Red Class Turkey Party!

The red class is celebrating Thanksgiving with a turkey party today.  We did 6 different rotations.

First the kids made turkey hats,

Then they learned about Pilgrims and did one of our weekly readers,

Next they made turkeys out of cookies and candies (hopefully they will make it home for you to see:)

Then they played roll a turkey,

We made a patterned necklace,

And last we played pin the wattle on the turkey!

                                                      Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Day!

This morning we had a turkey party in our room.  We made turkey hats,

And patterned necklaces,

Turkeys out of cookies,

Colored a turkey picture,

Played roll a turkey,

And played pin the waddle on the turkey!

Thank you to Jolene and Todd for volunteering!  We couldn't have done it without them!

                                          Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Book Mark Readers

Today we got to listen to the book mark readers.  This was the first time the blue class got to hear from them.  The Book Mark Readers are a group of retired people in the area that go to schools to read in a readers theater style.

The books the kids heard today are:

My Mouth is a Volcano

The Little Engine that Could

Predicting

Being able to predict a story is one of our essential outcomes.  This week we have been reading stories to practice our predicting skills.  Predicting skills would include being able to come up with a reasonable response on what will happen in the story based on what they have already learned.  Take some time to predict while reading stories at home.  Remember to use the word predict when asking your child to guess what will happen next.

We also added some more words to our word wall.  So far we have learned: a, and, are, can, go, here, I, is, like, my, no, see, this, the, to, you.

The more ways you practice these words at home, the more solid they become to the kids!

IPad Minis

Yesterday and today we worked with the cart of iPad minis we have available to our building.  The first task was learning an app called Doodle Buddy.  We used Doodle Buddy to stamp out a picture to a given number.  This trimester we want the students to count out 11 objects.  Using Doodle Buddy was a good way to practice.

The second thing we did was using the camera.  We took a tour of the building and found patterns around our school.  When we got back to the class they sat with a friend to go through their patterns to determine if they found a pattern or not.  We also learned how to use the camera and delete picture in the process.

Writing

Everyday we spend 15 to 20 minutes on writing.  At this time of the year we expect the kids to be able to come up with a story idea and inventive spell part of their story.  This past week we have been talking about making our picture the best it can be.  We started this discussion by learning what charterers and setting are and how they relate to our writing.

We took a day to learn to draw a character for our story and talked about how we can add details to our picture to show our reader the setting.  We each made a picture of ourselves in the classroom.  We worked on adding the correct colors to the characters and the setting.

Next we talked about what a 4 star picture would be.  I gave 4 examples and the kids told me how my characters and setting improved each time.

Although I don't expect the kids to make a picture that is like my example, I do want them to take their time and do their best!  We continue to work on hearing our sounds and writing what we hear.  Writing is an area where there can always be improvements, so encourage your kids to write whenever they want to express themselves.  Lists, notes, stories, are all examples of great ways to begin writing.