Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Long Ago....

Last week we looked at pictures of La Jolla from long ago. The children discussed the differences between the way La Jolla looks now (a lot more buildings and better roads) to how it looked then (a lot of dirt and not a lot of color). We saw photographs of businesses in La Jolla, people golfing at Torrey Pines and playing at La Jolla Shores. Here is some of the feedback we got when we asked the children what life was like 100 years ago.

One Hundred Years Ago…..
K.S. “Long ago, they had slow cars.”
C.F. “They horses that go fast.”
A.DR. “The cars had no windows.”
R.MA. “There were dirt roads.”
E.G. “They had horses and carriages.”
N.L. “There was no sun.”
R.W. “A lot of people died.”
D.B. “The train has circle windows.”
L.S. “The cars can be on water.”
E.G. “ They had house boats.”
A.O. “I think they had black and white T.V.”
M.M. “There is no food.”
A.R. “The film is black and white.”
L.F. “Cars looked like tractors.”
E.K. “They rode horses.”
K.F “The road was dirt.”
D.B. “The carriages were motorized.”
K.H. “The film was black and white.”

Sunday, November 21, 2010

What is a Community?

Last week we focused on the meaning of community, and the role jobs and businesses play in our community. It is always nice to see the world through the eyes of 5 and 6 year old children. Below is a peek at some of the adorable responses to a simple question.
From Avenida de la Playa
From Avenida de la Playa
From Avenida de la Playa
From Avenida de la Playa
From Avenida de la Playa


Did You Know….

“We have hair cutters in our community, because if the boys have too long hair it will be in their eyes.” ~A.DR
“We have store clerks in our community, because they let us buy food.” ~R.W
“We have presidents in our community, because they say what the cities have to do to help the world.” ~E.F.G
“We have police in our community, because burglars steal.” ~M.M
“We have police in our community so everyone behaves.” ~D.B
“We have teachers in our community, because they teach,” ~R.MA
“We have police in our community, because they keep people safe.” ~K.S
“We have fire fighters in our community, because they put out fires.” ~A.O
“We have train engineers in our community, because they drive trains.” ~D.BC
“We have doctors in our community, because if we get sick I know they can help us.” ~L.S
“We have presidents in our community, because they make good choices.” ~K.F
“We have doctors in our community, because they can help us stop bleeding.” ~A.R
“We have veterinarians in our community because my cat has to go to the hospital today.” ~E.K
“We have doctors in our community because people get hurt.” ~L.F
“We have fire fighters in our community because they save people and they make fires disappear.” ~C.F
“We have ballerinas in our community because they dance so pretty on the stage.” ~E.G
“We have squishy sellers in our community because if kids don’t have toys to play with they will be crying all the time.” ~N.L
“We have fire fighters in our community because they save people.” ~M.L
“We have store workers in our community because we buy our food.” ~K.H


Sunday, November 14, 2010

Our Visit to La Jolla Shores Market

From La Jolla Shores Market

On Tuesday we visited the La Jolla Shores Market. Taft (the owners son) took us on an amazing tour through the freezer, behind the deli counter, into the refrigerators and around the market. After our tour we were each treated to a delicious apple.

La Jolla Shores Market Freezer from Lisa J on Vimeo.


Sushi with Jen!

From Book Cooks
From Book Cooks

In Book Cooks this week, Jen joined us and we got to make sushi!! After reading “Yoko”, a cute story about trying and accepting different foods from different cultures, we made sushi and learned how to write in Japanese. The children wrote their names in Hiragana, and wrote Katakana symbols on Popsicle sticks that were woven together to make a “book” (read top to bottom, right to left). For more information on the book, and to learn how we made sushi, see the google doc below. Thanks Jen for putting this together!



Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Sweet Thank You

From Avenida de la Playa

Sometimes a child will work all morning on something that may normally take them a few moments. Here is an example of one of those times.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Fire Station #9

On Friday the Fire Fighters from Station #9 welcomed us to an action packed afternoon complete with shooting the hose, touring the fire truck and watching them leave for a rescue!

Shooting Down the Cones from Lisa J on Vimeo.


Here are the answers to some of the questions that were asked on our tour:
E.G: The fire fighters save all sorts of animals including goats, chickens, pigs, dogs and even a hawk once! The have a special oxygen tank that is made just for dogs!
L.S: Most fire fighters at Station #9 work at 3-4 stations but have one home station.
A.O: The fire fighters at Station #9 put out 2-3 fires per day.
D.B: When a fire breaks out, 5 stations usually report to the fire and work together as a team to put it out.
K.S: Kyle (one of the fire fighters) has put out 100s of fires in his time (24 years) as a fire fighter.
R.W: When fire fighters fight fires they bring their fire hose and usually pump water through the truck and fight the fire with water.
L.F: Four people are usually in the fire truck and two people are in the ambulance, so 6 people work at Station #9.
R.M.A: We wear out pants over our boots so we don’t get burned, and we leave our pants on our boots so that we can put them on quickly.
M.L: To put the fires out “we put the wet stuff on the red stuff.”
A.D: There are three different types of fire trucks for different types of fires. One truck pumps water out of the fire hydrant, one truck carries water in it and the other has a big ladder that helps the fire fighters get to fires in tall buildings.
A.R: When the fire fighters are not fighting fires, they work with the community, exercise, clean, and check on the equipment.
K.H: When they are fighting fires with chemicals (not water) they use a powder that acts as a blanket. The powder lands on the fire and takes away the air it breathes and doesn’t let it run away. Kind of like what would happen if someone threw a blanket on you when you were trying to run away.
C.F: Station #9 does not have a fire pole because it is a one story fire station. The reason stations do have poles is because they are safer and faster than running down stairs.
M.M: They have 1,000 feet of 4” hoses, 800 feet of 2.5” hoses and 450-500 feet of 1 ¾” hoses at Station #9.
E.G: We ALL got to go in the fire truck!
K.F: The Big Houe (Fire Station #1 downtown) has the most fire fighters and equipment, but Fire Station # 17 is the busiest.
E.K: Station #9 does not have a Dalmatian, but Station #40 does and Station # 19 has a rabbit named Cool.
D.B.C: Station #9 works with the fire helicopters and planes, but harbor patrol works with the fire boats.

Station #9 Off to Save the Day! from Lisa J on Vimeo.


N.L asked “What happens when the fire alarm goes off and we are here?” and we found out! See the video above!


Book Cooks!

From Book Cooks

On Friday Peter and Kristie joined us for Book Cooks! It was the ultimate multi-media day complete with iPads, Document cameras and our new monitor! We "read" "Green Eggs & Ham" by Dr. Seuss as an interactive book. For any of you with iPads or iPhones, please look into Oceanhouse Media to download Dr. Seuss and Berenstain Bears books. During Book Cooks we got to make our own Cat in the Hat hats and enjoy green eggs and ham!

Untitled from Lisa J on Vimeo.


Thursday, November 4, 2010

Hotel La Jolla Here We Come!


A.R after asking me "Lisa J. Can I write 'It is beautiful' in my notebook?"

Sketching Hotel La Jolla
Today 9 of us traveled across the REALLY big bridge all the way to Hotel La Jolla. The children were prepared with interview questions, their clipboards and sharpies and a bundle of energy. Here is what they discovered:

The super troopers after walking up 11+ flights of stairs

N.L:
Hotel La Jolla has 11 floors, has never has a fire and currently has 105 guests. We also walked up all 11 flights of stairs to learn that there are 161 stairs!

M.M:
The pool is eight feet deep, there are three computers in the office, five in the back office and three at the front desk. There are also, roughly 648 plugs and 2 elevators!

E.K:
The hotel makes between $8,000 and $12,000 per day (we had to explain that when asked ”How much do you make each day?” we really meant the hotel).
The hotel usually has 185 guests/day and it can hold 1-4 people per room with 108 rooms available. There is no golf course, but there are 11 floors.

E.G:
It “currently” costs $149/night to stay “all day” at Hotel La Jolla and we can stay for” as many days as you want.” In addition to this, we learned that they serve pasta!

E.G:
After climbing up 11+ stories, we found that there are 161 stairs in Hotel La Jolla, there is a pool and Clays serves deep fried Macaroni and Cheese balls on a stick!

D.B.C:
Hotel La Jolla is 112 feet tall. There are 28,000 gallons of water in the pool. There are 132 windows and there were 22 cars in the back parking lot and 45 in the front lot.

A.O:
When asked if they served chicken strips the response was “Yes.” When asked if there was a hot tub, the response was “Yes.” When asked if there was a hot bath, the response was “No.” When asked how many stairs there were, we were directed to the stairwell and asked to meet the group on the 10th floor.

A.R:
There are 216 chairs in all of the hotel rooms and 18 chairs by the pool. Each wall is 8 feet tall and there are 109 TVs.

L.F.:
There are 108 rooms, 150+ beds and 125 cars can fit in the parking lot.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Avenida de la Playa Through The Eyes of Room 5

From Avenida de la Playa
From Avenida de la Playa
From Avenida de la Playa


Thank you to everyone who helped out today. We all had a BLAST and I could not have hoped for a better field trip to kick off our amazing community study! Please click on the photos above to see more photo’s of our day.

Here is some information gathered from the children today:
~It takes 108-1,030 steps to walk across the bridge
~There are 10-20 floors at Hotel La Jolla
~The houses on the way to Avenida de la Playa are; gray, brown, white, peach, blue, yellow, orange, black, salmon, cream, baby blue, coral and red.
~The sign at La Jolla Shores Market includes a pumpkin, water, plumb, “Accordance Nest”, gallon of milk, grapes, eggplant, a basket and thanksgiving stuff

Last but not least, WE FOUND Cat in the Hat!! Bill from Yogurt Escape discovered him and opened his shop early just for us! We are so excited to have him back in Room 5 with us!

We found Cat in the Hat!! from Lisa J on Vimeo.


Pumpkin Fun!




A BIG Thank you to Debbie for making our Halloween celebration so fun! We enjoyed a morning complete with decorating pumpkins, creating haunted houses, roasting pumpkins seeds (Thanks Laura!) and listening to The Monster Mash on repeat!

Brazilian Book Cooks!

Last Monday we got to do Book Cooks with D.B and Carla!! It was so fun! Carla read us stories about Brazil and shared photographs and a 3D book with us. In one of the books we learned about the Azure Jay, a bird that eats the seeds of the Araucaria angustifolia tree. During our cooking time we got to make Pao de Queijo, a gluten free cheese puff! They were delicious and we enjoyed them after recess.
During Math Job time Kara and the kids continued to build connections between 3D objects and their 2D counterparts. Did you know a triangular prism is made up of 4 triangles, and one square? Or that the “footprint” of a cylinder is a rectangle and two circles? For handwriting this week we reviewed the letters H, K, L and U. The children were able to see if their letters were too wide by placing their 2 fingers over it. If the letter peaked out from either side then they knew it was too wide.


Sunday, October 24, 2010

A Fun Few Weeks in K




The BIG News for this week was that our Cat in the Hat went missing!! This came as quite the surprise and Room 5 is ready to get him back!! So far all we know is that he is on an adventure and trying to find his way to the beach. I wonder if he will take Avenida de la Playa to get there. Hmmm…

Where Is The Cat in the Hat? from Lisa J on Vimeo.



This week the children’s word study focused on the short vowel sounds /a./ and /e/, the letter sounds for B, M. R, and S as well as words that end in –at. During our mini-lessons the children would listen to a story and recall all of the words that followed the particular sounds we were focused on.
In Math, Kara has been teaching the children about 3-D and 2-D shapes. As I listened in on the lesson, I was so impressed to hear everyone’s observations about how a cylinder can roll, but a rectangular prism cannot. The children also had quite a discussion about whether or not the orange round object was a sphere or a ball.. In the end we agreed that it was both!
In Global Buddies we have now read books about children in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Africa. We have also seen how many ways there are to make a difference (Give a goat, give a hen, collect pennies, host a bake sale or host a car wash). This week we traced our hands and came up with ways in which we could all “Lend a Hand.” In class, the children wrote about some of the things that we have and what children in developing countries need (not want). I am curious to see what the children will want to do with all of this information!

This past Friday we had our first Book Cooks! Kate came in and read us "Curious George Makes Pancakes" and we spent the morning making pancakes and completing fun monkey jobs.
Below is a video of C.F illustrating how many Pancakes his monkey can eat.

How Many Banana's Can Your Monkey Eat? from Lisa J on Vimeo.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Another Busy Week!

From Book Share
From Book Share

What a wonderful week! Last week began with a showcase of our amazing authors. Many of the children were really into making books (wordless and full of what they are most passionate about), so we had an author share on Monday afternoon. The pictures aren’t the best (wrong setting), but I hope you enjoy the video!

D.B Book Share from Lisa J on Vimeo.


From Exploration

As many of you know “Squishies” have become quite the common interest among some of the children in our class. It is cute to see how they are cared for, kept safe in pockets and the excitement on the children's faces when they discuss how a new Squishy was acquired (or discovered). Above are some photos of the boys using their recess to build a Squishy/Pirate town.
From Writer's Workshop

In handwriting, the children have been reviewing their uppercase letters and getting used to the colored handwriting paper. They are focusing on bumping the lines, starting at the top and following the proper steps in forming their letters. Handwriting begins with practice on the colored paper and finishing up in their Handwriting Without Tears notebooks. So far we have reviewed how to properly write F, E, D, B, P, R, M and N. On the right you will find a link to the page that explains how to properly form each letter. Please encourage your children to take pride in their handwriting and bump those lines!
From Integrated Learning

During job time the children made their own pumpkins using a pumpkin glyph. To find out which pumpkin belongs to your child follow the glyph below:
Stripes-How many letters are in their name
Eyes-The color of your child’s eyes.
Nose-If they a boy, a triangle. If they are a girl, a circle.
Teeth-How many teeth they have lost. (Some chose to just draw a lot of teeth)
Stem-Your child’s favorite color.
We also measured the circumference of Penelope and Peter (our pumpkins) and counted all of their seeds. Unfortunately the mold got the best of them and they have now become compost :(
From Integrated Learning
From Integrated Learning

We read “The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin” (thank you D.B) and we all wrote about how we are all just a little bit different. Can you guess which one is your child?
1. “I am the only one who knows how to shoot a bow and arrow really far”
2. “I know how to ride a motorcycle”
3. “I speak Dutch”
4. “My wiggly tooth is on the other one”
5. “I like to draw the most”
6. “I went to school in Brazil”
7. “My address has two of the same numbers”
8. “My name is different.”
9. “I went hiking more than anyone”
10. “I lost 4 teeth and have 4 pre-cavities”
11. “My hair is different than everyone else. And my bump (on his lip)”
12. “I go on lots of trips”
13. “My hair is dark”
14. “I am different because I can run fast”
15. “I wear a blue hat”
16. “My brother is in Toddlers”
17. “My brother is in Pre-K”
18. “I have the most Squishies”
19. “I am the only Monfredi boy with a birthday in October”

1.) N.L 2) K.S 3) A.DR 4) D.BC 5) L.S 6) E.C 7) K.H 8) M.L 9) C.F 10) K.F 11) R.W 12) L.F 13) R.AG 14) A.R 15) D.B 16) E.K 17) EG 18) A.O 19) M.F

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Pumpkins and Planting

Our week began with writing about our weekends. I was so impressed to see that children in kindergarten were attending Hebrew school, Sunday school and Dutch school on the weekends! Wow! We now have nine Quick-and-Easy words on our word wall which we practice writing every Monday with our Rainbow Writing. Quick-and-Easy words are the first 100 sight words that children should instantly recognize upon reading.
From Integrated Learning

Through our pumpkin study we have painted, measured and washed Peter our BIG Pumpkin. On Tuesday Peter was joined by a smaller pumpkin Penelope and we had fun comparing their sizes and circumference.
From Writer's Workshop

In Writer’s Workshop we read “Owl Moon” and noticed how the author used her words to describe how cold and quite it was in the woods, rather than telling us “It was quiet and cold in the woods.” We then practiced writing using “Show Don’t Tell”. To inspire us we all got to taste a piece of Pumpkin pie and describe how it tasted without telling our audience that it tasted like pumpkin pie.

In Math we continued to solve word problems and count our days in school. Did you know that in October there are five birthdays and only one in September? We also began our routine of solving morning math (simple addition and subtraction equations) problems.
From Global Buddies

During our Global Buddies time this week we read the book “Four Feet, Two Sandals” a story about 2 Afghani refugee children that become friends by sharing a pair of sandals. The children noticed that the students in “Four Feet, Two Sandals” and the students in “Listen to the Wind” both practiced their letters and numbers in the dirt. After reading and discussing the story we all went outside and tried writing in the dirt.
From Global Buddies

On Thursday, we planted flowers with our 5th grade buddies! The 5th graders read “Mrs. Spitzers” garden to the class and helped them plant their own pot of flowers. The project was lead by Lisa A. and is a part of the 5th graders Community Service Learning class.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Our First Post!

Welcome to the Kindergarten blog and our first post for the 2010-2011 school year! I am looking forward to keeping you all posted on the wonderful adventures and experiences your child will discover during their kindergarten year. For a sneak peek of how the blog works feel free to scroll through some of the posts and albums from last year.
From Green Machine

The year began with a visit from “The Green Machine”. The children got to sift through dirt and find worms, learn about the food chain and how Ladybugs help protect our crops and some children got to put on a play about the water cycle! Click on the photo above to see more photos from that day.
From Global Buddies
From Global Buddies

On Tuesdays we get to meet with our Global Buddies! This is a time where we will meet with the 6th graders (and sometimes the 5th too) and work on projects and activities that increase our global awareness. Over the past two weeks we read “Listen to the Wind”, watch a video by Dr. Greg Mortenson’s daughter and made Peace Pinwheels for International Peace Day.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Winding Down

As the days slowly begin to grow longer, our time together is drawing to an end. In Writer’s Workshop the children have been busy writing and editing drafts of their “How To” books. The topics range from teaching friends how to walk a guinea pig and play a video game, to how to play basketball, go to sleep or make a friend. Last week the children worked with their buddies to help with the editing process. Below you can see a video of the changes J.L. realized he had to make after reading his book to Q.G.

J.B Teaches Q.G How To Play Basketball from Lisa J on Vimeo.


In math the children have been busy practicing how to read an analog clock to the hour and half hour. Some children are already using their ability to skip count by 5s to read to the nearest 5 or 10 minutes. We have also started sorting and identifying coins. Some of the poems we are using in class to help us remember are as follows: “Penny penny, easily spent, copper brown and worth one cent.”
“Nickel, nickel, thick and fat. Your worth 5, I know that!”
“Dime, dime, little and thin. I remember! Your worth 10!”
“Quarter, Quarter, BIG and bold. Your worth 25 I’m told.”
For a fun break from our normal math routine we read the books "M&M Addition" and "M&M Subtraction". The children enjoyed sorting, graphing, comparing, adding subtracting and yes, finally eating their M&M’s!
From M&M Math
From M&M Math
From M&M Math

In science this week our focus has been on caterpillars! We have found caterpillars all around campus and have successfully watched Harry the caterpillar transform into Flappy the butterfly. Inspired by the books “Diary of a Fly” “Diary of a Spider” and “Diary of a Worm” the children have been making their own “Diary of Flappy” book. Through reading some of their diary responses I have found that “Flappy is Happy because he has forgotten about the outside world.” and “Flappy is sad because his chrysalis won’t let him fly.” On our next post I will try to include some images of the responses.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Spring has begun!

From Spring

"Spring is biting plants and a carrot." ~ P.B

The children began their week using words and pictures to describe what spring was to them. The illustrations they made are priceless, if you have the chance please come see them on display in Room 5. Below is their explanation of what spring is.
Spring is...
When squirrels come out. ~D.L
Spring showers. ~J.B
Biting plants and a carrot. ~P.B
Leaves blooming. ~L.A
Vegetable garden. ~J.L
Roses growing. ~D.R
The wind. ~S.H
Rain. ~Q.G
New plants and trees. ~F.V
When flowers grow and roses grow. ~ A.A
Flowers growing. ~A.H
Flowers growing. ~L.M.W
When chickens and bunny rabbits hatch. ~M.F
I think roses growing in the spring. ~Ash

To begin our study of plants and insects I asked the children to share what they want to learn about.
From Spring
"Why do insects have 6 legs?" ~L.A
From Spring
"Why do some bugs bite?" ~J.L
From Spring
"Why does my tree in the spring have flowers and in the summer have leaves?" ~M.F
From Spring
"How Birds of Paradise look so good?" ~L.A

Here are some of the questions we will use to help guide our study of plants and insects!
Wonders about Insects:
A.H. I want to know about the biggest insect.
A.A. I want to learn how insects hide.
Ash. I want to learn about where Ladybugs live.
D.R. I wonder what the biggest bug is.
D.L. Can bugs swim?
F.V. How do plants grow?
J.B Where is the biggest bug?
J.L Why do some bugs bite?
L.M.W How do they fly?
L.A. Why do insects have 6 legs?
M.F. What is the biggest bug in the world?
Q.G. Why do flies lay eggs?
S.H. I want to know how insects are born.

Wonders about Plants:
A.H I want to learn about the Venus Fly Trap.
A.A I want to learn about cactus.
Ash. I want to learn about Venus Fly Traps and how they grow.
D.L. Can plants survive in water?
F.V. I want to learn about Tulips
J.L. How do (plants) help the Earth.
L.M.W. I want to know how seeds are made.
Luke: How do Birds of Paradise look so good?
M.F. Why does my tree in spring have flowers and in summer have leaves?
P.B. Why do plants die?
Q.G I want to know why cactus thorns are leaves.
S.H. I want to learn how plants grow.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Hand to Earth... Sand and Stone

From Great Artists

From Great Artists

Last week we survived the harsh weather conditions of La Jolla Shores for our field trip to the beach. Carrie, Amy, Anna, Claudia, Sondra, Vi and Anna were able to capture some amazing works of art as well as assist in keeping the children on task! Click on the album above to get a sneak peak of your children's work.