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NEWS OF THE WEEK—April 29-May 3

Look what your kinder did at school this week.

WRITING: Can I say it again? I am so proud of the kinders and their writing. This month’s genre was about HOW TO…. do various things. This week the kinders wrote How to marble paint, How to make a (birthday) wish, How to eat a snack and How to eat an Oreo. Enjoy writing some more How to…. stories at home by using the idea chart that was sent home this week.

SCIENCE: Hooray! We have learned that not all plants grow at the same rate but thank goodness they all sprouted! The warmer spring weather helped so much. We are watering and journaling about the growth of our bean plants.

We explored each part of flower by reading informational books, labeling the various parts (seed, roots, stem, leaves, petals) and creating a craft.

We also read and discussed a Let’s Find Out newspaper relating to the growth cycle of a butterfly. We continued our learning about Living and Non-Living too.

MATH: Our math lessons this week focused on number partners. We wrote number partners of 10 by drawing sun and clouds in a ten frame (5+5=10 or 9+1=10). We wrote number partners of 7 & 10 by looking at colored dots and white dots in different arrangements. We also wrote number partners by drawing tiny tumblers on their math mountains. During Friday math games, the kinders were able to choose from activities such as identifying 3D shapes, solving addition and subtraction problems, showing tens & extra ones in teen numbers.

POPCORN WORDS: HAVE ON OF

LITERACY: The kinders this week did various literacy activities while I listened to each kinder read a book. They are doing AMAZING! A progress note came home this week, letting you know your kinder’s independent reading level. I will continue to support and monitor their progress during these last weeks of school. Remember it is the goal to have kinders read independently at Level D at the end of the school year. If you have any questions, please contact me.

READING: When reading non-fiction books, the kinders were reminded to ask themselves questions such as “I wonder why…?” “Where does….?’ or “What is this…?” During read to self time, we are working on retaining and increasing our reading stamina. On a good day, we are up to 15-18 minutes. Wow!

We are constantly celebrating being READERS! We had SO MUCH FUN today reading the jokes the kinders brought into school. A LOT of giggles and laughs!!! Thank you so much for helping your kinder participate. Next week we will celebrate BEING CRAZY FOR READING! by coming to school with CRAZY HAIR.

TAKE HOME BOOKS: Thank you so much for encouraging and supporting your kinder this year as they participated in our TAKE HOME book program. We have two more weeks of reading. Then we will begin to collect all of the books for summer inventory. Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who came into school each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to listen to the kinders read. It would not have been possible without your assistance. I am so grateful for your help!

MYSTERY READERS: We were lucky to enjoy two visits this week.

Brooks’ dad come on Wednesday afternoon and read This Moose belongs to Me. A fun book where many people thought the moose was their pet.

Jace was so surprised to see not only his mom but also his brother, Caden (who is in 2nd grade) come in the room Friday morning. His mom read TWO of Jace’s favorite books, The Dinosaur who lived in my backyard and Froggy plays T-Ball.

Some rainy day inside playtime pictures

REMINDERS

*BACKPACK SNACK: Please remember to send TWO daily healthy snacks for your kinder, as we take a moment to refuel each day. Thank you.

*BOOK ORDERS: All orders (online or paper forms with a check) are due on Monday, May 6. This is the LAST book order for this school year.

*PLAYGROUND: Our playground is very wet and muddy and then it is dry and dirty. Please keep this in mind as you send your kinder to school. Rain boots or outside play shoes might be a good idea until the spring weather clears. Thank you for being considerate of helping to keep our inside floors and rugs clean.

*MAY CALENDAR: The May calendar can be found at the top of our blog under CALENDARS. You can also refer to the paper copy that was sent home this week. I will send home the June calendar soon.

UPCOMING DATES

*MONDAY, MAY 6: ART; reading TAKE HOME books; Book Orders due (online or paper forms);

*TUESDAY, MAY 7: STEAM; reading TAKE HOME books; LIBRARY…Return you library books. NOTE CHANGE IN DAY DUE TO OUR FIELD TRIP; JET’S PIZZA LUNCH

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 8: Field Trip to Hemlock Crossing Nature Center & Hager Park HOME LUNCH WITH DRINK INSIDE OF LABELED PAPER BAG IS NEEDED. We will not be ordering hot lunch. Please feel free to join us for our picnic lunch. Younger siblings are welcome. We will be at the park around 12:00pm. Your kinder will need a home lunch and water bottle to enjoy during our picnic lunch. NO SANDALS, FLIP FLOPS OR CROCS. TENNIS SHOES NEED TO BE WORN!! We will be walking through woods and trails and playing on a big playground. Please dress your kinder according to the weather. We will be OUTSIDE for most of the day!

*THURSDAY, MAY 9: GYM; EMAIL ME OR SEND A NOTE BY THURSDAY (5/9) IF YOUR KINDER WOULD LIKE A SACK LUNCH. reading TAKE HOME books

*FRIDAY, MAY 10: ART: FAST FRIDAY (Early Release Dismiss at 12:15pm); Celebrate being READERS: CRAZY HAIR DAY Celebrate Lillian’s birthday (5/11)

*FRIDAY, MAY 17: Celebrate being READERS: OUR STATE IS GREAT! wear clothing with places from Michigan on it

*FRIDAY, MAY 24: Celebrate being READERS: CELEBRATE AMERICA! Wear Red, White and Blue to school!!

*MONDAY, MAY 27: Memorial Day, No School

*FRIDAY,MAY 31: Kindergarten Olympics A note asking for parent volunteers came home. Volunteers will be notified shortly with details. This special day would not be possible without your help. Thank you so much. If you still would like to be part of this fun day, please let me know soon.

~~~Have a great weekend. Mrs. Bohl

WHAT HAS HAPPENED—April 23-27

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Can you believe it? It is the end of April and next week we are moving into our last full month of school. Take a look at what was accomplished this week.

SCIENCE: What is Alive? and Living and Non-Living were books that assisted us as we began learning about things that are alive and not alive. The kinders learned that living things need *air, *water, *food, *soil (plants), *space (habitat) and can *move, *grow. Sorting living and non-living pictures was a fun activity.

The kinders watched a science video that reviewed what makes something alive. They also made a booklet about living and non-living things by building the missing words.

We planted bean seeds and are patiently watering and waiting for them to sprout. Hopefully the warmer, sunny spring weather helps. We will keep you updated! We also had some fun looking a a variety of seeds and had to match them with what they would grow into…a daisy, an onion, a sunflower, a radish and more.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP: I am so proud of the kinders and their writing. This month’s genre was about HOW TO…. do various things. This week the kinders wrote How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; How to wash your hands; How to eat an Oreo and How to plant a seed.

All of their writings came home today. Enjoy having them show you how to do some of these tasks. Your kinder is a great teacher! Next week we will begin our last writing unit…Opinion Writing. Wow! I know that the kinders will do a fabulous job and will enjoy this type of writing.

MATH: The kinders are doing well comparing numbers, identifying numbers that are Greater than and Less than other numbers. They are also doing well showing teen numbers using tens and extra ones. The kinders put away their workbooks for a few days and had fun playing games to practice identifying number partners. For one game, they used two different colors of unifix cubes to create number partners of 7. For example: 4 red cubes + 3 blue cubes = 7 cubes.

Another game was called Flower Power. The kinders took turns tossing a butterfly and bumble bee bean bag onto a large flower, using the numbers that the insects landed on to create number equations. For example: 1+3=4.

Thank you so much for encouraging your kinder to complete their homework each week. This helps to solidifying their learning.

POPCORN WORDS: COME SOME April popcorn flash cards were sent home to add to your kinder’s collection. The work that you do at home helps your kinder be the best student they can be. Thank you!

FUN CENTERS: Thank you so much to Hunter’s mom, Katelynn’s mom and Lucas’ grandma for helping us learn while having fun. We practiced using our predicting, comparing and counting skills by playing MAGIC BEANS, identified popcorn words by playing GOING BUGGY, used our questioning skills by playing GUESS WHO and used our investigating skills by comparing earthworms and gummy worms. (I am sorry there are not any pictures to share with you….I was also running a center.) Thank you so much for volunteering to be part of fun centers each month. The kinders looked forward to this time and it would not have been possible without your support and help.

END OF THE YEAR ASSESSMENTS: Preparation for the end of the year assessments and records have begun. I am excited to be the listener as I ask each kinder read books to me. They are doing an AMAZING job!! They are making FABULOUS progress. Supporting your kinder at home by practicing/reviewing popcorn words, reading books, completing math homework and more has helped your kinder be a successful learner. Thank you so much.

MYSTERY GUEST READERS: Izabel was so surprised to see her mom and younger brother, Grayson walk through the door…again. She chose to read Spaghetti on my hot dog bun. It was a fabulous story about having courage to show kindness to those who are unkind to us. Thank you so much for choosing a timely book and being willing to stop in to read us another story.

Happy birthday to Anderson. He turned 6 on April 24. Thank you so much for the birthday treat bags.

NOTES TO MOM AND DAD

*MONTHLY CALENDAR: May is FILLED with many birthday celebrations. Be sure to look at the May calendar and the June calendar for May and summer birthday celebration dates, along with other important information. It has been posted under CALENDARS at the top of our blog.

*BACKPACK SNACK: Please remember to send TWO daily healthy snacks for your kinder, as we take a moment to refuel each day. 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 a new book 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. We only have a few weeks left…keep reading!!!

UPCOMING DATES

*MONDAY, April 30: MUSIC; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS

*TUESDAY, MAY 1: ART; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 2: STEAM; HOMEWORK DUE….math and literacy; LIBRARY: Please return your kinder’s book.

*THURSDAY, MAY 3: GYM; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS & Rainbow word lists

*FRIDAY, MAY 4: MUSIC

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 9: Field Trip to Hemlock Crossing Nature Center & Hager Park. Please feel free to join us for our picnic lunch. We will be at the park around 12:00pm. Your kinder will need a paper sack lunch LABELED WITH THEIR NAME and water bottle to enjoy during our picnic lunch. NO SANDALS, FLIP FLOPS OR CROCS. TENNIS SHOES NEED TO BE WORN!! We will be walking through woods and trails and playing on a big playground. Please dress your child according to the weather. We will be OUTSIDE for most of the day!

*THURSDAY, MAY 10: EMAIL ME OR SEND A NOTE BY THURSDAY (4/12) IF YOUR KINDER WOULD LIKE A SACK LUNCH ON FRIDAY.

*FRIDAY, MAY 11: FAST FRIDAY (Early Release Dismiss at 12:15pm)

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 14: Birthday celebration for Dominic

*MONDAY, MAY 17: Birthday celebration for Parker

*FRIDAY, MAY 26…..Red, White and Blue Day! Wear your Red, White and Blue to school!!

*MONDAY, MAY 28…Memorial Day, No School

*FRIDAY, JUNE 1: Kindergarten Olympics Volunteer note (coming home Monday) is due Friday, May 18

~~~Have a great weekend. Mrs. Bohl

WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK—April 16-20

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EARTH DAY: We enjoyed making and wearing our Earth Day hats today. We read Just a Gum Wrapper and It’s Earth Day! by Mercer Mayer among other books to assist in our learning about Earth Day. We learned how we can take care of the earth and “go green” by recycling paper, cans and bottles, turning off lights when leaving a room, turning off the water while brushing teeth and using containers instead of plastic baggies for snacks. The kinders used this information to create a craft that is hanging in our hallway. Having a chance to marble paint was part of the fun.

We took a few minutes to find out where the 4th graders each week take our bags of scraps of paper. The kinders were surprised to learn that we have a big recycling bin in our school parking lot. Looking inside at all of that paper was pretty cool too. (Sorry…no pictures of that. I was too busy lifting 24 kinders up to look inside) Many kinders said that they recycle at home. Keep working to keep our earth healthy and clean.

Cheers were heard when I explained what we would be doing with blue & green frosting, a popsicle stick and a cookie……making an Earth Day cookie. Who knew that frosting and cookies make kinders explode with cheers? 🙂 Love it!!

SCIENCE…IT ROCKS!: This week we focused our learning on rocks. We investigated our rock collections by sorting them to be either rough or smooth. We also lined them up by size….from smallest to biggest. We continued to investigate our rocks by the look of them, the height, the texture and if whether they would float or sink in water. Be sure to take a look at their booklet for their answers. Don’t forget to read the previous posting to learn about our 3 types of rocks experiments.

WRITER’S WORKSHOP: The kinders are busy writing steps about how to do something. This week we wrote How to make a birthday wish, How to eat an orange and How to marble paint.They are working so hard remembering to use everything that a good writer uses….popcorn words, put spaces between their words, include sentence stoppers, detailed pictures. I am so proud of them. They are amazing writers!!

MYSTERY GUEST READERS: This morning Peyton quickly popped up to hug his dad and say “hi” to his little brother, Chase, when they walked into our room. He brought along a book that they enjoy reading at home called There’s a Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Seuss. They enjoy reading all of Dr. Seuss’ books. Thanks for coming in.

Later in the morning, Hunter was surprised to see his mom and little sister, Kenzie stop by. We were happy to hear How to become a pirate. A story that made us giggle and laugh. We hearing new stories.

READER’S WORKSHOP: Our focus was all about learning more about characters. We explored what characters look like, how they act and what they are doing in books. The kinders searched their books for characters as they read, talking to their partners about what the characters were doing and how the characters looked in these books.

POPCORN WORDS: THEY THESE. Be sure to ask your kinder the song that we sing to help us remember the spelling for “they”.

SPLIT LIT (literacy time): A few pictures of the kinders working on their literacy skills…reading sight words, building reading fluency, phonics building skills and more while having some fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Caleb. He turned 6 on Monday. Who would have thought he would celebrate at home because of a snow day. 🙂 Thank you for the gift bags.

NOTES FOR MOM AND DAD

*OUTSIDE SHOES: THANK YOU for sending your kinder in outside shoes or boots on rainy days. 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 CHILD HAS GYM SHOES TO WEAR THAT ARE NOT THEIR OUTSIDE SHOES. Thank you!

*BACKPACK SNACK: Please remember to send a daily healthy snack for your kinder, as we take a moment to refuel each day. Thank you.

*TAKE HOME books: Please help your kinder 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 a new book 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. We only have a few weeks left so let’s end strong! 🙂

*LUNCH MENU: The May/June lunch menu is available under Food Service tab on the side bar of our blog.

UPCOMING DATES

*MONDAY, APRIL 23: GYM; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS;

*TUESDAY, APRIL 24: MUSIC; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS; GES Art Reception 5:30 p.m. Anderson’s birthday celebration

*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25: ART; HOMEWORK DUE….math and literacy LIBRARY: Please return your kinder’s book;

*THURSDAY, APRIL 26: STEAM; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS and Rainbow word lists

*FRIDAY, APRIL 27: GYM; FUN CENTERS…Parent volunteers please arrive at 1:40pm for instructions

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 9: Spring Field Trip to Hemlock Crossing Nature Center and Hager Park Park. Note come home this week. Return ASAP if you would like to chaperone…FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. All welcome to Hager Park lunch and playtime. It would be helpful if you would please return the bottom portion of the orange note so that your kinder and I know of your plans.

*FRIDAY, MAY 11….Fast Friday (Early Release Day dismissal at 12:15pm)

*Friday, May 25…..Red, White and Blue Day! Wear your Red, White and Blue to school!!

*Monday, May 28.. .Memorial Day, No School

~~~Have a great weekend. Mrs. Bohl

WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK—-April 9-13

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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

*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18: MUSIC; HOMEWORK DUE….math and literacy; LIBRARY: Please return your kinder’s book.

*THURSDAY, APRIL 19: ART; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS and Rainbow word lists

*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