Happy Halloween!

Today was a spooktacular day!

The morning started with us heading out to the blacktop for the Halloween Parade. We had an excellent time parading around, showing off our costumes, and enjoying the creative costumes that the other children were wearing. When we came back into the class, we enjoyed a couple of halloween stories The Spookiest Halloween Story and Clifford's Halloween. Then, we enjoyed some healthy treats: cheese, crackers, fruit, veggies and dip, and jello.

After recess we did a Halloween Rotation. In our classroom, I led classes in making a hanging, twirling ghosts. In Miss Ciampa's room, the students listened to a story and did a ghost counting game. In Mrs. Chiappe's room, the students did a sorting activity with the W, P, and C sounds.

After lunch we quickly completed the "secret ghost project". The children wrote BOO! on the ghosts and hopefully hid them when they got home. I hope that you were able to have some fun with that.

Healthy Play Training

Today I was out of the classroom because I was at a Healthy Play Training, I got some amazing ideas for activities that can be done in and outside the classroom, building teamwork and conflict management.

While I was gone, the students met with their buddies and worked on a project making Witch Holders. Also, student from Mrs. Villareal's multiage class came in to read Halloween stories that they had created.

They continued work on their Pumpkin project, which we will hopefully complete if we have time tomorrow afternoon. They also went into the Computer Lab and navigated in Jumpstart Kindergarten on the numerous games they've learned. The read aloud today was appropriately enough Miss Bindergarten Stays Home.

During Readers Workshop, students talked about the beginning, middle, and end of stories. They used The Gingerbread Man as an example since it was a story they were familiar with.

Reminder -- Tomorrow is Halloween. Students may come to school in costume, but need to change out of it after the parade. Also, if you would like to contribute a healthy snack for our Halloween Celebration, please bring it into room 4 before school. Thank You!

White Ghost, White Ghost...

This morning we read The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat.
Today we read a story, inspired by Brown Bear.. called White Ghost, White Ghost. The characters include a Brown Owl, Yellow Broom, Purple Which, and Black Bat. Students enjoyed the story and we decided that we would make smaller versions that each child could color and practice reading.

In Writer's Workshop today we continued labeling items around the classroom, doing interactive writing. Some things we labeled today: sun, markers, closet, kitchen, crayon box, linking cubes, etc.

For math, we did patterning with a variety of Halloween icons: pumpkins, witches, bats, and ghosts. We also began our culminating Pumpkin project today by doing some of the prep work. Tomorrow students will finish creating the life cycle of a pumpkin and bring home the project on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I will not be at school. I have a Healthy Play Training that all K-2 teachers at Laurelwood are able to attend.

Just a reminder -- Wednesday is Halloween! We will be having the Costume Parade at 8:25. After the parade, we will be having a small celebration (we'll be taking pictures, eating healthy snacks, and changing out of costumes).

Red Ribbon Week: Crazy Sock Day

This morning began with a Citizenship Awards Assembly and whole school Flag Salute.

We started the morning looking at a pumpkin and making observations. We decided that it is smooth, it is heavy, and it is hard. We cut into it and had the children smell it. Then we looked inside and estimated how many seeds were inside. (Estimates ranged from 8 to 1000) Then, just like scientists, we counted the seeds. Each child came and counted 10 seeds into a cup. Once we had ten cups we put them together to make 100. There ended up being 417 seeds! We read Pumpkin Eye and Hoot.

Our day ended with Mrs. Mathur reading the class A Case of the Stripes. (a nod to by choice for crazy sock day)

We also acted out and sang 5 Little Pumpkins!

Red Ribbon Week: Team Jersey Day

Today was wild one indeed. Not only was it team jersey day, but we had our Lifeskill Assembly.

We started our morning by doing a little bit of a literacy exercise, creating a "How Many Pumpkins?" book. This required students to count up to ten, write the numbers up to ten, color pumpkins, AND cut the circles which create the book. This proved to be a challenging task, but the result was impressive.

For science today we discussed Pumpkins. We noted that pumpkins are fruits (because they have seeds), pumpkins are usually bigger than apples and that rather than apple (that grow on trees), pumpkins grow on vines.

After lunch we had P.E. Today we played a game called Magic Rock. In this game students crouch on the floor and then are given directions of what to become, for example flying birds, swimming fish, etc.

Thursday folders were passed out, as were Stoplights.

Red Ribbon Week: Wear Red

Our assembly got canceled today, but our class did an excellent job dressing in tons of red! This morning we read The Ugly Pumpkin, a story of a pumpkin who didn't look the same as the rest of the pumpkins. In the end he realized that it was because he wasn't a pumpkin after all, he was a squash.

For math today, we learned the poems and did rainbow tracing for 3 and 4.

Start at the top loop once loop twice,

That makes a three look very nice.

Go down and over and down some more,

That's the way to make a four.

Today we read The Kindness Quilt and created our own kindness quilt. We integrated math into it as we expanded our study of patterns into border patterns, having students create a border pattern for their piece of the quilt. During that time we also were working on painting paper plates orange (we will be using them for a science project that will be completed later this week/early next week).

After lunch we visited the Computer Lab once again, student learned another portion of the Jumpstart Kindergarten game and are really beginning to show a grasp on navigating the program.When we got back, we had a little choice time, more plates were painted, we distributed Book Orders, and filled in our Stoplights before heading home for the day.

Don't forget to wear Hats tomorrow!

Red Ribbon Week: Sweats Day

Book Orders are in and I've separated them. They will be sent home tomorrow. Because of our order from both Seesaw and Firefly students will each be receiving two complimentary books as a gift from Scholastic. Also, I was able to order a TON of books for the classroom with bonus points earned. So thank you, enjoy the books, and we'll hope for a similar response next time. :)

This morning we began by talking about our individual behavior chart. A note about these policies was sent home today, but students were explained t hat they will be held accountable for their behavior and will be reporting their behavior in a note that will be sent home daily. We also picked new jobs for the week.

In library today we read Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons. It is a book full of great life lessons including, for example "Trustworthy means, If you ask me to hold your cookie until you come back, when you come back, I will still be holding your cookie." We then checked out new library books and also got to listen to How Are You Peeling? (a story about emotions told wi th pictures of fruits and vegetables that have expressions). We began work on another set of pattern snakes, using different patterns AABAABAAB, ABCABCABC, or ABBABBABB.

After lunch, we finished our pattern snakes. I modeled good coloring practices and then students helped in coloring our alphabet cards that we will use as we continue to learn more letters. After students finished, the decorated bookmarks that we will use in our library books throughout the week.

Don't forget that tomorrow is "Wear Red Day"
for Red Ribbon Week.

Picasa :)

It has been requested that I make photos from
the slideshows available in full size.

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE!

Photos now can be viewed online through
an amazing website (Picasa).

http://picasaweb.google.com/MissWagenaar

Enjoy!

The Roly Poly Spider

Friday truly was another fun filled day. We started the morning working on our Roly Poly Spider books (assembling the spiders, drawing the web, drawing a bug, etc). In Writer's Workshop, we affixed our drawings of last halloween into the first page of our Writer's Notebooks. We read Hoot and Holler and Bats Around the Clock and had more discussion about various nocturnal animals.

After recess, our buddies from Mrs. Varveris's class came in and together we completed a page of things that we can see in Autumn. Some of the children drew pumpkins, bats, leaves falling, etc. Once our buddies left, we put the finishing touches on our Roly Poly Spider book and had Friday Funday (choice time).

After lunch Mrs. Mathur came in and read us The Little Scarecrow Boy. After that a friend of mine, Jeff (a junior high history teacher that I went to Cal Poly with) also came in to meet the class. Together we all did Going On A Bear Hunt before leaving for the weekend.

Creatures of the Night

Today we began our study of nocturnal animals. We started the morning listening to Stellaluna, a touching story about a bat, that emphasizes that differences should be celebrated and accepted, and it's always best to just be yourself.

For Readers Workshop today, students were instructed in how to mark pages of interest with Post It Notes while they read stories. They began with two Post Its and we will work up to more as they practice using them in appropriate ways.

We also read Creatures of the Night which introduced a variety of other nocturnal animals: bat, possum, owl, firefly, snail, eel, etc. This helped students to complete a worksheet which asked them to discriminate between nocturnal animals and those that are not. Nocturnal animals are animals that sleep during the day and are active in the nighttime.

After lunch, we reread Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and listed the characters (just like we did for Brown Bear..) After that, we sorted the characters from BB and the characters from PB.

Fire Truck!!

What an exciting Tuesday! This morning we examined four illustrations (that will be turned into our picture rubric) for Writers Workshop. At this point, many of the children, if not all, will be telling stories using mostly pictures. To set expectations I presented four levels of illustration. The 1 was a drawing of a stick figure in one color, the 2 had a little more detail but was still in one color, the 3 had multiple colors and a little more details, the 4 was in full color and has many interesting details. Children were asked which they liked better and why. We've decided that when students work on their illustrations, they should aim to create something at the caliber of a 4.

For Science this morning, we did a directed drawing of a Spider and labeled its parts. This will be put in with their initial drawings and brought home in a spider notebook in their Thursday folder.

After recess, we put on our Fire fighter hats on and headed out to see Fire Engine #9 and a couple of the Fire fighters from Santa Clara Fire Department. They had lots of great information to share with us, about life as a firefighter and about fire safety. (They reminded us that it is suggested to change the batteries in your fire detector during daylight savings)

When we returned to class, we discussed Stop-Drop-Roll and practiced.

After lunch we had Computer Lab where we learned the puzzle game on Jumpstart Kindergarten. When we arrived back in the classroom, we had balloons and giftbags waiting, and it was finally time to celebrate Geremy, Devin, AND Alexa's birthdays. (Yes, THREE birthdays in class today) We read The Secret Birthday Message by Eric Carle before singing our own versions of the birthday song for each of the three birthday kids.

We ended the day with a little Fire Safety. We colored a diagram of Stop-Drop-Roll and also began the Fire Safety coloring book. Students will be bringing this home in their Thursday folder and can continue to color it at home. Please read through it with your children, as it contains tons of important information.

ABABAB...

This morning started with choosing new classroom jobs. We took an opportunity to do more team building (sharing our favorite colors, animals, and food). This not only gives the children an opportunity to learn about their friends, but also to improve their oral language.

For math today, we looked more in depth at patterns. Students were introduced to, and practiced AB patterns. Using linking cubes, we made "trains" in AB patterns. (Ex: blue-green-blue-green-blue-green) After creating these patterns, we came back together as a group and shared our "trains" with each other.

In Library today, Mrs. Williams shared a story with us and we again checked out library books.

For Social Studies today, students were introduced to our unit about Jobs that People Do. We discussed some jobs that people do: Firefighters, Police Officers, Teachers, Farmers, Doctors, etc. After a discussion of a variety of jobs, students were asked to think about what they might like to do when they grow up. They then illustrated these aspirations, and the artwork will be bound into a class book.

We read The Roly Poly Spider today in class, one of our last things we will do with spiders before moving on to the study of nocturnal animals. After lunch, we had a short discussion about Fire Safety week and some general ideas for ways to be safe, who to call in an emergency, etc. Then we made Fire Hats that we will wear tomorrow -- while the Fire Truck and Firefighters are at Laurelwood to visit.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider...

Thankfully, the rain held off until the very end of the school day.

We started the morning like any other, with calendar and weather. Our read aloud this morning was Are You a Spider?, an excellent non-fiction story about spiders.

This morning, in Writers Workshop, we practiced doing the Turn and Talk that we learned from Mrs. McDermott. To practice ordering the number 1 to 10, we colored and cut the characters from Brown Bear, Brown Bear.. which had numbers on them. They were then asked to glue them, in order, onto a long sheet of paper.

After recess we had a special visitor, Sian Brady. She is a MLS soccer player from England who teaches soccer camps in Santa Clara. She read the students The Itsy Bitsy Spider and then helped us to create our Spider Hats. It was excellent to have her here!



We had Friday Funday after our Spider Project. After lunch we completed our October Self Portraits. Throughout the year, we will draw self portraits monthly. Even comparing September and October was neat. It will be entertaining to see at the end of the year. This afternoon, we also read Anansi and the Talking Melon and .

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Today we were productive, got some exercise, and worked on our teamwork.. all while having a good time.

This morning we had a talk about taking care of our classroom supplies. All but one of our PlayDohs were dried out, so we reviewed procedures for taking care of and properly using PlayDoh.

In Readers Workshop, students were introduced to Partner Reading. This occurs when students have completed Private Reading and are ready to share what they've "read" with a partner. Students were urged to hold the book between them and take turns in sharing and asking questions.

After recess, we came in and reviewed the text and illustrations of Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom. We then created our own Coconut Trees (using tearing and cutting construction paper) and letter stickers to spell our names climbing up the coconut tree. They turned out spectacular. They will be displayed in our classroom, so feel free to come and take a peek before or after school. I'll photograph them and post, for those of you who are unable to do this.

In the afternoon, we met with Miss Ciampa's class and went out to the Primary Playground for P.E. Today we just practiced lining up, doing a warm-up lap, and a variety of stretchs. From now on, we will be doing P.E. every Thursday afternoon. Please make sure your child comes to school those days dressed appropriately.

After P.E. we had a read aloud of Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle. There is not text in this story, but it reinforced with students that a story could be told without using conventional letters and words.

Another Wacky Wednesday..

Today Mrs. McDermott came in to teach the class a Writers Workshop lesson, introducing the "Turn-N-Talk" method of sharing with a partner. It involves turning toward a partner, knee to knee and eye to eye, and taking turns sharing their stories and asking each other questions about details of the story.

We practiced the formation of the letter C. There's a song that can help reinforce proper practices.
(sung to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It")
Start here go up around and down then stop.
Start here go up around and down then stop.
Start here go up around and down, let's make a C.
Start here go up around and down then stop.

After reading Aaaaaargggghhhh! Spider! we reinforced the difference between fiction and non-fiction stories. We've had many examples of each of these kinds of stories, especially relating to spiders. Linking to this discussion, we used our Science Notebooks to sort clip art of fiction and non-fiction spiders. Students were highly successful in this task.

After recess, we cut colored and assembled a globe with a boat that travels around the perimeter. (It's hard to explain, but will be coming home in Thursday folders tomorrow for you and your child to enjoy.)

We had music for the first time today with all of the Kindergarten classes. We sang a couple of classic children's songs: "There was a farmer had a tree and guess what grew upon it. A-P-P-L-E..." and "Skitamarinky Dinky Dink, Skitamarinky Doo, I Love You..."

A Windy Tuesday

Today the wind definitely had the kids wound up. :)

Our morning started with our first experience with Writers Workshop. I read the story Down the Road and asked the students think about what the pictures were showing and what was happening along the way. After the story was done, I encouraged the kids to think of something that had happened to them recently and to think about how they would tell that story. We will be jumping into actual "writing" next week.

For Science today, the students were asked to draw a picture of a spider, without having any instruction. Afterwards, we did a pictorial of a spider and labeled parts of its body (Legs, Eyes, Thorax, Abdomen, Claws, Jaw, and Spinneret). We read Anasi and the Moss-Covered Rock and a non-fiction book about Spiders.

For Social Studies, we started in talking about location words (near, far, left, right, under, over, in front, in back, etc.)

In Math we did an introduction to patterns. First we worked together as a large group to build a pattern with linking cubes and then work together to continue the pattern. We used between 2 and 4 different colors to create different patterns. Students then moved back to their desks and work on creating their own individual patterns with linking cubes.

In Computer Lab, we continued to learn more games in Jumpstart Kindergarten. Afterwards we took some time to work on getting to know each other, passing a Hot Potato around while saying each others' names.

Christopher Columbus Day

This morning we started our day by choosing jobs as "Room 4 Helpers". Some of the jobs included: Librarian, Housekeeper, Door/Light Monitor, Carpet Monitor, Attendance Monitor, Calendar Monitor, Teacher's Assistant, and Line Leaders. Each job has two students who will fulfill it for a week. Each Monday we will shift jobs, hopefully giving each child a chance to perform each task. This is an excellent opportunity for students to take ownership in the classroom, as well as having an outlet for their energy and desire to participate.

In Reader's Workshop we practiced Private Reading (meaning that each child chooses a book and reads his/her own story without talking or sharing with others.) At the next Readers Workshop we will learn the proper way to partcipate in Shared Reading. Then students will have a chance to share what they have "read" with a partner.

Before Recess we began our Christopher Columbus/Explorer project. It involved coloring and cutting and pasting waves, ships (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria) into a portrait. While we worked on the project we had conversations about what explorers are. Some compared them to pirates, but we discussed that pirates were looking for treasure and explorers were looking for land.

At Recess, Mrs. Mathur brought treats for the students and afterwards we were able to sing her Happy Birthday and present her with a card before she read up Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. The children LOVE having guest readers, so this was quite a treat for all of us.

We continued more work on our Columbus project, doing a directed draw/cut of the sun and clouds for our projects... as students finished, they colored an illustration of Christopher Columbus and traced the phrase "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

We also had Library today. Mrs. Williams read the class If You Give a Pig a Pancake and we returned/checked out new library books. Again this week books will stay in your child's cubbies. Once we get into the routine and get the go-ahead from the librarian, students will begin to bring their borrowed books home.

Wacky Week: Day 5

Today was truly a Friday Funday on this last short day of the week!

We started our morning with an integration of math and literature. We reviewed the numbers 1 through 10, counting as a class and reviewing the order. Then we read Dr. Seuss's The Apples Up On Top. Students then worked independently to create a picture of themselves and cut/paste apples (numbered 1 through 10) on top of their heads.

After recess we met with our buddies for some shared reading.

We had a surprise visitor after recess: MY MOM, Mrs. Wagenaar. :) (She was visiting for the weekend and decided to stop in to help with some art projects) We did art centers which consisted of: Painting Gingerbread Men for our September Quilt, Fingerprint Apple Trees, and Watercolors. The projects all turned out successful and the kids had an excellent time.

Wacky Week: Day 4

This morning during calendar, while counting the number of sunny days this week, we counted in seven different languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, Portuguese, and French. It's excellent to have such diversity brought to the table.

We also read Jason Alexander's children's book Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy? It was a cute story to explain the mystery behind the tooth fairy.

We worked on individual Apple books. They contained Red Apples, Yellow Apples, Green Apples, and Blue Apples... Students colored the illustrations and underlined color words. These books were sent home in Thursday Envelopes today.

Our Social Studies lesson today centered, once again, around School Workers. Students were instructed to match workers' job titles with images of those workers.

This afternoon, after lunch, we read A Picnic in October. The story was about a family who celebrated the Statue of Liberty's birthday with a picnic. This peeked the students interest and we decided to go on Google Images and find more information about Lady Liberty.

DON'T FORGET - - Book Orders are due Tomorrow! :)

Wacky Week: Day 3

Today we started our morning with ANOTHER Eric Carle book, The Grouchy Ladybug. We also read several more books about apples today, including Apples, Apples, Apples

In math, we were introduced to Monster 3. We practiced his cheer and completed a couple worksheets after practicing tracing 3s in the air and on friend's backs.
Monster Monster Number 3, How Many Claps Should There Be (clap clap clap)

In Social Studies, we discussed school workers and their role in our lives. We watched the DVD that goes along with our unit and brainstormed which people were helpers at our school. Librarian, Computer Lab Helper, Principal, Teacher, Secretary, Crossing Guard, Janitor, Lunch Lady, etc.

The students listened to a story about a little boy who was sent to look for a little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside. The story revealed that he eventually found this when he cut open an apple and discovered the "star" inside. During choice time students were pulled individually to stamp an apple onto paper and draw a house around it.

During choice time, we also finished our paper tearing Apple Book. :)

Wacky Week: Day 2

Another minumum day, due to Parent-Teacher Goal Setting Conferences.

We started our morning by taking a look at all the upcoming events in October: Pumpkin Fest, Birthdays, Halloween, etc. We also read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.

In Readers Workshop, students were instructed in using illustrations as a tool to aid in comprehension. Using this, they worked independently and examined illustrations in various Golden Books.

For math today, the children were given an opportunity to first do a taste test of three colors of Apple: Red, Yellow, and Green. After tasting the apples, they were asked to go back to their seat and draw their favorite color apple. After they completed their drawings, they cut and placed them on a classroom graph. The results were the 5 students enjoyed the red apples the most, 6 students preferred yellow apples and 6 said their favorite was a green apple.

After recess, we made our second entry in Science Notebooks. This page was titled "Parts of an Apple". Students built an apple using several patterns on construction paper and labeled the parts (which were previously presented on the apple poster): stem, leaf, skin, meat, core, seeds.

This afternoon in computer lab, students chose a game from Jumpstart Kindergarten that required students to use left and right arrows on the keyboard to line shapes up in corresponding colors.

Wacky Week: Day 1

Today was our first minimum day of the week..

We started our morning with a new calendar: OCTOBER
In Reader's Workshop today, children were finally able to start into the private reading portion of our program, choosing their own books, and reading them independently. Our mini lesson centered around how to choose a book (looking at the cover, thumbing through the pages) and how to return a book to the box where you got it. The students did an excellent job sharing with one another.

In Social Studies, we read a big book of Goldilocks and Three Bears and discussed Goldilocks and how she was a character. We talked about the events of the story that she was involved in and her intentions.

After recess we had Hearing Screening, children were asked to respond when they heard beeps in their ears. We then went back to class and worked on our "Yum Yuck" Apple Book until Library. This book is a class project which we completed today, children worked in small groups to tear construction paper and collage the apple illustrations. (pictures to follow)

During Library today, children had the chance to check out a library book. These books will be kept in the classroom and returned next Monday. After children have gotten into the routine of borrowing and returning books, they will be given the chance to take the books home with them.

DON'T FORGET, Scholastic Book Orders are due by Friday, October 5th! (Take advantage, there's great books in there at great prices)