Kindergarten

Today in the library, Kindergarten (upon request!) had a Popcorn Day! We shared two stories about our favorite snack: The Popcorn Book by Tomie De Paola, and The Popcorn at the Palace by Emily Arnold McCully. We learned that popcorn has been around for thousands of years, and was even used as a form of jewelry. We also discovered that in America, there are three types of corn: corn that is grown to feed cattle and other animals, corn that is grown for human consumption–corn on the cob–, and finally, corn that is grown for popcorn!  Kindergarten enjoyed a snack of popcorn, and then concluded with book browsing and checkout. Happy Reading!

We have had a wonderful return to school.  The children are happy and rested (and taller!).  Everyone enjoyed seeing their friends again and we have quickly returned to our classroom routines and practices.

January and February are full months.  We learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges.  We’ll celebrate the 100th Day of School, Valentine’s Day, and Alaska Day.  We’ll soon begin a month-long unit on Antarctica and the Emperor penguins that live there.  In between all of this, work has already begun on lowercase letters and each student has started to make their own alphabet book.  Our math unit is sorting using Venn Diagrams. This week the children practiced sorting by one attribute.  Next week, they’ll try sorting using two attributes, which is more challenging and much more fun!

Ski Friday went very smoothly today.  I am anticipating that they’ll all have a great time, as there was a lot of excitement leading up to it!  During this cold, cold week, we read books, sang songs, and learned poems, all having to do with skiing and “Jack Frost.”  Our shelves are filled with new materials to explore and lots of new books to read.  It’s nice to be back!

Enjoy the weekend,

Andrea

This is such a fun and busy time of year.  Here are some of the highlights:

We had a real treat when Eileen and Marc Rosenthal, a husband-wife book-writing team, came to BCD.  Eileen is the author of the Bobo books, and Marc illustrates them (as well as illustrating books for many other authors).  They spoke to Kindergarten and Grade 1 together and the class had thoughtful questions and comments to make.  Marc demonstrated some of his drawing techniques to us, as well.  Who know how expressive eyebrows could be?  It was a lot of fun watching him work!

December is the month when we spend time focusing on the topic of Peace, and we learned about different faiths, holidays, and cultures around the globe.  In particular, we’ve learned about three holidays that occur this month, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas by reading books and doing related projects.  This class is particularly interested in this large world we inhabit and have so many questions about different lands and the people who live there.  We search out different countries and continents, reading stories, and learning about the different foods, clothing, and types of homes that are native to each land.  Our globe is in constant use this year!

Peace in many languages!

Ashley will turn six years old on Dec. 26, and we celebrated a bit early when her mom and 4th grade brother Ryan joined us in the classroom.  Ryan did a great job reading one of Ashley’s favorite books and we shared the best chocolate chip cookies ever!  Thank you, Theresa and Ryan, for making Ashley’s school birthday so special.

In classroom work, math has been fun lately with games and chants as we continue to practice rote counting skills (by tens, by fives, etc.).  In LA, we’ve begun a new and important piece of our curriculum – writing books!  The children were extremely excited about beginning these, and each is doing a great job so far.  They are choosing their own topics, and then writing and illustrating their stories.  They then share these with their classmates by reading aloud.  In handwriting, we have now completed all uppercase letters.  When we return from break, we’ll start learning lowercase formation, and each student will also begin their own alphabet books.

Proud authors

We had our second Lunch Bunch last week, courtesy of Sadie’s family.  The day was very cold, and all enjoyed sharing butterfly-shaped pasta, broccoli, sparkling juices, and warm-from-the-oven apple crisp with ice cream on top.  Thank you, Sam and Ollie, for coming in and feeding us so well.  The children are really enjoying these meals!

On our last day of school, Mrs. Allentuck and Second Grade visited to share their poems on Peace.  And we were treated to two wonderful Mummer’s Plays, presented by the 8th Grade.  What a great morning!

We’ll end our day with a class party.  Thank you (in advance!) to all who sent in food or paper goods and came to help out!  In addition, the children have worked hard on special gifts and cards and are excited to bring those home.   We hope you like them.

I wish you all a wonderful, fun, safe, and cozy vacation.  I look forward to the second half of the year with your wonderful children.  See you all in 2014!

Andrea