aMAIZEing Corn

Today we made our very own Maize or Indian Corn. We used red, orange, yellow and brown paper for the kernels. Once we created our corn, we graphed the colors that were used. It was a fun project and the kids were very excited that Mrs. Gates had real Indian Corn that we were able to pass around. 

Boo!

Happy Halloween!
We've been busy at work reading spooky stories and making some fun Halloween art projects! Here's a few examples of projects we've created over the last few weeks:


Pumpkin Life Cycle
Story: Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell and Pumpkin Day and Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
We learned the various stages of the life cycle of a pumpkin from seed to orange pumpkin. Question: Is a pumpkin a:
a) vegetable 
b) toy
c) berry


Bats and Nocturnal Animals
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Bats: Night Fliers by Betsy Maestro and Giulio Maestro
We made a few different books on bats and made owls and cats


Halloween
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
We all designed our very own broomsticks!

Hope you had a Spooktacular Halloween!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

Last Thursday, we had a fun and soggy trip to Prusch Farms. Here are some highlights that the kids shared out following our trip:

• Seeing the peacocks
• Going on the hay ride
• Picking out our pumpkins
• Feeding the goats
• Riding on the school bus
• When we saw the animlas
• Being the our moms and dads (Volunteers)
• Petting the black bunny-Midnight
• Walking in the mud
• When the sheep kissed my hand
• When the rain fell on us
• When I saw the scarecrow
• When we ate our snack

Common Core State Standards

Dear Parents,
Over the next few years, California will be implementing the Common Core State Standards. What are the Common Core State Standards?
Here is the mission statement:

"The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy."

To put it simply, most American schools are all adopting the same standards so we will all be on the same page. There will be both major and minor changes. I encourage you to begin educating yourself on what these standards are and how they will impact your children. Here is a link to some videos that will help begin this process.

http://www.americaschoice.org/commoncorestandardsresources

Words Their Way

The last couple weeks I have been busy assessing our students to determine where they are so I can plan our curriculum.  We have started early concept sorting activities that will be followed with picture sorts that develop phonemic awareness and include activities for rhyming, syllabication, and sound play. The purpose of these activities is to get our students used to these procedures so they are prepared for their individualized program. 

Sight Word Fun

Most of our class has started their sight word homework. I've enjoyed getting pictures of all the creative ways you are practicing your sight words at home! Here are a couple I've received. You can always go to our class webpage to see an ongoing gallery of pictures I receive.

Our Class Virtual Bookshelf

Dear Parents,
If you look on the left, you will see our virtual bookshelf. I have just updated it. It currently has some of my favorite books and will from this point on, contain books that we are reading in class. If you click on the bookshelf, it will take you to our Shelfari page where you can see an ongoing list of books we're reading in class.
Enjoy!