Each day when the children arrive there is a morning message and a question, which gives them an opportunity to sign there names on the white board. One of the questions this week was "Do you have a favorite book?" Everyone responded in the yes box and there was a lot of conversation about some of the favorite books. Over the course of next several weeks I would love everyone to bring in a favorite book to share with the class. Before I read the books to the class I would like the children to tell the class the title of the book, the author, and why they think it is such a great book. Please help your child pick a book and think about why it is a favorite. These can be sent in anytime and we will start sharing one or two each day.

Please remember our field trip next Friday!

Today in your child's blue folder there is a reminder of our field trip next Friday, October 7th. Please let me know if you would like to join us!

Also please remember picture day this Friday.

Yesterday we brainstormed a list of living things along with reasons we think they are living. The list included flowers because they grow, foxes because they have babies, lions because they eat meat, fire because it moves, and turtles because they swim. We then talked about some of the needs of living things: water, food, air, and light. Today we revisited our list and compared it to the needs of living things. It seems like fire needs food (wood) and air, but we know that fire doesn't need water, so we concluded that fire is not a living thing. We will talk about other things that might appear to be living but are actually non-living in the coming weeks.

Today, sometime between 8:15 and 8:45 our last caterpillar shed it's skin and became a chrysalis. We noticed at the very end of the process- we didn't see the skin being shed, but did observe the chrysalis wiggling around and setting into the chrysalis phase. I am guessing we will have our first butterfly by the end of the week.

We also continued our discussion of living and non-living things today and read several books about this. Through our discussions we are slowly refining our conceptions of what determines if something is living. Today we learned three things that living things need. See if your child remembers any of them!

Today we began the Fundations program, which focuses on phonological awareness and handwriting. In your child's blue folder there is a picture of the correct pencil grip that we are working on along with a packet that shows the letter formations for all of the lower case letters. We will be working on 2-3 letters each week for the next 12 weeks, until we complete the alphabet. The packets are just intended to be a resource for you- I don't expect children to practice at home, but if they are interested in writing you can encourage appropriate pencil grip and letter formation.

Please remember that Open House is this evening from 5:00-6:00. We have created a checklist of things your children would like to show you!

Tomorrow I have a follow up class for a course I took this summer so I will not be in school. I talked to the class about having a substitute and what the day will look like. Emily will be with them all day as well.

The class is focused on inquiry science, with a big emphasis on science notebooks and discussions. We have already started working in our science notebooks and this morning we had a fantastic discussion about what our caterpillars need to survive. It led to several great questions that we will begin to investigate on Friday or next week: is milkweed alive, and does the milkweed last longer if it is in dirt compared to when it has been cut and is in our butterfly house.

We also had a fantastic session of Writer's Workshop today. The children are really becoming engaged in the writing process and are eager to share what they write with the class. Several students shared stories today that didn't have words, but when they shared they read them like books. One of the was about a "hideous alien monster", another about a giant t-rex, and one about a group of patterned butterflies flying into the blue sky overhead. This is definitely a group of writers with lots of stories to tell! It is very exciting.

We have started establishing our routine for stations each day. So far the stations have mostly been focused on things children can do independently, so the emphasis can be placed on learning the routine. Some of the stations we have had so far are sand table, listening to books on CD, play dough, drawing self-portraits, observing the caterpillars, and exploring math manipulatives. So far we have just had one station each day, but soon we will have a rotation with two stations per day. These generally last for about 15 minutes and the children rotate through them in groups of 3-4. Ask your child about some of the stations he/she has worked in so far.

Many children brought home a book today call Children In Mrs. Beattie's Class (some chose to keep their copies at school). These are based on the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear and will help us learn each other's names and practice reading with highly predictable text. We have extra copies in the room, so your child is welcome to keep the one that come home.

Today we had multiple conversations about keeping our hands and bodies to ourselves. We have talked about this a lot in the first two weeks, but many children still tend to solve problems physically rather than using words. We will definitely keep working on this and I appreciate any conversations you can have with your child about it at home.

If your child has not brought in his/her artifact bag yet, please send it in tomorrow. I think we have four children who still need to share. We have learned so much about each other from these any many children are noticing things they have in common with classmates. I'd like everyone to finish sharing in the next few days.

Remember picture day is Friday, September 30th. Picture forms can be sent in any time and can be given to me or Kathi.

Today in your child's blue folder you will find picture forms and a notice about an after school art class offered by Sarah Hughes. Picture forms can be returned to Kathi or me.

There has been great interest among some of the children in playing restaurant and creating menus. If anyone has access to real restaurant menus these would be a welcome addition to our kitchen area.

We have a field trip to the Green Mountain Club scheduled for Friday, October 7th. The trip is led by staff members from the Green Mountain Audubon Center. We will leave school around 8:30 and should be back by lunch. We will need at least a couple of chaperones and welcome anyone who would like to join us. Please let me know if you are interested in coming.

After seven days of school we are mastering basic routines like lining up, eating snack, and doing jobs and packing up at the end of the day (everyone did a fantastic job of this today)! We are now beginning our discussion of broader classroom norms so that everyone can have a fantastic school year. We read the book Officer Buckle and Gloria today, by Peggy Rathmun and brainstormed our own list of safety tips or rules to live by for the classroom. After today our list is the following: wear shoes, walk inside, respect living things, stay with the class, listen, no weapons in school (even pretend), don't stand on furniture, always tell the truth, sit down on swings, respect materials, use good manners, and be nice to each other. I love the variety of things the children thought of as they were considering a safe classroom environment. Obviously this list is much to long to become our list of class rules. We will discuss these further in the coming days and talk about ways we can refine the list but still have all of these things included. We also read the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud, about the importance of treating others with kindness. We will also continue this conversation throughout the year.

We have continued to share artifact bags and are a little more than halfway through the class. It's been really fun to see what each child brings in and learn a little more about their families and interests. As we do this we are working on focusing all of our attention on the person sharing, listening carefully to think of questions that can help us learn even more about the sharer. It can be very hard for five year olds (and older people as well!) to focus their thoughts on another person without bringing it back to themselves. We have gotten better and better at this each day.

Today three children shared their artifact bags. Ask your child if he/she remembers anything about Solomon, Anna, or Eamon. If your child hasn't brought his/her bag in yet, please help them compile these and send them in soon. Some things to include might be pictures, objects that represent a favorite activity, etc. We will keep sharing 3-4 a day until everyone has shared.

In your child's blue folder you will find a letter about our first math unit. We have incorporated work with the calendar into Morning Meeting along with some counting activities. By the end of the week everyone will also have a chance to explore some of our math manipulatives during station time.

There has been some confusion around snack, and hot snack in particular. I think it took a few days for everyone to make the distinction between snack and lunch, but I am trying to remind them to only eat one or maybe two things at snack and be sure to save something for lunch. I have six children signed up for hot snack everyday right now. Some students seem interested in getting this on certain days as well, which is fine, but we really need to make sure they are signed up if they are going to take it. Ideally students will sign up for it a day ahead for planning and preparation purposes. The choices stay the same from week to week: Monday- cheese stick and fruit (usually apples), Tuesday- cereal with milk, Wednesday- bagels with cream cheese, Thursday- egg burritos, Friday- trail mix. Also, if your child is having hot lunch, but not hot snack, please send a snack. Everyone is starving by snack time! We will not let anyone go hungry, but I also need to be mindful of leaving enough snacks for those who have signed up.

Yahoo! We finally have some caterpillars in the room. We will be observing these closely over the next several weeks as we begin our unit on living and nonliving things.

We had a great first week! Everyone has made great progress in mastering the day to day routines: sitting for meetings, walking through the halls in a line, eating snack, packing up, and having lunch in the cafeteria, to name just a few. We have spent lots of time discussing and modeling expectations for all of these routines and will continue to do so.

One of the routines we worked on this week was quiet reading. We talked about all aspects of this from choosing a book to finding a comfortable spot to read it. Even though many children in the class can't yet read words, we discussed ways they can still read the books and come to understand the story. As a whole class we read three wordless picture books, all of which were big hits: Rain Storm by Barbara Lehman, Chalk by Bill Thomson, and Flotsam by David Weisner.

Today we met with fourth grade partners from Mrs. Hale's class. Everyone was introduced to their partners (which will change periodically) and then students worked in small groups on an outdoor scavenger hunt. Ask your child what they had to find! Everyone did a fantastic job on this. We will continue our work with the fourth graders each Friday.

Earlier in the week we talked about differences and ways in which we are all different and all have particular things that are challenging for us. I told the class that sometimes people learn differently and we discussed one student in our class. We talked about ways everyone can help this student learn and include her in play. Please let me know if your child has any questions about this. We will continue to discuss the differences among all of us throughout the year.

Once again I forgot the folders! Thank you for doing such a great job of remembering to return them. They will come home on Monday! Have a fantastic weekend.

In the business of our day, I forgot to send the blue folders, but they would have been empty! We will have our first artifact bag share tomorrow. Please remember to help your child create one for next week.

We had another great day. Today I introduced Writer's Workshop. We read a wordless picture book called Rainstorm, and talked about the wonderful story it told with pictures. I then wrote my own brief story about a hike with my son, first with pictures, and then modeling different ways that I could write the story- making marks pretending to write words, writing letters, or actually trying to write words. All of these are great ways for kindergarteners to practice writing.

Today in your child's blue folder you will find a copy of our schedule. The blank spots will be filled in over the next several weeks as we become accustomed to routines. Some of the things we will be doing during these times are Writer's Workshop, Reader's Workshop, math stations, and science or social studies. I will send a more complete schedule as it falls into place. My overall sense is that we are off to a great start. Please let me know of any questions or concerns you may have.

We had a great first day! Getting a school year under way takes a lot of patience on the part of students, with a lot of time spent listening and learning routines. Everyone did a wonderful job and the entire class received a huge compliment from Mrs. Drysdale, the librarian, after their library time. Much of our time in the coming weeks will be spent reviewing expectations and practicing routines. We will also focus much of our attention on getting to know each other and building our classroom community.

In your child’s bag you will find a bluish folder with a note of explanation inside. This will travel back and forth with your child each day, and should be placed in the basket by the door upon arrival in the morning (this can be your child’s responsibility).

Tomorrow I will send a copy of our schedule. Our specials schedule is:

Monday gym

Tuesday library

Wednesday gym

Thursday guidance (1^st trimester) and music

Friday art

Please make sure your child has appropriate shoes for gym. A pair could be left at school if that is easier than carrying them back and forth. You are also welcome to leave extra clothes at school if you’d like. Please put them in a labeled bag and I will find a space to store them. I also have extra clothes in the classroom and the nurse has some as well.

Please make sure I am aware of after school plans/changes for your child. It is extremely important for me to know where each child is going at the end of the day, especially at the beginning of the year. You can notify me or Kathi of any changes.

Today was also my son's first day of kindergarten in Waterbury. When I picked him up he was too tired to give me any details about the day! I'm sure your children are tired too! Please compliment them on a fantastic first day and let me know if there are any burning questions or sources of stress. My biggest priority in these first few weeks is making sure every one is comfortable in school.