Pumpkins and Fun Galore

The class was happy to resume school activities after the long weekend, and even more excited to be going on their afternoon field trip to Barthels Fruit Farm. Chaperones and children gathered as they began their adventure to search and find the most interesting pumpkins possible. After finding their golden treasures the children settled into researching them until each child had determined the most appropriate answer for his/her pumpkin. The photographs taken that afternoon indicated that the children were having a great deal of fun yet staying focused on learning as well. A huge thank you to the parents who accompanied us on the trip. You were awesome and the children truly appreciated your guidance throughout the journey. The class wanted to see everyone's pumpkin so the next morning the children set up a block display and soon the children had arranged their treasures from smallest to largest. Throughout the week the class investigated their pumpkins by describing them, weighting them, measuring the height and circumference of them, and finally determining, without getting to wet, if their pumpkins would sink or float. It was amazing to me that each child could pick out his/her pumpkin no matter how may investigations were taking place. Of course the children also wrote an entry in their scrapbooks about their exciting excursion. Next week we will complete exploring the stokes and formations of all upper and lower case letters and begin printing on lined paper. The class is looking forward to the new challenge. The children have been introduced to the am, and at word families through their decodable books. The class had fun acting book 8. Mat. Perhaps your family could act it out as well. Your family may become involved with We Go by sequencing the characters and suggesting items they may be brought to the picnic. Remember revisiting familiar books and interacting with them in various ways gives children a sense of ownership and confidence as readers. Ted Arnold, our visiting author, gave an outstanding presentation to the to the Preprimary grades. It might be a nice surprise to purchase a book or two of his for our upcoming holidays. Our class was lucky enough to win an illustration of Charlie, a main character in the book No Jumping on the Bed. The audience also learned that the character Fly Guy was first introduced in the book, Green Wilma, though he was not given that name until later. The children became story tellers themselves this week and they used their storyboards to retell The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Ms. James' JK class. They were great at engaging the children and even gave them an opportunity to tell the story. I was tickled pink with the success of this special activity. Your child brought home the storyboard this weekend. Please place it in a special place so your child may share it with family, friends, and guests often. We concluded the week by inviting our third grade buddies to join our conversation in how deciduous trees change color and lose their leaves in fall. We then walked around the campus looking for an tree that would say to us " Please study me!" We found our SK Tree and named it Golden Blossom. Hip, Hip, Hooray for our beautiful fall season. Enjoy your weekend!