READERS AND WRITERS IN ROOM 3!

It's been a busy time in our classroom.  We have "launched" our readers' and writers' workshops.  This week, we have been exploring non-fiction.  We have learned that "teaching books" use close up pictures, diagrams, bold words, maps, and other features to help teach us about a certain topic.  Even though we can't yet read ALL of the words, we can still learn a lot from "teaching books." 

Today, we learned how to read effectively with a partner.  It was wonderful to listen to the conversations that were happening during this shared reading time.   Our kindergarteners are doing a fantastic job noticing small details in their books and learning everything they can from the authors and each other. 

Speaking of authors, we have some of those in our classroom as well.  Continuing with the non-fiction theme, students are "writing to teach" about a particular topic.  I've seen some fantastic writing about pigs, apples, candy, Halloween, woodpeckers, the weather, and cats.  Authors are practicing making detailed illustrations that will teach readers all about their topic.  It's amazing what we can do already!!   I'm looking forward to sharing some of this fantastic work with you next month. 

Applesauce, Peacful Moments, and Fire Safety! Oh my!!

What a busy week we've had!   We had a great time making applesauce for our open house.  Everyone peeled, cut and chopped the apples.   We loved the wonderful smell of apples cooking in the crock pot throughout the day.   What a nice treat for our visitors on Wednesday evening.

                                   
                           

During literacy time this week, we started a new routine called "word study."  During this time, we will practice foundational skills that will help us to become better readers and writers.   This week, we sorted pictures , studied the formation of the letters in our names, and read familiar books.   We now have MANY books that we've read together over and over again.   Students have learned that we often start reading using our memory.   It's so exciting to hear them retelling these familiar stories and then declaring, "I'M READING!!!" 
                                                      



We have been practicing some mindfulness in room 3.It is very important to remember that kindergarten students are not only growing academically but socially and emotionally as well.   Learning to self-regulate is a VERY important life skill.      Every day, after recess, we do a few minutes of mindful movements.  These stretches, poses, and breathing exercises are a great way for kids to calm themselves and prepare for the next part of our day.  We also have a "peaceful place" in our classroom where children can go if they are feeling upset, anxious, tired, or just need to take a quick break.   There, they will find specific tools that they have learned to use in order to calm themselves.  This week, we have learned that focusing on an object for a few minutes while we breathe can be very soothing.  We have a lovely collection of rocks that kids can use for this purpose.  You can remind your kindergartener that they know just what to do when they are feeling upset or overwhelmed at home. 
                                     
                                         

Firefighter Brad from the South Burlington Fire Department came to talk with us this week.  He taught the kids that it's important to have a "fire safety plan" that includes two ways out of any room in your home.   He also emphasized the importance of working fire detectors.  Don't be surprised if you have a mini Fire Marshall in your home this weekend!

POPCORN FRIDAY happened again this week.   You may have noticed that your child came home with his or her snack uneaten on Friday.  That's because we had our popcorn during snack time.   Typically, popcorn Friday happens once per month as a fundraiser for 5th grade Fun Day.   The cost is 50 cents per bag.   UNLESS I HEAR THAT YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR CHILD TO HAVE POPCORN, I will buy some for anyone who has forgotten their quarters.  We can't have any sad faces on Popcorn Friday!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, October 14 Chamberlin Harvest Festival 1:00-3:00

Thursday & Friday, October 19-20 - No School

Thursday, November 2 - Picture Retake Day

Friday, November 10 - Early Dismissal, bagged lunch available

APPLES EVERYWHERE!!

We had a wonderful time at Chapin's Apple Orchard.  Not only did we pick apples, but we also learned a lot about how they grow.  We learned how important bees are to apple trees and even saw an active colony at work!  We used some apples to make our very own apple cider using a machine called an apple press.   It was delicious!   After a picnic lunch at the orchard, we headed back to school.  We brought lots of apples with us and we will use them for some special projects next week.   What a great day we had!

It's a New Year in Room 3!

Welcome to kindergarten!  We are off to a great start "sharing, caring, and learning together!"  During these first few weeks, we have been working hard to establish routines and build community in our classroom.   We have learned how important it is to be safe, respectful and responsible at Chamberlin School.   

I will update this blog regularly as a way of sharing our adventures with you. The year will go by quickly, and this will be a good way of preserving our memories!  Be sure to visit often and let me know what you think!  Hang on, it's going to be quite a ride!

Good-Bye From Room 3!!

What a great year we've had together!  It was hard for me to say good-bye to everyone.  The greatest joy of my job is seeing how much the kids grow throughout our time together. I'm so proud of how far we've come!   This morning, we spent some time reflecting on our favorite memories of the year.  Here's what the kids had to say...


"I really liked the 100th Day!"   Sage

"When we did the Fun Run and then we added up all of our laps."  Henry

"The day the leprechaun came to room 3!"  Brayden

"Using the Bee Bots."   Matilda

"Hibernation day!  We slept under the tables.  It was the first time we got to go under furniture."                                                                                                                                                  Maddox

"The parade on the 100th Day.  We got to walk all over the school and make lots of NOISE!"  Giada

"The Mother's Day breakfast.  Our moms got to come to school!" Mal

"I liked the family picnic." Layna

"Hibernation day was fun.  The skunk tried to spray us!" Connor

"When Mrs. Brown dressed up like an old lady on her birthday."  Felicity

"We saw Pete the Cat at the Flynn Theatre."  William

"Field day.  We played outside and got wet."  Harper

"Science.  I liked the balls and ramps."  Curtis

"Field day.  We played outside ALL MORNING."  Pepper


It thrills me to see that so many of the kids' favorite memories are of times when we were playing and laughing together.  In a time when everything in education seems to be driven by "the standards" it is so important to remember that our children really need to PLAY.   In fact, that's really how they learn the most!  Yes, we worked on reading, writing, counting and adding, but we had a lot of fun too.   Doesn't it make sense that happy kids would learn more along the way?   My wish for these precious kids is that they will ALWAYS make time to laugh and play and that they will never take life too seriously!  I know that they will all do great things!

I'd like to thank all of the parents who helped to make this year such a success.  I was overwhelmed today by your show of kindness.  The cards, flowers, and gifts were certainly not necessary, but were very much appreciated.   I have enjoyed our journey and will definitely be keeping tabs on your little ones!   Have a great summer!

Spring Has Sprung!

We have spring fever in room 3!  It's been SO great to spend some extra time outdoors!  


Inside the classroom, our academic focus has been primarily on end-of-the-year assessments in both math and literacy.  It has been so rewarding for me to see how far everyone has come this year.   While we've been having fun, it looks like I was able to sneak in some learning!  We have some eager readers, accomplished authors and brilliant mathematicians in our classroom.  It's been a great year!


Last week, the children had a blast at our annual Fun Run!   The music was blasting and everyone was smiling as we took to the track.  What a great fundraiser for our amazing PTO!

This week, we visited the Bread and Butter farm right here in South Burlington.  You might remember that we went to the farm back in the fall.  This time, we compared to see how things were different in the spring.  One thing we found was that the pigs AND the cows are all expecting new babies!  We even listened to see if we could hear them inside their moms' tummies!



We planted our own basil plants with Farmer Becca...

We harassed the chickens....

It was another wonderful day at the farm! 

Maybe we can all meet there for burger night this summer?

Recently, we planted some pumpkin seeds.  These seeds were very special because we saved them when we carved a jack-o-lantern back in October.  It's been very exciting to see our seeds growing into healthy pumpkin plants!  We are all hopeful that we will be able to pick our own pumpkins in the fall. 

TUESDAY, JUNE 13 will be FIELD DAY at Chamberlin School.  There will be a variety of stations set up outside for the kids to rotate through.  WE WILL GET WET.  Bathing suits should not be worn, but I would ask that each student have a COMPLETE change of clothes for that day.  This includes shoes.  Also, it would be a good idea to apply sunscreen before leaving home that day (or any sunny day!!:)  

Our snack shelf is looking bare!  If you are able to contribute something for this final round of snacks, we would really appreciate it. 

Upcoming Dates

Monday, May 29 - No School, Memorial Day

Tuesday, June 6 - Chamberlin Family Picnic - Kindergarten lunch is 11:00.  

Tuesday, June 6 - VOTE on our school budget! 

Wednesday, June 7 - Step-Up Day - Students will meet all of the first grade teachers 

Tuesday, June 13 - Field Day 

Wednesday, June 14 - Final Assembly

Friday, June 16 - Last Day of School, 10:30 dismissal 

Quote of the Week: 

"Mrs. Brown, what did you do to your hair?   It's so....calm."   









We're TV Stars!

What a surprise we got at Chamberlin School when WCAX morning news anchor Melissa Sheketoff called and asked us to do her a favor.  She wanted us to sing Happy Birthday to her friend, meteorologist Gary Sadowsky.   Interestingly, we talk about Gary a lot in room 3, checking on his forecast to see if it will be an indoor or outdoor recess.   Thankfully, Ms. Murphy and I had our ukuleles at school so, after a few practice sessions, we were ready to go.   Melissa and her cameraman showed up and captured this...






http://www.wcax.com/story/35413016/chamberlin-school-sings-happy-birthday-to-gary#.WRXWol3rdLQ.email




Gary must have loved his surprise because today we got an email from him!

This week we celebrated our moms with our annual Mother's Day Breakfast.  The children worked very hard preparing for this special day.  They wrote books about their moms, painted portraits of them, and used baby pictures to create scrapbook pages.  There was singing, reading, and maybe even a little crying!  Special thanks to the dads who provided the delicious breakfast!  We could certainly feel the love in room 3 today!

Upcoming Dates

* Wednesday, May 17 - Early Dismissal (11:30)  Please let me know if your child needs a bagged lunch for that day.

* Friday, May 19 -Chamberlin School Fun Run - Information is coming home today!

* Friday, May 26 - FHTMS Middle School Band Assembly

* Monday, May 29 - No School, Memorial Day

* Tuesday, June 6 - Chamberlin Family Picnic (11:00 for Kindergarten)

* Tuesday, June 13 - Chamberlin Field Day

* Wednesday, June 14 - Final Assesmbly 8:10

QUOTE of the WEEK:  From my 15 year-old daughter after attending the Mother's Day Breakfast, "No WONDER you're so tired!!"









Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I thought April showers were supposed to bring May flowers!  It's been very soggy around here and it doesn't look like things are going to improve any time soon!  Nonetheless, please be sure your kindergartener comes to school prepared for some outdoor time.  If there is a break in the rain, we will try to take advantage of it!  I recommend rain boots and a light jacket.

We have been very busy with some TOP SECRET projects as we prepare for the Mother's Day Breakfast.  We have many surprises in store for our moms.  We look forward to seeing everyone next Friday, May 12 at 8:00 a.m.

During math this week, we learned a new card game that helped us to compare numbers higher than 10.  The concept of place value is very important in kindergarten and beyond!  In the coming weeks we will learn more about solving word problems using addition and subtraction.

The month of May will be busy with end-of-the-year assessments.  (I can't believe I just wrote that!  Only 29 school days left!)  We will do one-on-one interviews in both math and literacy.  As always, you will learn more about your child's progress on the final report card, which comes home on the last day of school.

I'm sad to report that one of our friends has a case of strep throat.  The last time this happened, it seemed to spread throughout room 3.  If your child complains of a sore throat or suddenly runs a fever, you may want to visit the doctor!  We want everyone well for next Friday!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

* Friday, May 12 - Kindergarten Mother's Day Breakfast
* Wednesday, May 17 - Early Dismissal at 11:30
* Friday, May 19 - Chamberlin School Fun Run
* Friday, May 26 - FHTMS Jazz Band Assembly
* Monday, May 29 - Memorial Day, No School
* Tuesday, June 6 - Chamberlin School Family Picnic

Quote of the Week:  You just never know what a kindergartner might say.  Sometimes, they are curious, sometimes thoughtful and other times downright philosophical.  But they are ALWAYS funny.  Here's what I heard this week...

"Mrs. Brown, did you know that hell is a bad heaven? The guy that's in charge there wants everyone to follow him." 

Working Hard in Room 3!

This is a kindergarten teacher's favorite time of year.  Not only because spring is in the air and warmer temperatures mean a little extra recess time, but also because kindergarteners make SO much progress!   We literally see growth from day to day in all areas.  I'm looking forward to sharing some great things with you next week during our parent/teacher conferences. 


You may have heard about our friends "The Tricky Teens."  They visited us every day for about a week.   There was a dilemma, however, and we were quite concerned about it.  It seemed that 10 was having a party and all of her Tricky Teen friends were invited....except 15!  For some reason, he didn't get an invitation.  He was very sad and we were just beside ourselves with worry.   All of the other teen numbers tried to help but to no avail.  For a week 15 waited and waited hoping to get an invitation.  Finally, 10 showed up. Low and behold, it was all a big misunderstanding.  She DID have an invitation for her friend 15 and, in fact, she invited all of us too!   We all had a great time at 10's party, especially 15! 

Last week, we were able to visit Chamberlin's "Invention Convention."  Some of our friends in grades 3 through 5 came up with some very creative inventions.   We talked about some of their ideas and came up with a few of our own! 

Anja explained her invention to us.  It's an umbrella with a transparent rain shield for those wet and windy days!

This week, we were visited by some students from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.  They taught us to watch out for things that might LOOK tasty but could really be dangerous.  We learned that some medicines or even household cleaners can look like treats.  We learned to say "It may look yummy, it may smell good, but before I taste it, I will ask if I should." 

Champ was the special guest at our school assembly this week!  He and his friend from the Vermont Lake Monsters let us know that it will be Chamberlin School Night at the ball park on June 21.   Information about tickets was sent home in your child's folder today. 

IMPORTANT DATES

April 4-7 Scholastic Book Fair in the library

April 6 - Special Vote for our School Budget

April 6 - 7 Half Days (11:30 dismissal) Parent/Teacher Conferences

May 12 - MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST 8:00 - 9:30

Quote of the Week: 

Today one of the kids asked what I was doing after school.  I explained that I have a hair appointment and asked what I should do with my hair.  Here are the answers...

"Get it straight.  It has too many curls and waves."

"Black!  Yes.  Turn it black."

"No...PINK!!"

"Make it short. VERY short. And spiky."

"NO...keep it the same.  It's just right." ♥









A Snowy (short) Week in Room 3!

It occurred to me that most, if not all, of the kids in room 3 have NEVER seen this much snow in their lifetime!  It certainly has been a long time since we had a storm like that one!  While the two snow days slowed us down a bit, we still had a busy week. 


We were so excited to do some coding and programming with the Bee Bots.  Students worked in pairs to create a path for their Bee Bot to move from one point to another.  Once the code was established, the Bee Bots were programmed to follow the path.  It was great to see the kids working so well together to make decisions and solve problems.   After a few successes, teams were given a challenge.  Obstacles were placed on the grid, making it necessary to create an alternative path.

We are looking forward to new challenges with the Bee Bots over the next several weeks. 

The leprechauns were up to no good in room 3.  We came back from recess to find a mess in our classroom AND this tiny little door...

As we were cleaning up the mess, we noticed this...

Well, needless to say, we took that as challenge.  The kids got to work planning a trap.   We decided that we would need to trick the leprechaun into believing that we had some real gold in our classroom.  We used all of our big yellow Legos for that.   We propped up a box with a BIG rock duct-taped to the back.   The kids made arrows with notes to lead the leprechaun straight to the trap.  Then we went to music and P.E.  





Well, it worked like a charm!  When we got back from P.E., the box was knocked down and look what we found underneath...

Golden-wrapped CANDY!   We counted them out and found there were enough for everyone to have TWO!!

I wonder if we'll ever see our yellow Legos again....

IMPORTANT DATES

*  Tuesday, March 28 - K-2 Spring Concert 6:30 p.m. in the gym

*  Friday, March 31 - No School - Teacher In-Service

* April 6 and 7 - Early Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences 

* Friday, May 12 - MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST!!!  

QUOTES of the WEEK: 

"I think it was that LEPRECHAUN who messed up my BEDROOM!!"  

"That leprechaun needs to go back to China where he came from."  

 

Welcome Back!

Even though it was a short week, the days after a vacation always seem to be VERY productive.  We hit the ground running with new work in both literacy and math. 


This week, we learned the importance of being able to "retell" a story that we've read.  We should start at the beginning, tell what happened in order, and include all of the details that we remember.  In order to practice this skill, we now have some little stuffed friends to help.  After all, it's a little strange to retell a story to YOURSELF!  Our retell buddies come out during Readers' Workshop time.  They are very good listeners and they give us plenty of opportunity to practice this important skill. 

So glad I hung onto my son's old Beanie Baby collection!  (Shhhhh...)

In math this week, we started working with numbers that are "ten and some more."  The teen numbers tend to be very tricky for kindergarteners, primarily because their names do not have a pattern like numbers in the other decades.   We are working on counting and writing teen numbers as well as making different combinations to ten.  Next week, some VERY special visitors will be in room 3 to help us learn more about teen numbers. 

On Wednesday, we started our morning with some movement!  Sarah Cover from Urban Dance Company (and Curtis, Quincy, and Viv's mom...) did some movement activities with ALL of the kindergarteners!  We enjoyed it so much that we've asked her to come back!  We will have some movement time with Sarah for the next five or six weeks.  Thanks Sarah!

QUOTE of the WEEK: 

"I can dance.  I don't even have to tell my body what to do. 

It just DOES it."





Another Busy Week in Room 3!

There has been quite the buzz in our hive this week!  We've been busy finishing up some projects, publishing our February stories, and chugging away with new math work.  Everyone has worked hard and we have a lot to share. 


It was Wellness Week at Chamberlin School.  On Tuesday a special guest teacher, Ms. Kim, did some "mindful movement" with us in the gym.  It was great to be with all of our friends from the other two classrooms.  The children were VERY good at this!

This is our "Star Pose."

We can even do a "shooting star." 

"Rock." 

We also had our Farm to School lesson on Tuesday.  This month, we learned about cabbage and made special cole slaw.  Everyone was brave and tried this new recipe. 

We continued to explore force and motion during science time.  One of our friends hypothesized that the heavier balls would roll faster.  In order to test this theory, we first used balance scales to determine the weight of the balls from heaviest to lightest. 

Then, we had to test the speed of the balls using some ramps.  We were careful not to PUSH the balls because that would add a force which could make them go faster.  Instead, we let go of them at the top of the ramp and watched to see which one would cross the finish line first.  We discovered that the baseball, which was the heaviest, did not go faster than all of the balls.   Some of the smaller and lighter balls actually rolled faster. 



On Wednesday, author Ashley Wolff visited our kindergarten classes.  You might know the Miss Bindergarten series that she illustrates.  Ashely talked to the kids about some words that are very important to her as an author:  Passion, Practice, Patience, and Perseverance.  These big words will come in handy for us in kindergarten too! 

We got a sneak peek of Ashley's brand new book which will be out this spring! 

UPCOMING DATES

* February 27- March 7 - Winter Break

* March 8 - Back to School

* Friday, March 10 - Popcorn Friday

* Wednesday, March 15 - Early Dismissal (11:30)

* Friday, May 12 - MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST

Quote of the Week: 

Our fifth grade buddies have been joining us in the morning to work with kids on some important skills.  After helping a few kids work on identifying and writing lower case letters, one fifth grade buddy declared,

"Ok Mrs. Brown, I think I fixed them!" 

I hope you enjoy some extra time with your kindergartener this week. 

We are on the home stretch now!