Pete the Cat

We have been loving our Pete the Cat books!  So far, we have read Pete the Cat: Rocking In My School Shoes and Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes.   These books are super fun to read, sing, and they send positive messages about having a good attitude in life.  Please see the YouTube videos below to watch the stories in action!  These books may also be available through our Scholastic book orders which will be coming home shortly! :) 

   

Acted out/sung by the author himself, Mr. Eric!

  

(This isn't the whole story- its more of a promotional video! But you get the idea. :) )

Starfall Reading

I want to share a wonderful reading website full of games and activities to promote early literacy.  We visited Starfall today to explore the letters A & B.  To access letters, click on the first tab (ABCs).  For now, I would stick with the first and second tabs and the fun activities on the right.  Once we're really reading, 3 and 4 would be more appropriate. Enjoy and have fun!

Click here to access Starfall

PS: Our letter sounds song we started to learn today is under ABCs- down at the bottom in the right hand corner click on ABC and the song will pop up with a friendly man! :) 

Meet the Teacher Night

It was so nice to see so many of your last night at Meet the Teacher Night!  If you were not able to make it, I would be more than happy to meet with you either in person or chat over the phone.  Below is my link to my presentation, as well as downloadable documents (Back to School Packet and volunteer sign up sheet).

My hope is that our blog will be useful to you and your family in many ways this school year!  Check out the various tabs at the top, especially the "Just for Kids" (full of age-appropriate websites) and the Home Resources (downloads for home!)

 If there is something on here you would like to see, please let me know.  Check back for pictures and updates. I am so excited for this school year! :)

Link to my Meet the Teacher Night slideshow (also under important documents tab)

Back to School Packet 

Volunteer Sheet

Summer Reading!

Can you believe summer is right around the corner?  Just because school is over doesn't mean reading and learning should be, too! :)

"Decades of research confirm that summer learning loss is real. According to a report released last month by the RAND Corporation, the average summer learning loss in math and reading for American students amounts to one month per year. " came from the NY Times article "This is Your Brain on Summer"

I will be sending some information of reading recommendations from our librarian, as well as information on some fun summer reading programs.  If you child participates in one of these, please have he/she visit me in August for a special treat! :)

Link to Johnson County Library Summer Reading Club Program

**Your child is bringing home a bookmark from this great program today!**

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

As Kindergarten is coming to an end in 6 short days, we are doing some fun reading activities!! We read one of the newer Pete the Cat Books called Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.  This book is all about having a positive attitutude and how things in life come and go- like buttons. :) Above is the video of the main part of the chorus.  For the whole song, visit this website:  http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/  and go to "free song downloads" on the right hand side for the entire song. 

"It's all good!" :)

Earth Day

We celebrated Earth Day today in Kindergarten!  We read Earth Day books, watched a short video on the history of Earth Day, learned the terms "reduce, reuse, and recyle" and sorted items into the three groups, did a Scholastic News, and a fun art/music project to end the day. 

We listened to the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and the kids got to use their watercolors to paint what the song made them think of.  These have been mounted on black paper and are beautifully hanging in our classroom!

Click above to listen to the song!

Artists at work!

Plant Unit

We started our plant unit in science this week, which ties in perfectly with our reading-science integration Unit 6: Life All Around! 

We have been learning about the parts of plants, their functions, the needs of plants, and how they grow.  As an experiment, each student is growing his/her own lima bean plant!  This is one of my favorite things every year- the kids really get into it.  Enjoy our pictures and a couple of videos we've watched!

Taking data/making observations

All done and hanging! We will get these down from time to time to complete more observations.

The Needs of a Plant Song:

Watch a Lima Bean Grow in Fast Forward:

Click here for online plant games/activities