Vacation Fun

Happy New Year!  I hope all of you are having a wonderful vacation with your families.  The week has gone by sooo fast!  I can't wait to hear about all of the exciting things you did this week.  Add to the padlet below a picture or two or even just a sentence about something you would like to share about your vacation.  On Wednesday, each of us will be choosing one special vacation moment to write about.  This padlet can help with our brainstorming when we're all a little tired as we settle back into our routine. :)

Comfy, Cozy Day

We had a wonderful Comfy, Cozy Day! Children and teachers enjoyed being comfortable in their pajamas. 

This morning, children were excited to learn they each got their own Polar Express ticket that would be hole punched by a Conductor.

We enjoyed watching a read aloud of the Polar Express with the other Kindergarten students in the library.

After, we had a short holiday sing-a-long! "Jingle Bells", "Frosty", and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" were the favorites.

To conclude our Polar Express morning, each Kindergartner received their very own silver bell!  Our conductor and musical guest was a former student's grandfather, Mr. Rhoads.  He truly helped make the event very special and memorable for the kids!  Thank you for joining us, Mr. Rhoads!

This afternoon during math, I gave my students a challenge.  They counted 1 window and 4 wheels on a train I drew.  They had to figure out how many windows and how many wheels there would be if the number of trains kept increasing.  Students worked in groups of 3 or 4 to find a strategy that worked best to figure out the solutions to this math problem.  Some students drew groups of 4 circles, some counted groups of 4 fingers, and others counted on from what they had already figured out.  The groups wrote their answers on Post-its and added them to the class chart.  At the end, we saw most groups got the same data.  We learned that the number of windows is always equal to the number of trains because there is only one window on each train, and the number of wheels will always be more than the number of windows.  Some students noticed the pattern that the number of  windows is always 1 more than the previous number and the number of wheels is always 4 more than the previous number.  There's nothing better than critical thinking, teamwork, and perseverance all while working comfortably in our pajamas.   I had only planned on having students figure out the windows and wheels for up to 5 trains, but some students wanted to challenge themselves to figure out for 9 trains!

At the end of the day, we each shared what our favorite part of the day was and I recorded the responses in the Padlet below!

We had a memorable time today!

Teddy Bear Day

We had a successful Teddy Bear Day in Kindergarten after reading many versions of The Three Bears during our folktale unit.  Children have enjoyed listening to the various versions and have worked hard comparing and contrasting the characters, setting, and events of the different books.  We are also working on retelling the story using picture cards. Last Friday, each child was able to bring in their favorite teddy bear or other stuffed animal and let their furry friends get a glimpse of Kindergarten.  They joined in for morning work, Read to Self, writing, Daily 5, and math!

Our senior citizen volunteer, Ms. Irene,

helped us hide bears in their caves and figure out how many more to make 5.

We love working with Ms. Irene!

Children also worked on labeling the parts of a bear and wrote about their cuddly friends.

In math, we explored describing size, weight, and height with our stuffed animals.  Students worked with partners to measure how tall their stuffed animals are.

They also practiced making comparisons: "My bear is taller/shorter than your bear" and "Your bear is heavier/lighter than my bear".

Students loved figuring out ways to sort their bears into groups....

and using positional words to move their stuffed animals.

I bet our stuffed animals were tired by the end of the day from all of this Kindergarten work!












Children were excited to learn about an app called Chatterpix and thought it was hysterical how we can make our stuffed animals talk!  Have a listen in the iMovie below as students tell what they enjoy doing with their favorite stuffed friends!

This week we have continued to talk about characters and setting as we compare and contrast different versions of The Gingerbread Man. Your child should be able to confidently identify the characters and setting of a story.  Do they have a favorite character?  Is the setting similar to another story they've heard?

Common Core State Standards:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.1
Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.A.2
Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.B.3
Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.OA.A.3
Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.A
Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.B
Recognize and name end punctuation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.C
Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.D
Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

So much to be thankful for...

It has been a busy month filled with lots of learning and fun.  We made sure to slow down and take time to remember what we have to be grateful for and all that we are fortunate to have in our lives.  Our family, friends, our school, and our pets were at the top of everyone's list.

Yesterday, the kids each made a paper bag turkey glyph to tell about themselves.   

This morning, they were excited to see a huge turkey sitting with all of theirs.  The children thought it was just a decoration until I started carving it during our feast.  They were very excited the turkey was filled with popcorn!

Students were happy and thankful to learn they each got their own pilgrim hat and that we were able to share in a Thanksgiving feast together.  They loved decorating the tablecloth as we prepared for the feast.  It was so wonderful to see how happy and thankful they were to enjoy this special Thanksgiving treat together.  The children helped pass out napkins, plates, and drinks.  They helped each other open up juice pouches and clean up.  We all shared what we are grateful for and it was touching to hear how many said families, the school, friends, all the teachers in the school, and even for the feast :).
I was only able to snap a few pictures during the feast, but did manage to take pictures after the kids were dismissed of the thankful pictures they drew on the tablecloth to create this short Animoto video. 

I am very thankful for my kind, caring, smart students who I get to work with each day.  I am grateful that they love to learn and are appreciative of the special activities we are always doing.  They make me smile and enjoy my job.  A heartfelt thank you to their parents for your support and communication.  You are raising some pretty wonderful children!

I hope everyone has a relaxing Thanksgiving filled with lots of family time and delicious food!

We can label!

Parents, do you know what it means to label? After today’s lesson, I hope your children have a better understanding of what it means to label a picture. A label gives the reader information about the picture.

When we learned about apples before our apple picking field trip, students were introduced to the word labeling.  They labeled the parts of an apple diagram and their pictures about our field trip.

Today they got to label me, the teacher!

Yes, they can!

After, they had the opportunity to practice labeling on their own.  They each got a post-it and labeled something in the room.

I encouraged the children to go home and label the things around their homes – the couch, a table, a book, anything! Food, toys, and their bookshelves were suggested by students.  Rumor has it that pets, brothers and sisters, and you might be getting labeled tonight – just a warning ;).

When they labeled, I asked the children to listen for and write the first sound of the object and, if they were able to, listen for the last sound as well.  For those who like a challenge, they tried the first, a middle, and a final sound! Associating the sound with a word they are familiar with is always helpful (i.e. giving the clue /t/ like top if they are trying to spell table).

Labeling helps us to understand information in pictures and is a precursor to writing sentences. Recently, we started Writer’s Workshop.  I have modeled and the children have practiced beginning with an idea, illustrating it with great detail, and then labeling the people and things in their pictures. Eventually, they will be able to use those labels to develop their story and formulate sentences.  Children are learning that good writers have enough detail in their pictures to tell the story.  With a little more practice, your child should be able to confidently say "I can label a picture!"

I would love to share with the class what children labeled at home!  You can add a photo or sentence or two to the padlet below.  Simply double click in the large, yellow padlet box, add your child's name as the title and either click on the upload arrow to upload a picture or just write a sentence telling what your child labeled.  If you would prefer to email me a picture, I am more than happy to add it to the padlet for you!

When completing homework each night, encourage your child to listen for the beginning and ending sounds or the beginning, a middle, and an ending sound when labeling their illustrations.  The spelling doesn't have to be perfect!  I like how my neighbor teacher, Mrs. Murphy, reminds her students they are doing "young writer" spelling.  I encourage my students to do their best to listen for the sounds they hear when stretching out a word and to use those to sounds to spell.

Happy Labeling!

Boosterthon Fun Run

We had our first annual Boosterthon Fun Run school fundraiser.  It was such an incredible experience! The kids loved having all of the Boosterthon cheerful team members as members of our school for the week leading up to the Fun Run, including Zesty Zephry, Pac-man Pat, and especially Vibrant Vibha!
Students loved that the Boosterthon team greeted them in the morning when they walked into school, visited our class to read books, decorated the classroom flag, created crafts, and journeyed with them in the MindSpark Mystery Lab during lunch each day.  
My class was the Night 2 winners and we earned a special award - a fun fall craft with the Boosterthon team!  Vibrant Vibha and Pac-man Pat joined us for the fall craft, flag decorating, and creating cards for children at Boston's Children's Hospital.

Students helped me to create the Pledge-O-Meter incentives and they thought of some good ones!

We earned a longer center time, a special game in the gym, and an extra Go Noodle no problem! Students were excited when they reached Reading / Writing Day.  They got to bring in a favorite book from home to share with a friend, listened to a read aloud, and even had flashlight reading! 

Kids were so happy to have time to write their own stories in the afternoon.  I have some pretty creative authors!

Before we could even celebrate our Math Day, we reached our Whole Day Play Day and we decided the day of our Fun Run was the best day to play all day.

Of course, there was still some learning involved!

First, we had reading games during Daily 5.

Then we had a special science experiment.  Students learned about color mixing using Play-Doh!

In the afternoon, we had just a little time to play before we got ready for the Fun Run!  Students loved our new drill set activity!

Finally, the moment we all had been waiting for....the excitement that had been buzzing throughout the school was about to be unleashed in the FUN RUN!

What an amazing event!!  Thank you to all the parents who came out to cheer for the kids!
After the Fun Run, we still had some celebrating to do since we surpassed our Pledge-o-Meter! Our school's math specialist, Mrs. Reid, and our senior volunteer, Ms. Irene, got to join us for our Math Day one more/one less partner game.

Throughout the day, we played math games, counting games in the gym, and the kids really enjoyed hiding numbers in pictures they drew and then having a friend try to spot the numbers.

Finally, last week, we had Movie Day with Mrs. Murphy's class (who also surpassed their goal!).  We watched Inside Out in our comfy, cozy pajamas!  What an awesome day!!

After watching the movie, we talked about feelings and how it is okay to feel so many different emotions and we shared ways to handle and express those emotions appropriately.  After, each of us wrote about a time that we felt joy or sadness.

A HUGE thank you to Vibrant Vibha and the rest of the Boosterthon Team for an incredible job pumping the kids up for the Fun Run and for teaching them the invaluable lessons about Citizenship, Zest, Growth Mindset, Integrity and Teamwork!  Thank you to the PTO for bringing such a fun and engaging fundraiser to Middleton!  I am looking forward to next year!!

MA STEM Week

MA STEM week was at the end of October and Fuller Meadow students were excited to take part. The World Series happened to start during MA STEM Week, which inspired me to think of an activity that integrated both special events.
On our school Red Sox Day, I presented the class with a problem:

 

Students had to work in pairs to design and build a bat strong enough to hit a Pom-Pom so that Mookie Betts could hit a home run.
First, as a class, we decided possible materials:

Then students got to work with their partners, drawing their initial designs and then gathering materials to start building.

After the initial prototype was put to the test, students had the opportunity to go back and revise their design.  The groups who thought a cutout paper bat would work, quickly realized they needed something more sturdy and stronger like cardboard or toilet paper rolls.

Here are a few groups trying out their first attempts at creating a bat.  Sorry for the shaky camera footage, the great engineering thinking was too good to not share ;).

Check out one example of the types of revisions that took place.

We ended the week with a STEM challenge that our Digital Learning Specialist, Mrs. Baker, presented to students to tie in with our Global Read Aloud book You Hold Me Up.
Students worked in pairs to use 40 blocks to see how high they could build a tower that could hold a plastic cup. 

 After they measured and recorded their first tower, they were given the task to build a tower even taller.  Could they build it as tall as a piece of paper?

We had fun working together, helping each other out, and engineering a tower that was tall yet wide enough to support a cup.

Thanks, Mrs. Baker, for sharing this fun STEM lesson!

We are looking forward to future classroom opportunities to work on STEM projects!

Pumpkin Day

Pumpkin day was a success, even though we had to shorten it to just the afternoon because of our Fun Run Pep Rally and a visit from Firefighter Dave who taught us about fire safety. The day was filled with many pumpkin activities. Check out the fun we had!

We read to pumpkins in the Reading Patch.  The boys and girls were SO excited to read to the pumpkins!!

We read about the pumpkin life cycle, sorted pictures that start and do not with the letter p, played pumpkin life cycle war, and matched rhyming pumpkins.

The children were very excited for the end of the day when they got to travel to four investigation stations that parent volunteers facilitated.

Children counted the number of lines on their pumpkins and remembered to use smart counting strategies and they determined if pumpkins sink or float.  Some students were very surprised that their heavy pumpkins float!

These hard working mathematicians also measured the height of their pumpkins with cubes and had the opportunity to feel the gooey inside of a pumpkin and count its seeds.

To count all the seeds, Mrs. DePesa had the children each grab a handful and put a group of ten seeds in each small cup.  We arranged the cups of seeds into ten frames so we could practice counting by tens to 100 and then from there counted by hundreds and the leftover tens and ones.  The total number of seeds for our pumpkin was 763!!  Thank you to families and educators who shared your seed estimates with the class.  We enjoyed reading the comments during snack.

Thank you to Mrs. Alvarenga, Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. DePesa, and Mrs. Lovett for helping with this fun activity!  Also thank you to the Leonforte family for donating a few of the pumpkins.

After Pumpkin Day, we used our new knowledge to compare apples and pumpkins in a Venn diagram.

We finished up our pumpkin unit by reviewing what we already knew about pumpkins prior to the start of our unit and what we were hoping to learn.

The boys and girls were surprised with how much they learned about pumpkins.  Congratulate your pumpkin experts on the new knowledge they attained and have been eager to share.