Our website has been updated. Check out the latest additions.
~ January / February Newsletter
This newsletter is full of new information. Take a look!
~ January Photo Album
Check out pictures from the month of January. Don't forget you can save these photos for your family's collection by dragging them to your desktop or right clicking and selecting "Save Image As…" or "Add Image to iPhoto Library" for Mac users.
~ November Photo Album!
I found some fun pictures hiding on my Nikon! I added them to our November Photo Album. They go way back to November and highlight our Thanksgiving Feast event. They were fun to look back on, and I am amazed how much my Kinder friends have grown in a few short months!
~ Welcome Page's Upcoming Events and Calendar Page
Mark your calendars! There are some important events coming up in February and March. Check out the Calendar tab or the Upcoming Events section on the right sidebar of our Welcome Page.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Special Event: Authors' Cocoa 02.08
Willowwind is pleased to announce our annual Authors' Coca! This is a wonderful event where your child will have the opportunity to READ a variety of their own writing pieces. Come celebrate their Literary success! This year Authors' Cocoa will take place in conjunction with Willowwind's Literature Festival, and due to our growing K-6 family this much loved event will take place over the course of two days. On Thursday, February 7th, the 3-6 graders will present their writing and on Friday, February 8th, K-2 grade will present their individual writing pieces from 10:30 - 11:30. You are welcome to come and listen to our young readers. Below is a sample invitation that the Kindergarteners created today. Be sure to check your child's Take Home Folder for your own personal invitation.
Authors' Cocoa
Who: Willowwind Friends
What: Sharing Poetry
When: Thursday, February 8th 10:30 - 11:30
Where: GD Space
Why: To share our love for reading with you!
We hope to see you for our much anticipated Cocoa event. Check out SignUp Genius for Authors' Cocoa volunteer opportunities.
Finally, to continue our literary celebration one of your child's Authors' Cocoa pieces will be submitted to Iowa City's annual Poetry in Public contest.
Authors' Cocoa
Who: Willowwind Friends
What: Sharing Poetry
When: Thursday, February 8th 10:30 - 11:30
Where: GD Space
Why: To share our love for reading with you!
We hope to see you for our much anticipated Cocoa event. Check out SignUp Genius for Authors' Cocoa volunteer opportunities.
Finally, to continue our literary celebration one of your child's Authors' Cocoa pieces will be submitted to Iowa City's annual Poetry in Public contest.
Special Event: Valentines' Festivities
Valentines' Day is right around the corner and the Cottontails are excited to celebrate in a number of ways. With Valentines' Day, brings another beloved Willowwind tradition - the Secret Valentine Exchange. Your child will learn more about this K-6 fun next week, but I wanted to communicate to you what it entails early enough to give you time to prepare.
Next Wednesday, students will "draw" a slip that will highlight who they will deliver secret Valentine gifts to the week of Valentine's (M, Tu, W, & Th). I will communicate home with you who your child selected. Then, beginning Monday, February 11th your child will deliver a HOMEMADE daily gift to their recipient's Valentine mail sleeve. Along with this HOMEMADE gift they must also deliver a clue that hints to their identity. On Thursday, February 14th, they will reveal their identity with one last, slightly larger, gift.
Here is where your help is needed!
Please help your child prepare TWO HOMEMADE GIFTS and TWO CLUES. As part of our Fabric unit, we will prepare one of our homemade gifts and corresponding clue here at school. Then, on Monday, February 11th have your child bring their two HOMEMADE gifts and clues to school to deliver throughout the week. One of these two HOMEMADE gifts can be a baked good. If your child would like to deliver a baked good please email to confirm any possibly food allergies or restrictions before gifting.
On Thursday, February 14th we will have a big Secret Valentine Reveal where child will reveal their identity and they will also learn who has secretly delivered gifts to them throughout the week. To prepare for this your child will need bring one final gift for the big reveal. This gift must a book no greater in value than $5. This book does not need to be brand new and can be gifted from your own library if it is like new condition. Please note that 100% participation is required in this school wide tradition.
In addition to our weeklong K-6 Valentines' fun, the Cottontails will also be having a small class party. Your child may bring class Valentines if they'd like. This activity is optional. If your family is interested, please note that there are 12 students in our class, and that a Valentine must be delivered to each classmate. Our class list is below.
As always, please let me know if you have questions. I will communicate who your child will be delivering gifts to next Wednesday afternoon. We're looking forward to a week of love!
Cottontails' Class List
Ainsley
Aubrey
Catie
Danielle
Hannah
Jonah
Kaden
Libby
Marko
Quinn
Tai
Tia
Next Wednesday, students will "draw" a slip that will highlight who they will deliver secret Valentine gifts to the week of Valentine's (M, Tu, W, & Th). I will communicate home with you who your child selected. Then, beginning Monday, February 11th your child will deliver a HOMEMADE daily gift to their recipient's Valentine mail sleeve. Along with this HOMEMADE gift they must also deliver a clue that hints to their identity. On Thursday, February 14th, they will reveal their identity with one last, slightly larger, gift.
Here is where your help is needed!
Please help your child prepare TWO HOMEMADE GIFTS and TWO CLUES. As part of our Fabric unit, we will prepare one of our homemade gifts and corresponding clue here at school. Then, on Monday, February 11th have your child bring their two HOMEMADE gifts and clues to school to deliver throughout the week. One of these two HOMEMADE gifts can be a baked good. If your child would like to deliver a baked good please email to confirm any possibly food allergies or restrictions before gifting.
On Thursday, February 14th we will have a big Secret Valentine Reveal where child will reveal their identity and they will also learn who has secretly delivered gifts to them throughout the week. To prepare for this your child will need bring one final gift for the big reveal. This gift must a book no greater in value than $5. This book does not need to be brand new and can be gifted from your own library if it is like new condition. Please note that 100% participation is required in this school wide tradition.
In addition to our weeklong K-6 Valentines' fun, the Cottontails will also be having a small class party. Your child may bring class Valentines if they'd like. This activity is optional. If your family is interested, please note that there are 12 students in our class, and that a Valentine must be delivered to each classmate. Our class list is below.
As always, please let me know if you have questions. I will communicate who your child will be delivering gifts to next Wednesday afternoon. We're looking forward to a week of love!
Cottontails' Class List
Ainsley
Aubrey
Catie
Danielle
Hannah
Jonah
Kaden
Libby
Marko
Quinn
Tai
Tia
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer opportunities are available. Please email me (unless otherwise noted) if you are interested. As always, Volunteer Opportunities are also highlighted on our Welcome Page's right sidebar. I am always grateful for your help and could not do what I do at such an amazing level without your help.
Drivers Needed: Home Ec Workshop Field Trip
Friday, February 22nd 9:30 - 11:45
We are so excited to make our way to Iowa City's local fabric shop Home Ec Workshop! Fabric experts will be on hand to talk to us and to lead using a fabric class. If you are interested in driving please email me and let me know how many boosters can fit in your car. Also, please be sure you leave your child's booster seat for this field trip.
Washing Weekly Rags
A BIG thank you goes out to the Anderson family for consistently taking home our classroom rags to launder each weekend. We strive to be a paper towel-less school and family volunteers to wash the Kindergarten and Kitchen rags helps makes this possible. I am looking for a family to fill the Andersons' footsteps for the remainder of the year. Please let me know if you are willing to take home our rags to wash each Friday, returning them on Monday. This can earn you 30 minutes of volunteer hours each week. THANK YOU in advance.
Spanish Book Binding
Look to SignUp Genius for a volunteer opportunity with Ms. Danielle. She is in need of one parent to help copy and bind our Spanish ABC books. Kindergarteners work through these books while studying Spanish letter sounds beginning in February. Please email Danielle with questions about this opportunity at daniellee@willowwind.org and go to SUG to sign up if interested.
Authors' Cocoa / Book Fair
With Authors' Cocoa and the Book Fair right around the corner, there are a variety of volunteer opportunities available to help make these events a success. Visit Sign Up Genius if you are interested in helping out.
Drivers Needed: Home Ec Workshop Field Trip
Friday, February 22nd 9:30 - 11:45
We are so excited to make our way to Iowa City's local fabric shop Home Ec Workshop! Fabric experts will be on hand to talk to us and to lead using a fabric class. If you are interested in driving please email me and let me know how many boosters can fit in your car. Also, please be sure you leave your child's booster seat for this field trip.
Washing Weekly Rags
A BIG thank you goes out to the Anderson family for consistently taking home our classroom rags to launder each weekend. We strive to be a paper towel-less school and family volunteers to wash the Kindergarten and Kitchen rags helps makes this possible. I am looking for a family to fill the Andersons' footsteps for the remainder of the year. Please let me know if you are willing to take home our rags to wash each Friday, returning them on Monday. This can earn you 30 minutes of volunteer hours each week. THANK YOU in advance.
Spanish Book Binding
Look to SignUp Genius for a volunteer opportunity with Ms. Danielle. She is in need of one parent to help copy and bind our Spanish ABC books. Kindergarteners work through these books while studying Spanish letter sounds beginning in February. Please email Danielle with questions about this opportunity at daniellee@willowwind.org and go to SUG to sign up if interested.
Authors' Cocoa / Book Fair
With Authors' Cocoa and the Book Fair right around the corner, there are a variety of volunteer opportunities available to help make these events a success. Visit Sign Up Genius if you are interested in helping out.
Happy 100th Day!
Is it really the 105th day of school?!? It seems like we were just gearing up for that big 100th day celebration! It is so hard to believe that we are 100 days smarter. Our actions sure show it and our brains are definitely 100 days stronger! Here's a top ten list of our fun 100th day activities! Check out the January 2013 photo album for more fun pictures!
Cottontails Top Ten List for the 100th Day
10. Brainstorm a list of things we have learned in our first 100 days of Kindergarten. Ideas included learning to….read, share, play, climb on the playground.
9. Write about ways we'd spend $100. Ideas included buying 100…legos, toys, cars, houses, horses.
8. Share our 100th Day Collections. Collections included 100…legos, pennies, cereal pieces, knitted felt balls.
7. Count out a 100 pieces of snack. We created 10 piles of 10 snacks to make our 100th day trail mix. Thank you parents who helped provided our fun treat!!
6. Do 10 sets of 10 exercises. The Cottontails did 10 jumping jacks, 10 toe touches, 10 sit ups, 10 push ups, 10 stretches, 10 one-foot hops, 10 two-feet hops, 10 seconds of marching in place, 10 seconds of running in place, and 10 crunches.
5. Wish for 100 things and write about what we'd do with those 100 things.
4. Count to 100. We counted by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s! Some friends even tried the challenge of counting by 3s and 4s!
3. Read a variety of 100th day books. Check our our Book Shelf page to see which books we read!
2. Investigate the 100 Chart. What patterns do we see? We looked at even and odd numbers, the 10s family, similarities in rows and similarities in columns.
1. Celebrate our first 100 days together and look forward to the rest of the school year to come!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Books, Books, Books
A few quick book related reminders and announcements. As always, let me know if you have questions.
ICPL Field Trip - TOMORROW, Wednesday, January 30th
We will be traveling to the ICPL tomorrow morning via the city bus. Please be sure your child has their library card.
Returning ICPL Books
Our ICPL books are always due three weeks from their check out date. You can always return them directly to the library and at the drive-up drop-off bin located at the Eastside HyVee (just down Muscatine). Now, in addition to these two options, students will have the opportunity to return Iowa City Public Library books at Willowwind beginning Friday, February 8th. Books will be picked up and returned to the library every Friday. If you have any books that you would like returned, simply send them to school with your child and place them in the bin located in the Kindergarten Project Room. Please note that if your books are due on a Wednesday, for instance, you will need to bring them to Willowwind the Friday before they are due to ensure that they are returned on time.
Scholastic Book Fair - February 4 - February 7
We will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair from Monday, February 4, through Thursday, February 7. The event, scheduled in conjunction with our Literature Festival, provides a great opportunity to purchase books for your students, friends and relatives. At the same time, our school will earn Scholastic points based on total sales, which can then be cashed in for books for classrooms, furniture and other supplies.
Students and families may also wish to purchase books for teachers; each teacher will provide a wish list that will be available at the fair. You can purchase items at the fair and designate them to a particular teacher. Book plates will be available to indicate both the donor and the recipients' names. Alternatively, you or any out-of-town parents, relatives and supporters of Willowwind may write a check to the Willowwind Friends and Family Library Fund. Donations of any size are welcome, but donations of $25 ensure that you will be able to purchase at least two books. Donations can be earmarked for a specific classroom, and the donors' names will be acknowledged with book plates.
Tomorrow, I will be sending home a Book Fair flyer that highlights some of the books that will be on display and on sale at the upcoming Book Fair. Parents wishing to work at the fair or help set-up or tear down the event should go to Sign-Up Genius for details. Questions? Please call Katherine House, Book Fair Chairperson, at 319-339-9801. Happy book shopping!
ICPL Field Trip - TOMORROW, Wednesday, January 30th
We will be traveling to the ICPL tomorrow morning via the city bus. Please be sure your child has their library card.
Returning ICPL Books
Our ICPL books are always due three weeks from their check out date. You can always return them directly to the library and at the drive-up drop-off bin located at the Eastside HyVee (just down Muscatine). Now, in addition to these two options, students will have the opportunity to return Iowa City Public Library books at Willowwind beginning Friday, February 8th. Books will be picked up and returned to the library every Friday. If you have any books that you would like returned, simply send them to school with your child and place them in the bin located in the Kindergarten Project Room. Please note that if your books are due on a Wednesday, for instance, you will need to bring them to Willowwind the Friday before they are due to ensure that they are returned on time.
Scholastic Book Fair - February 4 - February 7
We will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair from Monday, February 4, through Thursday, February 7. The event, scheduled in conjunction with our Literature Festival, provides a great opportunity to purchase books for your students, friends and relatives. At the same time, our school will earn Scholastic points based on total sales, which can then be cashed in for books for classrooms, furniture and other supplies.
Students and families may also wish to purchase books for teachers; each teacher will provide a wish list that will be available at the fair. You can purchase items at the fair and designate them to a particular teacher. Book plates will be available to indicate both the donor and the recipients' names. Alternatively, you or any out-of-town parents, relatives and supporters of Willowwind may write a check to the Willowwind Friends and Family Library Fund. Donations of any size are welcome, but donations of $25 ensure that you will be able to purchase at least two books. Donations can be earmarked for a specific classroom, and the donors' names will be acknowledged with book plates.
Tomorrow, I will be sending home a Book Fair flyer that highlights some of the books that will be on display and on sale at the upcoming Book Fair. Parents wishing to work at the fair or help set-up or tear down the event should go to Sign-Up Genius for details. Questions? Please call Katherine House, Book Fair Chairperson, at 319-339-9801. Happy book shopping!
Friday, January 18, 2013
100th Day of School Homework
Our 100th Day of School Celebration is fast approaching! Today the Cottontails Jake's 100th Day of School to learn more about the fun we will have on our own 100th Day of School (NEXT Thursday, January 24th. Through Jake's story we talked about a special project to complete in preparation for the 100th Day of School. This afternoon, your child brought home a letter about our upcoming 100th Day of School and a small homework assignment. Please take a look at the letter sent home or the information below for more information (this information can also be found in the right sidebar on the website's Welcome page).
As part of our festivities, I am asking each student to count and collect 100 small objects, and to place those objects in the attached plastic bag labeled “_____’s 100th Day Collection”. All the objects in your child’s collection bag should be the same. After all students have returned the bags to class, we will use the collections to conduct fun-filled classroom learning activities. The bagged collections will then be returned to the students to bring home. It is important that each bag close securely over the 100 objects, so please help your child count and choose 100 objects small enough to fit in the bag.
Here are some collection ideas:
• 100 pieces of popcorn
• 100 paper clips
• 100 stickers
• 100 metal washers
• 100 hair elastics
• 100 rubber bands
• 100 toothpicks
• 100 pennies
• 100 pieces of cereal
• 100 beans
• 100 pictures of toys (or 100 pictures of animals, etc.) cut from magazines
Please consider the items on this list to be suggestions only. Feel free to help your child collect any objects that will fit into his or her bag. I only ask that you avoid objects that are sharp (such as tacks). Your child’s 100th Day of School Collection is due back to school no later than Wednesday, January 23rd.
Also, we are in need of snacks for our 100-item snack. Please use the “100th Day Snack Sign Up” link to volunteer to bring in a snack. This link can also be found in the right sidebar on the website's Welcome page. When signing up, please include the type of snack you are providing. Snacks should be items where students can easily take 10 pieces from each provided snack. Examples may include small crackers, pretzels, cereal, dried fruit. There are 12 students in our class so please be sure your provided snack has at least 120 items in the box. Please bring the snack on or before Thursday, January 24th.
Thank you in advance for helping to make our 100th Day of School a complete success.
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