November Letter

Dear Parents,

The month has just flown past.  Kindergarten is getting exciting and the kids are ready to start reading and writing!

Here’s how you can help at home.

I will be sending home one or two books a week.  These are photocopied books that you can keep.  Try to find a special place to keep these books, perhaps a shoebox or something similar.  These books will seem easy to you, with just one sentence on a page and a repeating pattern.  Here are some tips to try as you read these books with your child.

*Encourage your child to point to each word.

*Ask your child to find specific words on each page.

*Ask your child to tell you what the book is about.

*When your child gets stuck on a word, look at the first letter and ask him or her to tell you the sound.

When you are reading your child’s favorite books at home, ask your child to retell the story, or talk about his or her favorite character.  Talk about how the pictures help tell the story.  Pay attention to who the author and illustrator are, and try reading some books by the same author or illustrator.

Encourage your child to write the names of family members, or help with a grocery list, telling you the sounds in the words he or she hears.

If you would like more hints or ideas, let me know.  Enjoy this exciting time in your child’s life.

Nickels for Chickens

Today was COUNTING day! We lugged out the four HUGE bags of water bottles that have been collected so far.  Before we started counting I explained to the kids that each bottle was worth one nickel.  One nickel is worth five cents.  We talked about how one dollar equals one hundred cents. Then it was time to count by fives (each bottle is worth a nickel) to see how many bottles we would need to make a dollar. Just like the election, there were several recounts to be sure that we really needed 20 bottles to make one dollar.  For every twenty bottles, we put a tally mark on a poster written by the kids.  We need 20 dollars to buy a flock of chicks for Heifer International.  I am pleased to announce that we already have enough to buy ONE flock of chicks, and now the kids are setting their sights on a second flock.

For those of you familiar with the Common Core Standards, we were learning to
*say numbers as we count
* count to one hundred in different ways
*count starting with any number
*understand the last number said is the total number of objects.

We then worked on writing a thank you card to the generous co-worker of Camden's mom who donated three of the large bags.  Everyone took turns writing words and sounds in words.  Then we each added a chicken to the card.  The Common Core Standards we covered in making this card are as follows:
*Write upper and lower case letters.
*Add words to a sentence to make it clearer.
*Write the sounds I hear in words.
*Spell words.
*Add /s/ to show more than one.
*Say the sounds in words.
*Count, make, blend, and segment sounds of words.

The kids were so jazzed about counting the bottles and making the thank you card they forgot they were in school.  This service project we are working on is covering the standards, and hopefully changing the lives of people we will never even meet.

Checking Out Chickens

Today we met Farmer Abby in the outdoor classroom (see below) to talk chicken.  Farmer Abby told us that the chickens have a lot in common with us.  They need food, water, shelter, AND they take baths.  Ask your child what chickens bathe in (it isn't water).

We learned that chickens like to eat little bugs, grasses and grains.  We also learned that foxes like to eat chickens.  Because some of the farm's chickens have been eaten by a fox, we could only look at the chickens in the chicken house.



The kids were excited to see the different colored chickens. They learned that during warm seasons hens lay an egg a day, especially when they are two to three years old.  We learned that the eggs that turn into chicken instead of quiches must be kept warm.

This was a great extension to our service project of collecting water bottles to purchase a flock of chickens from Heifer International.  We have talked about how some animals can help a village in many different ways.  The chickens help by laying eggs, producing manure to fertilize crops, and then meat.

Our bottle drive had a sudden boost as Camden's mom told a co-worker about our drive and he brought in THREE big garbage bags of water bottles.  Now we have to practice counting by fives (the nickel deposit) to see how many times we get to one hundred.  When we get to one hundred twenty times we will have enough money to buy a flock of chickens.  The kids will be hanging their posters advertising the bottle drive tomorrow.  Just think, this all started from a discussion about what the Pilgrims needed to survive in the New World.  You never know where learning will take you!

Our Service Project

November 9, 2012

Dear Families,

Our kindergarten class has been learning about the Pilgrims.  We were sad when we learned so many died the first winter because they didn’t have enough healthy food.  Then we learned people all over the world still don’t have enough healthy food. 

We decided we want to help by buying animals from Heifer International.  In order to earn money we are collecting WATER and JUICE bottles ONLY.  For every twenty bottles we collect we will earn $1.00.  If we collect enough bottles we could buy chickens, or rabbits, or pigs, or a sheep.

When we give others an animal, we give them more than just one meal.  We will be learning how animals can be important to a village.

Please help us by sending in your water or juice bottles over the next few weeks.  Ask your neighbors or relatives for their water and juice bottles.  We are only collecting the containers of healthy beverages to promote learning what we NEED to survive.

We will let you know of our progress as we collect, sort, and count our bottles!

                                                     

Reliving the Mayflower (and macaroni bracelets)

What a day to be in kindergarten!  We started our morning with making macaroni bracelets that had been dyed several lovely colors.  The kids made all sorts of patterns with their bracelets. We learned that the noodles made a fun popping sound when stepped on, so then the kids all pitched in to pick up the leftover "beads."

Then the class was ready to go back into time to recreate the trip the Pilgrims took on the Mayflower.  Yesterday we had read a letter from a child riding on the Mayflower. First the kids had to figure out how to board the turned-up-table-wrapped-with-brown-paper replica Mayflower.  Once all 14 students were loaded onto the "boat" they were served a meal of cold oatmeal and split peas (food we had read about the Pilgrims eating while on board the Mayflower).  Then a "storm" hit and cracked our "mast" and made leaks on our ship.  At this point the kids had to find a way to fix the leaks.  They used glue and scrap paper to patch the leaks, working together and testing the effectiveness of their patches.  Once the hard work of keeping the ship sea-worthy was complete the kids enjoyed a snack of cheese, another food the Pilgrims had with them aboard the ship.  When they finally reached Plymouth the class. was relieved to be off that crowded ship breathing fresh air.

I was very impressed with the group's cooperation while patching up the ship.  Everyone was looking to help one another.  They also assumed the role of the Pilgrims, when I asked if they should turn around and go back to England they replied, "NO!  We don't like the king, he won't let us worship the way we want."  They grumbled a bunch about how England hadn't been treating them fairly, and though the trip was unpleasant, it was better than living in England.  This was my first attempt to do an activity like this, and my kiddos showed me it's one that will happen again.

Tin Foil Mayflowers

Our class has started thinking about the Pilgrims and how they left their homes to find a place that would allow them to be free from the king.  We watched a video about the Mayflower's   journey and read a list of suggested items for the Pilgrims to bring.  Yesterday I had the kids pack brown paper bags with illustrated objects a Pilgrim would have packed.  They all managed to put in some cheese, a few packed nails, many packed weapons, and some put in beer, because even the children drank beer while on board the Mayflower.

Today we made tin foil boats to represent the Mayflower.  We packed those boats with toy people until the boats sunk.  Kids blew on the boats to represent storms, and watched the boats sink.  Then we discussed how there is a maximum amount of weight any floating vessel can hold.  The Mayflower just couldn't hold all the things the Pilgrims might have wanted to bring, so choices had to be made between needs and wants.

It was fun to have that discussion, and talk a bit about history.  However, the kids just had a blast playing with foil and sinking the people.  Try it at home with pennies and aluminum foil.  I guarantee at least thirty minutes of fun!

November Newsletter

Our words to study in November are

Is

It

In

We

You

Some fun ways to practice these words include:

*Making the words with spaghetti

*Cheering the letters to these words

*Writing the words over and over using different colors.

*Cutting the letters to make these words out of newspaper and gluing them on a sheet of paper.

November is also a great month to talk about family traditions and healthy eating.  We will be comparing and contrasting our lives with those of the Pilgrims.  As we do this we will touch upon many social studies and science standards.  

         Dates to remember this month:

Wednesday, November 7 is an Early Release Day

Monday, November 12:  No School

Tuesday-Friday, November 21-23:  No School

I would love to have even more parents come  into the classroom to help out with projects, prep, and reading to the kids.  If you are interested in coming in, please let me know.

Here’s to a wonderful month!

                                                                                 Becky Roper