Good Fun, Good Food, New Friends

It was a pleasure for us to see so many of you at the Welcome BBQ on Saturday! We hope that you had as much fun as we did meeting new friends and talking with "old" ones. On Monday, some of the children wrote about the games they played or the food they ate. Math
We started to record the numbers in the Counting Jar in our Counting Books. The Counting Jar process is the same - count the bears in the jar (container, bag), make the same number using a different manipulative, and show the number on paper (writing numbers or drawing pictures). The children are proving to be very independent, as they are able to complete these steps without any assistance from the teachers.

We also continue to explore different counting strategies. In a group of seven children, each child was challenged to come up with a different strategy:
-Taking the bears out of the container one-by-one, counting aloud while putting them in a line
-Taking the bears out of the container one-by-one, counting aloud while putting them aside
-First lining up the bears in a row and then pointing to each bear as he counts aloud
-Emptying the container of bears in a pile and counting aloud while putting each bear back into the container
-Emptying the container of bears in a pile and putting the bears aside while counting aloud
-Emptying the container of bears in a pile, turning the container over, and standing the bears on top of the container while counting aloud
-Taking the bears out of the container one-by-one and putting the bears in one hand while counting aloud. (While counting, two bears fell out of the counter's hand and landed near the uncounted bears. The counter mistakenly double-counted a fallen bear. The children's reaction of "Oh" prompted the question, "Why might this not be the best counting strategy?" The children noticed that bears might be counted more than once.)

Inquiry
Teachers continued to meet with small inquiry groups.

The two brain groups met separately to share their drawings. Group members had an opportunity to ask questions about each drawing. Through this process, the children not only think about our inquiry topic, they also learn how to share in a group and listen to others when they speak. The children also learn how to respond to someone else's work. It is clear which children are paying close attention to their friends while they share, as some children ask questions about something that was just shared! The speaker patiently responds, "I already shared about that. It ..." and then repeats what was said.
Most of the drawings in the brain groups differed in size, color, and shape. Some children thought about the size of their own heads while drawing their brain. Some children drew heads and then drew brains inside them to show size. Some children underestimated the size of their brains (though we didn't point that out, yet!). The brain drawings were an array of colors - red, green/blue/yellow, gray. Most of the children could explain why they chose a particular color:
I saw it on t.v.
I saw a picture in a book.
I just think it's that color.
Because there's blood in it.
The child who used multiple colors to show the brain explained that each color was a different part of the brain, and that different parts do different things.

Two blood groups drew pictures of what they thought the blood in the body looks like and where they thought it was. They also met separately to share and discuss their ideas. It was interesting to notice that these pictures, unlike the brain pictures, were similar in color (red) and location (all through the body, especially in the arms and legs, in the heart, and in the brain). Next week, the heart and blood groups will meet together to share their ideas, since most of the children made a connection with the heart and blood. They will create one group picture of the heart and blood. Then each child will create his own individual picture. The challenge of the group picture will be for the children to agree on ONE idea. Because some of their ideas may differ, especially those about the heart, each child will be able to create his own individual picture.

Though we're not quite ready to begin researching, we would like to start enlisting the help of family members and friends. Are you a doctor? Do you know a doctor who could come into the classroom to share?  In the past, we've had doctors bring in stethoscopes and hearts and lungs (yes, actual hearts and lungs). Thank you to BH's mom who offered to have the children visit her dental office!

REMEMBER: Do not attempt to answer your child's questions! We are not only learning about the human body, we are also learning how to think.

Daily Reading Folder
We hope you've been enjoying the "I Can Read" and "Read to Me" books with your child. With the "I Can Read" books, please remember to fill in the table on the right hand side of the Daily Reading Folder. Keep in mind that your child may not be able to read every word in his book. You can write your observations in the EJC column (e.g., uses the pictures to figure out words, sounds out the first letter of words, read the words but didn't know what they meant). Please look at the pages in the middle of the folder to help you and your child rate the book. Teachers will be reading with each child every one to two weeks.

Be aware that your child may be receiving a book a second time for additional practice, especially those books that were Challenging. Our goal is for each book to become a Just Right book for your child.

Please review the paper in the center of the Daily Reading Folder which explains when a book is Easy, Just Right, or Challenging. If you think a book is too easy for your child, 1) cover up the pictures and have your child read the story, 2) cover up the pictures and choose random words, and 3) ask comprehension questions. Please encourage your child to point to each word as they read. This will help him to identify individual words, understanding that each word is independent and holds meaning.

Parent Volunteers
Thank you, parents, for volunteering for Kokua Corner. Though the tasks may seem mundane and tedious, please know that your help is much appreciated and needed! Thanks to you, our Drama Center toys are cleaned regularly!

Thank you also for volunteering to be a Guest Reader. The children love having parents come into the classroom, and it's a fun way to end the "work" week. We enjoyed SC's dad coming in to tell us a story last week. SC had drawn the setting of the story beforehand (castle, path leading to an island, "x" showing the buried treasure). The children helped to create the characters (mean guy - Darth Vader, good guy - Luke, who was turning five) and problem (Darth was jealous of Luke, interrupted birthday singing, wanted to steal the treasure that Luke found) in the story. SC's dad took it from there, telling about the birthday party and Luke's trek to find the treasure. At the end of the story, Luke found kisses from Mom and Dad in the treasure box. Since Darth didn't have a mom or dad, Luke felt sorry for him and invited him to his house to play. The moral of the story was "Everyone needs a friend!"

Classroom Donations
If you are looking for a way to contribute the classroom, we will gladly accept:
-dress-up items for the Drama Center
-unused envelopes for the Writing Center (for those of you who pay bills online)
-miscellaneous items for the Art Center

Thank you to MN and AmR for donating items for the Art, Drama, and Writing centers. The children have been enjoying your donations!

Upcoming events-
Thursday, October 2 - Middle School puppet show
Friday, October 10 - In-service Day for teachers, no school for students
Monday, October 13 - Discoverers' Day holiday, no school for students
Thursday, October 23 - Monthly assembly, visit to Manoa Senior Care

Thank you, parents, for supporting your child in becoming an independent learner! The start of a new school year is always a little overwhelming, and you all have been doing a wonderful job of helping your child to adjust to being a "big Kindergartner!" Please remember that it is best to drop your child off in the Dining Hall by 7:30 a.m. so they are able to walk to the classroom with their friends. In the afternoons, we are out at the autoline around 2:20, and you may pick up your child then.

Please check out our Kindergarten photo gallery for new pictures of our visit to Manoa Senior Care, Kindergarten and 5th grade buddies, P.E. activities, our human body inquiry, and our September assembly.

** Please see the entry titled Family Learning Activities. You will find activities that you can do with your child that are related to our class activities. Please do not feel as though you need to complete these activities by a certain "due date." They are optional. Please complete them at your leisure and as your family schedules allow. The activities are shared for several reasons - 1) to reinforce skills or concepts with your child that we addressed in school, 2) to inform you, the parents, of skills or concepts that we addressed in school, and 3) to provide your family a fun activity to do together, while learning at the same time!

Reminder: I will post a newsletter every Friday so you can read about your child's week. The photo gallery will also be updated around the same time, though it may not be posted as regularly as the newsletter. Please feel free to call the classroom or email me as needed.

Posted on September 26, 2008 1:04 PM | Permalink