Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (alphabet work)

All week long we have been reading a book by Bill Martin Jr titled Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. 

IT HAS BEEN A HUGE HIT!!! I think half the class is obsessed with reading it, they ask for it every morning :-) I have put three copies on our little bookcase so when it is read to self, more students can get their hands on a copy

I found a video on YouTube for you and your child to watch together. We have also watched this video in class on the TV

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a WONDERFUL book for all of us to practice our letters. Here are some more ways to practice our letter identification...

use pretzels to build letters (then have the fun of eating them)

paint with a Q-tip

pour salt into a shallow pan and form the letters with our fingers, then shake the tray to start over again

while driving in the car, look out the window and play "I Spy" for letters

Next week, my aide is going to be doing a letter identification assessment on your child. Depending on their score, you will be receiving a pack of ABC flashcards for continued practice at home :-)

Newsletter 9.3.13

Monday Sept 2nd NO SCHOOL Happy Labor Day

Tuesday Sept 3rd Day One     Music All About Me brown bags due Sending home Scholastic book flyers (due back next Friday, Sept 13th)

Wednesday Sept 4th Day Two     Gym Happy Birthday Makenzie!

Thursday Sept 5th Day Three Art

Friday Sept 6th Day Four Library (no books checked out)

MISC. Thanks so much for promptly returning all the forms that have been placed in folders this week. The beginning of any school year always has lots of “parent homework” for everyone to fill out and return If you picked a post-it note off of our wishing well poster at open house & have not turned in the items, please do so ASAP

Yay for Disney

A few weeks ago, Miss Bergan asked students, as their writing prompt during journal time, to write a letter to their favorite Disney character. (Previously Miss Bergan had found on Pinterest, and researched, that if you write a letter to the Disney characters that they will write you a letter back!)
Students went crazy and worked so hard on having nice handwriting, periods at the end of their sentences, spaces between their words, and many more editing techniques to have a wonderful letter to send to their Disney friend. Miss Bergan didn't tell them that there was the potential for a return letter
Today, when we came into work there was a large manilla envelope waiting for us in our mailbox down in the faculty lounge

"Holy COW! Is that what I think it is?!?!"

(we did this little dance of joy around the lunch table while

our principal watched from a distance and chuckled to himself LOL)

Maria RIPPED open the envelope and was greeted with this:

 

which had inside.....

our letter :-)

Hi PA Pals!

Oh boy, thanks for all the swell letters. It was so nice of you to think of me and my pals. Minne & I were busy talking about how lucky we are to have such special friends like you! Gosh, I hope you are having a great time at school...I bet you are learning some really exciting things. The gang & I are looking forward to seeing you here real soon!

Your Pal,

Mickey Mouse

HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THIS?!?!?!?!

(honestly, I think Miss Bergan & I may be more excited than the kids! hahaha)

but wait there's more...........

We opened up another envelope and found 24 (one for each, with 2 extra) personal postcards

I definitely think this is something I am going to start doing every year

Hippity Hoppity, Easter's on its Way

It is our last day of school before Easter break and our classroom has been full of holiday activities. This morning we dyed Easter eggs during morming literacy centers. The kids had a bunch of fun & I don't think we got "too awful" messy! haha

our finished product

Class Dojo

Our classroom has begun using a classroom behavior management program /software that will help us keep track of behaviors (positive & negative)

I have included an introductionary video (the little monster avatars are so darn cute!) to help explain how students earn points (for positive behavior) or get points taken away (for negative behavior)

****pay NO attention to the end of the video, kindergarteners are too young to

have their own access codes to this system****

Our positive behavior(ways to EARN points):

hard work

helping others

manners

on task

participation

quiet

sharing

teamwork

clean up

follows rules

nice friend

Our negative behavior (points will be TAKEN AWAY):

calling out

not listening

off task

pulls ticket

running

not sharing

tattle tale

doesn't keep hands to self

not a nice friend

not following rules

An informational paper will come home in your child's folder stating how you can sign up to receive a weekly report of your child's behavior in school. (Please return bottom portion of paper to inform us if you are signing up for weekly reports to be emailed to you)

Just visit Class Dojo, enter in your parent code, then enter your name, email, & create a password.

Let us know if you have any questions about this new process. I hope it will be beneficial to everyone :-)

PBS KIDS Lab | Virtual Pre-K | Shapes: At Home

Our math coach, Mrs. Cindy Campbell shared a youtube channel with us:

PBS KIDS Lab {Virtual Pre-K} Shapes: At Home

I spent some time this morning checking out some of the math videos and I found one on shapes (the unit we just finished in math last week)
I really like how the video guides you to specific questions that you can ask your children about videos
"What shape would you like to make?"
"How many sides does that shape have?"
"Are a square's sides equal?"
Our classroom has also been talking about 3D shapes (i.e. cyclinders, spheres, cones & cubes). While you are mixing together the ingredients to make the playdough, you can talk about the shapes of the containers or your child can possibly make a cube or sphere out of the playdough

If you need a recipe to make the playdough, check it out

I hope you enjoy the video and encourage you to check out other PBS KIDS Lab videos :-)

Miss Bergan is in the House!



Happy Birthday Clifford

Last Monday, September 24th, Clifford (the Big Red Dog) turned 50

My kids had a blast with a day long birthday party celebrating this famous and oh-so loved pooch!

We read:

• Clifford goes to Dog School
• Clifford's Busy Week
• The Big leaf pile
• Clifford's Manners
• Clifford's birthday party

 Some fun activities:

color & cut out leaves (then made a giant pile on the floor and jumped into them)

color a birthday picture & made a birthday card for Clifford

played hot potato with Clifford (he was "the potato" hehe)

watched some clifford cartoons on DVD

I think the kids had a great day and we might just have to do it again next year when Clifford turns 51 :-)



Handwriting

Being able to write your letters correctly is one of the most important things that your child will learn early in life. Correct letter formation, at times, can seem complicated or to some, it might even seem that the ending letter view is the only thing that matters.
Bad habits can be formed early on and have children forming letters incorrectly. It is all a process and there is a right and a wrong way to form each letter. At the beginning of this week, I sent home a letter explaining how each letter is formed to help you work with your child to make sure their letters are written the right way.

Sometimes, kids can write the letters correctly, they just don't want to (or get bored with) constantly practing their alphabet letters with a pencil & paper. Here are some creative ways to get kids to practice their letter formations without using a pencil and paper:

• write letters with playdough
• shaving cream on the bathroom wall
• paint on paper
• sidewalk chalk
• salt or sugar laying in a cookie sheet

Throughout the year, I will be sending home activities to help your child write and identify their letters. If you ever have any questions or need more ideas for home, just let me know :-)

Virtual Tour

Wednesday night was our open house and I was bummed to see that I had about 7 "no-shows" but it was still a good time and I was excited to see the many new faces who will be my students or parents this year :-)
If you missed it (or want to look again), here is a little tour of my classroom (different from last year)

our lunch count station

coat and book bag hooks

storage space above sink

morning meeting station

our back to school book rack

Mrs. Eckenrode's desk (soon to be decorated with polka dots)

students' mailboxes (they already have mail in them!)

we sit at tables in our classroom

Luhrs Adventure

The past two years, our kindergarten class (along with other classrooms at New Franklin Elementary) has taken an extra field trip up to Luhrs Performing Arts Center  to see a play/musical. This has only been made possible because parents pay their own way and ride themselves up to Shippensburg.
Two years ago, we saw Click Clack Moo and last year we went to see Seussical.
A few weeks ago, I got the schedule for this season @ Luhrs and I about screamed out loud from excitement!! SkippyJon Jones, that adorable little Siamese cat that thinks it is a Chihuahua, is about to hit the  stage and we are going to be there as close as we can get.

If you are unfamiliar with the cute character of SkippyJon, now is the perfect time to get acquainted. Currently, Kohls has various SkippyJon Jones books and stuffed animals as their Kohls Cares promotion books. If you want to check out these books before purchasing, check out your local library shelves all written by Judy Schachner. He even has his own website :-)

Strawberry Hill

On May 10th, our school was blessed to be visited by the Strawberry Hill Association and they did a primary session on using our five senses to explore nature (on our own school grounds)



• For smell, we have film canisters filled with a cotton ball that had been doused with a particular scent. The 1st grown up that walked through the children had them smell the scent that the students then had to ID by smelling the rest of our canisters and matching the scent (the kids didnt particually care for most of the smells emitting from the canisters hehe)
• For taste, the kids were told about how the different zones of your tongue and how your taste buds taste different flavors then gave them Smarties to test out the zones

• For sight, we had the children walk through of the garden where they had to notice items that didn't belong there AT ALL! (they had hid a jump rope, rubber hand, stuffed animal rabbits & dinosaurs, plus much more!).
• For touch, we partnered the students up, blindfolded one, then had them lead their partner to a tree. When the blindfold off, the child had to go find out which tree their partner had led them to while they were blindfolded

• For hearing, the kids were told about "deer ears" and were asked to be quiet and hear everything in their environment around them



Renfrew or bust

On Monday, May 7th, our kindergarten class hopped on a bus (which we had ALL to ourselves!!) and headed over to Waynesboro where we were attending our annual trip to Renfrew Musuem & Park (a simply marvelous place if you have never visited Check it Out)
We were signed up for two sessions (Life on a farm 200 years ago and Discovering Nature with our 5 senses). For days (weeks actually), our kids have been super excited about our field trip, and let's face it, it was hard not to be excited! A whole day out of our classroom walls, exploring nature and learning at the same time?!?! Yeah, I was super stoked too (and this was my 3rd time visiting the place with a class) The weather was a little chiller than we had anticipated but there was no way that was going to dampen our experience :-)

Lily, Clara, Madison, Sophia, Riley, and Miss Chandace
(we are waiting our turn to go up the steps by the smokehouse)

sitting around our teacher to learn about planting our seeds
and how the farmers lived on the land 200 years ago

Mr. Jerry helping the boys get into their dress up clothes
(ah, Mr. Jerry you were a God-send on this trip!)

Boys & Girls in their dress up clothes

Our whole class
(with full bellies from lunch, ready for our afternoon session)



I taught the kids that when you are using your listening cups in the woods to hear sounds if you press it around your ear, you will actually not have to hold it with your hands anymore

Miss Bergan took pictures of our whole class around the circle trying this advice out

The pictures are totally priceless

I love looking at Maddy in the bottom photo on the end.

The angle shows straight into the cup displaying Maddy's ear for all to see :-)

It's been awhile

Well I guess you can all tell that it has been a few weeks that Miss Miller has been done teaching: now I don't have all the free time to blog our classroom's events like a good, little diligent teacher ;-) haha
Things have been going fantastic though (aside from all our moping around missing Miss Miller!) We just started a new ELA (English Language Arts) unit where we are going to be discussing fact vs. opinion and learning how to write persuasive writing.
In math, we have begun learning how to master addition, which they are REALLY good at, and have just finished up a mini unit on shapes (2D and 3D)

I look at the last 4 weeks we have in front of us and while a small part of me cannot wait for summer vacation (you dont want me to lie, do you? haha), the bigger part of me just wishes that our time together would never end! (nobody minds if I just stay on and become their 1st grade teacher do you? hahahahaha)

We have many memory making opportunities left, though, and we will do what we do best: have the time of our lives!

• our field trip to Renfrew on Monday, May 7th (did you see how much fun we had last year?)
• 5 senses puppet show on Thursday May 10th
• field day on Monday June 4th
• kindergarten graduation on Friday June 8th

New Children's Literature

Last night (just like last year New Children's books) Miss Miller and I headed over to Andrew Buchanan for a marvelous presentation on "The Year's best books in children's literature" by Susan Berrier (the librarian of Andrew Buchanan and Lurgan Elementary in the Chambersburg Area School District)
First of all, I forgot how much I LOVE listening to this woman read aloud!! Seriously, if I taught at Buchanan or Lurgan I will totally be going to library with my kindergarteners instead of using the 35 minutes as a prep period :-)
I saw some great picture books that are definitely worth sharing...

Belive me, Goldilocks Rocks! (as told by Baby Bear)

written by Nancy Jean Loewen and Tatevik Avakyan

Bailey written by Harry Bliss

a great read aloud for the 1st or 2nd day of school. Shows the events of a school day from the morning before school through going home at the end of the day, with Bailey the dog as an enthusiactic student

How Rocket Learned how to Read by Tad Hills

An endearing white dog with black spots loves chasing leaves and chewing sticks. He also loves napping under his favorite tree. Then his sleep is interrupted one spring day by a tiny yellow bird that designates him her first student. Rocket wants no part of her lessons, but the bird is determined to teach him to read.

RRalph by Lois Ehlert

The narrator describes discovering how Ralph the dog can talk, appropriately saying words such as "roof, rough, bark, & wolf"

Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

funny first-person "journal" of a goldfish in his bowl, which is getting more and more crowded

Dog in Boots written by Greg Gormley

Dog keeps going back to the shoe store to find the perfect pair of shoes to do all of the things that a dog needs to be able to do