Fog Willow Fun!


We had a delightful trip to Fog Willow Farm this week. We owe a huge thank you to our chaperones! Each of you were essential in keeping all the children safe and focused on fun.
I was surprised to learn that baby rabbits are actually called kittens or kits! Be sure to ask your student about other cool facts they learned about farm animals.

Don’t forget to upload your best photos to our Shutterfly Site so everyone can share in the experience.

Our First Full Week

It’s been a lovely first week of school. The students are adjusting very well to our routine and expectations. There are many, many smiling faces from beginning of class to the end. It fills my heart to have a room full of happy children who are excited about learning.

Here are a few reminders:
*Sign up for Seesaw. I use Seesaw to communicate with parents and document student progress. It’s easy and so efficient! You can download the Seesaw Family app and scan the code I sent home. Then you will be connected to your child’s digital portfolio. It will give an experience you will treasure forever. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can still log on from any device and have full access.

*Correct and return the student information forms.
*Sign and return the permission forms for Digital Literacy, Internet Use, Library Policy.
*Send a change of clothes for your child in a one-gallon ziplock bag.
*Set up your Shutterfly account to stay up-to-date with class events, access photos, sign up to volunteer. Check your email for an email from me with the link.
*Sign up for a parent-teacher conference through our Shutterfly Site.
*Sign up to volunteer through our Shutterfly Site. Your support for our TK students will make a huge difference all year long.

Adios, mi amigos!

Dear TK Families,

What a year it has been! It has been my great joy to have been your child’s TK teacher. How lucky I am to have this job! I get to introduce young children to the school environment and ignite a spark to their imagination and joy of discovery every day. Thank you for that privilege.

I am deeply humbled by your generous support of my efforts to integrate technology in meaningful ways for the students. I have placed an order for a set of iPad 4s and I will be ordering a couple more Ozobots soon because of your donations. You folks ROCK!

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind and I haven’t been able to finish posting some student work. I will get to it later this month. (After I get back from my cruise to Alaska!)

Did you know that you can actually download a .zip archive of your child’s Seesaw journal. It will include all the photos, video, and audio from your child’s journal. It is a wonderful way to keep a virtual scrapbook of your child’s TK year.

Follow this link to the directions: https://goo.gl/YTdEo0 and download by August 1st so you don’t lose access to those precious memories.

With joy and gratitude,
Mrs. P

PS: If you have enjoyed the experience with Seesaw, please encourage all of your child’s teachers to contact me to learn how to get it started.

December Busy-ness

After a well-deserved month off-track, we certainly packed December with learning and laughter. The December birthdays were combined with the November dates for a rollicking party. There are plenty of photos on our Shutterfly Site to prove it. Thank you to our terrific volunteers! I couldn’t do it without you.

Speaking of volunteers, Miss Starla made it back from her injury. No one was happier than I to see her smiling face and capable hands at our door. She also bought everyone a knit hat to stay warm on chilly recess days.

We celebrated the Hour of Code with many experiences related to computer programming. Be sure to check out our videos called Hour of Code, We Love Bee-bots, and Ozobots in TK. Just click on the Class Video tab and scroll down to find those titles.

We read and compared several versions of the story of the Gingerbread Man. The students also got really good at retelling the story. They used puppets, small animals, and flannel board characters. They even got to act it out in small groups.

We were surprised when The Gingerbread Man showed up in our classroom. He was very interested in what we were doing, but one day he suddenly disappeared! It didn’t take long before we started receiving texts and photo clues from him. So we became detectives and set out to search for him. You can check out the video of this adventure here.

Other special guests brought us beautiful music. Mr. Seifert, his guitar, and his fourth graders came by to sing holiday songs with us. It was a bit intimidating because we didn’t know many of the words and they were so big, but it was still a good time. Another treat was when Athena’s mom played her harp for us. It was enchanting! You can view a short video of it here. She promised to come again, too.

Wishing blessings and peace to you and your families.

Mrs. P.

More Pumpkin Projects

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We had such a fun week with our pumpkins. We estimated the number of seeds and counted every one of them! We will wait a little longer before we tell you the exact number. You really need to submit your guess. Be bold and post it in a comment below.

We had a BLAST with the Mini Pumpkin Challenge. We each had to build a block structure as tall as we could but, it had to support a mini pumpkin on top. Lots of pictures are posted on our Shutterfly Site. I hope you are inspired to try this as a family challenge at home. If you don’t have small wooden blocks, try using something else. But everyone has to use the same type of materials. Have fun! Post a few pics so we can enjoy it with you.

Field Trip to Fog Willow Farm

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We are going to Fog Willow Farm next month! Please turn in your permission slip and payment now. Student cost is $11.00. Chaperone cost is $4.00. Everyone receives a small pumpkin to take home. Chaperones must provide own transportation. Our bus will depart school at 10:45 AM and return at 1:45 PM. Students and chaperones will need to bring a small sack lunch including a drink.

If you want to purchase a special class photo from Fog Willow Farm, send a separate labeled envelope with $6.00 cash.

What a Success!

Dearest TK Families,
Thank you for making our Olypmic Day such a tremendous event! Eleven parents from just our class were able to make time in their schedules to join in the fun. Wow! Many parents and siblings from other kindergarten classes were also on hand to set-up, clean-up and supervise the games. Volunteers help make it all happen! And if you see Mrs. Deming, be sure to thank her because she pulled it all together, including the spectacular decorations. If you took some good photos, please add them to our Shutterfly album for all of our families to see.

Seesaw Overload

seesawIf you haven’t checked your child’s Seesaw folder lately, you are in for a bit of a shock. I finally had a few moments to upload the photos I have been taking over the last several weeks. As you can see there has been a great deal of learning going on! When you come to Open House tomorrow, I will be showing you how to access and capture these special moments forever online. Welcome to the future of learning!

THANK YOU!

Oh my goodness! Our Trimester Celebration was a wonderful success. Our day was filled with games, prizes, face-painting, and yummy treats. It was a tremendous day because of you, dear families. Thank you to the following brave souls for spending the day with us: Miley’s mom, Michael’s mom and sister, Na’Mat’s sister, Isabella’s mom, Demarrie’s mom, brother and sister, Brianna’s aunt, and Justin’s mom. And thank you to the very long list of families who made donations of food, prizes, and game supplies. Your efforts are truly appreciated.

Be sure to check Shutterfly for even more photos!