Assembly, Pictures, Walk-A-Thon, oh my!

Today was a long and action-packed day!

We started promptly at 8:15 with our Citizenship Assembly. One student from each class was recognized for displaying outstanding citizenship in the classroom. From the assembly we headed back to class with just enough time to line up in alphabetical order for Picture Day! We practiced our smiles, and headed to get our photographs taken. We finally were able to finish our morning routine (calendar, weather, read aloud, movement) and distribute Walk-A-Thon t-shirts just in time to head to recess. (phew, I'm still exhausted, just thinking about it)

After recess we did large apple chart, drawing and labeling the parts of an apple. Next week, students will create their own personal version of these Apple Parts and labeling them. (core, seeds, stem, leaf, meat, skin)

We also used the apples that have been brought in by students to work on a math sorting activities, sorting them into groups: yellow, green, and red. Following this, we had Friday Funday.

After lunch we had a short time to rest, did another read aloud, and "Going on a Bear Hunt" while waiting to meet up with our buddies. Our 4th grade buddies came to meet up with us and we completed a couple laps together at the Walk-A-Thon before heading home for the day.

Some people stayed afterschool to do a few more laps at the Walk-A-Thon, enjoy the Family Dinner, and participate in the Silent Auction. A good time was had by all!

Our Best Day Yet!!

Today was an excellent day all around. Behavior was on point, students were productive, and we were able to tackle a wide variety of tasks.

Our main activity for the day was an EXCELLENT science experiment. Since we've been studying apples, we carried out an activity to test items from around our classroom to find out if they were "heavier than an apple" or "lighter than an apple". Students made predictions and tested them and we worked together as we individually recorded our results in our Science Notebooks.

For math, we used yellow, green, and red apples to do patterning. For Readers Workshop today students were introduced to our classroom library and the types of books it contains: fiction, non-fiction, hard cover, paper back, big and small.

Today we also made Brown Bear books of our own to review colors and practice literacy. The students enjoyed both creating the books and reading them together after they were completed. We started out reading Ten Little Dinosaurs and Max the Minnow. Both were crowd favorites (I'd like to claim that it was my reading, but I'm pretty sure it was the googly eyes that are contained in the books).

Our 1st Blue Day

Today we had our first Blue Day Spirit Assembly. It began with a school wide song promoting our Walk-A-Thon (sung to the tune of The Adams Family). Next, classes were awarded pizza parties as a reward for success in the PTA Membership Drive. Finally, Mrs. Paolinetti recognized students from each class for showing this month's life skill: CONFIDENCE. After the assembly, students were rewarded for their excellent performance in September with an extra 15 minute recess. HOORAY!!

We completed another Math Lesson today which centered around parts of a calendar and specifically the Days of the Week. We identified month, days, weeks on the calendar and then did a cut/paste activity to order the days of the week. Many students used the Days of the Week poster at the front of the class, others used the calendar, and still others sang themselves the days of the week song.

Today we also started Science. Students were given their "Kindergarten Science Notebooks" and assigned to groups. Each group was able to give themselves a team name that had something to do with their table color and science. Our science teams are: The Oranges, The Lemons, and The Blueberries. :) We will be keeping all of our records and observations in our Science Notebooks, which students will be able to take home at the end of the year.

We met our Buddies!!!

Today we met our 4th grade buddies. For the school year, our class and Mrs. Robinson's Kindergarten class will be sharing Mrs. Varveris' 4th Grade class. We will be meeting about every other Friday to work together on many different activities, mostly doing shared reading. Today, as an icebreaker, students were given "puzzle pieces" with their names, which would connect to their buddy. Once they were found, they worked together to find identify things they both liked or disliked.


Today we reviewed procedure for Readers Workshop and explained more in depth the schedule we will be following each day during readers workshop. A pie chart was which was used to explain that the Mini Lesson's purpose is to share ideas, strategies, or directions to follow while they're reading (my time), the Reading is their time to explore Look Books (their time) and the Closure is to discuss what we've learned or read about (our time).

Social Studies began with an introduction to holidays celebrated in honor of America: Veterans Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, etc. We also talked about some people from the past including George Washington, Daniel Boone, and Benjamin Franklin.

We went to Computer Lab after lunch and learned another couple games on the Jumpstart Kindegarten program. The students did an excellent job working independently on their computers and are showing improvement in their manipulation of the mouse.

We also read Curious George today, which the kids really enjoyed.

Character Rocks!

Back to school for another Monday... We started our morning with a discussion on Readers Workshop. Today we mainly just talked about proper ways to sit on the carpet during Readers Workshop: Sitting Flat, Facing Forward, Hands in Lap, Ready to Learn.

We also began our study of Johnny Appleseed by reading a book about him and discussing who he was and what he did. He was introduced as a character, our vocabulary word for the week in Social Studies. We've defined character as a person or animal that is in a story.

We reviewed the characters and colors from Brown Bear and without my prompting, the class read me the story. After recess we reviewed day and night, covering a math standard which requires students to know the times of the day. Children created their own charts showing things they like to do in the day and in the night.

After lunch, we attended the Character Rocks! Assembly, which revolved around the six pillars of the Character Counts Program. (www.charactercounts.org) : Trustworthiness, Responisibility, Respect, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship. We did a conga line, the chicken dance, and played "Good Choice, Bad Choice, My Choice"

Color Week: BROWN

Our final day of color week was spectacular. As a culmination of our study of colors, and since our color of the day was brown, we took some time to work with the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? We starting with reading, then rereading with the students mouthing the words with me. We reviewed the colors and listed the characters from the story. Using that information, we distributed "costumes" and put on our own production of "Brown Bear.."

We also had a Fire Drill on Friday. The students did excellent, evening receiving praise from many of the 1st grade teachers. Finally, our afternoon ended with Friday Funday. They really seem to enjoy that special choice time. It was a great day, to wrap up an excellent week.

Color Week: PURPLE

Although I missed being in class today, I got a glowing report from Mrs. McDonough.

The children had a Bus Evacuation Drill, worked on some worksheets for purple day, and watercolored their Rainbow Fish.

Remember: Newsletters and Rosters will come home tomorrow, please ask your student for them. :) Be ready for a full update tomorrow, once I've had a chance to catch up with the kids.

As a side note, the reason I was out of class today was for a Beginning Teacher Training Event in which we were introduced to our Literacy Programs and got a ton of great ideas, both for curriculum and for classroom management. I am rejuvenated and ready to put them into practice in the classroom.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

I.T.L.A.P.D. came to Laurelwood Elementary School with another one of our new teachers, Mrs. Champa. I think it will be a long running tradition here, as our first year was a giant success.

We started the morning with our "AHOY" book... this was a self-made book that basically just was Ahoy (students name). Most students answered back with "Ahoy!"

We read "I Am A Pirate" which was a book that consisted of color words and articles of clothing. Students then were able to go back to their seats to work on completing their own copy of "I Am A Pirate". Most students were able to follow directions and have created an accurate replica. Others may have more original interpretations.

For snack we tried "Pirate's Booty" (from Trader Joes).. most of the kids really enjoyed it!

We stopped a couple times along the way to read such books as: , How I Became a Pirate and Bubble Bath Pirates. After recess we worked more on our books and children had the chance to do "Pirate Choices" which consisted of a treasure map mazes, making a pirate buddy, a pirate coloring page, and making a pirate-themed bookmark. While students were working on these, four at a time were pulled to get a chance to FINALLY play with our class pirate ship. They really enjoyed it and I think it will be a popular option for choice time.

Right before lunch, students created their own Pirate Hats, these were cut out of construction paper, labeled with a white crayon, and then stapled to fit their heads. I think they really enjoyed wearing these and they all certainly looked adorable.

Reminder: I will not be in class tomorrow, but hope to get a full report from our sub, Anne McDonough.

Color Week: WHITE

Today was an eventful and action-packed day! We started the morning reading Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?. After reading through it one time, the class joined in making animal sounds for the corresponding pages. (very fun)

We continued the morning with a large project: making a color book. Students cut and pasted the appropriate color names on the corresponding color construction paper. These will be bound and students will keep these in class to use as a resource for several upcoming projects before bringing them home.

Today, we also started Social Studies. Our first lesson was on Rules. What is a rule? Why do we have rules? What rules do we have? During the lesson we had group discussion, watched DVD clips that accompany our text, and made lists on the white board. The children REALLY enjoyed the video and I think that we have a grasp on what a rule is and why they are in place (to keep us safe).

After lunch we made our first visit into the Computer Lab. Children got acquainted with the computers and their parts (monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphones) and were shown how to type their names to get into Jumpstart Kindergarten. They were introduced to and spent the time playing a game which involves ordering Nesting Dolls .

Finally we started our Math Unit on sorting by working in groups to sort linking cubes by color. Students showed interesting methods for organizing their sorted cubes and seemed to understand the task and enjoyed using the manipulatives.

Color Week: PINK

Today we started the morning with an Oral Language exercise: sharing about what we did over the weekend. This gave students an opportunity to practice both speaking to the large group and being good listeners. We reviewed that being a good listener includes sitting quietly as well as looking at the speaker.

Our day also included some worksheets centered around the color pink. In the afternoon we reread The Gingerbread Man. Most students were able to complete the often repeated lines "Run run, fast as you can, can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man!".. After the story, we worked on a sequencing activity which involved cutting, coloring, and pasting six scenes into the correct order.

We also began talking about our shape of the week: SQUARE! We made Boxman Square (our newest character) and talked about the characteristics of a square. It has four corners, four sides, and all of the sides are even. Throughout the week we will complete more work similar to those that were completed with Curvella and circles.

Today was also library day, we went to the library, listened to Mrs. Williams read It's Tough to Be 5 by Jaime Lee Curtis. We also wrote our names on library cards and practiced the proper way to turn pages (grab from the corner, slide your hand down, and then turn).

Rainbow Week: BLUE

Rainbow Week concluded today with a very vibrant Blue Day! Although Colors will extend into next week, this week was Kindergarten-wide and was hopefully something memorable.

We rounded off the week rereading Rainbow Fish and doing a directed draw of a fish. Next week we will watercolor and post these in our room!

We also enjoyed a Blue Hunt (since I remembered my camera today):

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a treat of Rainbow Jello (each night this week I have added a new color of Jello into a Pyrex pan, resulting in a multilevel/multi-flavor jello concoction).

After that we created our Monster 2 Puppets, then had Friday Funday. Students successfully monitored that only four people were at each center by using their picture magnets on the whiteboard to show which choice they were making.


Remember, next weeks events include:

Monday - Pink Day
Tuesday - White Day
Wednesday - Black Day (International Talk Like A Pirate Day)
Thursday - Purple Day, Miss Wagenaar out for Professional Development (Anne McDonough subbing - Anne McDermott's Intern)
Friday - Brown Day

Rainbow Week: GREEN

Today was another excellent color themed day in Room 4. Green was the color of choice and some kids may have gone home with more green on than they arrived in. One of the activities that we did today was a very fun art project. It involved using green items (including broccoli, limes, peppers, ferns, etc) and green paint to stamp a work of art. Some of the children, therefore, had paint under finger nails, in hair, and on shirts. (We'll work on this in the future, but don't worry - it's washable).

We also had a Spirit Rally today, to give information about the Walk-A-Thon. More information about this event is going home in Thursday folders today (they're bright orange). I hope that most students will choose to participate. During the assembly the children were instructed and joined in a school-wide Macarena Dance. ;)

We had an opportunity to do read aloud of several books, two of which being classics that I'm sure we'll read again. Those being: Green Eggs and Ham and The Giving Tree. By request we read a couple more gingerbread-type books this afternoon. Rereading The Gingerbread Boy and Can't Catch Me (a spinoff starring an ice cube who gets eaten by a whale).

Although many items, including lots of Color Worksheets, came home in Thursday folders, one of the things that also went home were the student's Monster One Puppets. These adorable creatures will be made each week and sent home. Ask your child to share with you Monster One's cheer (Monster Monster Number One, How many claps will get your job done? (clap))

REMEMBER: Newsletters will now be sent home on Fridays, look for one tomorrow. Remember, tomorrow is Blue Day! :)

Rainbow Week: RED

The third day of Rainbow Week brought lots of red to Room 4.

Today we studied more about the colors, putting our knowledge to identifying "red" and coloring a variety of pictures in red. This morning we read Little Red Riding Hood. We also completed a Red Hunt. It even surprised me how much red the children were able to locate in the classroom (and on the playground.)

Today the students also completed a Writing Assessment. This assessment requires students to write a narrative about something that has happened to them in their life. They were urged to write as many letters/words as they knew, but they were also encouraged to illustrated their stories. As students finished their work, they narrated to me, so that I could translate onto the back.

Rainbow Week: ORANGE

Today was another festive day in Room 4. Orange Day was celebrated as nearly all students showed up with at least an article of Orange clothing.
(This picture is of the children while we played a game called Dead Fish. It involves the kids lying perfectly still. It's an excellent game to help work on their self control)

We started our morning by taking part in a schoolwide Flagpole Gathering to say the Pledge of Allegiance in honor of Patriots Day. As a grade level, we decided that it was most important to stress that on some special days we'll be saluting the flag along with the rest of the school rather than going into too many details about what exactly led to September 11th becoming Patriots Day.

Today also marked the 10th day of school. Zero the Hero stopped by the classroom while the kids were at recess, dressed up one of our stuffed animals, and left us a treat of Cheerios (shaped like a zero). We learned his rhyme Zero the Hero, he's so cool. Zero the Hero, he's no fool. Zero the Hero holds a space, so all the other numbers stay in their place.


Today, like yesterday, was centered mainly around activities dealing with Orange. We did two activities, one coloring and one writing, which required students to discriminate between color words, to identify "orange". We also colored the Orange page in our Color Book. We started out the morning reading Planting a Rainbow. Also, our Orange Hunt was another huge success:

The number 2 was also introduced, with it's poem as well as Monster Number Two. The poem, which should help students remember how to draw the two is:

Around the track, then go right back.
Choo, choo! That's a two.

Also, we practiced writing 2s on a Monster Two handout, while also practicing his cheer:

Monster Monster Number Two.
How many claps do we need for you?
(clap clap)

Rainbow Week: YELLOW

We spent the majority of today focusing on our color of the day: YELLOW. Many children decided to dress in yellow, which was a lot of fun to see. Don't forget that tomorrow is Orange Day! :)

We also read Rainbow Fish this morning and discussed the importance of sharing. As more and more choices are being introduced (Dolls, Unifix Cubes, Sea Animals, Reptiles, etc.) students are finding practical examples of how such sharing is difficult. Hopefully this is something that we can all work on together.

Focusing on yellow, we completed the first page of our "My Color Book". We also did an activity in which children had to separate out the word yellow, as it was mixed among rhyming words (yellow, fellow, mellow, bellow). We are constantly practicing procedures including writing our name on EVERY paper, working on scissors/glue handling, as well as remembering to clean up our personal area after we've finished work. Also, as part of an on-going project for the week, students traced and cut out their hands on yellow construction paper. This will be done daily, and will be used to make a class rainbow. We also completed a Yellow Hunt:

Today we also had to have the discussion, which I'm sure will be the first of many, about only using the bathroom during class when it's completely necessary. Please urge your children, as I will, to use the restroom at recess and lunch, as having them go throughout the day takes away from our valuable and limited time together.

Gingerbread Hunt!!

Today was another VERY exciting day in Room 4! We had an addition of THREE new friends!

We now are at a wonderful 18 students!

Our busy day consisted of two main projects: Making Monster 1 Puppets and Making/Baking/Hunting For/Eating Gingerbread Men!

After spending the morning ready The Gingerbread Baby the students were given directions and a sheet of five different sized gingerbread men and asked to order them from smallest to largest.

Our Monster 1 Puppets Turned out amazing. Each student made an individually sized version of my Monster 1. We also practiced our cheer. Monster Monster Number 1. How many claps will get your job done? (clap)

After lunch we went into Room B to join Mrs. McDermott and Miss Ciampa's classes for decorating and eating. Much to our surprise (wink) our cookies were not in the oven where we left them. Clues led us on a Gingerbread Hunt with stops at such places as: the Kindergarten Yard, Office, Staff Room, Computer Lab, Library, and Cafeteria. Here is a recap of our afternoon:

We'll be continuing with a few more Gingerbread Man activities next week. We will also be studying the colors. Remember, Monday is Yellow Day. If your child has yellow, please suggest that they wear it :)

Let's Cook Gingerbread!

Today was an action packed day, literally.

We reread Aylesworth's version of The Gingerbread Man then worked together to list the characters that appeared in the story: little old lady, little old man, Gingerbread Man, butcher, cow, pig, and fox. Then we randomly chose students to play these parts as our class recreated the story of The Gingerbread Man. Thiz scene is the Gingerbread Man (Annie) meeting the fox (Christian).

We also began our study of the number 1. We learned a poem which will help the children remember how to draw a 1.

Straight line down
and then you're done.
That's the way
you make a one.

The children also were introduced to Monster One. This construction paper puppet is bright orange and has one eye, one tooth, and one horn. Over the next few weeks we will be studying the rest of the numbers (through 10) and will have a corresponding "monster" for each one. Monster One, like Curvella, also has a cheer:

Monster Monster Number One. How many claps will get the job done? (clap)

After a few worksheets in which the students practiced writing the number 1 and coloring, we began the big event: Making the Dough for Gingerbread Men!!!

This was the first of our cooking lessons. It was a HUGE success. We talked about what a recipe was and what ingredients we were going to use. Each student got an opportunity to help measure and add ingredients into our mixing bowl. Once all ingredients were added, we passed the bowl around, giving each child a chance to stir. Let it be known that most children went home without too much of a mess on their clothes, but I (on the other hand) ended up with about 5 molasses spots on my white skirt... Newest item on my wishlist: an apron (if anyone has an extra they'd be willing to donate).

Circle Circle, Curvella Circle...

Shape of the Week: Circle
Star of the Day: Eesha

Today we worked more on both Gingerbread Man stories and circles. We listened to The Gingerbread Boy and another version of The Gingerbread Man. We also watched the Circle Hunt video and then practiced singing and doing hand motions to "The Wheels on the Bus".

We also did some practice with working independently at centers. There is a limit of four students per activity, so we used a pocket chart to help keep track of which center students are working at.


After Recess and some time for resting, we jumped into our BIG project for the day: Curvella! Curvella is a character that is used to help children in learning about circles. We created a Curvella puppet, which the students will be bringing home in their Thursday Folder tomorrow. (Then we practiced saying her cheer. It might be fun to help your children recite this cheer at home.) ::

Circle, Circle
Curvella Circle
Round as round can be
Circle Circle
Curvella Circle
No corners there to see

We Survived our 1st FULL Day!!!

Six Whole Hours! We did it!!!

We started a few new procedures today, including doing a lunch count. Students will need to report each morning whether they have brought a lunch to school or if they will be buying one in the cafeteria. Please make sure your child is aware of which category they fall into. (It'll cause things to go much smoother.)

Today we started the "Star of the Day".. A new student will be chosen at random for this position each day. They will be the special helper for the day (line leader, paper passer, etc.) Today's "Star of the Day" was EVA.

This morning we began our week-long focus on The Gingerbread Man. We read one version of the story, and will continue to explore several more version and do activities all throughout the week. The culminating activity will be making Gingerbread Man Cookies Thursday afternoon and baking them on Friday.

We also began talking about our shape of the week: CIRCLE. We held a circle hunt, where we went around the classroom looking for circles. We filled an entire disposable camera full of objects that were circular.. We will continue talking about circles all week. I urge you to have your child point them out around the home as well.

We also did a Gingerbread Man themed patterning activity. Students were given a picture to color and then cut out colored Gingerbread Men to create a pattern on the path...

We went to lunch for the first time today, which went fairly smoothly. After lunch students were given about 15 minutes for resting. Most students have brought in a towel and were able to lay them out while we listened to restful music during this time.

Here is a short slide show I've made of our Circle Hunt:

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I've changed the settings so that comments can be made
by everyone, so please feel free to contribute.

All Smiles!

Room 4 - Miss Wagenaar's Kindergarten ClassWeek 1

Friday Funday

On Friday we spent a large part of the day practicing classroom procedures, including sitting cross-legged ("Criss Cross Applesauce) as well as keeping our mouths quiet while walking around campus and while others are talking. All this practice paid off as we had a very successful Opening Assembly. Our class walked to and from the Cafeteria quietly and sat attentively, listening to our Principal, Ms. Paolinetti.

We also enjoyed listening to the book we'd created on Thursday, Room 4 Gets Ready for Kindergarten.

We use small pieces of constructions paper to do a mosaic type art project out of each students' name. These will be displayed around the room for a majority of the year.

In the late morning, students were introduced to a variety of choices of centers and were able to explore them during what we called Friday Funday. Choices included: Markers, Puzzles, Pattern Blocks, Sea Animals, and Books. This gave them an opportunity to interact socially and enhance skills such as teamwork and problem-solving. More free choice time will be available to students next week, during which I will be doing initial assessments for Name Writing and Letter Identification.