MMU visit, 7 Continents, & Buddy

 

                                                                Tea of the week:  Lemon

This week we had so much fun exploring the world we live in.  I bet you have heard your child share that there are 7 continents in our world.  This 7 Continents songwas a bit of an obsession this week.  We intertwined some of our social studies (geography) and science (weather) with a story called Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain.  This story allowed us to explore the continent of Africa and the country Kenya, within it.  We also discussed what drought means and how that can impact living things.  Mrs. Auctor was able to offer us an extra art class on Tuesday.  We painted sticks inspired by the story we read and how Ki-pat uses sticks in a few different ways.  

This week was filled with many special events!  Buddy Dubay came for his last visit.  His music is always so enjoyable and uplifting!  We were lucky to have him come to UCS several times this year!

Then on Friday, we had a visit from an MMU advisory group, it was MMU's day of service in the community.  We were fortunate that we were asked if this group could come to visit with us!  We took a hike in the woods and then settled in the wooded outdoor classroom at our favorite tree spots.  We took turns reading and being read to by the MMU students.  Later they joined us for lunch and recess!  Friendships were made that were cherished by the kindergartners.  

Please enjoy this video ~

2nd Week of May

                                                         This week's tea - Chamomile 

What a glorious week we had.  Some time was spent preparing for the music and art night.  Thanks to all who were able to attend, it was a magical night celebrating all the UCS students and their creativity! 

This week we read some stories centered around social-emotional learning.  We explored a book titled My Mouth Is A Volcano where a boy named Louis learns that it doesn't feel good to be interrupted and then realizes that he has been doing that to others.  Another story was called Ruby's Worry, this book reminds us that we can help our brain when we are worrying by talking about the worry with a friend or an adult. 

In Social Studies we talked about VT, our state, and some of its special features.  Toward the end of the week, we began talking about the USA, our country. Students loved working on puzzles together and noticing each state's unique design and what they may be known for. 

Eco was a blast! We installed a pulley with a bucket. Curious students spent time testing what would fit in the bucket and be lifted. So many important science skills were being used during this time - trial, and error, predicting, weight, size, cooperation, and pure fun!

We also took a hike around the woods loop and then gathered together to have some hot cocoa and eat a snack.  We also shared kind messages with one of our classmates because it was her last day!  She will be missed greatly! ❤

Pollinators!

What a lovely weekend we were gifted with.  The leaves are popping, the tree frogs are croaking, and the dandelions are covering lawns and roadsides.  Yesterday I spent the day finishing up my year-long program and received the title, Master Naturalist.  I don't believe I am quite a master yet but consider myself to be a lifelong learner. I look forward to helping my students continue to grow their love of nature and become stewards of this earth. 🌳

This week students grew their knowledge of pollination and were prepared to share some of what they learned with the school.  Students worked through some nervous feelings on Friday and did an absolutely amazing job at the all-school morning meeting!  We received positive feedback all day on Friday!  Clips of the meeting were taken but not all.  My apologies if someone's part is not highlighted in the video below.  But please know they rocked it!!

As always thank you for your support!

                               

                         

Have a Wonderful Break!

Happy Earth Day!

This week we completed our Underhill map.  Students worked hard turning a block of wood into a special place in Underhill.  We then created a large map as accurately as we could and placed our special places on the map. Students were very proud to have this placed in the hallway of UCS!

Students wrapped up their informational unit in writing this week.  Many students chose to add a dedication page to one of their books.  

In ECO we began talking about Pollinators and the special roles they play in helping many plants grow and allowing us to have fruits and veggies in our diets.  Ask your child to name some pollinators besides the famous bee!  We are getting excited about hosting the All School Morning Meeting during the week we return from break.  Our theme will be pollinators and taking care of the earth!  We began making crowns for this on Friday. 

Best wishes for a wonderful break! 🐞🦋🐦

Reminders:

May 10th  Art & Music evening

Glorious Sunshine!

 

                                                                 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

What an amazing week of weather!  The songbirds are in full song, peepers are being heard in some places, and daffodils are blooming.  

This week in Social Studies we explored a map of our school and tried to identify all of the rooms and doors that are located in the building.  Then on Friday, we began looking at the town of Underhill and what special buildings and places are in it.  We began creating our 3-d map of Underhill by painting pieces of wood to represent these areas in the town.  Of course, students wanted to paint their houses to include in our map as well.  Next week we will draw some details on our models and then place it all together!

We practiced some of our heart words. Heart words are a way to teach high-frequency words if I haven't mentioned this before. We teach them to sound out the words that are phonetic…and the parts that aren’t, we teach them to know by heart. Here is an example:  Many times we place a green line under the letter that makes the predictable sound. In the word said, the s and the d would have a green line under them. 

In math we had a guest come in and do a lesson on decomposing numbers. We practiced all the ways/combinations we could come up with. If our total was 7.  It could look like 3+4, 2+5, 6+1, etc. 

During ECO we explored songbirds.  We began walking around different areas on the school grounds to listen to birds. At one moment it was very quiet so I took out the Merlin Bird app and played a chickadee sound and then we began to hear chickadees call back.  We did the same with a crow sound and then heard a crow caw back.  Kindergartners thought this was a hoot!  We used a map of the grounds to mark where we heard certain birds.  Students then listened to a puppet show that shared why birds sing.  Then it was time for free exploration, some chose to journal next to their tree, some built fairy houses, and some played ACDC songs on a rotting log! 😃 

There are some trees down along the trail if anyone has any time to clear them that would be helpful!  

 

I hope you are starting your weekend relaxing without too many tricks - Happy April Fool's Day! May we all find ways to embrace the rainy days this month and look forward to the green grass and flowers that will be popping up soon! ☔

This week students worked hard with their writing!  They are taking their time teaching others how to do something step by step.  Students are using nice transition words like first, then, next, and lastly. 

Math we played a fun game called Bump.  Students roll a die, think about the number that comes before the number they rolled, then find that number on their sheet. When they find the number they place a cube on that spot.  Next, their partner rolls the die and follows the same step.  This game is fun because you can bump your partner off of their spot unless they have two cubes on a particular spot which means they are locked into that space. As you can imagine students thought this tricky game was amusing and everyone remained flexible about being a good sport!

During our SS/ECO time, we explored what a compass rose is and the 4 cardinal directions.  Students had a blast playing the game 4 Corners outside where they would choose a direction to run in and hopefully that direction would not be the direction that the "caller" called out.  Learning through games is the best type of learning, it raises engagement and allows for concepts to have more meaning!

Reminders:

Book Fair this week!! -Wednesday/Friday our class will have opportunities to shop. (Or after school with a parent.)

4/12:  Early Release, 12:15pm dismissal

4/24-4/28:  April Vacation

 

The warmth of the sun and the new sounds of returning birds are sure signs that spring is here!

This week we have been having fun exploring books about spring and building an awareness of how precious water is in our lives and to Earth!  Mr. Smith joined us for ECO and we put on a puppet show about the water cycle.  A fun fact we learned is that some raindrops falling from the sky today could have been the same droplets that rolled down a dinosaur's back!

We have now introduced the digraphs ch, th, and sh.  It has been so fun seeing students recognize these in their reading and add them to their writing. 

It was lovely meeting with so many of you to share how your wonderful child has been blossoming this year.

Reminders:

Please keep sending your child in with proper outdoor gear.  Snow, slush, and mud will be around for quite some time!

Friday was the end of our Read for Ronald McDonald House. If you participated please bring in your money no later than March 31st.  Thank you

On April 5th Kindergarteners will be able to shop for books at the Scholastic book club fair at Library and then one more time on Friday, April 7th.