Saturday, October 24, 2015

Taste Tests, Book Fair, SLC's and MORE!!

Hello Kindergarten families and friends,

Enjoy going through these snapshots with your child to help get a better understanding of our week together.  The kids love to see their photos and friends on the computer, so have fun!

Taste Test

This week, we had a taste test of a pomegranate that a friend brought to school.  Many students had not ever tried a fresh pomegranate before, so we went through the scientific process and discussed our purpose, hypothesis, procedure, results and conclusions.  Check out our Discussion Notes Binder for more information.












This week in Open Choice Time, a friend brought in a fuzzy caterpillar that friends were curious to study.  Come check out what some of their observations were.


Friends are adding more words to their scorpion versus cricket idea.  It's exciting to see friends work together to sound out words and practice their letter shapes!


Book Fair

We got a chance to preview the Book Fair.  Friends were able to look at the books quietly and enjoy the variety of genres offered.










Student Led Conferences

This week, we friends completed their Student Led Conferences.  Below are our brainstorms of different examples of social, personal and academic goals that friends generated during our Morning Shares.  Thank you to everyone who was able to come and enjoy their presentations!  They were so brave!























Handwriting Without Tears

One of our weekly rituals is practicing Handwriting Without Tears. Our friends are learning correct letter formation and good handwriting habits with Rachael's guidance. 

They are practicing writing letters on chalk boards using short chalk pieces and erasers that help build their fine motor skills.  Each chalk board has a happy face on top, which encourages children to start writing their letters starting from the top.


The wood pieces we use are big lines, little lines, big curves, and little curves. Children also can match pictures and other forms of the capital letter.


In our small learning groups we practice recognizing, building, and writing 2 upper case letters at a time. Some of the activities we do during these groups are:  placing real wood pieces in the correct sequence, piece by piece onto a laminated card showing the built letter. 


Lastly, children can use our worksheets to get the chance to practice writing the letter they just learned to build. These activities and materials have truly given children a easier and happier way to master their handwriting. 
 

Tio Nacho's Hat

Patrick, our school's Spanish Language Immersion teacher, invited our class to preview a play that his students have been practicing and asked our friends to give them feedback.






Tio Nacho wakes up and says hello to all of his friends: the dog, cat, bird and monkey.


When he goes to make his coffee, the fire catches and fills his house with smoke.


His niece brought him a new hat.


After viewing the show (told completely in Spanish) friends had space to give warm feedback about their work as well as some suggestions.  For example, they were feeling that the "smoke" was not clear and felt they could make it into wavy lines instead of a puffy cloud.










Nature Dictionary

We reviewed what a dictionary was, it's purpose, and how to use it.


I modeled how we could make our own dictionary about things found in nature.


As friends worked, they were also encouraged to give and receive feedback from their peers.










Thank you to Lynn for being our Family Reader this week!


Alex's Memorial

Thank you for everyone's support and positive thoughts in regards to our dear teacher friend, Alex's sudden loss.  This week, I asked if any of our friends knew about him and some shared that they knew he had passed away in an accident.  Many understood that he was loved and a special person and would be missed by many, even if they did not know him, personally.  To show their support to his friends and family, they agreed to write messages of love for him.  Check out our Discussion Notes binder for more information about our lovely discussion regarding this sensitive matter.








"I love Alex.  From, Emmett"


"We won't ever see you again, because you are gone.  Love, Lilian"



"Alex" From Melayna


A drawing of a wholly mammoth, from Sebastien


A drawing of a heart, from Xavier



"Dear Alex, Goodbye.  From, Ryan" 



"I love you.  From Ara"



"You are a good boy.  Love, Maja"



"I will miss you.  Desmond"



"Alex, you were good at teaching.  From, Emery"



"I love you.  <3 Jackson"



"You were a good teacher.  From, Dominic"



"You taught great.  You were a good teacher.  Love, Timothy"



"We will see you on your celebration.  Love, Bethel"


"Alex" from Sawyer



"I'm sorry you are dead.  I bet you're sad. From Scarlett from Gaby's Class."


Here are other momentos from our IA Community






Thank you for all of your love and support,
Love, Gaby