The Cottontail Chatter has been updated. Take a look at all of the following changes.
~ new blog postings - Take a peek into our time together!
~ new December Newsletter
~ updated November and December Photo pages
~ updated "Reminders" (see right side bar)
~ updated "Upcoming Events" (see right side bar) and Calendar tab
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Important Reminders
As December flies by here are a few important reminders.
~ WW's Food Drive ends TOMORROW, Friday, December 16th. Please be sure to donate nonperishable food items to help stock River Community Church's Food Drive shelves. Your help is much appreciated. Donation bins are located near the Front Desk and outside our classroom entrance.
~ The Cottontails will be traveling to the public library next Monday, December 19th. Please be sure your child brings their library card. Thanks in advanced to Elaine for joining us on Monday's trip.
~ Pages for Patients Book Drive ends NEXT Tuesday, December 20th. Please help provide literary entertainment to patients at UIHC by donating new or very gently used books to help stock UIHC's traveling book cart. Your help is much appreciated. Donation bins are located near the Front Desk and outside our classroom entrance.
~ Winter is in the air. The ground may be lacking snow but it is full of mud and puddles. Please be sure your child brings their boots to wear during these muddy Winter days. A change of shoes for inside is also needed as our muddy boots are left at the recess door to ensure that our little feet don't bring the muddy outside in. In addition, your child should also have a warm Winter coat, hats, mittens, and snow pants. Snow pants will be required to play outside when a measurable snow fall occurs.
~ Take time to clean out your child's Book Bags. All stickered books should be left at home.
~ The Cottontails' Rest Time is coming to an end. Rest Time blankets will go home on Friday, December 16th and do not need to return to school. Beginning in January, Cottontails will move from a quiet rest time to a quiet reading time. The Cottontails will learn ways to find "just right" books and other books to enjoy during our quiet reading time.
~ WW's Food Drive ends TOMORROW, Friday, December 16th. Please be sure to donate nonperishable food items to help stock River Community Church's Food Drive shelves. Your help is much appreciated. Donation bins are located near the Front Desk and outside our classroom entrance.
~ The Cottontails will be traveling to the public library next Monday, December 19th. Please be sure your child brings their library card. Thanks in advanced to Elaine for joining us on Monday's trip.
~ Pages for Patients Book Drive ends NEXT Tuesday, December 20th. Please help provide literary entertainment to patients at UIHC by donating new or very gently used books to help stock UIHC's traveling book cart. Your help is much appreciated. Donation bins are located near the Front Desk and outside our classroom entrance.
~ Winter is in the air. The ground may be lacking snow but it is full of mud and puddles. Please be sure your child brings their boots to wear during these muddy Winter days. A change of shoes for inside is also needed as our muddy boots are left at the recess door to ensure that our little feet don't bring the muddy outside in. In addition, your child should also have a warm Winter coat, hats, mittens, and snow pants. Snow pants will be required to play outside when a measurable snow fall occurs.
~ Take time to clean out your child's Book Bags. All stickered books should be left at home.
~ The Cottontails' Rest Time is coming to an end. Rest Time blankets will go home on Friday, December 16th and do not need to return to school. Beginning in January, Cottontails will move from a quiet rest time to a quiet reading time. The Cottontails will learn ways to find "just right" books and other books to enjoy during our quiet reading time.
Quiet Observations
Quiet Observation 6:
These kids say the darndest things!!
"If any one needs extra gloves I have extra gloves to share!"
"Don't worry Ms. Michelle. I can sit with her until she feels better. My hugs always work."
"This morning started out rough but it turned into a glorious day!"
"Who's making the International Space Station? MEEEE!"
These kids say the darndest things!!
"If any one needs extra gloves I have extra gloves to share!"
"Don't worry Ms. Michelle. I can sit with her until she feels better. My hugs always work."
"This morning started out rough but it turned into a glorious day!"
"Who's making the International Space Station? MEEEE!"
Morning Meeting Magic
Morning Meeting is a special time each day where the Cottontails take time to focus on each other. We participate in various activities that allow us the opportunity to learn from one another. It is a wonderful treat to watch the students interact and show the ability to lead Morning Meeting making this time truly their own. During Morning Meeting we also spend a great deal of time working with the calendar. We focus on the days of the week, the months of the year, the number of days in school, coin counting, place value, and the weather. This month we added a few new routines to our calendar activities.
Patterning
Each day the students add onto a pattern that is introduced at the beginning of the month. December's pattern is an AaBBAbBBAcBB pattern (orange triangle, blue square, blue square). Three times during the pattern the orange triangle rotates. The students love predicting which shape will come next. Rayne loves to greet me in the morning with an announcement of that day's pattern. Vismitha often whispers her prediction in my ear. During ASP Lucas reminds me of our pattern and shares his prediction.
Temperature
The Cottontails have been using our iPad to determine the high, low, and current temperature. We record and graph our information. December has had quite the shift in temperatures. Five degrees as the low one morning and then 51 degrees as the high just a few days later. Take a look at the picture below! The Cottontails also locate the temperatures on our wall thermometer and discuss Fahrenheit as the unit of measurement for temperature. Ask your child to share more with you. Feel free to stop by during drop off or pick up to take a look at all of our Morning Meeting changes.
Patterning
Each day the students add onto a pattern that is introduced at the beginning of the month. December's pattern is an AaBBAbBBAcBB pattern (orange triangle, blue square, blue square). Three times during the pattern the orange triangle rotates. The students love predicting which shape will come next. Rayne loves to greet me in the morning with an announcement of that day's pattern. Vismitha often whispers her prediction in my ear. During ASP Lucas reminds me of our pattern and shares his prediction.
Temperature
The Cottontails have been using our iPad to determine the high, low, and current temperature. We record and graph our information. December has had quite the shift in temperatures. Five degrees as the low one morning and then 51 degrees as the high just a few days later. Take a look at the picture below! The Cottontails also locate the temperatures on our wall thermometer and discuss Fahrenheit as the unit of measurement for temperature. Ask your child to share more with you. Feel free to stop by during drop off or pick up to take a look at all of our Morning Meeting changes.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
December is Here!
There is no better way to welcome in the new month than with a new friend to round out our now full class. Please take a moment to welcome the newest members of the Cottontail family, Teddy Kim and his parents, Teddy and Bomi.
WInter is definitely in the air as we enter the last few weeks of Fall. The temps are falling, the days are getting shorter and shorter, and the Cottontails are keeping their eyes open for that first measurable snowfall. While we anxiously await this exciting occasion I wanted to take just a moment to remind you of a few "Winter Weather" expectations.
~ Please take some time to switch out your child's spare set of clothing in their cubby. Most cubbies are equipped with a spare set of t-shirts and shorts. Swap out that summer spare set for something a bit warmer like pants and a long sleeve.
~ Is your child prepared for the winter weather at recess time? Please see the that your child is appropriately dressed for the cool temps as we will continue to play outside unless the air temp or windchill drops below zero. Students are expected to have jackets, hats, and mittens each and every day. When the snow sticks, students will need snow pants and boots to play in the snow. Please see that your child is prepared.
~ Remember, Willowwind follows ICCSD's lead in early dismissals, late starts, and cancellations. There is no BSP when late starts occur and there is no ASP following an early dismissal.
November ended in a magical way with a wonderful Willowwind event, the Thanksgiving Feast. Thank you to all of the parents that contributed their efforts through time and supplies to make this special day such an incredible success. It was a pure joy watching the Cottontails put so much love into our table decorations and cornbread muffins. Enjoy the recipe. The muffins were a sweet addition to the rest of the delicious Feast foods.
An additional thanks goes out to the drivers for our recent Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater field trip. Preparing for our field trip, the class has been reading The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Purposefully, we did not finish our chapter book read aloud prior to our field trip. It was fun to head to Eulenspiegel and watch the puppet show with suspense as we were eager to see the ending unfold. We continue to focus on comprehension as we read together. While reading The Snow Queen, the students asked many great questions that allowed us to focus on our inferencing skills as we asked student driven questions like, "Do you think Gerda still loves Kip even with his frozen heart?"
Our literacy skills continue to grow beyond our reading time, the Kindergarteners have been working hard on writing their Partner Books. Partner Books are a wonderful Willowwind tradition allowing students to use their creative writing skills and the writing process to create a story for one of their partners. I worked with each Cottontail individually to help them write a wonderful partner book. Students dictated their stories as I typed their words. As the authoring phase comes to an end, the Cottontails are eager to work with Ms. Buffy to create beautiful pictures that will bring their words to life. Thank you to Gretchen Rice and Ms. Christine who also helped with the partner book writing process. Willowwind students will exchange Partner Books on Tuesday, December 20th. As your child brings home their Partner Book, written and illustrated with love and created especially for your child, remember that this is a special keepsake your child will enjoy looking back on for many years to come.
In addition to our Partner Book busyness, the Cottontails continue to stay busy in Math and Science, too. Prior to Thanksgiving, the Cottontails finished up our Pumpkin unit. We enjoyed using our own pumpkins to measure their height and circumference. We also used them to decorate our Thanksgiving Feast tables. One fun activity was ordering the life cycle of the pumpkin. What comes first the vine or the blossom, the jack-o-lantern or the pie? Here is one Cottontail conversation I overheard during this fun activity.
Student 1: Does the Jack-o-lantern come before the pumpkin pie?
Student 2: Yes.
Student 1: Really?
Student 2: Yes.
Student 1: Really?
Student 2: Yes. Really yes.
Student 1: Yes, I knew it!
In Math, the Cottontails have recently completed Math in Focus's chapters 3 and 4. These chapters highlighted length and weight and the basic ideas of addition and subtraction. Chapter 4 in particular prepares our Cottontails for our upcoming basic math facts routine that will be introduced after Winter Break. Look to the upcoming December Newsletter for more information regarding our upcoming math units. Last week, the Cottontails learned a new math game, Magic Number 6. This is an easy math game you can play at home using a dice and a handful of counters (pennies, dried pasta, beans, etc). A player rolls the dice, and the first player to show with fingers and says how many more are needed to reach six receives a counter. The winner of the game is the first child to get five counters. In addition, Math in Focus's online component has a new activity. Login in using the Math In Focus website to see and interact with the new virtual manipulatives. Your kindergartener can use these manipulatives to further work on patterning, number sense, and numeric relationships. Remember to use your child's first and last name (all one word) of your child's login and their six digit birthdate (mmddyy) for the password.
It is a true joy to work with your child each and everyday. I am so grateful to have the honor to work at such an amazing school. Please spread the WIllowwind Kindergarten word to all your friends and family members with preschool children that are age eligible for Kindergarten 2012 - 2013. This Thursday, December 8th is Kindergarten Transition Night. At 6:30, in the Cottontail classroom, Carly, Amy, and I will be on hand to discuss the uniqueness of our Kindergarten Program. We will share our thoughts on the dynamic curriculum including our Singapore Math program, the arts and language programs, the use of the IC community and field experiences, and the traditions that build confidence and curiosity in our young learners. If you know of someone that maybe interested in learning more about how their preschooler could truly benefit from Willowwind's Kindergarten program please have them RSVP to our Director of Admissions, Amy Conyers, by emailing her at amyc@willowwind.org or by calling 319.338.6061. Thanks for your help!
Lastly, another thing I love about teaching at WIllowwind is the ability to involve our students in wonderful community events. By participating in a variety of service learning projects we can help our children become more globally aware of current event that occur outside Willowwind's walls. During the season of giving, the Willowwind community is participating in two very important drives. Please help out in any way you can. Your participation is much appreciated!
Pages for Patients
The Willowwind community is working with Willowwind alumnus, Meg Richardson, and the City High Ambassadors to collect as many pages as possible by donating new and very gently used books for all ages, 0-99. These books will be donated to the UIHC library and in-patient book cart. As we can all only imagine, time spent in the hospital can be full of anxiousness and worry. The Pages for Patients Book Drive provides patients with books to keep them entertained while visiting UIHC. City High Ambassadors' goal is to collect 20,000 pages. If you are interested in participating there is a drop off bin by the Front Desk and outside our classroom door. Willowwind will collect books until Tuesday, December 21st. Please help bring a smile to the patients staying at UIHC.
Willowwind Food Drive
Please take a moment to donate a non-perishable food item, or two, or more. Students often enjoy raiding their own cupboards for non-perishable items they can bring in to donate. Food donation bins are located upstairs near the Front Desk, by our classroom door, and downstairs near the Preschool Lost & Found. Willowwind will collect nonperishable items until December 16th. Please help stock the River Church Food Drive shelves. Your participation will help many families throughout the Winter months.
Cornbread Muffin Recipe
Math in Focus Website
WInter is definitely in the air as we enter the last few weeks of Fall. The temps are falling, the days are getting shorter and shorter, and the Cottontails are keeping their eyes open for that first measurable snowfall. While we anxiously await this exciting occasion I wanted to take just a moment to remind you of a few "Winter Weather" expectations.
~ Please take some time to switch out your child's spare set of clothing in their cubby. Most cubbies are equipped with a spare set of t-shirts and shorts. Swap out that summer spare set for something a bit warmer like pants and a long sleeve.
~ Is your child prepared for the winter weather at recess time? Please see the that your child is appropriately dressed for the cool temps as we will continue to play outside unless the air temp or windchill drops below zero. Students are expected to have jackets, hats, and mittens each and every day. When the snow sticks, students will need snow pants and boots to play in the snow. Please see that your child is prepared.
~ Remember, Willowwind follows ICCSD's lead in early dismissals, late starts, and cancellations. There is no BSP when late starts occur and there is no ASP following an early dismissal.
November ended in a magical way with a wonderful Willowwind event, the Thanksgiving Feast. Thank you to all of the parents that contributed their efforts through time and supplies to make this special day such an incredible success. It was a pure joy watching the Cottontails put so much love into our table decorations and cornbread muffins. Enjoy the recipe. The muffins were a sweet addition to the rest of the delicious Feast foods.
An additional thanks goes out to the drivers for our recent Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater field trip. Preparing for our field trip, the class has been reading The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Purposefully, we did not finish our chapter book read aloud prior to our field trip. It was fun to head to Eulenspiegel and watch the puppet show with suspense as we were eager to see the ending unfold. We continue to focus on comprehension as we read together. While reading The Snow Queen, the students asked many great questions that allowed us to focus on our inferencing skills as we asked student driven questions like, "Do you think Gerda still loves Kip even with his frozen heart?"
Our literacy skills continue to grow beyond our reading time, the Kindergarteners have been working hard on writing their Partner Books. Partner Books are a wonderful Willowwind tradition allowing students to use their creative writing skills and the writing process to create a story for one of their partners. I worked with each Cottontail individually to help them write a wonderful partner book. Students dictated their stories as I typed their words. As the authoring phase comes to an end, the Cottontails are eager to work with Ms. Buffy to create beautiful pictures that will bring their words to life. Thank you to Gretchen Rice and Ms. Christine who also helped with the partner book writing process. Willowwind students will exchange Partner Books on Tuesday, December 20th. As your child brings home their Partner Book, written and illustrated with love and created especially for your child, remember that this is a special keepsake your child will enjoy looking back on for many years to come.
In addition to our Partner Book busyness, the Cottontails continue to stay busy in Math and Science, too. Prior to Thanksgiving, the Cottontails finished up our Pumpkin unit. We enjoyed using our own pumpkins to measure their height and circumference. We also used them to decorate our Thanksgiving Feast tables. One fun activity was ordering the life cycle of the pumpkin. What comes first the vine or the blossom, the jack-o-lantern or the pie? Here is one Cottontail conversation I overheard during this fun activity.
Student 1: Does the Jack-o-lantern come before the pumpkin pie?
Student 2: Yes.
Student 1: Really?
Student 2: Yes.
Student 1: Really?
Student 2: Yes. Really yes.
Student 1: Yes, I knew it!
In Math, the Cottontails have recently completed Math in Focus's chapters 3 and 4. These chapters highlighted length and weight and the basic ideas of addition and subtraction. Chapter 4 in particular prepares our Cottontails for our upcoming basic math facts routine that will be introduced after Winter Break. Look to the upcoming December Newsletter for more information regarding our upcoming math units. Last week, the Cottontails learned a new math game, Magic Number 6. This is an easy math game you can play at home using a dice and a handful of counters (pennies, dried pasta, beans, etc). A player rolls the dice, and the first player to show with fingers and says how many more are needed to reach six receives a counter. The winner of the game is the first child to get five counters. In addition, Math in Focus's online component has a new activity. Login in using the Math In Focus website to see and interact with the new virtual manipulatives. Your kindergartener can use these manipulatives to further work on patterning, number sense, and numeric relationships. Remember to use your child's first and last name (all one word) of your child's login and their six digit birthdate (mmddyy) for the password.
It is a true joy to work with your child each and everyday. I am so grateful to have the honor to work at such an amazing school. Please spread the WIllowwind Kindergarten word to all your friends and family members with preschool children that are age eligible for Kindergarten 2012 - 2013. This Thursday, December 8th is Kindergarten Transition Night. At 6:30, in the Cottontail classroom, Carly, Amy, and I will be on hand to discuss the uniqueness of our Kindergarten Program. We will share our thoughts on the dynamic curriculum including our Singapore Math program, the arts and language programs, the use of the IC community and field experiences, and the traditions that build confidence and curiosity in our young learners. If you know of someone that maybe interested in learning more about how their preschooler could truly benefit from Willowwind's Kindergarten program please have them RSVP to our Director of Admissions, Amy Conyers, by emailing her at amyc@willowwind.org or by calling 319.338.6061. Thanks for your help!
Lastly, another thing I love about teaching at WIllowwind is the ability to involve our students in wonderful community events. By participating in a variety of service learning projects we can help our children become more globally aware of current event that occur outside Willowwind's walls. During the season of giving, the Willowwind community is participating in two very important drives. Please help out in any way you can. Your participation is much appreciated!
Pages for Patients
The Willowwind community is working with Willowwind alumnus, Meg Richardson, and the City High Ambassadors to collect as many pages as possible by donating new and very gently used books for all ages, 0-99. These books will be donated to the UIHC library and in-patient book cart. As we can all only imagine, time spent in the hospital can be full of anxiousness and worry. The Pages for Patients Book Drive provides patients with books to keep them entertained while visiting UIHC. City High Ambassadors' goal is to collect 20,000 pages. If you are interested in participating there is a drop off bin by the Front Desk and outside our classroom door. Willowwind will collect books until Tuesday, December 21st. Please help bring a smile to the patients staying at UIHC.
Willowwind Food Drive
Please take a moment to donate a non-perishable food item, or two, or more. Students often enjoy raiding their own cupboards for non-perishable items they can bring in to donate. Food donation bins are located upstairs near the Front Desk, by our classroom door, and downstairs near the Preschool Lost & Found. Willowwind will collect nonperishable items until December 16th. Please help stock the River Church Food Drive shelves. Your participation will help many families throughout the Winter months.
Cornbread Muffin Recipe
Math in Focus Website
Quiet Observations
| One of my favorite parts of teaching Kindergarten is sitting back, watching, and listening to the interactions between five and six-year olds. They are so sweet, so cute, so genuine. Enjoy my "quiet observations". I'll share them with you as they arise. Quiet Observation 3: The Cottontails enjoy venturing into the Iowa City community. One of their favorite parts our our adventures is the ride on the city bus. At the start of the year, a few Cottontails were tuckered out from our first visit to the library. The other Cottontails enjoyed the peaceful moment watching their friends catch a few winks. Since this first city bus trip, the Cottontails enjoy playing their new game - Let's "sleep" on the bus. What a peaceful game to play! |
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A Can of Food, a Cup of Joe, & Even an Angry Bird, or Two!
A Can of Food - Willowwind Food Drive - until December 16th
During this season of giving, Willowwind is participating in a food drive for the River Community Church (across Muscatine Ave) Food Bank. Please take a moment to donate a non-perishable food item, or two, or more. Students often enjoy raiding their own cupboards for non-perishable items they can bring in to donate. Food donation bins are located upstairs near the Front Desk and downstairs near the Preschool Lost & Found. Willowwind will collect nonperishable items until December 16th. Please help stock the River Church Food Drive shelves. Your participation will help many families throughout the Winter months. Thank you!
A Cup of Joe - First Friday Parent Coffee - THIS Friday, December 2nd
This month's First Friday Parent Coffee is on Friday, December 2nd. After drop off, stay for a cup of coffee and a lesson and demonstration by Willowwind parent, Chef Gaby, and owner of Back to the Table. Gaby will also give parent ideas for fun and healthy lunches.
Even an Angry Bird, or Two!
Speaking of fun lunch ideas… I found a great blog that details ways to make eating healthy and lunch time more fun. This lunch idea shows ways to transform fruits & veggies into cute Angry Birds characters. Angry Birds is a popular game on our iPad and your child may love the surprise of Angry Birds invading their lunch box. Check out this blog and Gaby's Friday Coffee discussion for more great lunch ideas.
Another Lunch Blog
Angry Birds Lunch Idea
During this season of giving, Willowwind is participating in a food drive for the River Community Church (across Muscatine Ave) Food Bank. Please take a moment to donate a non-perishable food item, or two, or more. Students often enjoy raiding their own cupboards for non-perishable items they can bring in to donate. Food donation bins are located upstairs near the Front Desk and downstairs near the Preschool Lost & Found. Willowwind will collect nonperishable items until December 16th. Please help stock the River Church Food Drive shelves. Your participation will help many families throughout the Winter months. Thank you!
A Cup of Joe - First Friday Parent Coffee - THIS Friday, December 2nd
This month's First Friday Parent Coffee is on Friday, December 2nd. After drop off, stay for a cup of coffee and a lesson and demonstration by Willowwind parent, Chef Gaby, and owner of Back to the Table. Gaby will also give parent ideas for fun and healthy lunches.
Even an Angry Bird, or Two!
Speaking of fun lunch ideas… I found a great blog that details ways to make eating healthy and lunch time more fun. This lunch idea shows ways to transform fruits & veggies into cute Angry Birds characters. Angry Birds is a popular game on our iPad and your child may love the surprise of Angry Birds invading their lunch box. Check out this blog and Gaby's Friday Coffee discussion for more great lunch ideas.
Another Lunch Blog
Angry Birds Lunch Idea
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Important Reminders
Dear Cottontail Families,
The days leading up to Thanksgiving Break are going to be very busy. Here are a few quick reminders.
1) Library Field Trip THIS Friday - Please make sure your child has their library card.
2) Puppet Theatre Field Trip NEXT Monday - Please make sure you drop off your child's $2 admission price (to Amber or me) and that your child has their booster seat on Monday. One or two more drivers are still needed. Please email me if you are interested in driving.
3) Thanksgiving Feast Ingredients - Please use the Thanksgiving Feast Volunteer Sign Up link to sign up to help provide ingredients for our Feast's baked goods (Gluten Free Corn Bread Muffins and Pumpkin Seeds). All ingredients are needed by the morning of NEXT Monday, November 21.
4) Thanksgiving Feast Shifts - Please use the above link to sign up for shift help with our Feast (Set Up on Monday afternoon; Serving and Clean Up on Tuesday afternoon). Two parent volunteers are needed from each classroom. Please feel free to sign up for multiple spots if your schedule allows.
5) Partner Book Writing - Parents are still needed to help with the Partner Book process. Please email me if you are interested in helping out.
Enjoy the busy week! Remember, there are conferences THIS Thursday afternoon and evening and there is no school NEXT Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The days leading up to Thanksgiving Break are going to be very busy. Here are a few quick reminders.
1) Library Field Trip THIS Friday - Please make sure your child has their library card.
2) Puppet Theatre Field Trip NEXT Monday - Please make sure you drop off your child's $2 admission price (to Amber or me) and that your child has their booster seat on Monday. One or two more drivers are still needed. Please email me if you are interested in driving.
3) Thanksgiving Feast Ingredients - Please use the Thanksgiving Feast Volunteer Sign Up link to sign up to help provide ingredients for our Feast's baked goods (Gluten Free Corn Bread Muffins and Pumpkin Seeds). All ingredients are needed by the morning of NEXT Monday, November 21.
4) Thanksgiving Feast Shifts - Please use the above link to sign up for shift help with our Feast (Set Up on Monday afternoon; Serving and Clean Up on Tuesday afternoon). Two parent volunteers are needed from each classroom. Please feel free to sign up for multiple spots if your schedule allows.
5) Partner Book Writing - Parents are still needed to help with the Partner Book process. Please email me if you are interested in helping out.
Enjoy the busy week! Remember, there are conferences THIS Thursday afternoon and evening and there is no school NEXT Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Volunteer Opportunities: Thanksgiving Feast Ingredients & Day of Help
Our annual Thanksgiving Feast is upon us. The K-6 students and staff will gather together on Tuesday, November 22nd to give thanks and enjoy traditional Thanksgiving foods created by each classroom. The Cottontails are excited to bake Cornbread Muffins and Pumpkin Seeds. I am in need of parents to help supply ingredients for these baked goods. Please use the link below (or on the Welcome Page side bar) to sign up to bring one or more ingredient for us to use in our cooking. Please bring ingredients no later than the morning of Monday, November 21st. We will be baking before we leave for our Eulenspiegel field trip at 12:00.
In addition, Willowwind is in need of two parent volunteers from each classroom to help with setup, serving, and clean up. The dates and times that we are in need of parent support is as follows. Please note that the Set Up shift will take place the DAY BEFORE on Monday afternoon. Please use the link below to sign up for a time slot. Feel free to sign up for more than one spot if you have the time.
Set Up: Monday Afternoon 2:00 - 3:00
Serving: Tuesday Afternoon 11:45 - 12:30
Clean Up: Tuesday Afternoon 12:30 - 1:30
Thanksgiving Feast Volunteer Sign Up
Your help is SO much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
In addition, please note that I am still in need of parent volunteers to help with Partner Book Writing and drivers for our field trip to Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre on Monday, November 21st at 12:00. Please use the blog posting below (Volunteer Opportunities: Partner Book Writing & Field Trip Driving) to find more information.
In addition, Willowwind is in need of two parent volunteers from each classroom to help with setup, serving, and clean up. The dates and times that we are in need of parent support is as follows. Please note that the Set Up shift will take place the DAY BEFORE on Monday afternoon. Please use the link below to sign up for a time slot. Feel free to sign up for more than one spot if you have the time.
Set Up: Monday Afternoon 2:00 - 3:00
Serving: Tuesday Afternoon 11:45 - 12:30
Clean Up: Tuesday Afternoon 12:30 - 1:30
Thanksgiving Feast Volunteer Sign Up
Your help is SO much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
In addition, please note that I am still in need of parent volunteers to help with Partner Book Writing and drivers for our field trip to Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre on Monday, November 21st at 12:00. Please use the blog posting below (Volunteer Opportunities: Partner Book Writing & Field Trip Driving) to find more information.
NEW!! Math Homework
Per the requests of many Cottontail families the Kindergarten class is beginning a new homework routine. As a class, we discussed this routine and the Cottontails are so excited to have weekly math homework just like their older friends, partners, and family members. Please help foster this excitement as they bring home their weekly work.
Each Monday, students will take home a weekly math packet. This math packet will contain four double sided worksheets that can be completed throughout the week. These activities are supplemental activities to the activities and lessons we complete as a class throughout the week. They are meant to provide your child with added practice and reinforcement. IT is also my hopes that this homework routine provides you with the opportunity to take a look at some of the concepts your child is studying in Kindergarten. Yesterday, the class brainstormed various ways to complete the packet. Some friends suggested completing one double sided page each night, other friends were eager to complete the entire packet on Monday evening, others had other ideas to divide the work up throughout the week. We all agreed, though, that waiting until Thursday night to start the packet was not the best idea.
On Friday morning, your child will bring their packet back to school and turn it in. If they happen to finish it earlier in the week they can certainly turn it in sooner, upon full completion. We will take part of our Friday Math time to review our work independently, with partners, in small groups, or as a large group. Please see that your child is prepared to participate in our Math review each Friday. As you begin our new Math homework routine please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for continuing your child's learning at home!
Each Monday, students will take home a weekly math packet. This math packet will contain four double sided worksheets that can be completed throughout the week. These activities are supplemental activities to the activities and lessons we complete as a class throughout the week. They are meant to provide your child with added practice and reinforcement. IT is also my hopes that this homework routine provides you with the opportunity to take a look at some of the concepts your child is studying in Kindergarten. Yesterday, the class brainstormed various ways to complete the packet. Some friends suggested completing one double sided page each night, other friends were eager to complete the entire packet on Monday evening, others had other ideas to divide the work up throughout the week. We all agreed, though, that waiting until Thursday night to start the packet was not the best idea.
On Friday morning, your child will bring their packet back to school and turn it in. If they happen to finish it earlier in the week they can certainly turn it in sooner, upon full completion. We will take part of our Friday Math time to review our work independently, with partners, in small groups, or as a large group. Please see that your child is prepared to participate in our Math review each Friday. As you begin our new Math homework routine please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for continuing your child's learning at home!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Volunteer Opportunties: Partner Book Writing & Field Trip Driving
Your help is needed in the Cottontail Rabbit classroom! Please email me if you are interested in helping out. Thank you in advance for your help and support.
Partner Book Writing
Parent volunteers are needed to help with our partner book writing experience. Kindergarteners seem to benefit most when they can work on their writing individually with an adult. Please email me if you are available to help with Partner Book writing. Our schedule is flexible so please let me know the times that you could help out. I am looking for writing help during the school day and even after school during ASP.
Drivers for Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre - Monday, November 21 12:00 - 2:00
Drivers are needed for our upcoming field trip to Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre in West Liberty. Please let me know if you are available to drive. If you are, let me know how many booster seats you can fit in the back row(s) of your vehicle. Drivers, please be sure to submit a copy of your driver's license and auto insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Partner Book Writing
Parent volunteers are needed to help with our partner book writing experience. Kindergarteners seem to benefit most when they can work on their writing individually with an adult. Please email me if you are available to help with Partner Book writing. Our schedule is flexible so please let me know the times that you could help out. I am looking for writing help during the school day and even after school during ASP.
Drivers for Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre - Monday, November 21 12:00 - 2:00
Drivers are needed for our upcoming field trip to Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre in West Liberty. Please let me know if you are available to drive. If you are, let me know how many booster seats you can fit in the back row(s) of your vehicle. Drivers, please be sure to submit a copy of your driver's license and auto insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Book Bag Clean Out
It is time to clean out our Book Bags - making room for new books. With your Cottontail, please go through their Book Bag removing the books that are marked with a reading sticker in the upper right corner. These books can be added to your child's at-home library. Often times, families will set aside a basket to collect the black and white books. It is exciting for your child to watch their collection of black and white books grow. They will enjoy looking back at the books they have read throughout the year. Thanks for your "clean out" help.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Website Updated
The Cottontail Chatter has been updated. Take a look at all of the following changes.
~ LOTS of new blog postings - Take a peek into our time together!
~ NEW November Newsletter
~ Updated October and November Photo Pages
~ Updated "Upcoming Events" (see right side bar) and Calendar Tab
~ Updated "Volunteer Opportunities (see right side bar) - Volunteers are needed to help with Partner Book writing and for Saturday, November 12th's Parent Workday. Drivers are needed for Monday, November 21st's field trip to Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater in West Liberty, Iowa. Please let me know if you can help out. Thanks!
~ LOTS of new blog postings - Take a peek into our time together!
~ NEW November Newsletter
~ Updated October and November Photo Pages
~ Updated "Upcoming Events" (see right side bar) and Calendar Tab
~ Updated "Volunteer Opportunities (see right side bar) - Volunteers are needed to help with Partner Book writing and for Saturday, November 12th's Parent Workday. Drivers are needed for Monday, November 21st's field trip to Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater in West Liberty, Iowa. Please let me know if you can help out. Thanks!
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Field Trip - Monday, November 21
The Cottontail Rabbits and Prairie Racerunners will be traveling to West Liberty to visit the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre on Monday, November 21st. Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre is a nonprofit puppet company organized to promote the art of puppetry by producing and presenting high-quality performances. The company is committed to educating the public about the arts, serving as a center for the exchange of ideas, and enhancing the quality of community life. Check out their website!
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Website
At Eulenspiegel we will enjoy a performance of Hans Christen Andersen's story The Snow Queen. This performance follows Gerda as she searches for her best friend, Kai, who has gone with the Snow Queen to her ice palace in the north. Plucky, and loyal Gerda, meet many eccentric characters who help them on their journey and show Gerda how to save her friend.
Drivers are needed for this field trip. We will leave Willowwind around 12:00 and return around 2:00. Please let me know if you are interested in driving. Please provide $2 to help cover the costs of the puppet show's admissions. Thank you!
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Website
At Eulenspiegel we will enjoy a performance of Hans Christen Andersen's story The Snow Queen. This performance follows Gerda as she searches for her best friend, Kai, who has gone with the Snow Queen to her ice palace in the north. Plucky, and loyal Gerda, meet many eccentric characters who help them on their journey and show Gerda how to save her friend.
Drivers are needed for this field trip. We will leave Willowwind around 12:00 and return around 2:00. Please let me know if you are interested in driving. Please provide $2 to help cover the costs of the puppet show's admissions. Thank you!
Happy November
Wow! The last two weeks have been oh so busy! WIth a trip to the library, Halloween, Day of the Dead, and a few bumps and bruises on my end, October came to a quick end and November is off to a crazy start! First off, I wanted to say thank you to all of you who sent such kind emails and cards as I was home nursing my wounds at the start of the week. Upon my return, your child's smiling face and warm embrace was the best medicine of all. The love I received from each Cottontail and their family was truly remarkable. Our Cottontails sure have a natural understanding of compassion, one of Willowwind's seven Core Virtues. At Thursday's Morning Meeting we spent a lot of our time swapping stories of accidents we have all experienced. It was nice to know that my klutziness ranks right up there with that of five year old! :) The Cottontails could truly empathize with my injuries and with me. Thank you for the love your child shares with me!
Fall conferences are just around the corner. Conferences will take place THIS Monday and Tuesday afternoon as well as the afternoon of Thursday, November 17th. Using the link below or on the right side of the Welcome page, please sign up for a conferences if you have yet to do so.
Fall Conference Sign Up
With Fall conferences approaching, it presents a natural time to reflect on and document the progress in our year. The Cottontails have recently completed a variety of reading, spelling and math assessments to highlight their progress. I am amazed at our growth in 55 short days and I am eager to share this growth with you. You will be so proud of your Kindergartener!
Math time is one area of wonderful growth. The Cottontails recently finished Chapter 2 in our Math in Focus curriculum. Throughout Chapter 2, the class learned a few new math songs and math games. It brings me great joy to listen to the class as they sing these songs at snack, recess, and free choice time. They are catchy numbers that help your child further develop their number sense. In addition, our two new math games have become wonderful activities that the Cottontails often choose to play with at Center time. What I love most about Math in Focus's math games is the simplicity in the game. There are no complex rules or "record" sheets, rather there is a simple game board with simple instructions - ones that your Cottontail can understand right away. It is fun to watch the class choose to play the games when the choice of activities is completely theirs. Upon conference time, I will send home the two game boards with you. Have your child become the teacher and teach you how to play these games at home! In addition, I will give you your child's first (of four) completed Math workbook. The class is so excited to share their workbooks with you. It is such a proud feeling to have a workbook full of our work and activities. Enjoy!
We continue to bring math concepts into our everyday world as we recently spent time cooking with Chef Gaby (Prairie Racerunner, Erika's mom). She is a personal chef here in Iowa City who has a passion to share her love for cooking with healthy foods with children. We worked with Gaby to make a Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Apple Crisp. We shared our Apple Crisp with the rest of the Willowwind community at Monday's Halloween celebration. Ms. Brooke has graciously posted the recipe on her class's website. Use the link below to find the recipe and share it with your family at home.
Ms. Brooke's Website - Apple Crisp Recipe
This week, Willowwind friends began a new writing project. The K-6 students are eager to start our annual Partner Book project. Look to our November newsletter for more information on this wonderful tradition. The books the children create are truly magical. I am excited to see them take life. Writing is new for our Kindergarten friends. Because of this, I am in need of parent volunteers to help with the writing process. I am looking for parents to come in during the school day to provide one-on-one help with writing. The writing process can't be done without your help and support. Please let me know if you can help out. Our schedule is flexible so let me know what times you are available and we'll work with your schedule. After school help is needed, too. This is a great activity you can work on while some of our friends focus on their school work during ASP time. Thank you in advance.
November brings shorter hours of daylight. Today Daylight Savings Time comes to an end. Did you "Fall Back" this morning? It was nice waking up a bit "earlier" as it gave me more time to work on the coming week's activities. Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour. Our Fire Safety unit taught us that this is a great time to check our smoke detectors' batteries, too. I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. It was nice to be a part of the Hawks' win yesterday, albeit a very close win and a very windy Saturday. The sun sure is shining today, but the wind continues to whip, so Brian, Lambeau, and I are enjoying our time inside. Brian and Lambeau are cheering for their Packers as I write conference reports. A warm pot of coffee is on as I dive into the joy of reflecting and documenting the progress of your child. See you Monday.
Fall conferences are just around the corner. Conferences will take place THIS Monday and Tuesday afternoon as well as the afternoon of Thursday, November 17th. Using the link below or on the right side of the Welcome page, please sign up for a conferences if you have yet to do so.
Fall Conference Sign Up
With Fall conferences approaching, it presents a natural time to reflect on and document the progress in our year. The Cottontails have recently completed a variety of reading, spelling and math assessments to highlight their progress. I am amazed at our growth in 55 short days and I am eager to share this growth with you. You will be so proud of your Kindergartener!
Math time is one area of wonderful growth. The Cottontails recently finished Chapter 2 in our Math in Focus curriculum. Throughout Chapter 2, the class learned a few new math songs and math games. It brings me great joy to listen to the class as they sing these songs at snack, recess, and free choice time. They are catchy numbers that help your child further develop their number sense. In addition, our two new math games have become wonderful activities that the Cottontails often choose to play with at Center time. What I love most about Math in Focus's math games is the simplicity in the game. There are no complex rules or "record" sheets, rather there is a simple game board with simple instructions - ones that your Cottontail can understand right away. It is fun to watch the class choose to play the games when the choice of activities is completely theirs. Upon conference time, I will send home the two game boards with you. Have your child become the teacher and teach you how to play these games at home! In addition, I will give you your child's first (of four) completed Math workbook. The class is so excited to share their workbooks with you. It is such a proud feeling to have a workbook full of our work and activities. Enjoy!
We continue to bring math concepts into our everyday world as we recently spent time cooking with Chef Gaby (Prairie Racerunner, Erika's mom). She is a personal chef here in Iowa City who has a passion to share her love for cooking with healthy foods with children. We worked with Gaby to make a Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Apple Crisp. We shared our Apple Crisp with the rest of the Willowwind community at Monday's Halloween celebration. Ms. Brooke has graciously posted the recipe on her class's website. Use the link below to find the recipe and share it with your family at home.
Ms. Brooke's Website - Apple Crisp Recipe
This week, Willowwind friends began a new writing project. The K-6 students are eager to start our annual Partner Book project. Look to our November newsletter for more information on this wonderful tradition. The books the children create are truly magical. I am excited to see them take life. Writing is new for our Kindergarten friends. Because of this, I am in need of parent volunteers to help with the writing process. I am looking for parents to come in during the school day to provide one-on-one help with writing. The writing process can't be done without your help and support. Please let me know if you can help out. Our schedule is flexible so let me know what times you are available and we'll work with your schedule. After school help is needed, too. This is a great activity you can work on while some of our friends focus on their school work during ASP time. Thank you in advance.
November brings shorter hours of daylight. Today Daylight Savings Time comes to an end. Did you "Fall Back" this morning? It was nice waking up a bit "earlier" as it gave me more time to work on the coming week's activities. Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour. Our Fire Safety unit taught us that this is a great time to check our smoke detectors' batteries, too. I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. It was nice to be a part of the Hawks' win yesterday, albeit a very close win and a very windy Saturday. The sun sure is shining today, but the wind continues to whip, so Brian, Lambeau, and I are enjoying our time inside. Brian and Lambeau are cheering for their Packers as I write conference reports. A warm pot of coffee is on as I dive into the joy of reflecting and documenting the progress of your child. See you Monday.
Building Bridges
| Some of the best moments with your child are the ones in which I can detour from "the plans" and we can just be a class together. This week included a moment just like that. As I began a round of reading assessments, the Cottontails had the opportunity to enjoy extra center time. Lucas and a few of his friends were eager to use our cubes to build a bridge that spanned across the rectangle tables over to the red table. It was a fun moment to watch as interest grew within the class and more friends joined in the process. Throughout Thursday, the Cottontails realized that the Unifex cubes weren't quite strong enough. They scrapped their Unifex bridge and tried it again with the linking cubes. Indeed, the linking cubes proved to be much stronger, but the Unifex "materials" couldn't going to go to waste. After all, they already committed to using them. So, Sayan came up with the idea to use them as guardrails to protect the cars and traffic that would use the bridge. The "problem" with the cubes wouldn't be the last problem the group would encounter. They took time to patiently try different materials to add to the design of their bridge. It was fun to watch various jobs and roles naturally developed. With Lucas as the "Senior Engineer", overseeing the overall design project, and Sayan acting as the "Constructional Engineer", Aidan became the "Marketing Executive" and "Accountant" monitoring materials they could sell to receive money to put towards their construction project. You should've seen his pile of money. Man, was he good at selling goods and gaining revenue! This project was well funded. Rayne and Vismitha became the "Urban Planners" as they gather chairs to develop a path for the bridge to take. Rosie, Stella, and Margaret enjoyed sharing the role of "Constructional Engineer" with Sayan as they worked on securing the linking cubes and building the pillars, supports, and bases of the bridge. Ginger was the "Team Motivator" providing each friend with wonderful comments and compliments. She often highlighted the fact that we are indeed engineers. She helped troubleshoot in times of confusion and was so proud to announce our class's ability to work together and persevere. By Friday afternoon my heart was beaming with pride and my smile was a mile wide. I couldn't help but close up my binder of reading assessments and join in the building fun. What a great way to end a crazy week! |
Quiet Observations
| One of my favorite parts of teaching Kindergarten is sitting back, watching, and listening to the interactions between four and five-year olds. They are so sweet, so cute, so genuine. Here is a new component to our classroom website - enjoy my "quiet observations". I'll share them with you as they arise. Quiet Observation 1: Art has come to an end, and the Cottontails come back to class going on with our next routine activity without any instruction. Friends are quietly washing their hands in the Project Room. As I finish one last email from my spot at the Project Room table I overhear the following conversation. Cottontail 1: Remember when you were the Dust Buster and I was helping you and you said I was a really good helper? Cottontail 2: Yeah? Cottontail 1: Thanks. Cottontail 2: Well it's true, you were. My heart melts... Quiet Observation 2: Group Discussion has just finished. The Cottontails have headed back to class and I mosey in slowly behind the class of Kindergartners. I quietly grab my camera and stand in the doorway as I watch the class work together. The kiddos are standing in a circle in the Group Area. Each one has a hand placed in the middle, eyes gleaming, and big smiles. One friend says, "Ok. On the count of three let's say Go Cottontails!". They count to three and cheer. "One, two, three! Go Cottontails!". My heart melts… |
The Giving Season is Upon Us
| Here at Willowwind, we can't do what we strive to do so well with you! As of Friday, November 4th we had 41% parent participation in the Annual Fund drive. Thank you!! We have been moved by the parents who have given thus far - your generosity is inspiring. Willowwind is asking for all parents to commit to the Fund drive at the level at which you are able to give. Your gift enables us to continue to meet the needs of our greatest resource - the students in our school. Remember it is all about participation. Many of the grants we apply for look for participation in annual giving from faculty and families. When Willowwind can say that 100% of our community gives back our appeal to grant providers grows ten fold. Please be sure to check out the growing thermometer and the "Why I give to Willowwind" board in the Front Entry. Fund Drive envelops are available at the Front Desk. Our next goal is 55% participation by Friday, November 11th. Please pledge or donate to help us meet our next short term goal and overall goal of 100% participation. Thank you for your commitment to providing your child with an amazing private education. |
Monday, October 24, 2011
Fall Conference Sign Up
Fall Kindergarten Conferences are set for following dates and times.
Thursday, November 3 2:30 - 7:30
Monday, November 7 3:30 - 7:30
Tuesday, November 8 3:30 - 7:30
Due to the scheduling of our conferences, if your conference is scheduled for 5:00 or later, please be sure to use our classroom's exterior door, or the K-2 Project Room door upon arrival. The front entrance will be locked.
Please use the link below to sign up for a 30 minute conference block. A link to the sign up sheet can also be found on the Welcome page's sidebar. During your child's conference time, we will review your child's school work and discuss their progress, strengths and areas of continued focus. I will have a folder of their work for you to take home and enjoy as well as a conference narrative that will further detail your child's first ten weeks in Kindergarten. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to meeting with you.
Fall Conference Sign Up Link
Thursday, November 3 2:30 - 7:30
Monday, November 7 3:30 - 7:30
Tuesday, November 8 3:30 - 7:30
Due to the scheduling of our conferences, if your conference is scheduled for 5:00 or later, please be sure to use our classroom's exterior door, or the K-2 Project Room door upon arrival. The front entrance will be locked.
Please use the link below to sign up for a 30 minute conference block. A link to the sign up sheet can also be found on the Welcome page's sidebar. During your child's conference time, we will review your child's school work and discuss their progress, strengths and areas of continued focus. I will have a folder of their work for you to take home and enjoy as well as a conference narrative that will further detail your child's first ten weeks in Kindergarten. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to meeting with you.
Fall Conference Sign Up Link
Sunday, October 23, 2011
We ♥ Iowa City!
The Cottontails have been busy enjoying themselves within the Iowa City community. From the library and downtown playground, to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, to the Iowa City Fire Department and Homecoming parade we have made our little presence known. It is fun to show our WIllowwind pride and hear wonderful compliments about our interactions with the community.
Our field trip to the Iowa City Fire Department was a lot of fun and helped us further our fire safety study. Firefighter Lyle gave us a tour of the fire department. We spent a lot of time in the garage looking at the tools, trucks, and heavy equipment. Firefighter Lyle even led us in a lesson where we looked for similarities and differences between the hoses they use. This quick, impromptu activity fit so well with our math unit - same vs. different! It can't get any better than real life math just like this! Firefighter Sadie showed us her firefighting suit. She tried on all of her equipment for us showing us that even with all of her equipment she is still the same person on the inside. We learned that there is NEVER a reason to be scared of a firefighter even with their bulky equipment. We also learned the importance of a practicing fire safety drills at home. In case of an emergency, please see that your family has an escape plan in place and a family meeting place. Also, please make it a monthly activity to test the smoke detectors throughout your home.
We also took a peek into the firefighters' home away from home. It was neat to see their living quarters, sleeping quarters, and exercise space. We also saw the fire station's fireman pole. Did you know that most current fire houses are without fireman poles? The downtown fire station still has the building's original fireman pole and they still use it as a means to quickly reach the garage and trucks. It was fun to watch Firefighter Tim demonstrate how they use the fireman pole. It is definitely quicker than using the stairs. In fact, it took us 72 seconds to walk down the stairs and to the garage. It took Firefighter Tim a mere 1 second to reach the garage by using the fireman pole!
After our visit to the Iowa City Fire Department we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon by eating lunch on the Ped Mall and visiting the downtown playground. We were so excited to see a "fireman pole" at the playground. The Cottontails thoroughly enjoyed the playground playing fire fighters on the fireman pole.
Last week, we took time to travel just south of Iowa City to visit Sass Family Farm in Riverside. Sass Family Farm is full of fun activities. We took a hayrack ride through the property looking at silly and "scary" Fall decorations. We visited the petting zoo, the "haunted" barn, the hay bale maze, the corn bin, and the playground. It was a ton of fun playing on the swings, the teeter totter, and the antique tractors. We also enjoyed watching the many pets at the farm. The goats were cute, the turkeys were big, and the peacocks were beautiful. We picked out pumpkins that we plan to use during our pumpkin studies in the classroom.
Before we move onto our pumpkin unit we continue to study apples. This week we identified the parts of an apple - the stem, skin, flesh, core, and seeds. We dissected apples looking for the number of seeds. Did you know? Apples can have up to ten seeds. We graphed the number of apple seeds we found in each apple. We also participated in a taste test. We tasted Jonathans, Honey Crisps, and Granny Smiths. We used adjectives to describe their appearances and their taste. We graphed the results of our taste test. Take a look at our graphs on display in our classroom.
At snack time, Sayan introduced the class to a famous apple saying, "An apple an day keeps the doctor away". He explained to us the meaning behind this famous saying and his quote led us into a natural lesson about other apple sayings including, "Apple of my eye", "American as apple pie", "The apple never falls far from the tree", "One bad apple ruins the bunch," and "Comparing apples and oranges". It was the perfect way to allow the students to take leadership in our unit's discussions.
Speaking of comparing apples, Ms. Danielle began our apple and pumpkin comparison discussions, in Spanish. It was a great way to bring our apple and pumpkin theme into Spanish. Spanish is a favorite part of our day. Three days a week Ms. Danielle leads Morning Meeting in all Spanish. It is amazing to watch the Cottontails' Spanish language vocabulary grow! During Morning Meeting, Ms. Danielle will complete our calendar activities. She will also use our Morning Meeting time to further our Spanish lessons. November 2nd is Dia de los Muertos. The Cottontails have used our Morning Meetings and Spanish class to learn about this fun holiday. A new favorite book is titled Clatter Bash. The Cottontails had fun reading this fictional book about Dia de los Muertos and were excited to identify the rhyming words. What a great literacy extension. In honor of Dia de los Muertos, the PreK-6 students will celebrate together on November 2nd from 9:00 - 9:30 am. Please join us for a variety of presentations and the unveiling of the traditional alter. Ms. Danielle has placed a sign-up sheet with volunteer opportunist at the Front Desk. Check it out!
Friday's Homecoming Parade was a wonderful event. I was amazed at the turnout of families and friends. The applause we received and the cheers from the crowd were amazing. Thank you to those that participated. It was great way to cheer on the Hawks and show our Willowwind pride. Throughout the parade we handed out bookmarks that featured our new Saturday enrichment events, Feed Your Brain. See the following blog post for more information regard this wonderful series.
Interested in other Iowa City events? Cottontail mom, Kari Yankey, emailed an exciting event my way. We'd like to share it with you, too. On Tuesday, November 15th at 7:30 Carver Hawkeye Arena is home to the Band Extravaganza. Show your Hawkeye spirit at the biggest band event in Iowa. Don't miss an evening featuring the UI Symphony Band, the big band sounds of Johnson County, the Hawkeye Marching Band, Hawkeye Golden Girl and Drum Major, the Iowa Spirit Squads, and Herky the Hawk! Kari says this is an event her family looks forward to each year and Nina is especially excited to check it out this year! Parking is available around Carver and is fairly easy to find. Check out this link for more information! Thanks, Kari, for sending this fun Iowa City event our way!
Don't forget, on Monday, October 24th we will continue our tour of Iowa City by visiting the Iowa City Public Library with the Prairie Racerunners. Please be sure that your child brings their library card.
Be sure to check out our updated photo albums for our recent adventures throughout Iowa City!
Our field trip to the Iowa City Fire Department was a lot of fun and helped us further our fire safety study. Firefighter Lyle gave us a tour of the fire department. We spent a lot of time in the garage looking at the tools, trucks, and heavy equipment. Firefighter Lyle even led us in a lesson where we looked for similarities and differences between the hoses they use. This quick, impromptu activity fit so well with our math unit - same vs. different! It can't get any better than real life math just like this! Firefighter Sadie showed us her firefighting suit. She tried on all of her equipment for us showing us that even with all of her equipment she is still the same person on the inside. We learned that there is NEVER a reason to be scared of a firefighter even with their bulky equipment. We also learned the importance of a practicing fire safety drills at home. In case of an emergency, please see that your family has an escape plan in place and a family meeting place. Also, please make it a monthly activity to test the smoke detectors throughout your home.
We also took a peek into the firefighters' home away from home. It was neat to see their living quarters, sleeping quarters, and exercise space. We also saw the fire station's fireman pole. Did you know that most current fire houses are without fireman poles? The downtown fire station still has the building's original fireman pole and they still use it as a means to quickly reach the garage and trucks. It was fun to watch Firefighter Tim demonstrate how they use the fireman pole. It is definitely quicker than using the stairs. In fact, it took us 72 seconds to walk down the stairs and to the garage. It took Firefighter Tim a mere 1 second to reach the garage by using the fireman pole!
After our visit to the Iowa City Fire Department we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon by eating lunch on the Ped Mall and visiting the downtown playground. We were so excited to see a "fireman pole" at the playground. The Cottontails thoroughly enjoyed the playground playing fire fighters on the fireman pole.
Last week, we took time to travel just south of Iowa City to visit Sass Family Farm in Riverside. Sass Family Farm is full of fun activities. We took a hayrack ride through the property looking at silly and "scary" Fall decorations. We visited the petting zoo, the "haunted" barn, the hay bale maze, the corn bin, and the playground. It was a ton of fun playing on the swings, the teeter totter, and the antique tractors. We also enjoyed watching the many pets at the farm. The goats were cute, the turkeys were big, and the peacocks were beautiful. We picked out pumpkins that we plan to use during our pumpkin studies in the classroom.
Before we move onto our pumpkin unit we continue to study apples. This week we identified the parts of an apple - the stem, skin, flesh, core, and seeds. We dissected apples looking for the number of seeds. Did you know? Apples can have up to ten seeds. We graphed the number of apple seeds we found in each apple. We also participated in a taste test. We tasted Jonathans, Honey Crisps, and Granny Smiths. We used adjectives to describe their appearances and their taste. We graphed the results of our taste test. Take a look at our graphs on display in our classroom.
At snack time, Sayan introduced the class to a famous apple saying, "An apple an day keeps the doctor away". He explained to us the meaning behind this famous saying and his quote led us into a natural lesson about other apple sayings including, "Apple of my eye", "American as apple pie", "The apple never falls far from the tree", "One bad apple ruins the bunch," and "Comparing apples and oranges". It was the perfect way to allow the students to take leadership in our unit's discussions.
Speaking of comparing apples, Ms. Danielle began our apple and pumpkin comparison discussions, in Spanish. It was a great way to bring our apple and pumpkin theme into Spanish. Spanish is a favorite part of our day. Three days a week Ms. Danielle leads Morning Meeting in all Spanish. It is amazing to watch the Cottontails' Spanish language vocabulary grow! During Morning Meeting, Ms. Danielle will complete our calendar activities. She will also use our Morning Meeting time to further our Spanish lessons. November 2nd is Dia de los Muertos. The Cottontails have used our Morning Meetings and Spanish class to learn about this fun holiday. A new favorite book is titled Clatter Bash. The Cottontails had fun reading this fictional book about Dia de los Muertos and were excited to identify the rhyming words. What a great literacy extension. In honor of Dia de los Muertos, the PreK-6 students will celebrate together on November 2nd from 9:00 - 9:30 am. Please join us for a variety of presentations and the unveiling of the traditional alter. Ms. Danielle has placed a sign-up sheet with volunteer opportunist at the Front Desk. Check it out!
Friday's Homecoming Parade was a wonderful event. I was amazed at the turnout of families and friends. The applause we received and the cheers from the crowd were amazing. Thank you to those that participated. It was great way to cheer on the Hawks and show our Willowwind pride. Throughout the parade we handed out bookmarks that featured our new Saturday enrichment events, Feed Your Brain. See the following blog post for more information regard this wonderful series.
Interested in other Iowa City events? Cottontail mom, Kari Yankey, emailed an exciting event my way. We'd like to share it with you, too. On Tuesday, November 15th at 7:30 Carver Hawkeye Arena is home to the Band Extravaganza. Show your Hawkeye spirit at the biggest band event in Iowa. Don't miss an evening featuring the UI Symphony Band, the big band sounds of Johnson County, the Hawkeye Marching Band, Hawkeye Golden Girl and Drum Major, the Iowa Spirit Squads, and Herky the Hawk! Kari says this is an event her family looks forward to each year and Nina is especially excited to check it out this year! Parking is available around Carver and is fairly easy to find. Check out this link for more information! Thanks, Kari, for sending this fun Iowa City event our way!
Don't forget, on Monday, October 24th we will continue our tour of Iowa City by visiting the Iowa City Public Library with the Prairie Racerunners. Please be sure that your child brings their library card.
Be sure to check out our updated photo albums for our recent adventures throughout Iowa City!
Willowwind Celebrates Halloween
On Monday, October 31st, PreK - 6 grade students will participate in an exciting day of Halloween celebrations. In the week leading up to Halloween, students will be working with their partner families use a pumpkin to create representations of different prairie animals. If your child has offered to supply the pumpkin for their partnership an email will go home informing you of their decision. On the 31st, students are welcome to BRING costumes to school and change into them after lunch recess. Please no guts, no gore, no weapons. Make sure your child leaves this aspect of their costume at home for trick-or-treating later that night.
Families and friends are welcome to join us for both costume and pumpkin reveal as well as fall treats in the Indoor Play Space at 2:45 pm. See you there.
Please note, the Cottontails and Prairie Racerunners will help Chef Gaby prepare treats for our Halloween celebration. An additional email will go home looking for Kindergarten families to help supply various ingredients. Thanks in advance!
Families and friends are welcome to join us for both costume and pumpkin reveal as well as fall treats in the Indoor Play Space at 2:45 pm. See you there.
Please note, the Cottontails and Prairie Racerunners will help Chef Gaby prepare treats for our Halloween celebration. An additional email will go home looking for Kindergarten families to help supply various ingredients. Thanks in advance!
Feed Your Brain - Willowwind's NEW Saturday Enrichment Series
On Saturday, November 5, Willowwind School is launching Feed Your Brain, a series that features classes for the whole family. This series is open to the public, to all families and children at Willowwind and beyond.
Younger children (ages 2 - 5) are inited to a preschool interactive story time with Creative Drama teacher, Kizzy Marco, you will lead children and parents on an exploration of the world of Leonardo the Terrible Monstor, the well-loved book by Mo Willems. A related craft will be a part of this story time hour. K-3 students and parents will have the opportunity to work with book artist, Laura Clapp, to create a large and small accordion family album.
Handmade Book Art Workshop
Saturday, November 5 9:30 am to Noon
Age: K - 3 Grade
Cost: $45 for student & parent pair
Preschool Coffee & Story Time
Saturday, November 5 10:00 - 11:00
Cost: Free
Mark your calendars for December 3rd where our 3rd through 6th grade friends and their moms and dads can "feed their brain" and make their own masterpieces. With Laura Clapp, learn the basics of the brush, pastels, and portraiture using your own family "models". Take home two paintings suitable for framing. Preschool aged friends can participate in an interactive story time where they will use their bodies, voices, and imaginations to bring to life Ian Falconer's story Olivia Saves the Circus. A related craft will be a part of this story time hour.
Preschool Coffee & Story Time
Saturday, December 3 10:00 - 11:00
Cost: Free
Portrait Drawing
Saturday, December 3 9:30 - 12:00
Age: 3 - 6 Grade
Cost: $40 for student & parent pair
Click here for more information or to sign up for events in this new enrichment series.
Younger children (ages 2 - 5) are inited to a preschool interactive story time with Creative Drama teacher, Kizzy Marco, you will lead children and parents on an exploration of the world of Leonardo the Terrible Monstor, the well-loved book by Mo Willems. A related craft will be a part of this story time hour. K-3 students and parents will have the opportunity to work with book artist, Laura Clapp, to create a large and small accordion family album.
Handmade Book Art Workshop
Saturday, November 5 9:30 am to Noon
Age: K - 3 Grade
Cost: $45 for student & parent pair
Preschool Coffee & Story Time
Saturday, November 5 10:00 - 11:00
Cost: Free
Mark your calendars for December 3rd where our 3rd through 6th grade friends and their moms and dads can "feed their brain" and make their own masterpieces. With Laura Clapp, learn the basics of the brush, pastels, and portraiture using your own family "models". Take home two paintings suitable for framing. Preschool aged friends can participate in an interactive story time where they will use their bodies, voices, and imaginations to bring to life Ian Falconer's story Olivia Saves the Circus. A related craft will be a part of this story time hour.
Preschool Coffee & Story Time
Saturday, December 3 10:00 - 11:00
Cost: Free
Portrait Drawing
Saturday, December 3 9:30 - 12:00
Age: 3 - 6 Grade
Cost: $40 for student & parent pair
Click here for more information or to sign up for events in this new enrichment series.
Willowwind Pride Grows & Grows
Our Willowwind and Iowa City pride has extended beyond our local reach. Ms. Carly received the following email and picture from the grandmother of Cottontail alum and current 3rd grader, Penny Wilkins. How fun!
Hello. I'm Bonnie McAreavy, Penny Wilkins's grandmother. She asked me to share the attached photo, of my garden in New Jersey. We were fortunate to be visiting Iowa last year at this time and watched the Willowwind kids march so proudly in the Homecoming parade. I was lucky enough to be given a packet of the wildflower seeds the kids were passing out. As you can see, they did terrifically in my garden. The photo doesn't do them justice - there were abundant flowers that kept the bees and butterflies in our yard very happy all summer long. Just thought the kids might like to know their "reach" extended over a thousand miles that day.
Hello. I'm Bonnie McAreavy, Penny Wilkins's grandmother. She asked me to share the attached photo, of my garden in New Jersey. We were fortunate to be visiting Iowa last year at this time and watched the Willowwind kids march so proudly in the Homecoming parade. I was lucky enough to be given a packet of the wildflower seeds the kids were passing out. As you can see, they did terrifically in my garden. The photo doesn't do them justice - there were abundant flowers that kept the bees and butterflies in our yard very happy all summer long. Just thought the kids might like to know their "reach" extended over a thousand miles that day.
ICPL Field Trip - TOMORROW Monday, October 24
The Cottontails will be taking a trip to the library, tomorrow, Monday, October 24th. Please be sure your child brings their library card! Thanks!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
University of Iowa Homecoming Parade - TOMORROW Friday, October 21
Join us in the University of Iowa Homecoming parade TOMORROW Friday, October 21st. Let's show Iowa City that Willowwind is celebrating 40 wonderful years…and still growing!
We are excited to have more than 65 Willowwinders coming out to celebrate the school - and the Hawkeyes - in the Homecoming Parade this Friday, October 21. Please visit the attached document that includes numerous details about the Homecoming parade. If you have signed up to attend, all your who, what, where, when, & how, questions can hopefully be answered within it; please be sure to review before Friday.
We look forward to seeing you, and your Willowwind spirit (Willowwind apparel, blue apparel, gold apparel) on the 21st at 5:00 pm on Johnson Street, between Iowa and Jefferson! For those of you coming out to cheer for Willowwind, look for us as parade entry #45.
University of Iowa Homecoming Parade Guide Sheet
We are excited to have more than 65 Willowwinders coming out to celebrate the school - and the Hawkeyes - in the Homecoming Parade this Friday, October 21. Please visit the attached document that includes numerous details about the Homecoming parade. If you have signed up to attend, all your who, what, where, when, & how, questions can hopefully be answered within it; please be sure to review before Friday.
We look forward to seeing you, and your Willowwind spirit (Willowwind apparel, blue apparel, gold apparel) on the 21st at 5:00 pm on Johnson Street, between Iowa and Jefferson! For those of you coming out to cheer for Willowwind, look for us as parade entry #45.
University of Iowa Homecoming Parade Guide Sheet
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Volunteer Opportunity: Cutting Lamination
I am in need of a few parent volunteers to help cut out a variety of laminated posters and products. These items are a part of our new math curriculum and our new calendar curriculum. This opportunity can be done from home and may take an hour or two to complete. Please email me if you are interested. Thanks for your help!
Willowwind Birthday Apparel - Order Due THIS Thursday
Don't forget to place your Willowwind apparel order by 3:30 THIS coming Thursday, October 13. This year's apparel commemorates a huge milestone, Willowwind's 40th birthday. Please find the linked order form and apparel mockups on the Welcome page's right side bar. Note, the women's fitted t-shirt is not included in the mock up, but is $15. Print off your order form and drop it off with payment at the Front Desk by this Thursday afternoon. Apparel will be available to pick up on Thursday, October 20. There are also order forms available at the Front Desk.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Picture Day - NEXT Tuesday, October 11
The Cottontails will be taking individual, class, and school wide photos NEXT Tuesday morning. A great community photographer will be on hand at Willowwind to capture our sweet Kindergarteners' faces. If you are interested in ordering school photos pick up a form from the Front Desk. Fill out order form and return them to Amber no later than before school on Tuesday, October 11th.
Website Updated
The Cottontail Chatter has been updated. Take a look at all of the following changes.
~ NEW October Newsletter
~ NEW Curriculum Map Subpage - Look under the Curriculum tab for a map of our entire Kindergarten year.
~ Updated September and October Photo Pages
~ A functioning Calendar tab
~ NEW October Newsletter
~ NEW Curriculum Map Subpage - Look under the Curriculum tab for a map of our entire Kindergarten year.
~ Updated September and October Photo Pages
~ A functioning Calendar tab
Handwriting Without Tears Link
We continue to enjoy our handwriting time as we are perfecting our fine motor skills and our printing skills. I recently received a wonderful email from Handwriting Without Tears detailing proper pencil grip. Pencil grip is an important part of our handwriting lessons. Awkward pencil grips can cause fatigue, cramping, and even pain. This problem can be prevented as the foundation starts with general upper body strength and fine motor skill activities, a big part of handwriting time.
The link below details the four steps to teach proper pencil grip. Our Cottontails are practice the tripod grip. I encourage you to continue to help your Cottontail use the tripod drop.
Handwriting Without Tears Pencil Grip Article
The link below details the four steps to teach proper pencil grip. Our Cottontails are practice the tripod grip. I encourage you to continue to help your Cottontail use the tripod drop.
Handwriting Without Tears Pencil Grip Article
Is It Really October?!?
October is here, but it definitely doesn't feel like it. Mother Nature is working with us; providing warm, beautiful days as we enjoy our time outside. Monday's field trip to Wilson's was a ton of fun. Although the trees were bare and apples were tough to find, we enjoyed our time in the orchard walking amongst the trees, playing in the creek, and running across the wooden footbridge. The "alligators" and "dinosaurs" floating in the pond were scary, but fun to create stories about their adventures at Wilson's. The map that took us back to the hidden apples was fun to read, and the orange pumpkins amongst the little bluestem were beautiful.
Monday's weather was warm and perfect. The sun was shining, the Cottontails giggling, the leaves rustling as they quickly turn beautiful shades of reds, oranges, and yellows. We manage to find a basketful of apples to bring back to Willowwind to share, eat, and bake with. Perhaps the most exciting part of the day was our visit with Wilson's apple expert as she explained the differences between various apples. We used our sense of taste, touch, and sight to describe each apple variety. We noticed that some apples are red, some yellow, some green, some soft, some crisp, some crunchy. It was fun to taste test the apples. We were amazed that apples range in flavor - some were sweet, some were tart, some were sour. We couldn't decide on a collective favorite; therefore, we agreed that they were all our favorites. Next week, we are eager to dissect a few of our Wilson's apple to further see the parts within an apple. Check out our photo page for fun Wilson's pictures.
Our apple discussions continue at school as we use the changing of seasons to understand the year long cycle of an apple tree. We have identified the varying parts of an apple tree and its apple blossoms. The Cottontails were amazed at the honey bees' large part in creating apples. It has been truly amazing to see how nature works together to create one of our favorite fruits. Our apple conversations even continue through our snack time when Lucas shared with the class, "Yes! I have a Golden Delicious for snack!".
The fall colors are in full bloom and we are in awe of their vibrancy. The pop of colors has been the perfect way to inquire deeper into answering our big question, why do leaves change colors? It is neat to discover and learn that those hues are always within the leaves, masked by the green chlorophyll. With the cooler weather and shorter days the chlorophyll dies off leaving an array of fall colors to enjoy. At the start of Fall, we made predictions - what color would we see first. We were surprised to watch various shades burst at the same time. Our favorites are, by far, the leaves with a mix of color.
Our math block has become a favorite time of day. Each morning I hear chimes from many friends asking if we will have math today. Each morning my answer is yes and their response is always an enthusiastic squeal of delight. For two weeks, we have been focusing on the numbers 1 - 5 and the concepts of "same" and "different" by exploring common attributes and finding matches and differences. Upon our return from Wilson's Apple Orchard, Maggie and Rayne were walking into school together. Rayne noticed that their booster seats were "the same", so Rayne and Maggie proceeded to find all matches between their booster seats.
We are growing leaps and bounds within Literacy. We recently finished our chapter book read aloud The Wind in the Willows. Students enjoyed making predictions about the coming events through reviewing the pictures prior to reading. Using pictures as a tool to reading is a great way to encourage the emergent reading we are beginning to see. Look for new Book Bag books to go home next week as our guided reading groups will begin new books. Our reading confidence also grows through our focus on initial consonant sounds. This week we used play dough to practice our spelling patterns. I am thrilled with how quickly our Cottontails are recognizing letter sounds. When asked to identify the beginning sound in gate the class promptly rolled out the letter g. In doing so, one friend yelled out, "O M G! Gate starts with g!" Yes, friend, you are so right! As we focus on consonant sounds we continue to spend handwriting time printing our letters of the week. We use hands-on materials to improve our fine motor skills. Last week, we used our wood letter pieces to create a new friend, Mat Man. Ask your Cottontail about Mat Man.
I'm in need of a parent volunteer to make new play dough for our classroom. We are eager to continue our letter study with play dough. This is a great volunteer opportunity that can be done for home. I have a great recipe you can use. Let me know if you are interested.
Don't forget! Run for the Schools is THIS Sunday, October 9th. Come support our Willowwind runners or become a Willowwind runner yourself. You can sign up to run through the morning of the race.
I am away until Tuesday. I received a wonderful email from Ms. Christine. She sent a great report saying the Cottontails are enjoying their time. These reports make it so much easier to be away. You enjoy your weekend.
Monday's weather was warm and perfect. The sun was shining, the Cottontails giggling, the leaves rustling as they quickly turn beautiful shades of reds, oranges, and yellows. We manage to find a basketful of apples to bring back to Willowwind to share, eat, and bake with. Perhaps the most exciting part of the day was our visit with Wilson's apple expert as she explained the differences between various apples. We used our sense of taste, touch, and sight to describe each apple variety. We noticed that some apples are red, some yellow, some green, some soft, some crisp, some crunchy. It was fun to taste test the apples. We were amazed that apples range in flavor - some were sweet, some were tart, some were sour. We couldn't decide on a collective favorite; therefore, we agreed that they were all our favorites. Next week, we are eager to dissect a few of our Wilson's apple to further see the parts within an apple. Check out our photo page for fun Wilson's pictures.
Our apple discussions continue at school as we use the changing of seasons to understand the year long cycle of an apple tree. We have identified the varying parts of an apple tree and its apple blossoms. The Cottontails were amazed at the honey bees' large part in creating apples. It has been truly amazing to see how nature works together to create one of our favorite fruits. Our apple conversations even continue through our snack time when Lucas shared with the class, "Yes! I have a Golden Delicious for snack!".
The fall colors are in full bloom and we are in awe of their vibrancy. The pop of colors has been the perfect way to inquire deeper into answering our big question, why do leaves change colors? It is neat to discover and learn that those hues are always within the leaves, masked by the green chlorophyll. With the cooler weather and shorter days the chlorophyll dies off leaving an array of fall colors to enjoy. At the start of Fall, we made predictions - what color would we see first. We were surprised to watch various shades burst at the same time. Our favorites are, by far, the leaves with a mix of color.
Our math block has become a favorite time of day. Each morning I hear chimes from many friends asking if we will have math today. Each morning my answer is yes and their response is always an enthusiastic squeal of delight. For two weeks, we have been focusing on the numbers 1 - 5 and the concepts of "same" and "different" by exploring common attributes and finding matches and differences. Upon our return from Wilson's Apple Orchard, Maggie and Rayne were walking into school together. Rayne noticed that their booster seats were "the same", so Rayne and Maggie proceeded to find all matches between their booster seats.
We are growing leaps and bounds within Literacy. We recently finished our chapter book read aloud The Wind in the Willows. Students enjoyed making predictions about the coming events through reviewing the pictures prior to reading. Using pictures as a tool to reading is a great way to encourage the emergent reading we are beginning to see. Look for new Book Bag books to go home next week as our guided reading groups will begin new books. Our reading confidence also grows through our focus on initial consonant sounds. This week we used play dough to practice our spelling patterns. I am thrilled with how quickly our Cottontails are recognizing letter sounds. When asked to identify the beginning sound in gate the class promptly rolled out the letter g. In doing so, one friend yelled out, "O M G! Gate starts with g!" Yes, friend, you are so right! As we focus on consonant sounds we continue to spend handwriting time printing our letters of the week. We use hands-on materials to improve our fine motor skills. Last week, we used our wood letter pieces to create a new friend, Mat Man. Ask your Cottontail about Mat Man.
I'm in need of a parent volunteer to make new play dough for our classroom. We are eager to continue our letter study with play dough. This is a great volunteer opportunity that can be done for home. I have a great recipe you can use. Let me know if you are interested.
Don't forget! Run for the Schools is THIS Sunday, October 9th. Come support our Willowwind runners or become a Willowwind runner yourself. You can sign up to run through the morning of the race.
I am away until Tuesday. I received a wonderful email from Ms. Christine. She sent a great report saying the Cottontails are enjoying their time. These reports make it so much easier to be away. You enjoy your weekend.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Flu Clinic CORRECTION
The VNA Flu Clinic is actually tomorrow, Wednesday, from 3-5 PM. Any child over the age of 6 months can get a flu shot. The FluMist can be given to anyone that is healthy, not pregnant, and between the ages of 2-49. They also provide pneumonia vaccines if you are interested.
The cost of the flu shot is $24, $30 for the FluMist, and $67 for Pneumonia vaccine, you may write a check or bring cash for those amounts. You may also turn it into insurance for billing, you may call the 800 number on the back of your card to see if your insurance covers flu shots from a VNA clinic.
The cost of the flu shot is $24, $30 for the FluMist, and $67 for Pneumonia vaccine, you may write a check or bring cash for those amounts. You may also turn it into insurance for billing, you may call the 800 number on the back of your card to see if your insurance covers flu shots from a VNA clinic.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Important Dates Coming Up
I wanted to send out a quick reminder about a few last minute events that I encourage your family to participate in. In addition, take a look at the Welcome page's right side bar and our website's Calendar tab for more information. Let me know if you have any questions! ~Michelle
TOMORROW Oct 4 - First TUESDAY Parent Coffee 8:30 - 9:30
Join us as the Kindergarten class is the focus of this month's Parent Coffee. Come share your experiences with other interested families.
Oct 5 - Flu Clinic 3:00 - 5:00
Any child over the age of 6 months can get a flu shot. The FluMist can be given to anyone that is healthy, not pregnant, and between the ages of 2-49. They also provide pneumonia vaccines if you are interested. The cost of the flu shot is $24, $30 for the FluMist, and $67 for Pneumonia vaccine, you may write a check or bring cash for those amounts. You may also turn it into insurance for billing, you may call the 800 number on the back of your card to see if your insurance covers flu shots from a VNA clinic.
Oct 5 - Hike It / Bike It to School Day
Hike or bike from home or meet us at the Eastside HyVee at 7:45 to hike or bike together. Be a part of this wonderful nationwide event.
Oct 9 - Run for the Schools
Festivities begin at 8:00 in Downtown Iowa City. Run for Willowwind or cheer on our participants
TOMORROW Oct 4 - First TUESDAY Parent Coffee 8:30 - 9:30
Join us as the Kindergarten class is the focus of this month's Parent Coffee. Come share your experiences with other interested families.
Oct 5 - Flu Clinic 3:00 - 5:00
Any child over the age of 6 months can get a flu shot. The FluMist can be given to anyone that is healthy, not pregnant, and between the ages of 2-49. They also provide pneumonia vaccines if you are interested. The cost of the flu shot is $24, $30 for the FluMist, and $67 for Pneumonia vaccine, you may write a check or bring cash for those amounts. You may also turn it into insurance for billing, you may call the 800 number on the back of your card to see if your insurance covers flu shots from a VNA clinic.
Oct 5 - Hike It / Bike It to School Day
Hike or bike from home or meet us at the Eastside HyVee at 7:45 to hike or bike together. Be a part of this wonderful nationwide event.
Oct 9 - Run for the Schools
Festivities begin at 8:00 in Downtown Iowa City. Run for Willowwind or cheer on our participants
Friday, September 30, 2011
Drivers Still Needed - NEXT MONDAY
Cottontail Parents,
I am still in need of two or three more parent drivers for Monday's field trip to Wilson's Apple Orchard. We will be leaving Willowwind around 12:30 and will return by the end of the school day. Your support is much appreciated and so important. Field trips like this one can happen with your help and assistance. Please help us out if you can. Email me if you are available to drive. Thank you in advance.
In addition, don't forget your child's booster seat for Monday's trip and their $10 to cover our Wilson's and Sass adventures.
I am still in need of two or three more parent drivers for Monday's field trip to Wilson's Apple Orchard. We will be leaving Willowwind around 12:30 and will return by the end of the school day. Your support is much appreciated and so important. Field trips like this one can happen with your help and assistance. Please help us out if you can. Email me if you are available to drive. Thank you in advance.
In addition, don't forget your child's booster seat for Monday's trip and their $10 to cover our Wilson's and Sass adventures.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Hike It / Bike It to School Day - Wednesday, October 5
This NEXT Wednesday, October 5th is national Hike It / Bike It to School Day! We are so excited to be participating in this nationwide wellness initiative!
Students and families who live close enough to safely walk or bike to school may do so from home. Those who do not, can park at the First Avenue HyVee (812 South First Avenue). We will be gathering on the South side of the building near the bike path. Parents are welcome to join in the walk or bike with their child. The route will be marked with balloons. HyVee's nutritionist is donating fruit and drinks for breakfast and she wants to join us for the walk. We will aim to leave the parking lot around 7:45 a.m.
K-6 students will be practicing sidewalk and street-crossing safety this week as a part of their Movement class. They have discussed the importance of bright clothing and biker's should be reminded to always wear a helmet.
If you choose to bike, bring a lock!
Whether from your home or from HyVee's parking lot we hope to see you join in!
Students and families who live close enough to safely walk or bike to school may do so from home. Those who do not, can park at the First Avenue HyVee (812 South First Avenue). We will be gathering on the South side of the building near the bike path. Parents are welcome to join in the walk or bike with their child. The route will be marked with balloons. HyVee's nutritionist is donating fruit and drinks for breakfast and she wants to join us for the walk. We will aim to leave the parking lot around 7:45 a.m.
K-6 students will be practicing sidewalk and street-crossing safety this week as a part of their Movement class. They have discussed the importance of bright clothing and biker's should be reminded to always wear a helmet.
If you choose to bike, bring a lock!
Whether from your home or from HyVee's parking lot we hope to see you join in!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Fall Fun - Inside and Out!
Our weeks continue to fly by and we continue to grow and learn from one another. Fall is officially here and the Cottontails are excited to learn about the changing seasons. This past week we began studying answers to the question why do seasons change. Using our globe and our own bodies, we studied the earth's trip around the sun and how this journey affects our changing seasons. Our birthday girl, Margaret, was excited to be the sun while Aidan and Stella helped Earth rotate and travel (or "orbit" we discovered). We learned that our specific location on Earth determines the variety of weather we experience. Friends in southern California or Mexico do not experience the change of seasons like we do. We were surprised to learn that the weather in the southern hemisphere is on an opposite schedule from our own weather. In the coming weeks, we will continue to focus on why seasons change as we begin to observe the changing weather patterns in our own community. Our trips to the library, Wilson's and Sass will prove to provide us with opportunities to see and feel the changing weather. At school, through our Literacy time, we will read a variety of fiction and nonfiction books describing the beauty of fall.
As we've learned, Fall brings beautiful sunny days with cooler temperatures. We are enjoying these temperatures as we run and play at recess time. It has been fun to watch the K-6 friends invent and play new recess games together. The Cottontails really enjoy this time with their older friends. It is a wonderful sight as our older friends embrace their role as mentor. In addition, to our school wide games, the Cottontails are getting stronger and stronger in their climbing and exploring skills. Comments likes, "I can do it!" and "Look, I persevered!" are being used all over the playground. It is fun to watch our friends climb high and spin fast. The Spikas have become a new favorite where Cottontails pretend to be famous ballerinas and figure skaters as they create elaborate spins around the Spikas.
We stay busy inside the classroom, too. Centers continue to be a great time to work, play, and learn from each other. Our Art Cart and Writing Station has become a popular choice during this time. With four birthdays in one week, we were busy Cottontails making birthday cards for our friends. It has been a great joy watching the class work together to make beautiful cards. What makes this activity so spectacular is the fact that it was their choice to use their words and drawings to create these wonderful birthday gifts. Sayan and Jimin have done a wonderful job showing our friends that they can use our classroom walls as writing resources. Nina, Maggie, and Rosie like using the Word Wall and birthday presents to help with the spellings of their friends' names.
In Guided Reading, our Frog & Toad group meets a couple times of week to read realistic fiction titled Long Ago and Today. Long Ago and Today is about boy and his great-grandma. It is amazing to read about Great-Grandma's life and how different it was. It is also fun to look at the similarities in the two characters' lives, too. The Frog & Toad group has also focused their time to understand the use and differences between a question mark and a period. They have also gone on word hunts for L-family blends like fly, black, clap, glad, play, and slug.
We continue to grow excited for each new activity that is added to our daily schedule week by week. Our spelling time has become a great routine, full of interactive chatter and letter sound study. I can tell that the Cottontails have been continuing their word study practice at home. We were eager to sort and glue our pictures into our new spelling notebooks last week. I am already amazed at the large growth in letter sound identification. Throughout our entire day students are discovering words that start with our focused letter sounds. Our letter sound studies have gone beyond the school day, too! At the Harvest Fest, Rosie wanted me to guess the name of her preschool class from last year. After repeated attempts she finally told me that I needed a hint. She said, "Ms. Michelle, it starts with mmmmm just like your name". Sure enough, she was right! Our friend was a Marblewing last year. Way to go!
Speaking of the Harvest Fest, thank you so much for coming out to Willowwind for an afternoon of fun. It was great to see your wonderful family. I was so proud of the Cottontails (and all of our K-6 friends) for their amazing job with our Prairie Play. Many Cottontail parents shared with me the excitement the Cottontails had for our play leading up to our Harvest Fest event. i know that we have already learned so much about tallgrass prairies. We hope our play helped you learn a bit about the creation of tallgrass prairies in Iowa. We are excited to continue our prairie curriculum and prairie research as we plan to restore part of Willowwind's campus. Also, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support at the Harvest Fest. The Book Walk was a huge success, the set up and clean up throughout the entire Harvest Fest went so smoothly and the food was absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing your time and your favorite foods with us!
Did you know?!?! A crazy mystery was solved thanks to the Harvest Fest! Willowwind students have been puzzled by the arrival of an ever growing squash vine outside the K-2 Project Room. Although we have enjoyed watching the vine and squash fruit evolve over the last six weeks the mystery of how it got there remained. On Monday, Ms. Brooke helped us conclude that our squash vine is perhaps the result of the last year's Harvest Fest's Squash Bowling. After Sunday, there were seeds everywhere! Surely, one of the seeds from last year's Harvest Fest took root and planted itself right in our rock bed. Ezra, Lucas, Jimin, Sayan, and Rayne were excited to pick up the seeds from this year's Squash Bowling station. They have great plans to plant these seeds to see if they can perhaps grow into another beautiful vine. We shall see…
Don't Forget!
We will be traveling to the library THIS Friday. Please see that your child has their library card with them. We are excited to select books to check out and take home!
Also, NEXT Monday we will be traveling to Wilson's Apple Orchard. DRIVERS ARE STILL NEEDED. Please let me know if you are interested in joining us. Don't forget to leave your child's booster seat here at Willowwind on Monday.
Please make sure I receive your family's $10 for our trip to the orchard and the farm. Please send your family's $10 to me directly. Thanks!
I have talked with the ICFD Captain and we have scheduled our trip to the fire department for Tuesday, October 11th from 10:00 - 1:30. We will take the Towncrest bus downtown, and I will be in need of one or two parents to travel along with us. Please let me know if you are interested. In addition to our trip to the fire department, if the weather cooperates, we will eat lunch downtown and play on the library's play structure.
Lastly, we will be consistently cleaning our our book bags as our reading collection grows. When we are done with a black & white book we will place a sticker in the corner of the cover. This will tell you and your family that these books can remain at home and no longer need to travel back and forth to school. We will also try and rotate our paperback books on a weekly/biweekly schedule.
Thanks for all you do!
As we've learned, Fall brings beautiful sunny days with cooler temperatures. We are enjoying these temperatures as we run and play at recess time. It has been fun to watch the K-6 friends invent and play new recess games together. The Cottontails really enjoy this time with their older friends. It is a wonderful sight as our older friends embrace their role as mentor. In addition, to our school wide games, the Cottontails are getting stronger and stronger in their climbing and exploring skills. Comments likes, "I can do it!" and "Look, I persevered!" are being used all over the playground. It is fun to watch our friends climb high and spin fast. The Spikas have become a new favorite where Cottontails pretend to be famous ballerinas and figure skaters as they create elaborate spins around the Spikas.
We stay busy inside the classroom, too. Centers continue to be a great time to work, play, and learn from each other. Our Art Cart and Writing Station has become a popular choice during this time. With four birthdays in one week, we were busy Cottontails making birthday cards for our friends. It has been a great joy watching the class work together to make beautiful cards. What makes this activity so spectacular is the fact that it was their choice to use their words and drawings to create these wonderful birthday gifts. Sayan and Jimin have done a wonderful job showing our friends that they can use our classroom walls as writing resources. Nina, Maggie, and Rosie like using the Word Wall and birthday presents to help with the spellings of their friends' names.
In Guided Reading, our Frog & Toad group meets a couple times of week to read realistic fiction titled Long Ago and Today. Long Ago and Today is about boy and his great-grandma. It is amazing to read about Great-Grandma's life and how different it was. It is also fun to look at the similarities in the two characters' lives, too. The Frog & Toad group has also focused their time to understand the use and differences between a question mark and a period. They have also gone on word hunts for L-family blends like fly, black, clap, glad, play, and slug.
We continue to grow excited for each new activity that is added to our daily schedule week by week. Our spelling time has become a great routine, full of interactive chatter and letter sound study. I can tell that the Cottontails have been continuing their word study practice at home. We were eager to sort and glue our pictures into our new spelling notebooks last week. I am already amazed at the large growth in letter sound identification. Throughout our entire day students are discovering words that start with our focused letter sounds. Our letter sound studies have gone beyond the school day, too! At the Harvest Fest, Rosie wanted me to guess the name of her preschool class from last year. After repeated attempts she finally told me that I needed a hint. She said, "Ms. Michelle, it starts with mmmmm just like your name". Sure enough, she was right! Our friend was a Marblewing last year. Way to go!
Speaking of the Harvest Fest, thank you so much for coming out to Willowwind for an afternoon of fun. It was great to see your wonderful family. I was so proud of the Cottontails (and all of our K-6 friends) for their amazing job with our Prairie Play. Many Cottontail parents shared with me the excitement the Cottontails had for our play leading up to our Harvest Fest event. i know that we have already learned so much about tallgrass prairies. We hope our play helped you learn a bit about the creation of tallgrass prairies in Iowa. We are excited to continue our prairie curriculum and prairie research as we plan to restore part of Willowwind's campus. Also, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support at the Harvest Fest. The Book Walk was a huge success, the set up and clean up throughout the entire Harvest Fest went so smoothly and the food was absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing your time and your favorite foods with us!
Did you know?!?! A crazy mystery was solved thanks to the Harvest Fest! Willowwind students have been puzzled by the arrival of an ever growing squash vine outside the K-2 Project Room. Although we have enjoyed watching the vine and squash fruit evolve over the last six weeks the mystery of how it got there remained. On Monday, Ms. Brooke helped us conclude that our squash vine is perhaps the result of the last year's Harvest Fest's Squash Bowling. After Sunday, there were seeds everywhere! Surely, one of the seeds from last year's Harvest Fest took root and planted itself right in our rock bed. Ezra, Lucas, Jimin, Sayan, and Rayne were excited to pick up the seeds from this year's Squash Bowling station. They have great plans to plant these seeds to see if they can perhaps grow into another beautiful vine. We shall see…
Don't Forget!
We will be traveling to the library THIS Friday. Please see that your child has their library card with them. We are excited to select books to check out and take home!
Also, NEXT Monday we will be traveling to Wilson's Apple Orchard. DRIVERS ARE STILL NEEDED. Please let me know if you are interested in joining us. Don't forget to leave your child's booster seat here at Willowwind on Monday.
Please make sure I receive your family's $10 for our trip to the orchard and the farm. Please send your family's $10 to me directly. Thanks!
I have talked with the ICFD Captain and we have scheduled our trip to the fire department for Tuesday, October 11th from 10:00 - 1:30. We will take the Towncrest bus downtown, and I will be in need of one or two parents to travel along with us. Please let me know if you are interested. In addition to our trip to the fire department, if the weather cooperates, we will eat lunch downtown and play on the library's play structure.
Lastly, we will be consistently cleaning our our book bags as our reading collection grows. When we are done with a black & white book we will place a sticker in the corner of the cover. This will tell you and your family that these books can remain at home and no longer need to travel back and forth to school. We will also try and rotate our paperback books on a weekly/biweekly schedule.
Thanks for all you do!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Harvest Fest - THIS SUNDAY
Our Harvest Fest is this Sunday, September 25th from 2:00 - 4:30 and we are so excited to celebrate the arrival of Fall! We are also eager to share our Prairie Play with you! The Cottontails have been busy bunnies practicing their important role with Ms. Christine while in Movement class. Our class role is the all important tallgrass prairie. We will be practicing our part with the rest of the school tomorrow throughout the afternoon. We are excited to put the final touches on our play.
Please Note: On Sunday, Ms. Christine is asking all Cottontails to come dressed in tallgrass prairie colors. Greens, browns, yellows, purples, etc… Let's make our Cottontails resemble the beautiful tallgrass prairies. PLEASE no need to go out and stock up on prairie colors. Please just search through your child's existing wardrobe. I know there is something that'll look great! :)
Also Note: Thank you so much to our parents that have volunteered to lead the Book Walk. Please check the link on the Welcome page's sidebar to confirm your Book Walk time slot. Please Note: With the Prairie Play scheduled for 3:30 the final time slot (the clean up time slot) has been moved back 15 minutes to 3:45 - 4:15. Thank you again!
Can't make it to this year's Harvest Fest? We will miss you! Please let me know if your child won't be here for our school wide prairie play.
See you Sunday!!
Please Note: On Sunday, Ms. Christine is asking all Cottontails to come dressed in tallgrass prairie colors. Greens, browns, yellows, purples, etc… Let's make our Cottontails resemble the beautiful tallgrass prairies. PLEASE no need to go out and stock up on prairie colors. Please just search through your child's existing wardrobe. I know there is something that'll look great! :)
Also Note: Thank you so much to our parents that have volunteered to lead the Book Walk. Please check the link on the Welcome page's sidebar to confirm your Book Walk time slot. Please Note: With the Prairie Play scheduled for 3:30 the final time slot (the clean up time slot) has been moved back 15 minutes to 3:45 - 4:15. Thank you again!
Can't make it to this year's Harvest Fest? We will miss you! Please let me know if your child won't be here for our school wide prairie play.
See you Sunday!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Volunteer Opportunties!
Your help is needed in the Cottontail Rabbit classroom! Please email me if you are interested in helping out. Thank you in advance for your help and support.
Harvest Fest Book Walk - THIS Sunday, September 25th
One more parent volunteer is needed to cover the final shift (3:30 - 4:00) at our Book Walk station. Please use the sign up sheet found on the Welcome page's right sidebar. Please, please help out if you are available.
Drivers for Wilson's Apple Orchard Field Trip - Monday, October 3rd 12:30 - 3:15
Drivers are needed for our first Kindergarten field trip. Please let me know if you are available to drive. If you are, let me know how many booster seats you can fit in the back row(s) of your vehicle. Drivers, please be sure to submit a copy of your driver's license and auto insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Drivers for Sass Family Farms Field Trip - 11:00 - 3:15
Drivers are need for our trip to the Sass Farm in Riverside, Iowa. Please let me know if you are available to drive. If you are, let me know how many booster seats you can fit in the back row(s) of your vehicle. Drivers, please be sure to submit a copy of your driver's license and auto insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Social Studies Workbook Copying
A classroom set of our Social Studies workbook is needed. Please let me know if you are interested in copying a class set. This can be done using WIllowwind's copier and can be done at a time convenient for you. This should take about 30 minutes.
Assembling Social Studies Workbooks and Writing Portfolios
We are ready to use our workbooks and portfolios, but they need to be assembled. Please let me know if you are interested in assembling our binders. This can be done at Willowwind at a time that is convent for you. This should take about 45 - 60 minutes.
Harvest Fest Book Walk - THIS Sunday, September 25th
One more parent volunteer is needed to cover the final shift (3:30 - 4:00) at our Book Walk station. Please use the sign up sheet found on the Welcome page's right sidebar. Please, please help out if you are available.
Drivers for Wilson's Apple Orchard Field Trip - Monday, October 3rd 12:30 - 3:15
Drivers are needed for our first Kindergarten field trip. Please let me know if you are available to drive. If you are, let me know how many booster seats you can fit in the back row(s) of your vehicle. Drivers, please be sure to submit a copy of your driver's license and auto insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Drivers for Sass Family Farms Field Trip - 11:00 - 3:15
Drivers are need for our trip to the Sass Farm in Riverside, Iowa. Please let me know if you are available to drive. If you are, let me know how many booster seats you can fit in the back row(s) of your vehicle. Drivers, please be sure to submit a copy of your driver's license and auto insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Social Studies Workbook Copying
A classroom set of our Social Studies workbook is needed. Please let me know if you are interested in copying a class set. This can be done using WIllowwind's copier and can be done at a time convenient for you. This should take about 30 minutes.
Assembling Social Studies Workbooks and Writing Portfolios
We are ready to use our workbooks and portfolios, but they need to be assembled. Please let me know if you are interested in assembling our binders. This can be done at Willowwind at a time that is convent for you. This should take about 45 - 60 minutes.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Upcoming Field Trips
Our calendar is quickly filling up with exciting field trips into our surrounding community. Your help is needed. We'd love to have you come along! Please let me know if you are interested.
Please note that $10 is needed to help cover the cost of our upcoming field trips. With our field trip fund we will be purchasing apples and pumpkins to bring back to our classroom. We will also enjoy apple turnovers at Wilson's and a hayrack ride at Sass Family Farms. Please see that I receive your child's $10 no later than Friday, September 30th.
Iowa City Public Library - Friday, September 30th 1:00 - 3:00
With our Prairie Racerunner friends, we will be taking our first ride on the city bus to visit the public library. Please see that your child has their library card.
Wilson's Apple Orchard - Monday, October 3rd 12:30 - 3:15
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! Drivers are needed for our October 3rd field trip to Wilson's Apple Orchard. If you are interested in driving please let me know. All drivers must submit a copy of their driver's license and proof of insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
We are so excited for this adventure to Wilson's! Here we will be able to taste test a variety of apples, venture out into the apple orchard to handpick our very own apples, and we will even take time to enjoy Wilson's famous apple turnovers. Please see that your child has their booster seat at school on this day!
Sass Family Farms - Monday, October 17th 11:00 - 3:15
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! Drivers are needed for our October 17th field trip to Sass Family Farms. If you are interested in driving please let me know. All drivers must submit a copy of their driver's license and proof of insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Our yearly trip to Sass Family Farms is quite fun. Sass Farms knows how to have a good time! With their petting zoo, "haunted house", corn bin, playground, pumpkins, squash, gourds, and hayrack ride we will surely have a blast. Farmer Maurice is great, too! He'll give us a hayrack tour of his farm and chat with us about the life cycle of a pumpkin and his work as a farmer. Each Cottontail will even get to pick out their very own pumpkin to take back to Willowwind! We will be eating lunch at Sass Family Farms, so please be sure to pack a healthy lunch that can help your child sustain a busy day! Please see that your child has their booster seat at school on this day!
I am still in the process of booking our field trip to the downtown Iowa City fire station. I will keep you posted on this upcoming event. We will take the city bus to visit our local fire department/ I will be in need of one parent volunteer to come along with us.
What an exciting October we have planned! It is always such a pleasure to use our community as a resource for amazing learning and a wonderful time!
Please note that $10 is needed to help cover the cost of our upcoming field trips. With our field trip fund we will be purchasing apples and pumpkins to bring back to our classroom. We will also enjoy apple turnovers at Wilson's and a hayrack ride at Sass Family Farms. Please see that I receive your child's $10 no later than Friday, September 30th.
Iowa City Public Library - Friday, September 30th 1:00 - 3:00
With our Prairie Racerunner friends, we will be taking our first ride on the city bus to visit the public library. Please see that your child has their library card.
Wilson's Apple Orchard - Monday, October 3rd 12:30 - 3:15
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! Drivers are needed for our October 3rd field trip to Wilson's Apple Orchard. If you are interested in driving please let me know. All drivers must submit a copy of their driver's license and proof of insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
We are so excited for this adventure to Wilson's! Here we will be able to taste test a variety of apples, venture out into the apple orchard to handpick our very own apples, and we will even take time to enjoy Wilson's famous apple turnovers. Please see that your child has their booster seat at school on this day!
Sass Family Farms - Monday, October 17th 11:00 - 3:15
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY! Drivers are needed for our October 17th field trip to Sass Family Farms. If you are interested in driving please let me know. All drivers must submit a copy of their driver's license and proof of insurance to Amber at the Front Desk.
Our yearly trip to Sass Family Farms is quite fun. Sass Farms knows how to have a good time! With their petting zoo, "haunted house", corn bin, playground, pumpkins, squash, gourds, and hayrack ride we will surely have a blast. Farmer Maurice is great, too! He'll give us a hayrack tour of his farm and chat with us about the life cycle of a pumpkin and his work as a farmer. Each Cottontail will even get to pick out their very own pumpkin to take back to Willowwind! We will be eating lunch at Sass Family Farms, so please be sure to pack a healthy lunch that can help your child sustain a busy day! Please see that your child has their booster seat at school on this day!
I am still in the process of booking our field trip to the downtown Iowa City fire station. I will keep you posted on this upcoming event. We will take the city bus to visit our local fire department/ I will be in need of one parent volunteer to come along with us.
What an exciting October we have planned! It is always such a pleasure to use our community as a resource for amazing learning and a wonderful time!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Fall Is In The Air
The chilly wind and crisp mornings are here! Fall is definitely on it's way. Please make sure your child dresses appropriately and in layers as the temperatures change throughout the day. This week, we will begin answering the question: Why do seasons change?
Another great week has come and gone in the Cottontail Rabbit classroom. First off, thank you so much to the families that attended Thursday's Curriculum Night. It was a great success and I feel so lucky to be involved with such a wonderful and supportive community. If you were unable to attend this year's Curriculum Night please don't worry. Take some time to check out the website and really go over each page. The website is stocked full of information that we covered at Curriculum Night. Please look to the recent addition of the Cottontail Handbook as this will give you anything you may want to know about our Kindergarten routines.
This week we started many new activities in our classroom. We were very busy learning our Word Study routine, our Guided Reading routine, and a handful of new songs and activities during our Handwriting time. Our Word Study time was a great success. Check out the pictures of your child spelling with shaving cream and working with their sorts. They seem very excited to be studying letter sounds. Thank you for helping implement a consistent Word Study routine at home. Check out the Word Study Routine document on the Welcome page for more information.
In addition, I was able to meet with each Guided Reading group once or twice this week. The students love their book bags and it has been a pleasure to work with small groups of four students. The Dr. Seuss group discussed the word "the" and identified the parts of a book (the front cover, the back cover, the title page). The Dr. Seuss group was also excited to hear that they would have "homework" this weekend. At a time convenient for your family please help your child add two more sentences to the book The Classroom. There is space at the end of the book for your child to do so. Our next meetings, we will share our additions with our small group.
Our Handwriting time was interactive and so much fun. I bet your Cottontail has gone home singing some of our new favorite songs including: Where Do You Start Your Letters?, Tap, Tap, Tap, Picking Up My Pencil, and Frog Jump Letters. Through the use of song and dance we are working on controlling our fine motor skills to help with our printing. Picking Up My Pencil is a great song to help encourage proper pencil grip. I also introduced a new Center activity where students can use wood pieces to create letters and words. The Cottontails also worked in their very own workbooks where we focused on our fine motor skills and printing the capital letters, B & M. What a busy week full of letter fun!
Here are some fun peeks into classroom conversations!
~ The blocks have become quite the Center activity. Students have used our big blocks to create classroom wide domino courses and bowling alleys. It is fun to watch them work and create together. When trying to move the heavy bucket of blocks, one student said to another, "Come on, girl, you can totally do it!" The other student said, "Thanks, girl! Let's do it together!"
~ During Morning Meeting, we are learning to count in Spanish. As we were counting, "dieciseis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve" the question "Come se dice 20 in Espanol?" came up. With much confidence a Cottontail Rabbit chimed in, "diecidieci". So much logic was put into his response! Although 20 is veinte in Espanol I was so impressed with this friend's thought process!
~ While at Wednesday's GD, we were participating in a timed Roll Call. When we found out our Roll Call only took 33.3 seconds one Cottontail said, "Hey! With the Racerunners gone that means it took us about one second per person." They were so right! There were 35 of us at GD that day. Amazing!
~ It was time to weigh our trash at Friday's GD. A few weeks back the K-6 students set a goal of only accumulating two pounds of trash at lunch. When we weighed our trash (trash, recycling, and food waste) we found out that we had about 1.5 pounds of trash. To determine this amount our older friends had to complete quite a bit of fraction reconfiguring. One Cottontail whispered to another, "Wow! They are doing a lot of Math!" The other whispered back, "I know! After all that Math, I still hope we will be under our goal." We were happy to see that we did even better then our goal and set an even lower goal of one pound for our next lunch trash weigh in!
The things our friends say are just too cute!
A few quick reminders:
~ Please sign up for a PEP Conference. In addition, if you have not filled out your Parent Survey please do so. Both links can be found to the right on the Welcome page.
~ Don't forget! Each day, please see that your child is prepared for school by bringing their take home folder, Cottontail Communicator, spelling sort and book bag. These items are incredibly important parts of our day.
~ The Harvest Fest is THIS Sunday from 2:00 - 4:30. We can't wait to see you there. Please sign up to host a half hour block at the Cottontails' Book Walk station. Also, gently used or new books are need for this event. Lastly, look to Ms. Carly's Weekly Note or the Front Desk for information on what food to bring for our potluck.
~ We will be traveling to the library on Friday, September 30th. Please make sure your child has their library card.
~ Check out our "Volunteer Opportunity" section on our Welcome Page. A handful of volunteers are needed for various activities.
Have a great week, friends! Thanks for all you do!
Another great week has come and gone in the Cottontail Rabbit classroom. First off, thank you so much to the families that attended Thursday's Curriculum Night. It was a great success and I feel so lucky to be involved with such a wonderful and supportive community. If you were unable to attend this year's Curriculum Night please don't worry. Take some time to check out the website and really go over each page. The website is stocked full of information that we covered at Curriculum Night. Please look to the recent addition of the Cottontail Handbook as this will give you anything you may want to know about our Kindergarten routines.
This week we started many new activities in our classroom. We were very busy learning our Word Study routine, our Guided Reading routine, and a handful of new songs and activities during our Handwriting time. Our Word Study time was a great success. Check out the pictures of your child spelling with shaving cream and working with their sorts. They seem very excited to be studying letter sounds. Thank you for helping implement a consistent Word Study routine at home. Check out the Word Study Routine document on the Welcome page for more information.
In addition, I was able to meet with each Guided Reading group once or twice this week. The students love their book bags and it has been a pleasure to work with small groups of four students. The Dr. Seuss group discussed the word "the" and identified the parts of a book (the front cover, the back cover, the title page). The Dr. Seuss group was also excited to hear that they would have "homework" this weekend. At a time convenient for your family please help your child add two more sentences to the book The Classroom. There is space at the end of the book for your child to do so. Our next meetings, we will share our additions with our small group.
Our Handwriting time was interactive and so much fun. I bet your Cottontail has gone home singing some of our new favorite songs including: Where Do You Start Your Letters?, Tap, Tap, Tap, Picking Up My Pencil, and Frog Jump Letters. Through the use of song and dance we are working on controlling our fine motor skills to help with our printing. Picking Up My Pencil is a great song to help encourage proper pencil grip. I also introduced a new Center activity where students can use wood pieces to create letters and words. The Cottontails also worked in their very own workbooks where we focused on our fine motor skills and printing the capital letters, B & M. What a busy week full of letter fun!
Here are some fun peeks into classroom conversations!
~ The blocks have become quite the Center activity. Students have used our big blocks to create classroom wide domino courses and bowling alleys. It is fun to watch them work and create together. When trying to move the heavy bucket of blocks, one student said to another, "Come on, girl, you can totally do it!" The other student said, "Thanks, girl! Let's do it together!"
~ During Morning Meeting, we are learning to count in Spanish. As we were counting, "dieciseis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve" the question "Come se dice 20 in Espanol?" came up. With much confidence a Cottontail Rabbit chimed in, "diecidieci". So much logic was put into his response! Although 20 is veinte in Espanol I was so impressed with this friend's thought process!
~ While at Wednesday's GD, we were participating in a timed Roll Call. When we found out our Roll Call only took 33.3 seconds one Cottontail said, "Hey! With the Racerunners gone that means it took us about one second per person." They were so right! There were 35 of us at GD that day. Amazing!
~ It was time to weigh our trash at Friday's GD. A few weeks back the K-6 students set a goal of only accumulating two pounds of trash at lunch. When we weighed our trash (trash, recycling, and food waste) we found out that we had about 1.5 pounds of trash. To determine this amount our older friends had to complete quite a bit of fraction reconfiguring. One Cottontail whispered to another, "Wow! They are doing a lot of Math!" The other whispered back, "I know! After all that Math, I still hope we will be under our goal." We were happy to see that we did even better then our goal and set an even lower goal of one pound for our next lunch trash weigh in!
The things our friends say are just too cute!
A few quick reminders:
~ Please sign up for a PEP Conference. In addition, if you have not filled out your Parent Survey please do so. Both links can be found to the right on the Welcome page.
~ Don't forget! Each day, please see that your child is prepared for school by bringing their take home folder, Cottontail Communicator, spelling sort and book bag. These items are incredibly important parts of our day.
~ The Harvest Fest is THIS Sunday from 2:00 - 4:30. We can't wait to see you there. Please sign up to host a half hour block at the Cottontails' Book Walk station. Also, gently used or new books are need for this event. Lastly, look to Ms. Carly's Weekly Note or the Front Desk for information on what food to bring for our potluck.
~ We will be traveling to the library on Friday, September 30th. Please make sure your child has their library card.
~ Check out our "Volunteer Opportunity" section on our Welcome Page. A handful of volunteers are needed for various activities.
Have a great week, friends! Thanks for all you do!
Willowwind Benefit - Was The Word THIS SUNDAY
Join the Willowwind community at the Englert theater on Sunday, September 18th at 7 pm. Was the Word is hosting a benefit in our honor. Come for a fun evening of spoken word and music. Proceeds straight from the event will directly benefit our school. This Was the Word season is titled Show and Tell: Stories from the Schoolhouse.
Check out Was the Word's website for more information. See your there!
Check out Was the Word's website for more information. See your there!
Website Updated - 9.16.11
Continual updates are being made! I have added some more excited features to keep you more in touch with your child's time at school. Check out the following new features.
~ a new Websites tab - This page includes some of our favorite websites. Take a look and have fun! If you have a favorite website let us know. We'll add it to our page!
~ a functioning Calendar tab - This page should be working now. If you continue to get "busy" messages in place of daily events please let me know.
~ a Daily Schedule subpage - Please find this under the Curriculum tab.
~ Specials' blogs - Our Movement, Music, and Spanish blogs are up and running. Look for them under the Newsletter tab. The Scholar's Studio blog should be ready when Ms. Buffy returns for Art on Monday!
~ a Facebook button - Our Welcome Page is linked to Willowwind's Facebook page. Check out the "f" button in the top right corner. WW's Facebook page is a great way to communicate with our community and beyond!
~ updated September photos - Check out the fun we had this week. There are pictures of our shaving cream spelling time and singing and dancing while using our wood letter pieces.
~ Handouts Sidebar: I have added two new handouts to our Welcome page's right sidebar. Please check out the Cottontail Handbook and Word Study Routines documents. The Handbook is your go to place for anything and everything you may want to know about the Cottontail Classroom and Willowwind as a whole. The Word Study Routines document can provide you with helpful reminders of what your child's at home spelling routine should look like.
~ Volunteer Opportunities Sidebar: I am in need of parent volunteers. I am looking for two parents to help with weekly book assembly. This can be done from home. I am also looking for parent volunteers to make copies of our Social Studies workbook and assemble our Social Studies binders and Writing Portfolios. Please let me know if you are interested. Don't forget we are also in need of Cottontail parent volunteers for our Harvest Fest Book Walk. Use the sign up sheet on the sidebar to select a time.
~ a new Websites tab - This page includes some of our favorite websites. Take a look and have fun! If you have a favorite website let us know. We'll add it to our page!
~ a functioning Calendar tab - This page should be working now. If you continue to get "busy" messages in place of daily events please let me know.
~ a Daily Schedule subpage - Please find this under the Curriculum tab.
~ Specials' blogs - Our Movement, Music, and Spanish blogs are up and running. Look for them under the Newsletter tab. The Scholar's Studio blog should be ready when Ms. Buffy returns for Art on Monday!
~ a Facebook button - Our Welcome Page is linked to Willowwind's Facebook page. Check out the "f" button in the top right corner. WW's Facebook page is a great way to communicate with our community and beyond!
~ updated September photos - Check out the fun we had this week. There are pictures of our shaving cream spelling time and singing and dancing while using our wood letter pieces.
~ Handouts Sidebar: I have added two new handouts to our Welcome page's right sidebar. Please check out the Cottontail Handbook and Word Study Routines documents. The Handbook is your go to place for anything and everything you may want to know about the Cottontail Classroom and Willowwind as a whole. The Word Study Routines document can provide you with helpful reminders of what your child's at home spelling routine should look like.
~ Volunteer Opportunities Sidebar: I am in need of parent volunteers. I am looking for two parents to help with weekly book assembly. This can be done from home. I am also looking for parent volunteers to make copies of our Social Studies workbook and assemble our Social Studies binders and Writing Portfolios. Please let me know if you are interested. Don't forget we are also in need of Cottontail parent volunteers for our Harvest Fest Book Walk. Use the sign up sheet on the sidebar to select a time.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Kindergarten Moments: Big and Small
September is in full swing and another amazing week has come and gone. Our short week was packed with amazing adventures. The highlight of our week was definitely our midweek school wide field trip to Kent Park. We learned so much and had an amazing time. A big thank you goes out to Naturalist Brad who is a prairie professional! The Cottontails are excited to mail our thank you letter and drawings to our new friend, Brad. Please look to our updated September newsletter for more information regarding our recent trip to Kent Park. Here you will also find a link to updated photos and a wonderful blog posting regarding our trip from our dear friend Ms. Brooke.
New friends are being made all around! Our recent Partner Reveal has created some amazing multiage friendships. It has been fun to watch these partnerships quickly grow. Our multiage Movement time has also fostered many new friendships. On Friday, one Cottontail came back excited that she made a new friend in the Prairie Racerunner room. She was eager to see this new friend at lunch, recess, and GD. This excitement for new friends is a wonderful demonstration of perfectly understanding the "Willowwind Way".
On Tuesday, the Cottontails were introduced to our classroom's iPad. Two or three times throughout the week students will be able to spend time exploring educational apps on the iPad. Take a look at our updated Technology page for more information. The iPad apps sub page will give you a comprehensive list of apps found on our classroom iPad.
On Friday, students participated in a somber discussion regarding the recent 9.11 anniversary. During GD, Ms. Brooke read Fireboat and book detailing the John J. Harvey's call to duty and how this fireboat sprang into action providing countless hours of aid amongst the tragedy at Ground Zero. Our school wide discussion was truly amazing. Students shared what the knew and their own recollections, we made text to text connections as we compared Fireboat to the book The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, a Willowwind favorite, and many students asked the all important question, why did this happen? As a school, we understood the importance of always remembering what had happened that day and how we can use this tragic day to become a stronger country, unified together.
As GD ended, the Cottontails wanted to know more about 9.11. We used our classroom map to locate New York City and the Twin Towers location in NYC. One student asked an incredible question: "Ms. Michelle? If 9.11 happened before we were born, and New York is so far away, why is important for us talk about it here in Iowa?" With tears in my eyes, this was a question I was proud to answer. The insight our young friends brought to our conversations was simply amazing. Through our discussions, the Cottontails begin to understand, at their own level, the importance of what had happened on this day. They wanted to know where I was on 9.11…a Sophomore in college just waking up hearing the tragic headlines come across my alarm clock's radio. They wanted to know what I did that day….a Sophomore in college glued to the coverage on TV who made time to break away from the TV to travel the nine miles home to hug my family and eat dinner together in my childhood home. They wanted to know if it will happen again, and most importantly, they wanted to know what they could do to remember. I was happy to foster their need for discussions regarding September 11th. I encourage you to further any 9.11 discussions that may continue at home in the coming days.
Thank you for allowing me to share these moments, big and small, with your child!
New friends are being made all around! Our recent Partner Reveal has created some amazing multiage friendships. It has been fun to watch these partnerships quickly grow. Our multiage Movement time has also fostered many new friendships. On Friday, one Cottontail came back excited that she made a new friend in the Prairie Racerunner room. She was eager to see this new friend at lunch, recess, and GD. This excitement for new friends is a wonderful demonstration of perfectly understanding the "Willowwind Way".
On Tuesday, the Cottontails were introduced to our classroom's iPad. Two or three times throughout the week students will be able to spend time exploring educational apps on the iPad. Take a look at our updated Technology page for more information. The iPad apps sub page will give you a comprehensive list of apps found on our classroom iPad.
On Friday, students participated in a somber discussion regarding the recent 9.11 anniversary. During GD, Ms. Brooke read Fireboat and book detailing the John J. Harvey's call to duty and how this fireboat sprang into action providing countless hours of aid amongst the tragedy at Ground Zero. Our school wide discussion was truly amazing. Students shared what the knew and their own recollections, we made text to text connections as we compared Fireboat to the book The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, a Willowwind favorite, and many students asked the all important question, why did this happen? As a school, we understood the importance of always remembering what had happened that day and how we can use this tragic day to become a stronger country, unified together.
As GD ended, the Cottontails wanted to know more about 9.11. We used our classroom map to locate New York City and the Twin Towers location in NYC. One student asked an incredible question: "Ms. Michelle? If 9.11 happened before we were born, and New York is so far away, why is important for us talk about it here in Iowa?" With tears in my eyes, this was a question I was proud to answer. The insight our young friends brought to our conversations was simply amazing. Through our discussions, the Cottontails begin to understand, at their own level, the importance of what had happened on this day. They wanted to know where I was on 9.11…a Sophomore in college just waking up hearing the tragic headlines come across my alarm clock's radio. They wanted to know what I did that day….a Sophomore in college glued to the coverage on TV who made time to break away from the TV to travel the nine miles home to hug my family and eat dinner together in my childhood home. They wanted to know if it will happen again, and most importantly, they wanted to know what they could do to remember. I was happy to foster their need for discussions regarding September 11th. I encourage you to further any 9.11 discussions that may continue at home in the coming days.
Thank you for allowing me to share these moments, big and small, with your child!
Website Updated - 9.12.11
Our website has been updated! Check out the new Prairie, Specials, and Technology pages under the Curriculum tab. Under the Technology page you will also find an iPad sub page. In addition, I have added September's newsletter and updated September photos. The Important Tidbits sidebar has also been updated. Take a look and enjoy!
Don't forget, Curriculum Night is THIS Thursday, September 15th from 5:30 - 7:00. All parents are expected to attend. See you there!
Remember to use the links on the sidebar to sign up for your child's September PEP Conference on September 22nd or September 29th. In addition, if you have not completed your Parent Survey for our PEP conference please do so asap. This survey is used to help us create appropriate academic and social goals for your child.
There is also a link you can use to sign up and help with hosting duties at our class's Harvest Fest Book Walk on September 25th. Each shift goes towards 30 minutes of volunteer hours. Willowwind is still in need of new or gently used books for this year's Harvest Fest Book Walk. The donation bin is located outside our classroom entrance.
Lastly, the Cottontails are traveling to the Iowa City Public Library on Friday, September 30th. Please make sure your child has their library card. Check out September's newsletter for more information.
Don't forget, Curriculum Night is THIS Thursday, September 15th from 5:30 - 7:00. All parents are expected to attend. See you there!
Remember to use the links on the sidebar to sign up for your child's September PEP Conference on September 22nd or September 29th. In addition, if you have not completed your Parent Survey for our PEP conference please do so asap. This survey is used to help us create appropriate academic and social goals for your child.
There is also a link you can use to sign up and help with hosting duties at our class's Harvest Fest Book Walk on September 25th. Each shift goes towards 30 minutes of volunteer hours. Willowwind is still in need of new or gently used books for this year's Harvest Fest Book Walk. The donation bin is located outside our classroom entrance.
Lastly, the Cottontails are traveling to the Iowa City Public Library on Friday, September 30th. Please make sure your child has their library card. Check out September's newsletter for more information.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Updated & Working PEP & Harvest Fest Links
Cottontail Families,
I noticed that the PEP Sign Up and Harvest Fest Book Walk Sign Up links were not allowing families to type in sign up for desired spots. I have edited each sign up sheet and you should now be able to add in your name for your preferred time slot. If you have any further issues using the links please let me know. You will find the revised links in the previous blog postings on the right side bar.
Thanks so much!
I noticed that the PEP Sign Up and Harvest Fest Book Walk Sign Up links were not allowing families to type in sign up for desired spots. I have edited each sign up sheet and you should now be able to add in your name for your preferred time slot. If you have any further issues using the links please let me know. You will find the revised links in the previous blog postings on the right side bar.
Thanks so much!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Rest Time Blankets & Picnic Blankets
Due to Ms. Amber's recent email regarding a reported case of head lice, I will be sending home your child's blankets to be washed this afternoon. Please wash both of your child's blankets thoroughly. I also ask that you wait and return them on Monday. Thank you for your help.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
PEP Conference Sign Up
Fall PEP Conference dates are right around the corner. During our 20 minute conference, we will discuss potential academic and social goals we would like to set for your child's Kindergarten year. We will also highlight your child's strengths and how we can use their strengths to further benefit their Kindergarten year. PEP goals are used to personalize and differentiate your child's instruction.
Please use the link below, or in the right sidebar, to sign up for a 20 minute conference. PEP Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, September 22nd from 2:00 - 5:00 and Thursday, September 29th from 2:00 - 7:30. Please sign up for a PEP conference time slot by Monday, September 19th.
Fall PEP Conference Sign Up
Please use the link below, or in the right sidebar, to sign up for a 20 minute conference. PEP Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, September 22nd from 2:00 - 5:00 and Thursday, September 29th from 2:00 - 7:30. Please sign up for a PEP conference time slot by Monday, September 19th.
Fall PEP Conference Sign Up
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