We Are Thankful!

Here is our first podcast of the school year! The kids share what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy!

This should be able to to play on Quicktime. Let me know if you are having any issues watching our podcast.

Thanksgiving Feast

We had an amazing feast at school on Monday. The students ate turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, greens, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, juice and pie! The students really enjoyed all the food. Thank you SO much to all the parents who came to help out or donated a dish! It was a huge job to serve all the students in our village!

Waiting for our food....

Time to eat!!! Yum yum!

So many different kinds of pie for dessert!

Even my mom came to help out!

We sang Thanksgiving songs with Ms. Ritter after we finished our food.

We finished the lunch with a walk with Coach Marbury!

Bagel Sale & Other Reminders

Monday, November 22nd will be our Thanksgiving Feast. Students will have turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, greens and pumpkin pie for their lunch. If you volunteered to help, please be here at 11:15 to pass out food at 11:30 to the students. Students may wear "dressy free dress." Please no jeans or sweats.

Mr. Curran's 4th grade class will be holding a bagel sale on Wednesday, November 24th before school for their going global philanthropy project. Students who purchase a bagel will be able to eat it at snack time in the classroom. It will cost $1.50 for a bagel, juice, and cream cheese.

Our school will be closed Thursday, November 25 & Friday, November 26th for Thanksgiving Break.

Exhibition week is November 29-December 3rd. Please use the break time to have your child practice their exhibition.

Shining Light

Congrats Javon, our Shining Light! This week Javon really worked hard on his social goal in the classroom. He also turned in a wonderful Milestone #4 visual aid. We are proud of you!

Hello Neighbor

Each morning our day beings with a friendly greeting. One of our favorites is the song, "Hello Neighbor." As the kids sing the song and do the actions they switch buddies and go around the circle saying, "Hello!" to all the students in the room. Here is a bit of that greeting...

No Book Bags This Week

Just letting parents know that this week students will not be bringing home a read book in a bag. I am meeting with students individually to complete leveled reading tests. I will report progress at the learning team meetings after exhibitions.

This week we are starting work on our first podcast of first grade! We will be reading and illustrating the book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie." I'll post it up as soon as it is completed.

Below is a great document I received from my teacher in my grad class at Oakland University about the benefits of children spending time engaged in play. I hope you enjoy it. The number of benefits is quite overwhelming!

When I play on large muscle equipment, I learn…

coordination

sharing

new words

taking turns

sequence

time

confidence

how things work

first-last

creativity

imagination

position

direction

When I play with art materials, I learn…

colors

color mixing

properties of matter

creativity

new words

eye-hand coordination

problem solving

cooperation

how things work

shapes

textures

pride in my work

independence

self-reliance

When I play with blocks, I learn…

balance

gravity

position

size

eye-hand coordination

shape

creativity

new words

problem solving

numbers

pride

design

self-confidence

When I play with games and puzzles, I learn…

eye-hand coordination

problem solving

shapes

colors

sizes

sorting

spatial relationships

new words

number

counting

positions

cooperation

sharing

When I Play “Let’s Pretend,” I learn…

new words

sharing

how it feels to be someone else

eye-hand coordination

problem solving

cleaning up

respect for others feelings and property

self-confidence

independence

self-reliance

cooperation

expressive language

When I “read” a book or am read to, I learn…

new words

sentence structure

listening skills

creativity & imagination

a love of books

new information

expressive language

logical thinking

eye-hand coordination

reading readiness

sequence (left-right progression)

When I cook, I learn…

new words

measuring

properties of matter

textures

weights

expressive language

using 5 senses

eye-hand coordination

good nutrition

When I work at social studies, I learn…

about myself

about my country

about other cultures

about careers

When I work with letters, I learn…

fine motor control

name, shape and sound of letters

following directions

eye-hand coordination

When I’m at the listening center, I learn…

to listen attentively

make sense out of what is heard

expand my vocabulary

develop a sense of story

eye-hand coordination

Shining Light

Congrats Tylor! He won shining light this week for working SO hard in writing all week! We are proud of you Tylor!

Also, Milestone #4 is due this Thursday, November 18th. Check out these old blog posts to see some wonderful exhibition visual aids from last year.

Kindergarten June Exhibitions:

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Upcoming Dates

November 18: Parents as Partners Meeting

November 18: Milestone #4- Complete Visual Aids Due

November 19: Free Dress for $1.00

November 25-26 Thanksgiving Break

November 29- December 3: Exhibition Week

December 8: First Grade Winter Concert

December 10: Report Cards Go Home

Sunny D Lables

For our class to receive 20 free books, we need to collect 20 Sunny D Labels. I just checked out the "official" rules on their website and the individual labels for the individual size juices are not accepted. That means we currently have 14 labels. The web site states the outer wrapping for the multi-pack individual juices are OK to send in. The company needs to receive our labels by November 30th- so please keep sending them in! The kids and I appreciate all your help!

Shining Light

Congrats Jaden! He was the shining light this week! Jaden won because I noticed how focused he has been is writing class all week! Keep up the good work! We are proud of you!

I also wanted to let the parents know how supportive the whole class is. Each week after our Shining Light is announced, the rest of the class gives high-fives and tells the winner, "Good Job!" Its so wonderful to see how kind the kids are in our class!

Book Fair

Our school's Book Fair this year will be tomorrow, Wednesday, November 3rd from 4:30-6:30. There will be a great selection of books and fun items at the fair. We will have literacy workshops and special book readings beginning at 5:00. Get a jump on the holidays and start your shopping here. Visit all of our literacy stations for your chance to be entered into the raffle for a free gift.

Reminder

There is no school tomorrow, Tuesday, November 2nd.