Scholastic Book Order Reminder

Don't forget!  Scholastic orders are due this coming Monday, November 23rd!!

Take advantage of this perfectly timed opportunity to stock up on gifts for the holidays.  Your aspiring reader is growing like crazy!  You can shop and submit your order online or send the printed order form with payment directly to me. No matter how you order, every purchase you make earns FREE Books and educational supplies for our classroom.  Ordering online is fast and easy:

•  VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
•  If needed, ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code (NCNYY)
•  SHOP!
•  SUBMIT your order and earn FREE Books for our classroom
•  All book orders will be shipped to our classroom so we can celebrate the joy of reading together!

Ordering gifts?  Let me know and I'll put those books aside so they remain a surprise for your little reader.

Outdoor Gear

Fall is here and Winter is not far behind.  Snow this weekend?!?!  No!!!!  Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately to go outside daily.  Jackets, hats, and gloves are needed. Many students are without layers.  Our morning recess takes us outside as long as the air temp remains above 0 degrees.

On wet days, a change of shoes (boots) are recommended so they can run and play without the fear of soggy shoes for the rest of the day. When snow sticks, students will need boots and snow pants to play beyond the concrete. Outside shoes and coats can be stored on the hooks and boot trays outside our classroom.  Hats and gloves can be kept in your child's classroom cubby.  Some families find a school set of hat and gloves helpful in being sure their child always has them at school.  As the snow comes for good please be prepared to bring snow pants for daily outside play.

In addition, please check your child's cubby. Is your child's cubby stocked with a change of Winter clothes? Accidents and spills happen when we least expect it so be sure your child has a warm change of clothes to change into just in case a change is needed during these Winter months.

Dash for Dashiell - Wed, Nov 25

Dash for Dashiell!  Join Willowwind families as we raise money for Dance Marathon in honor of Willowwind student Dashiell Codd.  On Wednesday, November 25th participate in a 2 mile Glow Run / Walk for Dashiell's birthday.  Willowwind is thrilled to support Dance Marathon this year as our K-6 students plan our very own "AThon Day" for MLK Jr.'s Day of Service.  Stay tuned for more details regarding MLK Day but in the meantime enjoy a fun evening with family and friends celebrating one very special boy.  Click HERE for more information.

Thanksgiving Feast 2015 - Volunteer Opportunities

The season of giving is here.  Our much anticipated Thanksgiving Feast is just around the corner.  The K-6 students and staff will gather together on Tuesday, November 24th to give thanks and enjoy traditional Thanksgiving foods created by each classroom.  This year, the students will be preparing for an unprecedented 100+ guests.  Because of our large numbers, and due to the students cooking all the dishes, this event is a K-6 student and faculty only event.  The Feast will be a hearty one and students will not need a lunch from home on Tuesday, November 24th.

The Cottontails are excited to bake three batches of Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting.  I am in need of parents to help supply ingredients for our baked goods (and 50 plates).  Please use THIS link to sign up to bring one or more ingredient for us to use in our cooking.  Please bring in ingredients no later than THIS Friday, November 20th.

In addition, Willowwind is also in need of two parent volunteers from each classroom to help with serving and clean up.  If you are able, please consider joining us to help serve and clean up so that students and teachers can focus on enjoying each other's company and relishing in all that we are grateful for.  Please use the link above to sign up for a time slot.

Finally, Willowwind is also in need of card tables (just tables no chairs).  If you have a card table that Willowwind can borrow please indicate so and the number of people it can seat on the above linked sign up sheet.  Your help is much appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

We are so very excited for our Feast Day.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  I know that your child will be excited to share all the fun we have when they see you Tuesday after school.  Thank you in advance for your preparation help!

Library Reminder - Volunteer Needed!

As a reminder, we will be traveling to the library THIS Wednesday, November 18th.  Please be sure your child has their library card.  In addition, I am still in need of one parent volunteer to join us on our field trip on Wednesday.  I'm looking for a volunteer that can ride the bus to and from with us or meet us at the library.  We will be away from Willowwind from 9:30 - 12:15.

Also, don't forget!  Our October library books are due back to ICPL by TOMORROW, Tuesday, November 17th.  You can drop them off at ICPL or the ICPL Book Bin at the Eastside Hyvee.

To further our reading at home ALL Scholastic Book Orders for November are due NEXT Monday, November 23rd.  Click HERE to access Scholastic online.

Scholastic Book Orders Due 11.23

Good news! This month's Scholastic Reading Club flyers went home on Monday and are ready for you to explore with your child. Children read more when they choose their own books, so I encourage you to look at the flyers together. Each flyer is filled with grade-specific, affordable titles.


Place your order online at scholastic.com/readingclub or send the order form and payment to me. Ordering online is the easiest way to ensure I get your order on time. Also, there are more books to choose from as well as teacher recommendations.  Remember, for every book you order, our class earns FREE Books and supplies...and we have our eye on some new additions.   Per parents' requests I've updated our class wish list, too.  Many thanks for your consideration.  Thank you for your support! 


The holidays are just around the corner and Scholastic books make wonderful gifts!  When Kindergarteners spent time looking at catalogs yesterday they did a wonderful job looking for friends and family, too.  If your order happens to include some surprises for your child's upcoming holiday season, please let me know if your order includes a gift, and I will contact you when it arrives rather than sending them home directly with your child.



Ordering online is fast and easy:
- VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
- ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code (NCNYY)
- DEADLINE for ordering Monday, November 23
- SHOP from a carefully curated selection of the best books and value packs
- SUBMIT your order and earn FREE Books for our classroom
- All book orders will be shipped to our classroom so we can celebrate the joy of reading together!

A BIG thank you for your continued support.  Your Scholastic orders in September outfitted our classroom Listening Center.  I was able to select over 20 Books with CDs and a new CD player for our students to use at school.  The Listening Center is a huge hit with the Kindergarteners and an essential component to our Literacy time where students hear readers model fluent reading.  Thank you so very much for your help in creating this special area of our classroom.

Loving Literacy!

Our reading brains are growing and we are enjoying the opportunities to learn about reading and writing.  Enjoy a peek in to our Literacy times in Kindergarten.

Using Our Writing Portfolios

Our Writing Portfolios are divided into various sections 1) Seeds 2) Drafts 3) Finished 4) Student Dictionary.  The Seed section is where our writing ideas start.  Just like plants, stories start as small seeds.  We listen to our brain and feel our seeds in our heart.  We draw, brainstorm, and outline all of our seeds that come to mind.  You never know which seed may grow into a beautiful story.

After we've created seeds, we pick from our seeds and grow some ideas further into stories and/ or poems.  We use post-it notes to help with our writing.  Ms. Michelle will write ideas down for us and it is our job to use our best Kindergarten writing (and finger spacing) to write on our drafts and final works.  We use black pens on our final writing pieces to show they are ready to share with others.

Reading Buddies with The Wolves

Every Friday morning, we look forward to Reading Buddies.  Our oldest friends meet us in the classroom where we (and them) have selected books to read and enjoy together.  The Wolves do an excellent job of helping us learn to read by listening to our reading, helping us with letter sounds and sound out words and modeling fluent reading.  We also look forward to Papa Craig's (Isaak and Dexter's grandpa) story time Tuesday afternoons.  He picks out the best books and is another excellent fluency model.  If you are interested reading to our class, please let me know.  We'd love to have you.

Classroom Reading

Our days are FILLED with reading.  We read during Center Time, in between activities, as a class, in small groups, with partners, and by ourselves.  We use our Book Bags to hold the books we'd like to read during the day.  We also use our Book Bags to hold our Guided Reading book we use once or twice a week during our small group reading time with Ms. Michelle and Ms. Chesley.  We will soon begin working on building our independent reading stamina where we will work minute by minute to read without any distractions for a period of time.

Library Reading

We LOVE traveling to the library where we can pick out three books to take home.  Kindergarteners look forward to this trip every month.  In coming months, we will learn about finding "Just Right Readers".  Kindergarteners will be able to check out a FOURTH library book that they can try and read all on their own or with a little bit of help from mom or dad or friends and family at home.  Don't forget - October's library books are due Tuesday, October 17th.  Our next ICPL field trip will take place on Wednesday, November 18th.  I am looking for a parent to join us or meet us downtown to help out.  Please let me know if you are interested.  Also, don't forget to pack your child's library card on this day.

At Home Reading

A big thank you for your support in building your child's reading at home.  I am thrilled to know that our students are surrounded by a Literacy rich environment.  Our reading is growing leaps and bounds and a big thanks goes out to you - their very first teacher.  A big thank you to you too for your support in reading programs such as Scholastic Books and Highlights magazines and puzzles.  The supplies and resources we have received for our classroom are wonderful.  Thanks to your recent participation in Highlights ordering we received fabulous letter and picture stencils to add our illustrating process and letter cards to help identify words and pictures through writing.  Many thanks!!

Specials Update - Oct / Nov

Art w/ Mr. Ryan

ryanb@willowwind.org

Visit Mr. Ryan's website for monthly updates.

www.willowwindschoolart.weebly.com

Music w/ Ms. Katherine

katherinea@willowwind.org

Visit Ms. Katherine's blog for monthly updates.

http://wwelemmusic.blogspot.com

Espanol w/ Ms. Ximena

ximenac@willowwind.org

We just finished the Unit : Introductions and greeting. We started with Halloween activities, adding the Unit: “The Parts of the face” in Spanish . The kids are doing a wonderful job. The have enjoyed  the class singing, drawing, and playing. One of the activities they did last class was to draw a Monster’s face. Where they had to create a monster drawing his face parts, and saying them in Spanish. Also, we played a game called "Toca tu cara", where they had to touch their own face parts as I was calling them in Spanish. An extension of this is that the students are now feeling more confident at saying Spanish words, which is really rewarding. 

This month, I added “Halloween” as a cultural topic. We have talked about Halloween celebration and most of the activities are related to this event. For example we created a Pumpkin face and they helped me to put the parts of the face together when I called the words in Spanish. Next month, we are going to continue with “Parts of the face” and also,  I will introduce the Unit: “Parts of the body”.

Physical Education w/ Ms. Susan

susant@willowwind.org

Exercising has many healthful benefits. First, muscles grow when they are used. Unexercised muscles contract when they are not used. Muscles that become unaccustomed to exercise can be injured by sudden or strenuous activity. This is why muscles, including the heart, should be exercised regularly and in moderation. Students are continuously learning the names of the major muscle groups and bones in their bodies. Students are participating in physical activities and learning how to take their resting heart rate before their warm-up and after their cardiovascular workout.  With this exercise students are implementing math into finding their pulse rate per minute.

Physical Education Procedures and Expectations:

• Respect yourself and others

• Wear appropriate clothing and gym shoes or close-toed shoes
• Walk in and out of the building quietly
• Be silent and listen when the teacher is speaking
• Follow directions
• Use equipment with permission only

The curriculum for Kindergarten and Primary School students promotes both gross and fine motor skill development through use of warm-ups, games and manipulatives. Warm-ups consist of stretching exercises. Games include soccer, soft frisbee, and noodle tag. Manipulatives like bean bags, parachutes games, and jump rope are being incorporated . The goal of physical education class is to learn how to lead and promote a healthy, active lifestyle. This unit is essential to building a positive, active, successful and safe learning environment. Students are learning to understand how physical education class is organized and the expectations related to their participation.  

As their Physical Education teacher I continue to pay particular attention to their social development. Taking advantage of building their self esteem and confidence throughout  their physical education class. Students are working on problem solving, cooperation and even learning to be leaders by taking turns which is critical to a successful program. The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity.

To pursue a lifetime of healthful physical activity, a physically literate individual.

• Has learned the skills necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities.
• Knows the implications and the benefits of involvement in various types of physical activities.
• Participates regularly in physical activity.
• Is physically fit.
• Values physical activity and its contributions to a healthful lifestyle.

November Field Trip to CRMA - 11.20

It is our pleasure to announce that Willowwind’s K-6 students will be taking a field trip to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA) to view and celebrate Mr. Ryan’s solo art exhibit nAUMH.  We will be traveling by bus and van to CRMA on Friday, November 20^th.  We will leave mid morning and return to school prior to our 3:15 dismissal.

To cover the cost of museum admission and transportation, please give THIS linked order form AND $7 (check payable to Willowwind School or exact cash only) to your child's teacher by NEXT Wednesday, November 18^th.

While visiting the CRMA we will also visit the Living with Pots, Grant Wood, and Out of this World exhibits as they, too, relate to our K-6 Art curricular focuses.  Click HERE for more information about Mr. Ryan’s art exhibit and HERE for more information about the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.  We are thrilled by this opportunity to celebrate Mr. Ryan and the beautiful world of art.  Also, don’t forget! Click HERE to pre-order Mr. Ryan’s book if you are interested.

Reminders: No School & Conference Sign Up

A few quick mid-November reminders.

1)  No School / No BASP - Friday, November 13th
There is no school or BASP THIS Friday, November 13th due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.  If you have a scheduled conference on Friday and would like to utilize child care during your child's conference time please email Rachel Butler at rachelb@willowwind.org.

2)  Parent/Teacher Conferences - Friday, November 13th and Thursday, November 19th
Parent/Teacher Conferences are this week and next.  Please click HERE to sign up for a conference if you have yet to do so.  Friday's conference time slots will be blacked out after school on Wednesday to allow for proper planning for conferences.  Next Thursday's conference time slots will be blacked out next Tuesday to also allow for proper planning time.  Please let me know if you have questions.

Fall Field Trips

October has come and gone and we have had so much fun adventuring out into our community and learning from others.  Stay tuned for November field trip fun and needs, but in the meantime enjoy this picture walk of our field trip adventures.

Fall Walk
Our Fall walk to Friendship Park was the perfect way to kick off our Fall fun.  The afternoon was beautiful and it was simply wonderful to watch all 12 Cottontails run and play together.  Along our walk we identified different items that remind of us of Fall through using our 5 senses.  Some things we noticed were the bright orange pumpkins, the sound of leaves crunching, the rough dry leaves, the smell of crisp air.

 

 

 

Iowa City Fire Department
Our trip to the downtown fire department was so much fun.  We learned about their tough job and left feeling grateful to have such giving local heroes in our community.  One firefighter tried on all the gear he wears when fighting fire and helped us see that underneath all of that gear is a person who's job it is to care, rescue, and save others.  We toured the fire station and their living quarters.  One fire fighter had a wonderful reminder in his locker. - "Discipline is doing what you know needs to be done, even though you don't want to."  A perfect quote to see as we continue to study self-discipline.  We loved seeing where the fire fighters spend their down time.  We finished our downtown field trip eating lunch on the Ped Mall where we met Herky!  What fun day!

   

 

 

Colony Pumpkin Patch
Our morning at the patch was beautiful!  Unfortunately, the wet weekend prior prevented us from being able to journey in the patch.  Katie Colony was a wonderful host and taught us all about the life cycle of pumpkins and the history of Colony Pumpkin Patch.  Then we were able to play in their kids area - including in the inflatable pumpkin, with the duck races, the spider web, and tube slide.  It was fun to have the play area and train all to ourselves.  We finished out the fun with a trip through the corn maze and with pumpkins to take back to school.

   

 

Iowa City Public Library
We were too busy trying to stay dry catching the busy and searching for books at the library for pictures.  The Kindergarteners thoroughly enjoy our trips to the library.  They do a fabulous job utilizing the resources at the library asking librarians for help or working with me on the computers to find books they are interested in.  October Library books are due Wednesday, November 18th.  Please return to the library or library drop off bin at the Eastside Hyvee.

Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences

Fall Conferences are just around the corner.  I am eager to share your child's amazing progress and growth with you.  Cottontail Fall Conferences will be held on:

Friday, November 13th from 8:00 - 4:00
and
Thursday, November 19th from 2:30 - 7:00.

Due to our day of conferences on November 13th there will be no school and no BASP. There will be child care available during your child's 30 minute conference, so please let Rachel know if you will be interested in using this service.  Please click on the Fall Conference link to sign up for a 30 minute conference time slot.  During this time we will go over your child's academic and social development.  We will look at your child's assessments and and student work.  We will also discuss any questions you may have about your child's growth.  As always, please let me know if you have questions or concerns.  I look forward to meeting with you.

Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween festivities brought smiles to all of our faces.  From pumpkin carving and pumpkin decorating to games and costumes it was a great way to spend some festive time together.

Before carving our pumpkin we used pattern blocks to brainstorm jack-o-lantern faces.

Roll a Jack-O-Lantern - Drawing pumpkin faces based on the numbers we roll on a die.

Cleaning out our pumpkin.

Pumpkin carving fun!

Our Jack-o-Lantern!

Halloween Bingo

Costume Time

Fun with our Partner Families