Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Important Dates and Reminders:
-3/26 - Dress Up like your favorite Dr. Seuss character 
-3/27 - Spirit Day
-3/30-4/6 - SPRING BREAK!
-4/7 - Classes Resume
-4/17 - Grandparents Day - Noon Dismissal.  If a grandparent is unable to attend we suggest asking a good friend, or someone who your child views as a special person in their life.  If you prefer to keep your child at home that day because they do not have a Grandparent or special friend to attend please let me know in advance.  Please let me know if you have any questions!
-4/23 - Field Trip to the Waste Management Facility - students only
-4/24 - GO GREEN WITH GRALAND and Spirit Day

HAPPY SPRING BREAK!!!!






























Thursday, March 19, 2015

March Madness

Important Dates and Reminders:
-3/20 - Go Green With Graland
-3/24 - 8:15-9:15 Kindergarten Parent Discussion in the Board Room focusing on Math In Focus
-3/25 - Suessville Kindergarten Presentation to Preschool in Fries at 2:30 (see more below)
-3/26 - Dress Up like your favorite Dr. Seuss character 
-3/27 - Spirit Day
-3/30-4/6 - SPRING BREAK!
-4/7 - Classes Resume
-4/17 - Grandparents Day - Noon Dismissal.  If a grandparent is unable to attend we suggest asking a good friend, or someone who your child views as a special person in their life.  If you prefer to keep your child at home that day because they do not have a Grandparent or special friend to attend please let me know in advance.  Please let me know if you have any questions!
-4/23 - Field Trip to the Waste Management Facility - students only
-4/24 - GO GREEN WITH GRALAND and Spirit Day

Content and Curriculum:
I can't believe that next week is the last week before Spring Break!  A week ago last year, I came to Denver during my Spring Break to visit my sister and nephews.  I happened to get an interview for the Kindergarten position at Graland.  I came in and met with several people.  Later that afternoon I got a call to come back the following morning to teach a lesson to 18 bright eyed kindergartners.  One year later, I couldn't be happier that each day I get to walk onto the Graland campus and spend time with your children.  Each day they make me laugh and smile.  I look forward to traveling back East next week to spend a day or two at my old school to see my old students and colleagues.  I think they may be a bit disappointed to hear that I'm staying put in Colorado for now!

Just because it is the week before Spring Break, we will be very, VERY busy!  We will begin Monday with an assembly.  Katherine Dines will perform using music and storytelling.  You can learn more about her at her Hunk ta Bunk ta Website.  Tuesday morning at 8:15 please join the Kindergarten teachers in the Board Room for a Math In Focus discussion and demonstration.  On Wednesday at 2:30 the Kindergartners will be "presenting" to the Pre K students a little Seussism.  This presentation is simply to help the Kindergartners feel comfortable speaking to a larger crowd in preparation for the Kindergarten Rodeo on May 22.  You are welcome to come see this presentation but it is very, very low key.  Thursday brings dress up as your favorite Dr. Seuss or Dr. Seuss inspired attire as well as the Pre K students visiting our classroom to see what a Journeys lesson looks like.  Friday brings us to the end of our Dr. Seuss studies and Spirit Day.

Not only will we be doing all that is mentioned above but also continuing to write All About Books, learn more metacognition reading strategies and classifying and sorting in Math In Focus!  


Rock Paper Scissors Math 

Rock Paper Scissors with friends

Measuring the room with unifix cubes


Teamwork







Thursday, March 5, 2015

March 5, 2015

Important Dates and Reminders:

-3/9-3/13 Book Fair
-3/12 and 3/13 Student Led Conferences - Please remember to bring your child to your scheduled conference time.  They will have prepared to lead most of the conference.  Please also read their report prior to arriving so you can ask questions.
-3/16 - Scholastic Book Orders Due
-3/20 - Go Green With Graland
-3/24 - 8:15-9:15 Kindergarten Parent Discussion in the Board Room
-3/25 - Suessville Kindergarten Presentation to Preschool in Fries at 2:30
-3/26 - Dress Up like your favorite Dr. Seuss character
-3/27 - Spirit Day
-3/30-4/6 - SPRING BREAK!

Content and Curriculum:

During Writing Workshop this week we began the process of writing All About Books.  Students learned that they are going to write books about things they are experts on!  All About Books flow right from our How To writing unit because each All About Book will have a How To chapter.  Next week your children will continue working on the All About Book they have chosen to write.  They will choose different chapters to write based on the Table of Contents they have written.  This unit takes a lot of student organization - practice, practice, practice!  Each day we will meet before and after writing to organize our chapters based on our Table of Contents and evaluate where we are in the process of writing each chapter.  Just wait until you see these books!  This unit will take us up to and possibly until after Spring Break.

Next week during our usual reading time we will be doing various activities and preparing for our student led conferences!  

During Math we will begin a new chapter in our curriculum.  This is a shorter chapter focusing on length and height.  Vocabulary you can support at home includes long, longer, longest, short, shorter and shortest.  We will be using nonstandard ways to show length (paperclips, unifix cubes etc.).


Exploring and noticing things that All About Books have

They have a Title, Table of Contents,

Headings, How To Chapters,

Chapters, Glossaries, Read More,

Highlighted Words, Photographs, and much more!

Look at the pre-algebra going on during calendar!  Each day students focus on one number and come up with various ways to show that number.  At the beginning of the year I introduced C is the 3rd letter of the alphabet etc.  Look at how your kiddos have taken that and have now come up with equations with letters!



A game with fives frames and tens frames







Visiting the Gates Inventions