Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Author's Chair











As you can see, we have quite a few budding writers in our midst. Author's Chair has become part of our daily Writing Workshop routine. Completely voluntary, yet very popular, students have the chance to read a finished piece to the class right before we break for lunch. Most kindergartners have taken the seat so far this month, with just a few withstanding the urge to share their work. Today so many students choose the Author's Chair we had to share our work with a partner instead of with the whole class. This is motovating many students to do thier best, and finish what they start.

In the weeks to come classmates will begin to critique these pieces, giving advise such as, "I'm wondering what happens next, "I don't understand that part" or " I can't read it because.... the words are off the lines."

We are also preparing for Ainsworth Write Night, where families are welcome to join some of the staff, Mrs. Kurkinen included, to work with their children on specific writing skills. A school wide author's chair will be available for students to share their best piece to an audience. Mrs. Kurkinen will hold a intensive session on handwriting and correct pencil grip.



Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

Whole-hearted thanks goes to Trina, Kim and Kelly for braving the kindergarten waters to join us for our field trip. We could not have done it without you!!!



The theatrical performance of "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" was well worth the stress of getting 120 people on and off the busses and into the Keller Auditorium. Kurkinen Kids sang most of the way to the theater, and slept most of the way back. You would be amazed how breaking our kindergarten routine takes the energy out of both adults and students alike.



After returning back to school the students were delighted to learn that a colleague of Grandpa Kurkinen (Mr. Kurkinen's father) donated a copy of the original story to the entire kindergarten wing. Students then went to work on a thorough character analyses. Most student denoted that Lilly was "bossy", "mean" and "loud". Nevertheless, she was far and away the favorite. Hmmmm....

Kindergarten also completed a Venn Diagram displaying the similarities and differences between the classroom setting in the play and our "non-fiction classroom" as Lehna put it. My favorite distinction was that "Lilly's class had a boy mouse for a teacher and we have a girl human for a teacher." Thanks Levi, for the clarification.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Thank You Greenwalds!



Kindergarten would like to thank Zoe and the Greenwald family for donating and setting up a new fish tank in our classroom. The new baby fish are appreciated and studied already.

New Workstations



The class was astonished to learn on our first day back that our daily routine will now include three more workstations. Eight stations will now be cycled through on a two week basis while small reading groups meet. Engineering, art and technology are now available for structured applications. Anderson, Alexa and Grace work together to build an igloo above. The replica below is another teams finished product.

Back in Action: Data Recording



Kindergarten began again with a flurry of excited five and six year olds. The kindergarten team was ecstatic on Monday morning when it began to snow on Vista Avenue. Kindergarten will be studying the forms of water all month in January; snow could not have come at a better time.



Our kindergartners are learning how to graphically organize information in science and math as they create graphs on depicting their favorite types of snow, differences between the ice crystals themselves and many other investigations.