Good afternoon JK Parents!

This week we read Stella Luna and studied bats.  We learned that bats use echolocation to find their way in the dark and to hunt for food.  The children loved reading about many different kinds of bats, but loved hearing about the Vampire bat that drinks blood from cows and other farm animals most of all.  We learned that bats can eat thousands of mosquitos in an hour and are incredibly advantageous to farmers, consuming bugs that would otherwise eat the farmer's crops!

Literacy:
Our reading groups have been discussing picture walks and how the pictures give us clues to learn the words on the corresponding page.  Some of the children are learning to space between their first and last name using a finger space, and some are still practicing their letter formation in their first names.  This year is critical in teaching them to begin at the top when writing their letters.  Giving them a beginning point /dot helps when they are unsure of where to begin on the page.  We will also work on making all of the letters uniform in size after they master the formation.

Literacy/Reading Buddies:
Our fifth and sixth grade reading buddies came to our room and read with the JK'ers, and each group of buddies completed a "Response to Reading" page, illustrating and dictating the meaning of the illustration to their buddy about the book they shared. These will be kept for their portfolios to take home at the end of the year.  Most of the academic work we complete, along with their art projects, are put away for inclusion in the portfolios, or displayed on the walls before making their way there. I will share some of these things with you at conference time but feel free to always/anytime explore the classroom and ask about their work.  They are happy to talk about it!  We had our third grade reading buddies in our classroom to read with us as well!  It's fun to see the different relationships and the subtle differences between our third grade group and our fifth/sixth grade group.  All of the kids love doing art work and illustrations, especially the older children-as their time for art is more limited during the school day as they get older and have more academic responsibilities.

Math/Science/Performing Arts:
We have been practicing a few different plays for Halloween, including Five Little Pumpkins and 10 Pumpkins.  These repetitive stories help children to learn sequencing.  They are able to anticipate what will happen next and recite the order of the story line.  These skills are important as they begin to formulate their own stories and are able to differentiate between the beginning, middle and end. We practiced counting and sorting this week with a game using Goldfish crackers.  The children sorted by color, counted, and wrote their numbers, using a number line for reference for simple addition and subtraction.

We studied the skeletal structure of a bat and compared it to our human skeletons.
The children made replications of the skeletal system of a bat on their own cut outs that will hang from the ceiling and help decorate our room for Halloween! They loved seeing different
x-rays and knowing which animal or human to which each belonged.  We played "Sequence" in groups, which not only helps with their counting and sequencing skills, but social growth as they compromise, discuss and share ideas through game play.

We used our minute math to compare children's heights, as they chose someone who was taller and shorter than they.  We also chose random teen numbers to begin counting from as we learn that each number has a specific meaning and is not just part of a song or chant.  One-to-one correspondence is an essential skill to learn and foundational for all math.

All of the children practiced their scissor skills, while making tissue paper banners in Spanish class. We also practiced cutting in our scissor center- on straight, curvy and zig-zag lines, using our "thumbs up" to remember how to properly hold scissors.

We wrapped up our bat theme week by asking the children to complete a chart as a group about what they learned.  I was impressed by their new vocabulary learned and the details they provided about bats.  Many of these facts are relayed each day as they earn their "ticket to line up".  It's a great way for them to show their accomplishments to their peers in a low stress environment, while building again on their public speaking and self confidence.

We basked in the sunshine and enjoyed being outside.  They will all love the snow but I am still grasping onto this amazing warm weather in October--IN CHICAGO!  

We are all getting excited about Halloween and the fun we will have this week!

Have a great weekend!

Susie

Hi JK Parents!

We have had an amazing time this week researching pumpkins and traveling to The Grove to explore. The hayride was a highlight, along with the snakes and turtles some of the children were able to pet. We learned about the rescue owls, and that owls cannot smell.   They will feed on skunks-unlike most predators who stay away from the strong scented animals.  The children had scarecrow building contests and found "a needle in a haystack"!  They explored the haunted trail, and heard stories in a giant Teepee.  We all had such a great time there with our friends.

Fine Arts:
We studied the great artist Vincent Van Gogh, and painted Starry Nights pictures using crayons and water colors.  It's another way to discuss the properties of an oil/wax and a liquid.  Art provides numerous opportunities for science exploration and demonstration.  We also studied Vincent Van Gogh, the man, and learned about his life and work.  Your children should be familiar with his self portrait and some of his most popular paintings!

Literacy:
The groups continue to practice their reading skills by modeling my actions of following the words on a page by underlining as they read.  The Reading A-Z books provide high frequency word series, leveled readers, benchmark books, and decodable books.  They each serve a purpose in focusing on a particular skill.  The children made their own pumpkin farm books this week, dictating/writing words and illustrating their experience.  They each titled their book and highlighted some of their favorite things.  This exercise provides many benefits, by relating their experience on paper and labeling, they are further understanding that words carry meaning and through these words they are able to express themselves.  Sounding out the words and beginning inventive spelling are next steps to literacy.

Math and Science:
We studied the life cycle of the pumpkin, illustrating a page which follows the six step process from seed to orange pumpkin.  Some children were surprised to learn that a pumpkin is green before it is orange.  We also carved a pumpkin in class and discussed the parts that are thrown away and the parts used for making pies and other pumpkin treats.  We used descriptive words for the stringy, cold, slimy, smooth insides.

We use minute math daily for story problems and thinking questions, using visualization for learning more, less, greater than, less than, and simple addition and subtraction.  One example from the week was, "which holds more water, a bathtub or a sink?"  Using familiar items helps the children make the connections easily.  It also captures and hold their attention if the items in our story problems are those they can relate to.  "Which weighs more, Lightening McQueen's car, or a stuffed Pokemon? How many Pokemon would fit inside his car?"

Along with making our own Pumpkin Farm books, we read many stories in class, including:  Arthur's Halloween, All About Bats, Stella Luna, The Lonely Scarecrow, The Great Artist Van Gogh, Rainy Day, Sunflowers, Starry Night, and We Share Everything.  We are making our way through the Alpha tales books as well, and are beginning letters E and F.

Spanish class continues to study colors and parts of the body, and made colored masks for the Day of the Dead celebration.  Incorporating songs with the lessons is great practice as the children begin to identify animals, the season and familiar things around the room.

We introduced bats on Friday, and will be studying those for our theme this week.  It's hard to believe it will be Halloween soon!  I'll be sending out information about our class party and the carnival for the entire school.  Thanks you for the assistance in the classroom and with our field trip!  We love having parents visit and welcome your time and talents anytime.

What a fun season to be in JK!

Ms. Massey