Parent Thank-Yous

Thanksgiving is over, but we are grateful every day for everything that families do for our students and our classroom. Thank you to all the dedicated Kokua Corner helpers (most recently the families of JM, RJ, BH, RB, and LY) who have volunteered their time and energy. You have done so much in the past couple of weeks to help prepare materials for lesson plans, organize the library, and set up our portfolios. The teachers cannot thank you enough! Thank you also to the Guest Readers who have shared their love of literature with our students. It is always a pleasure to hear a new voice tell a favorite story.  The children are especially fond of Friday afternoons.  Thank you to the families of WC-O, JD, GK, IC, GA, AG, and to all of our Guest Readers.  Our class owes a special thanks to two recent classroom visitors. GK's mom visited our class to help us make fruit creatures inspired by a  book read one Friday afternoon. Students loved using their imaginations to create people and animals out of fruit, cream cheese, toothpicks, and whipped cream! Thank you also to IC's family for sharing their pasta-making recipe with our class and leading us through all of the steps.  Students were amazed to find out that not all pasta comes out of a box! We all helped to mix and roll the dough, and then watched IC and her dad push the dough through the pasta machine.  The pasta we made in class rivaled any pasta you get at a restaurant. Yum!                                                                  

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Insect Teams, Giant "Bugs," and Bee Stings

Having monarch caterpillars in the classroom (thanks to AG's and RJ's families) has given us many opportunities to study the butterfly life cycle. Students have done observational drawings of the chrysalis, and written and drawn about the life cycle in their journals. We will continue to study the butterflies in the classroom, but we have added several other insects to our list of insects that we will be studying in depth. Students voted on insect teams to join, and students are now working with their teams to learn more about butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies, and bees. Ask your child what insect team he or she is on. These teams are studying different life cycles, what insects eat, how insects move, how insects defend themselves, and where insects live. Be on the lookout for insect books, magazine and newspaper articles, and websites that you can read with your child. Learning opportunities are everywhere - although sometimes the lessons can be painful.  Mrs. Brooks brought a stinger to school to share that had been lodged in her lip just last week!  Mrs. Brooks got stung while visiting a beekeeper's hive with Ms. Hitomi.  Unfortunately, she had just removed the bee suit when a female worker landed on her face.  She did exactly what you are not supposed to do- she tried to swat it away!  This was a great learning opportunity for us all! We were able to look at the stinger up close and personal under a microscope that projected its image up onto a SmartBoard.  We talked about how honeybees die after stinging something or someone because the bee cannot pull the stinger out without ripping a hole in its abdomen. We have had many other conversations about insects inspired by several different artifacts, books, and articles that the children have brought to share with the class. IC shared an article from the Star Bulletin about an ancient sea scorpion (8 feet long) whose fossilized body was found recently in Germany. The sea scorpion probably lived about 400 million years ago! We talked about the title of the article, Giant fossilzed claw points to largest bug ever, and how it was confusing because scorpions are not insects, but arachnids (like spiders). We frequently return to our discussion about what makes an insect an insect as our understanding grows.

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Important Dates and Reminders

Wednesday, November 21: Diabetes Walk
Please have your child wear comfortable walking shoes.  If you would like to help our class walk from 9:00-10:00, please let the teachers know.

November 22 and 23: No school - Thanksgiving holiday

December 7: No school - teacher conference prep

December 12: Insect Inquiry Share, 8:00-9:00

December 13-14: No School - Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences
Please check the conference schedule sent home in Thursday's packet.

December 19: Last day of school before Winter Break.
Christmas Program 6:00 p.m.
Dress attire for Kindergarten: Girls and boys should wear holiday colors. Boys should wear long dark pants (no shorts) and shoes.  Girls should wear shoes or sandals with a back strap.

January 8: Students return to school with Mrs. Matsumoto and Mrs. Abe

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Care Home Visit

Last Thursday, our class walked with our 5th grade buddies in Mrs. Hoddick's class to the Manoa Care Home. The kindergartners brought cards that they had written and decorated for the grandmas and grandpas who live in the care home. We introduced ourselves and sang songs that we learned in the classroom and in chapel. The residents made us special snack and treat bags that the students enjoyed very much. We talked about how visiting the care home could help residents who might be feeling sick or lonely, and how helping other people makes us feel good. We had an important conversation about why some of the residents looked or acted differently than we do and how some parts of their bodies might not work as well as they do in our bodies.The students really impressed us with their compassion and sensitivity! We hope to make another visit before the holidays.

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Insects

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Writing in our Journals

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Halloween Thank Yous

Thank you to all the families who helped our classroom celebrate Halloween this year!  Thank you to EC's family for donating 3 pumpkins and thank you to KF's family for donating 3 sets of pumpkin carving tools. Many thanks to the families of BH, SC, AG, and AR (P4 class) for helping our students carve 5 pumpkins. The Kindergartners had a lot of fun predicting whether pumpkins float or sink (they float if there's enough water), deciding on their jack o' lantern design, carving the face, and scooping out the pumpkin flesh and seeds. We wrapped up our centers by making patterns with Halloween stickers. After lunch, the real fun began!  Thank you to the many families who helped students change into their costumes. Students had a blast walking with you around campus, doing the hokey pokey, listening to the MPI band play, and watching the performance put on by MPI high schoolers. Visiting the Treat Street for trick or treating was a great way to end our day. We hope that you had a very happy Halloween! Make sure to check out our class gallery for pictures of all the great costumes (thanks to BH's family and SC's family).

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