Monday, May 31

Today was S for Silly Socks and Scary Monsters Day!  We wrote a letter to our first grade teacher this morning.  Then, we worked in small groups to make either a monster head, shirt, body, hands, or feet.  We also made a Go Away Big Green Monster puzzle and did a fun addition dice roll to make a monster.  Everyone loved the activities that Mrs. Squire made!

REMINDER:
ALL library books are due back tomorrow!!!

Monster Addition Dice Roll

The monster that we made in small groups, then put together

Wednesday, May 25

This has been a fun week so far!

On Monday, we made a new book for our book bin drawers called "Down on the Farm."  This book has movable animals that are used to tell the story.  We also wrote in our farm journal about pigs.  We learned that the male pig is a boar, the female is a sow, and a baby is a piglet.  Pigs dig in the mud with their snouts to find food.  They also roll in mud to stay cool and protect their skin from the sun.  In the afternoon, our class went to music.  We have been practicing very hard for our Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony!  We hope that you can come!

On Tuesday, we went to the park on a field trip for Outside Day. Our class had lots of fun playing on the equipment and playing games with other classes.  They also got to eat a picnic lunch before walking back for specials.  It was a fun day with great weather!

Today we worked in our farm journals again.  We learned about chickens and wrote about them.  We also practiced addition and graphing.  We did a fun sheep activity where we had to estimate how many cotton balls would fill up the sheep's coat, then we checked our answer with real cotton.  We also got to spend some time working on puzzles for P day! 

Later this week, we will be learning about the farmer's role in running a farm and talking about animal babies.  We will also read one of my favorite books, "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" and will be writing our own letter to Farmer Brown!  The PTA is celebrating Kindergarten as the grade of the month this month.  On Friday, they will be bringing us popcorn to enjoy while we watch a farm video.

Letter Days for Next Week:
Monday-No School!
Tuesday-S for Silly Socks Day!  We will also be doing Spooky activities in kindergarten!
Wednesday-T for Tider Day - wear red, white, and black!
Thursday-U for USA day - wear red, white, and blue!
Friday-V for video day.  Kindergarten will also be doing a Vacation at the Beach theme for the day!

Other Reminders:
*Our Farm Field Trip is on Wednesday, June 8th.  Please send field trip money for your child ($8.25) and for any chaperones who will be coming ($9) if you haven't already!  Also, return the lunch for so that we can get a bag lunch count to the kitchen for that day.

*The last day to return all library books is next week on Wednesday.  Please be sure to return you child's book by then!

Our caterpillars have all turned to chrysalises!

*Kindergarten Graduation is next week on Thursday (June 2).  It will be at 11:45 at the EPAC!  We hope you can make it!

Our class farm!

Letter Days Next Week:

Monday-N for No Homework
Tuesday-O for Outside Activity
Wednesday-P for Puzzles
Thursday-Q for Quiet Activity
Friday-R for Read

May 19th

On Tuesday we used our farm maps to add different farm animals.  We also wrote about our farms.  We read the story There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and painted our own old ladies!  We also read some other versions of the story.  It was fun to compare the stories and discuss the similarities and differences between them.

On Wednesday, we played a fun game where we each had a farm picture taped to our backs and we had to ask yes or no questions to try and find out what it was.  We also started a farm journal.  We wrote about sheep in our journal yesterday.  We learned that they eat grass, they live in herds, a Sheppard takes care of them, and they give us wool to make yarn for clothing.  We also found out that a male is a ram, a female is a ewe, and a baby is a lamb!

Today, we learned about cows.  We learned that females give milk and males are called bulls.  They also eat grass.  Farmers used to milk cows by hand, but now they use machines.  Each cow gives 80 glasses of milk each day!  We also reviewed even and odd numbers through a fun farm activity.  We made an even and odd barn and had to place the numbered animals into the correct barn depending on if they had an even or odd number.  We also had some special visitors this morning.  Our current 4K students came to school for a tour before their year is done.  They buddied up with us and we showed them around our room and told them all about kindergarten.  They are excited to come here in the fall!

Tomorrow, we will be measuring some farm animals and painting different animals to make a class farm.  We will also talk about different products that come from farms. 

REMINDERS:  Don't forget to turn in our field trip money ($8.25/child and $9/chaperone).  If you would like to chaperone and you returned the bottom portion of the field trip note, I have you signed up.  Everyone that would like to chaperone is welcome - we have room for everyone!  Don't forget to turn in our money!

Next week on Tuesday we will be walking to the park for playing and a picnic.  Be sure to send a bag lunch and drink with disposable containers.  Your child may also take a school sack lunch for $1.75.

The end of the school year is quickly approaching.  Look around your home for any books that your child may have borrowed from the classroom or the library. 

Jenna's Farm

Adyn's Farm

Brody's Farm

A special treat of s-mores in celebration of the reading promotion!

Sydney loves her s'more!

May 16

This week we will be learning about farms, crops, and farm animals.  Today the class designed their own farms in the morning.  Tomorrow we will be writing about our farms and doing some addition with them as well.  In the afternoon we went to music and then read a new Let's Find Out magazine about the life cycle of a chicken. 

REMINDER:  Tomorrow is J for Joke Day!  Bring in a joke to share with the class.

Don't forget to check the snack calendar.  We had a few people miss the last couple of weeks and my supply of extras is now out!  You are always welcome to send your child's snack ahead of time and I will keep it in our cupboard.

ONE MORE THING...I am in need of some plastic baskets for our library area.  I would like them to be big enough to hold about 20 picture books each.  If you have anything like this that you are no longer using and would like to donate to the class, we would greatly appreciate it! 

Symmetry butterflies from last week

Our caterpillars finally came!  They are much bigger this week and we are waiting for them to begin their change.

Most of our class!

Letter Days for Next Week

Monday - I for inside out.  Wear all or some of your clothes inside out!
Tuesday - J for joke day.  Bring your favorite joke to share with the class.
Wednesday - K for kindness day.  Do something kind for a friend or teacher.
Thursday - L for Lucky Day!  Bring something lucky.
Friday - Music Day - Music will be played during work time!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Reminders

Tomorrow is G Day.  GO TEAM GO!!  Wear your favorite team apparel or colors.
Friday is H day.  You can wear a hat to school on Friday!

Tuesday, May 10

This week we are finishing up our bug unit.  We have talked about the parts of a bug and characteristics of insects.  On Monday, each child got to draw and paint his/her own bug jar!  There were many different types of insects in the jars - butterflies, ants, praying mantises, walking sticks, and other creative bugs.  We also wrote a description of our bug jar and where we found the bugs.  They are hanging in the hallway above our coats if you would  like to check them out!

Today was "E" day on our end of school countdown.  E is for exercise, so we went outside to run and stretch.  It was very hot out there!!!  We also picked flowers and made a class bouquet.  We went to 2 math centers in the morning and will finish the other 2 tomorrow.  We  also made a fun accordion bug book for our book bin drawers. 

Tomorrow, we will work in teams to create different parts of a monarch's life cycle.  It is also "F" day on our countdown.  I hope our class earns a fun activity tomorrow!

Thursday, May 5

This week we have been learning about insects and butterflies.  We made coffee filter butterflies for our May calendar on Monday and wrote a seed story with a partner.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, we went to different centers where we made patterns with bugs, created a ladybug's life cycle, made a bug book for our book bin drawer, and measured classroom items using a bug ruler.  We also worked on a special book that the kids will bring home this weekend!  Today we designed our own bugs by choosing from different heads, wings, thoraxes, and abdomens.  Our class also wrote about our insects and described how they look as well as where they live and what they eat.  We had some creative bugs and writing this morning!  We practiced making tally mark again by taking a survey of our class's favorite bugs.  Tomorrow, we will be doing a special project and finishing up our book to bring home.  We will also watch the Middle School band and choir perform in the morning.

Next week we will continue to learn more about bugs and life cycles.  We will talk specifically about butterfly life cycles!

REMINDERS: 

Pick-up for the fundraiser is this Saturday, May 7 from 8:30-11am in the big gym.  We need ALL ITEMS picked up on Saturday. 
The PTA Spring Carnival is Saturday afternoon from 2-4pm.  We hope you can make it!

McKenna and Sydney work on their Seed Story.

During this activity, one person gave directions and the other listened without looking.  The kids colored bugs and compared how they looked at the end.