Kindergarten Challenge Met!

100% of the Kindergarten students know all the names and sounds of the letters!

Early Tuesday morning, the last of the kindergarten students demonstrated they knew all the names and sounds of the letters.  CONGRATULATIONS!!  Today we voted by secret ballot and we will be having an ice cream party on Monday!  Let the fun begin!

During November each student had a picture of a turkey with five feathers that represented personal goals for the month.  As each goal was met, the feather could be colored.  I also had a turkey with ten feathers.  Each time a student met all of his/her goals, I got to color a feather also.  Three students met all of their goals.  The rest of the students met 4 of the 5 goals.  This goal setting really helped us stay focused.

During December we will have a similar goal recording sheet.  Last month I set the personal goals for each student based on assessments administered.  This month I will have a conference with each student about November goals and together we will set the goals for December.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There were the Native Americans

and then the Pilgrims...

A Thanksgiving Story

     The Pilgrims sailed on a ship to get to America.  They had a hard time because it was winter and they had to build houses. Some got sick and died.  Squanto came and taught them to hunt, fish, and plant.  The Pilgrims were thankful.  They had a big celebration and invited their new friends.

Helpful Squanto Snack

 To help us remember Squanto's helpful trick to raise healthy corn plants, 

we made Helpful Squanto's Snack.  

 Source: Mailbox Magazine

How Many Unifix Cubes Does It Take?

How many unifix cubes does it take to stretch across the length of our classroom?

Well, Kindergarten set out to answer just that question.  Well, actually originally we were just making towers with the unifix cubes.  Then it evolved into, if we all work together, could we make a tower that stretched from wall to wall?  Indeed we could!  

The next morning we wanted to find out how many unifix cubes we used.  First, we each predicted how many cubes we thought there were.  The guesses ranged between 100 and 5,000.  Next we each took turns counting off 10 cubes and put them in a tub.  Then we put the rods of 10 in groups of ten.  Finally, we counted by 100s, 10s and ones…475 cubes altogether!

12 Days of Giving

The Heat is On!

Seven students know all the names and sounds of the letters.  Three more are almost there!  We'll be working hard to get everyone up on the door before Thanksgiving.

Researching Native Americans

Drew and Dyson Recording Information about Plains Indians

We conducted a mini-research project this morning in language arts.  Each of us used our iPads to scan a QR code to watch a short video about an American Indian tribe.  We then got together with the one other student in the class who watched the same video.  We talked about the video with our partner and wrote down as much as we could remember about our tribe.  Then we took turns sharing our information with the whole group.  We learned that at the time of the Pilgrims, Native American's lived all over our country and each tribe was different.

Thomas and Kayla Sharing about the Southeastern Cherokee Indians

Tomorrow we will read a story about a Native American girl who lives on a reservation today.  I wonder what we will find we have in common with her.

Life Changes for the Pilgrims

We talked about how life changed for the Pilgrims once spring came.  We made a Venn diagram together comparing life in the winter and life in the spring.  We then drew pictures of four things the Pilgrims did in the spring and summer.

We talked about reasons why people celebrate and how they celebrate.  We compared ourselves to the Pilgrims.  We both have a lot to be thankful for!  

Cold and Flu Season

No one wants to battle a cold or flu with their child, but we want to be especially diligent not to expose Addison to illness that she might bring home to her baby brother, Carson this year.  This means sending your child to school with a warm jacket, hat, and gloves on these cold winter-like days.  Also, please take the time to review with your child about sneezing or coughing into his/her sleeve, using a tissue (I'll provide hand sanitizer next to the tissues), and keeping hands away from his/her mouth and nose.  Hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent spreading germs and we will be having Brown County Farm Bureau come into the classroom to teach a lesson on effective hand washing.  Please make this a priority in your home and help your child become a responsible member of society.

If your child has the flu or strep, please let me know 

so that I can pass the word along.

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall

A Tree in the Four Seasons

The dusting of snow this morning came just in time for our discussion about the first winter the Pilgrims spent in America.  We read a chapter from The First Thanksgiving and discussed what it must have been like for the Pilgrims when they first arrived.  We made a "To Do" list for the Pilgrims and thought about how difficult it may have been to find food and fresh water, build houses, and find a safe place to live.  Then we made a model of a tree in the four seasons and labeled each.

One-to-One iPads in Kindergarten

Last week Kindergarten received 6 more iPads, giving us 10 iPads for 10 students.  Now, what do we do with them?  Apps are great for building skills.  Kids love them and will practice longer.  The real shift in an iPad classroom, however, is bigger than that.  My goal is to have students use the iPads to document their learning and have more choices about the way they learn.

Today we used Letter Quiz to practice writing our letters.  We used Drawing Pad to practice writing the high frequency words see, a, like, go, and to.  After reading a story about the Pilgrims, measuring out the length of the Mayflower on the playground, and each drawing 10 people on the Mayflower on the blacktop, we followed a directed draw of the Mayflower using Drawing Pad.  We used the keyboard to label the Mayflower.

Using Pic Collage to Display Multiple Pictures

After sharing the pen to write a sentence about how the Pilgrims got to America, we chose whether we wanted to continue our drawings of the Mayflower on the iPad, use what we knew and start a new picture on the iPad, or use paper and colored pencils to start a new picture.  All of the students can be proud of the pictures they finished.  In the future we will be using the apps Explain Everything and Pic Collage to record what we have learned.

I teach. What's Your Super Power?

As I was dressed in my Bat Woman costume on Halloween, I posted this question on the bulletin board outside our classroom just for fun.  Mrs. Lipcaman's 5th and 6th grade class took the opportunity to brush up on their adjectives and posted these responses:

"I am an awesome animal lover."  Isabelle
I am a "victorious volley ball player." Sadee
"I am a brilliant basketball player." Emery
"I am a bodacious baby sitter." Faith
"I am a super superb soccer player." Philip
"I am a colossal tree climber." Clayton
"I am an awesome hunter." Colin
I am a "good basketball player." Brayden
"I am a remarkable reader." Hailey
"I am an amazing aunt." Mrs. L
"I am a superb scientist." Lucas

Spectacular vocabulary skills, students!

I would love to hear your responses to this question in the comments section below!

What is God's Plan for You?

It takes a lifetime to answer that question, but in Kindergarten we are just pondering what that means for the way we live our lives.  As we get closer to Thanksgiving I will be reading Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving  by Eric Metaxas.  This book describes how the Massachusetts Indian Squanto was captured by the British, sold into slavery in Spain, and ultimately returned to the New World to become a guide and friend for the Pilgrims.  Near the end of the story, William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth, compares Squanto to Joseph from the Bible.  He tells Squanto, "What man had intended for evil, God intended for good."  I love this hopeful statement and we will be comparing the two stories and introducing the idea that God has a plan for us, too.

Take a look inside.

For the next few days we will be watching a series of short animated videos that tell the story of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors, so that when we read the book, we will already be familiar with his story.  

Keep the Challenge Going!

Uppercase Letter Names

The Kindergarten Class knows 98% of the uppercase letter names. Seven students know all of them.  Three students just have 5 letters left to learn!  (…and of course, none of them are the same.)

I will be assessing lowercase letter names during this week.

Start thinking about your choice!

Veterans' Day Celebration Friday

Kindergarten will be learning the song Yankee Doodle for St. Mary School's Veterans' Day Celebration Friday.  All veterans are invited to join the school for entertainment, prayers, and sweet rolls at 8:30 AM in the cafeteria.

Lyrics:
Yankee Doodle went to town,
Riding on a Pony,
Stuck a feather in his cap,
And called him Macaroni,

Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the Girls be handy.

Father and I went down to camp,
Along with Captain Gooding,
And there we saw the men and boys,
Thick as Hasty Pudding

Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the Girls be handy.

There was Captain Washington,
Upon a slapping stallion,
Giving orders to his men,
I guess there were a million.

Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the Girls be handy.