We had a lengthy conversation this morning about appropriate bus behavior, staying in seats, facing forward, talking quietly, so the bus driver can focus on driving. I also gave students assigned bus seats, which the driver may adjust. It would be great if you could have a conversation with your child about bus behavior, and the importance of being safe on the bus.

Today was our first assembly. Kindergarteners received many compliments on their excellent behavior throughout the assembly. They sat quietly and were an attentive audience. Assemblies will take place on the second and fourth Fridays of each month.

Today we worked with Mrs. Hale's class on a bit of butterfly math. Students worked with their partners to create a table of butterflies and antennae. They then made a diagram to go with this. This gave kindergarteners a good opportunity to practice counting and provided the third graders with a chance to help create some mathematical representations.

We had our first butterfly today! We saw it emerge from the chrysalis and kept our eye on it as it went from small and crumpled to dry and ready to fly.

Tomorrow morning there is an assembly. We spent a lot of time today talking about appropriate assembly behavior: sitting up, facing forward, hands to ourselves, listening quietly, still bodies. Please reinforce this message with your child. If for some reason you arrive and we are not in the room, we will be in the gym. Your child can quietly join us.

It was great to see everyone last night at Open House. It is a wonderful chance for your children to show you what they've been doing and talk to you about their kindergarten experience.

Yesterday we had our first visit to the computer lab. Students had an opportunity to explore Kidpix. We will be starting a project in the lab next week.

We have formally started Fundations. So far we have learned the sounds and proper letter formation for t, b, and f.

Today everyone has a new red home folder. The green ones were getting a bit tattered.

There is a picture form along with an explanation of our second math unit in each child's folder. Picture day is Tuesday, October 5th.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD HAS SNEAKERS FOR GYM ON MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS. Mr. Drake said crocs and other sandals aren't really working out. Students are welcome to leave a pair of shoes at school for gym if that helps.

We had a very busy day. A large chunk of our time was spent with Mrs. Hale's class finishing up the butterfly mobiles. These will be hanging up in the room by tomorrow evening for open house.

We also learned a new math game called roll and record. This involves rolling dice and recording the number. This provides practice recognizing groups up to six, without actually counting them, as well as practice writing numbers. We also started creating our own counting books based on Anno's Counting Book.

I look forward to seeing all of you for open house tomorrow night.

This morning we worked with Mrs. Hale's class again. We began creating a mobile depicting the life cycle of a monarch butterfly. Students worked with their partners to show the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly stages. They did a great job and will finish on

Monday. WE ARE PLANNING TO USE STICKS ABOUT 18 INCHES LONG TO HANG THEM. IF YOU COULD SEND A STICK ON MONDAY, GREAT. Mrs. Hale and I will collect some ourselves so we will have enough.

Thanks for sending in Flynn money. We almost have it all. It is $3.50 for those who haven't sent it yet.

Have a great weekend!

PLEASE BRING FLYNN MONEY BY TOMORROW! Connie really needs this to reserve our seats.

The class was with a substitute today while I worked my way through the Primary Numbers Observation Assessment. This is a district wide test that needs to be done in the next couple of weeks and takes about 20 minutes per child. From what I could tell and the feed back I got from Mrs. Hughes, they had a fantastic day.

We have been reading and comparing different versions of The Little Red Hen this week. This provided an opportunity for shared reading. In addition students have had a chance to identify repeated words such as hen, cat, dog, and mouse. We will also be talking about the various action words used throughout the stories. In conjunction with this, tomorrow we will be making our own corn bread.

We will be taking a field trip with Mrs. Belknap's first grade to the Green Mountain Club in Waterbury Center on Friday, October 8th. Educators from the Audbon Center will meet us there to lead the trip, which will be focused on the broad question "What signs of autumn can we find?". The bulk of our time will be spent outside on the Short Trail, a half mile hiking trail behind the club. We will be taking a bus, leaving around 8:30 and back in time for lunch. We will need a few chaperones. Please let me know if you would like to join us.