Summer Fun Links...Here We Go!

Hello, first-graders!  Find an adult family member to help you with the links in this email. :-) I have a few fun things for you to try. Book:  Don't Let The Pigeon Finish This Activity Book! App:  Don't Let The Pigeon Run This App! This app is a bit pricey at $5.99, but a grande latte from Starbuck$ isn't much less.  You can find this app HERE! Video:  HERE is the SafeShare Dance Mix on Symbaloo!                    There are 30 dance videos on this page. Wonder:  Why do mosquito bites itch?

May

Winding up a school year is always a bittersweet experience.

Your children and I have created a community of learners!

We had a wonderful year!

 As we say goodbye to the current building, I thought you might enjoy 

a picture of our classroom, viewed from end to end.

 We learned to navigate the iPad, played games at stations rotations,

participated in the scientific process, and led routines at circle time!

We revisited the concept of "camouflage" after reading 

The Mixed-Up Chameleon.

 Our last art project was a self portrait; good job!

 Can you guess who this picture portrays?

These phrases were our answers to the statement

"This year, I learned........."

 We created sentences to describe our beach illustrations!

We designed Pet Rocks and crafted homes for them.

This project was filled with collaboration, idea sharing, and initiative.

Our last art project, Sailboat Shapes

Field Day

Long Jump In Action

Water Bucket Race

This picture is a new dawn,
taken by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

He recently returned to Earth after a visit to the
International Space Station.

You can see his photo stream HERE, on Twitter.
The pictures are amazing!

Our kindergarten adventure is over, but the children 
decided they would like to "do school" over the summer!  
Each week, hopefully, I'll send an email containing the title 

of a new book, the web address for a new video or app, 
and a fact from Wonderopolis!

In the interim, check out this page at Lakeshore, to view summer learning activities.

You can download calendars for PreK-K and gr. 1-3.

I hope you all have a safe and happy summer!

Please, keep in touch!

April Photos

April was a busy month!

I was impressed by everyone's Project Fair designs!

The pictures from that evening will be added to the Project Fair page very soon.

Grade sheets and reports will be sent home on May 6.

This is an example of "experience writing", done after our field trip to The Butterfly House.

Turtles are oviparous.

We made this torn paper project in art class.

Two hearts can become a butterfly!

The girls enjoyed working together on a unicorn puzzle!

The frog puzzle is a favorite among the boys.

This is a sneak peek into part of something we have made for our mothers!  Shhh!!

Manipulatives became building blocks for a major creation.

We used rulers to practice standard measurement in this math station.

Some letters are tall, some fall, and some are small.

After reading "Tops And Bottoms", we discussed how vegetables grow.

We "planted" a paper garden.

We are all hoping that the forget-me-not seeds will sprout soon!

They were planted in an ice cream cone, then the cone was placed in a cup. 

Hopefully, you will be able to lift the cone from the cup for easy replanting.

Just bury the cone in your potted soil or dirt!

We enjoyed using Dr. Panda's Veggie Garden app on the iPad!

It is also available for iPhone.

Parents, Check This Out! App Info

This quarter, I've been able to add an iPad to our literacy and math stations!
These stations encourage independent learning while offering the opportunity to differentiate according to needs and abilities.  Every Friday, a fabulous website, SmartAppsForKids, offers free apps for a limited time.  Bookmark the site!  Below, I'm introducing you to several apps that we have used.  The pictures will not take you to the app store, but you can search the names and choose downloads for iphone or ipad capability.  Some may be available for PC, etc.

Paint Sparkles is the first app that we tried on the iPad.  

It is easy to use, fun to print!

I've taken screenshots of many finished products; some are very detailed and others show room for fine motor improvement.  This may be a glorified coloring book, but the skill development is vital!

The lite version is free, but the extended pages are worth the price.

A kindergarten colleague introduced me to Subtraction Lite.  Her class experienced success with subtraction mastery by practicing this game.  I tried it with our class and I am pleased with the results!

This is a free app!

Letter School is a new discovery, and I was able to grab it for free, today!

I've noticed that many students are forming letters from the bottom up, or are adding curves after picking up their writing tool.  This app includes a D'Nealian set of letters and numbers!

I'll be using it over the next four weeks with the children, 

but I encourage you to use it over the summer!

I have not tried the next two apps, but both look relevant and interesting!

Butterfly House~Field Trip

We read to the docents!

We all took a turn in the human cocoon.

After we decorated flowers and butterflies,
we demonstrated our knowledge of camouflage.

Blue Morpho

The butterfly blends in with the food!

The proboscis can clearly be seen in this pic,
curled up under the head.

Moth

This butterfly has hatched and is waiting for wings to dry!

Camouflaged Butterfly

The giant cockroaches are... interesting.
According to the docents, each roach has a unique personality!

April, Butterfly Video, Behavior

Reporters' Updates:

4/2   "Today was a great time!  We made turtles."

4/3   "We played with our friends!"

4/4   "We tested!"

4/5   "We decorated an egg for an oviparous animal."

This week, we will be learning about butterflies!

SPRING MUSICAL

 Bunnies~Descriptive Writing Prompt

A New Behavior Plan:
(This is a copy from the email that was sent to parents on 4/2.)

Over the break, I researched a way to tweak the behavior system for our class.  Every year brings new challenges because every year brings a new group of students together.  As our year has progressed, I've seen a few flaws in the rainbow chart, for this class.  Thus, a new idea was born!

The name cards have been removed.  The binder behavior calendar is gone.  The rainbow chart has been placed in another part of the room, to remind us to "slow down" and "be ready to learn".  We will be writing a daily class goal on the white board.  (Yesterday, we wrote "I can control myself.")  On Mondays, I will be chatting with each child, to establish personal goals for the week.  These goals will be social and academic in nature.  On Fridays, each child will review their goal sheet with me and assess progress. These sheets will be sent home on Mondays, with the work from the previous week.

A kindergarten colleague in Canada stretched my thinking in the area of classroom behavior systems.  Her thoughts can be found HERE.  I urge you to read her post and put yourself in the place of the student.  

I have greatly enjoyed teaching and learning with your children!  Each day, we review how to give "heartprints" and to "THINK" before we speak.  I believe that practicing the discipline of self-evaluation will benefit the children, and also be a blessing for your family.  By evaluating the progress in my classroom management system, I was led to rethink the process!  No matter how old we grow, learning never stops!