Superhero Day

Last Thursday, Fuller Meadow had Superhero Day to show our support during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Students and teachers loved dressing up!

We also took time to think about the qualities a superhero possesses to make them amazing.  We learned that each of us can be a superhero in how we treat others and while we are learning.  Marlon and Rex clarified for the class that people don't need capes and suits to be a superhero, rather it's what's inside of you that matters.

With a little support, kids were able to identify everyday real-life superheroes who are brave and help them and others stay safe and feel loved.
We then had special superhero ELA centers. We looked at books about real-life superheroes such as police officers and firefighters.  We practiced naming and matching our letters and strengthening our fingers with cutting and coloring practice.  

Kids were excited to spin the wheel and find the matching picture in the interactive Smartboard activity.


We also had superhero math stations in the afternoon.  We practiced 1:1 counting, finding the superhero that looked different than all the other ones, and graphing and analyzing our graphs using the math terms more, less, most, least, and equal.

To practice letter identification during Fundations, I found cute superhero letter bracelets.  Each child got 1 or 2 bracelets.  To reinforce that we can all be superheroes who are kind, helpful, respectful, honest, and brave, I shouted out the letters in children's names and the kids had to come up to the front when their letter was called.  Then I would say, "What does that spell?" and the children would shout the friend's name and then I would ask, "Who's a superhero friend?" and they would repeat the name.  The kids enjoyed being called superhero friends!

After a long day of work, even superheroes need to have fun!  I surprised the kids at the very end of the day with a green screen. It was a very quick activity, but the kids were shocked they could change their background.  I am looking forward to more Green Screen projects throughout the year.

Stay strong.  Be brave.  Believe in the superhero that lives inside you!

3 Cheers for Summer Fun!

Hello my former students! I hope you have had a fabulous summer filled with adventure and fun! It's hard to believe a week from now you will have already had your first day of the new school year. In June, you told me of your exciting plans to camp, travel, visit family, and hang out with friends. I would love to hear from you! What is something exciting you did this summer?

Also, hello to my new Kindergarteners! Welcome to Fuller Meadow! I am excited to be starting the school year with you. Feel free to share about your vacation as well to help me get to know you. :)

Vacation Fun

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are having a great vacation!  Whether you are having fun in your neighborhood or have traveled some place exciting, I am looking forward to hearing all about it!  Add to the padlet below a sentence or two or even a picture of something you would like to share about your vacation. On Tuesday, each of us will be choosing one special moment to start a seed story. The children enjoy sharing a photo with the class and talking about their vacation.  :)

Simply double click on the board and write a note. Write your name at the top of the note as the title.

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

Children enjoyed listening to biographies of when Washington and Lincoln were young and about their jobs and adventures before they each were president.  They were surprised that they could make text-to-self connections with these famous leaders such as loving to read and having moved as a child.  I was impressed that as Ms. Montefusco read the books about Lincoln, the children were independently making wonderful text-to-text connections with what they learned about Washington.

We practiced finding the main idea and details of a nonfiction text as evidenced below in our Washington thinking map.

Chatterpix made our Washington directed drawings come to life so we could share our new knowledge with you!

Did your child teach you anything interesting about one of these presidents?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.2

With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.3

With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.9

With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).

Week 2 Coin Challenge Winners!

As winners of last week's PTO Coin Challenge fundraiser, we earned ourselves an extra recess.  Ms. Klipfel's class was the first grader winners so we decided to have recess together....in the snow...teachers played too....and it was the perfect day for it! There were snowball fights, snowmen and snow fort building, and snow angel making! My students loved pelting me with snowballs and tackling me!  I think we all needed this time to laugh, relax, and have fun together! Thank you parents for packing the children's snow gear and for donating coins for our school's fundraiser!

St. Patrick's Day

Students were given a STEM challenge last week to build a trap to catch a leprechaun.  Our first grade buddies in Ms. Teixeira's class joined us for an afternoon of engineering.

Students could either work by themselves or with a partner to come up with a plan, sketch a design, and use teamwork, creativity, and engineering skills to catch the little Irish man.  They loved this STEM activity!

We talked about what our traps would need:

*some type of entrance

*a clever way to lure him in

*a way to trap him

 First, they sketched their plans.

Then, they excitedly got right to work building, gluing, and taping!

Believe it or not, the Leprechaun came to Room 117 over the weekend!  He was the one who wrote the morning message.  He was the trickster who mixed up the numbers on the hundred chart. And he was the one who left glitter and footprints all around our room!

As children inspected their traps, their eyes widened with surprise that the little leprechaun had left golden nuggets and a pot of special leprechaun hats!

There was some skepticism of who the leprechaun really was, but I neither confirmed nor denied the accusations that I was behind the mischief.  I think we can all agree though that fun was had by all, including me.  I enjoyed seeing the students' creativity and teamwork!

Discovery Museum Visit

We are fortunate that the Middleton PTO provided our entire Kindergarten with a visit from the Discovery Museum to support and enhance our students' learning and understanding of force and motion.
The children loved working with Susan yesterday morning.  As we reflected at the end of the day about the special science program, many students said she was "nice", "kind" and would assist them if they made a mistake or needed help.  The students and teachers loved how hands-on and engaging the activities and workshop was.  The hour went by fast!
Susan did an amazing job introducing a new concept and science vocabulary word(s), sparking their curiosity, and then letting the children go off in small groups to explore.
Susan began the workshop by asking students to think about what things move, how they move, change direction and/or speed, and how they stop.
The students were excited to get to explore with an array of toys!  They explored applying different strengths to pushes and pulls to make the toys move.

Next, Susan introduced the term collision and the idea of balanced/unbalanced forces and the transfer of energy with balls and ramps.  
In the video below, students learned that the pumpkin gains energy when it collides with something that has more energy (the ball).

The children were so excited for this station!

After, we regrouped and discussed friction and what objects may create friction.  The children were each given a smooth sock and a sock with grips on the bottom and were instructed to place each on their hand and to rub the floor and to note what they observed.

To wrap up the workshop, a special activity was planned.  Children had the opportunity to be engineers and build a prototype of a toy that moves or has a moving part.  They were allowed to use a variety of materials.  I loved their creativity!


The Discovery Museum in Acton, MA sounds like an amazing place to visit!  Find out more information at http://www.discoverymuseums.org.
Thank you, PTO, for bringing us this amazing program!