Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we (finally) read Isabelle's Star of the Week poster (great job, Isabelle!). After that, we had reading. Today we read a fun book called Tracks and then learned about the difference between fiction and non-fiction. After we read, the kids did a bit of planing and then went off to write their own fictional stories. Some of them were very creative - be sure to ask them all about it.

After writing, headed up to the computer lab for our time there. On our way back doe to our classroom, we stopped in the Media Center to check out books with Mrs. Hennen. When we finally got back down to our classroom, we worked on numbers that add to ten, using ten frames once again. After that, it was time to pack up and head home!

After Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we celebrated Asher's birthday - we sang to him, and then his mom read a funny story about a gorilla named Gladys to all of us.

After that, we had math class - today we played a game with a deck of cards that had the kids adding two numbers and comparing with a partner whose sum was larger. In the middle of math, we headed up to the music room for class there with Mr. Hofmann. When we got back down to our class, we finished up the math game, and then had a short Choice Time, including some yummy cookies from Asher.

After all that, it was time for us to pack up and go home!

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we had a bit of a mixed-up day. We read a short book and watched a short video about how paper is made, and then the kids all took turns going to a center in the room where four moms (Paco's, Cosette's, Jack's, and Will's) volunteered to help (re)make paper. It was super fun, and the paper that we (re)made is beautiful.

During all of this, the rest of the kids were doing math, in which the kids finished up the activity that we began yesterday (adding past ten on ten frames). When we finished with math, it was time for Catalyst class with Ms. Bechtel.

After Catalyst, we had Writer's Workshop. Today they learned again about "Reader's Questions" - after writing, putting themselves in their reader's shoes and anticipating (and then answering in the writing) the questions that their readers might have. They all added some nice details that way.

After Writer's WS, we headed outside for a short recess time.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home.

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we played a vocabulary/letter sounds game to reinforce the letter sounds that we have covered already this year. Then, we got to open a Flat Stanley letter that Connor received from California. Then we had reading time. Today, we learned about a new reading strategy that the kids can use as they are reading - making predictions. After I taught a mini-lesson about that skill. the kids got their bookbags with their "just-right" books in them to practice that strategy and the others that we have discussed. After their read with their books, we gathered again and each child shared the strategies that they used during the reading time.

After reading, we headed up to the Media Center for our time there with Mrs. Hennen. When we got back down to our room, we had math time. We continued to work on addition. Today we practiced adding "past ten" (sums that add up to more than ten, where kids need to use the skill of making a ten). We used a tool called a ten frame to get the kids thinking about how to use combinations of numbers that add to ten to help with these problems.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home.

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we had Reader's Workshop. Today we did buddy reading, in which the kids read with a partner and practice their "just right" books. The advantage is that the kids get help with "tricky words" and have a friend to suggest reading strategies that they could use. After reading, the kids shared the reading strategies that they used, as well as rated their performance as a buddy reader (as either an "uh-oh day," a "so-so day," or a "Superstar 5" day - be sure to ask them how they get to say "Superstar 5!).

After Reader's Workshop, we headed up to the music room for class with Mr. Hofmann. When we got back down to our room, we had math - we are beginning to talk about number combinations - how to decompose numbers into pairs of numbers that add to another (being able to see that 5 can be made up of 5+0, 4+1, 2+3, etc.). This knowledge will be the base of all of the artihmetic that they will do in school!

After math, we headed outside for recess with the other two kindergarten classes - it was a full playground, but a very fun time. Then it was time to pack up and go!

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we got to open another Flat Stanley envelope - Asher got a package from New Jersey with some fun information.

Then we played a word game, in which the kids heard a word, and then had to say each sound in the word. When we finished with that, we had our weekly Catalyst lesson in our room with Ms. Bechtel. Today the kids used their very creative minds to make animals that were made up of half of one animal and half of another.

After Catalyst, we had Writer's Workshop. Today the kids looked at all of the writing that they had in their folders, and sorted it into two piles - one of work that is "done" and one of work that they still have more to add to. After the sorting, they got busy writing!

When we finished writing, we had a short Choice Time and then it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we read Austin's Star of the Week poster (nice work, Austin!). Then we had math class. The kids measured themselves using unifix cubes and recording their measurements on a data page. We will use the pages again tomorrow to look at data.

After math, we had a reading lesson. We read a book by Cynthia Rylant called When I Was Young in the Mountains, paying particular attention to the details and to the author's message and how she conveyed it.
After reading, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there with. When we got back down to the classroom, it was time for us to pack up and go home!

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we worked on our April self-portraits to hang in our wall gallery in our classroom. After that, we reviewed all of the phonics sounds that we have learned this year before we headed up to the art room for class with Mr. Fairbanks.

When we got back down to our classroom, we played a more difficult version of the Racing Bears math game that we played on Wednesday. After that, we talked about the strategies and math concepts that are involved in the game. Then, after getting a packet of flyers passed out to each student, and packed up the kids' backpacks, we headed out to the playground for a little bit of recess to end our week.


Enjoy your weekend!

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we spent some time reading all of the fun Flat Stanley mail that we have been receiving. We had quite a pile, so it took a bit of time. We learned about several states and got some interesting souvenirs! When we finished with the mailbag, we had reading class. We reviewed all of the reading strategies that we have talked about thus far, and then the kids got their book bags and practiced using the strategies on 'tricky' words. At the end of Reader's Workshop, all of the kids shared the strategies that they used during their independent reading time.

When we finished Reading, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. On our way back down, we stopped in the Media Center to check out books. when we got back our classroom, we read the book I Lost My Tooth in Africa, which came in the mystery box with the toothpaste samples yesterday (ask your child about who the box actually came from - the mystery was solved today!). After reading, we had a short Choice Time, and then packed up to head home!

Today after Afternoon work time and Afternoon Meeting we opened a "mystery box" that arrived in the mail today. It turned out that it was full of Tom's of Maine toothpaste samples and a book, which we will read tomorrow. More on where the mystery box is form tomorrow!

Then we worked on reading. The kids got to swap the 'just-right' books that are in their bookbags, and had the chance to preview them as well.

After that, we headed up to the music room for our class there with Mr. Hofmann. When we got back down to our room, we finished up the book swapping, and then had math class. We played a game called Racing Bears, in which the kids practiced combining and taking numbers apart (the beginnings of addition and subtraction). When we finished math, we couldn't stand the nice weather outside anymore, and went out on the playground for the last few minutes of our day.

After all of that, it was time to pack up and head home!

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we had a reading lesson - the kids learned two more reading strategies in the mini-lesson that I taught. they learned how to look for hidden words in tricky words (like finding car and pen in carpenter), and they also learned to take off a "magic ending" (like -ed, -er, -ing), read the word, and then put the ending back on. Both are variations of the "chunk and chew" strategy that they already know.

After reading, Ms. Bechtel came for our weekly Catalyst lesson , and then we wrote again. The kids finished up the writing that they worked on yesterday, and we will start to use them to make a book later in the week.

After we finished our writing, we took a vote - either to have Choice Time inside, or go out to play on the playground. Needless to say, outside won - and, as an added surprise, both Mr. Wold and Ms. Risdall had the the same idea. 75 kindergartners on the playground at the same time!!!

After that, it was time to head home!!

Hello - and welcome back from Spring Break. I hope that it was a good one for all of you - the kids all had fun stories to tell abut their weeks.

Today, after Afternoon Work Time and Afternoon Meeting, we had a nice sharing time, in which all of the kids got to share a favorite memory from Spring Break. Then, we did some fun writing, in which the kids got a page with panels like a comic strip, and they illustrated and wrote about up to 6 episodes from their week. I hope to turn these into a mini-book in the coming days, with each little 'vignette' that they wrote today turning into a 'chapter' in a larger piece of writing.

We then wrapped up the writing for today, and then learned all about the new Choice Time Centers. The sand table is now out, and full of fun toys. The area that was a Post Office is now the "Room 145 Veterinary Clinic" - complete with stethoscopes, gloves, masks, scrubs, and a doctor coat, not to mention a cute stuffed puppy, a purple stuffed monkey, and a little lizard. After that, we had Choice Time - the kids had fun diagnosing various maladies in the animals and playing in the sand, in addition to the other Choice Time activities.

After Choice Time, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there - then back down to get packed up, and pass out a fun treat that Cosette brought for all of us (thanks, Cosette!!).

Whew. Welcome back. :-)

We had a busy afternoon today! After Afternoon Work Time and a very short afternoon meeting, we had had reading class. We talked about another reading strategy for the kids to use as they read books from their leveled book bags. Today they learned about looking for a pattern in a book, to see words that are repeated - that way if they are sounded out once, they won't need to be sounded out again. After I taught them the strategy, the got their book bags and read their books to practice the strategy. After that, we came back together and discussed the strategies that they used as readers today.

After that, we finished up our discussion of 3-D shapes in math with a lesson about drawing cubes and rectangular prisms on dot paper. It was challenging for many of them, but they started to get it.

After math, we headed up to the computer lab for our time there. When we got back to our classroom, we washed hands and ate birthday treats from both Isabelle and Owen (YUM!!) while Owen's mom read us an Amelia Bedelia book. After that, we just couldn't resist going outside for a little bit - the playground was calling us!

When we got back in, it was time to pack up and head home.


Remember that there is no school for students tomorrow (Friday).

Enjoy your Spring Break -- if you are traveling, safe travels. See you in a week!

We had a bit of an unusual day today in kindergarten. We had a very short work time, and then it was time for our much-awaited root beer float party (so much for saving the sugar boost for later in the day...). Since it was Isabelle's birthday, we had the good fortune to have her grandmother read while we enjoyed our floats (one of the perks of having two kindergarten classes per day is that I got 2 floats today!). After the floats were done, we had Afternoon Meeting and played a quick math game before it was time to head up to the music room for class with Mr. Hofmann.

When we got back to our room, the food fun continued. When Lili's Flat Stanley went to Hawaii, her Uncle Steve not onyl showed him a good time, he also sent us back a box full of Hawaiian treats. Today we had a taste test - the kids sampled mini sesame crepes, sugar coated puffed rice, Hawaiian Animal Cookies, and macademia nuts. Each kid got to rate the snack, and then we compared results. It was really fun, and the kids got to try some things that they might not have otherwise.

After our taste test, we wrote a class thank you letter to the PTA for the really nice root beer float party. After all of that, we had Choice Time, and then hastily packed up to go home!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of post yesterday - I was in meetings in the afternoon, and then setting up for the Latino Family night meeting last night here at Burroughs.