We have started the past couple days with short videos of seed germination and growth.  We watched a sunflower, mushroom and lima bean this week.  For some reason, the mushroom video is hysterical to those who are five and six years old.  I''ll post them at the bottom of our blog today so you can watch them if you wish!
We also reviewed parts of a plant and are learning about their life cycles.
We are working on retelling in reading.  We know the beginning of the story is how a fiction story "gets started," usually with a problem.  The middle part of a story is usually the biggest part of the story with the problem getting worked out or made clearer.  The ending is how it all worked out.  Yesterday we read The Biggest, Best Snowman, by Margery Cuyler.  Ask me to retell you this story with a very special lesson, especially for kindergarteners.  We read the book, but here's a video of the book to enjoy!  

Today we read Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!, by Candace Fleming.  This book is about a gardener who some unwanted guests in his garden dining on his produce.  We noticed both the gardener and the bunnies were very fluent thinkers; the gardener kept coming up with ideas of how to keep the bunnies out, and the bunnies kept coming up with ways to get in to the garden.  Ask me to tell you how the gardener tried to keep the bunnies out, and how the bunnies got in!
We are starting Words Their Way this week.  We will be on a two week cycle where we practice sorting pictures or words based on their sounds and/or letter patterns the first week at school, then it will be sent home to practice at school with suggested activities.  I met with a couple groups so far to do their sorts, and will be finishing the other groups later this week.  

We are starting to get postcards from our Postcard Project.  We will keep the postcards at school so we can sort them by states or countries, match them to where the state is on the rug map, and study the pictures on the postcards.  Thanks to everyone who helped out by sending out the postcards we sent home.  If you would like to send out more, let me know, and I'll send home some blank postcards.  All the postcards will be returned at the end of the project so your child can keep them.

Enjoy the videos!
Juliet

Today we made observations of mung bean seeds growing.  This video is a time-lapse video shot over three and a half days.  We made observations of what we noticed.  We worked to make sure what we said just what we saw, not what we thought.  We were surprised to see how much the seed moved by itself.  

We also learned about the word compliment.  We talked about how we can make compliments to our writing partner when we are sharing our writing with them. Today we shared our writing and listened and looked at the writing to make a compliment and to tell our partner what feeling they incorporated into their writing.
We enjoyed a funny story called Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair, by Lee Fox.  The story was very funny, but also helped us learn about other words for hair.  Ask me to tell you another word for hair.  We also listened to find rhyming words.  We know brushing our hair is part of taking care of our body and that we need to brush our hair every day.  Ask me to tell you what happened when Ella didn't brush her hair.
We practiced counting by tens.  Some of the children are having some difficulty in passing on to the next decade in counting.  We pretended to be weight lifters and counted by tens as we lifted our invisible weights over our head.  We came up with other ways to practice too.  Ask me to show you one way I can practice counting by tens.  We also used balance scales to compare the weight of objects.  We will have more practice with balance scales next week.

Have a great weekend!
​Juliet

This morning we went to the Fourth and Fifth Grade Chorus concert.  We enjoyed the rock and roll songs they sang.  Our class showed their very best manners by sitting quietly, clapping appropriately, and being respectful of the performers.  
We read a great book called Visitng Feelings by Lauren Rubenstein.  This book was about how feelings can come and go, and the way they make feel to us.  Ask about the feelings that can make me feel as light as a cloud, or as heavy as a grizzly bear
We used this book as part of our writing today. We know that our stories are more interesting when our reader can make a connection to it through similar experiences or feelings.
Your child may be talking about something fun we do at the end of the day if we are packed up and waiting for the announcements and patrols.  We watch 5 minute stories from the Science Channel show "How It's Made."  The children love this time because they enjoy seeing how things they have or eat are made.  Today we watched how rubberbands are made.  Ask me to tell you about How It's Made!

Have a great evening!
Juliet
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Today we talked about bodies of water.  We compared different bodies of water and identified the important features of each.  We also measured our shoes with different non-standard units.  Ask me to tell you about what I learned about measuring my shoe.  Be sure to look for the paper that shows their shoe!  
We also read a story they listened yesterday with the substitute called The Big Red Lollipop, by Rukhsana Khan.  The story is about a little girl who is so excited about being invited to a birthday party.  The family of recent immigrants is unfamiliar with the custom of birthday parties, and when the little sister wants to go to the party too even though she was not invited, the older girl must take her to the party.  She spoils the party experience for the older sister, and to make matters worse, eats her big red lollipop out of the goody bag.  Ask me to tell you about the story and how it ends!  
I want to let you know how much yesterday's substitute teacher enjoyed the children.  They were so helpful and kind, and she truly wants to come back!  I wanted to pass along her compliments to you because you send me 22 little people who are so kind, polite and fun to be with.  Thank-you! 

Have a nice evening!
​Juliet