Trees

We are beginning our first science investigation in Kindergarten - Trees. Throughout this unit students will learn to observe and describe properties of trees and leaves in the schoolyard, compare similarities and differences of trees, and observe trees throughout the school year for changes that come with the different seasons.
Yesterday, we completed the first two steps to our KWL chart (see below). We will complete the third step at the end of our investigation. Click on the chart to enlarge it.

Halloween Info.

This coming Friday we will be celebrating Halloween at Shirley Hills. Students are welcomed to bring a costume to school and wear them for the parade in the afternoon. If your child's costume has any sort of fake weapon, please leave that at home! It usually works well if you send the costume to school in a plastic bag, then they will change out of their costumes and bring them home at the end of the day.

At 9:00am on Friday, we'll head down to the Gym to watch the Westonka high school band perform for us. At 9:30, Officer Niccum will be talking to students about ways to stay safe while out trick or treating.

Our parent volunteers have been busy getting games and activities ready! Our classroom party will be from 1:15-2:15. The parade will be begin at 2:15. If you are interested in watching the parade, please go to the Gym at 2:15 and you'll get to see all of the grades walk through.

Schedule for 10/27-10/31

M - Art
T - Gym
W - Music & Computer
Th - Art & Media
F - Gym & Halloween Party

*Check back later in the week for more details about the Halloween party and parade!

Blue Ribbon Celebration

Here are some pictures of our Blue Ribbon celebration on Friday.  Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who helped to tie shirts, dye shirts, and spray hair. Everyone had a really fun day!

Schedule for 10/20 - 10/24

M - Gym
T - Music
W - Art & Computer
Th - Gym & Media
F - Music & Blue Ribbon Celebration

We will be working on the letter J this week. We'll begin Chapter 3 (Equal Groups) in math. Students will use one-to-one correspondence to compare groups, use problem solving strategies to make graphs, and learn about estimation.

This Friday we will be celebrating our Blue Ribbon award. There is a blue note that will be coming home today with more information. Also, check your child's backpack today for their school pictures!

Schedule for 10/13 - 10/17

M - No School - Teacher workshop

T - No School - Conferences for Grades 1-4

W, Th, & F - Education MN Break 

See you next week!

Smartie spelling

This morning I introduced the concept of "Smartie" spelling to the class. We've been talking about the sounds that we hear in words and today the students practiced writing them. The students do not need to spell the words correctly, instead they will write the sounds that they hear. It's a hard concept to grasp at first, so even if they start with writing the first sound in the word, that is fine with me! Eventually, they will start to write the middle and ending sounds.

This morning in their journals there were lots of pictures of houses. They drew a house and then tried to write house. Many of them wrote "hoas". This is a great start! Another example would be school, the student might hear and write "skol". Practice this new concept with your child!

Character slip winners

At the end of each month, during morning announcements, Mrs. Swanson reads the names of the students who have earned Character slips throughout the month.  Today she read the names of the Kindergarten students.  Above are the students from K-1 who earned slips in September.  Character slips are part of our school's character education program.  Slips are awarded for showing kindness, being honest and respectful, and using self-control.  

Schedule for 10/6- 10/10

M - Music & tie dye t-shirts

T - Art 

W - Gym & Computer

Th - Music & Media

F - Art

This week we will be working on the letter S.  We'll spend more time this week on making sure that first names are written correctly and writing numerals 1-10.  

Plans are in full speed to get ready for our Blue Ribbon celebration.  Click here to read about what the award is!  On Monday, K-1 students will be tie-dyeing t-shirts to wear on our October 24th celebration.  Last week the students were fitted for a t-shirt and many of you have sent in the $2 to pay for them.  If you haven't already, please remember to send that in this week, as well as the blue permission form to have your child's hair sprayed blue.  Our class will be creating a Vision & Dream banner to go above our classroom door.  Please send in a photo of your child for this project!  

Have a great start to the week!

Pictures of K-1

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

4th grade buddies & P - D - B???

Today we met our 4th grade buddies!  Each student was matched up with a 4th grader from Mrs. Henkels' class.  The Kindergarteners listened to their buddy read them a story and worked hard to remember the name of their new friend!  We will try meet up with them a couple of times each month.  

I explained to the students how our grading works at Shirley Hills.  The students will not be getting A's and B's on their report cards in November.  Instead, they will be getting P's, D's and B's.  Confusing, right?  Here's the breakdown:

P - Proficient

D - Developing

B - Beginning  

Occasionally, I will use these letter grades on worksheets or projects....now you know what they stand for!