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Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
First Week Under Our Belts!
This week we read one of my favorite books, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I would highly encourage you to check this out at the public library and read it with your child - they may even be able to "read" it along with you now!
On Monday, I introduced the big book and talked about the cover, author, illustrator, and characters. We also did the Gummy Bear Math activity I talked about in my previous post.
On Tuesday, we reviewed the parts of the book, and I let the kids read along with me. In math, we used character cards to sort the animals by the number of legs each has.
We also created name mosaics. I printed the students' names in a large, plain font. They tore construction paper into small pieces (great fine motor activity!) and glued them onto the letters of their name in rainbow order (the first letter was red, the second orange, etc.). Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of these. We will b hanging these around the room.
On Wednesday, we read my library-size book, and compared the similarities and differences between the two versions. We found that the big book has two extra animals - a gray mouse and a pink elephant, that the smaller book doesn't have! We also found that the smaller book replaces the teacher from the big book with a mother. Very interesting! We charted our findings on a Venn Diagram, with similarities in the center, and differences in the outer circles.
On Monday, I introduced the big book and talked about the cover, author, illustrator, and characters. We also did the Gummy Bear Math activity I talked about in my previous post.
On Tuesday, we reviewed the parts of the book, and I let the kids read along with me. In math, we used character cards to sort the animals by the number of legs each has.
We also created name mosaics. I printed the students' names in a large, plain font. They tore construction paper into small pieces (great fine motor activity!) and glued them onto the letters of their name in rainbow order (the first letter was red, the second orange, etc.). Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of these. We will b hanging these around the room.
On Wednesday, we read my library-size book, and compared the similarities and differences between the two versions. We found that the big book has two extra animals - a gray mouse and a pink elephant, that the smaller book doesn't have! We also found that the smaller book replaces the teacher from the big book with a mother. Very interesting! We charted our findings on a Venn Diagram, with similarities in the center, and differences in the outer circles.
We also used the character cards for a counting activity. I passed out all the cards to the students, without telling them what we were going to do. Then I asked everyone with a Brown Bear to come and put it in the chart. We counted it, and wrote a "1" on the card next to it. Then I had everyone with a Red Bird come and put it in the chart, and we counted them. I continued in order until the chart was filled. The students enjoyed waiting for their animal(s) to be called.
For our name activity on Wednesday, the students traced their names in rainbow order again, then cut each letter apart. I had them glue the letters back in order onto a sheet of construction paper according to the number of letters in their name. Then we graphed them:
We have a lot of 6-letter names!
On Thursday, I again used the characters cards in the pocket chart. I used them to support story problems that I asked the students, such as "Brown Bear was walking down the path, when he saw 2 red birds. How many animals were on the path?" 2+1=3.
I also printed up name cards with their pictures on them for us to use in recognizing our names - I'm proud to say that everyone in my class can recognize their own name this year! (This doesn't always happen, unfortunately...)
On Friday, we watched a video of Bill Martin, Jr. reading the book:
I created sentence strips that say "The {animal} is" and cards with the color words on them. We matched the color word to the correct animal sentence, and then read them together. I will try to get a picture of this on Tuesday.
We also did a color sorting activity for the smartboard. The students had to sort the pictures onto the correct color.
In between all of this fun, there were MANY bathroom breaks, recesses, and drinking fountain breaks ... oh, and Daily 5 Read to Self - we're up to 5 minutes already!
Next week is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - another of my favorites!
Have a great Holiday Weekend - stay cool!
In between all of this fun, there were MANY bathroom breaks, recesses, and drinking fountain breaks ... oh, and Daily 5 Read to Self - we're up to 5 minutes already!
Next week is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - another of my favorites!
Have a great Holiday Weekend - stay cool!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Transportation "Glitches"
Dear Parents,
We have been having a few issues with transportation, so I wanted to clear up any misconceptions about our policies.
If your child will be transported by any form other than what we have on record, you MUST send me a note that morning (or before, if necessary/possible). I understand that my wonderful students are pretty responsible this year and probably can remember if you say you are picking them up from school that day, but others are not able to remember this, and so consequently I cannot go on what your child tells me - I MUST have a note - remember, your child is only 5 or 6! I hope you can understand that I would like to make it as easy as possible for you to get your child, but I must take the child's safety to heart and put them in their normal bus line unless I have it in writing that you are changing for the day. I have several students who are not allowed visitation rights with a noncustodial parent, and I would be devastated to make the mistake of allowing one of my students to go home with the wrong person. Please understand this - your child's safety is part of my job. That's why I require something in writing when you change transportation for your child. Thank you.
We have been having a few issues with transportation, so I wanted to clear up any misconceptions about our policies.
If your child will be transported by any form other than what we have on record, you MUST send me a note that morning (or before, if necessary/possible). I understand that my wonderful students are pretty responsible this year and probably can remember if you say you are picking them up from school that day, but others are not able to remember this, and so consequently I cannot go on what your child tells me - I MUST have a note - remember, your child is only 5 or 6! I hope you can understand that I would like to make it as easy as possible for you to get your child, but I must take the child's safety to heart and put them in their normal bus line unless I have it in writing that you are changing for the day. I have several students who are not allowed visitation rights with a noncustodial parent, and I would be devastated to make the mistake of allowing one of my students to go home with the wrong person. Please understand this - your child's safety is part of my job. That's why I require something in writing when you change transportation for your child. Thank you.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Off to a good start!
The class of 2024 got off to a good start on Thursday. We are learning about our classroom rules and procedures, and we have already discovered that we are ALL good readers!
Today we started a week of activities surrounding the favorite book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? I love reviewing colors and introducing the kids to characteristics of print. Of course we talked about the cover, title, author, and illustrator, and today we read the book for enjoyment. The rest of the week we will read for a purpose - looking for "popcorn" words, comparing different versions of the story, and acting out the story. We will also tie in math and science wherever possible. We did a math sorting and graphing activity today using gummy bears.
First we sorted them by color:
Then we graphed our gummy bears:
After we talked about our graphs, we got to eat our gummy bears! Mmmmmm...
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Welcome Class of 2024!
A BIG welcome to the class of 2024! Parents, please make sure I have your email address so you can receive a notice when our classroom blog is updated! My goal is weekly, but some weeks warrant an extra post, and sometimes I get a little behind.
Please enjoy checking out the room, and make sure to stop and see me, and let me know of any concerns you might have. I am here to support you and your child as they begin their journey on the road of education!
Love, Mrs. Krouskop-Smith (Mrs. K.)
Please enjoy checking out the room, and make sure to stop and see me, and let me know of any concerns you might have. I am here to support you and your child as they begin their journey on the road of education!
Love, Mrs. Krouskop-Smith (Mrs. K.)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Test
Testing to see if my blog is linked to twitter (@nicklinlcmrsk) and facebook (Nicklin Learning Center - Mrs. K.).
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Is it that time already?
Well, once again, the end of the year has snuck up on us! I have truly enjoyed teaching your little ones. Each and every one is a precious gift from God, and I pray for success and happiness as they grow.
I have created a slideshow of many of the pictures I took this year - this is the memento I give to each class. Your child has a dvd copy in his or her bookbag to keep, as well. It can be played like a normal dvd. I hope you will sit down with your child, watch the dvd, and talk about all the good times we had this year, and how much fun they will have at their new school as well.
I have created a slideshow of many of the pictures I took this year - this is the memento I give to each class. Your child has a dvd copy in his or her bookbag to keep, as well. It can be played like a normal dvd. I hope you will sit down with your child, watch the dvd, and talk about all the good times we had this year, and how much fun they will have at their new school as well.
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Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Lengthened School Day
Thursday, April 21st begins our lengthened school days due to the two extra snow days. For all-day students, this means that the school day will begin at the normal time of 9:00, and end 1/2 hour later, at 3:35. If your child is picked up in the car line, the students will be brought out at 3:35. If your child rides a bus, please add 30 minutes to the bus drop-off time. Also, please give us several minutes either way until the bus routes and times are confirmed. This means you may want to be at the bus stop 5-10 minutes early until you know for sure what time the bus will arrive.
This extended day will be in effect from tomorrow, April 21, through May 23 for Nicklin (longer for students of Springcreek). After May 23, we will return to our normal schedule.
We appreciate your cooperation.
This extended day will be in effect from tomorrow, April 21, through May 23 for Nicklin (longer for students of Springcreek). After May 23, we will return to our normal schedule.
We appreciate your cooperation.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Catching Up
OK, it's been a while since I've updated you on our work, mostly because we have so much going on! Most of the students' reading abilities are really taking off. They love reading classroom books to me! Every student has a basket here at school filled with books at their reading level. We also received several "paper" readers each week, which focus on popcorn words and word families. As the students read these to me successfully, I will be marking them with a pink star, and sending them home. Please allow your child to read these books to you and record them on their Family Reading Log! This is great practice for them to continue over the summer and be ready for 1st grade.
One of my hobbies is playing with the orchestra for local high school and community musicals. This spring I had the awesome opportunity to play "in the pit" for Fairlawn High School's production of "The Phantom of the Opera." On opening day, I didn't want to rush around after school changing my clothes and getting something to eat, so I just wore my all-black outfit to school. Of course, the students were very curious as to why I had only black on, so we talked about playing a musical instrument, and I showed them the difference between a violin and a viola (which is what I play). Then I showed them this picture of me with the Conductor and the three lead actors in "Phantom" - Phantom, Raoul, and Christine. They loved it!
One of my hobbies is playing with the orchestra for local high school and community musicals. This spring I had the awesome opportunity to play "in the pit" for Fairlawn High School's production of "The Phantom of the Opera." On opening day, I didn't want to rush around after school changing my clothes and getting something to eat, so I just wore my all-black outfit to school. Of course, the students were very curious as to why I had only black on, so we talked about playing a musical instrument, and I showed them the difference between a violin and a viola (which is what I play). Then I showed them this picture of me with the Conductor and the three lead actors in "Phantom" - Phantom, Raoul, and Christine. They loved it!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
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