On December 6th, Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Brown visited the Kindergarten team to present a Four Winds lesson about different properties of rocks. Students learned about sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock. Mrs. Brown also shared a quartz crystal from the Herkimer Diamond Mines in New York.
Throughout the last week of school, we spent our mornings working with Ms. Carter's class on an integrated literacy and STEM unit focused on different versions of the folktale The Gingerbread Man.
On Monday, we read the story of The Gingerbread Man and discussed the story elements: characters, setting, problem and solution. We then decorated and enjoyed a snack of gingerbread cookies. We then read The Ninja Bread Man and compared the two books to see how they were the same and different.
On Tuesday, we read The Gingerbread Boy and discussed the story. In addition to discussing the story, we talked about how the Gingerbread Boy could have gotten across the river without the help of the fox. Then, students worked together with a given set of materials to design and build a boat to help get the Gingerbread Boy across the river. We tested the boats to make sure that they all floated and sailed successfully across our classroom water table. All boats were able to make it across without sinking!
On Wednesday, we read and discussed The Gingerbread Girl and students worked together with a given set of materials to design and construct a trap to catch the Gingerbread Man or Gingerbread Girl. After building their traps, each group shared how their designs would work if they were one of the characters in the book who wanted to try and catch the Gingerbread Man. We had some very creative ideas to trap the cookies.
On Thursday, we read The Gingerbread Baby which takes place in a snowy setting. After discussing the story, we challenged the students to work together with materials given to them to design and construct a sled that would hold the Gingerbread Man and successfully get him down a hill of snow. Following our All School Celebration of S'Mores, we tested the sleds on a small hill of snow in the school yard. Several of the sleds made it down the hill with the Gingerbread Man inside. A few either stayed on top of the hill or flipped over at the bottom.
On Friday, we concluded our unit by reading Gingerbread Friends and watching a video of The Gingerbread Man. Afterwards, we discussed different elements of the books we read and shared our favorite of the books. We also used Post It notes to vote for our favorites. The overall winner was The Gingerbread Girl with Ninja Bread Man coming in second. It was a fun and creative week. Students know the story of the Gingerbread Man very well, and were even heard playing a tag game at recess during the week singing, "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man."
Thank you to all of the families who contributed clean recycling to assist us with these projects. It was greatly appreciated and put to good use.
I hope everyone had a safe, healthy, and fun holiday break!
CURRICULUM UPDATE
Math
We have begun our third math unit which allows us opportunities to explore counting by 2s, doubling, and even numbers. We also will be using five and ten-frames to add 1 to numbers from 1 to 10, compare and order numbers, and write equations to show combinations of numbers that have a sum of 5.
Literacy
☆ Fundations - We have been practicing all of the lowercase letters in the alphabet and will begin with uppercase letter formation when we return to school after winter break. The keyword associations we have made to each letter include: apple, bat, cat, dog, Ed, fun, game, hat, itch, jug, kite, lamp, man, nut, octopus, pan, queen, rat, snake, top, up, van, wind, fox, yellow and zebra to help students remember the sounds for each letter.
☆ Reading - During reading time, students are continuing to read short sight word books while practicing some early reading strategies such as: using our eyes to look for letters and words we know; using pictures to support our reading; and using our index finger to point under words as we read. Students also continue to participate in daily choral reading activities with our morning message. Sight words we have practiced include: a, on, look, I, see, my, is, like, go, and, to, can, you, am, and the.
I have been sending home a small, red sight word book each week for students to keep at home. During your reading time at home each day, please feel free to have your child read to you and then you read more challenging books to them. It's a great way to share in literature and to boost your child's enjoyment and confidence in reading.
☆ Reading - During reading time, students are continuing to read short sight word books while practicing some early reading strategies such as: using our eyes to look for letters and words we know; using pictures to support our reading; and using our index finger to point under words as we read. Students also continue to participate in daily choral reading activities with our morning message. Sight words we have practiced include: a, on, look, I, see, my, is, like, go, and, to, can, you, am, and the.
I have been sending home a small, red sight word book each week for students to keep at home. During your reading time at home each day, please feel free to have your child read to you and then you read more challenging books to them. It's a great way to share in literature and to boost your child's enjoyment and confidence in reading.
☆ Writing - Students continue to write every day. They are growing in their ability to say words slowly with some support and use letters they know to represent sounds they hear in words. Before break, I went through and cleaned out everyone's writing folder and sent home some of their extra pieces so we could start fresh in January. I will continue to collect one piece a week to keep here at school.
Social Studies/Science
We are beginning a brief unit on winter. During this unit, we will explore how the change in season affects our weather in Vermont as well as how it affects the animals and people who live here. We will also be learning about how different animals choose to migrate, hibernate or adapt to their surroundings during this time of year.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Extra Clothing: It is not uncommon for children to get wet at recess, spill something on themselves, or have the occasional accident. Therefore, I am requesting that each child have an extra shirt, set of bottoms, pair of underwear and socks stored in their cubby at school to be used as needed. Should there be a time when your child uses their extra clothes, please be sure to send in a replacement for them the following day.
Outdoor Clothing: We go outside for recess at least once a day if the windchill is 1 degree or above. All students should have boots, snow pants/snowsuit, a winter jacket, hat and mittens/gloves to wear outside every day. They also need to have a change of shoes to wear in the classroom. Students should have sneakers for Monday and Friday PE classes.
Personal Items/Toys: Just a reminder, as we return to school following our holiday break, children should leave personal items and toys at home. We have many toys and activities to keep us busy at school and we do not want anything to happen to their personal items should they come to school.
Practice at Home: The end of the first semester is approaching (January 18). If you are looking for additional ways for your child to practice literacy and math skills outside of school, please take a look at the bag of materials Ms. Carter and I sent home prior to winter break with some activities for you to try at home. All students could benefit from the occasional practice of naming letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-20) and practicing their counting from 1-100.
