Mystery Reader

Thank you so much to Deion's Grandma, Ms. Winston! She came to school yesterday to be the Mystery Reader. She read Corduroy to all the kindergarten and first grade students!

Our First Podcast: C is for Cookie

Today, in honor of the letter C, we enjoyed some cookies! We also sang a song made famous by Cookie Monster, "C is for Cookie." We recorded our voices and took pictures to create a podcast. 

Shining Light

Congrats Felix! She was our Shining Light last week. She was a good friend and very helpful to myself and her classmates!

Looking for Numbers!

Today we looked through magazines for numbers! We found so many!

Mystery Reader Needed

Last week I sent home a form about being a Mystery Reader for our Village Meeting. I was wondering if anyone would be able to be the mystery reader for this upcoming week on, Wednesday September 28th at 3:00pm. All you have to do is come to school and read a story to the first grade and kindergarten students. Let me know if your interested!
Thanks!

Music Class Fun!

Ms. Ritter, our music teacher, just posted a video of our students singing on her music class blog. Click on the following link to see your students sing!

http://ellenthompsonmusic.blogspot.com/2011/09/hello-everybody-too-dah-lah.html

Please join us for ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT Pancakes!

PANCAKE BREAKFAST is BACK!!
Served with SAUSAGE, ORANGE DRINK & COFFEE 
BY: CHRIS CAKES

LOCATION: Ellen Thompson (front parking lot if weather permits)
Date: Thursday September 29, 2011 
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.                                                               
COST: $6.00 per person at the front desk
$7.00 per person at the door
(Children under 2 free) 

Taller & Shorter

Today we went around the classroom to find items that are taller or shorter than we are. 

The chart is taller than Deion!

The bookshelf is taller than Merek!

The easel is taller than Jaden.

Mrs. Woolsey is taller than Da'Kharee

 The block table is shorter than Felix.

The kitchen is shorter than Kolbey.

The green chair is shorter than Ta'mar and Mahdi.

The table is shorter than Maknzie.

Guided Reading Book Bags

C.J. and Makenzie are showing off the guided reading book bags they took home tonight. Your student will each bring their bag home one night this week. When it comes home please go over the contents with your student. Inside the bag this week is a small bag with the letters of your student's name and their sight word ring. Have your student build their name with the letter cards. Review the words on the word ring with your student. Remember, these are not spelling words, but words for your student to practice reading. Send the book back to school with all the contents the following day. 

Beginning next week your student will bring home their bag more frequently. The bag will also contain books at their reading level. Be sure to check in your students backpack for the yellow book bag and complete any activities inside. As always, let me know if you have any questions!

Patterns!

Today in math the students made their very own patterns! Check out all their hard work!

Shining Light

Each week all the kindergarten and first grade teachers look for one student to be the "Shining Light." This means they stood out all week long for a positive characteristic.

This week, Kolbey is our Shining Light. He has been a great friend all week and participates in class! Congrats Kolbey!

Debugging Strategies

Today in social studies we talked about the "Debugging Strategies." These steps help children solve problems independently with their peers. After we discussed the steps, we practiced with partners how to ignore, walk away, talk friendly, talk firmly, and get adult help. Students know if they come to "tell" and have not completed the debugging steps, they will be asked to do so first. We also talked about if there is an emergency, you need to go right to the teacher to get help. The following posters are now up in our classroom to help remind the students of the steps. 

Reminder

Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14th from 6:00-7:30 our school will be having Back to School Night. I hope to see everyone there!

Number Hunt

Today in math we went on a hunt in our classroom for numbers. The kids found out numbers are all around us. Tonight's homework was for your student to go on a number hunt at home. I'm excited to see all the places the students found numbers in their homes.

Work Stations

It may look like we are "just playing" but our kindergarten students are doing important work during our work stations portion of the day!

At word work station students use magnetic letters to practice building words. Today we made our names, soon we will build sight words. 

I have found many great educational computer games our students play in class at computer station. Here they practice technology and problem solving skills.

Here is the link to my list of websites... http://www.linkable.com/mrswoolsey

At the writing station students practice writing letters and their handwriting skills. 

At the library students are able to relax on the couch and read any books they select. 

At puzzles center students practice their problem solving and counting skills. 

At dramatic play, students practice oral language and social skills.