Perhaps you have heard about our new tile bucket. Whenever we have an example of someone being polite or kind a tile is added to the bucket. Likewise tiles are taken out when we are not respectful. This is to help us remember to be nice to each other. We have been brainstorming and role playing lots of examples of being respectful and treating each other with kindness. An area that we are placing particular emphasis on is sharing. We will have a celebration when the bucket is full.

We will be singing out song at a very brief assembly this Friday. Assembly starts at 7:45. PLEASE have your child here by 7:40 so they don't miss the song!

Please make sure your child has appropriate footwear (sneakers) for gym on Mondays and Wednesdays. Mr. Drake has noted that several children are consistently unprepared and are unable to fully participate in gym class. As we move into colder weather it is fine to leave a pair of sneakers here if that is easier. Thanks for your help!

This week we have been reading books that portray non-living things as living. When we have been making t-charts of the living and non-living things in the books, having some really interesting discussions and hopefully clarifying some misconceptions. Yesterday we read Happy Birthday Moon, by Frank Asch and Papa Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle. When we were done someone noted the moon was a living thing and all but one student agreed. We talked about why the moon might be living: it grows and changes and it moves. We had some interesting discussion about whether the moon needs food, water, and air. Finally I asked what the moon was and someone replied rock. We were then able to conclude that if the moon is made of rock it must not be living, because rocks don't need food, air, water, or light. This was a really great discussion and we'll continue to look at similar books for the rest of the week.

Pictures have arrived! If I did not give you your child's pictures this morning you should find them in his/her backpack. Class pictures have not come yet, but should be here soon.

Several people have asked about Halloween next Monday. While I know the holiday will be in the front of many children's minds, my intent is to keep the day as routine as possible. With our half day schedule it seems kids will have lots of opportunities to participate in Halloween activities later on. Hopefully maintaining some normalcy at school might help kids last until trick-or-treat time!

During Writers Workshop some children have been writing very creative but violent stories. Today we began our workshop with a discussion about this. While I want to encourage writing in every possible way, I'm not comfortable with stories about killing. We brainstormed alternative ideas (magic, having problems resolved in a friendly way) and decided that a good rule of thumb is that a topic is okay if I would read it to the class. If it's not the kind of story I would read to the class then it is probably not an appropriate topic to write about.

Today in your child's blue folder or backpack you will find a copy of the student directory. This has addresses and phone numbers for all students in the school!

This week we read the book Leaf Man by Lois Elhert. I intended to give the children the opportunity to gather materials on the playground for their own leaf creations, but our attempts were thwarted by the wet weather. Instead children will be working on this in a station next week. Hopefully we will have a chance to gather things at school on Monday, but I also encourage them to find things at home this weekend and bring them in in a labeled baggie. Good things to look for include all kinds of leaves, seeds, flowers etc. Flatter items work best.

During our last few sessions of Writers Workshop we have worked on planning stories, with a beginning, middle, and end. When we first started this process we were thinking about small moments in our own lives that we could write about, but then several students asked if they could plan fiction stories, to which I replied, "Of course!" Today we talked about turning some of these story ideas into books that we can put a laminated cover on. For a book to be ready for a cover it has to have pictures and words (students can write any sounds they hear and I will then scribe the story), and it has to have a beginning, middle, and end. Once students get a cover they can put a title on their books and we will keep them at school for a little while to be shared and read. Eventually they will come home.

The weather is definitely growing chillier. Please make sure your child has appropriate outdoor clothing. Unless it is raining heavily we will go outside.

Today in your child's blue folder or backpack you will find a letter of introduction from Cat Fair, our guidance counselor. Cat has been meeting with the entire class on Thursday mornings and will soon start working with small groups of 3-4 children, giving students an opportunity to get to know each other better and work on friendship skills. Everyone will have a chance to meet with her in this setting.

Today was our first official Friday morning assembly. We were audience members for a 1st-4th grade play. The kindergarteners were a fantastic audience! These assemblies occur about twice a month and give us a great chance to practice audience skills, or performance skills. We will be performing our autumn song at a brief assembly on Friday, November 4th.

Thank you to those of you who expressed interest in volunteering in the classroom. I will contact you soon about a starting date. Have a wonderful weekend!

As a class we have written a song about autumn. Mr. Hill has been given our lyrics and a basic tune and he is now working on the song with the class. We are hoping to practice for a few more weeks and then share it at a Friday morning assembly. I will keep you posted as to our progress and your child can probably share some or all of the song with you!

So far three children have shared favorite books (Logan, Tessa, and Eamon). They have been three very different books. It is fun to learn what interests individual children and to be exposed to books we maybe haven't heard of. Children who haven't shared can keep bringing these in anytime.

We have nearly completed six weeks of school and I feel like we are settling into our schedule and students are becoming comfortable with the routines of the day. We are now ready to welcome parent volunteers! Today in your child's blue folder there is a volunteer form. If you would like to help out in the classroom on a regular basis please return this form.

This week in Fundations we are working on the letters m and n.

This morning our final butterfly emerged. We determined that it was a male because of the two black dots on its rear wings. We spent some time observing it this morning and released it with good wishes at the end of the day.

We had a fantastic field trip to the Green Mountain Club. The morning started off a little chilly and foggy, but the sun quickly appeared and warmed things nicely. We were split into two groups. Both groups hiked the Short Trail behind the GMC headquarters, stopping along the way to look for and talk about signs of autumn. Ask your child what his/her favorite part of the day was. Thank you to Amanda Kalichstein, Solomon's mom, and Kayla Clark, Colbey's mom, for coming as chaperones and Katie Westhelle, Maggie Marble, and Lauren Sauer for accompanying us as school support staff. Enjoy the beautiful long weekend!

The last two days everyone in the class has had an opportunity to visit the computer lab. This week students were given an opportunity to become familiar with the computers and explore Kidpix. Next week we will begin a project in the lab.

As part of our discussion of living things this week we have been observing earthworms. We talked about things they would need before we created a habitat for them. We now know a list of five things that all living things need: water, food, air, light, and space. We talked about the fact that the earthworms actually stay away from the light (and we even covered our container with black paper so they would tunnel near the sides), but things they rely on for food like dead leaves and plants, do need light. Today everyone was able to complete an entry in their science notebooks about the needs of the earthworms.

FIELD TRIP ON FRIDAY!! The weather looks great, but chilly. Please make sure your child has a jacket and perhaps a hat and mittens. We will be outside from 9-11.

One of the most important skills your child will develop in kindergarten is a beginning sense of number. While it may seem simple, number sense is quite complex and involves the interplay between several skills and concepts. Practicing these skills over and over is the best way to develop fluency and facility. Much of our work during stations will emphasize number sense. Today in your child's blue folder there is a compilation of ideas for fun ways you can work on these skills with your child outside of school.

Today during our Fundations work we learned the letters f and b. I will be attending a Fundations workshop all day on Thursday to further support our work in this area.