Monday, December 7, 2015
HOOT#15
Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year in kinder!
Also, please say "hi" to Miguel, our new student, and Laurie, our third assistant in class. We are a great bunch!
HOMEWORK:
SING EVERY DAY!
Have fun
singing Christmas songs with friends and family!
Do on Monday (due on Tuesday):
Bring in an item for the Christmas table. This week we are honoring plants, so you could bring in anything that comes from a plant.
Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday):
Draw an illustration of one of your favorite Christmas carols. Can you add words to your picture? If there are any R words, please make them feel special by drawing a Christmas ornament around them.
Draw an illustration of one of your favorite Christmas carols. Can you add words to your picture? If there are any R words, please make them feel special by drawing a Christmas ornament around them.
Do on Wednesday (due on Thursday):
Can you create a gift coupon for someone in your family? (It could say or picture something that you could do for that person.
E.g. serve them cookies and milk in bed, take them for a walk, find their mittens, tell them a bedtime story, let them listen to their favorite music, bubble bath, etc.)
Can you create a gift coupon for someone in your family? (It could say or picture something that you could do for that person.
E.g. serve them cookies and milk in bed, take them for a walk, find their mittens, tell them a bedtime story, let them listen to their favorite music, bubble bath, etc.)
Also, you are welcome to pick up your December letter recognition sheet in class. Practice away!
LETTER OF THE WEEK: Rr
writing how-to:R: slide down -- frog jump up -- swing to the middle -- kick (diagonal) -- bump (stop when "kick" line hits bottom line)
TISA FEEDS TAOS -- ending THURSDAY: LET'S SHOW OUR COMMUNITY HOW MUCH TISA CARES!
Our annual canned food drive is on! Please drop off non-perishables in your classroom TFT (Taos Feeds Taos) box. The class that gathers the most donations will win an ice cream - movie party, courtesy of TISA PTA! Drive ends this Thursday.
PIZZA DAY - next week:
Our December pizza day will be on Thursday, December 17th which is our last day of school before winter break. Orders and money will need to be turned in to your teacher by Tuesday, December 15th.
Our December pizza day will be on Thursday, December 17th which is our last day of school before winter break. Orders and money will need to be turned in to your teacher by Tuesday, December 15th.
Prepare for a fun holiday kick-off from 1-4 on the Salazar Campus. Families are welcome to attend. There will be caroling, ornament making, tin can retablos, candle decorating, a spa treat to make, and a visit from Santa himself. At 4 pm as a grand finale, you are invited to walk the Solstice Spiral and light your candle in the center as we approach this contemplative time of the year.
Santa will have his golden book with a personal message for each child. If you are interested in learning more about that, please ask me.
Your child's towel for rest time, if it went home before Thanksgiving.
placemat for meal times
clear glass jars with labels on or off (to be used at the Solstice Spiral)
poinsettia (I'd like to borrow one this week : )
pinecones
Sunday, November 15, 2015
HOOT#14
Homework:
Do on Monday (due on Tuesday): bring in an item that begins with "h"
Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday): ask your child to help sort the laundry, the dishes/silverware or her/his toys. Talk about why items belong in the same group (same color, same size, same function, etc.) Challenge your child to count the number of items in each group.
Do on Wendesday (due on Thursday): draw a Thanksgiving meal fit for a kindergartner! Make sure to include your favorite dessert. Yummm!
This week:
Tuesday morning: pizza money is due ($2 per slice)
Thursday: 3:00-3:30 pm -- Thanksgiving Tea in kinder -- We will entertain you with a recorder concert. Munchies are welcome!
Letter "h" road map:
H: slide, frog jump, slide, small jump, whoops/cross
h: slide, small jump, hump, bump
There is no school next week!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Sunday, November 8, 2015
SHADOW PUPPETRY WITH STEAM (STEAM=Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math)
THANK YOU!
This is the project you supported for our diffendoofer kinder on donorschoose.com
IT IS NOW FULLY FUNDED!
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/shadow-puppetry-with-steam/1765312/?timestamp=1446685570192&challengeid=20671137&pma=true&pmaId=3224238&pmaHash=IzOrFh8VZYGMlmNiuEP07g%253D%253D&utm_swu=2879&rf=page-siteshare-2015-11-proposal-teacher_3224238#pm14410285
Shadow Puppetry With STEAM
My students need art materials (posterboard, feathers, sequins) and resource books to support their creative explorations of the ancient art of shadow puppetry
My Students
My students need art materials to blend literature, music, science and art. The mission of our small charter school is to teach core subjects via arts integration. This multifaceted unit uses native stories of the southwest as a diving board to explore actual local ecology.
In this STEAM project my students will get to be story tellers, performers, and shadow puppet designers.
They will be exploring engineering to create their puppets. They will use cooperative learning and problem solving to act out their stories. They will be exploring digital technology to film their performances. Their animal characters will be supported by scientific observation. They will have a chance to visit with puppet artists. They will be inviting our school community to view their productions.
My Project
First students will be sketching their characters and setting and then transferring the images to posterboard, using prediction, measurement and calculation skills. Creating each movable shadow puppet will require the use of fine motor skills with scissors, metal fasteners, and rods/straws. Embellishing the puppets with layered color cellophane will lead to exploration of color theory. Using the puppets in a shadow play will inform them about physical science. Their story will come alive through their own telling, adding sound effects/live music, and making their characters perform the actions. They will get to observe local animals and plants that they could incorporate into their productions.
When students get to construct meaning and explore the "ways of the world" through creative dramatization, it powerfully impacts their motivation, their self-esteem, their engagement and their retaining content.
They make valuable connections between the visual/performing arts and the core disciplines. I find that this type of project sets each of my students up for success. They can each reach their full potential and be joyful, proud participants in their own learning.
HOOT#13
A gigantic "THANK YOU"
to all of you for helping to fund the Shadow Puppet Project for kindergarten on donorschoose.com! Thanks to your support, we will be receiving art materials and resource books to create shadow puppets for staging traditional and original stories of the Southwest in the new year.
BRRR! Winter layers!
Please send your child with warm socks, hat, coat, mittens/gloves and make sure that there is a complete set of extra clothes at school. I recommend that you label label label all clothing items.
SNOW DAYS
TISA follows the Taos Municipal schools for emergencies and weather delays.
Please watch for messages from the office and also tune into KTAOS 101.9FM to listen to announcements in the mornings.
HOMEWORK
Do on Monday (due on Tuesday): bring in a small item that starts with the sound "j" (path of movement for j: dive, hook, dot J: slide, hook, top/whoops)
Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday): What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Can you (and family) write down 3 ingredients that are used to make that special dish. If you happen to have the complete recipe, please bring it in!
Do on Wednesday (due on Thursday): practice naming letters on the NOVEMBER sheet (DIBELS letter naming packet -- please ask for it if it's not in pouch on the classroom door)
Do all week: read 20 minutes each day -- Math: have your child enter numbers on the phone, remote, microwave, calculator, etc. Read the numbers aloud together.
Jasper and Neenah turned 6! Happy birthdays!
Please watch for messages from the office and also tune into KTAOS 101.9FM to listen to announcements in the mornings.
HOMEWORK
Do on Monday (due on Tuesday): bring in a small item that starts with the sound "j" (path of movement for j: dive, hook, dot J: slide, hook, top/whoops)
Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday): What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Can you (and family) write down 3 ingredients that are used to make that special dish. If you happen to have the complete recipe, please bring it in!
Do on Wednesday (due on Thursday): practice naming letters on the NOVEMBER sheet (DIBELS letter naming packet -- please ask for it if it's not in pouch on the classroom door)
Do all week: read 20 minutes each day -- Math: have your child enter numbers on the phone, remote, microwave, calculator, etc. Read the numbers aloud together.
Jasper and Neenah turned 6! Happy birthdays!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
HOOT#12
Have you all recovered from a spook-filled Halloween weekend? Thank you for helping to make our school party delicious and fun.
Since I dressed up as a hockey player (and I happen to be a licensed hockey coach), the children got to suit me up and try it out. If your child is interested in ice hockey, there is a free session at Taos Youth and Family Center (407 Paseo del Canon E.) on Saturday, November 7 from 8:00 to 10:15.
Homework:
Do Monday (Due Tuesday): draw and label/write about your Halloween weekend. What was the most exciting part of your weekend?
Can you count all your candy/treats? Please write the number on your drawing, OR, if you have an ambitious helper, sort your treats and create a bar graph.
Do Tuesday (Due Wednesday): draw a picture of a friend/pet/family member that you lost in your life (either because they passed over or because they are no longer living where you do).
Do Wednesday (Due Thursday): we are creating an alphabet pouch. Each letter will have sensory items engage and inspire readers and writers. Please bring in a small object starting with P or F that can be kept at school.
Letter of the week: we will continue with Pp and introduce Ff.
(Writing sheet with arrows for guidance is in student mailboxes.)
Pp: uppercase movement: slide, frog jump, swing; lowercase movement: dive, climb, swing
Ff: uppercase movement: Start: upper LEFT, slide, frog jump, go across/side kick, small jump, go across/side kick
lowercase movement: start: in MIDDLE, swing, slide, frog jump, cross
The students' e-portfolios were recently updated (please click on the refresh button if you don't see any new work, or email me).
We will be having a Thanksgiving Tea on November 19 (Thursday) at 3:00 pm with a short recorder performance in class. Everyone is invited!
Finally, a tremendous "thank you" goes out to all of you for supporting our class on donorschoose.com.
If you haven't seen the project that I posted, here is the link:
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/shadow-puppetry-with-steam/1765312/?rf=link-siteshare-2015-11-teacher-teacher_3224238&challengeid=20671137
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