Need buttoning practice?

• Practice putting large and small clothespins to the side of a container or shoe box.
• Use tongs to pick up small objects.

• Push pennies through the slot made on the top of a small film canister.

• Put a slit in the top of a coffee can lid or peanut butter container and have the child push pennies, buttons or poker chips into the slit.

• Remove the coffee lid or peanut butter lid and hold the lid vertically on a surface. Have the child push pennies, buttons or poker chips with one hand through the slit and pull the object out with the opposite hand.

• Push pennies or small objects into balls of play dough or putty and then have the child find the objects.

• Push corn picks (over foam piece) on a paper design or picture.

• Any activities that require a child to use two hands differently: stringing beads, cutting/snipping paper, assemble and un-assemble nuts/bolts, pull stickers off paper backing, and open bottles or containers.

• Dress a piece of cardboard with a shirt with large buttons.

• Make a button board with patches of fabric and various sized buttons.

• Use a dressing book or dressing doll with various activities including zippers, buttons, snaps and belts/fasteners.

These practice are also helping develop their fine motor muscles needed in handwriting and cutting.

School Wide Field Trip 2010

Today was so much fun! I had a great time watching Narnia (I even cried at the end)! I heard Tangled was a hit, too! It has been a long time since I have been to the movies with little ones. I love how they cheer and applaud before, during and after the movie :) priceless!

 

Smellies

It's that time of year when Santa is loooking where to find "smellies"! I get mine at Target in the make-up section but I also noticed that in their holiday section there were some stocking stuffer packs!

Patterns

Our most recent math focus has been on patterns! We have been creating our own with pattern blocks and cubes, looking for them in our classroom and playground, and playing a game called "guess my pattern". You can play "guess my pattern" with your kindergartner...all you need to do is create a pattern with silverware, clothes, shoes, books, flowers in the garden, their toys, etc. (whatever is convenient) and have them guess what is going to come next...third...fifth...eleventh...I play it using kids :) sometimes its hair color, or clothes, or shoelaces...lots of room for creativity!

First Bus Trip

Today was such a great experience! The kids a great job introducing themselves, singing to grand-friends and singing as a whole group! You should be super proud of your little one. Also, HUGE milestone...first field trip with a BUS! It was quit a shock to me that the bus had SEAT BELTS!! Ask your child who the bus driver looked like (hint-white beard, wears a red jacket, lots of toys and gifts) and what they saw out the windows of the bus.

Busy

I'm sure none of you can relate to being "busy"! HAHA! I wonder how parents ever have jobs AND raise children!! You all are truly inspiring! Anyways...between jet lag, CogAT, holiday fun, oh yes...and learning...we have been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY in K1! I loved hearing about your fun Thanksgiving weeks. I had a great week visiting my sister in beautiful Hawaii! I went with my teacher hat on-snapping TONS of pictures of trees, mountains and battle ships to show to the kiddos. My sister did a great job teaching me all about the Hawaiian culture and environment. Ask your child what was their favorite picture from the slide show (oh yes...I made one!)

We decorated our tree this year to go along with our schools theme "peace, love, longhorns". They each traced and cut out their hands then drew a picture of peace and wrote the name (on their fingers) of people who bring them peace.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas and Santa...this is the BEST BOOK EVER!!! It was given to me as a gift and I can't sing its praises enough! It's great explaining those Santa mysteries! I think it is going out of print but can be found on Amazon.

On an ending note, we started "Student of the Week" this week! I have already sent home your child's date and the list of weekly activities. Ask your child who the student of the week was and see if they can sing their song :)

Have a great weekend!!

60 Days Smarter

I can't BELIEVE we have been in school for 60 days! The first day of Kindergarten seems like an eternity ago. Here's to 117 more days of working hard.

Turkey Feathers

WOW! There are so many things K1 is thankful for. Thank you for helping your child decorate and brainstorm things they value and appreciate. I had each child share their feather with the class...they did a great job explaining and comparing theirs with their friends.

Tips #1

Oh yes we do!! Last Wednesday at our "No Parent Left Behind" Class, we asked the parents to complete a survey in which we asked "What would you like more information about?" We had an overwhelming number of parents say "more easy tips to do with my child at home." That is music to my ears! So...I'll be using my blog to post some fun, easy and quick things to do with you Kindergartner.

1. The above picture is example #1! Have them use a highlighter to highlight "popcorn" words in newspapers, magazines, flyer's, junk mail, etc.

2. Magnet letters-stick them on the refrigerator and while you're cooking you can give them popcorn words to spell or easy 3 letter words like cat, bat, cup, map, etc.

3. Sorting-have your child help you sort objects, laundry, dishes and be sure you are telling them HOW you are sorting (shape, color, size, length, etc.)

4. Gross motor- watch out for "W" sitting. This is when they are sitting on the floor with their legs to the side (hint-it looks like a "W"). They are sitting this way because they have not developed enough muscle strength in their core to hold themselves up! How to fix it- mermaid sitting (legs to the side), exercise ball activities, or legs straight out in front. Be watching and correcting when they are playing video games, watching TV, etc.

5. Fine motor- when holding a pencil they should be using their thumb and pointer finger to pinch and their middle finger underneath (to stabilize the pencil) or pinching with all 3 of those fingers. I tell my kids "pinch, flip and grip" to find their correct grip. Ways to build fine motor muscles-have them use tweezers, hole punchers and silly putty!

6. Reading (my favorite!)- ENGAGE your child during your reading time together...this is how they are learning to comprehend. Ask them to tell you the characters, setting, or stop at the climax and ask them to guess what is going to happen next in the story and why.

Hope this helps...I'll send more easy things in the next few weeks!

First Field Trip

Man-o-man we had a FUN afternoon at our first field trip! As you can see we got to see and do lots of awesome things. Ask your child to show you their favorite leaf, what the "tents" are called, which trees never change colors, and how do all plants start. You should be VERY proud of your Kindergartner. Being around so many grown-ups, we were able to REALLY practice our manners and showing respect. I also can't say enough wonderful things about the nursery. They were so kind and did a wonderful job engaging the kids. I'm thinking we might need to go back!

In place of our rained-out field trip...

We CAN help!

Thank you all for sending in canned goods (and other necessities) for people in need. We had great, meaningful conversations about how we are so lucky that we are provided with three meals everyday and how some families are not so lucky. Our school had a contest for the class with the best "can sculpture"...as you can see we built a Can Castle equipped with a restaurant and garage! We also learned how to correctly make tally marks! I noticed some of them making up games that involved LOTS of tally marks :) Counting by 5's is something we are still working on...

Scarecrow Thursday

Thank you all so much for helping your little one with this very festive day! The kids had so much fun walking in the parade and singing their songs for you! If you missed the "show" it's OK! Ask your child to sing: Owl, Oc-to-ber, Can, You, and Owl Body Parts!

DEA Helicopter Visit

"Picnik Show"

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Morning Visitors

We had a very informative and comical morning with a visit from our favorite fire safety clowns! They came and talked to us about:

1. Gun safety (to walk away, don't touch, and tell an adult)
2. Exiting our house when there's a fire and how to feel the door knob
3. To never give information to anyone on the Internet
4. Don't talk to strangers
5. Halloween safety tips
6. Put cold, clear water on burns
7. Seat belt importance
8. Change your batteries in your smoke detector twice a year



Cancer Awareness

Thank you all SO much for your generous donations for Friday's "Hats On" Day! Our school raised (drum roll please) $1071.52 for Foundation for Kids with Cancer and Pink Hearts Fund.

Jack-o-lanterns

Busy day!

Super busy day in K1! Our morning started off with the 3rd Grade Program "Dancing Through the Ages." The kids were absolutely mesmerized by their singing and dancing...it was the quietest I have EVER seen them and so fun to watch their faces. We also played a new smartboard game...ask your child if they remember what they got to draw :). I snapped some pictures of them learning a new math game called "build-a-tower." I love how EXCITED they are every time we learn a new game (seriously they scream, cheer and give each other high fives)!! Ask them how to play our last game "roll and record."

Which is your favorite?

We made a graph of our favorite nocturnal animal. We first wrote the inital of the animal on the back of our picture (so we wouldn't be influenced by our friends) and then added them one by one. The winner was no surprise to this "owl loving" teacher...I might be rubbing off on them. ;)

Good-Night K1!

"Good-Night K1"

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After reading, Good-Night Owl!, we created our own story of what sounds keep us up at night! Happy reading!

kinderGARDEN!

It's official! Our garden is all ready for growing! We transplanted our pumpkin sprouts yesterday and today we went out and watered. Ask your child how many sprouts K1 planted and where out sprouts are located.