Johnny Appleseed and graphing

Well, we have been busy learning about Johnny Appleseed and how he traveled around planting apple seeds and because of him we enjoy many things made from apples.  In class we also graphed apples. We graphed them by color, size and by whether they had a stem or not.  Our giant graph is so much fun.  We started our science unit on farms.  We did some research in class about the type of crops grow on the farm.  The students looked through some trade books and post-it noted the crops they found.  Then we had a discussion about those crops and the students illustrated pages that will go into a class book for everyone to share.  They did an  awesome job!  This week we will read some of those books and find out more about crops on the farm.  In math we have been working on numbers 1-25, writing and identify them.  Students should practice these at home as well.  I apologize  for not updating my blog more often.  I was having some difficulty uploading pictures, but I think I have that worked out.  I have been sending home homework weekly, please make sure you sit with your child as the complete each assignment.  Make sure to look it over before they go on to the next page. Make sure they are forming their letters properly and are using the writing lines properly. I appreciate your help and support at home.  

Progress reports went home on Friday please make sure to sign and return one copy.  I hope you have had a chance to check out the teacher ease site.  I have had a few questions about it. Kindergarten has a grading scale of NI- needs improvement, M -meets and E excellent. It is a 1,2,3 scale.  I do not give E's the first few quarters.  I am grading things such as knowing their letters and numbers etc. and either you know them or you don't, you can't exceed in knowing them and home work is graded as handed in = meets or not handed in = needs improvement.  If your child is receiving an M or 2's that is like an A. The are getting the highest score possible at this point. As we get into reading and addition higher points  can be earned. I hope this makes sense.


A.M. class graphing by color

A.m. Class graphing by color



P.M. Class graphing whether their apples had stems or not

September in Kindergarten

It's been a busy month in kindergarten. We have been learning so much. The students have been going to Art, Music, and the LRC as well as all our regular class activities. The last two weeks we have been working on letters, rhyming, initial sound recognition and numbers. Everyday during circle time we have been working in our binders keeping track of the days of the week, the days in the month and we talk about the seasons and the weather as well. As the months go on I will be adding more to the binder. It makes the learning more hands on and they are not just listening to me they are participating in the activities and are engaged. We started the star of the week a couple of weeks ago and they get so excited on Fridays when it is mystery bag day and because the new star of the week is picked. We play a little game until there is one student left and that student is the star of the week. It's so much fun. The monday readers have been a big hit. Thank you for taking time out of your day to come in to read to the children. They really love it. I love how creative the parents get. This week we will have our first science day. We will be examining physical and chemical change. The students will be making gak and observing color change, it's a big hit. We will also be discussing Johnny Appleseed this week and start our Farm to table inquiry based unit. It will last several weeks and cover everything from growing food on farms to bringing it to our homes. We will also visit a pumpkin farm during the unit and our next science day will be centered around pumpkins. Johnny Appleseed will be a great start to the unit because he traveled the country planting appleseeds. In Math we will be graphing apples so watch the buzz closely the students will need to send in an apple. Check back again!