Happy Halloween!

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Fire Safety

Thanks to Mrs. Rucsche-Nicholson and the Billings Fire Department for the wonderful fire safety presentation today.  There are some great learning videos and songs in the October "Favorite Learning Videos" portion of our site.

Fire Safety

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Book It!

Remember, October reading logs are due.  I will send November logs home today (sorry, I forget to put them and snack calendars in the Wednesday folders!)  Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  We made these cute "witch's brew" projects today.  Thanks to Miss-Kindergarten for this great idea!!

How we are using QR Codes in the Classroom

Customize a free picture slideshow Thanks to Donors Choose, we were able to purchase this iPod Touch!

Pumpkin Life Cycle Sequencing

Thanks to Jamie Nevin for her help this afternoon!  We were able to record all of the students retelling the life cycle of a pumpkin using the online tool Audioboo.  I generated each recording into a QR code, and attached the code to the student's sentence strip (where they put picture cards in the correct order).  These strips will be in a center where students can scan the QR code and listen to the retelling by each student.  At conferences, if you download the free app Scan (or another QR reader) to your smartphone, you can listen to these.  :)

Halloween Costumes

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Math

Today we used candy corn in 10 frames to build the # 10.  We rolled a dice and filled in the 10 frame with the number of candy corns that we rolled.  Then we had to figure out how many more candy corns we would need to make 10.

Star of the Week

Snowy Days!

Our kindergarten partners in Virginia heard about our snowstorm and wanted to see some pictures! Here are some pics of us getting ready to go outside, all bundled up, and a few of us playing in the snow.  :)

Snowy Day

Just a reminder that the district's policy is to go outside unless it is below zero.  Please be sure to send your children with appropriate snow gear, and practice putting it on and taking it off.  Thank you!

Thanks

Thanks to Kenna and her dad, Mr. Pfeifle, for bringing their dog Addy for show and tell today.  The kids loved meeting her!

Vision Screening

All students had their vision screened on Thursday.  If there are any concerns about your child's vision, you will receive a notice from the school nurse.

Snack

We are running low on snack.  Please watch the snack calendar and send in snack on your child's day.  If you can send in extra, we would love it.  Thanks!

Mixed Up Kindergartners Flip Book

After reading Eric Carle's The Mixed Up Chameleon, we talked about animals that we would like to be, and why.  Some of the kindergartners had great ideas like "I wish I was a tiger so no one could wake me up and I could sleep in all the time."  (Kingston)  After we discussed our ideas, we created our own "mixed up characters" at the site Build Your Wild Self.  We then published these characters into a FlipSnack book.  You can view that book here.  Ask your kindergartner to tell you about the animal parts he or she chose, and why.

Big Pumpkin Thinglink - interact with the image!

Using the MacAir Lab

Today we were able to use our school's new MacAir lab to do some fun learning on the computers.  We used the Beartooth Learning Links Symbaloo to play learning games and learn basic computer usage.  We had fun!

The Mixed Up Chameleon Part 2

The Mixed Up Chameleon Part 2

The Mixed Up Chameleon

The MIxed Up Chameleon

BPS Growth Summary Report Informational Video

Interactive Whiteboard Fun

We did some cool activities with our interactive whiteboard today, such as counting and writing the number of apple seeds, and graphing whether or not we like spiders.  Afterwards, we each recorded the data on our own tally sheets.

Bats vs. Birds

Today we read the story "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon, and then compared the attributes of bats and birds.

Student of the Month

I choose our student of the month based on the following: a student who is a good listener, a good friend and who always tries his or her best.  Congratulations, Blayke!

Featured in the Billings Gazette

A photo of our class using technology was featured in an opinion article in the Billings Gazette this weekend.  Click the image to view the article.

Halloween Ideas

On Halloween, I am planning to have harvest or Halloween-themed learning stations set up for the afternoon. The kids will rotate through the stations, and then have treats near the end of the day.  If you would be available to help facilitate the learning stations, or bring in treats, I would really appreciate it!  We would probably begin around 12:30 on Thursday the 31st.  I am thinking apples and caramel dip and maybe some cider would be fun for a snack, but I am open to other ideas.  Let me know if you're available!  Thank you so much. 

The Week of October 22nd-26th

Letters of the Week: O-T Words of the Week: and, we, she, he Reading Focus: We are reading Spinning a Web by Melvin Berger and lots of fiction and non-fiction stories about spiders and bats. We are also reading stories about the five senses. Comprehension Focus: We are learning to make inferences and identify the difference between fantasy and realism in stories we read.  We are comparing and contrasting information we learn in stories. Writing Focus: We will practice forming letters correctly, using the D'Nealian style of writing. We are writing facts we learn about spiders, and writing our own "Itsy Bitsy Spider" stories.  Math Focus: We are learning basic counting and number identification skills with numbers through 10.
Science: In kindergarten, science is often integrated into our English Language Arts curriculum. For the next couple of weeks, we are studying bats and spiders.  Social Studies: This month we are learning about making new friends and what makes us special.Theme Question: How do I use my five senses?

Pumpkin Investigation

Today we observed pumpkins using our senses.  We used mostly the sense of sight today.  Tomorrow we will TASTE pumpkin pancakes and either tomorrow or early next week we will use our sense of TOUCH to investigate the inside of a pumpkin.  The kids are enjoying learning about pumpkins using our senses!

Thank You for Your Support!

I am working on submitting a grant proposal through the Farmers Insurance Thank Montana Teachers program. If awarded, the grant would provide funds to purchase additional technology and learning resources for our room that would benefit the kindergartners.  I am really excited about this opportunity!  

In order to be considered, I need to receive "thank you"s on their Thank a Montana Teacher page.  So ... I am reaching out and asking for your help! :)  If you support this project and what it would provide for your kids, would you please take a minute of your time and fill out the Thank You form?  I filled one out for my son's teacher, and I promise it takes less than a minute.  THANK YOU for your support, it is appreciated!  :)  Traci

Global Read Aloud

We continue to participate in the Global Read Aloud Project.  We are excited to read the new story, Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle, with our partners in Virginia!  We will Skype with them tomorrow to read the story together.

Star of the Week

Painting Pumpkins

Today we learned that mixing yellow and red make orange!  We mixed the paint and will make our paintings into a pumpkin patch in our classroom.

Pictures from Traci

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Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We had such a fun day at the pumpkin patch today!  Thanks for all of the parents who were able to come and help, and provide yummy treats when we returned to school.  Next week, I will bring some pumpkins to school for us to "investigate" using our 5 senses.