A Peek At Our Week!

It was another busy week in Room 115. Please enjoy a few updates below!😊

Important Dates:

October 11th:

Early Release

12:25pm Dismissal

October 14th:

No School

October 16th:

Picture Day-Smile!

Announcements:

Boyden Goes Gold 💛

Friday was truly a special day as we recognized Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and also our dear, sweet friend Emmanuel Urrea who lost his battle with cancer this past summer. 

A balloon release was done at the end of the day in Emmanuel's honor. 

Open House Slideshow

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to attend last week's Open House/Curriculum Night! In the event that you weren't able to make it, or would like to review the information shared, please click here for access to the slideshow I presented. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have! 

Smore

If you haven't already, please be sure to suscribe to Mr. Dearborn's weekly Smore. This provides more details and information about events that are happening around our school. Click here to view last week's edition!

Curriculum Update:

Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!

On Thursday the class learned about and celebrated a beloved fall figure, Johnny Appleseed! Happy Birthday Johnny!

We also enjoyed participating in many apple themed activities last week! We learned about the life cycle of an apple, discovered that apples float in water, and read many poems and books about apples. 🍎

Fundations

Last week in Fundations we learned about the letter t, b, and f. We also practiced the sight words a and and. During the first few weeks of school we will be learning to read and spell color words as well! Last week's color was green. Click here to listen to a song we used to help us practice this color.

The class had a great time sorting items from my mystery bag that started with the letter b, t, and f.

Into Reading

Last week in our Into Reading curriculum we read the books Kindergarten Kids by Stephanie Calmenson and School Bus by Donald Crews. Both of these texts helped us continue to answer the essential question: What will I discover in Kindergarten? We also explored the genre of poetry and the story elements of characters, settings, and events.

Math

Last week in math we practiced counting numbers to 10! The ten frame was a major focus of our instruction, and by the end of the week the students were getting very efficient at recognizing numbers in ten frames quickly. They also enjoyed playing two new games called "Beat you to Five" which had the students identifying how many more cubes were needed to make 5, and "Who Will Win?" a game which provides the children with number writing practice. 

Writing

During our writing time we continue to practice drawing people as part of our illustrators unit. Last week the students not only used familiar shapes to help them draw heads and bodies, but also explored different hair styles, facial expressions, and accessories they can add to the clothing in their pictures!

A Small Peek at Specials

Last week in P.E. the students used hoola hoops to practice personal space, also known as bubble space. The concept of personal space is something we continue to practice in the classroom, especially when we are lining up throughout the day. This would be a great lesson to discuss with your child at the dinner table or when you're in the car as it's SUCH an important skill!

Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🍎📖🚌

A Peek At Our Week!

   The children settled into Room 115 nicely as we spent our first full week of school together! Last week we continued to practice classroom routines and also review expected behaviors.  I couldn't be more pleased with how quickly everyone is acclimating to Kindergarten life! 🍎

Important Dates:

September 20th:

Half Day of School

12:25pm Dismissal

September 25th:

Open House/Curriculum Night

(Parents/Guardians Only)

Announcements:

Boyden Folders
Please be sure to check your child's folder (nightly if possible) for important notices and information. Any class work or announcements should be removed and kept at home unless otherwise noted. Thanks so much for your help!

All About Our Names

On Friday your child should have brought home an orange card in their Boyden folder. This card gives your family the chance to share about your child's name and the origins behind it. Unfortunately a few cards fell out of the folders and were left behind in the classroom. If you would like your child to participate in this activity but they did not come with a card, please let me know. I'm more than happy to send along another one!

Curriculum Update:

Literacy

Last week in Literacy we read the story Keisha Ann Can! by Daniel Kirk and explored some of things we might discover this year in Kindergarten. We also learned about the story elements of character and setting, and spent a great deal of time discussing our names and also practiced writing them!

The students above are making school bus name projects! This craftivity helped the children count and write the letters in their name, while also following step by step directions. 🚌

Rhyming was another focus of my instruction last week, and the students enjoyed participating in both whole group and partner activities to help practice this skill! Playing Bingo and Memory Match were definitely two highlights!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! 🌴

What better way to practice rhyming and identifying the letters in our names than with the story Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! by Bill Martin Jr!

Math

In math we began the first module in our Bridges curriculum! Last week's lessons focused on sorting shoes, and the class did an excellent job of noticing various attributes our shoes had and sorting them into categories. 👞👟🥿

We also explored new math manipulatives such as pattern blocks, unifix cubes, and polydrons during our math work station time. Work stations are independent activities that take place after our whole group lesson.

Thanks so much for taking a peek at our week! Please check back soon to watch us learn, grow, and play in the wonderful world that is K! 🍎📘🚌

A Peek At Our Week!

   Our school year is certainly off to a great start and it's hard to believe we've only been in school for 4 short days! This week the children learned all about our classroom, school, and the other students in our class! 🍎📖🚌

Important Dates:

September 20th:

Half Day of School

12:25pm Dismissal

September 25th:

Open House/Curriculum Night

(Parents/Guardians Only)

Announcements:

Arrival

Starting tomorrow (Monday) the Kindergarten students will be coming right to the classroom in the morning. It would be very helpful if you could remind them of this at home before coming to school. Plenty of staff will still be available to assist and make sure your child makes it to Room 115 safely. 

Our Busy Week:

Classroom Rules

We spent a great deal of time last week talking about the rules and expectations for our classroom. After reading stories such as David Goes to School and Miss Nelson is Missing, we brainstormed our own set of rules for Room 115. We were able to consolidate our very lengthy list into three major behavior expectations: Be Kind, Be Safe, and Be Respectful! We learned that when we follow these three rules then we are able to have fun! 

The children also continued to familiarize themselves with our classroom. On Friday we practiced reading books from our classroom library and returning them to the correct bins. 📖

Where is the Pigeon?

Another highlight of our week was reading the book The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! by Mo Willems and going on a pigeon hunt around Boyden School! While we searched locations such as the office, cafeteria, and gym, it seems as though he was too fast for us to catch! Luckily our hunt had a happy ending as the pigeon left us a fun activity to complete when we returned to our classroom!

We may not have found the pigeon, but we did successfully complete the first few days of Kindergarten! 

Specials

Our class got to meet all of the specialists last week as we attended P.E./gym, art, music, and media/stem! 

Mrs. Moses introduced and discussed the rug rules in the Media Center. Then the students had time to build with Legos and Magna-tiles! (Above)

Mrs. Cassani also discussed expected behaviors in the music room. Then it was time for some movement! 🎵

Our first few days in Kindergarten were a huge success! I'm looking forward to continuing our work together next week! :)