Lucy

A Special Visitor

Lucy the Gecko came with her friend Mrs. Bishop to visit us today. We were all able to touch her and then we built a maze out of blocks for her to travel through.

A Kindergarten Greeting

Happy Holidays from the Kindergarten!

Circle Time

At circle today I was told:

"Mrs. Couture, I just can't concentrate, it is too close to Christmas!"

Holiday Stories

The students are very excited about the holidays and have been bringing in their favorite holiday books to share during read aloud time. Today we read Dream Snow by Eric Carle. In this book a farmer has five animals that he cares for. He falls asleep one night and dreams of snow, lots and lots of snow. When he awakes he quickly packs a sack of decorations and toys and decorates the tree beside the barn where the animals sleep. When he is done he pushes a special button which plays music for the animals. We pushed the button over and over we like it so much! :)

Read Aloud

Today we read A Wish To Be A Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe. This book tells the story of a tall, lonely tree that waits to be picked as someones Christmas tree. Every year he watches other trees get picked by families while he just gets taller and taller. He is very sad until his friends (a squirrel, birds, deer and other woodland creatures) help to make his Christmas wish finally come true by decorating him where he stands in the tree farm. It is a great story about friendship and hope!

Reading To our Class

Browsing Box Reading

After spending time reading leveled text from individual browsing boxes to themselves and to each other students asked if they could read to the class! Reading text at an appropriate level allows students to practice with the concepts of print and builds reading confidence and fluency.

More Decorating

The Decorating!

Santa Stars

Fire Station Decorations

We worked very hard to create some decorations to decorate the South Hero Fire Station as a community service project. We talked about what community service is and what it means to donate.

Funny Kindergarten Quotes

One of the many reasons I love working with kindergarten students is the great things they say, for example . .

• "A really long, long time ago when I was 4 I did that!" (She is 5 now)
• I was telling a story about one of my boys and one response was: "Mrs. Couture your boys are hilarious!"

Welcome Back

We had a great first day back from Thanksgiving break! During morning meeting we shared events from our week off, we caught our calendar up in number corner (10 days to catch up on is a lot in one day), participated in math work places during math time, started talking and writing about our families holiday traditions during social studies and played together during free choice time. It was nice to be back together!

Words Come Alive

Today was our second session of Words Come Alive with Lida, Flynn Teaching Artist and our friends from Isle LaMotte. This time the kindergarten and first grade from Isle LaMotte joined us for Social Studies. Mrs. Frank (their teacher) read us a book called Families are Different and then lead us in a project of using buttons to represent the members of our own families. After lunch and recess we all came back together to dance! When our dance time was over we all participated in free choice in our classroom. It was a busy, fun day in the Folsom kindergarten room :)

Today starts our first vacation from school since we began in September. Enjoy!

A Story With Ms. Cohn

Ms. Cohn, our speech/language pathologist, visited our classroom today to share a story. It was about a woman who made beautiful quilts to give to people who needed them. she taught a greedy king how to be happy by giving instead of receiving. He was rewarded with a feeling of happiness and with one of her quilts! Ms. Cohn brought quilt pieces with her as well as a globe to show the many places the king visited giving gifts. We had a great time!

Family Book Bin

We opened a new bin of books today all about families! Here are  a few examples of books in our new bin:

• You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World by Barbara Kerley  - This book depicts a great collection of photographs ad words portraying different activities parents and children enjoy together around the world. There are pictures from India, Germany, China, Australia and more!
• Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman - A favorite at our house! The poor bird falls out of the nest and then begins a search for his mother, asking a dog a cow and more: "are you my mother?"
• My Family is Forever by Nancy Carlson - This book explores how some families are formed by adoption.
• Will There be a Lap For Me? by Dorothy Corey - In this book Kyle is worried about the new baby that is coming! First he loses his special spot (mom's lap) when her belly grows and then he is worried mom will be too busy for him.

The Keeping Quilt

We read The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco today. It is a story about a quilt passed along from mother to daughter for almost a century. We used the story to deepen our understanding of family, traditions within a family as well as customs. It was also a great way to talk about quilts before we started our pattern  quilt in math.

Circle Pass

We danced with a scarf today during our Words Come Alive time.

Words Come Alive

A quote from one of our students during our Flynn Words Come Alive seesion: "I looked around and saw all the dance moves and I wanted to do them all!"

Technology With Mrs. Hayes

Every Thursday is Tech Time! So far this year we have explored logging on, pattern block problem solving and different applications on a program called kidspiration. All activities are planned to support classroom topics and activities.

Our Amazing Kindergarten!

Foodplay Assembly

We attended a Foodplay presentation today, which is a play designed to turn kids on to healthy habits. Topics covered included eating "go" foods instead of "whoa" foods, getting plenty of exercise, and learning about what is actually in "whoa" foods. Ask your child for more details. There is also information and resources on their website: www.foodplay.com. The play was funny and informative!

Special Guests

We were lucky enough to have two special guests this morning! We are planning to use these two beautiful babies as we discuss the past, present & future and document growth over time. Yesterday we looked at our own baby pictures and guessed who was who. We have changed so much over time already it was hard to tell!

November Number Corner

We started our November calendar today with calendar markers called "One Dot, Many Dots!" The markers are a simple growing pattern that adds 1 dot per day to a growing collection of dots. There are a variety of patterns to notice during this month, which is a new way for us to talk about patterns. Instead of a sequence continuing over and over (ABABAB) we will begin to see patterns as sequences of shapes or numbers that grow in a predictable way.  Each day we will add a marker and discuss what we notice. We will then record comments on a chart that asks us how many dots, what color they are ,and what comparisons we are able to make based on this information. Participating in these number corner activities will provide us with the opportunity to practice the following skills & concepts:

• compare sets of objects and determine whether they have the same, fewer, or more objects
• use and understand the words one/many, one/some/all, more/less, most/least, equal to/more than/less than
• describe numbers using 5 as a benchmark
• describe and extend simple growing and repeating patterns
• count and read numerals to 31
• identify ordinal positions through the 31st

Table Choice Time

There are times that we are so excited and ready to get to work, we forget to take care of a few things! Way too cute!

Bucket of Frogs

We opened a new math workplace today called "Bucket of Frogs" It is just what it sounds like, a bucket of of frogs of all sorts of colors and sizes. Upon  first glance it looks like students working at this workplace are playing with a bunch of frogs. Closer listening and watching, however, will soon reveal the math happening. While playing students are counting (by ones and tens when using the counting mats) sorting, classifying, patterning,  and practicing one-to-one correspondence. There is nothing like hands-on learning and having fun combined in one activity!

Bugs, Tallies & Numbers Bingo

In today's math session we matched the ten-frame bug cards, number cards and tally cards in the pocket chart and explored ways to count and compare before playing a bingo game. This game challenged us to count the bugs or sticks we see on the calling card, find the matching numbers and cover them up. We found out there a lot of ways to show numbers! Skills involved in this activity include counting, instant recognition of quantities to 5 and recognizing numerals.

Go-Shapes!

During free choice these students turned a shape and color memory game into a go-fish game, all on their own!

Partner Reading

Fire Station Field Trip

Thanks to Kim Julow and her helpers, Patrick and Andrew! They taught us about fire safety and what they do for our community. Andrew and Patrick dressed up in their protective gear so we could see what they would like if they ever had to come into our homes to help us. It was not scary at all! We were then able to check out the fire trucks and station house. I was a little worried in the morning because I did not know if we had any chaperones to help us walk there safely. After a quick email 4 people volunteered making our trip possible. Thanks!

Our Sense of Taste

We experimented with our sense of taste today. We read the book Tasting by Sharon Gordon and learned that the taste buds on our tongue help us taste foods that are sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Then we tasted different foods to determine if they were sweet, salty, sour and bitter. I wish I had taken some pictures because their little faces were priceless! Our next activity is a popcorn party which will wrap up our unit on the 5 senses.

Hanging Out Together

Library on Wednesdays

The kindergartners have been visiting sections of the library. Today they discovered the 300s, which contains fairytales. So far, we have visited the 500s (natural sciences), 600s (technology), and 700s (the arts) as well as picture books and Everybody books (our first readers and first chapter books).

Please remember to help your child return library books on Wednesdays so they can check out new books. Thank you, Mrs. Hayes

PBIS

We had our school wide kick off for our new PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions & Support) program. Students in K-8 met in the gym and then broke into groups to record what it would look like, sound like, and feel like in different areas of the school if we are following our school rules of Be Kind, Be Safe & Be Responsible. Each group then worked on a way to illustrate our rules with posters, still pictures or videos. The afternoon ended with the band and all of us singing our Folsom Hero song.

Some kindergarten students were a little nervous before the activities began. We talked a lot about how when things are unknown or different we may get butterflies. I think they all did great and are proud of themselves!

Kindness

We read Nico & Lola by Meggan Hill. In this book Nico is asked by his Aunt to care for her dog Lola for the weekend. He asks himself in the beginning "How will I be so Kind?" This is a heartwarming story that we used to remind ourselves of how we can be just a little bit kinder in everything we do.

Science Explorations

Mystery Bags

Mystery Bags

We had a great time exploring our sense of touch in science today. We began with a group discussion with some focus questions.

 "What happens when you close your eyes?"

 "How can you tell who is sitting next to you?"

" How could you get to the door?"

"How would you know when you got to the door?"

"How can you move about with your eyes closed?"

We then used some mystery bags to talk about objects without looking at them and asked more questions.

"What does your sense of touch tell you?"

"What does the object feel like?"

"Can you tell what something is without looking?"

We ended using a different set of mystery bags. Each bag had a matching bag. Students described what they were feeling in each bag to match the objects. No one peeked, everyone cooperated and we did it! The vocabulary during this activity was astounding! I have tried to upload a video but am not sure if I can make it work or not. I am having some technical difficulties :)

Pattern Blocks

How many pattern blocks tall do you think this tower is?!

Free Choice

We have free choice time each day. During that time students choose from a variety of learning centers and play stations. Our choices include ABC center, math work places, listening center, blocks, puzzles, legos, art, rice table and classroom library. This week we are opening the dramatic play corner.

Science Explorations

Our Five Senses

We have been busy exploring our five senses through a variety of science, literacy, and writing activities. Today, we talked specifically about our sense of touch with a mystery bag. We passed around a bag with an object hidden inside. We took turns reaching in the bag to touch the object and together compiled a list of describing words that would tell about the object. The last person reached inside the bag and took the object out. It was a pineapple! We passed it around the circle one more time to add to our list of words, this time using touch and sight. Then, of course we ended our science time by cutting it up and using our senses of taste and smell. Delicious!

Preparing for Open House

We were busy today cooking for open house, which is on Thursday, at 6:00. We worked together to make apple bread using some of our local Hackett's Orchard apples! This provided the opportunity for a wealth of learning opportunities such as working collaboratively, reading a developmentally appropriate recipe, using new vocabulary (ingredients, recipe, cooking utensils, etc), measuring, pouring and many more science and math concepts. We hope you come sample the result at open house!

Fire Drill

We had our first fire drill today and the kindergarten did an amazing job! They lined right up, walked outside quickly and quietly, and remained still and quiet in line throughout the entire drill. When we came back in they got right back to work on the project we had to leave when the alarm sounded. They are very proud of themselves and I think a little relieved that the first one is over and they now know what to expect. Great job Kindergarten, I am very proud of you!!!!

Our Hackett's Orchard Trip

Hackett's Orchard Trip

We had a great time at Hackett's Orchard! We learned a lot about apples and a working orchard, enjoyed some time on the playground, and finished the trip with a tractor ride around the orchard and then back to Folsom. We were also lucky enough to have Riley's Dad and Sophia's Dad join us as well as my sons Landon and Mac with their Nannie! It was such a nice way to spend a Fall morning in South Hero :)

The Fruits of our Labor

Land, Farms & Me

We have been spending a lot of time learning about apples, using them as a vehicle for our 5 senses unit,  as well as learning about local food sources. Today, our focus was what we get from an apple. We brainstormed an extensive list of apple foods and then used an apple grab-bag that had items we never even thought of. I will let your child fill you in about that! Next, we used choppers, spoons, strainers and a lot of energy to make our own apple cider! It was very exciting! Tomorrow we head to Hackett's Orchard to experience an actual apple orchard.  

Pattern Block Designs

Listening Center

Our listening center is now open! Students have really enjoyed listening to stories on tape this week. Before opening the center we completed a guided discovery where we were able to practice appropriate, independent use of the equipment and books. This has allowed us the opportunity to independently use the listening center during learning centers and free choice time. Our books this week are, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten and The Apple Pie Tree.

Library

Great job bringing library books back yesterday!

Disappearing Willie

Meet our friend Willie! He was on the white board when we got to school. When we guessed the clue in a rhyming riddle we were able to erase part of Willie. Here is an example:

He can't smell a rose,

If you erase his _________!

Poor Willie, we are so good at rhyming that before we knew it, he had disappeared!

Hanging Out Together

Fundations

Today was day one of our Fundations lessons. Fundations is a systemaitc and sequetial phonics program. Skills taught include letter identification, letter formation, phonological awareness. sound mastery (letter to sound and sound to letter) and phonics (sound-symbol knowledge and sound blending into words). During our lesson today we met an owl puppet named Echo, became familar with our writing gird, practiced our pencil grips and used the dry erase boards. Fundations lessons are interactive and taught directly by the teacher with modeling and active learning. I will let your student fill you in on the rest!

Belonging

Classroom Puzzle

Students worked collaboratively to create a classroom puzzle to create a visual representation of the concept of belonging. Each student decorated a unique puzzle piece and then fit them together in one class puzzle. This activity comes from the Supportive Classroom Curriculum; a school wide social curriculum aimed at creating safe and supportive classroom environments. The core concepts are belonging, trust, sharing and respect.

A Great Beginning!

We have had a great couple of days. Each day the children seem to feel more and more comfortable. I have slowly introduced materials this week and will continue to do so. Please feel free to call with any questions or concerns. The school number is 372-6600. My school email address is tarcout@gisu.org

Our Class

A Great First Day!

We had a wonderful first day together. We participated in 3 guided discoveries, thereby opening books, pop-cubes and watercolors. We read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and created a special project to take home based on the book. After lunch we went to library and then to art class. I am looking forward to another fun day tomorrow!

Welcome!

School begins for kindergarten students September 7 at 8:00. I will meet students at the door. We have a busy fun day planned!