Friday marked our 157th day together in kindergarten. My second year in K almost completed. Hard to believe how fast time passes. How lucky I am to be able to watch such beautiful children develop into amazing learners.
Our ABC Countdown has begun with a new letter each day. Tuesday is "G Day" for Game Day. Bring your favorite game for us to play and enjoy. Of course, after our work is complete!
You may have heard, none of the tadpole eggs survived. Yes, it was sad, but when I read on the Internet that only one out of 10,000 eggs survives, I didn't feel so bad. So off I went to Uncle Miltons and ordered older tadpoles that are destined to survive. They arrived on Friday and I took them home. Immediately, Drew and I were off to Petco to buy a house for the new little ones. It's going to be sad when they have to leave on Tuesday. We've become attached!
We celebrated Memorial Day by talking about the flag and reading Eve Bunting's The Wall. It's a touching story that most everyone can relate. I've been reading it for 15 years; my kindergartners understand the same as my past fifth and sixth graders. Drew and I will to bike to Vietnam War Memorial on Monday.
Friday was a day of letting go. We set free our caterpillars that had turned into five Painted Lady butterflies. We all made a wish as we watched them fly into the sky. One needed a little help by a loving Molecule! We also released lady bugs into the gardens of ASFS. At the end of the year we'll set free the ants and frogs near the pond, across the street.
The PALS testing is complete. Big smiles here... the growth was huge for everyone. (yes, my teaching friends were correct.. if you want to see instant growth, teach kindergarten!) Parents, please let me know if you have any questions. These test results are not a secret, but they will not be on the report card.
Our time in the desert is filled with lots of fun. We're reading about desert plants and animals, chanting poems, sculpting cactus, and wondering if some information is a fact or a cactifract. After this week, we're off to the rainforest.
We are preparing for the Kindergarten Concert on June 16. We've teamed up with Ms. Kaye's awesome fifth graders to bring to life, Pinduli by Mem Fox. The concert will be filled with art, song, costumes... lots of good times here.
Until the end of the year, I would like (LOVE) for each Molecules (and of course our wonderful parents) to sign the BLOG and tell us something about kindergarten. What I like, Why I had fun, What I learned, My favorite time, How to be successful... Please support your child in getting to the comment page. (This could mean taking dictation... not a problem!) Like all comments they will be enjoyed by all of us.
I liked Kindergarten because we always got to do fun things. We could get help when we wanted. We could have recess. I made good friends and I liked my teachers a lot(still do!).
Love,
Haley L. Gross
Posted by: Pamela | May 30, 2006 at 06:51 PM
I like Kindergarten because it is fun. And, my sister in 4th grade wants to go back to kindergarten. Because Mr. Riley is a great teacher. And Ms. V! My sister wants to goto Mr. Riley's class.
From Vanessa
Hello Mr. Riley and Ms. V
I have to goto bed now.
Posted by: Vanessa | May 30, 2006 at 09:47 PM