Conner Prairie

The story of the first Thanksgiving

Stone soup with our friends from Mrs. Hacker's class

We collected 111 cans and took them to church. Father Paul had all the cans collected brought to the alter to illustrate that we are showing love to God by showing love to others. We read the story of the Little White Table for Veteran's Day.

Wax museum, Chores for Change, Music program practice and Book Buddies

Spirit week- we've got spirit!

What's Happening in November

As we move into the holiday season we will be learning about families and how they are unique and special. We will discuss traditions. I am asking that each child bring in a picture of their family to be displayed in the classroom. These will be returned.  As our service project  during the month of November we are going to be doing something I call " Chores for Change".  I would like you to give your child the opportunity do some chores at home to EARN some change and then they will bring it into school. During Religion they will get to tell the class what they did to earn their change and then put it in a container. It is really a wonderful activity because the children learn to think of others and feel really good about it. The money collected will go to our school wide service project. More information will be coming about our school wide service project. This week we will be making cards for the residents of some area nursing homes.

Fall Musical for full day students is November 13th. Information regarding this came home in your child's red Friday folder on October 31.

Sites to help your child:

www.starfall.com
www.storyonline.com
www.wonderopolis.com

Pep rally spirit week

Pumpkin pulp

What's happening in October

We are talking about the changes in the weather and how we are changing with it, We are off and running with Daily Five. During Read to Self the kids are reading  alphabet books, number books, Scholastic magazines, school books, and books we have read as a class. In Word Work the kids have been working on letter and sound recognition and alphabetical order with some children making words. In Writing the kids wrote words to do with school and been creating something out of the letter of the week in their journal and then I write down their thoughts. They have been finishing up their Creation book and retelling the story to each other during Listening to Reading and during Work with the Teacher they are working on skills at their level. I am so pleased with how the children are working independently so I can work with groups. In Math Workshop they are working on counting,  practicing writing numbers correctly, and making a counting book that will go into their book basket when it is complete. I encourage you to have your child practice  counting things at home.  I will be sharing their work with you at Fall Conferences on October 16.  Author Chris Lyttle will speak to us about bullying and his book on October 6th. Field trip to the Children's Museum is on the 10th. Spirit Week is the last week of the month. Classroom Halloween parties are on the 31st. Be sure to read the school newsletter  for information about Spirit Week. Spirit Week is a lot of fun and you will want your child to participate in the fun.

Apple centers

IXL

Exciting news! I just got notification  from IXL that our class has correctly answered over 500 math questions. That is terrific. The following students have been working on Math problems on IXL as of today: Santiago, Lauren, Ben, Max G., Max Mc., Mia M., Colin, Adrianna, Danny and Maddie. Great job kids and thank you to your parents for helping you get on at home. I am able to check to see who has been on and for how long. I encourage you to help your child at home with this math enrichment program. I have heard back from some parents and they love this program. You will be amazed at how 15 minutes a day working on math will help your child with their math skills.  I am sharing this information with Mrs. Parsons so she can make an informed decision about what to purchase. Learning can and should be fun!

Early Prevention of School Failure- EPSF

Dear Parents,
Last week your child brought home their results from the EFSF testing that was done in August along with a packet of learning activities that you can do at home that will help your child. I really hope that you looked through those activities and are doing some of the suggested activities with your child.  If your child did not score AT EXPECTED for their age you will need to do the activities. I suggest that you do some of the activities even if your child scored AT EXPECTED or ABOVE because they are fun and will strengthen these areas especially in the areas of Auditory and Language. The next few blogs will be further explanations of the different areas.

Gross Motor Development

Gross motor development is the awareness and development of large muscle activities. A few examples of gross motor skills are: understanding body parts, walking with arms swinging, skipping, galloping, running, hopping on both feet and one foot, throwing and catching various size balls, body movement to the left and right. When we move from our building to the main building you may see us doing these movements. It is comical to watch us but it is beneficial the development of their large muscles. Large muscles need to develop before the small muscles development.

Trash bag fund raiser kick off

Watch the school newsletter for information about this fund raiser!

I Can......... What Mrs. Catton knows I can do in kindergarten

What's Happening in September

Here are some highlights in September.

• September birthdays- Sophia, Dayana, Jayce and Danny. Happy Birthday Kiddos!
• Picture Day is Thursday, September 4th.

• Language Arts-  I am introducing Daily Five which is a structure we use in K-5 classrooms for reading. Part of Daily Five is Read to Self. During Read to Self the children will be reading texts from their book baskets. Each child has a book basket I put together especially for them. In their book basket is their ABC book they decorated, a counting book, a school book, ABC book, and a picture book. I will explain to the children that there are three ways to read a book (read the pictures, read the words, retell the story) and then I will model the three ways.  We will be building stamina over the next few weeks with the goal of the children being able to sit quietly "reading" from their book baskets. When we get to  20 minutes with some consistency I will introduce  the other parts of Daily Five- Listen to Reading, Writing, Word Work, Working with the Teacher (guided reading). You will be hearing more about Daily Five. We play a game with names where the children learn letters, sounds as well as syllables. 
• Math- In Math we are counting everyday and practicing what Math Workshop should look and sound like. I will be teaching the children math investigations. We will be looking and discovering attributes in attribute blocks and other items. They will be sorting and discussing how they sorted with each other. We will also be starting a number book that will be eventually going into their book basket. 
• Religion- We are learning to make the sign of the cross correctly. It is made with the right hand- head, chest, left shoulder, right shoulder, hands together.  We will be attending Mass starting on Wednesday. If you do not attend church regularly with your child you will want to prep them about proper church behavior. We are learning and practicing how to be friends. The story of Creation is our first Bible story. The children will be making a book about the story of Creation that they will keep in their book basket and read during Daily Five.
• Social Studies- We will be looking for and learning about the important people who help us at school. We will ask questions to find out what they do and discuss how their job is important to us. We are saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Early Prevention of School Failure (EPSF)- During centers, morning work, free time, and Daily Five I will have activities for the children who need to scored moderately or considerably below in any areas of the assessment. Strengthening those areas are the priority for them.  

Friendship

Mrs. Moran our school counselor came to teach us about friendship.

Using some of our smarts

8 Smarts

Today we completed our unit on the 8 Smarts. We learned a song that helped us learn the Smarts and that it doesn't matter how smart you are but rather how you are Smart. We read a book that went with each Smart to help us understand the Smart. During center time the children got an opportunity to explore the Smart by doing various activities. Ask your child if they can tell you the 8 Smarts (Word, Nature, People, Self, Art, Music, Body, and Number). We will refer to the 8 Smarts throughout the school year.

What's Happening in Room 23- Mrs. Catton's Kindergarten Class

Five days of kindergarten so far. Five days of meeting new friends, learning procedures and routines of school, and building a community. We are off to a great start. In Language Arts we are reading books about school  and doing a shared reading with the big book Buttons Buttons. In Animal Island we are learning vocabulary as well as practicing the ABCs.  Some children are just learning the ABCs and some are learning sounds. In Math we are counting. We count throughout the day. We are counting when we take attendance, line up, take lunch count, etc. I also introduced Math Workshop which will have everyday in kindergarten. During Math Workshop we will be learning about math using the math program Investigations.  In Religion we are focusing on our prayers. We pray during announcements, say a special kindergarten prayer, pray before and after lunch, and end the day with a prayer in the classroom. We are also building community in our classroom by getting to know each other, We are learning each others names, sharing about ourselves during the ME bag activity, and community circles where we talk and listen to each other. I have heard "Me too" a lot which is great because that tells me they are listening to each other. We have been getting together with Mrs. Hacker's kindergarten class in the morning to learn about the 8 Smarts. Our smarts help us learn. So far we have learned how we are Body Smart and Music Smart.
I am so excited about this school year!
Mrs. Catton

What's Happening in May

May will be very busy. This week we will be attending a field trip to Survive Alive to learn fire and home safety and the Good Touch Bad Touch program. We will also be preparing for Mother's Day. Next week we will be doing Early Prevention post screening and I Read which is a reading assessment required by the State of Indiana for students K-3. The children are finishing up their portfolios and math workbooks. They are also working hard preparing a special surprise on the last day of kindergarten.

Special person's day

Science centers

Today at science centers we dug in dirt,compared and sorted seeds, planted a flower and ate vegetables. We had a lot of fun learning how things grow.