Five Little Turkeys

Our class loves the "Five Little Pumpkins" poem.  I couldn't find a Thanksgiving theme poem that had a similar format, so our class wrote our own poem:

Five Little Turkeys

by Miss Kirsten and KB Dinosaurs

Five little turkeys sitting on a wall.

The first one said, "Oh, no!  It's already fall!"

The second one said, "I smell pumpkin pie in the air."

The third one said, "Let's hide, if we dare."

The fourth one said, "It might be too late."

The fifth one said, "Here comes the chef, with a plate!"

Then, "Beep-beep," went the timer

 and off went the oven.

"Surprise, little turkeys, here is your pie made from pumpkin!"

We made applesauce!

 First, Miss Kirsten sliced and cored the apples.  Then she peeled them and chopped the slices into smaller pieces.

 Then, we poured the sliced apples into the crock pot.  The crock pot setting was turned to low.  We also added 4 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar, 1 1/3 c. of water, 1 1/2 tsp. of vanilla and the juice from 2 1/2 lemons.  Then, we stirred it up.

 

 We checked on it every 30 minutes to an hour and stirred it.  The apples began to get mushy.

About 30 minutes before it was time to eat it, we added another TB. of brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon.  The applesauce smelled wonderful!

After it had cooked on low for about 5 hours, Miss Kirsten gave everyone a bowl of applesauce to try.  First, we had to let it cool down a bit (just like the 3 bears).

We loved it!

Many of us got seconds!

We love cooking in the classroom!

Applesauce is great!

Here is the recipe in case you'd like to try it:

9 large apples, skinned, cored, and cut into pieces
2-1/2 lemons, juiced
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
4-1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1-1/3 cup water

Mix all the ingredients together in your crock-pot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours! Mash all together and add in another tbsp of brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Cook for another 20 minutes.

Fire Safety

October is fire safety month.  We've been learning about staying safe if there's ever a fire.  It's a good time to check the batteries in all the smoke detectors in your home.  Also, does your family have a fire escape plan?  Have you practiced it?  I remember my dad showing us how to open the iron bars (on the window) and letting us practice exiting through the window.  That was a while ago and I still remember it!!!  I learned how to actually go through the window.  It wasn't so scary.  If it's possible, have your child practice exiting through the window in his or her bedroom.

I found a website about fire safety that your family could look at together.   There are stories, games, and activities.   The address is:

http://www.sparky.org/#/Sparky

Have fun and be safe!

Homework Ideas

Homework for KB

DAILY:

·       Read for 15-20 minutes together.  After every page, have your child tell you about what you just read.  Discuss unfamiliar words.  Make predictions.  Ask questions.

·       Practice the high frequency words together.  These are on the calendar for the month and can be found on our calendar on the website as well.  You can play memory match, go fish, make the words with play-doh, etc... to practice READING the words.  Students will be tested on the words.  I will have a list of words and each student will read them to me.  I will wait no more than 5 seconds because they should instantly recognize the word.

ONCE A WEEK:

Look at our learning calendar.  Pick a topic and do an activity together from math, science, or social studies. 

In math, we’re always working on numbers, graphing, making patterns, measurement, and shapes.  So you could:

·       Make a graph together

·       Look for a pattern in everyday life

·       Measure an object with pennies

·       Look for 5 around you:  5 ants, 5 pennies, a nickel, 5 cheerios, etc...

·       Go on a shape hunt

·       Make a book about shapes

In science and social studies, check our learning calendar and reinforce a concept.  For example, if we’re doing the five senses, have a “taste test” and use your sense of taste to identify foods...

For Social studies, your family could check out a book about the current holiday and read it together.  Many of our units involve holidays.  In October, you could discuss being safe during trick or treating.  In November, you could read about Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Native Americans.

Another homework idea is to play games together.  It’s a great way for your child to practice taking turns, counting spaces, and following rules.  Plus, it’s fun! 
  

Have FUN learning together!!!

Writing

Next week, we will begin "Work on Writing."  Students will begin independence in writing.  They are writing in their own journals.  We will work on building stamina during writing each day.   I have taught them that there are 4 different ways of writing that they might be using:

• Marks on the paper that seem to be scribbles.  We do NOT call it scribbling, we call it, "writing."  This is the earliest form of writing.  Remember when your child was learning to talk?  If your child said, "Dada," you didn't correct your child and say, "No, it's Daddy."  You were thrilled that he/she was learning to speak!  Remember how you felt?  We need to applaud writing in that manner, also!  Give your child time to learn how to use the letters and grammar of English.
• Random Letters-These students know that letters on a page mean something.  They're still working on figuring out why certain letters are used.
• Phonemic Spelling-Children write down the sounds they hear.  They don't usually hear all the sounds in the words during kindergarten, by the way.  Vowel sounds and digraphs (th) are the most difficult.  They might write "I wt tu v zu." for "I went to the zoo."
• Conventional Writing-  "I went to the zoo."  This stage is our goal.  Writing like this takes time and a lot of practice.  Most students start writing like this more towards second grade.

At this time, we want students to know writing is fun!  We want them to take risks!  We want them to try to write down what they want to say.  We don't want to limit them to only the words they can spell!  That would be boring writing (ie.  I like mom.  I like dad...)  We want them to use their imaginations and use invented spelling (ie.  "The huge dog was scary! instead of "The dog is big.")

Demonstrate writing at home.  Do it together!  Make lists for the store  Make a card for grandparents.  Show how you write an address on an envelope when you mail a bill, etc...

Have fun writing!  :)

Off to a Great Start!

We're off to a great start this year! The students are quick learners!

We've started an overview of the alphabet. We have learned about Aa through Hh. We are working on story comprehension when listening to a story read aloud. We are learning all kinds of new songs and poems. In math, we are working on counting to 5, making AB patterns (ie. rectangle, circle, rectangle, circle...), using a calendar, using a schedule, identifying numbers to 5, recording the weather daily, and introducing shapes. In science, we are learning about types of weather. In Social Studies, we are learning about rules.

We have also been going to discovery centers each day. There are many choices: Legos, blocks, home living, reading, science, art, writing, puppets, dress-up. We're learning how to take turns and to share.

When we go to lunch, we have to line up in alphabetical order. That is something we have to practice quite a bit. Students have to be able to tell their first and last name in the lunch line so their lunch account can be accessed.

We've been learning how to write our names (if they didn't already know how). We're working on recognizing our names on center cards, name tags, and on our tables.

We do all this and more in kindergarten! By Friday, I could tell my Dinosaurs were tired! I hope you all have a restful weekend. Continue making sure your child is getting at least 10-12 hours of sleep every night so he or she is ready for a big school day the next day. Going to school all day is a big change for these five year olds.

Each one is precious and brings unique talents and gifts to our class. I'm so thrilled to have them! Together, it makes our class wonderful!

See you on Monday!
Miss Kirsten :)

A Merry Un-Birthday to You!

We celebrated our summer birthdays today "Alice-in-Wonderland" style. We watched "Alice in Wonderland" and had a delicious cupcake. Kindergarten is almost over, but what a wonderful way to celebrate all our birthdays together!

Our End of the Year Poem

In our shared writing time, our class wrote this poem together (adapted from "Five Little Pumpkins)...

Five little kindergarteners sitting on a slide,

The first one said, “Hey! Let’s go inside!”

The second one said, “There’s a science experiment over there!”

The third one said, “Let’s try it, if we dare.”

The fourth one said, “Let’s learn while we play.”

The fifth one said, “What a wonderful day!”

Then “Ding-ding,” went the bell, and off went the lights,

And the five little kindergarteners were soon out of sight!

by Miss Kirsten and the KB Dinosaurs

100 Day

100 Day is on Thursday! Our class is so excited. Each day we add a straw for one day of school. We are up to 96 straws! My class can't wait to make 100.

We are going to have such a special day on Thursday doing all kinds of activities related to 100. Thanks to all our families for sending in requested items. It sure helps us have a fun time learning about 100.

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to post of 100 day next weekend. :)