Each day we have "Writer's Workshop" and the children LOVE it! I am so proud of their progress. Here are a few examples of their work:
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Friday, April 19, 2013
Spring, Oceans, & Fine Arts Extravaganza!
It's been too long since my last post! Please forgive me! The days seem to be flying by so fast in Kindergarten! Before and after our spring break, the children enjoyed learning about Spring. They enjoyed books about the weather, flowers, bunnies, and chicks. Due to rain, our Easter egg hunt was cancelled but everyone enjoyed getting eggs and eating cookies! Thanks to everyone who sent in plastic eggs and candy for the kiddos!
Last week our unit of study was "Oceans". Books about fish, shells, oceans, and beaches were read aloud along with lots of activities and educational videos. I went to Florida during our spring break and was able to bring back sea shells donated by a family friend for each student in our class. All the children were so excited and happy to receive them! I also showed them sharks' teeth, a sand dollar, and other shells. Below are a few photos of crabs made from handprints. They turned out so cute!
Our school's Fine Arts Extravaganza was April 18th. Mrs. Adamson, our Art teacher, did a fantastic job of displaying students' artwork! Also, she and the art club (older students) created a huge, colorful, and amazing display out of colorful bottle caps of characters from Dr. Seuss's book, Cat in the Hat.
I will try to post more often! I hope you enjoyed these photos!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Friday, February 15, 2013
Valentine's Day and Our New SMARTboard!
Wow! It's been a busy week! Our Valentine's Day party was a success! The kiddos had so much fun! Thanks to everyone who helped make it fun for the children. I really appreciate your support.
Our unit this week was Friendship/Valentine's Day. The students and I made a chart about Friends and used the sentences from the chart for our "Shared Reading" time. The children drew pictures of themselves and a friend. They also wrote a sentence on a heart shaped paper and glued it on their paper. They all did a great job. They are displayed in our hallway.
After I wrote about our new SMARTboard in the newsletter last week, a few parents mentioned they didn't really know about this type of technology. It is also new to me, but I am learning more about it each day! The children love it! Here is a link with information about how a SMARTboard is used in classrooms:
Our unit this week was Friendship/Valentine's Day. The students and I made a chart about Friends and used the sentences from the chart for our "Shared Reading" time. The children drew pictures of themselves and a friend. They also wrote a sentence on a heart shaped paper and glued it on their paper. They all did a great job. They are displayed in our hallway.
After reading Froggy's First Kiss, the students wrote a sentence on both sides of a cut-out heart: "I would like to give a candy kiss to _________ and I would like to get a candy kiss from __________."The hearts are hanging from the ceiling in our classroom.
After I wrote about our new SMARTboard in the newsletter last week, a few parents mentioned they didn't really know about this type of technology. It is also new to me, but I am learning more about it each day! The children love it! Here is a link with information about how a SMARTboard is used in classrooms:
I hope this link will give you more information. Of course, please call me or the office if you have any questions.
Remember, there is NO school on Monday, February 18th. Have a great weekend!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Happy New Year!
Hello everyone! It's hard to believe January is about over! I apologize for neglecting this little classroom blog in December. The time has gone by so fast. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year too! It's hard to believe it's already 2013!
Our 2nd semester is off to a great start in Kindergarten. All the DRA's (reading level tests) are completed and I will begin Guided Reading groups the 1st full week of February. It is amazing to see how much the students have grown academically and I am confident each child will progress even more from small group instruction. I'll keep you updated!
Last week the children enjoyed a unit on Outer Space. They learned about the moon, planets, stars, and astronauts. I read informational texts (nonfiction) and fiction books. It was hard for them to fathom that I was a young girl when men went to the moon! Here is a photo of an anchor chart about astronauts. As we studied this subject, the students gave answers for the "can", "have", and "are" parts of the chart. Afterwards we wrote out sentences from the chart. They also made astronauts of themselves and wrote a sentence of their choice based off of the chart. Some of our mini-lessons during writers workshop have been about punctuation and always starting a sentence with an uppercase letter. They have been taught the meaning of a period, question mark, and explanation mark. They have also learned the meaning of quotation marks and commas. Of course, I will continue teaching and reviewing these skills throughout the school year.
Of course, this shows just a sample of the work the children have been doing. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. The rest of this week I will be focusing on shadows and groundhog day. I appreciate all of you who helped make the 100th day special for the children. I was so sad I couldn't be at school that day due to attending an educational conference. I hope your child had a fun day of learning!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Our 2nd semester is off to a great start in Kindergarten. All the DRA's (reading level tests) are completed and I will begin Guided Reading groups the 1st full week of February. It is amazing to see how much the students have grown academically and I am confident each child will progress even more from small group instruction. I'll keep you updated!
Last week the children enjoyed a unit on Outer Space. They learned about the moon, planets, stars, and astronauts. I read informational texts (nonfiction) and fiction books. It was hard for them to fathom that I was a young girl when men went to the moon! Here is a photo of an anchor chart about astronauts. As we studied this subject, the students gave answers for the "can", "have", and "are" parts of the chart. Afterwards we wrote out sentences from the chart. They also made astronauts of themselves and wrote a sentence of their choice based off of the chart. Some of our mini-lessons during writers workshop have been about punctuation and always starting a sentence with an uppercase letter. They have been taught the meaning of a period, question mark, and explanation mark. They have also learned the meaning of quotation marks and commas. Of course, I will continue teaching and reviewing these skills throughout the school year.
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Stone Soup and Turkeys!
Thanks to everyone who sent vegetables for our Stone Soup day! On Monday, the book Stone Soup was read aloud to all the kiddos. Here is a summary of the book: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stone-soup-marcia-brown/1100222926
The kindergarten classes were together in Mrs. Howerton's room for the morning activities. They also saw a short video about Stone Soup and made a graph of the types of vegetables that were put into the pot.
The soup cooked all day and everyone had an opportunity to taste it during our snack time. Before tasting, each child predicted whether they would like it or not. After eating it, they filled out the rest of their worksheet showing if they liked it and how it made them feel. Some were quite surpirsed to find out they really liked Stone Soup!
The kindergarten classes were together in Mrs. Howerton's room for the morning activities. They also saw a short video about Stone Soup and made a graph of the types of vegetables that were put into the pot.
Also, for Thanksgiving, I read lots of books about the first Thanksgiving, Native Americans, and turkeys. Each child made turkeys from their handprints and drew details to add to their picture. They were so proud of their artwork and looked forward to showing it to their families.
Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy time with your family and friends!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Monday, November 12, 2012
Election and U.S. Symbols
Last week we had a school-wide election along with voting booths and ballots for all the students (K-6th grade). It took place a few days before the real election. Each student also received an "I voted" sticker! The winner of the election was Mitt Romney. Of course, we all know that President Obama was re-elected to serve 4 more years. By participating in our mock election, the students learned a little about the voting process. I think it was a great experience for everyone.
On election day, I read Duck for President and the kiddos made campaign posters of their favorite candidate from the book: Duck or Farmer Brown. They were so creative and enjoyed the project. They also made a T-chart to show who they "voted" for. The duck had the most votes! Below is a You Tube video of the book.
Also, the students learned about the symbols of the U.S.A. I read books about the Bald Eagle, the Statue of Liberty, and our flag. The kiddos made really cute Statue of Liberty pictures out of construction paper and they were so proud of their artwork! I think they were all feeling patriotic and happy to be Americans. :)
Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served our country!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
On election day, I read Duck for President and the kiddos made campaign posters of their favorite candidate from the book: Duck or Farmer Brown. They were so creative and enjoyed the project. They also made a T-chart to show who they "voted" for. The duck had the most votes! Below is a You Tube video of the book.
Also, the students learned about the symbols of the U.S.A. I read books about the Bald Eagle, the Statue of Liberty, and our flag. The kiddos made really cute Statue of Liberty pictures out of construction paper and they were so proud of their artwork! I think they were all feeling patriotic and happy to be Americans. :)
Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served our country!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Thankful for Donor's Choose!
Sonic's Limeades for Learning promotion helped our classroom again! The campaign is over now, but we have another project fully funded. I am so thankful and appreciate all who voted or used codes for the project. The project has lots of items for learning literacy and math skills. As soon as we receive everything, I'll post photos. The kiddos were so excited when I told them!
Thanks to everyone who helped make our Fall Party successful. All the children had so much fun. The rotation of games went so well and the treats were yummy too! I was impressed with the unique and cute costumes the children wore. They looked so cute when they paraded through the school!
It was great meeting with each of you during the Parent/Teacher conferences. I made copies of the assessments and will send them home in the Friday folders along with Alphabet charts and prompts for writing the letters.
You are the best parents and I appreciate you so much!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Thanks to everyone who helped make our Fall Party successful. All the children had so much fun. The rotation of games went so well and the treats were yummy too! I was impressed with the unique and cute costumes the children wore. They looked so cute when they paraded through the school!
It was great meeting with each of you during the Parent/Teacher conferences. I made copies of the assessments and will send them home in the Friday folders along with Alphabet charts and prompts for writing the letters.
You are the best parents and I appreciate you so much!
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
Friday, October 26, 2012
Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!
The students have learned all about pumpkins in the past 2 weeks. There are so many good books for young children on this topic! I read the following titles:
After reading From Seed to Pumpkin, the students made 3D pumpkins and labeled the parts. They did a great job of following directions. Of course, they used their imaginations by making pulp out of yarn!
Next week we will learn all about bats and spiders. The kiddos were excited when I told them what our next unit would be! Don't forget our fall party is October 31st from 1:30 to 2:30. Children may bring a costume to change into for a parade through the school. Please ask if you have any questions. It should be a lot of fun!
Thanks so much for your support during the Parent/Teacher conferences. It's always a positive thing when we can get together to discuss your child's progress. Feel free to contact me anytime throughout the year if you want to discuss your child's education or behavior. I can meet with you during my plan time 12:30 to 1:30 (Mondays or Wednesdays) and before/after school. I am also available if you need to have a phone conference.
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
- From Seed to Pumpkin
- Mr. Pompo's Nose
- How Many Seeds are in a Pumpkin?
- The Bumpy Little Pumpkin
- The Runaway Pumpkin
- Pumpkin (poem)
After reading From Seed to Pumpkin, the students made 3D pumpkins and labeled the parts. They did a great job of following directions. Of course, they used their imaginations by making pulp out of yarn!
Next week we will learn all about bats and spiders. The kiddos were excited when I told them what our next unit would be! Don't forget our fall party is October 31st from 1:30 to 2:30. Children may bring a costume to change into for a parade through the school. Please ask if you have any questions. It should be a lot of fun!
Thanks so much for your support during the Parent/Teacher conferences. It's always a positive thing when we can get together to discuss your child's progress. Feel free to contact me anytime throughout the year if you want to discuss your child's education or behavior. I can meet with you during my plan time 12:30 to 1:30 (Mondays or Wednesdays) and before/after school. I am also available if you need to have a phone conference.
~ Mrs. Eilenstine
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