the process of how to catch a fish.  We paused our discussion so that we could move into recess, but agreed to come back to it later in our day.

That afternoon, each student worked in their own journal and depicted what their idea was about how to catch a fish!  It was really neat to see how some friends used different perspectives to show what is happening above water and below water.  Also, friends started using lables to help identify key components of their ideas in their drawings.  This was the class's first try doing journal entries, so be sure to come in and check out their ideas!

As a group, the friends decided what key words they would need to know how to spell and added it to our brainstorm list:


Here are are a few examples of friends' work.  What can you infer about what they feel is the process to catch a fish?








One of our first investigations this year is revolved around insects.  Our burning question that students answered in small groups was, what do insects need to live happy and healthy lives?  The class took a moment to give some ideas, which ranged from the types of food they need to survive, whether it's other bugs or people's blood; grass to live in and sky to fly in; or to be with their families.
 
Check out some first tries at explaining their theories around this concept:
 



 
 
It's exciting to see how these friends are able to put their thoughts down on paper!
 
Thank you for checking out the blog and going through it with your child so that they can see how their work and their friends' work is so special and important.  Be sure to pop in to the classroom to check out the others!
 
Love, Gaby

Friday, September 14, 2012

IA Information For You and Your Family

Good evening,
 
The following information is a great way to keep up with what is happening at school, how you can help our school, and your child!

Friday Assemblies
We have whole school meetings twice a month on Fridays from 11-12. Once our new website is up you will be able to see the topic of the meeting. On Friday 9/28 at 11:00 parents are invited to hear our guest speakers Michael Anderson and Richard Wright . The title of their presentation is: Smart: It's About Questions, Not Answers.

Farm Raiser Boxes from Suzie’s Farm
The Farm Raiser Box consists of in season veggies and fruits. The boxes are $25 each and can be delivered weekly/ biweekly. You pay in advance and pick up the box at IA after school. Suzie's donates a portion of their proceeds back to the school to support our programs also. This truly is an excellent way to introduce some new, healthy foods to the family that are organic and local. A win/win for all. For info contact Beth@innovationsacademy.org
 
Coaching Kids to Success Positive Discipline Live Teleconference. For details,

The Parents Association Planning Group met last Friday to begin to organize and collaborate in support of Innovations Academy. Thanks to all who took their time to come out. There is another meeting this Friday, September 21st, after drop-off to address organizational tasks.

Do you shop at Fresh and Easy? Please save your receipts of over $20 from Sept 12- Dec 31. Bring them to the front office. Additionally, Innovations has a shopping night at Fresh and Easy on Monday October 29, 2012 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Come shop and help out. We get a percentage of all of the receipts from that time period. This is being organized by LuAnn Wherry. Please contact her if you can volunteer: luann.wherry@gmail.com
 
Thanks for stopping by!
Love, Gaby

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Our First Days Together

Hello again!

Our first days together have been a great success!  Thank you for sharing your children with me!

Before going out to recess, we brainstormed a few agreements of what we could do at that time.  The students were quick to point out when they were following an agreement on the yard and notice that it was working for them and the friends around them!













After getting a lot of their energy out, their bodies were giving them the message that they needed a snack!  So we came together again to think of some great snack choices that they could have at that time.  This is handy to help friends decide what to have for a quick snack, what to save for lunch, and what should be saved for dessert or a special treat!


Friends were excited to start working in the classroom and getting to know the materials available to them.  Their natural desire to to investigate, theorize, and create was inspiring to watch!













Since we are still getting to know what the rhythm of our day feels like, we came back together again to brainstorm more possibilities of things we could do at lunch to help it feel successful for everyone!

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In our afternoon, we have the opportunity to spend some well earned time to relax and read books with friends.  This is a great time to get to know someone new and make connections!








At the end of our first day together, we celebrated getting through this new adventure together and captured the first of many group shots!


I'm looking forward to an amazing year together!

Love, Gaby