And the winner is…

Timothy!

Miss Haas didn't do so bad herself eeking out a win by one basket over Mrs. Wong! Congratulations to all who participated!

Farm animals was the theme of this week. We read Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown and drew and labeled farm animals in our very own barn book. We also practiced rhyming. We wrapped up our math unit on measurement with a Topic Test on Thursday. The kids did very well on their spelling test on Thursday as well. Great job everyone! We've been observing our caterpillars and they are huge! Perhaps they will be in the third stage of metamorphosis when we return on Monday - ask you child what they look like! In Religion we talked about how everyday is filled with making choices and how God wants us to make good choices.

We have a field trip to the Academy of Science on Thursday, May 3rd. Snack will be provided that day and we will return to school in time for lunch.

April 16 - 20, 2012

Last week, the students were hard at work in the classroom! In Language Arts, the students focused on the long and short vowel sounds of the letters "a" and "e". They completed "Word Work" in order to figure out if the vowel sound was long or short. They did a great job! In Math, the students started a unit on Length and Measurement. The boys and girls loved walking around the room and measuring objects with cutouts of their own feet! The kindergarteners also began learning about butterflies in Science. They took turns observing the caterpillars in the classroom that will soon turn into Painted Ladies!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

April 2 - 6, 2012

We hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Easter vacation! The boys and girls had a wonderful time last week gearing up for the big day! The week was filled with fun crafts like making Easter bunny baskets, dyeing Easter eggs, and going for an Easter egg hunt on the lawn in front of school. The kindergarteners had so much fun!

They also managed to buckle down and get some work done as well. The students completed their Topic Test on Shapes last week. The students also listened to the story, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, and put their ideas and imagination to the test with their own purple crayons.

Thank you to all of the families who were able to bring in hard boiled eggs for dyeing! Have a great day!

March 26-30, 2012

Overheard in the classroom...
"My mama thinks I'm a good artist"
"You are a stupendous artist!"


In Language Arts this week the children learned their Ch-, Sh-, and Th- sounds by filling in the missing sound to create a word.

We started a new topic in math - geometry. During math centers the children traced geometric shapes, built structures with blocks and drew them, as well as shape sticker art. We read Pezzetino by Leo Lionni which means "little piece". The children then created a work of art by using little pieces of squares.

Science continued with the parts of a plant as well as their function. The children made flower art using paper plates for the flower, pipe cleaners for the stem and brown yarn for the roots. They also got a chance to observe and draw a seed in their science journals.

Note: Due to the short week we will not be having a spelling test this week (April 2-6) nor will reading book bags be sent home!

March 19-23, 2012

Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and

meditative occupation.  It is an insatiable passion, 

like everything else to which a man gives his heart.  

~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931

With the start of Spring, we're taking this quote by Czech author Karel Capek to heart. We welcomed spring this week with many activities. We dug into the literacy garden with The Gigantic Turnip by Aleksei Tolstoy and Niamh Sharkey as we wondered and discovered what a turnip is! In Language Arts, the children sequenced the characters who tried to pull out that gigantic turnip, read the classroom, and played a round of Alphabet Parking Lot. In Buzz Groups, we discussed what our favorite movie is - Tangled was at the top of the list!

In Math this week we finished up learning about patterns with beautiful bracelets as well as sticker and shape patterns. Check them out on the walls outside the Kindergarten classroom!

We continued to celebrate Spring in Science by learning about the parts of a plant as well as what a plant needs to survive: soil, sun, and food. The children also got their hands a little dirty by planting their own grass. We will continue with this unit over the next few weeks.

We also said good-bye to all things winter and welcomed in Spring with a water color painting for our monthly art project.

Reminders: Monday is a minimum day

A bit of trivia: Did you know that the Czech author Karel Capek created the word "Robot" in his book RUR?

March 12 - 16, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This week, the kindergarteners were in the St. Patty's Day spirit. In Language Arts, the boys and girls completed a Wet Weather / Dry Weather Sort, and polished their vowel sound skills with an activity where they had to pick pictures and write the word under the appropriate vowel sound. They did a great job! We began patterns in Math, and the students had fun creating and comparing color, shape and growing patterns! The kindergarteners also concluded their unit on Nutrition. They enjoyed learning how to be healthy by eating proper foods that will help them grow big and strong!

On Thursday, the boys and girls did a wonderful job performing "I'm a Little Leprechaun" and "I'm a Little Shamrock" at the St. Patrick's Day Assembly in the gym. We came back into the classroom to find that we received a visit from none other than Seamus, the notorious STM Leprechaun! Our room was chaos! Chairs were turned over, shamrocks and candy were everywhere, the calendar was in disarray, and our behavior chart was upside down! He was a very tricky leprechaun! The kindergarteners had so much fun looking around to see what tricks he had played.

Thanks again to the Room Moms, Carol and Melissa, for helping out with the Saint Patrick's Day festivities! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

March 5- March 9, 2012

The students have been learning a lot this past week! In Language Arts, the kindergarteners participated in three centers, Reading Rhymes, Missing Letter Sounds, and Phonics. They are really getting the hang of sounding out words and rhyming! They also took their very first spelling test on Friday, which went very well. In Math, the students have been practicing their subtraction, and took their Topic 7 Test. They also had fun playing different Math Games with each other! Science took us into the world of healthy habits and nutrition. The students were really interested in learning about the different food groups.

A production of Oliver Twist came to STM on Monday. The kindergarteners were very well behaved and really enjoyed the show! On Friday, the school had a Fitness Assembly in the gym. The speaker brought various types of games and fun fitness toys to promote healthy living. He even had some great tips for leading a positive lifestyle, like being kind to everyone.  The students loved it because it was interactive and high energy!

Reminders for next week: No school on Friday, March 16.

Thank you!