Please have your child bring a white standard pillow case to school by Monday, May 5th (if you can or May 7th at the latest). We will use the pillow cases to create a special memento of our Kindergarten year. Thank You!
Literacy
We continue to grow more and more excited about reading. We are now at 7 minutes of quiet reading time. We also love going to the public library and Oaknoll. Our abilities to focus on reading and read more difficult books grow each day. Reading at home helps our brains increase in ability to model good reading. Black and white books from reading groups are still going home with students. Books that they can read should have one star on it. Books that have two stars are books that can be taken out of their book bags and stay at home.
We are nearing the end of our handwriting booklets and spend more time working on shadow writing and writing using our "kid spelling". It is wonderful to see the children grow into these wonderful writers we knew they could be. We are enjoying spending more time on small writing activities that the children can work on independently. We used our growing writing skills to create our hallway display of how Willowwind helps us grow.
Math
In Chapter 8 children have learned the concepts of part-whole and number bonds in previous chapters. We have applied these concepts in additions and subtraction for number from 0 - 10. Now we begin to use these strategies with numbers from 0 -20. We have studies place values in which we learned why numbers are written the way they are and what it represents. We have started using math facts to help us with our larger numbers. Doubles facts are often used to help us round or think of problems that are close to the one we are working on (i.e. 6+7=?, students can say I know 6+6=12 so since 7 is 1 more than 6 I know the answer is 13). We are working on this concept in both addition and subtraction. Please continue to aid your young learners in their math homework. At school we play games that help us learn to add numbers and increase our ability to work with our friends.
Science
As we reach the end of April we conclude our unit on Plants and Going Green. From the very first day students were excited to talk about all we know about the season Spring and how we see so much growth in the spring time. We talked about our senses in the spring and related that to fun activities we like to do with families and friends. We also were able to write about spring time and make predictions of when we thought the first buds would appear on the trees. We have read countless books about plants, trees, and flowers along with writing about them and illustrating our ideas of what they look like. We have made diagrams about flowers and even created a bulletin board display about the parts of a flower and what plants need to survive. We have grown flowers in our class and discussed the life cycle that each plant must take to ensure there will be more of those plants later.
Social Studies
Each person in our community has a job. As students it is our job to learn and as we grow older we gain knowledge about something specific and use it to give back to our community. Students will soon begin a short unit on careers and jobs. If you would like to come into our class and talk about your career please let me know and we can schedule a visit.
We also end our year granting a number of wishes that the class has been discussing in depth. We have talked about how wishes are something we really want. Sometimes for ourselves and sometimes for others, or a whole group. It is kind to try and make others happy when you can and put others before ourselves. As a wrap up to our year we will be venturing out and granting the Cottontail Rabbit wishes. More information about their wishes to follow.
Specials
As we reach the end of April we conclude our unit on Plants and Going Green. From the very first day students were excited to talk about all we know about the season Spring and how we see so much growth in the spring time. We talked about our senses in the spring and related that to fun activities we like to do with families and friends. We also were able to write about spring time and make predictions of when we thought the first buds would appear on the trees. We have read countless books about plants, trees, and flowers along with writing about them and illustrating our ideas of what they look like. We have made diagrams about flowers and even created a bulletin board display about the parts of a flower and what plants need to survive. We have grown flowers in our class and discussed the life cycle that each plant must take to ensure there will be more of those plants later.
After planting seed we need to record our seed data which we do every other day during our science time. We use the ruler to measure the height of our plants. They are growing big!
Each person in our community has a job. As students it is our job to learn and as we grow older we gain knowledge about something specific and use it to give back to our community. Students will soon begin a short unit on careers and jobs. If you would like to come into our class and talk about your career please let me know and we can schedule a visit.
We also end our year granting a number of wishes that the class has been discussing in depth. We have talked about how wishes are something we really want. Sometimes for ourselves and sometimes for others, or a whole group. It is kind to try and make others happy when you can and put others before ourselves. As a wrap up to our year we will be venturing out and granting the Cottontail Rabbit wishes. More information about their wishes to follow.
Specials
Music
The Cottontails spent the month of April studying Prokofiev’s famous orchestral piece, “Peter and the Wolf.” “Peter and the Wolf” is a musical story that is spoken by a narrator and accompanied by the orchestra. Instruments of the orchestra play musical themes which represent each character in the story. The hunters are played by the timpani, grandpa by the bassoon, Peter by the violins, the cat by the clarinet, the duck by the oboe, the bird by the flute, and the wolf by the French Horns. Students began the unit by reading the story of “Peter and Wolf.” After becoming familiar with the plot, we acted out the characters of the story as we listened to their musical themes. A lot of time was spent learning about the instruments of the orchestra as well as their corresponding character. Following a listening map and playing “Peter and the Wolf” bingo were some of the highlights of the unit. The map guided our ears as we listened to the full orchestral score of the piece. We listened for loud/soft, high/low, and light/heavy sounds throughout the piece. The bingo game was a final activity that tested our knowledge of the instruments and their corresponding characters. Ask your child to tell you the story of “Peter and the Wolf!”
Best,
Katherine
The Cottontails spent the month of April studying Prokofiev’s famous orchestral piece, “Peter and the Wolf.” “Peter and the Wolf” is a musical story that is spoken by a narrator and accompanied by the orchestra. Instruments of the orchestra play musical themes which represent each character in the story. The hunters are played by the timpani, grandpa by the bassoon, Peter by the violins, the cat by the clarinet, the duck by the oboe, the bird by the flute, and the wolf by the French Horns. Students began the unit by reading the story of “Peter and Wolf.” After becoming familiar with the plot, we acted out the characters of the story as we listened to their musical themes. A lot of time was spent learning about the instruments of the orchestra as well as their corresponding character. Following a listening map and playing “Peter and the Wolf” bingo were some of the highlights of the unit. The map guided our ears as we listened to the full orchestral score of the piece. We listened for loud/soft, high/low, and light/heavy sounds throughout the piece. The bingo game was a final activity that tested our knowledge of the instruments and their corresponding characters. Ask your child to tell you the story of “Peter and the Wolf!”
Best,
Katherine
Spanish
Find out what Willowwind students have been learning in Spanish here. See photos, videos, and find out more information about our school Spanish-related events. Moreover, read the latest news about our progress in the language --from preschool to the Wolves classroom! Contact Luis at *luisl@willowwind.org* for more information about the blog or any other questions or suggestions you may have.
Art
Movement
I
can’t believe it’s the last Visual Arts block of the year! We have been busy in
the Scholar’s Studio, as per usual.
After
learning about Printmaking, we delved into our final studio area I teach at
Willowwind – Sculpture. The Cottaintails reviewed the concepts of 2D and 3D,
and how they are utilized in Art. While our Ceramics and Pottery Unit was also
3D art and could be sculptural, our Sculpture unit focuses more on using a
variety of materials to make one 3D piece of Art.
I
started the block with having the students using paper (2D) and transforming it
into a 3D object. I used very little instruction with this introduction because
I wanted to see how each individual responded. The only instruction I gave was
demonstrating how to make an ‘accordion.’ I was very impressed by what the
Kindergartners came up with – jewelry, hats, purses, abstract sculptures, and,
of course, paper airplanes. We put our newfound skill with folding and pasting
and made ‘pop-up’ cards for Ms. Meridith’s birthday.
Our
final project for the block will be making puppets. In order to emphasize a
wide-range of materials possible for sculpture, I chose to make them out of
oven-bake clay (Sculpey), chopsticks, aluminum wire, paint, and fabric. The
process of the puppets starts with sculpting the head and hands out of
oven-make clay. The head is then attached to the end of a chopstick and the
hands to either side of the piece of wire. The wire is then wrapped around the
midsection of the chopstick. After the clay is baked in the oven for at 275°F
for approximately 30 minutes, the students will paint their puppets with
acrylic paint.
Usually,
I cover the basics of acrylic painting during the Painting unit. However,
because Partner Books were done in watercolor this year, I did not have time to
show the kinders the beauty of acrylics. I will spend a day covering acrylics
and how they work, and hopefully have time for the students to do a miniature
painting to bring home.
After
the students understand the paint, they will paint their puppets heads and
hands. The final step will be wrapping their puppet in fabric accessories. I
will talk to the students about functionality and the importance of durability
in art objects that are interacted with.
It
was an absolute pleasure teaching your Kindergartner this year! I hope your
child enjoyed their time in Visual Arts with me as much as I did!!!
With
heartfelt gratitude,
RyanMovement
Hello Willowwind Families,
Did you hear about Disc Golf in
Movement? Willowwind students had a blast! Last week, students
started a Frisbee unit in Movement. They all practiced throwing
a Frisbee forehand. Upper grades tried throwing backhand also.
Targets were set up to practice and improve their accuracy. To apply their new
skills, I introduced students to the game of Disc Golf. Students
completed a course I had set up for them. They loved to Tee Off and putt
to get their Frisbee in the target hoop. The rules are simple and very
similar to golf.
Disc Golf is an awesome family recreation activity. There are several local courses in the area. They are at Sugar Bottom and Coralville Reservoir Dam in Coralville, and the Peninsula area in Iowa City. All you need are your own Frisbees, one for each player, and get ready to have some family fun!
Disc Golf is an awesome family recreation activity. There are several local courses in the area. They are at Sugar Bottom and Coralville Reservoir Dam in Coralville, and the Peninsula area in Iowa City. All you need are your own Frisbees, one for each player, and get ready to have some family fun!
Speaking of family fun;it's time
to do the Twist! In Movement class, most students participated in the game of
Twister. Students have been exploring
how to bend and stretch different body parts. They have been challenged to
stretch and bend in many different directions, with different numbers of body
parts and in as many different ways as possible. All this bending and
stretching draws students' attention to their muscle movements. When muscles
can stretch, the muscle can allow different body parts to move through their
full range of motion. We call that muscle flexibility.
Flexibility is an important component of being physically fit. Our older student population is testing their hamstring flexibility with a V-Sit stretch. They measure how far they can reach through their legs in a V position, with knees straight and hands stacked on top of each other. When it becomes obvious that a muscle is tight, we can work to stretch out these tight places. Discovering where a student needs to increase flexibility helps maintain their healthy body throughout their lives. Inflexibility is a common cause of back and shoulder pain in adults.
In Movement class, we have learned that stretching after the body is warm is when flexibility can be increased. Stretching is commonly used in a warm up in preparation for movement, but really long periods of stretching is better left for the end of activity time to be effective in increasing flexibility.
Flexibility is an important component of being physically fit. Our older student population is testing their hamstring flexibility with a V-Sit stretch. They measure how far they can reach through their legs in a V position, with knees straight and hands stacked on top of each other. When it becomes obvious that a muscle is tight, we can work to stretch out these tight places. Discovering where a student needs to increase flexibility helps maintain their healthy body throughout their lives. Inflexibility is a common cause of back and shoulder pain in adults.
In Movement class, we have learned that stretching after the body is warm is when flexibility can be increased. Stretching is commonly used in a warm up in preparation for movement, but really long periods of stretching is better left for the end of activity time to be effective in increasing flexibility.
This month, students will continue
to learn the fitness vocabulary to differentiate the purpose of our movement
activities. They participate in cardiovascular fitness activities (huff and
puff) and strength building activities that are fun and good for their body. We will be learning a few track and field
events and play a few cooperative and favorite games.
Our overall goal in Movement is
for your child to develop the knowledge, abilities and commitment needed to
live and promote a healthy, active lifestyle.
Be sure to check out my new blog
for updates on current Movement units at www.willowwindmovement.blogspot.com
Happy Spring! Karen Robbins
karenr@willowwind.org
