Take a Look at All We Do...

 Jack said, "Principled is being outstanding with

 your choices.  Principled is not yelling in our school."

Lana said, "Principled looks like walking in line.                      

Not being Principled is when you leave your                              

group."

We began this week with taking a deeper look into what it means to be Principled (a Learner Profile).  Through this inquiry, we found many examples of what it looks like, what it sounds like and what is feels like.  We were able to find lots of examples throughout our school of Explorers being Principled, share stories from home and the community and had a great time connecting this Learner Profile back to the text of stories we have been reading.

Principled: 

Doing the right thing when no one is looking

Being fair

Being honest

As we continue with our literacy skills our focus has been on letter identification, formation, sounds and rhyming.  Has your child shared Phonics in Motion with you yet?  They have picked this up remarkably fast! 

Side note-We would love it if you would please continue to encourage your child to write their name using capital and lowercase letters.  

The Daily 5 is taking off so well in our Kindergarten classes.  Above, two children are modeling Read to Someone while the other Explorer is enjoying Read to Self.

Here are the 5 components of Daily 5-

Read to Self

Read to Someone

Work on Writing 

Word Work

Listen to Reading

Math is so Fun!

This week we focused on number formation (1-5) and creating sets.  Understanding that the last number counted is the number in the group is a fundamental skill that we will build on with more complexity as the year progresses.  

After reading 10 Black Dots by Donald Crews, we decided to create class books based on the same concept.  Here two students share what they used their dots to create.  Such creativity!

WHO WE ARE

We will be officially begin our first Unit of Inquiry, Who We Are,  next week.  Our central idea is that children learn about themselves by examining stories and activities that connect to their lives.  In this unit, we will explore the nature of self and who we are through participating in discussions, presentations, exploration and self-study.  Our Explorers will be encouraged to express tolerance, acceptance, caring and being open-minded.  Through the study of this unit, we hope to foster appreciation of similarities and differences between people around us and in the world.  

Things to Remember:

9/20-Father's Walk 

9/27-Curriculum Night  **EARLY RELEASE DAY-11:20

9/29-One World! Fundraiser-Wait until you see the amazing projects each grade level is creating for auction with Ms. Lipka.  Wow!!