Halloween

We had a fun afternoon.  After our bus ride and walk through the nursing home, we came back to our class and ate the rice crispy treats me made this morning.  Then we played Centers.  As you can see, some were so involved they couldn't even stop to get their pictures taken.  Sorry no pictures from the nursing home!

Using iPads for Journaling

Lilie "iPad"

Today some of us used iPads for journaling.  We made a plan for what we were going to do for Centers today.  We then drew pictures on the iPads and labeled our drawings.

Roan "Blocks"

Alivia "Read Books"

We Are Writers!

For some of us on Thursday our journal writing turned suddenly from all pictures to a full page of text!  Harry and Drew had fun writing the names of their classmates and  are very proud of their hard work, as they well should be! Keep up the great work!

Happy Halloween!

Art and Geometry: A Study in Pumpkins

St. Mary Kindergarten

Art and Geometry:  A Study in Pumpkins, 2013

Tempera and marker

With Mrs. Jochem, students used a technique to give the appearance of a 3-dimensional object to their 2-dimensional paintings.  They began by drawing a long narrow oval and built curved ridges onto each side.  Then they used three shades of paint to create the appearance of shading on the 3-dimensional object.

Common Core State Standards:

I can identify 2D and 3D shapes
I can model 2D and 3D shapes

Pumpkin Pie in a Bag

Sarah Luthy from Brown County Farm Bureau made Pumpkin Pie in a Bag with the class as part of our pumpkin unit.  

Mrs. Sarah came with daughter, Hollie to share some interesting facts about pumpkins.  First, we looked at a variety of gourds and pumpkins they brought with them.  Then Mrs. Sarah read us the story, Pumpkin Circle; The Story of a Garden by George Levenson.  I would highly recommend this book with its beautiful color photographs and melodic text.  We retold the pumpkin life cycle with the model that Mrs. Sarah brought for us to draw a jack-o-lantern face on and share at home.

Then we all helped add the ingredients for Pumpkin Pie in a Bag.  Finally, we got to taste the fruits of our labors.  

Pumpkin Pie in a Bag

1. Combine the following items in a gallon size Ziploc bag: 2 2/3 cups cold milk, 2 small packages of instant vanilla pudding
2. Remove air from the bag, seal shut and allow students to squeeze and kneed until completely mixed.
3. Open bag and add 1 small can pumpkin pie filling, 1 teaspoon cinnamon,  1/2 teaspoon ginger (we didn't add this)
4. Remove air from the bag, seal shut and allow students to squeeze and kneed until completely mixed.
5. Open bag and add 1 small tub of Cool Whip
6. Remove air from bag, seal shut and allow student to squeeze and kneed until completely mixed.
7. Place 1/2 Tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of a small Dixie cup.
8. Cut corner of filling bag and squeeze filling into cups.
9. Garnish with whipped cream out of a can
10. Add spoon and enjoy.

Compliments of Brown County Farm Bureau                                                                     

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We rode to Quincy on the bus.

We arrived at the pumpkin patch and ate animal crackers.

We took pictures.

We learned about pumpkins.

We got to touch the seeds and slime inside the pumpkin.

Drew and Ali got to pretend they were seeds. (Yep, that's Drew and Ali under the "dirt"!)

Dyson and Gracie got to shovel the holes for the seeds.

Adalyn was a rain cloud.

Thomas was the sun and a bumble bee.

Kayla was in the show, too.

We took a straw ride.  (Mrs. Roegge told us the bales were straw and not hay, because hay is expensive!)

We got to sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

We picked pumpkins.

We got gourds.

Then we got on the bus and went back to school.

We went outside to play when we got back.

By St. Mary School Kindergarten

October 17, 2013

Kindergarten Challenge Update

Congratulations on all your hard work learning the names and sounds of the letters!  Keep up the great work!  We have 2 more weeks to meet our challenge to learn all the names and sounds of the upper and lowercase letters by Halloween.  Here are the statistics so far:

96% Our class average in naming uppercase letter (60% have met this challenge)

86% Our class average in naming lowercase letters (30% have met this challenge)

75% Our class average in producing the sounds of the letters (10% have met this challenge)

If your child doesn't yet know all the uppercase letter names, help them with that last push.  They all are so close!  When they have met that challenge, they will get to sign their name on the board outside our classroom. When we have all met the entire challenge, we will have a party! (Ice cream or pizza, their choice!)

Who Was Christopher Columbus?

After reading In 1492 by Jean Marzollo and Across the Atlantic, the Kindergarten students recalled all the facts they could about Christopher Columbus to compose a class poem.

Columbus...

     wanted to find gold.

     asked a lot people to pay for his ship and they said, "NO!"

     sailed 3 ships.

     had to cross a bunch of water.

     didn't reach the Indies.

     found a new world.

     had to get lots of food for his trip.

     had 90 men who slept in beds on the ship.

That was Christopher Columbus!

by St. Mary Kindergarten Class

October 2013

The Student's Role in Parent/Teacher Conferences

The educational field is encouraging students to take a more active role in parent/teacher conferences.  In our kindergarten classroom that means if students attend conferences with their parents, they will be sharing their data binders.  Data binders are a place for students to record skills they know and record their growth in those skills.  As the year progresses students set goals, talk about how they can achieve those goals, and take an active part in attaining those goals.  Recording those achievements can be a time for celebration.  

I will also be going over your child's report card with you during conferences.  Since these are too complex for a kindergarten reading level, students may engage in a quiet activity in the classroom during this time or go to the school cafeteria where there will be child care provided.  Conferences will go more quickly and be more beneficial if siblings are not present. 

 

Click here for a full copy of the Common Core State Standards Based Kindergarten Report Card.

Click here for Report Card Insert.

Remember that this report card begins with the end in mind (Habit #2).  This is a list of all the things your child should learn during kindergarten.  During the year your child should progress towards meeting these goals.  Do not be concerned if at the first quarter your child is at the approaching or developing stages.  That is where they should be. Progress towards meeting and exceeding is what we are looking for.

If you have not yet called the office to schedule your conference, please do so at your earliest convenience.

Music with Mr. Andy

The kindergarten students participated in Music Class with Mr. Andy for the first time this year.  As this is Mr. Andy's 3rd year at St. Mary School, he found that the students had many more questions about the parts of his guitar.  They reviewed body, sound hole, neck, head, ears and strings, but learned bridge, frets, and string pegs.  They also got to sing some old favorite songs.  Students will participate in 6 music classes this fall and then another 6 in the spring.  Music class is made possible by the Fine Arts Grant provided by the Tracy Family Foundation.  

Yoga

Students will participate in 4 yoga lessons with Miss Kimberly from All About Dance.  Yoga teaches students about calming themselves and being aware of their bodies.  It also develops strength and balance.  These classes are made possible through the Fine Arts Grant provided by Tracy Family Foundation.  Later in the year students will participate in 6 tumbling lessons, 6 dance lessons and a final performance on Grandparents' Day in May.

Stop! Drop! Roll!

A Visit From Mt. Sterling Fire Department and the Stay Alive House

Students learned about fire safety today when the Mt. Sterling Fire Department visited St. Mary School with the Stay Alive House.  The house simulates smoke coming into a room and students practice climbing out the window calmly to avoid the fire.  Students were encouraged to remind their parents to change the batteries in their home smoke detectors annually on their birthday.  After our school fire drill, Fire Chief Brian Gallaher told students to establish a meeting place at home in case of a fire and to have their own fire drill.  I have never seen the students so engaged in play as they were this afternoon with their fire hats.  They used their bookbags as oxygen tanks and covered their mouths with their hands to simulate the oxygen masks.  Some rescued cats from trees, while others practiced stop, drop, and roll.  It was great to see the students practicing what they had learned.

EEKK!

Elbow to Elbow

Knee to Knee

Put the book in the middle 

so we both can see.

You may notice an extra kindergarten student in the picture.  That is Ella, Mrs. Weronko's granddaughter visiting for the afternoon.  We are going to be pen pals with her class at Woodbury Elementary School in Irvine, California this year.  Our class has been working on a book introducing ourselves for Ella to bring back to her class when she returns from fall break.