Kinder News 2.23

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS
Literacy: We colored and read a book called "I Like Me". Students were very successful with this patterned text.
Writers Workshop: This week we talked about functional writing. Our focus was on writing a letter. We talked about the parts of a letter (date, Dear _____, message and the closing). Students wrote a valentines letter for someone in their family.
Field Trip to the Mailbox: After completing the letters, putting an address label on the envelope, and stamps, we walked to the mailbox on Dunford. Students had a chance to place their letters in the mailbox (so keep your eyes on the mail, hopefully they will arrive on Saturday).
Math: We worked on a simple addition concept book, students chose two quantities to draw, then created an addition problem to accompany them.
Science: We observed our newest and final animal friend, worms. Students asked questions to guess what animal we'd be meeting, then used those clues to guess. We examined Red Worms and Night Crawlers. We talked about how their bodies feel and what they look like when they move.
Cooking: Our Harvest of the Month crate contained Cabbage. We looked at three types: Red, Napa, and Green. Miss Wagenaar cut the Green Cabbage and created a Chinese Chicken Salad (minus the chicken) for the children to try.
Native Pride Dancers: We had an assembly on Monday which involved Native Americans presenting information and a glimpse of their culture.
Kinder Concert: We hope you enjoyed our presentation of the Kindergarten Concert on Tuesday evening. We have worked very hard to learn the songs, and many wonderful reviews would say that the time and effort paid off.
Valentine's Day: Today was a fun-filled day. We started the day with a math exercise - sorting, graphing, and addition using candy hearts. Our buddies helped us to complete a Valentine Mouse craft project. After lunch we enjoyed our party. We had snacks including mini pizzas, kettle corn, oranges, strawberries, apple juice, and a cookie. Finally students were able to open and enjoy their Valentine cards with one another. The day ended with Esther Lew handing out beautiful construction paper roses for the students to bring home to parents. These roses were created using their handprints! (Absolutely Amazing!)

NOTES AND REMINDERS
There is no school this coming week! Enjoy your holiday, hope it finds you happy and healthy.

Flat People: If you were not able to submit pictures (or did and would like to take more) of your child with their flat counterpart, I've pushed the writing project back to allow families who missed out on the Winter Break to participate. So, remember the idea is to take photos of your child and their doll doing noteworthy activities during the break. We WILL be writing our Class Book about their adventures when we return. Thank you for your involvement!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU: To all parents who helped with our Valentines Celebration, whether by attending or providing supplies or snacks! What a group of willing individuals we have this year. Your children and I are so lucky to have you!
Also, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU: To Maura Fennelly (Megan's mom) who was able to get her work to donate a laptop to replace my previously stolen one. The kids and I are very excited (they're all already making requests for songs that they'd like me to have on it when we get back from break). My vow, now that I've been given such a generous gift, is to stay on top of the blog, especially the picture uploading. I leave for Chicago in a few hours, but when I return I will be taking some time to upload backlogged pictures that haven't made their way online. Thank you for your patience with me while I get things back in order.

IMPORTANT DATES
Monday February 16 - Friday February 20: No School