Literacy in Kindergarten

 We read some books about a young boy named David, who often hears the words, "No, David" from those around him. We discovered that David needed some help to change his poor choices into good choices. As an extension of the story, we created a class chart with good choices and poor choices.
                                            
At  FIT ( Focused Instruction Time), we had  literacy centers in the classroom.

Mrs. Zahner, our literacy coach, helps kindergarten readers point to each word in their, "I See My Class" books.

Mrs. Michaud helps with the class name/photo matching game.

Mrs. Koch's group works on letter/sound  puzzles.

Information Night/ Open House Correction

The parent informational night/open house, scheduled for Thursday, September 20th is for students and families in grades 1-5, not for Kindergarten families.  We apologize for any confusion.  The Kindergarten team is off to a great year and we thank you for all your support. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Mammoth Sunflowers

We walked to Harrison field to look at some mammoth sunflowers. The seeds were planted by first graders last spring. The intent was for the kindergarten kids to have sunflower heads to study in the fall. We will bring some of these sunflowers into our classroom in the coming week, and will learn about the life cycle of a sunflower. How many different life cycles can we explore?

The mammoth sunflowers and the kindergarten kids

Practicing walking safely and crossing streets.

Caterpillar Observations

A Monarch Caterpillar

An Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

Last week, one student brought in a container with two caterpillars inside. We were able to watch the caterpillars eat, and eat, and eat until Friday. The caterpillars looked similar, but were not exactly the same.









On Friday, each caterpillar began to make a chrysalis. We noticed that one chrysalis was hanging down(the Monarch), and the other was jutting out from the stick. They were both green at the start.

 When we came to school on Monday, the Eastern Black Swallowtail chrysalis was completely camouflaged! We had trouble finding it, because it looked so much like a stick.

We will continue to keep on eye the metamorphosis of both types of caterpillars.

Snack Program Needs Help

Snack Director Needed

Help!

We Need a 

Head Snack Fairy 

In order to carry out our fantastic Snack Program we need a Head Snack Fairy. The Head Snack Fairy will need to plan snack menus, order food, organize volunteers and be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Ok, medium buildings. 

This school year position takes 8-10 hours a week and comes with a stipend. It could be shared or taken on by a dynamic, highly organized and super-friendly individual. Tell your friends also. 

Please contact Dana De Martino at UES 225-8205

Kindergarten Rocks!

You can click on any photo in this blog to make it a bigger size!

A Day in the Life of Kindergarten Kid

The message at morning meeting. Each student found their name and circled it!

We read this story today, and made a puzzle too!

A hungry gang at lunch time.

A special table that is "nut free".

What a wonderful line in the hall!

Quiet time begins

Quiet time is about 15 minutes long.

Some eyes were closed

Mine turned green!

Is it really magic?

It really did change colors.

Center time choices.

Water table

Dollhouse antics

Reading is ALWAYS an option

A very busy kitchen

Our first day together-YAY!

A Wonderful Welcome

It was really fun to visit your homes, and meet all of the families. Thank you for your hospitality. We will have an exciting two year journey together, as we explore, and encourage growth. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time with questions, concerns or ideas.

                         

 

 

 

 

Welcome

Hello new kindergarten families.

I am so excited about our upcoming kindergarten year together, and look forward to meeting all of you. I will be using this blog as a way to stay connected with the happenings at UES and in Room 7. You will see many posts from last year's first grade blog . I will be leaving these on so you can explore  a little bit, and can see  what to look forward to in the next two years.  (All children's pictures have been granted permission by a parent. I will be asking the same of you before I post pictures. No student names are ever connected to the photo!)

 Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns or comments. The best way to stay in touch is through email. My address is susank@mpsvt.org. If we bump into each other on the playground, at farmer's market or in town, please introduce yourself!

Upcoming Kindergarten dates:

August 25th- Playground Playdate 10:00-11:00- all rising kindergarten kids are invited to join their new teachers on the lower playground

August 29th or 30th- Family Visits- I will be calling to arrange a time to meet your family

August 31st- Open House-3:30-4:30- Come see room 7 at Union School

September 4th- First Day of School- All kindergarten students will begin! Yay!

Kindergarten Curriculum Resources

You may be interested in learning about our Kindergarten Curriculum Objectives. They are posted on our Union Elementary Website. For quick access from this blog click the link below. 

http://www.mpsvt.org/ues/about/curriculum/kindergarten-curriculum-objectives

Community Service Learning and Sustainability

MSMS teachers Sylvia Fagin and Don Taylor; UES teachers Melissa Pierce, Susan Koch and Emily Wrigley

The team from Montpelier poses for a group photo at Shelburne Farms. We spent the week working to develop projects which would provide opportunities for students to incorporate, place, community and sustainability into their schemas.

Summer Learning

I am spending this week at an institute at Shelburne Farms called  Community Works Institute-East(click on link for more information).CWI's Mission is to support educators in creating curriculum with place as the context, service-learning as the strategy, and sustainability as the goal.We are exploring the ECO(Educating Children Outdoors) program at Union School, and focusing on sustainability as a lens for viewing the world.

 

Mrs. Wrigley and I cannot wait to share our learning with all of you!