Welcome back to school!!  I hope that you had a wonderful, relaxing and refreshing spring break. Mr. Bohl and I enjoyed playing at the beach and pool everyday in Florida with our entire family  (6 adults and a 16 month old).  We had wonderful, warm, sunny weather….it was hard to return home to Michigan weather. I hope that you enjoyed time with your family as well.  The kinders had a lot of fun telling each other about what they did.  Playdates, going to Rebounders, going to the movie theater, visiting grandparents, staying in a hotel and so much more was shared.  

Take a peek at what we did in kindergarten! 🙂

MATH:  This week we revisited how we sort objects by shape, size, color, etc.  Check out the Bonkers for Buttons book that came home. We also practiced identifying number partners and writing the matching equations.  Friday math centers focused on these math skills.  

   Domino Dots

   Unifix  cube partners

   Finding out the unknown partner

   Lima bean shake

READER’S WORKSHOP:  We began a new unit called CHARACTER ROUND UP.  In the unit we will dig deeper into our learning about characters by looking at how they look, what they say and do, comparing characters and more. The kinders are amazing me with their knowledge as readers. 

The first graders in Mrs. Woodring’s class joined us for a time of partner reading on Thursday.  It was so fun to see how some of my former kinders have grown and it gave this year’s kinders a peek into what they will reading next year.  Thank you for stopping by. 

                   

WRITER’S WORKSHOP:  This month the kinders will be learning about another writing genre….HOW TO….  We started our learning by creating a list of things the kinders thought they are experts at doing, such as holding a hockey stick, opening a banana, playing Gaga Ball. 

We first told the steps over our fingers, next we wrote the words, then we drew detailed pictures and finally we read our story.  This week we created two How to books….How to read a book and How to get a snack. 

    

 I am so very proud of the growth and ability they have developed as writers!

SCIENCE….IT ROCKS!: We worked together to list facts that we knew about soil prior to spring break.  This week we read more informational books about soil and created charts like “Where we can find soil” and “Ways we use soil”.

  

To better understand the layers of soil we did a fun experiment.  Soil was put into a glass jar, water was add and shaken around, and then the waiting began.  After a bit we were able to see the layers of rocks, sand, silt, clay and humus.  Can you see the layers?

     

Before we investigated our personal baggies of soil, we sorted pictures of things found in soil by minerals, plants and animals.  We had fun using magnifying glasses to look closely at our soil to find roots, silt, worms, leaves and record our findings on a paper.  

      

Finally we learned how some types of soil are made through wind, rain, ice coming into contact with rocks.  Have your child show and explain the  flow map that they took home today.  

POPCORN WORDS:       HIM          JUMP                                                                         Please, please keep practicing at home!  The kinders are becoming fabulous readers!

  We celebrated with Peyton and who turned 6 on Monday. Thank you so much for the birthday treats

NOTES TO MOM AND DAD

*OUTSIDE SHOES:  THANK YOU for sending your child in outside shoes or boots on spring days.The playground is very muddy and we are working hard to keep our classroom floor clean.  Please remember that…..OUTSIDE SHOES CAN NOT BE WORN IN THE GYM AS MUD AND DIRT GETS ON THE GYM FLOOR.  PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU KINDER HAS GYM SHOES TO WEAR THAT ARE NOT THEIR OUTSIDE SHOES.  Thank you!

*BACKPACK SNACK:  Please remember to send TWO daily healthy snackS for your kinder, as we take a moment to refuel each day. Many kinders are coming to school with snacks. Thank you.

*TAKE HOME books:  Please help your child to remember to return their book baggie EACH Monday, Tuesday and Thursday so that they are consistent with their read aloud practice and are able to check out new books each time to build their reading experiences.  Don’t forget to sign the parent sheet and include comments or observations you feel may be helpful.

*KOOL KINDER & THE GUESSING JAR: We have begun another round of being the Kool Kinder.  Your kinder  will be bringing home the “Guessing Jar.” Their job is to fill the jar with a mystery number (1-50) of objects (marshmallows, erasers, etc.) for our class to guess the quantity the next day.  The items back home with him/her the same day.  We have counted seashells, marbles, beads, chocolate candy this week.

UPCOMING DATES

*MONDAY, APRIL 16: STEAM; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS; BOOK ORDERS DUE; celebrating Caleb’s birthday

*TUESDAY, APRIL 17: GYM;  reading TAKE HOME BOOKS; ROCK COLLECTIONS DUE

*FRIDAY, APRIL 20: STEAM;  Popcorn Friday; Earth Day celebration

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 9…Spring Field Trip to Hemlock Crossing Nature Center & Hagar Park.  An orange note will be coming home Monday containing volunteer information.  All parents (and younger siblings) are welcome to join us at Hagar Park for a picnic lunch and playtime. Please send back the the bottom portion of the orange note so that I know of your plans.

~~~Have a  great weekend.  Mrs. Bohl