November Super Food

Instead of forwarding the "Super Food" from our fabulous cafeteria staff... I thought it might help to put it on the blog! This months choice is not a big surprise...PUMPKINS!

Did you know that a Pumpkin is a fruit?


Pumpkins range in size from less than a pound to over 1,000 pounds.

The largest pumpkin ever weighed 1,140 pounds.

Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.

Pumpkins are 90 percent water.

They are a good source of potassium and Vitamin A.

The seeds can be toasted and eaten as a snack.

Pumpkins are used in soups, breads and pies.


This month look for the Super food in a salad and a dessert. We will be adding them to a salad on Thursday and we are having pumpkin pie on Tuesday the 15th.

My Plate

Educators nationwide could not be more thrilled with our governments decision to abolish the food pyramid and adopt the MUCH more child friendly "My Plate". We have been discussing in class what kinds of foods fit into each category. They knew a lot of fruit and vegetables but the grains, proteins, and dairy sections was a little bit harder. This week they glued a "My Plate" into their Science Journals along with a check list to track what they are eating at lunch. Here's the new "My Plate" website http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Reading at Home

Reading aloud with you child at home is one the single most important things you can do to help them learn and develop...not to mention build vocabulary and foster their imagination. Here are some things to help with reading at home:

1. Create a special place for reading- this can be a cozy chair, in bed, or even a place outside
2. Schedule a regular quiet time- as you know, kids strive on routines. Make reading a priority with your daily routines and work in at least 20 minutes. It's important they the hear you read to them (not just them reading to you.) They need to hear how a fluent reader reads.
3. Reread favorite books- "My child only wants to read the same book over and over again AND they're not even reading it...it's memorized! Is this normal?" This is not only completely normal but CRITICAL to your child's reading development.
4. Read longer books- K1 has fallen in love with Junie B. Jones. There are minimal pictures but they don't mind. They are engrossed in her humor and silly sayings. Magic Tree House is another great chapter book to read aloud...
5. Take turns reading- next time you're reading a familiar book take turns "reading" the pages.

Hope this helps and happy READING!

There is no substitute for books in the life of a child. -May Ellen Chase

The day after...

HaLloWeEn is always...interesting. Some kids are tired, others are hopped up on sugar but the thing that they ALWAYS have in common is their uncontrollable excitement to tell me ALL ABOUT THEIR NIGHT! I LOVE love LOVE IT! So I had them go straight to journal writing this morning to answer the most burning trick-or-treat questions:

1. Who did you see last night?
2. What was your favorite piece of candy?
3. How many pieces did you get to eat?
4. Where did you go?
5. Did you see any teachers from your school?

Then we all got back together and they shared their hard work!

Other great things to do with their candy is to have them figure out ways to sort (chocolate-not chocolate, size, shape, color, etc.)

Pumpkin Carving

Last Wednesday we carved a fun K1 pumpkin! This was the FIRST time I have ever carved a pumpkin with a class and it went a lot smoother than I would have ever hoped. They all took turns taking the pulp and seeds out. Then we predicted how many seeds were inside and we were all so shocked when we counted 322!

When we were done with the carving...they all took turns acting out "The Five Little Pumpkins"! 

Scarecrow Day 2011

Author Visit

Today we had a delightful visit from the Austin based author Chris Barton! He shared his great stories The Day-Glo Brothers and Shark vs. Train. He EVEN shared the sketches and events that didn't make the book...top secret stuff : )