Field Day 2012

Jog-A-Thon Success

What a fun day it was yesterday! The children had such a blast being together with all of the Kindergarten students for the Jog-A-Thon and picnic. We heard today that the fundraising for this event at SCS for 2012 was over $6,000. Wow! Thanks for all of the support!

A Few Things to Remember

These next few weeks a packed with lots of "Zig-Zags" as our class likes to call changes to our schedule. Here are a few things to be sure to note right away. 1. Jog-a-Thon is tomorrow. The Kindergarten children will run at 9 am. You are welcome to come and cheer them on. Please be sure to put sunscreen on them at home before the children come to school. Please be sure that they wear sneakers. Water is provided and they will enjoy a special treat together after running. 2. The Journey Team picnic will be Thursday, June 7 at Shelburne Farms. Last year every child had at least parent/family member there to help celebrate the end of our year together. We are asking that other arrangements for siblings be made on this very special day for your child and you. Please come to meet us at Shelburne farms at about 11:45 am. A "Save the Date" paper will come home today and more information will follow next week.

Guinea Pigs, Oreos, One Fun Trip

We had a blast as a team at the Flying Pig Bookstore's story time today. Tracey Campbell Pearson read aloud a book that she illustrated called Guinea Pigs Add Up. We got to meet a real guinea pig named Oreo and enjoyed eating oreos on the way back to school. The children were so well behaved! I was so proud of them once again!

Learning About Our World

We had a special guest speaker today. Cate's mom, Allison, came in to teach the children about some places where she has lived. Here is a description of her time with us today. "Today Mrs. Hazen’s Kindergarten Class went on a global adventure far away from Shelburne, Vermont. We set off to the Middle East, a huge region that covers parts of the African and Asian continents. We learned that people in the Middle East live in hot deserts but also in green farmlands and by mountains, rivers, and oceans. They speak many different languages, like Arabic and Hebrew. Cate’s mom lived in the Middle East, and we saw pictures of her at the ancient pyramids of Egypt, the Old City in holy Jerusalem, and the Mediterranean cost of Tunisia. Cate’s mom showed us how once upon a time she spoke Arabic and Hebrew, and we learned how to write our names in Arabic. Arabic is written backwards, from right to left! We also learned that hamsa is a special good luck symbol in the Middle East. Hamsa means “five” in Arabic, and it is an open palmed image of five fingers that represents blessings and protection. Different religious traditions have different names for the good luck hamsa. Muslims call it the hand of Fatima (Muhammad’s daughter); Jews call it the hand of Miriam (Moses’s sister); and Christians call it the hand of Mary (Jesus’s mother). We made a hamsa by tracing our thumb and first two fingers of our left hand and then the thumb and first two fingers of our right hand. Then we cut out our hamsa, covered it tightly with magical silver foil, and etched symbols into the silver. Finally, we painted a big eye in the center of the palm for protection. The kids can make the hamsa a necklace, hang it on a window, keep it as a bookmark, or just hold onto it as a good luck charm. We closed our global adventure by talking about how the world is very big, very interesting, and very different. When asked where in the world the kids might like to explore one day, they answered enthusiastically: Egypt! South Africa! California! Mexico! Lebanon! Florida!"- by Allison Kingsley

Questions, Questions

The children have been participating in some whole group mini-lessons on questioning non-fiction text before reading to find out new information. Today I read aloud a book called Tornado by Catherine Chambers. Before reading, they helped me to fill in a t-chart graphic organizer with questions they had before reading the text. After reading the book, they helped me to figure out if our questions were answered and we wrote down new information that was learned. We also call them "Ah Ha Facts!" Tomorrow they will be working with their reading partners on trying to complete these graphic organizers with books they can read and facts they learn all on their own. They are all such great writers, thinkers, and readers now! I love this time of year because it allows them to incorporate all of their skills into fun projects.

Arbor Day Celebrations

Today our school celebrated Arbor Day by planting two new trees together on the School Street playground. Our class read some sentences about trees in front of the group for part of the celebration. The kids enjoyed may books, songs, and art opportunities around the topic of trees today.

Walking Field Trip

Journey Team Field Trip Our team has been invited to visit with the author named Tracey Campbell Pearson at the Flying Pig Bookstore on Wednesday, May 9th. We will be leaving school at 10:30 am to walk to the book store. The kids will be having lunch at school when we arrive back at approximately 12:00 pm. Please be sure that your child wears appropriate clothing and sneakers for walking on this day.

Sink or Float

Today the kids worked in cooperative learning groups to complete a science activity. They were given roles within the groups. We will be doing more of this in the weeks to come.

New Daily Sign In

The kids are now signing in every day by their last names. It is a little tricky but great practice.

2nd Annual SCS K-2 Field Day

Tomorrow the kids will be taking home a very important note about our SCS K-2 Field day which will be Friday, June 1 from 9-11am. We will be purchasing team t-shirts and will need you to return the order form with the size you would like your child to have. No need to send money as it is our pleasure to buy the shirts for the kids as a fun memory keepsake for the year. If you can help run one of our field day "Dress Up" stations, please let me know. We will need each volunteer to be able to commit to being available for both Friday, June 1 and on the rain date of Monday, June 4th.

Goodbye Butterflies

Goodbye butterflies! The kids had the opportunity to watch five caterpillars transform into butterflies just before vacation. Today we let them go!

The Beginning of the Journey Garden

Our class practiced being botanists today. Each child helped to prepare our team garden. They planted our school's early crop spinach and radish seeds.

Our Little Seeds!

Today Stella's mom, Halina, came in to teach the kids about seeds. They learned about their three main parts: embryo, endosperm, and seed coat. Joshua got to be dressed us as our cool classroom seed. Ask your child to find items around your house to act out being a seed for you. VERY CUTE!

Little Scientists

Today we had a group of parent volunteers come in to make lava lamps with the children. They had so much fun observing what happens when oil and water come in contact with each other. I sent home directions just in case you wanted to try it again at home.

New Classroom Guests

Our room is turning into a very cool science lab. Last Friday our Painted Lady Caterpillars arrived for the children to observe. Jacob Whitcomb also brought in an abandoned hornet nest today. We will be begin growing an enchanted garden and some crystals later this week.

Congratulations Authors!

Today was our Kindergarten writing celebration day. The TreeHouse team came down to our space to share their "How To" books with us. Our team has been writing poetry and every child had a small collection of poems to choose from while partner reading with kids from TreeHouse. Our class lead a sing along of the song "It's a Small World". Every child took home an author medallion. It was a fun time!

A Few Fun Recent Photos

Popcorn, Poetry, and the Five Senses

Plastic bottles

We still need one small, empty plastic water bottle for every child in our class for an experiment on 4/6. If you have any, please consider donating. Thanks.