Family Learning Activities, 4/28-5/2
- Create an April
family art project to display in the classroom all month. The theme can be
a special day or holiday in April (e.g., someone’s birthday, spring).
- Play math games
that allow you to practice counting. You may request instructions and game
boards, and borrow playing materials from the classroom.
- Have Game Night
and play board games as a family.
- Fly a kite! (We
will celebrate Kite Day on May 1.)
- Interview a
family member or friend who may know what Manoa was like 100 years ago.
- Visit the
library and check out a fiction or non-fiction book about living 100 years
ago.
- Surf the web for
sites about Manoa and/or living 100 years ago.
- Write a story
about Spring with someone in your family. Bring it in to display in our
classroom library.
- Create a puppet
show to perform for your friends. (We saw an 8th grade puppet
show.)
Posted at 2:09 PM| Permalink
Kite Day and Kahalaopuna
The
entire school will be flying kites from 10:00-11:20 next Thursday morning. The
elementary school will be flying kites from 10:00-10:20, and the children are invited to
watch the middle and high school students fly their kites from 10:20-11:20. In
preparation, half the class made their sled kites yesterday (the other half of
the class will make their kites next Tuesday). To make our kites, we received
plastic kites (cut from plastic garbage bags) and wooden sticks (skewers with
the pointy tips cut off). We used Sharpie markers to decorate the kites, making
sure to make the designs large enough to see from way up high. We framed the
kite by taping the wooden sticks to it. We tied string to two ends of the kite
and used a few large craft sticks to hold the length of string needed to fly
the kite. Everyone is excited to fly their kites next week! We received one
parent volunteer for Kite Day and are looking for one more. Please let me know
if you would like to help the children fly their kites or videotape the event
for us!
The
week of our Kahalaopuna opera will be busy with rehearsals. The students (and
teachers) will probably be exhausted and will need some quiet “down” time.
Please send in your child’s nap mats on Wednesday, 5/7. We will have the students
rest on Thursday and Friday, as they will have a total number of four
rehearsals and shows on those two days. On Wednesday, please also send in the
board shorts and slippers they will need to wear for the show.
This
week in math, we played “Toss the Chips” to practice different ways to make 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. We started by tossing five two-color counters (red on one
side, yellow on the other). We recorded how many landed on red and how many
landed on yellow for seven tosses. Each time our total was five! After seven
tosses, we got one more counter and tossed the next number, until we worked
with 10 counters. Then we practiced writing the number sentences for all the
different ways we found to make each number.
As
a class, we noticed a pattern in the number sentences when Mrs. Matsumoto wrote
them like this (sentences are recorded as red + yellow = total):
0
+ 5 = 5
1
+ 4 = 5
2
+ 3 = 5
3
+ 2 = 5
4
+ 1 = 5
5
+ 0 = 5
We
noticed that 1) “the total is always five,” 2) “the red column goes up from zero
to five,” and 3) “the yellow column goes from five down to zero.” We then
practiced writing the number sentences for six counters – without using the
counters!
This
week in writing, after reading and editing our morning message, we copied it on
paper to practice writing neatly (using the top, middle, and bottom lines for
each letter), putting capital letters at the beginning of sentences, putting
periods at the end of sentences, and putting spaces between the words. GA did a
fantastic job of taking his time during his writing. When he finished, he only
had to correct two letters! Wow!
Most
of the students began to build for their Manoa town, either in class or in atelier. Paper is the most common material being used. As the items are built,
the students will find whether the materials they chose are the most realistic
and effective. Hopefully other materials will be brought into use to create a
more realistic town. During atelier, Ms. Walker is helping the students with their choice of materials and the idea of “scale” as they build.
The kindergartners are practicing for 1st grade in many different ways.
We notice that
-
attention
and participation during group activities and lessons are improving.
-
writing
is improving, with attention to detail and grown-up spelling.
-
the
students are becoming more and more confident and independent as they move
about the classroom, requiring fewer promptings and reminders from the teachers
and performing or leading classroom routines.
Parents,
you can help your child develop confidence and independence by bringing them to
school before 7:30 a.m. Your child will be able to socialize with his/her peers
in the dining hall and then walk to the classroom with the teacher and class.
It also helps the flow of classroom routines when the class is able to start
the day together.
The
teachers acknowledge these practices daily to encourage the students in their
performance. Way to go, Kindergarten!
REMINDER!
Newsletters and family learning activities will now be posted on Fridays. If
you subscribed to the blog, you will receive an email notification when the
blog is updated.
All
of our math games are available in the Math Center daily. Also, if you are
interested in learning how to play any of these games, let us know, and we’ll
be happy to send a game board home. You may either make your own game
materials, or you may borrow our classroom materials. Your child will be able
to explain the rules and objectives of the games.
If
you have any recyclable items we can use in our art center, please send them
with your child. Items need to be stored on a shelf in our classroom, so
please, no bulky items. Suggested items include paper towel/toilet paper rolls,
styrofoam pieces, and fabric/wallpaper squares. Thank you!
The new set of Family Learning Activities has also been posted. Some items have been removed,
but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back to them and complete the activity.
Remember, these activities are optional; please enjoy them, as your family’s
schedule and available time will allow.
Our Students-of-the-Week are LY and WC. Please bring in things you would like to share about yourselves.
Everything needs to be able to hang on a bulletin board. Parent volunteers or
teachers will assemble the board as the items come in to school. Every child
will be “showcased” for at least one week.
The following dates show when the new bulletin
boards will be assembled for display. The initials of the Students-of-the-Week
are listed after each date.
4/30 – LY, WC (Items may be brought in from 4/23)
Posted at 2:07 PM| Permalink
Family Learning Activities, 4/21-4/25
- Create an April
family art project to display in the classroom all month. The theme can be
a special day or holiday in April (e.g., someone’s birthday, spring).
- Play math games
that allow you to practice counting. You may request instructions and game
boards, and borrow playing materials from the classroom.
- Have Game Night
and play board games as a family.
- Fly a kite! (We
will celebrate Kite Day on May 1.)
- Interview a
family member or friend who may know what Manoa was like 100 years ago.
- Visit the
library and check out a fiction or non-fiction book about living 100 years
ago.
- Surf the web for
sites about Manoa and/or living 100 years ago.
- Write a story
about Spring with someone in your family. Bring it in to display in our
classroom library.
- Create a puppet
show to perform for your friends. (We saw an 8th grade puppet
show.)
- Practice writing
(your name, family members’ names, a story, the alphabet, etc.) neatly,
using the top, middle, and bottom lines of the paper in your folders.
Posted at 9:33 AM| Permalink
“The Barber of Seville”
On
Monday, we went to Bakken Auditorium and saw “The Barber of Seville.” It was a
short (40-minute) presentation of a longer (3-hour) opera. RB was able to go
onstage and be a musician in the opera! The audience was asked to hum/sing
along with two songs. Everyone enjoyed it! When we returned to the classroom,
we wrote in our journals – What was your favorite part? What did you learn
(about putting on an opera)? How was “The Barber of Seville” the same or
different from “Kahalaopuna?”
At
our April assembly on Thursday, we heard an update of our “Kahalaopuna” opera
production. KF represented our costume committee, along with Mrs. Bailie’s
class, and reported that an adult donated fabric to make the capes for the
students playing the ocean, sand, and mountains. One of Mrs. Bailie’s students
modeled a cape for everyone to see. We saw the winning art projects which will
be the banners, posters, and tickets used for advertising the opera. Four kindergartners from Ms. Hitomi’s class had painted a poster of Kahalaopuna
during atelier. Their painting will be on the banner that will hang on
University Avenue!
Later
that morning, the preschool through 2nd grade classes enjoyed an 8th
grade puppet show in our Dining Hall. The 28 students made their own puppets
and wrote the dialogue for the 11 plays that they performed. The topics were sharing,
magic words, getting along with each other, telling the truth, being nice to
each other, animals and the alphabet, and how to make friends. After the show,
we wrote in our journals – What was your favorite play? What was your favorite
puppet? What did you learn from the puppet shows?
The kindergartners
are practicing being more descriptive in their writing and drawing. Instead of
just saying, “I liked ____,” or “My favorite part was ____,” we ask them to say
why they liked it, or why it was their favorite part. They even practice this
when commenting to friends after they share their journal writing. With their
drawing, we ask the students to focus on small details in their pictures –
hands and feet (not just arms and legs), color of clothing, noses and ears
(which are frequently forgotten), and background (What is in back of you? Are
your people floating above the ground?).
This
week in math, we practiced making arrangements of six tiles. The rules were
simple – use only six tiles and all tiles have to be touching another tile.
This is a great exercise for conservation of number – realizing that the number
of tiles stays the same no matter how they are arranged. We also used this
activity to practice addition – a 2x3 rectangular array could be written as
3+3=6. There were two “L”-shaped arrangements, which could be written as 1+5=6
or 2+4=6. We extended this activity to include numbers 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The
students are still working to make two arrangements of each number. As a
challenge, they are writing number sentences to match their arrangements.
We’ve
started using the SmartBoard with our morning messages. The teachers write a
message with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. The students find the
errors and fix them on the message. It’s a great way to introduce them to this
new technology, at which they will become more adept as they move on through 5th
grade.
This
week, the students began to sketch pictures of their ideas of their specific
topics:
-
The
clothes group thought that sheep gave people wool which was then spun on a
wheel to make it soft. The string was then dipped into paint. As we talked,
they decided that the color came from the juice that was squeezed from fruits
and vegetables. The group is now thinking about what fruits and vegetables were
used and will experiment with them next week.
-
The
natural-surroundings group learned that there is a spring that was here 100
years ago. They will add that to their pictures of mountains, coconut trees,
and flowers. They notice that the beautiful view that once was (which is
depicted in their drawings), is now obstructed by school buildings.
-
The
plant and animal group will also benefit from visiting Wailele Stream,
investigating the plants and animals that are living in the stream.
-
The
manmade-surroundings and shelter groups visited Kawaiaha’o and learned that it
was made of stone. The shelter group will go back to see if they can tell what
holds it together. Their first guesses were glue, tape, and a little cement.
The manmade-surroundings group, which has a focus on school, will go back to see what students are studying there today
and investigate what was studied there 100 years ago.
Besides visiting sites on campus, our research is gathered
mainly through pictures of old Manoa. If you have any pictures, or know of
helpful websites or books, please let us know. We have exhausted several
resources already – Manoa Public Library and our middle/high school library.
The kindergartners are practicing for 1st grade in many different ways.
We notice that:
-
attention
and participation during group activities and lessons are improving.
-
writing
is improving, with attention to detail and grown-up spelling.
-
the
students are becoming more and more confident and independent as they move
about the classroom, requiring fewer promptings and reminders from the teachers
and performing or leading classroom routines.
The
teachers acknowledge these practices daily to encourage the students in their
performance. Way to go, Kindergarten!
Kite
Day for the elementary school has been moved to Thursday, May 1. We will be
putting our kites together the week before and will need some assistance. More
information will come to you as we receive it.
REMINDER!
Newsletters and family-learning activities will now be posted on Fridays. If
you subscribed to the blog, you will receive an email notification when the
blog is updated.
All
of our math games are available in the Math Center daily. Also, if you are
interested in learning how to play any of these games, let us know, and we’ll
be happy to send a game board home. You may either make your own game
materials, or you may borrow our classroom materials. Your child will be able
to explain the rules and objectives of the games.
If
you have any recyclable items we can use in our art center, please send them
with your child. Items need to be stored on a shelf in our classroom, so
please, no bulky items. Suggested items include paper towel/toilet paper rolls,
styrofoam pieces, and fabric/wallpaper squares. Thank you!
The new set of Family Learning Activities has also been posted. Some items have been removed,
but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back to them and complete the activity.
Remember, these activities are optional; please enjoy them as your family’s
schedule and available time will allow.
Our Students-of-the-Week are JM
and TS. Please bring in things you would like to share about yourselves.
Everything needs to be able to hang on a bulletin board. Parent volunteers or
teachers will assemble the board as the items come in to school. Every child
will be “showcased” for at least one week.
The following dates show when the new bulletin
boards will be assembled for display. The initials of the Students-of-the-Week
are listed after each date.
4/23 – JM, TS (Items may be brought in from 4/16)
4/30 – LY, WC (Items may be brought in from 4/23)
Posted at 9:32 AM| Permalink
Family Learning Activities, 4/14-4/18
- Create an April
family art project to display in the classroom all month. The theme can be
a special day or holiday in April (e.g., someone’s birthday, spring).
- Play math games
that allow you to practice counting. You may request instructions and game
boards, and borrow playing materials from the classroom.
- Have Game Night
and play board games as a family.
- Fly a kite! (We
will celebrate Kite Day on April 30.)
- Interview a
family member or friend who may know what Manoa was like 100 years ago.
- Visit the
library and check out a fiction or non-fiction book about living 100 years
ago.
- Write a story
about Spring with someone in your family. Bring it in to display in our
classroom library.
- Create a puppet
show to perform for your friends. (We will be seeing an 8th
grade puppet show next Thursday.)
Posted at 9:19 AM| Permalink
April is a busy month!
There are a lot of events happening this month! Next week
Monday, 4/14, we will be attending Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” performed
by HOT Opera Express. The students will be able to see a “live” opera and gain
a better understanding of what goes into an opera production. On Thursday,
4/17, we will enjoy an 8th grade puppet show in our Dining Hall.
Then on Wednesday, 4/30, the entire school will celebrate Kite Day! We will be
putting our kites together the week before and will need some assistance. More
information will come to you as we receive it.
This week in math, we continued to practice counting and
learned new games to introduce the concepts of putting groups together
(addition) and taking a group away (subtraction). In Double Compare each partner turns over two number cards (0-6) and compares
the totals to see who has more. At first we practiced with just one set of
number cards. Then we extended the activity where each partner has a set of
number cards, so everyone can practice adding numbers to 11 (up to 12 if they
combine their sets). In Build It/Change It, one partner turns over a number card
(0-10) and builds it with counters on a ten frame. The other partner turns over
another card and has to change the counters on the ten frame to match. While
discussing whether or not counters are added or taken away, the partners also
practice saying a number sentence to describe what happened.
All of our math games are available in the Math Center
daily. Also, if you are interested in learning how to play any of these games,
let us know, and we’ll be happy to send a game board home. You may either make
your own game materials, or you may borrow our classroom materials. Your child
will be able to explain the rules and objectives of the games.
During morning meeting, students have an opportunity to lead
the class as flag leader, morning message helper, and calendar helper. It is
great to see each child gain confidence as they practice speaking in front of
an audience and perform certain tasks and ask their classmates to do the same.
We notice that the students are more attentive and participate more when their
friends are the leaders!
We’ve started writing the morning message together as a
class. It’s great practice in remembering and knowing daily routines and
activities. It’s also a great way for us to practice our writing skills, which
we then practice further in our journals. We’re focusing on putting capital
letters at the beginning of sentences, periods (or question marks and exclamation
points) at the end of sentences, and spaces between words. We’re also beginning
to address having a beginning, middle, and end in our writing, whether it’s a
letter or story, encouraging each writer to share more than one sentence. And
as always, our morning messages provide excellent reading practice.
All of the students’ ideas for our Manoa – 100 years Inquiry
have been categorized into nine topics – animals, transportation, shelter,
natural surroundings, man-made surroundings, clothes, games/sports, food, and
plants. Each student chose a topic according to the ideas they initially wrote
in their journals. The students are either working with a partner or by
themselves. They are coming up with questions that they will first answer and
then research.
REMINDER! Newsletters and family learning activities will
now be posted on Fridays. If you subscribed to the blog, you will receive an
email notification when the blog is updated.
If you have any recyclable items we can use in our art
center, please send them with your child. Items need to be stored on a shelf in
our classroom, so please, no bulky items. Suggested items include paper
towel/toilet paper rolls, styrofoam pieces, and fabric/wallpaper squares. Thank
you!
Everyone
looks forward to the Guest Reader on
Friday afternoons. If you are interested in coming into the classroom to read
to the children, please contact Sabrina Ako.
Parent
volunteers are such a help and blessing
to us, especially when projects arise. If you are able to volunteer your time
(no skill or experience needed, training provided), please contact Sabrina Ako.
The
new set of Family Learning Activities
has also been posted. Some items have been removed, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t go back to them and complete the activity. Remember, these activities are
optional; please enjoy them, as your family’s schedule and available time will
allow.
Our Students-of-the-Week are RJ and
GK. Please bring in things you would like to share about yourselves. Everything
needs to be able to hang on a bulletin board. Parent volunteers or teachers
will assemble the board as the items come in to school. Every child will be
“showcased” for at least one week.
The
following dates show when the new bulletin boards will be assembled for
display. The initials of the Students-of-the-Week are listed after each date.
4/16
– RJ, GK (Items may be brought in from 4/9)
4/23
– JM, TS (Items may be brought in from 4/16)
4/30
– LY, WC (Items may be brought in from 4/23)
*
If your child missed his/her week, please still send in some items for display.
We would like to give every child an opportunity to share about him/herself!
Our friends love to hear about each other!
Posted at 9:18 AM| Permalink
Family Learning Activities, 4/7-4/11
- Create an April
family art project to display in the classroom all month. The theme can be
a special day or holiday in April (e.g., someone’s birthday, spring).
- Play math games
that allow you to practice counting. The instructions for Collect 15 and
Roll and Record are in your home-and-back folders.
- Have Game Night
and play board games as a family.
- Interview a
family member or friend who may know what Manoa was like 100 years ago.
- Visit the
library and check out a fiction or non-fiction book about living 100 years
ago.
- Write a story
about Spring with someone in your family. Bring it in to display in our
classroom library.
Posted at 10:08 AM| Permalink
It's April!
Our first week back to school after Spring Break was filled
with new activities! On Monday, we enjoyed going to see “Ferdinand the Bull.”
We learned a new math game called “Racing Bears.” We began our new inquiry on
the 100 years MPI has been in Manoa. Lastly, we began to collect items for our
portfolio, showing how we’ve progressed since first semester.
This week in math, we reviewed counting and recording a
number of cubes, creating different patterns using cubes or pattern blocks, and
counting on up to 15 (Collect 15). “Racing Bears” is a new math game that helps
us practice counting (1-6), introduces addition (by having 1-4 bears move the
total number), and teaches strategy (Which bear should be moved to collect the
counter?). If you are interested in learning how to play this game, let us
know, and we’ll be happy to send a game board home. Your child will be able to
explain the rules and objective of the game. We’re also practicing “one more,
one fewer,” becoming familiar with the concept of adding one or taking one away.
Our new inquiry project focuses on the 100 years MPI has
been in Manoa. We began by telling the students that our school was first built
100 years ago. We asked, “Before the school was built, what do you think was
here in this spot?” The concept of 100 years ago is difficult for the children
to understand. We tried to explain by remembering an MPI alumnus whom we met
earlier in the semester who celebrated his 106th birthday with us –
“How do you think he lived when he was six years old?” We reminded them of an
observation walk we took in January, tapping into our five senses – “We heard
cars on our walk. Do you think we would have heard cars 100 years ago? What
sounds would you hear?”
The students spent two days writing and/or thinking about what they thought
Manoa was like 100 years ago. We introduced the words “theory” and
“hypothesis,” explaining that at this point, we really don’t know what Manoa
was like 100 years ago. We can make some guesses now and do some research to
find out. As a class, we compiled a list of all the students’ ideas:
Dinosaurs lived in Manoa 100 years ago. There were horses
and carriages. Schools were different and students were different. Maybe there
was a football/baseball/soccer field, basketball court, or pool. There were
brick houses. There was a man/a girl/a boy.
Working either independently or in a small group, each
student will develop their theory and find out if their hypothesis is true.
We’ve begun asking them questions, like the ones below, to help them:
How did dinosaurs live here? What did they eat? Why aren’t
they here now?
How did they build the carriage? What did they use the horse
and carriage to do?
What did the students look like? study? play? What materials
were used to build the schools?
What games were played? What materials were used to build
the field/court/pool? Were the games played the same as we play them today?
How did the people get the bricks? How did they build the
houses?
What did the man/girl/boy look like? How did he/she dress?
What materials were used to make the clothes?
The students will be asked to write and draw their answers.
They will design and possibly build/create their ideas of past Manoa. As the
students begin to ask and answer these questions to develop their theories, we
expect to come up with more questions, which may then lead to more ideas of what
Manoa was like.
We’re updating our progress portfolios by completing our space inquiry reflections and gathering our work from each step of the inquiry process. We’re also collecting a writing sample from January-March. We’ve grown so much as writers since writing the journals in our portfolio from last October and November. We were able to add to our “Good Writer” web, which also shows that we’re improving as writers!
REMINDER! Newsletters and family learning activities will
now be posted on Fridays. If you subscribed to the blog, you will receive an
email notification when the blog is updated.
If you have any recyclable items we can use in our art
center, please send them with your child. Items need to be stored on a shelf in
our classroom, so please, no bulky items. Suggested items include paper
towel/toilet paper rolls, styrofoam pieces, and fabric/wallpaper squares. Thank
you!
Everyone
looks forward to the Guest Reader on
Friday afternoons. If you are interested in coming into the classroom to read
to the children, please contact Sabrina Ako.
Parent
volunteers are such a help and blessing
to us, especially when projects arise. If you are able to volunteer your time
(no skill or experience needed, training provided), please contact Sabrina Ako.
The
new set of Family Learning Activities
has also been posted. Some items have been removed, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t go back to them and complete the activity. Remember, these activities are
optional; please enjoy them, as your family’s schedule and available time will
allow.
Our Students-of-the-Week are BH and
DJ. Please bring in things you would like to share about yourselves. Everything
needs to be able to hang on a bulletin board. Parent volunteers or teachers
will assemble the board as the items come in to school. Every child will be
“showcased” for at least one week.
The
following dates show when the new bulletin boards will be assembled for
display. The initials of the Students-of-the-Week are listed after each date.
4/9
– BH, DJ (Items may be brought in from 4/2)
4/16
– RJ, GK (Items may be brought in from 4/9)
4/23
– JM, TS (Items may be brought in from 4/16)
4/30
– LY, WC (Items may be brought in from 4/23)
If
your child missed his/her week, please still send in some items for display. We
would like to give every child an opportunity to share about him/herself! Our
friends love to learn about each other!
Posted at 10:07 AM| Permalink