Field Day Fun!

The Kindergarten enjoyed a day of detailed drawing, challenging games, and tasty watermelon. It was a beautiful day and a truly successful Field Day filled with laughter, cheers, and excitement!

 

We started the day with chalk drawings. Michael and Finn work carefully to stay in the lines of the drawing. 

Students were separated into 25 groups. They worked with students in different grade levels to fill in the drawings done by 7th and 8th grade students. 

Colin blows giant bubbles on the court with friends!

Noah observes carefully to see if his bubble is still intact. 

You did it Tessa!

 

Students could also use bubbles that made interesting shapes and designs. 

Jacob throws a football into a hoop. His partner for the day, Valentino, cheers him on!

Bowling was a familiar game for many students.

"Stand back! Here I go!"

"I want it to be a medium setup!" Justin works to knock down all the water pins!

Drip, Drip, DROP! was a popular game, mostly due to the refreshing feeling of water on such a warm day! Similar to Duck, Duck, GOOSE students take turns dripping and dropping bits of water on each other.  Elliott gets a big drop of water on her head!

Madyson runs to get away from the person she dropped a sponge full of water on!

Drip or Drop?

           

RUN...

AND

JUMP!

Theo takes a running start to see if he can beat his jumping record!

Valentino and Jacob practice basketball together.



Ryli and Daniel wait patiently in line for their turn. They check out their score cards and decide what they have left to do!



Finn takes a swing to score some points at hockey!

Potato sack races were a fun way to end the day. It was tricky for Kindergarten due to the large size of the sacks they were hopping in!

We even had a first lost tooth! Such a fun and exciting day indeed. 

Field Day was an exciting way to end our year! Friends, fun, laughter and of course watermelon! The Water class cheers "Field Day!" before heading back to school.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful, caring, and wonderful children with me. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to know all of you this year and I greatly appreciate all your kind words, helpful comments and thoughtful gifts. Please keep in touch and remember to come visit us next year!

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed summer vacation!

 Summer Writing!

How do you help your child develop over the summer and prepare him/her for reading in first grade? Create space for your child to write. 

The rules for writing are simple in Kindergarten and entering first grade. First, draw a detailed picture. Second, write the sounds you hear in words that tell your story. Finally, reread your work to make sure you didn't forget anything important. 

 The child should write a story that involves their own experiences. It could be something from the past, a hope for the future, a general interest, or a dream the child had. This provides the child with ample details to draw from, like Ryli's swimming lesson.

Here, Noah models how to listen for every sound in a word. He stretches words to listen for beginning, middle and ending sounds. Words do not need to be spelled perfectly. The spelling "Uv" for the word "of" is the perfect spelling for Kindergarten and First grade. 

Jacob works to carefully make letters fit the lines. Holding an idea, listening for sounds, identifying letters, and remembering how to form them is hard work! Writing helps to strengthen the child's working memory. 

Finn uses multiple tools and strategies throughout Writing Workshop. He copies familiar words from the word wall and uses a checklist to proofread his work. Going through this proofreading process engages your child in reading without him/her even knowing it. And what power the child experiences when his/her first formal experience with reading is reading his/her own writing!

So, what can you do? 

• Create a space for your child to write. Blank books, stapled pages, and bound journals are great summer tools to have on hand for vacations, camps and general evening routines. 
• Ask, "What sounds do you hear?" Your child doesn't need to write every sound, spell the word correctly, form each letter perfectly, or space every word appropriately. What's most important is that your child feel confident in his/her ability to stretch a word, identify some of the sounds, and write those corresponding letters.
• Don't tell your child how to spell a word. It's the process, not the perfect product, that's important. Spelling patterns will come later.
• Notice what your child does well. Point out details in drawings, carefully formed letters, and interesting ides. Be positive and encouraging. 
• Write along with your child. Grocery lists, thank you notes, and letters to grandparents all model practical uses of writing for your child.
• Hold all things lightly. Drawing and writing should be a fun activity, not burdensome. Follow your child's lead and level of interest. If your child engages joyfully, great! If you're child is disinterested, don't press. There is time.

(In addition to writing, one of the greatest things you can do for your child is talk to him/her in your native language every day. Not only are these moment formative for your child's brain development, they are also formative for the parent-child relationship, the child's positive sense of self, and the child's emotional well-being. So, thank you for the tremendous work you do daily reading to your child!)

Happy Writing!

Peace,
Jenny 

High Line Trip!

The Kindergarten Water class was ready and eager for our trip. We began our journey walking along the Hudson River. 

Students patiently wait on the benches for our train to come. They explain, "Our train is has the number 33 on it!"

"Look at all the lights!" The train ride was exciting as usual.

We made it to New York City and began our walk. We were thankful for cool weather and the absence of rain!

We made it! Students begin to chant, "High Line, High Line!" as we notice the steps we will travel up to get to our destination. 

"I see two ladybugs!" This was an excellent start to our walk through the High Line.

Students found places along the way to stop and draw their favorite flowers. 

"These smell great!"

Students also found different piece of art to observe together. 

"Are you a gardener!?" We watched as careful gardeners cared for the High Line. 

The class met back up together. We ate lunch in front of a real life movie of New York City. Students worked together to count up to twenty taxis!

Due to the cooler weather, we enjoyed a warm cup of hot chocolate before heading back to the Path station. This was an excellent way to end our trip and warm our bodies up!

Students were tired from all the excitement of the day. Many chose to rest on the way back to Hoboken. 

Over the next few weeks students will construct the High Line in blocks, paint urban gardens, and reflect on the trip in Writing Workshop. We look forward to sharing our experience together!

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Students notice the signs of spring with blooming flowers, warmer weather and frequent sneezes! As the weather improves there are more opportunities for work and play outside. Throughout the next few weeks we will enjoy the beauty of spring in various ways!

Students enjoy a beautiful Friday afternoon by taking a trip outside. We picked two trees in our park and took time to observe and draw together. 

Before beginning their work students were asked to use their eyes to look closely at details of the tree. They then traced the tree with their fingers and looked for areas they believe would be challenging for them to draw. 

As they are drawing students learned that looking both at the paper and at the tree was a strategy they wanted to use in order to replicate the tree.

After careful observing students begin to draw the tree as they see it. They were challenged to include all the branches, twigs and flowers in their drawing rather than replicating the "typical" tree they have in their minds. 

Many students explain "This is hard! There are so many branches!"

This activity was a quiet working time. As students finished their work they were encouraged to share their drawings with a friend or teacher. They discussed what they felt was "strong" or what was "hard" about this activity. 

As they finished their drawings with a flair pen students were asked to color in using colors they saw on the tree. Many students used multiple colors to blend in the trunk, grass and flowers.

It was clear that we all see the tree differently. It was our hope that our drawings would look unique and be our individual creation. Students were proud of their drawings and eager to share their finished products with a friend.

There are so many wonderful things to observe in our world. Is there a time or place you could draw together and enjoy the spring changes throughout the next few weeks?