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!

 

 

 

 



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:

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

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 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:

Version 3: Why Smart Boards: SMARTBoards for Parents and Community Partners from Ben Hazzard

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

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