FEBRUARY FACTS AND FUN

It was a very busy week.  In addition to Guided Reading and Literacy Centers, we have been learning about the lives of our February presidents, down to what George had for breakfast and Abe had in his hat.

The kindergartners should be filling out those toothbrushing schedules twice a day by now.  They know all about good dental health:  brushing twice a day, visiting the dentist, and eating healthy foods.  Parents, please remind them to fill in the sun after morning brushing and the moon after everning brushing. 

ALL ABOUT CENTERS

Centertime is not just about having fun.  It is a time when students can create, explore, read, write, share, build, draw, and learn.  Students look forward to this special time of day when they can pick a center of their choice and work with a partner to do something wonderful.  These future scientists are examining seashells at the science table.  Students are working at the computer learning about time and money which is our math focus this month.  Students love to write original stories on a number of topics in the writing center.  They will have the opportunity to read their books to the class and earn a Caldecott Honor Award for great artwork or a Newberry Award for great writing.  The Lego Center is always a fun favorite and a chance to improve those fine motor skills.  Of course, kindergartners love to build and here are two of our budding architects showing off their structure.

WE LOVE PARTIES!

Thank you, parents and grandparents, for all your contributions to our Valentine Party.  It was a huge success and so much fun.   A special thank you to our Valentine Party room mother who worked so hard to coordinate everything.  If you were unable to attend, check out these pictures of your children making a craft, playing games, and enjoying heart-shaped cookies, cupcakes, and other sweet treats.

The kindergartners worked very hard on handmade Valentines for their moms and dads.  These moms seemed very excited to receive theirs.

BUDDING ARCHITECTS

Centertime is not just about having fun.  It is also about giving the students a chance to be creative and inventive and practice their skills and talents.  Here are two of our budding architects, Austin and Levi, who were very proud of their structures.

We Love Our Smartboard!

Our Smartboard is up and running and the kindergartners are so excited about it.  They were very focused on and eager to participate in the lessons on telling time this past week.  They also were very successful in matching colors words to colors, reading sight words, and recognizing odd and even numbers.  We learned some facts about George Washington through animated videos and are looking forward to more lessons this coming week.  My kindergartners continue to amaze me!

Me and My Shadow

On Wednesday the kindergartners were excited about Groundhog Day and having six more weeks of that beautiful winter weather to play in at outdoor recess.  We'll see!  Mrs. Madrid's groundhog paid us a surprise visit.  Check out her blog to get a glimpse of him.  The class learned some interesting facts about the little critter and wrote in their journals about it.  After hearing a story about Godfrey Groundhog we went outside to morning recess where they played with their shadows.

FRIDAY FUN

The kindergartners are anticipating Valentine's Day with great enthusiasm.  On Friday they used colorful hearts in different sizes to create Valentine animals or insects.   Monday we will write about them.  We're so excited about Valentine's Day; we just can't wait! 

We have 21 students in the class and a list will be coming home so that your kindergartner can address valentines to his/her classmates.  No need to send a valentine box as we will be making valentine mailbags in class.

MATH MADNESS

We finished Chapter 7, Number Patterns, on Friday and the kindergartners are ready for their chapter test this week.  Chapter 8 is Time & Money and we'll be working in our workbooks and learning about money on the computer.  They will be learning to identify and know the value of a penny, nickel, and dime.  We will be learning how to tell time on the hour.