Kindergarenters go caroling...

On Monday, December 20 at 8:50 the kindergarten students from Hawthrone will be walking across the street to Thorncrest Nursing Home to sing holiday songs for the residents. 

Happy Holidays!

Our witner break begins Wednesday, December 22.  We will not have school from December 22-January 2.  School starts again on January 3rd.  Hope everyone has a great winter break!

Used Book Sale

There will be a used book sale before and after school on Monday, December 20 and Tuesday December 21 in our media center.  You can buy used books and magazines 2 for 25 cents.  It's a great affordable way to get books for your kids.

Christmas Program

We are all dressed up for our winter program. I tried to get some pictures of them while they were singing, but they did not turn out.

Reading Buddies 12/17/10

Our 3rd grade buddies came and helped us make a book. They were very helpful!

Kindergarten Super Reader Night

Please attend our Kindergarten Super Reader Night tomorrow evening from 5:30-7:00!  We will discuss our reading and math gold standards, swap books, make games to take home, and enjoy a snack.  Don’t forget to come as your favorite super hero!  Hope to see you there!

More Daily 5

The students continue to participate in Daily 5. As they gain more literacy skills the activities in our centers change. The students are starting to build and read words and read books by themselves!

6th Grade Friends Help with Christmas Around the World Book

Our 6th grade friends came to our classroom and helped us put together Christmas Around the World books. They were a big help and we had fun workingwith them.

Winter Program

Our Winter Program is on Wednesday, December 8 at 1:00pm.  Our students have been working hard at learning their songs. We hope to see you there!

Turkey Bingo

Thank you to those who attended turkey bingo. We had a great time!

6th Grade Friends

Mr. Alfson's 6th Grade students came and helped us make our "I am Thankful" books. They were a great help and we had lots of fun. When they finished making their book the 6th graders read to their kindergarten partner.

Morning Journal Time

Each morning the students come into our classroom and begin writing in their writing journals. As they write in their journals they are practicing using uppercase letters and ending their sentences with a period. They are also working on writing their sight words correctly. They often do not know how to spell words so they say the words and write down the letter of the sounds they hear.

Short week this week

There is no school on Thursday and Friday.  Have a great Thanskgiving!

Turkey Creations

We have been busy creating all kinds of turkeys!  We wrote about what we are thankful for as well as something funny we can do.  The students also created a turkey by counting by 10's. 

Website Links

I have added more reading and math links to our blog.  You will find the links located along the left hand side of the page.  You can scroll down to view them all. 

Youtube Videos

I have added links to our blog that will take you to youtube videos we use in our classroom.  They are a fun way to practice a variety of literacy and math skills.  I also posted a few just for fun videos.  Now your child can enjoy these videos at school and at home!

Sight Words

Sight Words
We have been working on the following sight words:

• I
• a
• like
• my
• the
• we

Please practice these sight words with your child.

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Kindergarten Pajama Night Made the Paper!

Our Kindergarten Pajama Night was in the Tuesday, November 2 edition of the Albert Lea Tribune.  You can check out the article by clicking on the following link.

Kindergaten Pajama Night Article in AL Tribune

Free Choice

Kindergarten students learn through play. That is why it is so important to schedule time each day for students to participate in 'developmental' or 'free choice' centers. In our classroom, students participate in Free Choice every day. During free choice students are able to particpate in a variety of centers. At this time, the centers available include: art, writing, legos, reading, math, blocks, barn, puzzles & games, play dough, computer, and iPods. These centers will change throughout the school year to reflect what we are learning during the day. Ask your child which centers they like best.

Daily 5

The students have been participating in Daily 5 for over a month now.  Daily 5 currently consists of four centers (it will eventually be five centers); Read to Self, ABC Word Work, Work on Writing, and Listen to Reading.  Students participate in 2 centers a day while I meet with small groups of students.  Each center provides students with an opportunity to practie a variety of literacy skills.   

Halloween Party

Pumpkin Patch Trip

Community Hero Reader

Officer Mary Schroader visited our classroom today and she read the book Stellaluna.  After reading the book, Officer Schroader talked about her job and answered the students' questions about being a police officer.  The students were excited to have her visit.

iPod Touches in Kindergarten!

It has been an exciting week with technology in kindergarten.  The students have become more familiar with the computers and many of them are able to log on to the computer on their own.  The computer center was added to our free choice time, and the students have been enjoying using the website http://www.starfall.com/.

Besides using the computers, the students were also introduced to iPod Touches this week.  We currently have four iPod Touches in our classroom.  However, we recently recieved grant money from Freeborn Mower Cooperative, which we will use to purchase another iPod Touch.  The students have had a blast learning how to use the different applications on the iPod Touches.  They can use the iPod Touches to practice letters/sounds and numbers.  They can also read books at their own reading level and have books read to them.  It is a fun and engaging way for students to practice a variety of literacy and math skills. 

No School Thursday and Friday October 21 and 22

This week is a short due to MEA.  I hope you have a nice long weekend!

Computer Lab

It was an exciting week in kindergarten as we experienced the computer lab for the first time.  They learned about the parts of the computer (monitor, keyboard, mouse, and CPU).  They also learned how to log in and out of the computer.  We will be going to the computer lab once or twice a week.  The next time we use the computer lab the students will learn how to access our class web page to play math and literacy games.  You can check out our class webpage by going to the district website.  Click on the kid friendly school bus, then click on Hawthorne, then click the red apple by classroom links, and then click on Ms. Reed.   

Welcome

Welcome to our Kindergarten Blog!  I am excited to be able to provide you with updates on what we are learning and doing in our classroom.   Please check our class blog on a weekly basis to find out what your child has been working on. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact me. Feel free to send me a note, e-mail me at ereed@albertlea.k12.mn.us, or call me at school (379-49710).