Daily Five- Work on Writing

Last week we began our second Daily 5 station- Work on Writing. Each day, after Read to Self, the students get their writing notebooks and practice writing words from around the room. They add an illustration to help them remember each word. At the end of the session, students get to share the words they have written. Work on Writing has quickly become a favorite classroom activity!

Reading, Reading, Reading!

This week's blog post is all about reading!  
On Wednesday, Mrs. Velez surprised the class by being our first mystery reader. The students were so excited and enjoyed the story Pinkalicious, Mia's favorite. Thank you Mrs. Velez!

This week we enjoyed our first book as part of Global Read Aloud. Global Read Aloud was started in 2010 with the goal of using one book to connect the world. Since then over 1 million children around the world have participated. Global Read Aloud runs for 6 weeks and during that time we try to connect with other students in different classes, schools, states, and countries if possible.
Our first book was Nana in the City, written by Lauren Castillo. It was a wonderful story about a boy whose Nana lives in the city. At first the boy finds the city a scary place but after his Nana shows him the beauty of the city, he can't wait to go back.

After reading the story, we talked about the elements of a city and answered the question: Is Middleton a city? No, the buildings in Middleton are not tall or close together. A city has lots of people and cars, Some children made a connection to the story by talking about going into Boston. 

We then looked at pictures of  city skylines during the daytime and night time and created our own city skylines. It was a lot of fun.

Finally, I am excited to share with you how we are doing with our first Daily 5 activity: Read to Self. The students are doing a great job building their stamina and we are up to 12 minutes of sustained readimg.  During the past couple of weeks we have been working hard to practice this important skill. Each day the students get their book baggie and find a comfortable spot in the classroom. This spot must be a place where they will be able to do their best reading and not distract or be distracted by others. 

Next week will will add to our Daily 5 activities by beginning our practice of: Work on Writing.
Stay tuned......

Ingaldsby Farm

Today's field trip to Ingaldsby Farm was so much fun!  First, we went on a tractor ride and learned all about the different foods grown on the farm.We stopped and learned about some of the cows that live on the farm. Next, we picked our very own pumpkins. Finally, we had yummy apple cider and apple cider donuts and played at the farm's play yard. 

Later that afternoon we spent time observing our pumpkins. We used our senses to talk about what they look like and how they feel. We counted the lines around them and measured their height with cubes. We even tested whether they would float or sink. All of our pumpkins floated but some turned sideways in the water. It was a a great pumpkin filled day!

Johnny the K

On Friday, all of Fuller Meadow welcomed Johnny the K! Using songs and silly hats, Johnny the K teaches the students about the importance of have character, being respectful, and showing kindness towards others. It was a fun-filled time for the whole school.

International Dot Day & Coconut investigation

International Dot Day was a fun event at Fuller Meadow School! There were Dots, Dots, Dots everywhere and the students had fun talking about each other's dots. After listening to the story

the students created their own "dot" pictures. They started by drawing a dot and then turned the dot into an object. There was creativity galore in the classroom that day.

Another fun activity this week was our coconut exploration. After reading the book Chica Chica Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. ,which is about the letters of the alphabet and a coconut tree, we decided to explore a coconut.

First, we used our senses to describe the coconut. How did it look, feel, smell, and sound. Then we made predictions about whether the coconut would float or sink. Each student made a tally mark on our investigation chart for their prediction. We used math to count the tally marks for each choice and math language to talk about which prediction had more/less. After, we tested the coconut and were excited to see that the coconut floated. Last, we broke open the coconut to explore the inside. Thank goodness for Mr. Jim our electrician because Mrs. Ochoa was not strong enough to break open that coconut.  Everyone was surprised the coconut milk was clear and not white like the milk we drink. It was great fun exploring the coconut!

First week fun!

We had a great first week in kindergarten!

The students have been working hard to learn the routines of kindergarten as well as getting to know each other. Here are some photos of our first week together.

Name games with The Wheels on the Bus song

It's been a great year!

I can't believe the school year is over already. This has been a wonderful year and I couldn't have asked for a better group of students. I will miss each of them as they move on to their next adventure, Howe Manning. Have a wonderful summer, and I hope to see everyone next year.