WE LOVE VISITORS!

Lisa, Angeilque's mom delighted the children with a new twist on the Frog Prince, 

and got them thinking about how froggies compare to toadies.

Angelina's pet, Toady was what she brought as her homework for the letter T. 

Toady was a great hit!

Siena, a first grade visitor reads about her favorite composers to kindergartners during story time.

Chris Pieper captivated the children with his traditional stories from the United States

Miss Linda's 4th grade class sharing lantern walk songs with us

Miss Megan's 1st grade surprised us with a fun performance 

Jasper's tiger salamander, Peter is getting a tour of TISA.

The Giant Turnip -- the Art of Storytelling

HOOT#5

TISA's Open House had a nice turnout! Check it out online if you couldn't make it, and please spread the word. Share the links to TISA's Facebook page and our Diffendoofer Kinder Blog here. Thank you for your support!

The children are all getting introduced to the instrument we will be playing this year, the soprano recorder. I will be sending home information on how you can help with recorder practice at home.

We plan on participating in the Taos Open Art Festival this fall. I wonder if there is anyone interested in cutting and sewing prayer flags to prepare the fabric that I already have for the children to work with.

Our lantern walk is in a month, on October 17. We have started singing lantern songs with the 4th graders and will be hearing stories about the light receding this time of year.

This week we are having a special visitor. Chris Pieper, naturalist, teacher and an enchanting storyteller will be sharing native traditional stories with us, ushering in our coyote unit.

Please let me know if you are interested in chaperoning either on Tuesday or Thursday to Filemon Sanchez park (between 9:30 and 10:30) for a walking field trip. The children have been working hard and would love to visit the playground there. (Miss Wally will be helping with MAP testing in the older grades those days, so she will not be able to walk with us.)

Tickles is ready for more meal worms or crickets (10) from Blue Sky pet supplies.

If you are able to help this week or next week with recording (mp3 file?) the children's musical poetry performance for an upcoming radio show, please let me know.

I stopped by Twirl last weekend and am happy to report that they have the beeswax crayons now. If you still need them, you are welcome to pick up a set of 12.

Homework:
Monday: Bring in an item that begins with the letter C making the sound /k/. (This is your show and tell!)
Tuesday: Write down your phone number to share with the rest of your friends. Also, write down the name of two or three friends from class who you'd enjoy having a play date with.
Wednesday: Can you sing the morning song all by yourself? (Good morning dear earth, good morning dear sun, good morning quiet stones, and the (horses) on the run. Good morning busy bees and the birds in the trees. Good morning to me and good morning to you!) Please create an illustration of the song, or illustrate your favorite line from it, and write it/ask someone to write that line for you.

Have a bountiful week!
Jutka

GAMES

Letter N hand-clapping game

Foot clapping game

HOOT#4

Mark your calendars! 

Spread the word!
There are 4 open spots in kindergarten.

September 10th after school is TISA's school-wide Open House at 123 Manzanares (Grade 5-8 campus). 

Come by, bring a friend, be part of 

creating mandala art on the basketball court. 

Let's embrace TISA's journey through the cosmic circle of life.

This week's learning: REVIEW (letters and numbers)

No homework on Monday! Happy Labor Day!

DO on Tuesday (Due on Wednesday): Last week we read "No, David!" by D. Shannon and the children all acted as parents to the terrible toddler in the story.
Look at the book cover and talk about the story. What does your child remember David doing in the book? Today's homework is to draw something David should NOT do (either from the book or from your imagination). Please help your child LABEL the picture with a NO phrase/sentence. (Caveat: I do steer towards the positive and away from the negative in class! Please bear with me on this for the sake of allowing the children to show off the one word they are each proud to be able to write: "NO" : )

DO on Wednesday (Due on Thursday):
We have been learning about how to be happy as a TISA kindergarten family. There are a few rules we follow at school (such as being kind, being a hard worker, and paying attention). Are there any rules your family (or some other community, e.g. the swimming pool, the library, etc.) has? Please write or draw one or two.

Reflect with your child:
Are you able to open your lunch containers? Stuff them all back into your lunch box?
Are you able to put your shoes on? Tie your laces?
Are you able to tell your friend when you are upset with them?
If not what could you do about that?

Kinder humor
"There was a baboon in my mom's car once."
?
"It was in LA. He ate the chocolate and left her credit card all messy."

Child's prize box assessment: "I don't think my family would like this prize."
(Agreed, it was a monster...) Thanks for the worthy prizes you brought in, folks!

Students measured how long the table is using connect-a-cubes. It's 81 cubes long! I know you were dying to know...

Great things are worth replicating...  I love the P&J sandwich rolls in one of the lunch boxes! Great idea! I am sending those in my son's lunch this week.

Gossip (overheard in someone's home): "We had a lockdown today, but Miss Jutka was on top of it right away. She gave a gun to every kid..." (NOT TRUE!)

TISA OPEN HOUSE THIS THURSDAY!

Mark your calendars! 

Spread the word! 

September 10th after school is TISA's school-wide Open House at 123 Manzanares (Grade 5-8 campus). 

Come by and be part of 

creating mandala art on the basketball court. 

Let's embrace TISA's journey through the cosmic circle of life.

Kinder Poetry and Pastels Using the Letter N

This week the children worked with the letter Nn. 
They explored night-time imagery (Tom Noble's October Night, among others) and wrote collaborative "riddle" poems. 
A riddle poem gives a description in each line 
and then gives the answer to the riddle in the last line.
Can you guess what our riddle poem is about?
See if your child can remember which line/s 
s/he wrote in the poem. 

Tom Noble's October Night

It is dark.

Rain sounds peaceful.

It is comfortable.

My two blankets are soft.

My pillow has flowers.
I get a good rest.

Owls come out.

I hear "hoo hoo."

A cricket chirps.

Coyote howls.

Dreams make noise in my head.

The rain keeps falling on the roof.

The neighbor cat wants to snuggle with me.

My chihuahua sleeps by my foot.

The wind waves the grass.

Dreams come true.

Night.
(written by Keenoh, Quintin, Bernice, Archer, Angelina, Seamus)

It feels like a black spider.

Bats fly.

It is scary.

It is creepy.

I think of ghosts.

Nightmares come.

I see a shooting star.

I will go outside to see fireworks.

It is dark blue.
It is dark pink.

I brush my teeth.

I sleep naked.

The moon shines in my house.

I hear my dog snoring.

The Milky Way is like a big giant mama full of stars.

Night.
(written by Kara, Asher, Kaylyn, Jasper, Angelique, Rio, Aurora)

Children spy for letters b t n in the poems...

Exploring music for each line of the poem