Book Fair...

We will be going to the book fair tomorrow, Tuesday the 21st!  We will also have literacy night tomorrow from 6-8.  I hope to see everyone there!  I'll be there with my kiddos!

Experiments...

We read the book "What Scientists Do?" to learn about scientists. We just started to learn about observations and how to make observations. We are reading the book "My Five Senses" to help us learn about what we use to observe. Today we learned about our sense of sight and hearing. The children observed how gobstoppers change in water. The children loved watching the gobstoppers change color and seeing the water change. I heard a lot of the children asking great questions and making predictions. In addition, the children learned scientists write and draw about what they see and do. Once the experiment concluded they had to record what they saw. It was a lot of fun...I am looking forward to our experiment on Friday where we will utilize all of our senses.

Story Writing...Oh My...

I have to say what an amazing week it has been in writing! This week we began discussing simple stories with a beginning, middle, and end. The children had to draw a 3 picture story and then add words and/or sentences to describe the pictures. I was amazed how hard the children worked and the stories they were able to write. This week the focus was on choosing one topic and drawing the 3 pictures to tell the story on the topic. Next week, we will delve further into story writing by choosing one topic and taking the one topic to sequence even further by making it cohesive. Since this was the beginning of story writing I decided when I was talking with the children, I concentrated on making sure they were only writing on one single topic and having them think about first, second, and last. I hope your child has mentioned this to you at home because it was a wonderful sight to see in the classroom. If you have not checked out our You Tube Channel (www.youtube.com/mrstahlkindergarten) please do as you will see a few stories uploaded. In addition, here are some pictures of the children working hard...

Drama Fun...

From Drama Reading

This week in our Read Well small groups the children practiced their fluency by reading one of their favorite passages. The children in their group created a headband to depict the story they were reading. Last week we saw two of the four groups and this coming week we will see the other two groups. It was a lot of fun watching the children perform their stories. It was also a great chance for children to practice their fluency, voice level, and confidence. I had a blast and watching the children's faces I believe they had a blast too!

Puppet Learning...

Through generous donations we received puppets for our classroom to aid in our literacy learning. We are using the puppets to help retell stories we have read and also to make-up our own stories to write about. We began using the puppets yesterday to begin our story telling. It was exciting to see the children interacting and telling stories with the puppets. The children then had a chance go off and write about their storytelling. It was fantastic to see the early stages of this new type of learning! Check back in later in the next week to see some of the writing products!

Gingerbread Week...

We are beginning one of my favorite units this week, Gingerbread (the other ones occur in January and May). In Literacy we will be reading "The Gingerbread Man" and other gingerbread stories. We will be working on sequencing and then comparing/contrasting the various stories. In math we will be working with nonstandard measurement, relative position (above, under, over, across, etc.), and 3-D dimensional objects. On Friday we will make gingerbread houses. Your child will bring home their house on Friday too and you may display it at your home for the holidays. You should have received a pink sheet detailing our project. To make the project a success we need your help in supplying some materials; however, this is optional for you to send in the items. We are in need of graham crackers, small candies, and frosting. I circled a specific item for your child to bring in to make sure we had a enough of everything; however, you are more than welcome to help supply other items as well. I know the kids will be excited to make the houses! Thank you in advance for your help and as always thank you for everything you do!