Spiders everywhere!

We are wrapping up the Spider Unit tomorrow! We've had so much fun adding and subtracting spiders, singing songs about spiders, drawing spiders, and even becoming one! I've already started sending some of their Center work home this week. Aren't you impressed? Here's a little glimpse of our week...

Our diagram we made in Science. We hung it up in the hallway on the Kindergarten bulletin board! Very proud!
Working in Math groups

Three Hungry Spiders was our favorite book!

We love spreading out and working!

The Itsy Bitsy Smart Spider was our favorite book this week!

Having fun with shapes in Math

The Spider and the Fly was our favorite book!

Simple Machines Carnival 10/28/09

Wednesday morning we were invited to the annual 3rd Grade Simple Machines Carnival. We went to Mrs. Ritzwoller's class and her students shared with us a simple machine they built at home. The 3rd graders did such a great job with the Kindergarteners, explaining their machine and letting the kids try them. I got some great pictures of our morning!

Line up! I have a surprise! We're going to a Carnival!
3rd Grade here we come!

Kindergarteners LOVED the doorway!

We rotated around the room.

Not sure, but I think we can pour water on the cabin.

Whoa! Did you see that?

Hhmm...does this one really have confetti? And the teachers are going to let us toss it up in the air? Really?

Yes, I'll take some confetti.

Determined to figure out how this one works.

I'm going to make a pulley in 3rd grade!

Focus...focus...focus...you did it!

Are you sure we can pour water on your cabin?

Did you see that, Mrs.Dooley? I love this one!

Of course you can pour water on the cabin! Thanks for having us, Mrs. Ritzwoller!

This lever is pretty cool!

Here, have some confetti!

Look, look, look at me! Watch this one!

Let me try next!

Buddies!

Tips to Encourage Reading

Dear Parents,

Below is a list of things you can do at home to encourage your child to develop a love of reading without it seeming like "work". My mother-in-law teaches education courses at TWU and is a wonderful resource for me when it comes to teaching reading. Some of these tips you may already know about and are doing - that is great! I just wanted to share this with you in case you wanted some fresh ideas. I know that you do so much at home to help prepare your child for school, and until your child is old enough to appreciate your hard work and dedication, please allow me to say THANK YOU for them!

Mrs. Dooley


* Put books in places your child will be. If books are beside the toy box, doll house, or family room your child will more than likely pick it up.

* Carry books along when you go to the dentist, doctor, or places you may have to wait. Reading a story or poem may actually soothe a fretful child while they are anxiously waiting for an appointment.

* Put books beside the bathtub. Soaking in the bathtub with a good book is a good habit to develop. In case one gets a little damp, it's easy to dry it out.

* Keep books and magazines in your child's room. They will choose reading more often if books and magazines are there. And when children are "grounded" or in "time out" and sent to their room, they need to find interesting things to do there.

* Have your child help with the grocery list. Children love the sense of accomplishment - and helping! - when they seek out items from the shopping list. Plus, you are getting your child to read - while seemingly doing something else.

* Read recipes. All reading doesn't happen in books. When you're cooking, or planning to, ask your child to help read the ingredients with you.

* Read road signs and names of buildings/stores. While you're driving, ask your child to read the signs - STOP, YIELD, etc. - and also the names of places - restaurants, stores, etc.

* Books on CD or online. None of us have time to read as much as we would like but that is no reason why our children should be denied this pleasure. You can check these out for FREE online or at your local library. Your child will be quietly listening and reading stories without you having to stop your schedule and sit with them. Listening to stories will help build their fluency and sight word recognition.

Will my pumpkin sink or float? I predict...

I hope you enjoy some pictures from our science lesson today on whether or not pumpkins float in water. First, we journaled our predictions. Then, I filled a bucket with water and let the children dunk their pumpkins. We came back together as a class and talked about our predictions and the results. Ask your child if they can remember why pumpkins float. (Answer: The seed cavity is hollow therefore there is a lot of air that allows the pumpkin to float. keyword "air") Check out our pictures!

This is what the students journaled today. I modeled the writing as they listened and copied the words into their own journals. We practiced letter sounds, blending sounds to make words and looked at upper and lower case letters. We also talked about proper spacing inbetween each word and across the page - only one finger space or the width of a pencil between each word.

Can we go first?

Can we go next? Pretty please?

Ready for our turn!

We are so excited!

Nathan, Brandon & E.J.

Andrew, Ryan & Kevin

Tristan, Zoe & Cole

J'Niya, Katelynn & Selena

Taylor, Marshall & Devin

Riley Mae, Surina & Ayden

Ella & Kaitlyn

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week starts next week to teach the school about saying no to drugs! We will be celebrating this daily with different crazy attire! Here is the schedule:

Monday “Put a Cap on Drugs”
Wear a hat to school.

Tuesday “Don’t Slip Up. Say NO to Drugs!”
Wear slippers to school.

Wednesday “Sock it to ‘Em!”
Wear your craziest socks to school.

Thursday 80’s Day
Wear 80’s clothes to school.

Friday “Team Up Against Drugs!”
Wear your favorite team jersey or shirt to school

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone participating!

Week of Oct.19 - Oct. 23

Wow! What a busy week it has been so far! I should have a webcam to capture all the hilarious moments we've had. The kids are so excited to come in each day and see what I have planned. They are so precious! Thanks for sharing them with me this year! A couple of things to keep you in the loop this week:

* We were fortunate enough to have the carpets and rugs in kindergarten shampooed over the weekend. Thank you for your donations of hand sanitizer and clorox wipes. We have such a clean room!

* This morning our grade level had a health screening in the library. Each child had their vision and hearing tested. Nurses also checked out their teeth, height and weight. The children were very cooperative and well-behaved with the nurses and volunteers! The school nurse will notify you with the results should there be any concerns.

* Wear BROWN tomorrow to celebrate our color word of the week. :-) Also, we have library so don't forget to bring back your books!

* District-wide meeting for kinder parents regarding GT testing for Kindergarteners will be at
Frisco High School on Tuesday, Oct. 27th from 6:30-7:30. You may contact Donna Gamble, Spears GT teacher, at gambled@friscoisd.org if you have any questions about the GT program.

Have a great night!

Blends, Chunks, & Word Families

What does all this mean and where can I get some answers?

First, check out our power point from Literacy Night that tells you all about how we teach reading and The Big Five we look at in Kindergarten. Click on the link (to the right) Spears Kinder Website - click on Kindergarten Resources - open up Literacy Night.

Second, you can check out these websites.
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/childhood/spelling/word_families/
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/phonics/worksheets/

abcteach.com is a great website if you need to find some extras for your child to do at home or in the car on road trips!

Third, GOOGLE! If at any time you are not sure about what something means or you need some more clarification never be afraid to Google! Be prepared for lots of information, but sometimes you can help the teachers find some great links that even we didn't know about!

Pictures - Pumpkin Unit

We started our Pumpkin Unit and had so much fun today! We read books and looked at some pictures. After our discussion, we watched a video on the life cycle of a pumpkin. We made our own diagram of the cycle and put it up on our science board in the classroom. Ask your child if they can remember some things about the life cycle of a pumpkin and also how it compares to the life cycle of an apple! We also had a chance to look at some seeds up close. I surprised the kids by bringing in some seeds for any student who wanted to try some. I had some students who chose not to and that was okay. I, personally, would rather have some chocolate over seeds any day of the week! Check out our pictures! I included the life cycle of an apple diagram for you.

The first picture is a diagram we journaled to help us get ready for the field trip tomorrow. Here are some very important science words we have discussed so far this year: seed, soil, roots, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, plant. In the picture you can see my diagram that I modeled as the students independently copied it into their journals. Don't forget to always model writing along with teaching reading! This was just one of my examples today! The kids were so proud we decided to take a picture so they could "show" you!

Kids Count - Guidance Lesson Oct. 13th

Our Kindergarten friends got to meet the Kids Count puppets during our guidance lesson today. The puppets talked about personal space, stranger danger, as well as the difference between secrets and surprises. Ask your precious kiddo about what they've learned!