Pumpkin Investigation

We had so much fun investigating our pumpkin today! We started off by making predictions about how many cubes tall we thought our pumpkin was, what the circumference of our pumpkin was using links, and how many lines the pumpkin had. Then we guessed if the pumpkin would sink or float. Some of the K2ers came up with some great reasons why they thought it would either sink or float. Some of their reasons why it would sink was because it is heavy, there are seeds inside, it has "guts" inside, and because the water in the bucket is cold. Some reasons why some thought it would float was because the water will hold it up and because it is too light to sink. Here are some pictures from our Pumpkin Investigation and a quick video of when we put the pumpkin into the bucket of water.

 

After we were finished filling our Pumpkin Investigation chart in we then filled in a "can", "have", "are" chart to wrap up the lesson. Each K2er then had to record at least one answer in each column on their own sheet to bring home.

 

Lastly, at Free Choice time, we opened up the pumpkin and described what we saw inside, cleaned out the pumpkin and sorted the seeds. Each K2er went home with a small baggie of seeds to investigate some more with. (They were not cooked, so they know they are not to eat!) I heard lots of them say they were going to plant them so a pumpkin will grow for next year.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week in Review ~ October 24th - 28th

How do tools help us explore is what we talked about this week in ELA. We first brainstormed what are some tools we use. At first, the K2ers named only carpenter tools like a hammer, wrench, screwdriver and saw but then as we talked about the definition of our vocabulary word tools (things that help people do work or help people learn) they started to name lots of different tools like pencils, magnifying glasses, rulers, scales, glue sticks, etc... Our other vocabulary words were fetch, discover, rumble, and defeated. We focused in on the letter Pp and read the stories "The Handiest Things in the World", "Timimoto" and "Discover with Tools." We also introduced what a verb is and talked about how it is an action word or something you can do. Our new sight word this week was the word a. Each week, when a new sight word is introduced, we listen to a song to help us remember the word. Here is a video of the K2ers with our new song for the word a...

 

In learning centers we wrote about things we see in the classroom and what tools we use. We also sorted picture cards by if it was a noun or a verb. The K2ers enjoyed this center because they got to use the board during center time to do the activity. We were also reviewing beginning sounds and clipping the pictures that began with sound that the letter on the top of the card makes.

 

In Math we continued on with Topic 3. We read, wrote and counted 6 and 7 and 8 and 9. We introduced number poems to help them remember how to write the numbers. Practicing writing numbers at home will help your K2er make their numbers better. Give your child a piece of paper and just say a number (0 - 9 have been introduced so far) and have them practice writing that number. 8 seems to be causing the most difficulty so here is the poem we use to help them remember the formation: make an S but do not wait, go back up and that's an 8.

 

On Monday we will doing some Pumpkin Investigations during math so be sure to check back to the blog to see all the cool pumpkin investigations we did.

Have a nice weekend!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Wizard of Oz Fair

There's no place like JA...especially when it comes to a school-wide read aloud Fair! The K2ers had such a fun time at the fair playing games, making crafts and enjoying a snack. Then we got to enjoy a Mad Science show with Professor Presto and his assistant, Professor Prism.

Here is a video with pictures from our visit to the fair and a special performance of "Somewhere over the rainbow" sung by members of the JA chorus.

Posted with Blogsy

Special Delivery

Thiago and his mom delivered Halloween cards made by the K2ers, over 150 goodie bags, and the huge emoji pillow to the UMASS pediatric floor yesterday afternoon. Great job, K2ers...I'm sure your kindness will be making some children VERY happy!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week in Review ~ October 17th - 21st

In ELA this week our essential question was How can your senses help you learn? Our vocabulary words were feast, senses, kneads, finished and explore. We listened to the stories "Senses at the Seashore" and "A Feast of our Senses." Our new sight word was see and we focused in on the letter Ss. We also brainstormed different ways we use each of our five senses when we are at school and sorted pictures by what sense it was.

In Math we finished up Topic 2 where we compared numbers 0-5. The K2ers did a great job with greater than, less than and equal to and have a true understanding of what they mean.

Here is a cute video I showed them that introduces the use of the greater than, less than and equal to symbols: >, <, =.



In Topic 3 we will be reading, writing and counting numbers 6-10.

I am so proud of my students! We won the magazine drive mascot because of all the sales brought in and they quickly voted to send it to the UMASS pediatric floor along with the goodie bags they packed and the Halloween cards they made. Way to go, K2ers...you are always spreading kindness!

Have a great weekend!

Posted with Blogsy

A wonderful morning in K2

This morning K2 had a very special visitor! Miss Sue (Susan Posterro), the founder and executive director of "Binkeez for Comfort" came in to read her book. "The ABC's of Love: a love story" and to make a very special Binkeez dedication to one of our very own K2ers. Binkeez for Comfort is a nonprofit organization that supports pediatric communities. Blankets are delivered to children with life threatening illnesses and acute developmental disorders. Our K2 friend, Thiago, was presented with the "Thiago" blanket. His mom was also presented with her own Thiago blanket and our Monkey in the Chair was given his own as well. It was just an amazing experience for everyone. Thank you Miss Sue for making it a wonderful morning and for sharing your love with K2!

If you would like to learn more about Binkeez for Comfort, you can click on the following link.
Binkeez for Comfort website

Posted with Blogsy

A Visit with Firefighter Rob

Firefighter Rob, from the Leominster Fire Department, visited with students in grades K, 1 and 2 on Wednesday. Our K4 friends joined us in our classroom where he went over "Stop, Drop, Cover & Roll". Some of the students had the opportunity to come up and demonstrate what was being taught. Everyone did a great job!

Then, Firefighter Rob showed the students what firefighters wear to keep safe during a fire...even Mrs. Mueller and I got to try on some things!

Thank you Firefighter Rob...we had fun learning fire safety rules with you!

Posted with Blogsy

Leaf Reporting

The K2ers were busy with the leaves they collected and brought into school. They used magnifying glasses to look at the leaves closely, measured them using cubes and chose their favorite one to "report" on. As a class they filled in a chart about leaves after reading the story "Fall Leaves."

We have also been watching the same tree right out our classroom window since the beginning of the school year to see how it changes. After we did our leaf reporting we went outside to check it out closely and we even had some fun with some leaves that have fallen already!

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Best Helpers!

Monday morning the K2ers were busy helping Thiago and his mom fill approximately 120 goodie bags to be delivered to the UMass pediatric floor and clinic. They had so much fun and the best part was that they knew they were helping children who are sick or injured have a Happy Halloween even if they can't go trick-or-treating.

It was such an AWESOME experience...Thank you for including us!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week in Review ~ October 11th - 14th

I hope everyone enjoyed the Columbus Day weekend. We had a great shorter week in K2 where as usual we were busy learning many new things! In ELA we finished up week 2 in Unit 1 where we introduced and practiced using the vocabulary words arrived, exciting and exhausted. I was so impressed with how well the K2ers remembered the meaning of each word and how they could use it in a sentence. Way to go! We continued to focus in on the letter Aa and the short sound /a/. We also began "tapping out" sounds in words. Ask your K2er to tap out the sounds in simple cvc words (consonant vowel consonant) such as mat, pot and cat. We read the Aesop Fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" and talked about what slow and steady wins the race means. We also reviewed all of our sight words introduced so far: I, can, the, we.

In math we are close to wrapping up Topic 2 where we are comparing numbers 0-5. We used the vocabulary words greater than, less than, equal to and we also focused in on the terms before and after once I saw that many were confused by those terms. A suggestion on how to practice before and after at home would be to have your K2er collect 5 or 6 small objects and then have them line them up on a table according to your directions. For example, in class we used the small bear counters so I asked them to put the yellow bear before the red bear, put the blue bear after the red bear, etc... We will be finishing up Topic 2 this week.

Each Friday the kindergarten students get a chance to use the iMac cart where they can use MacBooks or iPads during our ELA center time. There are very few sets of headphones on the cart so it makes it difficult for the K2ers to hear what they are suppose to do when they can hear each other's iPad or MacBook. Years past I have asked the K2ers to bring in a set of headphones to keep in their cubby for when we use the iMac cart on Fridays and it has worked out well. Headphones can be found at both Dollar Tree and Five Below for a reasonable price. If you can send in a set of headphones for your K2er, that would be greatly appreciated. Please be sure to write their name on them in case they get put in the wrong cubby.

 

As a reminder the Magazine Drive is still going on and don't forget...

 

Enjoy this beautiful fall weekend!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week in Review ~ October 3rd - 6th

It was one crazy week in K2! Monday morning we had the magazine drive assembly, Tuesday morning we had picture day and Wednesday we had Walk to School Day. In between all of those fun things we started Unit 1 Week 2 in ELA where we talked about how animals move. We read the story "Pouch!," introduced the vocabulary words movement and adventure and the sight word we, and focused in on the letter Aa. We will be continuing with week 2 next week.

In math we started Topic 2 where we are comparing numbers 0-5. We talked about the terms equal and greater than. To reinforce the terms we worked with a partner and used counters and dice to make an equal group or to make a group with a greater amount.

We will be continuing on with Topic 2 this coming week where we will introduce the term less than.

The magazine drive is in full swing at JA! Each day whichever class returns the most magazine sales from the K and 1 classes wins the class mascot for the day. K2 was the day 1 winner and Thiago the Monkey was excited to have the comfy emoji pillow to sit on!

Keep returning those magazine sales...I think Thiago the Monkey was sad we had to give the pillow to a 1st grade class!

As a reminder there is No school Monday...enjoy the long weekend!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Walk to School Day

We had a perfect day to walk to school yesterday. The K2ers did an awesome job with the 1.4 mile walk. Here is a video of some pictures from our walk. Enjoy!

Student of the Month

Each month the classroom teachers choose a student from their class that has done a great job following school and class rules, trying their best with their school work and being a good friend to their classmates to be the Student of the Month.  Also, together, the Specialist teachers (art, music, gym, library) choose one child per grade level to be awarded the Student of the Month. 

Click on the Student of the Month tab above to see who was the September recipient(s)!

Walk to School Day

As a reminder, Wednesday, October 5th is "Walk to School Day" at JA. If you have not sent in your child's permission slip yet, please send it in before 9:00 am on Tuesday. No late permission slips will be accepted in the front office after Tuesday morning. Thank you!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week in Review ~ September 26th - 30th

It was a BUSY, BUSY, BUSY week in K2! On Wednesday we started our fall school-wide read aloud of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Our school now has a yellow brick road wrapping through the hallways at JA as well as some other great displays throughout the school. The K2ers are enjoying the story so far and we have been discussing some differences between the book and the movie that many have seen. So far, we have met Dorothy, the good witch and the scarecrow. They can't wait to see which character we meet next.

In ELA this week we talked about how we can get along with friends. We read the stories "What About Bear?", "The Lion and the Mouse", and "How to Be a Good Friend." We focused on the letter Mm by practicing the proper formation of uppercase and lowercase Mm, brainstorming words that begin with the letter Mm and sorting pictures by the initial sound of /m/ and the final sound of /m/. Our new sight word this week was the word "the" and our vocabulary words were friend, problem, escape, grasped and rescue. We also introduced what a noun is. In learning centers the K2ers sorted pictures by whether they were a person, place, thing or animal. They also wrote in their journals about what they like to do with their friends and what they share with their friends. This week they were also introduced to a favorite center activity called "I spy..." where the K2ers wear special I spy glasses and look around the room for picture cards with words that begin with a certain letter. They did a great job hunting for the Mm cards!

In math this week we finished up Topic 1 and on Friday we worked on the topic assessment. We will finish up the assessment on Monday and begin Topic 2 on Tuesday. In Topic 2 we will be counting and comparing numbers 0 - 5. I am SO impressed with how well everyone is writing their numbers...keep up the great work!

On the top of the home page of our blog I have added some new tabs. In my blog survey one suggestion that was given was to add a breakdown of our day so you can now see our daily schedule by clicking on the "K2 Schedule" tab. I also added a tab titled "What's Coming Up..." where you will see any important dates for the upcoming week(s). If you did not fill out our Class Blog Survey please take a minute to do so! It was posted on Wednesday, September 21st.

On Monday, K2 will have extra gym so please remember to send your child to school with sneakers that day.
Enjoy your {rainy} weekend...when I am not in a hockey rink I hope to be watching all the Big Papi tributes!

Posted with Blogsy