Wow, what a beautiful weekend. The first snowfall is always so amazingly peaceful and beautiful. It always brings a smile to my face to see my kids outside making snow forts, snow angels, and having a snowball fight... and then heading inside for a cup of hot chocolate. We didn't make it sledding, but I am sure there will be many opportunities for that this winter. Now that the snow is officially here, it is important to remember the snow policies at May Watts. We do still go outside everyday, and only kids wearing snow pants and boots are allowed on the playground and in the snow. If a child does not have these items, they must stay on the blacktop. It is important for kids to wear their hats and gloves everyday as well. We are outside for at least 30 minutes in the afternoon, and it is COLD! Thank you all for helping your children learn to zip and pull their sleeves out of their coats..things are going smoother...we will see how it goes with snow pants and boots added into the mix! :)
Next week we will be learning about things that start with the letter D. Students will hear stories about dogs and dinosaurs. We will discuss the difference between fiction and non-fiction and talk about the beginning, middle, and end of stories. Students will brainstorm verbs that start with D, and use them to write about a dinosaur. In writer's workshop, we will no longer be doing grocery lists and nice notes, but will focus on simple books and things that make us joyful. I have seen some AMAZING writing going on in Kindergarten, and all the kids love to share their original work. Last week we worked together and re-wrote the story The Napping House by Audrey Wood. The class changed the setting to under the sea and came up with new characters (sea creatures). We used the book's pattern and titled our story-The Resting Coral Reef. Several of the children illustrated the book during writer's workshop and we will be sharing it with the other classes next week. I know they are proud of it, and they should be! It is fun to become writers and illustrators.
In math we will continue to work with measurement as we measure out the length of a dinosaur in the hall and practice balancing things in the pan balance. We have begun writing larger numbers (2-digit ones) and are practicing counting by 5's, 10's, and backwards. This month we started doing story problems at calendar and are working on writing number sentences (3 + 4=7). Students are also counting coins (nickels and pennies) and singing our coin songs everyday. This is a good time to pull out the math checklist and go over the second quarter skills at home.
We will complete our author study of Don and Audrey Wood this week and begin to compare and contrast gingerbread man/boy stories. If you have any versions of this much loved story at home, please think about sending it in so we can read it. The students will compare the setting, characters, and main events of these stories. Although they have similar patterns, there are some surprising differences. As I mentioned in the handout that came home on Friday, we would like to end the unit with a fun gingerbread decorating activity (SHHH this is a surprise). If you are able to send in some of those gingerbread cookie kits that were requested, please email me and let me know-any help will be GREATLY appreciated.
During the next few weeks we will also talk more about wants vs needs and holidays celebrated around the world. If you would like to share a family tradition or holiday celebration with our class, please let me know.
