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| The Fire Circle where we sang and enjoyed a delicious snack. |
Kinderbees
News
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
We have enjoyed a very full week. With two mandated English Language Arts assessments (a new initiative from the Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union), an early dismissal, two field trips, and a Scholastic Book Fair, we had our work cut out for us! Our nature field trip on Wednesday to Mrs. White’s property enabled us to tackle a variety of topics, which we will be following up on over the course of the next few weeks as well as throughout the year. An overarching objective is learning about our five senses, living and non-living things, and change over time. We also discussed our natural resources and how to be respectful and mindful of the gifts that these resources offer us. We combined both classes into one and divided them up into two mixed groups. While one group hiked the nature trail with Mrs. White to explore these themes the other group went with me to her little pond to investigate pond life. I read aloud: In a Small, Small, Pond, by Denise Fleming, and we talked about creatures that make their home in ponds or visit this interesting habitat. Seasonality is also important as we discussed what we will see and won’t see at this point in the year. Afterward we broke into groups of two to observe the pond life and try our hand at painting what we saw. They all did an outstanding job with their beautiful watercolor paintings! I noticed they all worked hard and put forth their best effort in this creative task. We also dug up some pond muck and scooped pond water into containers to make observations later in our classroom. We look forward to observing any microscopic creatures up close. I will keep you posted on our discoveries. Many thanks to Kerridwyn’s mom, Stacy Wilber, for coming on our field trip to help out!  |
| Little Miss Muffet and the Spider! |
Language Arts (and Science ! ): Nursery Rhymes play an important role in the kindergarten language arts curriculum. This week we began reciting “Little Miss Muffet” and began exploring the topic of arachnids. The children especially enjoyed taking turns role playing while we recited the rhyme. We explored new vocabulary and even made curds from warming milk and adding a tablespoon of vinegar -- many liked it! Coming off of last week’s ELF science lesson studying insects, this was very timely. We learned that spiders are different from insects in that they have 8 legs while insects have 6. We made paper spiders which we used to decorate the hallway and bulletin board.
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| Morgan taps words to write a sentence in his journal. |
Phonics & Journal Writing: The children are enjoying learning the new letter sounds and actions. This week I introduced: /s/ and
/a/. Starting next week we will begin to tap out words with the inclusion of our first vowel. Please note, the Phonics workbook is being sent home for your child to start working on the pages. We will begin with /s/ and
/a/ for this weekend. Feel free to have your child complete up to the first 6 pages if they are so inclined. However, having said that, it is by no means mandatory. I plan to introduce from 2-3 new letters a week so over time your child will be able to complete the workbook. My expectation is that they do one page a day during the week. Please keep the Phonics workbook in the neon bag so I can check on it and note their progress or challenges. I will also stamp completed pages and help them with letters that are more difficult for them.
/a/. Starting next week we will begin to tap out words with the inclusion of our first vowel. Please note, the Phonics workbook is being sent home for your child to start working on the pages. We will begin with /s/ and
/a/ for this weekend. Feel free to have your child complete up to the first 6 pages if they are so inclined. However, having said that, it is by no means mandatory. I plan to introduce from 2-3 new letters a week so over time your child will be able to complete the workbook. My expectation is that they do one page a day during the week. Please keep the Phonics workbook in the neon bag so I can check on it and note their progress or challenges. I will also stamp completed pages and help them with letters that are more difficult for them.
We are also working on making connections to the sounds we hear in words and stretching words out (with our writer’s gum-- your child can demonstrate!) to write what we know on paper. Having only introduced a few sounds we are just in the beginning stages, however, they are making wonderful progress!
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| A group digging effort. Well done! |
Garden: We have finally dug up all our perennials and are getting our vegetable garden bed ready for the winter. I’d like to plant kale, spinach and possibly garlic to be harvested in the spring. The children have enjoyed working together to clear the beds. They love to dig!
Share: Our busy week made it more challenging to find time to squeeze in the /b/ shares. If your child forgets to bring in their share on their assigned share day, please help them understand that we will try to squeeze it in another day. I will do my best to accommodate everyone. Next Week Share theme is the sound /m/. Please brainstorm with your child some things that begin with the sound /m/ and help them choose a share that fits our theme. Thank you!
CALENDAR:
- 1st Quarter Conference Sign Up: Please see attached sheet to sign up for the upcoming conferences. Submit your first three choices. I will try to send a confirmation home by the end of next week. (Fall Back! -- turn your clock back one hour on November 4th!)
- Wednesday, October 31: Although we are not celebrating Halloween in the classroom (no costumes please), we will be having a seasonal celebration focusing on the harvest (pumpkins). If you would like to send in a special treat, please coordinate with our classroom parent: Sara Doolan. We will also begin studying nocturnal animals next week, so bats may be seen down by our wing by week’s end. Watch out!
- October Scholastic Book Order: Due Monday, October 27.
HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:
- Group Snack: Thank you to Lucia’s family for contributing this week’s healthy snack! We enjoyed wonderful choices throughout the week: green and red grapes, yogurt, honey wheat pretzels and a special carrot cake muffins! Next week’s snack will be provided by: Keira’s family. Thanks to all for making our group snack possible the children are really enjoying it as well as benefiting from the opportunity to eat a shared healthy snack.
- For those interested in the book discussion group, please see an attached note with potential times to meet. Review and respond by the end of next week. I hope to find a time that will work for all. I am looking forward to this opportunity to study and learn from this exceptional book as well as each other. Thank you!
- Outerwear and Water Bottles: We still need water bottles! Please send your child to school with a water bottle, boots and raincoats. If it is raining we will still try to go outside for recess rain or shine. Also as the colder weather approaches, please remember hats, mittens, etc.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Bodnar
