Happy Holidays

From all of us to all of you, we want to wish you  Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! Enjoy each and every moment with your loved ones!

New England Percussion Ensemble

The children had a wonderful time today with a visit from the New England Percussion Ensemble (click that link to hear more about them!) This is the 10th year they have come to Fuller Meadow.  It is always such a treat at this time of year!

 Our friend was chosen to hold up the resonating chamber during the assembly and did a fantastic job!

Check this out!

Comfy, Cozy Day in Kindergarten

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

The children had a busy day enjoying Comfy, Cozy Day!   We began with drawing themselves in their pajamas.

Then we went to the library to enjoy a reading of the Polar Express.  The children entered the library with a ticket to the Polar express punched by Barry the Conductor!

Click here to watch the story of the Polar Express.

To end our adventure to the Polar Express, the children sang a few Holiday songs led by Barry the Conductor on his accordian!  Check out one of the songs:

Teddy Bear Day

Teddy Bear Day was a huge success here in Kindergarten!

First, we began with the reading of the story, Somebody and the Three Blairs, written by Marilyn Tolhurst and illustrations by Simone Abel.  We made text to text connections, discuss setting and characters using our Book Nooks.  Then, we shared our teddy bears and told some information about our stuffed animals.  The shared the names of the bears, described them using color and texture words, how they got their teddy bears, and why they love them so much.  
Next, teddy bear exploration began!  We measured the height of our teddy bears using cubes and described our bears using terms such as  big, small, soft, hard, long fur or short fur.  The children also used a measuring scale to see whose bears weighed more or less than their own. Finally, we labeled the parts of our teddy bears.

 A good time was had by all!

The Three Bears

The children have begun reading various versions of The Three Bears.  Our first story was written by Paul Galdone.  We are working on story elements: setting, characters, problem and solution.
The children were introduced to the retelling rope.  The retelling rope helps children to know the parts of a story. The HOUSE represents the setting. The CHILDREN represent the characters in the story. The KNOT is the problem of the story. Retelling the story starts with B for Beginning, M for the middle of the story, E ends the story. Finally, the BOW is the solution.  How did the story end? Next, the children worked on Book Nooks which focused on the setting and the characters.

We are going to continue comparing different versions of the The Three Bears and making text to text connections.  What are text to text connections?  It is comparing two stories (using the retelling rope) and making connections between them with differences and similarities. Coming up next... retelling!!!  Look for the next post! RL.K2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details. 

RL.K3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

Happy Thanksgiving

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving Day! 

Check our ChatterPix imovie to see our Turkey Disguises!

The children did another amazing job with the Thanksgiving Concert singing for their first and second grade friends.  

After the concert, we enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast today thanks to all of your donations.  We whipped up some butter and everyone took a turn shaking the butter with the chant "B-U-T-T-E-R: Butter!"  We had delicious corn muffins topped with our homemade butter, apple slices and we carved our turkey!  Surprise!  It was filled with popcorn!  We had a great day!

I am thankful to experience each and every one of your children each school day.  

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Sequencing and Retelling

Click Here

This week during our Reader's Workshop, we are reading The Little Old Woman Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything written by Linda Williams.  The students are working on sequencing and retelling the story events with details.  First, we used picture cards to sequence the story in order.  Then the children got to practice putting the pictures in sequence after they colored and cut.  Finally, the children placed them in the correct order of the story.  Then, the children practiced retelling the story with their own picture cards.  After the children colored, they were able to share with their elbow partners to retell the story in order.  We are beginning to use the language "first, next, and then".

The next time you are reading a story with your child, ask them these questions: What happened first in the story?
Tell me what happened in the middle of the story?

How did the story end?

Can you retell the story using as many details as possible?
*Remember to encourage your child to use the sequencing words: first, next, and then.

Duck! Rabbit!

For the next few weeks, the children & I are taking part in Global Read Aloud (GRA).  GRA is an author study that connects children in classrooms all around the world.  We are reading books from the author Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  Last week, we read the story Chopsticks. This week we are reading the book Duck! Rabbit!

click here.

 We Skyped with Mrs. Dunn's first grade class at the Steward School in Topsfield, MA.

First we began by introducing our classrooms to each other.  We shared how many students are in our class, our grade, and what town we live in.  Many of the Topsfield children knew Richardson's Dairy and many of our student knew about the Topsfield Fair.  We made great connections right away! Next, we received many great pieces of advice from the first graders to our Kindergarten children.  Some advice was "work hard", "get ready to learn", "always listen when your teacher is talking", and "remember to include everyone". Then, we began sharing our opinion of whether it was a duck or rabbit.  Mrs. Dunn asked "If you think it is a duck, stand up!"  The children then stood up and were able to share why they think it was a duck. Then, Mrs. Dunn asked "If you think it is a rabbit, please stand up!"  The children stood up if they thought it was a rabbit and shared their reasons. Mrs. Dunn's class was using clip boards to record the data.   Finally we were able to analyze the data and see the results!

We are asking you: mom's, dad's, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, babysitters, please click on the story and watch the video of the story.  Then make a comment to tell us what you think it is: a duck or rabbit! We will be collecting the data and making observations! Check out our PicPlayPost!!! It is awesome!!! Click here!!

Apple Picking Field Trip

On Friday, September 25th, the Kindergarten went on an apple picking field trip.  

We went to Ingaldsby Farm in Boxford.  

 First we went on a hayride        through the farm.





We were able to enjoy looking at the different crops of fruits and vegetables that the farm grows.

We saw a corn field, a pumpkin patch, and saw where the eggplants, beets, radishes, chili's and peppers grow.  The farmer shared a lot of interesting facts on the hayride about different types of pumpkins, apples, and various root vegetables.



After a short stop at the pasture to see the cows, we went off to apple picking!

 We each got to pick 5 delicious apples!

 Then off to back to the farmstand where we

 enjoy delicious apple cider donuts and apple cider!

It was a great trip and we all had a lot of fun!

Exploring Math Stations

We have been very busy learning and exploring in our math stations!

We have been counting!
Click on this video to see what we have been watching: http://safeshare.tv/w/fqAuggpvzl

Here are the 4 math stations we have been exploring:


1. Pom Poms Galore: building number recognition and identification, fine motor pincher fingers, and one to one correspondence (CC1: Know number names and the Count Sequence; CC4A, B, C: Count to tell the Number of Objects)








2. Pin the Number: number identification and matching clothespins to the number, oral counting (CC1: Know the number names and the Count Sequence; CC4A,B,C: count to tell the Number of Objects)







3. Gumball math: number identification, number formation, and one to one correspondence (CC1: Know the number names and the count sequence; CC4A,B,C: count to tell the Number of Objects)




4. Play dough work mats: number identification, number formation, building ten frame correspondence, one to one correspondence, and oral couting (CC1,3: Know the number names and the Count Sequence)







To learn more about the Math Common Core Standards visit:
http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/K/introduction/

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

Click here if you are interested in buying this book!

This week, we read the book, "Have You Filled A Bucket Today? (A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids)" written by Carol McCloud.  This book shares the thought that everyone carries around an invisible bucket that contains our varied emotions and feelings.  When we are happy, our bucket is filled, but when our bucket is empty, we are feeling sad or unhappy.
In class we will be emphasizing be a "Bucket Filler" which is someone that fills someone's bucket with feelings of happiness by saying and doing nice things to others.  Some of the chararcteristics of a "Bucket Filler" are sharing, listening, helping, using kind words, etc.  At the same time of filling someone else's bucket, you are filling your own bucket as well!

Click here to watch the video for "Fill Your Bucket"

We will also be discussing not being a "Bucket Dipper" who is someone who says and does things that may hurt someone else's feelings.

Each day, we will be filling our classroom bucket with "warm & fuzzies".  We have already began filling our bucket!  The children are doing an amazing job showing kindness to each other.