April Fools!

This is the look you get when you promise kindergarteners brownies, and instead they get brown E's.  Not happy.  

Luckily we had some REAL brownies to revive their enthusiasm for April Fool's Day!  Then it was time to fool others!  We had several fake injuries.  This is Charlize trying not to smile about Trapper "bleeding" profusely from a bad cut on his arm.  He gave the Principal (Dad) a whole half a second to freak out before yelling, "APRIL FOOLS!"

The kids were so proud of ALL of the Popcorn Words they have learned this year.  They read them all in 1 minute 25 seconds!  We had a Popcorn Party to celebrate!

In science we are continuing to answer the kids' questions about the weather.  We learned that different cloud types can help us predict the weather!  We made models of clouds using shaving cream and glue.  Who doesn't love to get their hands in a little shaving cream?!  Then we made charts telling which kinds of clouds predict which kinds of weather.  The coolest part was hearing the kids say, "Look!  Cirrus clouds!  It's going to be a nice day!" the next time we were out for recess!

We also created some art to go with our handwriting practice... "April showers brings May flowers!"  

In math lately we have been supplementing the regular curriculum with extra practice in measuring and comparing with nonstandard units.  Here the kids are working collaboratively to measure snakes!  We have also been working hard on learning to tell time.  So take the opportunity to point out digital and analog clocks with your kinder and practice telling time to the hour and half hour!

This week we began a cross-curricular mini-unit on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  We will read, write, do drama, and even do some some chair engineering projects around this fairy tale!  Here the kids are putting on mini plays dramatizing the story!

We adopted several new pets in our classroom on Friday!  We got some ladybug larvae and Painted Lady caterpillars and will observe how they change to study lifecycles over the next few weeks.  Cycles are a recurring theme of the year.  One talking point you might have with your child is, "Tell me about some of the cycles you have learned about this year."  

The kids all enjoyed getting their very own caterpillar.  They named them and observed them, worried about them, wondered about them, and wrote about them!

Friday we had a Book Buddies sledding party at Airport hill, complete with a bonfire and hot cocoa.  Thank you to Chris and Lucas Erickson and Scott and Tanner Holmes for helping chaperone.  Everyone had a great time and enjoyed one of the last days of sledding before all the snow is gone!  Our Book Buddies are the best.  They have just really taken the kinders under their wings, and shown such kindness to them whenever they see each other around the school.  They not only model the fun of being able to read, but have become true friends to their kindergarten buddies.  Thank you Mrs. Dunning and the awesome 5th Grade!

Who needs a sled???

Strange Spring Weather...

Bringing home the gold!  This weeks the Kinders got their awards for Battle of the Books.  Here is our first place team!  

Orange juice, anyone?

Little chemists making rainbow colors by mixing red, yellow, and blue water.

Super awesome spellers!

Come check out our Cloudy With A Chance Of.... weather reports up in the hallway by the lunchroom!  This was our writing project this week, based on the book Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs by Judi Barrett.  I continue to be impressed by the kids' creativity and handwriting!  

We used the Green Screen video technology in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) room at the school to create a video weather report from our writing!  Thank you to Jane Teague for helping us put that together.  With Green Screen technology, the kids videoed themselves giving their weather reports, and then we were able to superimpose those videos onto pictures of their weather, like giant hamburgers, flying unicorns, and soaring eagles!  The video is too large to put into our blog, but you can find it on our Tok Kindergarten Facebook page!  If you haven't joined, send me a message and I will add you!

We had lots of Easter egg fun in kindergarten this week as well... here the kids are using different kinds of lines and shapes to create beautiful watercolor eggs!

Lucky Week!

Monday started off with us frantically finishing our posters for the Science Fair.  Whew!  We got them done just in time, and they looked awesome!!!  The kids organized them according to the Scientific Method we have been learning, with their Questions, Hypothesis, Experiment, Observations, and Conclusions.

The kids did a great job talking to the judges, answering questions about their projects, and sharing what they learned.

They also enjoyed looking at the other projects at the fair, including trying some rock candy crystals!

Monday was also the awards ceremony for our Idita-Read reading contest.  It has been fun to see the enthusiasm for reading increase over the past few weeks as the classes battled it out on the "Iditarod Trail".  First Grade won first place.  We got the coveted Red Lantern award :) .  Great job everyone, and thank you to all of the families who dutifully logged their student's reading hours!

Our exciting week got even better on Tuesday, when we had the Battle of the Books!  It was an INTENSE battle... lasting over an hour and a half with lots of correct answers and challenges.  In the end, Jocelynn, Willow and Aiden, also known as The Amazing Puppies, came out in first place, the REACH team took second, Trapper, Melody and Charlize were third, and Easton and Rosalie tied with Zachery, Natasha and Dante for fourth.  The point spread between the teams was very very close, and our whole class is just excited that we get to add another trophy to our shelf!  These kids really know their books!!!  Again, thank you to everyone who helped them practice.  We have the best Kinder Families ever, and your involvement REALLY makes a difference!  

In Math we are doing a study of 3-D shapes.  On Thursday we had a 3-D shape challenge.  The kids were given the mission to create a 3-D shape using only paper, tape and scissors.  No other instructions, but they could collaborate and experiment.  They did AWESOME!  

We had the privilege of exploring the STEAM Room on Thursday with Ms. Jane Teague, the STEAM and technology specialist for the District.  STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, and this room is PACKED with fun and creative tools for kids to use!  We look forward to many creative projects in the STEAM room!  Here the kids are at the Lego Table, and building marble mazes and building with life sized legos.

This is the Green Screen where we can make movies and add different backgrounds and special effects.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day by writing about what makes us feel lucky!  I feel lucky when I see my students' writing improve as much as I have this year!  

To celebrate the gold at the end of the rainbow, we learned more about how rainbows are created in science, and Sir Isaac Newton's genius rainbow experiment.  Then we worked on color analogies and created rainbow poetry to go on our Poet Tree.  Finally Spring has arrived on our tree!!! Let's hope the real leaves outside aren't far behind!

We had a St. Patty's Day party on Friday and several of the kids created a Leprechaun Trap to see if they could catch one over Spring Break!

Luck O' the Irish to ya, and have a wonderful Spring Break!!!