2.17.12

3 Cheers Hundred's Day!

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

 This has been a week of many highlights – with Valentines Day and our celebration of 100 Days of School. We enjoyed making valentines, sharing treats and doing special Valentines activities in the classroom.

On Thursday, we learned more about the number 100. We finished reading Emily’s first 100 Days of School, by Rosemary Wells and read Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100^th Day of Kindergarten by Joseph Slate. We built a long chain of 337 links. It was made up of 33 links of 10 with 7 left over. Each child chose a color and counted out 10 links and put them together. On the rug we linked the separate chains of 10 together and made a long chain. We also started a list of 100 things that we are grateful for… We are at 37 right now. Stay tuned. Once it is complete I’ll send it home so they can share it with you.

Counting 10 of each treats makes Trail Mix 100!

We made trail mix of 100 treats using 10 different snacks: raisins, m&m’s, peanuts, etc. They also worked in their table groups together to build one building using 100 small colored blocks and flats. This proved to be the most difficult as some children had trouble collaborating on one building. Something to work on. J At the end of the day we shared our collections of ten things that we brought in. We didn’t finish everything so tomorrow we will finish the other activities.

Language Arts:

Continue having your child finish the Jolly Phonics workbook. When it is completed I will have a special treat for each child. :)

Math:

We continued to talk about money and the two coins introduced to date: penny and nickel.  We also worked to learn about different ways to make ten. We reviewed what a math sentence is and practiced reading our math sentences: 8+2=10; 3+7=10, etc. This activity used two sided plastic shaped beans. One side is red and the other white. You can do this activity at home using pennies. Put 10 pennies in a cup. Have them gently spill the pennies out of the cup on a table or floor. Count how many are heads up and how many are tails up. Help them to write their math sentence: for instance, 4+6=10  (four heads + 6 tails = 10 pennies altogether).

Cashton's /v/ share: Valentine's Day Bear

  

Stars the Hamster is Star for the day!

CALENDAR

• Share: I had inadvertently forgotten to choose new share sounds for this week. I sent home a note on Monday and chose: /ng/ and /v/. It was timely with Valentines Day this week. Cashton brought in his new Valentines teddy.  On Monday Ava brought in a special share: her hamster, Stars. The children enjoyed learning about her new pet and watching ash she traveled in her hamster ball on the rug.

•   Snacks:  Thank you to Andrew’s family for providing this past week’s healthy snacks.  We enjoyed Cheese, Nilla Wafers, apples and raisins. A big Thank you to everyone for the extra Valentine treats which we enjoyed.  This coming week’s snacks will be donated by Finn’s family.  Thank you one and all!

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:

• Scholastic Book Orders:  Please return on Wednesday, February  15.  I will be submitting the scholastic book order  by Wednesday next week. If you didn’t return your book order but would like to still place an order you can order online at scholastic.com using our classroom code: H9K3R

• February Vacation: February 20-24^th.. I hope you all enjoy a happy, healthy and restful break.

• A special thank you to everyone for the special Valentines given to me by your children. They were very delightful!

Thank you!

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Bodnar

2.10.12

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

 The Hanover Footnotes (a-cappella chorus) came to school on Wednesday to demonstrate their singing talents. The children enjoyed hearing and seeing their exciting performance with Broadway songs from Wicked, Greece and other favorites.

No field trip this week, but we did enjoy the warmer weather. The playground is becoming less icy and so we are getting outside for recess more often.

Social Studies:

Our study of Kwanzaa has taken us to the fourth principle: Cooperative Economics. We would like to raise money to buy an African drum called a Djembe for the class. We made a list of things we could do.  We thought it would be fun to make crafts and sell them. I will be looking into how we might be able to accomplish this and will let you know. If you have any ideas please contact me. Thank you!

Language Arts:

I will be sending home your child’s Jolly Phonics workbook. Please have him/her finish the activity pages. Thank you!

We will continue to work on blending, rhyming and writing. On Tuesday, February 7, we participated in Vermont Writes, a statewide initiative focusing on writing. After introducing the prompts and talking about what they might write about, the wrote and illustrated their sentences for 7 – 10 uninterrupted minutes.  The prompts were: What is your earliest memory and If I had one wish, it would be…  Their work is mounted on construction paper and posted in our hallway. Come and take a look! Afterward, they each read their sentences to the class. Great job Kinder-Authors!

Math:

This week we started a unit on money in conjunction with our Kwanzaa Principle #4: Cooperative Economics. It also ties in nicely with the upcoming Presidents Day. This week we focused on the penny and nickel. They learned whose faces are on the coins and about how they are the same and how they are different focusing on physical characteristics and value.  We will continue next week working with these two coins and will probably introduce the dime.

Ryan painting up a storm.

CALENDAR

Share: Wonderfully zesty /w/ and /z/ shares! The students listened to shares about wheels, watches, warm-ups, owls, penguins, wings, bubble wand and for /z/ we learned that the “s” makes the /z/ sound sometimes at the end of the word as in “wheels,” “stickers,”  and “cars.” Next week's share is the sounds /ng/  and /v/.

Snacks:  Thank you to Ryan’s family for providing this past week’s healthy snacks.  It was suggested that I post the snack items so parents know what was eaten and help them make choices when it is their turn. This week the children enjoyed Smartfood popcorn, clementines, cheese, crackers, and carrots. I find these whole food items are great choices for the kids. They are easy to distribute, easy to eat, and are healthy. They don’t have food dyes, or highly processed sugars, etc.  Basic choices are fruits, cheeses, crackers, raw veggies, and yogurt. If you have any questions about what works best, or any suggestions please let me know and I’ll be happy to help.

This coming week’s snacks will be donated by Andrew’s family.  Thank you one and all!

100^th day of school:  Please help your child think about bringing in a collection of 100 items that they can share with the class by Thursday, February 16th. The collection should fit inside a baggie (no larger than a gallon size). Some ideas might be: 100 raisins, 100 cheerios, 100 pennies, 100 button, etc. 

We started table teams and jobs early in January. The children have done very well with them. Each week they have a different jobs, based on their seating location For instance: 12:00 gets the napkins, 3:00 gets the Milk, 6:00 gets the bowls (with the snacks) and 9:00 gets the straws and is the table captain. As table captain they are responsible for making sure the tables are clean and chairs are pushed in.  For the most part they really have enjoyed participating, pitching-in to clean up and overall they have done a great job learning how to help each other. 

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:

•  Scholastic Book Orders:  Please return on Wednesday, February  15.  You can always order directly online using the code: H9K3R

• February Vacation: February 20-24^th.
• Thank you to Kaitlyn’s family for donating pencil top erasers, glue sticks, glue, and whiteboard markers!

Thank you!

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Bodnar

2.3.12

Dana Jacobsen-Goodhue talks to the children before we go into the pasture with the alpaca.

 
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

We enjoyed a fantastic walking field trip on Tuesday to the Jacobsen-Goodhue Alpaca farm and Sherry Clarke’s Goat farm. The children were very excited to meet the animals, learn about their care and ways in which these animals contribute to our lives.  The kindergarten classes left at 8:30 am and were back in time for Art at 9:50 am.

Keira and Kayla chat with an alpaca.

 The students did well following the rules on our walk and when we were with the animals. They were able to pet the alpacas and feed them. At the goat farm we were able to pet them and see how they are milked. 

All hands are busy petting.

In the photo on the right you can see the head of an adorable goat as he is being adored by his kinder fans.

When we returned we made Thank You notes that will be delivered to our hosts.

Read Aloud: After our field trip to the farm Leah Gartner read three fun farm books. Oh What a Noisy Farm by Harriet Ziefert, Big Red Farm, by Margaret Wise Brown, and Cluck 0’clock, by Kes Gray.

The children wrote and illustrated their favorite part of the field trip. They are beginning to stretch their writer’s wings as writers.

Hopscotch to it!

Jolly Phonics:

We completed the last grouping of 6 sounds with /er/ and /ar/ this week!  This is a big accomplishment. They are doing a great job learning the sounds, using what they know when they read on their own and when writing. We will have lots of more fun activities the rest of the year. They should be very proud and pleased. I am. J

Social Studies:

In our study of Kwanzaa, the third principle is Collective Work. As a result the class brainstormed some ideas: they decided to work together to clean their table trays.  Another classroom project idea was decorating the classroom bulletin boards. They have been making snowflakes – white ones and colorful ones using washable markers which we dipped in water. They cut beautiful unique snowflake patterns which you can see in the hallway and inside the classroom if you visit.

This week’s morning explorations included an inside hopscotch board and the classroom computers. Most of the children have enjoyed learning how to play hopscotch, to balance and toss, and to learn to take turns.  Blocks, and Legos continue to be best sellers.

Another group effort by Kinderbuilders.

CALENDAR

• Share: Great /or/ shares! We were treated to a toy fork lift, an orange, a unicorn, an adorable panda, a noisy gorilla, something from a bookstore, and I brought in some gorp for an extra snack share.  Next week’s share theme will be a choice of either the sound /z/ or /w/.

• Snacks: Thank you to Cashton’s  family for providing this past week’s healthy snacks.  This coming week’s snacks will be donated by Ryan’s family.

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:

• Scholastic Book Orders: are going out in today’s folder. Please return on Wednesday, February  15.  You can always order directly online using the code: H9K3R

• Reminder: Lately, students are forgetting sneakers or shoes to wear inside durling the day. Please make sure your child has inside shoes/sneakers to wear  everyday. Boots are too clunky and hot for wearing inside.

• Water bottles are still needed in their cubbies even during the winter months. Please send in a water bottle for them to use throughout the day. Thank you!

Thank you!

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Bodnar