KA Classroom Update
December 18, 2015
What's happening in KA
As we near the end of the first term of Kindergarten and the year of 2015, we are so proud to see how much we have grown in KA. We are so thankful for our supportive families! Thank you for making time to visit during our Community Curriculum Share, we were thrilled with the turnout and the students were so proud to share their classroom and learning with you. And thank you to all the families for attending Parent Teacher Conferences. It is always a pleasure to share with you how much students have learned in the first three months of school. We are so excited to see where they are at the end of the year. Please enjoy the pictures below, and stay warm!
Writer's Workshop!
We have been working on writing pattern books during Writer's Workshop. We read books with simple patterns such as This Train by Paul Collicutt or The Family Book by Todd Parr. We then took those patterns and wrote books about topics we were interested in. It was a fun unit and we were excited to write comparisons and build our skills as writers.
Geometry!
Our last unit in math for this term is about 2D and 3D shapes. We learned about sides, corner, faces and vertices. We played games, worked with play dough, and created mini-books to grow our understanding of 2D and 3D shapes.
Community Curriculum Share!
Thank you to those of you who were able to attend. We loved sharing our classroom and our learning with you!
Community Curriculum Share!
It is so nice to be able to have our family in to meet our school friends.
Community Curriculum Share!
And see how much we have grown in our learning.
Community Curriculum Share!
We cannot wait to read our KA Community Book!
Community Curriculum Share!
Thank you so much for your support! We couldn't do it without you.
Choice Time!
We love choice time, and we have it nearly every day. We have grown in our abilities to solve 'kid' sized problems independently. And we have been working hard on taking turns in game play. If your child has a game, puzzle, activity they would like to bring in for Choice Time, please bring it in and make sure it is clearly labeled.
Building the neighborhood map!
Building such a big map was a challenge, but luckily our abilities to work together made it a success. We worked hard on making different elements of our neighborhood: streets, trees, train stations, skyscrapers, homes, shops and more.
Community Curriculum Share!
We are looking forward to having more visits from families. Please make sure to sign up for the Family Share visits that begin in January!
Geometry in Math Block!
Building 3D shapes with play dough is much trickier than it looks, but it's a great way for us to understand the differences between different shapes, such as a cylinder and a cone.
Choice Time!
We love blocks! We have become quite the builders and have been constructing larger and more complex structures. Recently, we have built our neighborhood, a model of Urban, Suburban and Rural communities, and an invented zoo for a large array of animals.
Reader's Workshop!
Our confidence as readers has grown immensely since the beginning of the year. We have been working hard on learning our sight words, and we are eager to find them in books that we read. We have also been working on recognizing patterns in our books, and using pictures to help us solve tricky words. Beginning in January we will send home two books a week to read over the weekend.
Choice Time!
Have you played Jenga recently? It's a tricky game, but we are beginning to get the hang of it.
Math!
Part of our 2D and 3D Geometry unit was words that describe relative location, such as above, behind, next to, beneath/under.
Sounds in Motion (password: kaclassroom)
We want you to visit our class!
Hello Families! We have had so much fun getting to know your children during these first few months of school. Now, we would love it if all of you could come in and share with us too! Kindergarten is asking that each family come into our classroom and share about their family. This can include sharing a family tradition, information about your cultural heritage, or a special song or holiday. The presentation can be up to 30 minutes and include a dance, a song, a book, food and/or an art project. We are asking that you come in at the specific times that we are outlined below in the sign up sheet. Please click the sign up sheet to find out when your child's class has free time for a presentation. If you have any questions, please feel free reach out to us. We can't wait to see you!
A Science Update From Ms. Rosabal!
Science has been a whirlwind of sculpting, painting, and moving our bodies to show our understanding! First, KA Scientists got to explore the changes that trees go through in the Spring, when blossoms start to appear. Through this exploration they really became captivated by the idea of fruits that grow on trees. Later, they fashioned tree models out of salt dough, with an emphasis on trees with verdant crowns, blossoms, buds, and fruit. Because KA Scientists really responded to learning about fruit trees, lately we've been exploring the world of apple trees. We learned that apples have been around for over two million years, there are thousands of species of apple, and the little pockets where the seeds live are called carpals! Later, we made up a body movement to show each structural component of the apple fruit. KA Scientists should feel very proud of themselves for all that they've learned!
Derby's Tree In Progress
Roscoe Explores Tree Rings
Israel Sculpting
Dance With Ms. Siby
I'd like to congratulate our KA dancers on a wonderful curriculum share! As you were able to see, they are well versed in attending to the rhythm (Pata Pata dance), and changing directions in unison. Even more impressive, is their ability to create unique shapes in response to verbal cues and their improvisation skills - these dancers are amazing! As we approach the year's end, we've been exploring the Nutcracker through a dance story where the toys come to life! Ask your dancers to share their favorite part of the story with you. Happy Holidays!
Curriculum Share Dance with Ms. Siby (password: kaclassroom)
Physical Education Update from Coach M & M
Wow! KA has finished a great semester of activities and our parachute unit! We are looking forward to new units after the holiday break! Encourage your KA kiddo to do their ABC pushups over the vacation to keep those kindergarten muscles strong :)
Reminders!
- Please clearly label all of your child's belongings. If you child is missing something, check out the Lost and Found on the 10th floor!
- We will send home student work every Friday. Students should place their folder in their mailbox each Monday. Families can empty the folders and finish any incomplete work together at home.
- Park days to Fort Greene Park are on Wednesdays, as long as weather permits. Please pack a bagged lunch on those days and send your child to school with rubber-soled shoes.
- Beginning Friday, January 8th, we will visit the Park Slope Armory every other Friday. Please make sure your child wears comfortable running shoes these days.
- As long as weather permits we will have recess at MetroTech. Please send your child with a warm jacket. There is limited sun and it is cold.
- Our specials schedule is: Spanish (Mon-Thurs), Dance (Tues), Science (Wed), Art (Mon, Thurs), PE (Thurs), Music (Fri).
Important Dates!
- Wednesday, December 23rd, early dismissal at 1:30 pm.
- No School from December 24th through January 3rd, 2016.
- Monday, January 4th- classes resume.
- Monday, January 18th- No School for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Anita Adams & Tiffany Lawrence
Email: dteska@brooklynprospect.org
Website: www.instagram.com/kaclassroom
Phone: 718.722.7634