Monday, September 18, 2017

Peanut

I'd like to introduce you to Peanut!  She is our classroom turtle.  She's a 30 year old box turtle and she came to school for the first time today.



The first day that peanut joined us, we spent some time touching her and feeling her shell.  After that, we washed our hands very well and agreed to let Peanut have her space and just look without touching.

The kids love to sit by Peanut and watch her move around.  She's much more active than I expected a turtle to be.


Her favorite spot is her water basin.  She loves to sit in the water and watch the kids or dunk her head under water for a little bath.

I was surprised to find out that a big Rubbermaid container was the ideal habitat for Box Turtles.  We have some coconut shavings at the bottom, a basin for water, and different lights to keep her warm.


This is only my second school year with Peanut and I'm learning that she is very picky.  She doesn't like vegetables, but love bananas.  She likes crunchy bugs, like rolly polly bugs and meal worms.  She'll eat garden worms only when they look really yummy.

We love having Peanut in the classroom and look forward to continuing our inquiry of turtles and their needs!

Happy learning! 



Getting to Know Materials

The beginning of kindergarten is such a magical time!  The kids are diving in and really getting to know their way around the classroom.  They are always so excited and curious to find out what they can explore.  At the beginning of the year, we are careful to add new activities slowly.  

Play time (also called Centers) is a great time to build cooperation skills, but we also encourage the story-telling aspect.

Playdough is great for building the important muscles in our fingers and is a staple in the kindergarten classroom!


We love art!  We've just started introducing  new types of paint.  Ask your child if they remember The Dot.  It was a book we read this week and we'll be painting lots of dots soon!


The kids LOVE building with Polydrons.  We have these in many classrooms and kids have opportunities to build 3D shapes.


We are learning to build and play with our math manipulatives.  Soon we will be using these for lots of math stations.


Our home center is one of the favorites.  Kids play house, coffee shop, and restaurant.  They make up their stories as they go along.


We are getting to know our materials in the classroom and we're showing that we know how to be respectful!

Happy learning!

Friday, September 8, 2017


These are some quotes that were gathered during our family connection meetings.  We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed hearing them and meeting the wonderful people who said them!

I'm very interested in the moon, but I'm not going to outer space.
I like Nutella, tuna, and South Lake Pizza.
I'm...sassy.
Two fives are 10. Two threes are 6. Two tens are 20.
I have two dogs, Luna and Cinnamon.
I love dogs because I love to pick them up.
I can count to 10 in Spanish.
Look at my pattern!
Also, I like to play with my big set houses.
She lives in Minnesota.  There's tons of houses there.
We play I de-clare-war, and Slapjack.
Flag of America!
I really know how to do stuff.
Also, we have Full House.
10...11...12...Hey look I found a shark!
Be a worker.
What will help you when you feel frustrated? - Dancing


Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Welcome!


Welcome to kindergarten!  We are so glad you're here! 

This is the place where we share things that are happening in our kindergarten classrooms.  We want parents to feel connected to Cascade View Elementary and we know that you can't be with us all the time.  We love taking pictures and this is a great place for us to share them.  We ask that you check the blog about once a week to see if we've added any new posts.  If there is something we are dying for you to see, we'll make sure to send the link in an email.  There is always excitement in kindergarten and we can't wait to get started!

Happy New School Year!