Today's Centers:

Fall Bingo

Tangrams

Build a hundreds chart or calendar

Listening to good books

Writing Cards

Reading Nook

Celebrate!

Our 5C word for this week is Celebrate!  We are celebrating the end of a successful Face the Facts month here at Discovery.  Children of all grades were asked to do activities at home and at school that would help sharpen their math skill and understanding.

To celebrate that hard work, students were treated to a bowl with apple slices and carmel dip.  It was a big hit!  I wonder how many apple slices ended up being cut to serve at the Discovery students!!!

Our Class enjoying a treat!

All Discovery students got to celebrate our math success together!

Making Connections

Today we had a chance to buddy read with Mrs. Nelson's class.  This is a great way to build connections between communities in the school, across grade levels, between neighbors and across families.  This is a favorite school activity!

The room is full of reading children!

Readers here, readers there...

Readers, readers everywhere!

These two found a quieter place to read.

Reading with little brother

Reading with big sister

Two cousins reading together

Neighborhood friends reading together

The Video!

Free Choice Time

There are two different times of the day that children are given "Free Choice."  One is at the beginning of the day, the other is at the end.  Parents often get to see this activity and I am sure it sometimes looks less than 'instructional.' Sometimes people will ask me WHY do I let the children have such time during the day.  Here is one reason:

(I am trying to post a video here but having some technical difficulties.  I know I did it last year so I will keep trying!)

Yesterday, one student decided to use some small rolled paper in the writing center to make a number line.  Today our class is full of number lines!  And there are awesome discussions about what number should come next!  They are using a blocked 100's chart as a reference and writing those numbers out in order on a line.  They are going back and counting and rechecking that they have the numbers right and didn't miss any.

They did this all on their own!  This is the kind of thing students will do to enhance their learning if you give them an environment in which they can create and make choices.  That is one of the many benefits free time offers to your child!  Yes, it sometimes looks and sounds messy.... but if you look closely.....

A Discovery Tradition

It has become a tradition at Discovery that former Kindergarten students come back and do Reader's Theater presentations for the current Kindergarten students.  They read a 'script' and have simple props or masks to help the story along.

Today was our first presentation.  It was a story about Dog and Cat.  

After the presentation, students introduce themselves and talk to the Kindergarteners about how they practiced and practiced to become better readers.  The Kindies are told if they practice, too, when they are older they can come back and do the same.

Hoppin' Good Work

There is a poster outside our room called the Star Work poster.  At times students will get to have their work displayed on it along with their picture.

Pieces of work are chosen for this poster for many differing reasons.  Sometimes it is because the piece shows extra care or exceptional work.  Other times it may be there because the student worked and worked on it and never gave up.  Sometime the piece shows an important new learning for that student.

If your child's work is chosen for the Star Work poster, (as all do get chosen many times before the end of the year) it will come home with a note attached to it explaining that it was displayed on the Star Work poster.  The note has a picture of a frog and says:

Hoppin’ Good Work!

This piece of work was displayed

on our STAR WORK poster..

It was chosen because it displayed

outstanding work quality,

persistence, or new achievement!