Santa's Elves December 12, 2008
Our little elves were busy at work this week working hard as usual. Besides all the fun center activities the children made a secret surprise in the science lab today. It’s a top secret surprise and we can’t tell you any more! Check out our display case to see your little elf as well as the two jolly ol’ souls that have been keeping the little munchkins hard at work.
Our Classroom Quilt December 5, 2008
On Grandparents’ Day, the children each colored a quilt square. This week, Mrs. Gamache brought in her sewing machine and during centers the children came up in small groups to watch and discuss the process of sewing a quilt. The children were introduced to vocabulary such as: sewing, sewing machine, fabric, thread, needle, straight pin, foot, pedal and electricity. They learned how fabric first has to be cut, then pinned, and then sewn. The learned that all the clothes they were wearing were sewn by someone on a sewing machine. We discussed how the pedal controls the machine and uses electricity. The children were also told about old fashioned sewing machines that ran on foot power. The children practiced peddling their feet to the time of the sewing machine. Wow, that would have been hard work! We also discussed how Mrs. Gamache’s father (Tia’s Grandpa) used to make giant sewing machines with 10 or 20 needles or more that sewed fabric for cars. The children really have been enjoying watching the quilt take shape.
Frosty The Snowman November 25, 2008
Our first real snow came just in time for lunch recess on Monday. Enormous snowballs abounded everywhere! Right after lunch recess we took the kindergarten class back out to the far playground to build a class snowman. The children's cooperative work was outstanding! We used two of the snowballs the children had already been working on for the base. It was a team effort to get them on top of one another. We added the head, used woodchips for the face and some sticks to finish the arms. After long consideration, the children named the snowman Frost the Snowman. It was great fun.
Wanted! November 21, 2008
Wanted: Engineers to help us with our new classroom toy!
Ms. Poole helped during centers on Thursday with our cool new Marble Mania Extreme toy. This toy has A LOT of pieces and specific instructions that were more difficult than anticipated. Ms. Poole did a fantastic job, but suggested that a dad help with this activity next time!
Living or Non-Living November 7,2008
Wow! We really enjoyed the Indian Summer we had this week. We spent a lot of extra time outdoors. On Wednesday, we had the water table open on our porch. The children loved playing with the bubbles and the non – living water toys. After centers, we went on a nature walk where the children found living and non-living things on our playground and wetlands. The children noticed that the bird houses, driveway, rocks and dirt were some of the non-living things. Trees, plants and wildlife were among the living things, as well as, of course, the children themselves.
The Halloween Party! October 31, 2008
Food and Fun in the Kindergarten Classroom October 24, 2008
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We had a great time this week. We talked about living and non-living things and then created animal homes using our classroom furniture and lots of sheets. Wow, that was fun. We used magnifying glasses to examine living and non-living things. Mr. Haliburton was a great sport and let the children examine him with magnifying glasses. We worked on number on the clothes line, playing in the kitchen, created wild creatures with the tinker toys and much, much more. To end the week, and our Language Arts theme "Around the Table" we even made pizza. Yum, was it ever good. We can't wait until next week and all the fun we will have! |
Gingerbread Man Fun! October 17, 2008
We have enjoyed our Gingerbread Man activities. Last week Mrs. Gamache told the story as well as reading fun version called The Runaway Tortilla by Eric A Kimmel, and we took turns telling the story with felt board pieces, and even made cardboard gingerbread men decorated with yummy candy.
This week we continued the fun as we read The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernest – she didn’t make the same mistake as her brother! We also watched a short video of the book The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. We visited www.janbrett.com to make some puppets and use an interactive program to build the gingerbread baby’s house.
During the movie and our impromptu play this morning – our “FUN FRIDAY” event, a classroom mom and Mrs. Pinson pulled children to create their own gingerbread man ornament using a fragrant cinnamon and applesauce dough.
The children have greatly enjoyed this mini unit, and if you come down our hall, you may hear them chanting; “Run! Run! As fast as you can! You can’t catch me! I’m the Gingerbread Man!”
Christopher Columbus Visited Our Room! October 8th and 10th
This week Christopher Columbus visited out classroom!
On Wednesday, he made his first visit, wearing his newspaper hat and explaining to the children how he wanted to find a new route to India. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave him three ships, and the children became the crew of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. The children loved the interactive lesson, and some continues to call Mrs. Pinson “Captain” all day.
On Fun Friday, the lesson was revisited. The children made a Columbus Day craft. Then they heard the story of Christopher Columbus again, and got their own sailors hats and helped us experience history. Please ask your children what they have learned about our famous explorer!
Field Trip To Big Red Orchard October 3, 2008
Our field trip to the orchard to pick apples and pumpkins with the Junior Kindergarteners was a BLAST! Lots and lots of moms and dads came with us. We ate lunch outside, learned about how cider is made, took a hayride to pick our apples and pumpkins, visited the animals, climbed on the hay mountain, and tasted fresh cider and donuts. . . Whew! We hope you enjoy the pictures in the slide show.
Keeping Our Community Clean September 26, 2008
Today the kindergarten children helped in a small community service project. In the morning, our children along with the junior kindergarten class picked up small pieces of trash on our far playground and the surrounding area. In the afternoon, our boys and girls walked around the near playgrounds and along the safety paths around our schools property cleaning up anything they found. Along the way we spotted a cool walking stick bug. We would put the picture here on the blog, but that tricky bug uses his camouflage very well, and you probably wouldn't even be able to spot him! It was the perfect day for our project and it was educational and fun!
Hanging the Alphabet out to Dry September 19, 2008
One of our successful centers this week was when the children worked in their groups and rotated through the alphabet center. They had to identify the letters and put them in order. They also had to use their fine motor skills using the clothes pins to hang each letter up. Finally, once they successfully completed the job, most groups spontaneously broke into song - Dr. Jean's "Alphabet Forwards and Backwards" - a class favorite!
The Houses that the Kindergarteners Built September 12, 2008
Our “Fun Friday” activity this week focused on houses. We read a big book called A World of Homes by Kari Jenson Gold, watched a little movie of the book The House That Jack Built by Simms Taback and then we made our own homes out of Jello Jigglers. Check out Hannah's fine motor skills. She cut her grape jello into a house shape, then inserted a door, window and chimney with orange. FANTASTIC!
Welcome Kindergarteners September 5, 2008
This year we are so excited to have two kindergarten classes in one! Mrs. Pinson and and Mrs. Gamache: a terrific duo!
We had a terrific first week of school full of center time fun, painting, crafts, computers and play! We watched the story from the book Chrsanthemum by Kevin Henkes and then we graphed our names by how many letters are in them. We also planted mystery seeds - I wonder what they will be?
Check back next week to see more! Also, feel free to check out some of the great things we did last year by clicking on the links at the top of this page. Thanks for visiting!
Feel Free to email me any questions about the website.