Mrs. Davison's Kindergarten

Leader of the Day!

2012-01-28T05:43:00.000-08:00

Everyday we have a leader of the day. This is an opportunity for children to read the morning message with the class, ask questions, interact with the activities on our SMARTboard, make connections with peers, use a variety of technologies that promote the idea of being a responsible digital citizen and build self confidence. Kindergarten children are amazing. They love being the leader and sharing their ideas and observations with their classmates.

Creating and Designing With Friends!

2012-01-28T05:18:00.000-08:00

In Kindergarten we have lots of different materials that encourage children to create and design ideas and understandings of things they experience and see. In the block area the children have lots of opportunities to work in collaborative groups to create structures, share ideas, make connections with each other and reflect on what thy created.

What is expected?

2012-01-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

This morning Ms. Heather came back to Kindergarten. Today she introduced a new vocabulary word to us, expected. We had a wonderful discussion about what is expected of us when we are in school. When we are using "whole body listening" we are able to do what is expected. We use many different body parts to help us listen and focus when others are talking. When we practice this we discovered that we are able to listen in a way that we understand what is being said! Thanks Ms. Heather for coming and sharing these ideas with us. If you are interested in learning more about Social Thinking go to their website at: http://www.socialthinking.com/

Later in the morning when I was reading with a child, he made an awesome connection! He noticed the word expect was in a text he was reading. He also noticed how the words mean similar things even though they were used differently in both the poster and the text. Great connection and observation!

Gmail in Kindergarten!

2012-01-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

Every week the children check their email and reply to their parents and other family members who have sent an email. This is a wonderful way for the children to begin to understand the importance of becoming a safe, responsible, digital citizen. The children gain extra reading practice when they get to read their new email. Then when they reply, they simply type their message. As young reader's and writer's we have been sounding out words we wish to use as well as leaving spaces between our words. We discovered that we can do this on our own and that our message is clearer when we leave spaces between our words.

In Kindergarten we are learning about writing for purpose. This is another great example of that! We are using email not only to practice literacy skills, but to make connections with others and to share what we are learning and exploring during the day.

Whole Body Listening With Ms. Heather!

2012-01-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

Ms. Heather visited Kindergarten on Friday to teach us how to listen to understand with our whole body! We have a chart in our classroom now that reminds us of how we use our body to become an active listener. We have little visual reminders on wooden sticks to help us notice when we need reminders for the parts of our bodies that are forgetting "how to" listen.
Ms. Heather will visit Kindergarten each Wednesday morning for 5 more weeks to read us stories about how to use our bodies to become active listeners.

Mrs. Tatlock and Pumsy Visit Kindergarten!

2012-01-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

On Monday Mrs. Tatlock visited our classroom. She read us a story, taught us a song and talked to us about our minds! We learned that when we are in clear mind we feel good,when we are in mud mind we are not happy and when we are in sparkle mind we feel fantastic! Pumsy, our friend, the dragon talked to us aboout how he feels when he is in mud mind, clear mind and sparkle mind. Pumsy will visit our classroom on 3 more Mondays to talk to us and read us more stories about feelings.

Gmail in Kindergarten!

2012-01-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

Today we learned about Gmail in our classroom. Mrs. Birdsall our awesome technology educator visited Kindergarten and talked to us about how lucky we are to have email, why we have it and how it helps us with our learning.

Here are some of the wonderful things that the kids children had to say about email:

"Why would we want to use Gmail?"

instead of using my mom's iPhone I could send an email,instead of texting, you can make an email to a friend

"It helps our learning by"......

it helps us learn words when we type a message, you can practice writing your name and then people know who you are, you sign your name when you write a message
"It helps us with our reading because".......
you can learn new words, you re-read what you write, you can read your message, email has lots of words to read

A Forest Luncheon

2011-12-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

This free slideshow made with Smilebox

What a wonderful celebration we had today! The children had a wonderful, healthy lunch. Everyone enjoyed all of the forest foods that were served. Many thanks to all of you for your endless contributions of time, energy, patience, donations of supplies, and food. I really enjoyed watching the children sitting together for a meal. Wonderful table manners also!

Type To Learn Jr.

2011-12-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

We have been visiting the technology lab to learn about how to type. Typing helps us learn where the letters are on the keyboard so when we use a computer, iPad or other device with letters we know where the letters and numbers are. This program is helping us learn our letter names and sounds too! One of the levels on this program helps us spell simple words also. Yesterday a few of the children made connections with things we are learning during our "Echo Time". After our holiday break we will begin using a another keyboarding program called,"Type To Learn 4". This program will also be available for you to use at home!

Gingerbread Houses!

2011-12-07T04:56:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful afternoon we had creating and designing our "gingerbread houses". Thanks so very much to all of you who donated your time, energy and contributions for this project.

I loved listening to the children describe their ideas as well as notice the sides, edges and corners of some of their designs. The connections that children make through hands on projects seem endless. This is a great way to watch and listen to the authentic learning that occurs when children have an opportunity to design their own ideas.

Our Walk To The Williston Food Shelf

2011-11-15T14:28:00.001-08:00

The children learned how some of the food was organized at the food shelf. We also learned that many generous farmers donate fresh produce too!

What a wonderful walk we had this afternoon to the Williston Food Shelf. The children did a wonderful job dropping off the food we collected as a class. We learned what a food shelf is, what it does for the community, who can visit and the items that they need. The children enjoyed the tour and asked some wonderful questions.

Yoga With Ms. Molly!

2011-11-12T11:36:00.001-08:00

We did a great job creating the yoga move tree. We discovered that we have pretty good balance!

Miss Molly taught us some new yoga moves on Friday. Yoga is a great way to relax and take a break in Kindergarten. We are learning about how to be aware of where are bodies are in Kindergarten. It was fun!

ePals! We Earned A Smithsonian Star!

2011-11-08T05:55:00.000-08:00

Smithsonian Stars!

I included a link below for you to check out the scientific drawings that
your children did! I joined ePals 2 years ago. It is a safe, global
community that supports collaboration and making connections with other
teachers, students and schools. One of the projects this year that I am
participating in is Smithsonian Classroom. I am uploading writing and
drawings that the children are creating and designing that focus on the
natural world. When you go to the link, *click on Natural World*, then you
will be on another page, then *click on student work.* Here is where you
will be able to see your child's work as well as other students from all
over the world who have contributed. When I was sharing this, this morning
the children were making comments about how the work was similar and
different. Later today we will be looking on a map/Google Map to see where
some of these students are from. This might be a nice activity for you to
do at home also.

http://www.epals.com/projects/info.aspx?divid=smithsonian_home.

SMARTboard Awesomeness!

2011-11-06T06:45:00.000-08:00


Representation

A child making connections and observations while others are interacting with the SMARTboard!

I love the SMARTboard! This genius tool offers endless opportunities for children to interact with their thinking and also to reflect about what they are exploring and noticing with different cognitive ideas. During our exploration time the children are able to make lots of choices around what they would like to explore. One of our stations in kindergarten is the SMARTboard. It offer lots of different tools for the children to explore with. On Friday the children explored with dice. It was great to observe what they discovered! The children were taking turns, subitizing numbers with each roll, creating representation for how they new what they new, making connections with numbers and the dice, taking turns listening to each others observations and having fun while they were learning.

Animationish!

2011-10-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

The other great feature about Animationish is that the kids can "get inspired" by listening to a short video of Peter Reynolds. Be sure to ask your child about what they experienced today while exploring with this great tool!

Today the children began exploring a wonderful web tool called; Animationish". The program is very interactive and has lots of neat ways for the children to create and design what they want too! We will be creating the life cycle of a tree using this great technology tool created by Peter Reynolds. He is the author and illustrator of many children's books. One of his most popular is, "The Dot".

Creating A Forest!

2011-10-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

The children have started to create and design a forest within Kindergarten. We are creating deciduous and coniferous trees. The children began looking through a variety of non-fiction texts to get ideas about what lives in the forest as well as how a tree grows. Stay tuned as we continue to explore new scientific ideas.

Visiting The Technology Lab!

2011-10-13T15:46:00.001-07:00

The children are now able to log on and off the computers by themselves. Today we visited the technology lab where we were able to think mathematically using a program called,"Quilts and Patterns." This is part of our Bridges math program that we use in Kindergarten.

A Walk To The Williston Fire Station!

2011-10-11T16:03:00.001-07:00

Creating and Designing Dragonflies!

2011-10-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

The children were all able to create and design their own dragonfly. The idea for this project was shared by 1 of our Kindergarten children who created something similar over the summer. He brought it to school to share! One of the things I love about teaching is how easily it is to become inspired by an idea. Look at some of the wonderful dragonflies that were made. I also loved how the children remembered to include all 3 body parts, wings and they even came up with a deign for the compound eyes! You will be able to see every one's at our first Celebration of Learning on October14th, from 7:30-8:30 AM.

Learning About Kinesphere with Mrs. Macnee's Children!

2011-09-25T04:36:00.000-07:00

We learned a new scientific word last week: KINESPHERE. We visited Mrs. Macnee's classroom where her children taught us a new song, what KINESPHERE is and how it helps us keep a safe body. Sometimes when we are in line, we have a small KINESPHERE and when we are playing outside our KINESPHERE is bigger. We practiced staying in our own space/KINESPHERE to a wonderful 'Mind & Body' song called 'Freeze It' by Jack Hartman. The videos give you an idea about what we were learning. Thanks so much to Mrs. Macnee and her class!

Creating and Designing The Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly!

2011-09-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

This afternoon the children began phase 2 of our mobile project. Each stage of the Monarch Butterfly's life is special. We are creating each stage using a variety of materials. The children are talking out loud about each of the stages while they are working! Wonderful creations! You will be able to see them at our life cycle open house in October.

Creating the egg and the chrysalis

Creating a Monarch caterpillar!

A New Morning Greeting!

2011-09-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

This morning Miss Holly taught us a new morning greeting. We sing hello and greet each other. This was lots of fun and a great way to start our day!

A School Wide Celebration!

2011-09-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

This morning we had our first school celebration! It was so exciting. As a school we celebrated how we are all kind, safe and responsible. We have been receiving warm buzzies whenever we are safe, kind and responsible. We fill up the Beehive with our buzzies. When the Beehive is full, we have a celebration recognizing all of our efforts. Each child created a special crown to wear at our celebration!

iPads!

2011-09-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

This morning we introduced a new math station! iPads! The children are using an app called,"Finger Count." This is a great app to use as it helps us with our oral counting, number identification and the understanding of the concepts before and after! The sound is great as it gives feedback while the children are touching the screen. I have posted a few videos for you to check out. Amazing tool!

Mrs. Beele Visits Kindergarten!

2011-09-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

Every Monday for the next 4 weeks Mrs. Beele, our guidance counselor will visit our classroom. Each week she focuses on a different topic. Today we talked a lot about our feelings and what it might feel like if we are in mud mind, clear mind or sparkle mind. Be sure to ask your child to explain the different types of minds we can be in. She also read us a wonderful story called,"The Way I Feel."

Exploration Time!

2011-09-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Exploration time is an opportunity for your child to make choices about what they would like to explore within Kindergarten. This time of day is really important for young children. It gives them another opportunity to make connections with others, practice oral language, problem solve and also an opportunity to design their own learning opportunities within any area in the classroom.

Math Workshop!

2011-09-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

During Math Workshop time we focus on lots of different mathematical ideas. In the videos you will see the children making mathematical observations about bugs! It was interesting to see what the children noticed. Some counted legs, some counted legs and used different counting strategies, some made observations about the features that their bug had. During the beginning months of our math workshop time we are creating patterns, sorting, classifying and making observations.

Writer's Workshop!

2011-09-08T13:17:00.001-07:00

During the beginning weeks of Kindergarten your children will learn about many different ways to express themselves. During our writing time the children will act out through creative play to communicate an idea and to learn about how writing helps us to communicate an idea. In the video you will see how children are beginning to experiment with different types of writing tools through creative play.
Today the children began exploring with paper and special writing tools during our writing time. Each child has their own special writing folder too!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

2011-09-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

We have enjoyed reading the story,"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. In the story we made lots of connections with the caterpillar. Some of the children made a self to text connection because they also get a stomach ache when they eat to much too! During our Writing Workshop time we focused on becoming illustrators like Eric Carle. The children illustrated their own book. I loved watching the children talk about the story while creating their own colorful pages in their 1st book! Later during our Reading Workshop time we partner read with a friend! When we read with a partner we sit close, turn the pages carefully, read the story to each other and make observations about what we notice. Sometimes we make connections too!
I hope you enjoy the photographs and the slide show of your amazing children!

Math Workshop In Kindergarten!

2011-09-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we explored some of the mathematical tools we will be using to explore our ideas. The children discovered patterns, created columns and noticed how some towers were longer or shorter than others.

During Number corner we began using the word Because to help us explain our math thinking. We use the word because when we are justifying our mathematical understanding.

***you can click on any photograph and it will get bigger!***

iPads In Kindergarten!

2011-09-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we were able to use a new tool! We explored with iPads. This is what they children had to say;"wow! You can hear animals real voices, I can write letters, Look, I am tracing my name, I can see lots of numbers, this is so cool, I like this!" After we learn how to navigate the iPads, we will then begin using them in a safe and responsible way that supports our learning!

How We Make A Difference For The World!

2011-09-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Today in Kindergarten we talked about how we can reuse, reduce and recycle materials and food. We have a recycle bucket and a place to put our compost each day! At the end of each day some of the children walk the food scraps to our garden and put them in our school compost.

When Is Your Birthday?

2011-08-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome To Kindergarten! I would love to know what month your birthday is in. Please click below and choose the month that is for you! This is just one of the fun activities we will be doing when learning about each other! See you all in Kindergarten next week!

Please click here to fill out the birthday survey.

A Photo Story About Kindergarten!

2011-06-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks so very much everyone for all that you have done for me and the children this year! Enjoy the pace of summer! Thanks Again, Mrs. D.

Tadpoles Visit Kindergarten!

2011-06-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today we had a great opportunity to see some real tadpoles! If you look closely you can see the legs! Thanks for sharing this with us Harper!

A Good-Bye Luncheon In Kindergarten!

2011-06-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

What a special day it has been in Kindergarten! We enjoyed our last lunch together, shared a poem with you all, enjoyed a photo story of Kindergarten and said good-bye for the summer! Thank you all so very much for making Kindergarten such a huge success. Remember to email me if you would like for your child to participate in the summer reading blog!

The Big Dig!

2011-06-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great opportunity to visit a archaeological site that UVM was working on near the Vermont National Guard. The site contains lots of artifacts from thousands of years ago. Be sure to watch the slide show with your child and talk about what we learned!

A Pizza Party In Kindergarten!

2011-06-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

We all enjoyed a pizza lunch on Friday because we collected so many Box Tops for education! Thanks so very much to those of you who were able to come and help us out. Thanks also EVERYONE for sending in those Box Tops! Please keep collecting and send in when you can. This is a great way we can all collaborate together to make a difference for our school that benefits all the children.

Creating Self Portraits!

2011-06-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

The children did a wonderful job creating and designing their own self portraits! We drew ourselves first using pencils, then we outlined our head with a sharpie. Later on we water colored the background. We enjoyed using markers, crayons and colored pencils to highlight our special features.

Making Connections and Observations About Our Poems!

2011-06-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

The children did a wonderful job sharing their color and name poems that they created. We are so fortunate to have a projector camera and a SMARTboard to help us share and collaborate with others about our writing!

A Reading Restaurant!

2011-06-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

This morning our reading buddies in Ms. Munt's class invited us to their reading restaurant. We were greeted and seated by a hostess. Once we were seated our waiter came to our table to take our order! We found lots of great stories and poems listed under the drink, appetizer, desert and main entree section of our menus! We even wrote tips after we read all of the writing. What a wonderful experience!

Dramatic Play

2011-06-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

The children were so inspired by what they saw and heard at the food shelf this afternoon that the entire class worked collaboratively together and created a food shelf in Kindergarten!

A Visit To The Williston Food Shelf!

2011-06-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we walked to the Williston Food Shelf where we met Reggie, a volunteer who gave us a tour and showed us the new set up. We loved helping put the food away and sort it into labeled areas! A few of the children noticed that labeling is an important way to organize and mark things! "Just like we do in writer's workshop Mrs. D.!"
A special thank you to the parents who were able to walk with us!

The Dorthy Alling Library Comes To Kindergarten!

2011-05-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Jill, the town librarian, came to kindergarten to talk to us about the summer reading program at the library! Our friends from Mrs. Dyer's class joined us! The theme this summer at the library is;"One World, Many Stories". All of the summer activities are free! All you have to do is visit the library and sign up to read books over the summer. All the children have their very own library card so it will be easy to check out books! On Tuesday Jill will be driving the Bookmobile to ABS! This is a special bus that has books you can read at your home in the summer! Be sure to ask your child about the presentation today!

Fairy Tales In Kindergarten!

2011-05-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we had some friends visit us from Williston Central School and share their Fairy Tales with us! We learned that fairy tales can be real or make believe. Lots of fairy tales have a moral at the end. We learned that the moral of a tale is like an important message. The message has special meaning related to the tale. The tales were wonderful!

Designing, Creating and Collaborating In Kindergarten!

2011-05-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

The children collaborated during our exploration time on constructing a building! Many of the children had great ideas for the design. As I observed the building being created I heard children sharing ideas, asking questions about what to do next and others giving friends directions on where to put certain blocks. Later in the day the children shared their structure and spoke about all the planning and team work that went into the structure. Today children decided to take the structure down and create a new one. I heard many children walking around and asking others to collaborate!

A Celebration of Writing!

2011-05-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

This morning we had a celebration of writing in Kindergarten. The children did an amazing job sharing their work with everyone. The children did a wonderful job also of sharing what writing means to them! I will also update the literacy wiki too. The children are amazing young writers. I am so proud of all the writing we do in Kindergarten!

In the video you will hear about what writing is to every child in Kindergarten! Enjoy!

More Scooping!

2011-05-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

This morning we started scooping phrases! We discovered that when we "scoop" reading phrases our reading fluency is better!

Natural Provisions Visits Kindergarten!

2011-05-09T10:14:00.001-07:00

This morning Alison came to talk to us about the recycling, composting and reducing of waste that her store does. It was really wonderful. We made many connections with Alison. We compost in Kindergarten and the compost goes directly to our school garden. Alison composts too! Her compost is taken to another place to be composted. We are going to email Alison at her store, Natural Provisions to tell her about some of the ways we are green in Kindergarten so she can share with others who receive her newsletter!

Starbuck's Visits Kindergarten!

2011-05-04T11:41:00.001-07:00

This afternoon Rose, from Starbucks came to talk to us about some of the great things Starbucks is doing to make a difference in our community and world! Some of the wonderful things happening are: * donating coffee and tea for Green Up Day! * You can bring your mug into Starbucks to get your beverage instead of using a paper cup! *recycling in their store *reducing waste by reusing coffee grinds! People can stop by and take some to help your garden grow! *use special light bulbs in their store that are energy efficient *They help build schools and medical clinics in the villages of the farmers that grow their coffee beans

We enjoyed a healthy snack and drink in the afternoon! Thanks Rose for coming to Kindergarten! Where did Starbucks get their name? Listen and find out!

Burton The Therapy Dog Visits Kindergarten!

2011-05-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

This morning we had a visit from Burton and his owner, Brenda. Burton is a therapy dog which means he visits nursing homes, hospitals and even peoples houses to help people feel better and help people feel happy!
Burton likes to eat carrots and treats. He also drinks a lot of water. It was so fun meeting Burton today!

Sharon Gutwin Visits Kindergarten From The ReHab Gym!

2011-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Be sure to talk to your child about what they learned! What a treat we had this morning. Sharon Gutwin from the ReHab Gym came to Kindergarten to talk to us about how important it is to keep moving! She talked to us about what our bones and muscles are made of and how important it is to keep them healthy. We are going to try to keep our bodies moving everyday to help keep us active and healthy!

Pattern Fish!

2011-04-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a wonderful story called, "Pattern Fish". The book was really wonderful. The children noticed all of the different patterns that were on all the fish. Some of the patterns we noticed were; AB,AB ABB, ABB, BAA,BAA, ABC, ABC and even......ABCD,ABCD! Later the children had an opportunity to create and design their own pattern fish! As a class we decided to collaborate together and create some fish habitats on the wall for our fish to live. The murals the children painted are so colorful. Enjoy!

Scooping Sentences During "Echo Time"!

2011-04-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

During "Echo Time" we began reading simple sentences with words that we know well. This week we are scooping the words as we read them! This is a great way for us to match the words we read with what is on the page. This also helps us with our reading fluency! The children did an amazing job this morning! One of the children asked if they could FLIP a video of what we were doing! I thought that the video was wonderful for a 6 year old!

Winners In Kindergarten!

2011-04-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Today our principal, John Terko delivered our award certificate and $100.00 gift card to use to purchase materials we need for Kindergarten! Our class was 1 of 5 classes chosen to receive the "Clean Hands Game Champions Award". The award was given to us after we created a photograph of our clean hands and then we wrote why it is important to have clean hands! We keep our hands super clean in Kindergarten to fight germs and to help prevent illness.

Glogging In Kindergarten!

2011-04-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Glogging? What is glogging? It rhymes with blogging, but it is not a blog, it is a glog! A glog is an interactive poster! We had some former Kindergarten children visit us from Mrs. Eaton's class who created glogs last year. It was great to have new friends share their glogs and talk about the process of how they were made. After vacation we will begin creating our own glogs about Kindergarten!

Designing and Creating Structures In Kindergarten!

2011-04-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

This morning a couple of children designed a tall skyscraper using baskets and wooden blocks. They drew a detailed plan, a blueprint of their idea and posted it behind their building. I love how they used numbers and words to illustrate their idea. This is a great example of some of the authentic learning that occurs in Kindergarten.
***Remember you can click on the pictures to get a closer look.***

Mrs. Schaw Teaches Us A New Math Game In Kindergarten !

2011-04-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we learned a new math game. It was so fun! First we talked about what a digit is. Digits are single numbers. Two digit numbers are numbers created with 2 digits like; 15, 23, 45, etc. We learned that single digits only have 1 part, which is 1 digit. 2 digit numbers are made of 2 parts which then makes a 2 digit number. We played a partner game using cards with 2 digit numbers on them. First you decide how many cards to take from the pile, then you read the numbers and make observations. Some of our mathematical observations were that some of the digits were the same, like 24, 29. When this happened we knew that they were from the same decade. When we play this card game we put the cards in order from the least to the greatest and from the greatest to the least. We then asked a great mathematical ?. Is this activity like putting our number cards in counting order? The answer was no, counting order has no missing digits, in this game we are putting the numbers in order from the least to the greatest and the greatest to the least.
In the videos you will have an opportunity to listen to some of the math thinking that happened while we were playing this new math game!

Writer's Workshop In Kindergarten!

2011-04-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

This morning during our writing time we had lots of activities to choose from! Some of the children were posting on their kid blogs, some painting covers for their "How To" books and others were creating scrapbook pages! One of my Kindergarten students picked up the FLIP camera and said, "Mrs. D. I am Flipping you because I want to be able to look back at you in case I forget the directions!"

Breakfast With The Birds!

2011-04-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

This morning we had a wonderful celebration of learning in Kindergarten! The children were able to share their own bird that they created as well as their report about their bird. After we shared our projects we had breakfast with the birds! Everything was so delicious! Thanks so much to all of you! I feel so fortunate to have such a caring, collaborative and engaged group of families in Kindergarten!

Making Connections With Kid Blog and Our Scrapbooks!

2011-04-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

This morning we began working on pages for our Kindergarten scrapbooks. The children were so excited and loved the idea of creating and designing their own pages. A few of the children made an important connection with this project. The children said, "This is like our kid blogs!" I asked "How". Some of the children responded with the following comments; it is like a journal, we have titles and pictures like our blogs, we write words and sentences like we do on our kid blog, everyone can see our blog, but not our scrapbooks. Amazing!

Counting Ropes and Counting Grids!

2011-03-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest mathematical tools we have in Kindergarten are counting ropes! The ropes give us endless opportunities to practice skip counting, counting forwards and backwards and even adding groups together too! Be sure to talk to your child about how we use this tool to help us with our math thinking!
The number grids, 100-0 give us an opportunity to practice skip counting too! This is just another one of the many interactive math games that we play in Kindergarten to help us become great mathematicians!

Check In, Check Out!

2011-03-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Today we started using our new check in and check out system in Kindergarten! Wow! The children are doing a great job of being responsible about checking out when they are in the hallway, the nurse or the bathroom! After they return to Kindergarten they check in! Everyone is being so responsible, safe and helpful with each other. This is a great way to practice being responsible and safe.
Each child was able to choose their own special picture that represents them. Mrs. Casey a preschool teacher at our school shared this idea with us and helped us get started! Thanks Mrs. Casey! Great work everyone!

Birds! Birds! Birds!

2011-03-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

The photos are wonderful! Your children have been doing a wonderful job creating and designing their reports as well as their own unique bird. Be sure to ask your child what they have learned about their bird!

The Process Of Making Paper Mache Birds!

2011-03-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would share a few photos with you of the steps of the process we have gone through so far when creating and designing our birds! Wow! Today we started putting on the outer layers of paper towels and goo! This is a bit messy and fun! The children are really thinking about all the parts that their bird has and the importance of defining features that distinguish their bird from other birds.
The colors are beautiful that we used to define the main body parts of our own bird!

Happy Pi Day!

2011-03-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

This afternoon during part of our math time we looked at the pi symbol and took some private think time to think about what pi meant. Then the children had an opportunity to share their mathematical ideas in a math dyad. It was really interesting to hear some of the ideas that the children had. Listen to some of their thoughts!

Collaborating With New Friends!

2011-03-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

We had a great group of young friends visit Kindergarten. Our pre-school friends arrived with their own paper mache animal from a story they read by Jan Brett called, "The Mitten." We loved hearing about their animal and how they made it. We are also going to be creating our own paper mache bird. We look forward to asking our pre-school friends for help as we get started!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2011-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday! Each child received their own special Dr. Seuss book bag! We enjoyed another great story called, "The Cat In The Hat Comes Back." The children did a great job of making a text to text connection with this story and another Dr. Seuss story we read yesterday!

How We use Our Tool Kits During "Echo Time'

2011-02-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

As you know we use Fundations as part of our literacy program in Kindergarten. Today we began using our magnetic tiles to spell CVC words! CVC words are words that have the following pattern; consonant, vowel, consonant. Lots of fun!

Pajama Day!

2011-02-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

Today is Pajama Day in Kindergarten at ABS! The children are enjoying reading to their stuffed animals, doing some measurement activities and drawing too! I hope you enjoy the photos.

Outreach With The Flynn Theatre!

2011-02-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we had a wonderful time watching, listening and acting out what we are going to see at the live performance of Knuffle Bunny on March 2nd. Tracey, our program teacher did a wonderful job. I have posted a couple of videos for you to see to get an idea of some of the enriching activities we experienced!

A Celebration of Friendship! Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T10:31:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful celebration we had today! The children each shared what a friend does. Very special... Some responses were; friends make me smile, they help me, they listen to me when I need support, play together, have play dates, kind to each other and many more! Afterwards we opened our special boxes and cards. The snacks were yummy too! What fun to hear everyone saying thank you and I like..... Many thanks to all of you who made contributions of time, energy and other donations.

The 100th Day of School!

2011-02-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

You will notice all of the different ways each child created 100! This is an example of how we use/recognize the math habit of mind, Multiple Representations!

A Mathematical Quilt of Sea Creatures!

2011-02-10T14:51:00.001-08:00

This quilt was created with the calendar pieces we used during our Number Corner Time! The children have a new pattern of animals each month which focuses on a mathematical pattern. Be sure to see all the other wonderful things we are doing during our math time! Go to:http://maththinkinginkindergarten.pbworks.com

Making Friendship Boxes!

2011-02-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

This afternoon the children each created and designed their own Friendship Box! The boxes will keep all of our cards, notes and surprises for us until Monday when we get to see what awaits us!

Remembering Martin Luther King!

2011-01-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

This week the children created their own podcast of their dream for the future. The podcasts were inspired by the story we read remembering the life of Martin Luther King. I am posting a video of 2 of the dreams that the children created this week.

Learning About The Digraph"TH" With Ms. Heather!

2011-01-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

This morning our wonderful speech language pathologist visited Kindergarten! Ms. Heather talked to us about the how to make the "th" sound. We practiced making this sound together. When we make this sound our tongue slides between our teeth! It is different from the "f" sound. When we make "f" we bite our tongue. Be sure to ask your child about what we did!

Creating A Setting For A Story!

2011-01-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

This morning we started creating our story setting for our characters from the story, "The Three Snow Bears" Our SMARTboard is a great tool to help us visualize all the things that we need in a setting. The setting helps tell the story too! We will work on creating our puppets tomorrow!

Gmail In Kindergarten!

2011-01-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Today Mrs. Birdsall came to Kindergarten to talk to us about Gmail! This is a great tool and a privilege to have at our school. Today we talked about how important it is to use Gmail as a tool to communicate with others and how it helps us with our reading, writing and spelling! One of the children set their account up today as an example of "how to" do it! The children will set up their own Gmail accounts next week. After we do that I will ask you to send your child an email.
I am starting this a little earlier this year as we are in the middle of a Jan Brett author study and on her website she has a place where children can design and send their own postcard! So..... the children need an email account to do that! Please talk to your child about who they would like to send their postcard to and I will help them. If it is a relative or friend I would need the email address. Thanks!!!

What is a Rekenrek?

2011-01-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

This morning Mrs. Schaw came to Kindergarten to talk to us about a new math tool we will be using to us with our math thinking. A Rekenrek is a special math word that came from a man who lives in the Netherlands. It means an arithmetic rack. What We Noticed About Our Class Rekenrek: 1. 10 beads on top, 10 beads on the bottom 2. It has red and white beads. 3. They are like circles. 4. The beads slide back and forth. 5. 20 balls and it is a repeating pattern. 6. 5 red balls and 5 white balls on top.

Remember you can click on any picture and it will become larger.

Great Math Stations In Kindergarten!

2011-01-06T05:52:00.000-08:00

The children learned a new game called, "Count and Compare Pennies." This is a great game that gives the children a chance to develop the concepts of addition and subtraction. Be sure to ask your child about this game.

We also started using sea creatures to help us count, make estimations and to practice subitizing numbers 1-10! Lots of fun!

A Quilt Representing An A, B, C Pattern With Triangles and Squares!

2011-01-04T10:01:00.001-08:00

Jan Brett Author Study Live!

2011-01-04T08:09:00.001-08:00

The children have been enjoying listening to the books we are reading by our current author of study, Jan Brett. Today the children began designing their own hat form the story, "The Hat". They are all beautiful and will be on display soon. Later during our reader's workshop time the children had an opportunity to turn and talk with a partner about another story we read, "The Mitten." The children each created their own mitten and the put the characters of the story inside. During our turn and talk all the children had an opportunity to re tell the story! Wonderful!

Kindergarten Life!

2010-12-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

Kindergarten Life!

This video was created to share our excitement for learning and how much fun it is to be 5 and 6 years old. We hope you enjoy our video and that it inspires you to enjoy learning too!

Fantastic Math Thinking In Kindergarten!

2010-12-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, Ms. Lydia(Mrs. D.'s daughter) visited Kindergarten. She helped us create and design another wonderful mathematical quilt using squares and butterflies. We have the quilt on display in our classroom. After our holiday vacation we will create another voicethread for you all to enjoy!
*** Remember you can click on the images to get a closer look!**

Fundations Time In Kindergarten

2010-12-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

This morning during "Echo Time' we were beginning a new Fundations Unit, focusing on capital letters. Your children are amazing! They immediately recognized how the capital A is made up of 2 triangles and straight lines! Then another child noticed a trapezoid! I continue to be so impressed by the deep thinking and connections that your children make each day.

Reader's Theater In Kindergarten Performed By Ms. Schwartz and Her Amazing Children!

2010-12-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we had the pleasure of seeing our first Reader's Theater! Reader's Theater is when children have an opportunity to read a story collaboratively and focus on their oral reading skills. Some of these skills are reading aloud, reading with expression and voice. The reader's were wonderful!
The story we heard today was called, "What? No Santa

Some Live Video of Our Forest Feast!

2010-12-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

A Forest Luncheon With Our Forest Friends!

2010-12-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

Great pictures of the wonderful forest food we ate.
Wow! It was so wonderful to see all of the children eating a meal together! We had an opportunity to eat and talk together about the forest. Lots of fun! The children had an opportunity to practice using their table manners and I loved how polite everyone was with each other! The children ate everything! The maggot surprise was a huge hit! Thaks so very much everyone for all that you do to make Kindergarten such a magical place!

A Celebration of The Forest!

2010-12-17T08:33:00.001-08:00

This morning we had a wonderful culminating activity of our current theme of study. The forest open house was a huge success! We enjoyed listening to some real forest sounds. The sounds were from forests all over the world. The children were able to read, share and display their amazing writing and artwork. We have enjoyed learning about the forest and the many creatures that live in the forest too!

What Fun Designing and Creating Gingerbread Houses!

2010-12-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

This afternoon the children had an opportunity to create their own "gingerbread house." Lots of great ideas were shared around the design of "how to"(great math habit of the mind!) get the walls to stay standing!
Enjoy!

Snow People In Kindergarten!

2010-12-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

This morning we read a great story called "Snowballs". The story was really good. The author created different types of snow people, so we decided to make our own too! Tomorrow we go outside to make a snowman!

Exploring the Circumference of Trees!

2010-12-03T10:30:00.001-08:00

This afternoon we took a walk outside and visited some of the deciduous and coniferous trees in the front of our school. The children each had their own piece of colored yarn to measure the distance around or circumference of a tree. It was really wonderful to be able to see the children exploring with this new concept.

Wow! A great snack this afternnon too! We all ate tree bark for our afternoon snack!

A Great Way We Collaborate At ABS!

2010-12-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we worked with one of Ms. Crowley's students and made a post on our kidblog about our favorite book we read by Kevin Henkes. We are waiting for more storage on our blogs so we can paste a copy of the book we choose as well!

Meet A Tree!

2010-11-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we took a walk outside and examined a tree in the garden! We discovered that it was a deciduous tree. The leaves had long, narrow, jagged edges. We tried putting our hands, fingers and arms around the trunk of the tree. We discovered that the tree had a small circumference!
Stay Tuned! Tomorrow we look at coniferous trees!

All It Takes Is An Idea!

2010-11-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

The children have been working very hard on creating our classroom forest. I love how the children are thinking of ways to use writing and pictures to help clarify meaning throughout the classroom. One child decided that we needed a sign in sheet to keep track of who has an opportunity to visit the "bear cave", "pond" and the computers each day. Another child thought it would be a great reminder for everyone to remember that "bears play and rest" in a safe way while in the cave! A sign was made to remind others! Lastly a couple of children thought it would be a good idea to label and write about how you can tell how old a tree is! This is amazing! ***Remember to click on individual pictures to see things close up!***

Breakfast Club In Kindergarten!

2010-11-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

If you would like for your child to eat breakfast at school, they can! Every morning children walk down to the cafeteria to get breakfast and then eat it at our breakfast table! We call it "Breakfast Club" in Kindergarten. Sometimes former Kindergarten students come back and help us out!

Our First Oral Reading Presentation!

2010-11-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

This morning the children did an awesome job reading their writing about what they were/are thankful for. This was a great opportunity for the children to practice reading orally, public speaking, using eye contact, being an active listener and also practice being a respectful member of an audience. Wonderful! While we were waiting for our families to arrive we sang some songs and played a couple of great math games. I am going to post individual videos on everyone's kidblog!

Type To Learn 4!

2010-11-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

Today we began working on a new program to help us with our keyboarding skills. The name of the program is Type To Learn 4! The children loved it! This is also available for you to download for home use too! I will get the information to you this week.

An ABB Pattern With Spiders and Ladybugs!

2010-11-16T11:53:00.000-08:00