Apples, Apples, Apples

What's Going on in Room 5?

We went Apple Picking!!! 

Friday we traveled to Parlee Farms for our first field trip. The weather was absolutely perfect! The kids took a tractor ride over to the orchard to pick some apples. 
After we picked apples we headed over to the pumpkin patch to select our very own pumpkin.  We took a break for lunch and then fed the animals.  We saw goats, chickens, and bunnies. At the end of our trip we were able to play in the hay maze. The kids loved walking on top of the hay bales and jumping from bale to bale. 
We had an amazing trip! 
Thank you to our chaperones who came on the trip with us.  
We appreciate you helping our class carry all of our heavy apples and pumpkins! 

                                                       

 

The apples were SO good!!

 

This week we read:

   

Apples:

This week we worked on some apple themed activities.  Our centers were apple themed. We used apples for counting, and we painted our own apple trees.  This week we made our first class book, based on Dr. Seuss' Ten Apples up on Top! Look out for this book in your child's backpack. Each night we will send the book home to be shared with you and your family.  Please return the book the next day so another student can take the book home. 

Labels:

In the beginning of Kindergarten we ask students to complete "Power Writes" to get them started in their writing.  This week's power write was focused on labeling.  To begin, we introduced the importance of labels and how they help us get information. The students were asked to make their own label/sign for our classroom.  Students illustrated and titled their signs for our touch-it board, markers, block area, and many more! 

During the week we talked about labeling pictures to show different parts. We labeled ourselves, Johnny Appleseed, and even an apple! We even learned a diagram of the inside of something is called a cross-section diagram. It shows the hidden details of an object. I cut an apple in half to show the inside or hidden details that we couldn't see when the apple was whole.   It was very exciting! The students then decided to either make their own cross-section diagram of a pumpkin, cupcake, or baseball.

Rhyme:

We are still practicing our rhyming. We continue to play games, talk about rhyme, and sing songs/poems.  We are looking for students to be able to identify when two words rhyme and produce a rhyme when a word is given.  Once we have mastered rhyme we will move on to segmenting words.

Counting:

 This week we finished  topic 1 in Envision. Students learned about counting and writing from 1 to 5.  We will continue to practice our number writing even after the end of this topic.  You should see an optional number formation practice packet sent home on Monday. This is completely optional but will support students in their number formation. 

Next week we move to Topic 2, which is comparing and ordering numbers 0 to 5. You should expect a home-connection paper to come home next week regarding the concepts, vocabulary, and content in Topic 2. 

Life Skills:

On Tuesday, Ms. Greene, the guidance counselor, stopped by to start the life-skills program. The students learned about the first life-skills: When someone calls your name, you stop, look at the person and say "yes?". The students modeled and practiced this skill and we will continue to reinforce through our owl-standing behavior system.

Looking Ahead...

-Topic 2 in math will talk about "fewer than" and "more than"

-We will begin our phonics program, Fundations. Look out for more information to come.

-We will practice how to hold a pencil and practice writing our names.

-Brown Bear, Brown Bear Read Aloud will be a theme this upcoming week!

Field Trip Reminder

We're going Apple Picking on Friday!!

Don’t Forget!

Friday is our field trip to go apple picking at Parlee Farms! The buses will be picking us up promptly at 8:45. Please make sure your child arrives to school on time.  If you have been notified as a chaperone, please arrive to school by 8:30.

Students will bring their backpack on the field trip. This will be easier for students to hold their apples and pumpkin.  Please pack a separate snack and separate lunch for your child.  We will eat snack before we leave and lunch will be eaten at the farm. We ask that you pack your child with a disposable lunch. We cannot save any food.

We will be taking a short tractor hayride to the orchard and ask that you dress your child in pants for a more comfortable experience, rather than an “itchy” one.  We will have the Field Trip T-shirts for the children to wear over their clothes too.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you!

Chaperones

If you have been notified to be a chaperone, please arrive to school by 8:30am. The cost for chaperones is $15.00. Please make checks out to Fox Hill Kindergarten or cash.

Second Week!

Room 5 has been busy learning and having fun!

Friendship

One of our units this week was focused on friendship. We read some read alouds centered upon what it means to be a good friend and being kind to one another. 

Here are some of of them:

We used these books as a springboard for conversations, modeling, and activities to build upon our own friendships in our classroom.  The students even paired up with a buddy to draw a portrait of their new friend.  They came out great and are hanging up in our room!

Rhyming

During our Phonics block students have been practicing their rhyming recognition and production. Rhyming is an important skill in building phonemic awareness and early reading skills.  We've incorporated rhyming into our morning meeting, center time, and even intervention/extension block.  On Friday we practiced our rhyming while hopping on bubble-wrap. The kids loved being able to pop the bubbles!! 

We will continue this week with rhyming this week and encourage you to check out the home connection tab on our blog to see how you can help your child with rhyming.  There are some great games you can play while driving in the car or running errands! Thanks for you help in advance.

Math

Room 5 is moving right along in our math curriculum.  We are still on Topic 1 in Envision: Concept of numbers and counting.  We are helping students understand the importance of counting with their finger and touching each manipulative as they count. We are recognizing the last number we say is also the total number of manipulative.  Another concept we've learned is arrangement.  That no matter how the counters or manipulatives are arranged the total number does not change.   

This past week we have also practiced writing our numbers 1-5. The 2s, 3s, and 5s are always the hardest to write. We will continue to practice writing our numbers during our math time. The students love using the dry erase boards for practice. 

Owl-Standing Behavior

We have started our behavior system to positively enforce our classroom rules. The classroom rules are based upon "Be the One" and students' ideas.  We discussed how our classroom should run in order to accomplish our hopes and dreams.  The students did a great job providing examples which became over-arching expectations:

Be Safe

Be Kind

Be Responsible

Be Respectful 

Have Fun!

When the teachers see a student following one of our classroom rules they get to move their owl up the tree. Each time they move their owl, they are one step closer to the top and earning a prize.  You may have already seen some prizes come home.  The students are doing a great job of following our classroom rules and earning prizes!

Looking Ahead

• Monday is our Library Day so please remember to send in your child's library book to be returned.  If the book is returned they can select a new book to take home this week.  If not they can save a book to be checked out once their "old" book has been returned. 
• We will start to learn about labeling and labeling a cross-section diagram. Labeling is a great way to add detail to our writing and illustrations.  To preface this unit, we made our own signs to label our classroom materials.
• Next week we will start our apple unit! We learn about Johnny Appleseed, parts of an apple, and read poems about apples. This will be a great way to get ready for our field trip on Friday.
• Apple Picking Field Trip is Friday, September 25th. Please remember to pack your child a separate snack, to be eaten before we leave, and a disposable lunch. We will be bringing our backpacks on the field trip.
• Field trip T-shirts and more information will be sent home on Thursday.

Guiding Questions/Discussions:

Here are some questions you can ask your child about this week:

• What are some ways you can be kind at school?
• How are you safe in your classroom?
• Ask your child about some rhyming words
• What/who do you play with in the morning?
• Ask your child what he/she has been doing to earn prizes.
• Going to library for the first time: what was it like?

Happy Birthday Ivy & Sydney!

Tuesday the girls shared their birthday posters and we sang Happy Birthday.

Library

Great news! We attended library on this afternoon. Today, your child  picked out a library book to read and enjoy at home. The children were allowed to only take out 1 book at a time, so please be sure your child brings back the library book that he/she borrowed by next Monday in order to check out a new book. Once your child is done reading and enjoying his/her library book at home, feel free to send the book into school early. If your child forgets to bring back the library book on Monday, he/she will be able to “save” a book they would like to take out. If he/she brings back the library book by Tuesday, he/she can take home the book they saved.

Mr. Murphy reading a story to the class. 

Using our shelf-markers to find books.

Checking out books to take home for the week!

Back to School Night

We had a great turn out for Back to School Night! Thank you for taking the time to see our classroom and hear a little bit about Kindergarten Curriculum.

Click the link below to view a copy of our presentation. Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions/concerns. 


Back to School Night Presentation


Apple Picking Field trip information will be coming soon! In the meantime we ask parents to send in a $50 check made out to Fox Hill Kindergarten.

This will be a great installment for our first few field trips.

Thank you!

Happy First Day!

Our first day of Kindergarten was a success! 

Students worked hard learning daily routines.  We practiced how to arrive, line up, walk in the halls, and even learned how to use the recess equipment safely.  There was a lot to learn in one day, but we continue to practice these routines daily.  

During ELA, we read The Kissing Hand and made our own kissing hand to keep! We also practiced working at tables and using math manipulatives. 

The students were excited to eat in the cafeteria for the first time.  Some students were able to buy lunch.  We encourage parents to send a lunch the first week or help make a predetermined choice before arriving to school. Please talk to your child about making healthy choices.  This is especially important when students pass the snack options.  First Graders share a lunch time with us and the snacks are available for purchase.  I encourage students to eat their lunches before snacks, but please be aware that snacks are available to purchase for Kindergarten students. If there are any concerns please let me know.  

We finished up our day by looking at books and relaxing on the rug.  The students transitioned well to their dismissal plans.  If there are any changes in dismissal please write a note letting us know the changes.  We will notify the office for you. 

 It was a busy day but the children did great!  I look forward to another fun day. As always, please do not hesitate to call or email me with any questions or concerns.  Thanks for all your help and support!

The Night Before Kindergarten

I hope everyone is excited for a fun-filled first day! 

Quick Reminders:

*Please have your child wear their bus tag to school for the first week.

*We will meet your child outside the front of the school and walk in together as a whole class.

* Please pack a separate snack for your child.

*Tomorrow will be a hot day but we still plan to go outside for recess. A water bottle might be helpful.

*You can have your child buy lunch on the first day. Don't forget to log into your paypams account.

*Dismissal will run a bit slow the first week. The teachers will ride the buses with the students on the first day.

Again, feel free to email/call me if you have any questions or concerns.

I can't wait to see everyone!

Love,

Mrs. Bennett & Mrs. Davis

Please enjoy the poem below as we embark on the beginning of a great year together!!

T’was the Night Before Kindergarten

Twas the night before kindergarten and as they prepared,

kids were excited and a little bit scared.

They tossed and they turned about in their beds,

while visions of school supplies danced in their heads.

Erasers and crayons and pencils galore

were stuffed in their backpacks and set by the door.

Outfits were hung in closets with care,

knowing that kindergarten soon would be there.

In the morning it came, school starts today!

Would the teacher be nice? Would they still get to play?

Faces were washed, and teeth were brushed white;

Kids posed for pictures with eyes sparkling bright.

Parents packed snacks and kids hopped in cars

As if they were boarding a spaceship to Mars.

Some kids brought blankets or their favorite stuffed bear;

in hopes they could nap like they did in day care.

Their parents exclaimed: "You're big kids. WOW!

Let us hold your bears and blankies for now."

The parents were worried their children would cry

if they left them at school with just a good-bye.

So they told their darlings, "If you want, we can stay

and make sure that everything will be A-okay."

The teacher then greeted each one with a smile,

and invited the students to stay for a while.

The room was all filled with toys, books, and maps,

but where were the beds for midmorning naps?

They colored and painted and played Simon Says,

then tumbled and skipped and stood on their heads.

They sang silly songs from beginning to end.

Within just a minute, each kid had a friend.

The children were happy. They loved Mrs. Bennett

It was she who would show them a great deal of care.

When what to her wondering eyes should appear

but sad moms and dads who were holding back tears!

Their noses so sniffly! Their eyes red and wet!

This was the saddest good-bye Mrs. Bennett had seen yet!

She gathered the grown-ups on the magical rug,

then sent them away after one final hug.

The children all waved from the door of the school.

"Don't cry Mom and Dad; kindergarten is cool!"