Happy Thanksgiving!

We wanted to send out a big "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone from our class of turkeys!

Enjoy the break from school and we will see you all back on Tuesday, December 2nd. :)

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Week of November 24

 
 
Our Resources for the mini-week are: Monday- #1-18 P.E. and #19-37 will be in the classroom and Tuesday- Art. Wednesday is Kareem's birthday and Thursday is Thanksgiving. :)

Don't forget to work on the Mooseltoe Family Project over break.  We will see you all back on Tuesday December 2nd.

MATH 
We are wrapping up our mini-unit on patterns. The students have had fun using a variety of math tools to create a sorts of patterns. I have been really impressed by their abilities in this area. They have taken simple 2 color patterns and created much more difficult patterns. Making fall leaf patterns will be our final activity. On Tuesday we will use our math skills to complete some Thanksgiving-themed activities. 


ELA

(English Language Arts~ Reading and Writing)

The sight words we are focusing on are made and into. We are reading two different Thanksgiving Books and discussing the events that happen in each. Then we are discussing the traditions that our families have during this time and the yummy foods we eat. :) The book titles are Happy Thanksgiving by Margaret McNamara and 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey. 
On Tuesday we will be throwing in some Thanksgiving FUN by making turkey hats. :) Make sure to check the blog for pictures of the cutest turkeys EVER!!

Here is the video for 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving.

SCIENCE

We are finishing up our focus on movement and motion this week. The students have really stretched their brains thinking of ways objects move. They discovered that zippers move up and down, that clocks move around and around and a ramp can help make an object move faster.  As we move into December we will explore gravity!

Stuffed Animal Day

The kids were adorable today with their stuffed animals. They brought them to Centers and outside to Recess. :) We noticed that two boys brought the same animals today as they did the last time we had this special day! (It was super cute! They told me they LOVE their animals. One is a giraffe and the other is a bear blanket. )

Enjoy watching the slideshow. :)

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Spirit Winners AGAIN!!

We won spirit for Kindergarten and First Grade... WOOHOOOOOOO!! 

We would love to inform you of the other winners, but the class cheered super loud when they heard our names that we don't know who the other winners were today.  :) haha

Here is our super cool trophy!!

 

Thanksgiving Lunch

We wanted to say THANK YOU to all the parents that were able to make it in for Thanksgiving Lunch! The kids were so excited to spend that time with you today.  :)
 I also want to say thank you for allowing me to take the photos while you were eating. You guys were an awesome bunch!

Enjoy the slideshow!!

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Directions for the Mooseltoe Project

 Please follow these directions when completing the Class Project with your child. 

(The items will be going home Friday- Nov.21.) 

We will be reading this book in Class when we return from Thanksgiving Break. 
(Just in case you want a sneak peak... here is a Youtube video of a reading of the book.)

**We will be sending home these directions tomorrow, but just in case they get lost over break... 

make sure to check back here. :) **
First~ color/paint the moose (head and antlers, the mustache is already done for you)

Next~ cut out the moose head and attach the mustache on the face

Then~ decorate the antlers and the mustache

          *Decorate the antlers and the mustache with pictures of things you

          will be doing over Winter Vacation. You can use pictures from

          photographs, magazines, clip art or even make your own! Be inventive

          and have fun with your child. We do request NO FOOD Products!  We

          don’t want any unwanted visitors…

Finally~ send it to school.

This project will be due the week of December 2nd. They will be shared with the class as they are received and hung in the hallway to share with everyone at Chimney Lakes!

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We are very excited to see what you and your child come up with!! And... just in case you need some inspiration or motivation. Here is a slideshow of the ones the students made in my class last year. :)

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Holiday's Around the World Information

 Soon your child will be bringing home a flyer giving you a little information about the "flying" we will be doing in December for Holiday's Around the World.  To make the trip a success, we ask that every student send in an item by December 4. These items are for our daily treats and to make our souvenirs.  

*If you are able to send in any additional items, please let us know. *

Flight Itinerary for Chimney Lakes Airways

We fly Monday through Friday, from December 4 to December 16

Take off is daily at 9:15

Landing is at 10:00

December 2&3: Pack our suitcases!! (the paper bag kind, not real ones)

December 4: EGYPT

December 5: ISRAEL

December 8: CHINA

December 9: back packing around the Good 'ol U.S.A.  :)

December 10: MEXICO

December 11: NETHERLANDS

 December 12: ITALY

December 15: INDIA

December 16: GERMANY

December 17: Suitcases and souvenirs will be sent home.

Make sure to check the blog after our travels. We will be posting pictures of the treats we taste and the souvenirs we make. We are sure to have a ton of fun learning!

*This learning will take place during our Reading Block Time.  During this time period we will sway away from the Reading Curriculum and focus on promoting diversity and acceptance of other cultures. The Social Studies Standards we will address are: places and regions, the world in spatial terms and historical knowledge. 

Week of November 17

   
Our Resources for the week are: Monday- Art, Tuesday- #1-18 Music and #19-37 P.E., Wednesday- Music and  Friday- #1-18 Media and #19-37 P.E. Tuesday is Chuck E Cheese Night. Our school gets a portion of the proceeds made from 4:00-9:00. (We will both be stopping by for a little bit, hope to see you all there!) Wednesday is an Early Release Day. Friday is Stuffed Animal Day! (Please make sure the animal fits into your child's backpack. We only take them out in the classroom and during Recess.) Arianna will be bringing in Fun Friday Snacks for the class.

MATH

Patterns, patterns everywhere! Everywhere you look there are patterns of one sort or another. We learn about basic patterns in math as a building block for higher math concepts involving number patterns. Your child will be able to identify a pattern, make a pattern and continue a pattern after this short unit of study. We will apply our counting skills and develop our speech and language skills in our activities this week.

We have used this brain break video to get the wiggles out and allow the students to have a little fun. :) The video takes a minute to start and ends about the 4 minute mark. Enjoy!

ELA

(English Language Arts~ Reading and Writing)

The sight words we are focusing on are because, will, this and had. We are finishing up the seasons. We will focus on the season Summer and then review all four. The students will be expected to tell at least one piece of information about each season and match the tree to the season's name. Make sure to review information about them with your child and get them prepared for the assessment.
Here are a few tree's to help you out. :)
(These are the same trees I will be using on the test.)


We will also be writing about our favorite season and sharing information we have learned. (Ex. I like Winter bcuz the anmols hibrnat. **Remember when the students write, they write the sounds they hear.**) Then we will end the week using our Second Step Curriculum and discuss what it means to be a bully. We will share experiences we have had where we felt bullied and any where we might have been the bully.

Here is the slideshow of the book Summer from our Reading Series.

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SCIENCE

This week we will continue to explore motion. Specifically focused on pushes and pulls. Check out this great link we used in class. I know your child will enjoy doing the activity on their own!

Gloves Day!!

The temperatures were a little warm by the time we went to Recess, but that didn't stop anyone from going outside with their Gloves on. (If you notice your child is missing I apologize, some students didn't want to have their pictures taken and didn't come when I called for them.)

Enjoy the pictures!!

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Flag Raising Ceremony

On Friday, we had a Flag Raising Ceremony to honor all the Active Duty Military. Every student and employee in our school walked outside to participate in the special event. :) The event was scheduled by our Military Liason Kimberly Cruise.

It began with Military parents marching out. Then we sang along with the Chorus while they sang a few patriotic songs. After that we had the flag raising and we ended with a handful of students speaking about what their lives are like because their parents are in the military.  (The stories were all tear jerkers!! I believe every adult had tears in their eyes... Especially me!)

Enjoy the pictures!

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Week of November 12

Our Resources for our very short week are: Thursday- #1-18 P.E. and #19-37 MEDIA and Friday-ART. Friday is Gloves Day (and mittens too)! London will be bringing in Fun Friday Snacks for the class. (We still have lots of available dates to sign up for Fun Friday Snack. :) Email us what date you would like to send snacks in for. )

MATH

Comparing and ordering numbers and sets are important building blocks in Kindergarten math. We have spent many lessons learning and practicing these skills. Now it is time to show mastery of these benchmarks. The students will be assessed this week to determine if they have a firm understanding of these skills. We are also working with the concept of one more/one less this week.

I found this fun number word rap video for some of our super spellers! Enjoy!

ELA

(English Language Arts~ Reading and Writing)

The sight words we are focusing on are more, all and look. We will be using our Houghton Mifflin Reading Series, along with online books from Rourke E-Books and Capstone Library to continue learning about the seasons. We will focus on the seasons Winter and Spring.
 As we learn about the seasons we will practice retelling information about each one. Make sure to discuss them with your child and get them to tell share everything they have learned. :)

Here is the slideshow of the book Spring from our Reading Series. (Last week's post had the video for Winter. Check back if you need a review of the book) 

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SCIENCE

We are investigating ways objects move and how we can make objects move. Our vocabulary words include force, motion, push and pull. 

Here are 2 items you might enjoy checking out at home! A video of Sid the Science Kid and the youtube video below.

Light the Night Walk

Last night we had our Light the Night Walk and it was great!!!

THANK YOU to everyone that donated to our team~ Kentrell's Crew!!

Thanks to all of you, our team raised $355.00.
 All together, Jacksonville raised $411,680 for Leukemia and Lymphoma. :) If you would like to check out the teams and individuals that were on the leader board, go to this link.

 
Our team consisted of teachers, parents, kids and Kentrell's family. The teachers were Mrs. Walker (she was the Captain for our team), Mrs. Hope, Mrs. Pitts and myself. The parents were Mr. & Mrs. Cummings, Mrs. Gorton, Mrs. Nixon and Mr. Walker. The kids were Chayse, Kylee, Madison, Reagan, Shaine and Tyler. Along with Kentrell's Family~ his mother, father and sister, Taylor.
While we were walking, we ran into other teachers from our school walking for their friend, Helen Fant. The teachers were Ms. Durant, Ms. Godbold and Ms. Mary.

This was our team shirt with everyone's name printed on the back of it. :) The shirts were made by Design Works.

 

Well even though it was night time and we were walking... Mrs. Pitts and I had to take pictures. :) 
Enjoy seeing all the FUN we had!!!

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Songs for the Seasons

I did a little research on Youtube for songs about the Seasons. In case anyone was wondering, there are a ton out there!! haha I liked a few, but then I heard one of Mr. R's songs and I LOVED it! (You may remember the Mr. R songs from when we learned about the Five Senses.) I listened to all the songs Mr. R offered for seasons and I found them very catchy. I guarantee the students will LOVE ALL OF THEM!

Enjoy listening to the songs!

  

  

  

Week of November 3

We can't wait to see all the different boots on Friday! There are so many different types...cowboy boots, rain boots, hiking boots, even pink Princess boots!! :)

Our Resources for the week are: Monday- #1-18 MEDIA and #19-36 ART, Tuesday- #1-18 MEDIA and #19-36 P.E., Wednesday- ART and Friday- MUSIC. Wednesday is another Early Release Day. Friday is Boots Day! Calleigh will be bringing in Fun Friday Snacks for the class. (We have lots of available dates to sign up for snack. Email us what date you would like to send snack in for. ) Also, Scholastic Book orders are due by Friday. :) Order online at scholastic.com/readingclub. Our Class Activation Code is GLPLP.

**Be on the lookout for Report Cards and our Second Quarter Testing Information Sheet, both will be going home this week. Quick Reminder~ There is no school on Monday (Nov.10) and Tuesday (Nov.11). **

MATH

We will continue working on our comparing Standards. Now that we have had lots of practice comparing 2 numbers and groups we are taking the next step in comparing more than 2 numbers and groups. We will be ordering numbers toward the end of the week, which makes number recognition SUPER important!! We are learning numbers 11-15 this quarter so that is something you should definitely review at home.

ELA

(English Language Arts~ Reading and Writing)

The sight words we are focusing on are down, he, she and at. We will be using our Houghton Mifflin Reading Series, along with online books from Rourke E-Books and Capstone Library to learn about the seasons. We will begin with an overview of all four seasons (Here is a link to the book Seasons by Tracy Nelson Maurer.) and then we will focus on Fall and Winter.
 As we learn about the seasons we will practice retelling information about each one. Make sure to discuss them with your child and get them to tell share everything they have learned. :)

Here are two slideshows of the books from our Reading Series. 

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I realized last week I never really inform you all about what is going on with writing and I apologize. We practice writing a little bit every day, but on Thursday's we skip reading any books and our lessons solely focuses on writing. We discuss the differences between uppercase & lowercase letters, letters & words and words & sentences. Your child writes in their journals about opinions of books and other topics discussed in class. This quarter we will focus on drawing more details in our pictures and writing letters using some of the beginning sounds we hear, while also using the the sight words we have learned in class.

Please know that writing is a very complex process! There are many different stages of writing and with 36 students, everyone is in a different stage. Below are two pictures that can hopefully give you a better understanding of the Writing Process. :)
      

SCIENCE

We are moving on to new standards in Science. We will investigate that things move in different ways, such as fast, slow, etc. Also, students will observe that a push or a pull can change the way an object is moving. Check out this link on how animals move. It’s really neat!
*We will not have Science on Wednesday because of our Early Dismissal time.*