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Mrs. Hemon

December

Our classroom has been as busy as Santa's workshop! We started the month learning about Polar Opposites: Antarctica and the Arctic. We learned which animals live in each place and how they've adapted to living in cold climates. We did several experiments to learn about those adaptations, such as wearing a "polar bear paw" mitten made of zippered plastic bags and shortening, then sticking both our hands in the snow. The students were amazed that the hand in the "paw" stayed nice and toasty while the other hand got cold. We also learned about the waxy coating on a penguin's feathers repelling the water. Ask your child to tell you more about what we did.

In Math, we've been practicing how to count, read, and write the numbers 11 to 20.

In Language Arts, we finished up the last of the CAPITAL letters in our Handwriting Without Tears books. We're reading holiday books by Jan Brett and writing about events in the stories. We've also had a lot of fun unwrapping a book and reading a Christmas story each day just for pleasure. Reading is "snow" much fun!

This week we've been working on our "Top Secret Christmas presents" with grades Pre-K to 2. The children have been very patient and excellent listeners during this busy time. They can't wait to show you what they've done! (Pictures to be posted after the holiday break so we don't ruin the surprise.).

November

November may be a short month, but the days go by fast and are jam-packed! In Math, Kindergarten is continuing to practice the numbers 0-10, including recognizing, reading, writing, counting, and comparing. In Science, we have learned a bit about rocks and the different ways they are formed. We did an experiment where we tried to make a sedimentary rock in a cup. Children who added a little bit of glue were successful, but those who added a lot of glue ended up with a gooey mess even after more than a week of drying time. In Language Arts, both Pre-K and Kindergarten have been working on capital letters. We have now learned how to read and write all of them except A, I, J, and T, which we'll focus on after Thanksgiving break. Once we are done the capital letters, we'll cycle through the alphabet again, this time focusing on the lowercase letters.

October

We began the month of October with a scientific investigation of apples. We used our five senses to explore the apples, then wrote about our observations. The middle of the month was spent on a Social Studies unit about Kindness. We are ending the month with another Science unit about Pumpkins.

We have learned how to read and write the letters R, N, M, H, K, L, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. We will learn the Center Starting Capitals next week, beginning with Magic C, "the amazing letter than can transform into all sorts of other letters!"

In Math, we have been reading, writing, and counting numbers 0 to 10. We are working hard on counting groups of objects accurately.

As always, we have been reading lots of books. It is very exciting for me to watch the children sit down with a partner and retell the story based on the pictures, and point out known words on the pages. These are all the building blocks of foundational skills of reading.

September was a super busy month! We've been working on routines and procedures, getting to know each other, and diving into the curriculum. We learned all about monarch butterflies, then a bit about farms. We've practiced the capital letters F, E, and D and are listening for their sounds. We've been learning how to read, write, and count 1-5. We've learned the high frequency words the, and I. Next up is see and an apple exploration.

Released!

We successfully released 10 butterflies. A few of the children were able to watch the last three butterflies emerge from their chrysalis.After their wings were dry, we took the habitat outside and opened the door. As the butterflies flew away, the kids happily told them "Have a safe trip to Mexico!"

Excitement on 8/30/18

We noticed some changes in our habitat right before we left for the weekend. The students made me promise to get flowers so the butterflies have something to eat when they do emerge.

Chrysalis

So after school I picked some wildflowers and put them in the habitat. Check out the "housing cluster" in the corner. :) There are a total of 10 chrysalises in there.

Flowers

First Day of Kindergarten 8/28/18

We had a great first day of Kindergarten. We began the day with free choice centers, followed by Morning Meeting. The students went to Art with Mr. Wade, then had snack. After snack, we carefully observed the habitat in the classroom and discovered 10 chrysalises. The children did their best scientific drawings of them, paying attention to the shape, size, and color. After that we did an exploration of the Lego bricks and built all sorts of creations. We went out to recess with First and Second Grades. After we came back inside, we explored the playdough and playdough tools. We had lunch (Yum!), then listened to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The children found their names on the coconut tree display in the hallway, then made their own tree to display using a variety of materials. For Math time, we read Caps for Sale and counted the objects on the pages. We had snack again in the afternoon, while watching The Letter Factory. The movie ended just in time for dismissal. What a busy day!

August 2018

As summer vacation draws to a close, I've had a few parents reach out and ask what supplies they should get for the PreK or Kindergarten student(s). SCS happily supplies everything except for a backpack (should fit a standard 8.5X11 agenda that you'll receive when school starts), possibly a lunch box, and shoes with a sole (no slippers, please). If you have any questions, please email me at lhemon@scs.sau7.org. I look forward to seeing Kindergarten on August 28th and PreK on September 4th!