This week was full of Pumpkins in JK!  We learned about the parts of a pumpkin and read many books about various pumpkin facts and adventures.  We watched a video about a square pumpkin whose differences saved the entire pumpkin patch.  The students started practicing a skit about “Five Little Pumpkins” and enjoyed playing different parts before they “rolled out of sight”! 

We continued our love of cooking in class as we made pumpkin muffins.  We cooked them in the school oven, and then decorated them with cream cheese frosting, sprinkles and sugar and enjoyed them for our snack.  Throughout the process of becoming little chefs, they are also learning how to cook (collaborate and communicate) as part of a group, problem solve, measure ingredients, take turns, change the properties of ingredients by combining them, and that they can make something quite tasty by working together (compromising and discussing different ideas) and following instructions! 

Our third grade reading buddies visited our classroom and found cozy corners with their JK buddies to read their favorite stories.  The children ask about them every day and when they will see them again, so it’s clear they are enjoying the conversation and special attention they receive from their older friends.  

Our math skills were tested during a fun game with squirrels counting their nuts, where the children worked both individually and in small groups to recognize and identify numbers from 11-20.  Many are fluid in recognizing numbers from 1-10 but get a little stumped with the next group.  Feel free to use any opportunities at home or around town where you see the double-digit numbers, to point them out to increase familiarity.  It also makes it more relevant and easier to learn if they see a connection to their own lives and how the information will be useful.  Each day we practice our “Handwriting Without Tears”.  Repetition when writing the lower case letters is slowly replacing the all caps from the very first week.  We will continue to build on our names by adding last names, phone numbers etc. as each student is ready. 

Show and Tell continues to be a highlight of the week as the children practice their public speaking and leadership skills by managing the questions from their classmates and discuss their favorite items.  We are jumping into Van Gogh next, and are mixing in a little of our bat study early to keep the October and Halloween excitement alive. 

Have a great week! 

Hi JK parents! 

We had a wonderful week learning about farm life and animals.  We simulated milking a cow (and think we were all squirted in the eye at least once!) and watched a video of children who live on a farm and milk cows everyday.  The class was amazed at how much effort it required to produce a small bowl of milk.  We also played a harvest-time counting math game, painted self portraits, decorated farm scenes, practiced our handwriting and reading in our small groups, and played rhyming games where the children were all identifying how the words had like endings but different beginnings.  I love the words they create when rhyming! 

They are amazing singers and dancers, and have already learned a new song about October and picking “fat pumpkins”.   Our class is becoming more cohesive and making great strides to complete filling our frog jar.  I see a pajama party on the horizon!  

Happy last week of September as we finish out the month and move into fall.  This past week we discovered the wonderful world of Johnny Appleseed (aka John Chapman) as we watched a short movie about his life of spreading appleseeds as well as kindness.  Our favorite line this week was "Let's do it the Johnny Appleseed way!"  We taste tested red, yellow and green apples and made cinnamon sweet applesauce, taking great care to add lots of love as we measured and mashed.  The taste testing results are hung in our room, but surprisingly the yellow and red were a tie.  I loved the descriptive words used to describe the apples:  Sticky, sweet, "all the words in the world", crunchy, "tastes like a pear", juicy, smooth, sour, bitter, yummy, "tastes like an apple".  We also used our imaginations and closed our eyes as we listened to the story about the "little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside".  They were excited and surprised to see the star in the middle of the apple if you slice it horizontally across the middle.

The sensory table was full of measuring cups and spoons and oatmeal and cinnamon sticks and used their fine motor skills with tongs to move ingredients and red, green and yellow "apples" to mini cupcake compartments.  They also made predictions and tested those at our sink and float science center.  How does a huge apple float and a tiny paperclip sink?  Things that make a JKer scream with laughter!

The children are enjoying singing our Autumn song, as we simulate raking leaves "with a smile" and then jumping into our giant heap.  The frog jar is approaching 3/4 of the way full, so look for details about our pajama/popcorn party in the near future.  We are studying farm animals this week so please feel free to talk about anything farm related at home as we prepare to milk a cow (not a real one) in the classroom.  I am impressed with their knowledge and vocabularies as we continue in our reading groups and use our magical fingers to follow along in our book series.  

We just had 2 children bring show and tell this past week, so will get a reminder out earlier as we prepare for it this Friday.  Have a wonderful week!

Happy last week of September as we finish out the month and move into fall.  This past week we discovered the wonderful world of Johnny Appleseed (aka John Chapman) as we watched a short movie about his life of spreading appleseeds as well as kindness.  Our favorite line this week was "Let's do it the Johnny Appleseed way!"  We taste tested red, yellow and green apples and made cinnamon sweet applesauce, taking great care to add lots of love as we measured and mashed.  The taste testing results are hung in our room, but surprisingly the yellow and red were a tie.  I loved the descriptive words used to describe the apples:  Sticky, sweet, "all the words in the world", crunchy, "tastes like a pear", juicy, smooth, sour, bitter, yummy, "tastes like an apple".  We also used our imaginations and closed our eyes as we listened to the story about the "little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside".  They were excited and surprised to see the star in the middle of the apple if you slice it horizontally across the middle.

The sensory table was full of measuring cups and spoons and oatmeal and cinnamon sticks and used their fine motor skills with tongs to move ingredients and red, green and yellow "apples" to mini cupcake compartments.  They also made predictions and tested those at our sink and float science center.  How does a huge apple float and a tiny paperclip sink?  Things that make a JKer scream with laughter!

The children are enjoying singing our Autumn song, as we simulate raking leaves "with a smile" and then jumping into our giant heap.  The frog jar is approaching 3/4 of the way full, so look for details about our pajama/popcorn party in the near future.  We are studying farm animals this week so please feel free to talk about anything farm related at home as we prepare to milk a cow (not a real one) in the classroom.  I am impressed with their knowledge and vocabularies as we continue in our reading groups and use our magical fingers to follow along in our book series.  

We just had 2 children bring show and tell this past week, so will get a reminder out earlier as we prepare for it this Friday.  Have a wonderful week!

Hi Parents of this fabulous JK class!

Week three has shown us many talents and favorites of our friends, as we presented our “All About Me” posters in class, giving the students another opportunity to practice their public speaking and lead the class questions about their posters. We have been reading about all sorts of different occupations and books about being unique as well as about our bodies.  We graphed our eye color and used non-standard units of measure to determine the length of our written names. 

The students worked together to sort and wash animals at the sensory table and made tissue paper replications of our version of Elmer the Elephant.  Elmer demonstrated to the students the amazing effects one elephant could have by being his colorful self and not trying to be like every other.  We also read about Pete the Cat and designed our own school shoes.  The message of taking things in stride was introduced, as was individuality.

Each student spent time in their writing group, practicing reading from left to right with their magic finger, underlining each word as they took turns “reading” the A and B books in our series.  They were all excited to “read” to their classmates, and will continue to practice reciting and following along word for word until the memorization of the text is replaced by actual reading.  Whether that happens this school year or not, they are all building the proper foundation.    

Our handwriting continues to improve each day, as their tiny muscle control increases as well as their knowledge and use of the lower case letter formation.  Please click on this most excellent article, which offers information and suggestions about building those muscles to develop better fine motor skills/handwriting.

Why Handwriting is a Struggle for Today’s Children:

http://yourot.com/parenting-club/2016/8/12/why-handwriting-is-a-struggle-for-todays-children

We will be finishing our “All About Me” theme and moving into Apples, Johnny Appleseed, and autumn.  This is one of my favorite times of the year, as the summer begins to fade and the thoughts of fires in the fireplace, football, leaves falling and pumpkin patches emerge.  

Mrs. Massey