A Month in Review...

I cannot even begin to express how quickly the last few weeks have gone.  Although, that seems to happen quite regularly.  It seems as though we are planning for the week and somehow, before we know it, the week is ending and we are saying goodbye for yet another weekend.  A student told me recently that the reason the days go so quickly is because, "Our learning is busy and fun" and of course we would not want it any other way!

Two classes were able to make it out to the zoo on one of our beautiful early spring days.  The other classes had gone in the fall and we were ready to share the experience!  We could not have asked for a more perfect day thanks to Mother Nature and of course our amazingly inquisitive explorers.

 Binoculars sure help us to see the world with a different persective!

Look at the HUGE elephant footprint!

You may hear our Explorers discussing how we sound like elephants as we walk through the halls and up and down the stairs.  This is a GOOD thing!  This was just one of many interesting facts we learned on our tour.  

I know our kiddos are anxious to go again.  We are so lucky to have such an amazing zoo and learning opportunity so close to our homes.  We are so glad they enjoyed themselves and were able to appreciate the zoo as a class family.

As you are well aware, we have been throughly enjoying our Unit of Inquiry, How We Organize Ourselves.  Through this unit we have investigated how cooperation and establishing roles helps to promote success.  When we cooperate we all succeed!  *Has your child sung our Teamwork song to you yet?  It is sure a favorite at school.  Hip Hop Harry incorporated a lot of great points throughout the song and it is exciting to sing!

We have found out that people aren't the only ones that cooperate. Meerkats, worms, ants and bees need to cooperate too.  We have even connected cooperation to music and how the parts of an instrument must all work together as well as the members in an orchestra or band!  The connections our Explorers make are wonderfully exciting!

We have been cooperating very nicely in our classrooms too.  It is something we know takes practice, hard work and patience.  When, as a group, we show cooperation we have been earning a piece of Mr. Potato Head.  This has been a fun way to celebrate our accomplishments.  When Mr. Potato Head is complete we earn a surprise.  Mrs. Snyder and Mrs. Grzelak's class have earned a pancake breakfast already.  Yummm!

                                                   

                                                                                                               

Cooperation is everywhere!

Young Audiences have come to share various performances with us.  We have enjoyed hearing a variety of music and have been able to see beautiful dances.  We have connected that just as the performers work together, our school does as well when we use our audience behaviors to enjoy these special performances.


Last week we were able to enjoy another fabulous trip to the Art Museum.  What a treat!  Our focus was to study animals in many art pieces (sculptures, paintings, fabrics...).  The Explorers were very inquisitive and knowledgeable as we toured around.  We were even lucky enough to be able to create our own elephant masterpiece before leaving.

The Art Museum provided the fanciest bus for our program and that was truly the icing on the cake!  We certainly appreciated their generosity.

We are READING!!!!!

We cannot conclude without celebrating all of our fantastic readers!!!!!!  Your children have been working incredibly hard to develop their reading skills.  Not only are their sight words coming along fabulously, but their fluency and comprehension skills are most impressive.  We know they are very proud of their hard work and practice, just as you are.  Keep reading together. They are truly growing by leaps and bounds!

We are Caring!

This month we are reemphasizing the Learner Profile of Caring.  We are celebrating all kinds of ways we show that we care about others and ourselves.  That being said, as we celebrate our friendships with others on February 14, we are asking that we also look inward at how we show caring for our bodies.   We would like to have each child bring in a  RED HEALTHY snack to share.  Look for a letter coming home tonight with more information.

If your child would like to share a card for others in their class on this day, that is encouraged as well.

We have the following number of caring Explorers in each class:

Mrs. Dailey-16

Ms. Wightman-17

Mrs. Grzelak-18

Mrs. Snyder-19

We Are Off and Running in 2012

We have spent a great deal of time preparing for the Spring Festival and of course studying about the Dragon.  The differences between the perceived American dragon and the Chinese Dragon are quite fascinating!

While at Playhouse Square to see the Eric Carle plays, the students noticed the dragon on the wall of the foyer.  They wanted me to capture the picture so we could show our Mandarin teachers.  What great observers!

Upon returning from our winter vacation, we spent quite a bit of time comparing two different versions of the classic book The Mitten. As authors ourselves, we are seeing how everyone's ideas are just a little bit different and the power we each have in expressing our unique ideas just as these two authors did.

Our writing skills are growing by leaps and bounds!!!

Despite our lack of snow around Cleveland, we are studying it in class and having so much fun!  The Wonders listed above provided a great starting point to begin our lessons. We have answered all these questions through conducting our own research at this point, except the wonder about where chickens go.  We are looking for a reliable source on that one.  

During our research we were introduced to Snowflake (Wilson) Bentley.  What an amazing story of determination.  It has definitely become a class favorite.  It also provided a great connection to our Unit of Inquiry of Where We Are in Place and Time.  Wilson Bentley's timeline is fascinating!

We GREW our own snowflake as a way to emphasize Change and Causation (two of the Key Concepts we have been focusing on during our Unit of Inquiry).


This project left us with a lot of wonders to test when all was said and done.  It sure looked like ice, but we didn't make it cold and no matter how long we left it out it just would not melt.  How did soap (Borax) and hot water create such a beautiful object?

Many of our Explorers asked if they could complete this at home.  Here is the link if you are interested:
SNOWFLAKE CRYSTAL EXPERIMENT

Because an objective of our Unit of Inquiry (Where We Are in Place and Time) is for our students to understand their personal journey (Key Concepts- Change, Causation and Reflection)we are also trying to help them connect this to animals and plants.

Dr. Ausherman, from CSU, dropped off these fascinating bulbs for each classroom.  Without telling the children what they were, we began studying their properties and making a list of ideas.  Onion was the most popular!  We have since observed it daily, noted the changes and taken pictures creating a visual timeline that we reflect on each day.  Seeing the changes over time has been a lot of fun.  Most of the Explorers have agreed that it must be some kind of seed/flower based on how it is changing and not an onion.  Our Explorers are so much fun!

Our Ambassadors of the Day are doing an amazing job brining in their artifacts and creating a personal timeline of their histories.  It is so cute to see their "lightbulb moments" as they realize how much they have truly grown and changed. 

              Teachers are getting on board too! 

        

This is a fabulous story about a rabbit who takes a journey all over the world.  Tracking his journey and creating his timeline using the world map was a lot of fun!

A HUGE thank you to CSU and Dr. Perry for donating 30 iPads for our school to use.  We love them and sure do appreciate the generosity!!!

We must first begin with sharing a BIG thank you for everyone as they helped make our food celebration such an amazing success!  The food was really fantastic and gave us great insight into our Explorers favorite foods. It was sure a coming together, as all 75 kindergarteners enjoyed the foods together in our cafeteria.  Some of the amazing food we enjoyed were: sushi, perigees, Bruegger's Breakfast Sandwiches, cupcakes, Monkey Bread, salad, banana pudding and the list goes on and on and on.

Coming Soon...The Kindergarten CIS Cookbook

BOOK DRIVE

We are also needing to send another BIG thank you for helping out in our Book Drive.  Kindergarten is leading the school in the amount of books collected and the kids are more than excited to share some of their favorites with others that may enjoy them as well.  This week's campus Communicator that came home on Friday has a picture of the graph that we are building in the lobby.  Impressive!  Even MORE kindergarten basketballs will be added to it on Monday.  Ms. Dailey's class had quite a shipment arrive late this week!  Thank you!  

Expressing Ourselves in Many Ways

We sure enjoyed our Unit of Inquiry, How We Express Ourselves!  Mr.  Wood came and shared a great lesson on sound with us and we even got to create a fun song with him.  Music is a great way to express our feelings.  Another fun development in the unit was our Explorers deciding to express themselves using signs around the school to reinforce their thoughts.  Great job Explorers, you are such Thinkers!

Dripping water in the restroom was

the source of this sign:

                     A nice hallway reminder of Voice Meter 1.

Technology Fun

Our Explorers are having a great time with technology these days.  We are following a China Adventure of two little girls name Ava and Sophie in a documentary series called China Through My Eyes. 

Here is the link if you want to follow along: China Through My Eyes

Our Brightlinks and in-classroom computers provide a lot of learning enjoyment and cooperation.  Mrs.Snyder's and Mrs. Grzelak's classes even had an opportunity to Skype with Mrs. Snyder when she was home with one of her son's.  

 First in Math Learning Fun and Cooperation!

(Their at home points are growing as well, thank you for your support!)

We love writing!

Food Celebration

We are winding down our How We Express Ourselves Unit of Inquiry. We have spent a great deal of time talking about the various ways this happens (clothing, words, writing, food, music, traditions, facial expressions,...).  This is just a friendly reminder that we will be having our food celebration this Friday (11/18).  We are asking that the children bring a dish to share with other students.  Please include the recipe, so that we may create a CIS Kindergarten Cookbook.


If you are wondering what to send in, please remember to keep it simple.  We will not have access to microwaves or ovens.   For example if your family likes to snack on fresh fruits or veggies, you may want to send these items in (pre cut please).  If you like to dip your apples in caramel, then you could send in a container of caramel along with the apples.  If your family loves to make pumpkin bread, please send in a loaf.  If your family has game night week and makes popcorn, send it in.  If you enjoy making cookies together, please send some in.  Simple, simple, fun, fun!  This is a great time to reflect with your child too.  You'd may be surprised at the fun foods they think about when they think of their family traditions.  So sweet!


The dish should serve 8-12 people.  Please label all containers you would like returned.You can send in the dish with your child or drop it off in the office.  We will enjoy our activity in the afternoon.


We are looking forward to learning about each of our families as we enjoy the company of our friends.  Thank you for helping!!!  

Polar Bear Migration Web Cam

I just found out about this yesterday and thought I'd pass it along.  I'm sure we will be enjoying it in class, but if you are interested in following along at home here is the link:

Follow the Polar Bear Migration

The End of October...Wow!

Our Unit of Inquiry has led us to look very closely at Causation.  Two classes made popcorn and two groups made applesauce.  What great learning opportunities to allow our Explorers the stage to have a wonderful conversation on the topic and get their minds wondering about how other things were formed!  We expressed our appreciation for one another by sharing in these snacks as well (of course).

We have also spent time learning how we could express ourself using salad.  We know it is a twist, but knowing that eating salad in kindergarten isn’t a first choice, we became Expressive Risk-takers!  Even though we were risk-takers, we did learn three respectful ways of not choosing an ingredient for our salad. We noticed that by observing our friends choices we could tell a lot about their likes and dislikes.  Making this connections to other areas in our day been great for all of us to see!

Friday morning we enjoyed a visit from the Eco Explorers (Metroparks) as they gave us a wonderful lesson on Seasons.  We really enjoyed their visit! 

Our week ended with our OUTSTANDING Book Character Parade.  Our huge thank you to all!  The Costumes were amazing!  Each Explorer came up and presented their book and were able to thoroughly explain which Learner Profile their character best represented and why.  It was so exciting to hear them truly articulate this.  Not to long ago they had never heard any of these terms. They sure are growing fast!!! 

 

Thank you also to the families that came out to help us parade to Cleveland State.  CSU sure pampered us with goodies.  They are such a wonderful part of our family!

Special Notes:

• No school Friday for Kindergarten
• Please send in all conference notes for preferable times so we can try to accommodate everyone.
• We have noticed some parents coming by to visit during the day and wishing to then have a conference about their child’s progress.  As much as we would love to stop and visit it just isn’t possible.  Please schedule a time to conference with your child’s teacher so we can give you our fullest attention and our students.  Thank you!