Exploring Worms with Recycle Rhonda!

This morning we explored worms with Recycle Rhonda.  We are creating a worm bed and will be taking care of worms in Kindergarten.

We learned that:

1. Worms like dark places that are damp.

2. Worms can drown.

3. Worms have 5 hearts.

4. Worms have light hairs on their body that help them sense what is around them.

5. Worms do not like the sun.

6. Worms like to eat compost.

7. Worms help take care of the soil.

8. Worms help take care of our planet. Global Goal Connection!

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Recycle Rhonda

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Today Recycle Rhonda visited Kindergarten.  We learned about what goes into a compost and what we can recycle.  Be sure to ask your children about what is in a compost that helps to turn compost into soil to grow things in.

Recycle Rhonda Visits Kindergarten!

This morning Recycle Rhonda visited our classroom.  She introduced us to the 3 R's. They are; Recycle, Reuse and Reduce.  She also introduced us to a new R word, RESPECT.  We show respect for the world when we practice the 3 r's.  This is also part of the Global Goals!  When we take care of the world we are practicing Global Goal #12 Responsible Consumption and #13 Climate Action.

The 4 R's

We also learned some actions for our new vocabulary!

Playing and Creating @vermontkkids123

In Kindergarten play is an important time.  During play we have opportunities to create, design, collaborate and be inspired.  One of the children decided to create an art table.  The children created letters, numbers and other useful things out of paper.  Later this idea inspired others. So we created an apple coloring table and then a book choice area!

Peace Project

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Today some volunteers from the Williston community visited Kindergarten.  They are involved in a peace project via the Dorothy Alling Library.  Look here for more information.
This is a great opportunity for us to tie into the Global Goals for Sustainability!  We recognized International Peace Day this week and spoke a lot about what peace looks like and sounds like.
Some of our ideas about what peace means to us....
Peace is calm..
Peace is helping others...
When we collaborate we are at peace with others....
Peace is when I take a breath and then come back to finish my work......
Peace is when it is quite...
What is next?
Our art work will be put together in a collage and be on display at the Dorothy Alling Library.

Adam's Orchard

Today we enjoyed the sun and exploring the life cycle of an apple and learning about "how to" pick apples as well as the importance of having apple orchards.

We also learned about other animals that live in an apple orchard.  Deer and mice enjoy apple droppings and the farmers feed apple droppings throughout the winter.  This is a great way to help sustain animal life when the weather gets colder.  It also is a great way to take care of the world. 

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Global Goal #15

Today we were inspired by a Tweet from Mr. Deyo's class.  They were creating pictures of things in nature that we need to take care.  We decided to create what is important to us in nature.

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Different Drawings......

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The Global Goals For Sustainability

Today we celebrated how we are going to help take care of the world.  We are thinking about ways to sustain and maintain the world so others can enjoy.

Today we came up with these ideas.....
1. Recycle
2. Turn off lights
3. Turn off water
4. Buy only what we need
5. Compost
6. Be kind to everyone
7. Learn a lot
8. Go to school

Monday in the Woods

Free slideshow design customized with Smilebox This afternoon we explored the outside with Mr. Deyo's class.  We were looking for things in nature that are shaped like dots.  We noticed that many living things in nature have patterns.  We were able to collaborate with each other to build a fort and notice special things we noticed in nature.  The shade feels good on a hot day.  Trees are important because they provide shade for us and animals.

Celebrating International Dot Day!

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Today we continued to celebrate Dot Day!  We enjoyed making our mark by painting, creating with play dough and making noticings of our world map.  Ms. Birdsall came to talk to us about the importance of Looking Up!  Be sure to ask your child about the story.  Ms. Birdsall was wearing a Dot T-shirt!

Dot Day is an opportunity to join other children throughout the world who want to celebrate creativity.  We all have wonderful ideas and like to share.  Dot Day celebrates all that and more!

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Exploring The Monarch Caterpillar!

Today Mrs. Boutin gave us some Monarch caterpillars to explore.  We created a scientific drawing of what we observed.

  The iPads help us organize our ideas and make a plan of what we want to include in our drawings. Our whiteboard table is also great for sharing our ideas when we are thinking.

We used play dough to help us make the skyline letters t, f, and b!  T

Another Wonderful Day In Kindergarten!

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What a wonderful day we had in Kindergarten.  We learned how to write 3 skyline letters; t, b and f.  We like using our new tool kits to help us practice.  We are also creating Author Note pages for our Okay Books.

 Later we used Skype to say hello and learn online etiquette when we use this platform to have conversations.  Please contact me if you would be willing to Skype with us!

Mr. Deyo visited Kindergarten to talk to us about what he shared with a ranger.

We enjoyed reading with our reading buddies too.

We enjoyed a great story!  We read the story and then had conversations about how the strategies and ideas in the book would be great for our block area.  We are trying to pause and take breaths when we need too.  We discovered that when we collaborate, we learn new things and have fun.

Exploring, Creating and Collaborating!

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Today we had a wonderful day filled with new routines and new tools.  During "Echo Time" we practice the alphabet, the sounds and key words.  During our reader's workshop time we are learning about partner reading.  This is fun because we enjoy books and read alongside a friend.  Our document camera helps us make connections in text with the real world.  One of our friends made a connection with a noticing we made yesterday when we were in the woods! This is called a text to self connection.

Monday in the Woods

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This afternoon we traveled outside and explored the area on the hill outside of our classroom.  The children found many live animals on trees, under rocks and under ground.  Today we focused our discussion on Life on Land, #15 of the Global Goals.  We thought about why worms come to the surface after a rainstorm and what special features do they have that keeps them safe underground.

Connecting: The Global Goals For Sustainability

As we begin to weave the Global Goals into Kindergarten we began with making a connection.  I explained to the children that when you are cold, you may choose to wrap yourself in a blanket to keep warm.  This helps you feel better.  The world is a huge place with lots of amazing people and places to see.  The Global Goals are like a blanket.  They wrap themselves around the world.  This is how with our help we can all help the world feel better too. Day #3 of Kindergarten

So I asked the students;"What are we going to do to keep our world healthy?"

These are their responses.....

1. Pick Up Trash

2. Don't Litter

3. No Smoking

4. Eat Healthy Food

5. Keep the Water Clean: No Trash in the Water

6. Throw Trash Away

7. Respect the Earth

8. Recycle

9. Buy only Things That You Need

10. Plant Trees

11. Take Care of Each Other

Safety Tips When Online

Mrs. Birdsall visited Kindergarten again today and we watched a great video about why and how to be safe online.  Look Here

So we learned 3 important things......
1. Always ask parents first before going online.
2. Go to sites just right for you.
3. Stick to places that are just right for you.

Exploring Safety Online With Mrs. Birdsall

Today Mrs. Birdsall visited Kindergarten.  She talked to us about how we need to think about being safe, Kind and Responsible when we are online using a digital device.  We discovered that we need to do these things in person too.  We think with our head, feel with our heart, balance with our arms, stand tall with our legs and listen with our gut.

Look here to see the video we watched about what we learned today!

We also created our identities.  When we share our ideas online we never want to use a real picture of ourselves with our real name.  This is one way we can be safe.

Caterpillar Fun!

This morning we painted our caterpillars.  The children used lots of bright colors.  They are all beautiful. Through this activity children were able to help each other, create and talk about the story.