Classroom News

It's hard to believe we are getting close to the end of October!  Read on to see what we have been up to in kindergarten!

Reading Workshop:

We have finished up our first unit!  During the last few weeks, students have learned about how to choose and take care of books, how to notice the details in the illustrations to read the pictures, and how to "buzz" about a good book to a friend.  They are so engaged with their books during our reading time!  This week, the students will have a chance to do some "book shopping" as they browse our classroom library and choose books for their own personal book bins.  I am so excited to see their reading stamina continue to grow!

These strategies help young readers learn the important strategy of visualizing.  This also helps our kindergarteners feel more confident in choosing books where they may not be able to read all of the words, but they can certainly read the pictures to tell the story.  

Buzzing about books we enjoy helps students learn about books that they may not have chosen on their own.  Exposing kindergarteners to many different types of books helps ensure that everyone will find books they love!

Math:

We are continuing to work hard exploring the numbers 0-10.  Students are building their number sense through games, counting activities, and classroom discussions.  It has been so wonderful to see the students using math vocabulary when sharing their observations about numbers!

One Book, One School:

I hope your family is enjoying reading A Nest for Celeste.  The school is enjoying participating in discussion and activities revolving around this great book.  One of their favorites is to listen to the clues during announcements to hear where Celeste may be hiding around the school.  Our kindergarteners are quite good at finding this sneaky mouse!

Centers:

Center time remains a favorite part of our day!  The students love having time to practice different literacy, math, and fine motor skills in a fun, playful way.

Making letters with colorful counters

 Practicing counting, colors, and fine motor skills by putting the correct poms into the muffin tin with tweezers

 Rolling the die and placing the correct number of "apples" on the tree

Putting puzzles together

Whole Body Listening:

We were so lucky to have Mrs. Rebsamen join us to read Whole Body Listening Larry at School.  This book taught us what it means to listen with our entire bodies.  The students enjoyed practicing this important skill!

Spirit Days:

Career Dress Up Day was a hit!  It was so fun to see all the students dressed up as doctors, marine biologists, meteorologists, artists, teachers, chefs, policemen, and firemen!  Our next Dryden spirit day will be Sports Dress Up Day on November 17.

All About Me Bags and Guest Readers:

We love learning about our classmates each week when Me Bags are shared!  We have also had some very special guest readers join us lately!


We learned that Eden loves Pete the Cat books, her pink stuffed animal, and Sleeping Beauty!  We were so lucky to have her sister, Yola, come read a Pete the Cat book to us!

We learned that Vince likes his Nerf gun and a special picture of his dad.  Vince's mom came and read the very funny book, Dinosaurs in the Supermarket, which we all loved!

We learned that Veronica loves playing soccer, the Cubs, and her dog, Biscuit!  We were so excited to have Grandma Jackie join us to read the perfect book for October:  The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.