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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.