Who's ready? Kindergarten here we come! This year has been filled with so much growth. Each one came in a little unsure  and now are leaving for Kindergarten with confidence.We are socially ready: knowing when to talk and when it's the teacher's turn; how to sit and focus during learning times; how to listen and follow directions;  how to share with others; how to treat others and our space with respect.We are physically ready: we have all grown a few inches and have better control of our bodies. We are cognitively ready: we know our ABC's, how to count to 10, how to listen and respond to stories; how to add and subtract; and so much more. We are emotionally ready: we don't fret when Mom's and Dad's are not near by or the day seems long. Am I ready? These 19 students have been my everyday for 173 days. I have a memory for each one and a place in my heart. But I am ready to see where their journey will take them as long as they come back to visit!

In our small group library time, we learned about castles of the world.  We used vocabulary like moat, tower, fortress, fortified, keep, and dungeon. And used Versailles, Windsor, Neuschwanstein, and Castle de Haar as inspiration for our own castle building. We were architects like Julia Morgan, who designed Hearst Castle in California. During each group's presentation, it was apparent that they put a lot of thought into the building of their castle. Here are a few of the groups with their castle.

In a blink February is behind us and March is here! Somewhere in February we celebrated 100 days in school! Wow. So many changes have happened since the first day of school and we are well on our way to being Kindergarteners!

Next week is conferences (March 13th). Look out for the conference sheet to come home. See you soon!

What a busy December! Visits with Santa, Polar Express rides in pajamas, caroling though the school delivering our homemade treats, making gingerbread houses, and so much more.

Thank you, families, for your support in helping us do what we do :)

It's here! Snow! Play and exploration is important to our development and it's fun!

Now that the cold and snow are here please make sure your child is prepared. Hats, mittens, boots, coats, and snow pants are needed to be able to play outside safely. Extras may be stored in school lockers so that they are always available.

Let it snow!

November we talk about bears, being thankful, and Native Americans. We'll start off with a series by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. Some of the titles include Bear Snores On and Bear Wants More. We will then read non-fiction material to find out about bears: what they eat, where they live, what kinds, and what bears hibernate. 

In our small group library time, we are watching a Smithsonian video series on Native American storytelling. We'll read Chief Jake Swamp's story, Giving Thanks.

Our bulletin board art is still following our study of shapes. First we made Circle Pumpkin, next Square Bear, and now Triangle Turkey. All these pieces use a variety of art mediums and multiple shapes to learn our shapes!

Happy Fall!

Our theme this week is Monsters! Reading stories by Ed Emberly and family: Go Away Big Green Monster, If You're a Monster and You Know It, and Glad Monster Sad Monster. Using books is a great way to open up about our feelings and some of our fears. Here we are pretending to be monters!

Reading is everything! This week we start our Parent Reader Program. Every Friday, a family member from one of our students will come in to share a book from their home library and read it to the class! Spread the joy of reading for fun!

I hope everyone loves the first book, No David, from our classroom sponsors. Each student in the class receives a free book every month to build their home library. Can't wait to see what new book will go home next. Keep reading!

We are off to a great start in Pre-K! This month we focused on how to be a part of the classroom community and beyond, a part of the larger school community. We learned about who we are as unique individuals  with amazing qualities to bring into our community. Our first family project showed how we are truly special. Each student shared their work with the class and the projects will be on display in the classroom for another week. We are going to keep moving forward, building on the skills of working together in community to learn great things this year!