Getting Ready for Next Year!
We are all getting ready for next year! Kindergarteners will become first graders and first graders will be going off to second grade! Kindergarteners have progressed so much this year! They are independent, helpful, self-sufficient, decision-makers, and problem solvers! Kindergarteners are now working on more content based material and working toward their own personal goals. They learning to manage their time with more works on their work plans as the work load gradually increases! Give your kindergarten student a high-five! First graders are now experts at being teachers and mentors to our kindergarteners. They are leaders and ready to move on to second grade because they have worked hard all year to hone their crafts in math, writing and reading during work time. First graders are dealing with the excitement of moving on to another grade, but also may also be having a hard time leaving the comfort of their sturdy K/1 years. Give your first grader a huge pat on the back for all the work they’ve done.

10 Day Count Down:

I'm sure you've hear by now but we've been doing a ten day count down in class. Each day the students have been able to pop a balloon to find a fun surprise activity. This is what we've done so far. Ask your child what they think will happen next week!
Day 10 Extra Recess
Day 9- Game Day ( we played dictionary)
Day 8-Gum Day

Readers Workshop/Writers Workshop

This week in readers and writers workshop we continued our poetry unit. In writers, the students wrote onomatopoeia, alteration, and emotion poems. They have been compiling their poems in a poetry book they will bring home next week. Next week students will be writing about they "best part of me" and acoustic poems. It was wonderful to see their creativity and excitement to write!

Community Helpers project:

Students are working on researching community helpers. Students have been working in groups to find out about what their community helper does, how they help, who they help, and why they are important. This is another fun project where students are learning how to work together as a team to write, read, and research. They will be presenting those project next week.

Timeline projects: Thank you to everyone who turned in their timeline projects. They students have loved sharing about their lives and are proud of the work they put into the project. Please look for those to be displayed in the hall all around our school!

Volunteers

Thank you so much to all our parent volunteers who have helped out in the classroom, at school events, brought in snacks/supplies, attended field trips, run after school programs, and helped with prepping materials. We appreciate all that you do for our class and our school. I know I speak for all the teachers at Leschi, THANK YOU!!!!! Please join us on Wednesday for a special appreciation breakfast from 8:30-9:00 and a special recognition at the all school BBQ.

As the year is wrapping up please take a look at the calendar for upcoming dates such as Field day, Field trip to the fire station and summer birthday celebrations.

IMportant Dates:
Wednesday June 10th: Field Day and school BBQ ( no lunch needed this day)
Friday June 12th Field Trip to the firestation
Tuesday JUne 16th Last Day of school 1:50 Early Release

Summer Birthday Celebrations:

Monday June 8h : Hayden
Tuesday June 9th : Aisha
Wednesday June 10th : Olive
Thursday June 11th : Solene
Friday June 12th : Brandon

Jog-A-Thon

Wow! I love being part of jog-a-thon it is an amazing event that really brings our classes, school, and community together! Thank you to everyone who helped count laps, set up/take down, and cheer our students on. This event helps get kids outside and builds team spirit! The students had so much fun and loved running out yelling, " GO skittles" Not only did they cheer on each other, but they cheered on all their friends and other students.

Writers Workshop This week students finished their fiction writing. They have been working incredible hard to add details to their writing and pictures. They were able to write detailed stories where their characters faced problems that they had to try to solve. It is amazing to see all the growth that they have been able to make this year. In the beginning of the year some students were not even writing letters, now they are writing pages! That is something to celebrate, look forward to seeing those stories come home soon!

Readers Workshop

This week in readers workshop we started our poetry unit. We looked at some different poems and discussed some things that we noticed while reading them. We noticed that poems can rhyme. We also noticed that you can use your 5 senses to describe them. Students noticed that poems usually address one subject and can articulate particular feelings. We read a lot of silly poems by Shel Silverstein and will continue to hear many different poems over the next few weeks.

Timeline Project

Today I sent home a new homework assignment that students will work on over the next week. The timeline project should be a fun family activity, but where the students are working independently. These do not have to be fancy or elaborate, but rather a chance for you to work with your child. Let them show you how much they have grown in their reading, writing, and presenting skills. A great idea would be to have them practice presenting for the rest of your family, to help them get ready to present to the class!

Geography: This past week we learned about Spain. We watched how Paella was made and watched flamingo dancers. The students also learned about Picasso. They learned about his different painting stages and famous works. They also learned about cubism and tried replicating their own Picasso work, "BOUQUET OF PEACE". We've also been reading about Greek God's along with other Greece culture.

Nina Laden

We had an amazing opportunity this week to have a special author visit. Nina Laden is a local Seattle author who writes many famous books just as Peek-a-WHo, Peek-a-Zoo, Roberto the Insect Arcitect, and Pigasso and Mootiese. Nina told the students about her experiences writing when she was younger and even shared a book she wrote when she was 9.

Happy Mothers Day!

I was able to celebrate mother's day this year in a different way and have an even greater appreciation for all the mothers/grandmothers/aunts/ and women in the world. I hope you all enjoy this special day with your family! You deserve it for all the hard work and love you commit to your child everyday! I know they appreciate every little bit of it.
Teacher Appreciation Week!

Thank you so much to all our families for making us feel so special during this week’s Teacher Appreciation week! We feel so lucky to have such amazing families at our school. We couldn’t do it without your support! Thank you again, we appreciate it!

Readers Workshop With only a few pages left of Mouse and the motor cycle the kids are at the edge of their seat. It has been a wonderful learning experience to sit and listen to a chapter book with no pictures. It has really taught students to imagine the characters, setting, and events in their mind. We often stop and recall what is happening, what problems are occurring, what solutions have happened. We've taken a deeper look at how the characters relate and how they have changed. These are all great skills that students should start to work on with all books that they read.

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Readers Workshop:

We have starting reading our first class chapter book. The mouse and the motorcycle! The students are already hooked. Students have been working on learning how to recognize the characters emotions and feelings. The students also learned about what a narrator is and how to recognize when characters are speaking. We've taken a closer look into how context clues in the books can help us learn more the characters, problems, and connections to the book. Ask you child what has been their favorite chapter so far.

Writers Workshop:

Our class has been working very hard on writing their fiction stories. They have learned about fantasy and realistic fiction. Students have been working on how to brainstorm different settings for their stories. They have also been working on adding their characters emotions not only to their writing, but their pictures as well.

Science:

The students have done a ton of exploration with the organism unit lately. We've looked at isopods and how they compare to our mealworms. Students also looked closely how our aquarium and terrariums have changed. We noticed that we had baby snails!!! The students were very excited about that discovery. We also did an experiment to see if isopods prefer wet or dry soil, we found out they like wet. We talked about why they might like a wet soil habitat vs. dry, ask your child what they think?

Geography: This week students finished learning about India. Student's were able to explore their artistic side with using different spices from India to paint designs. The students loved smelling and explore the textures of the spices. We also performed a Bollywoood dance for Ms. Chin's class. Both classes practiced and rehearsed different dances and performs for each other. The students loved learning a different style of dance and music. Next week we are starting to study Europe, exploring Germany first!

Reminders:
Zoo Field trip tomorrow- remember you sack lunch and good walking shoes.
Aladdin Play- Will be on 5/7 at 2:00 at school and at 6:00 pm at night
Jog-a-thon is 5/15 (9:00-12:00)

Readers Workshop: The past few weeks in readers workshop we have been working on Author studies. Our class choose to read books written by Peter Reynolds. We compared characters, setting, problems, solutions and how the characters felt. We also took a look at how the characters feelings changed through out the story. We learned more about Peter Reynolds: like how he is a Twin, how he has always loved to draw, and how he runs his own production buisness. Ask you child what their favorite book was, what was a problem and solution in the sory, and how did the character in the story change?

Writers Workshop: To go along with our readers workshop unit students wrote book reviews. Students learned about how to write a summary, just a little information about the book. They also learned to rate and recommend books. Students wrote their feelings and reasons why they recommended a particular Peter Reynolds book. On Friday we met up with all the K/1 classrooms to read other book reviews. Students read book reviews about Mo Williams books, Kevin Henkes, and Ezra Keats.

Geography: Students learned a lot of new information about Russia these past two weeks. We learned about the Red Square and they painted their own version of the St. Basil's Cathedral. We also learned about the famous Russian Ballet and the dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Some students had to label the rivers, lakes, seas, mountians, and pensiulas in Russia. We painted our own verison of a famous Kadinsky work while listen to music by the famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ask your child what they found most interesting about studying Russia

Science:

We've really jumped into our new science unit organisms. Students have so far invesitgated and observed the inside of a lima bean, woodland plants, mosss, duckweed, elodea, and planted their own seed. Over the next few weeks we will continue to think about what does a living organism need to grow? We will also take a closer look at cloud fish and snails. As new plants are growing for spring ask your child if they have any ideas about what they think living organisms need to survive.

Roots of Empathy: This week baby Sam came to visit. He has grown so much!!! We learned about Communication. How babies communicate. What are some ways to positively engage a baby and foster language development How do we recognize the baby's temperament. Why it is important torespond to a baby's efforts to communicate. How we can connect to one another and the baby. Understand more about how a baby develops and learns.

St. Patricks Day

Having some Irish heritage, I of course have to celebrate big on St. Patty's day. Our classroom had so much fun reading an Irish legend about the gift of Blarney, making hats for leprechauns, writing How to's on how to trap them and building traps with their buddies. While we didn't catch any leprechauns this year they left our classroom in quite a mess, took all the gold, left rainbow treats, and shrunk our hats. It was a fun day for the students to really use their imagination and creativity to build their traps.

Readers Workshop:

This week we took a look at new author, Peter Reynolds. We are starting an author study for our next reading unit. This is a great way for students to be inspired by famous children's book authors. Each K/1 class is picking an author to study, at the end of the unit we are going to have a fun read-a-thon celebration. This week we read the story Ish and talked about how the characters in this story were feeling. Ask your child about the character Ramone!

Writers Workshop: We finished our opinion writing last week. Students ended the week by writing their own opinion piece. Many students were able to write their opinion, give multiple reasonings, and restate their opinion with a great ending. The students really grew as writers throughout this unit. They were able to add more and more to their writing. Our next unit will be persuasive writing. Ask your child to read their opinion piece to you!

Science: We just received our new science kit, ORGANISMS. Students brainstormed with their partners last week what do living things need to survive. In the next couple of weeks students will take a closer look at seeds and different plants. We also will learning about two types of fish, snails, and a variety of bugs. This is a fun unit for students to take a closer look at organisms.

Since Friday was the first day of spring the students wrote about some signs of spring. We then had a special guest, Baby Eadlyn!!! The students read about about the first signs of spring to Eadlyn

Forestry/Garden Club:

This was our first forestry day. We will have a lesson each month for our fabulous forestry/ garden club teachers Jana Robbins and Kim Blakemore. We learned about organisms in the forest (peppi's park). The students sang a great little song about " Is it living, does it eat, breath, and grow?" This is a great conversation to have with your child about what things are living/organisms we see each day.

Geography: This week we studied Turkey. Students learned about paper marbling and were able to taste test a few turkish foods. The students tried pita bread, hummus, tzatziki, and carrot/raison salad. We also watched a video on how these foods were made. Ask your child which one they liked the best and maybe try it at home.

Star Student: Zoe is our Star Student this week. Zoe has been very welcoming and a great friend to students in our class. This week I saw her working with new friends and showing them new works. Zoe also has been challenging her self in readers and writers workshop. She has moved up reading levels and is continue to try and write more and more! She has really been a welcoming and supportive friend to our classroom and school community. Keep up the great work Zoe!

Worktime: Sorry that I've been so behind on our classroom news. There is a lot to catch up on and celebrate. Wow the growth students have made during worktime is amazing! This past week was the best week students have had all year. They were incredible focused and driven. Many students are starting to really challenge themselves and set high goals. Students have been very motivated to finish their work plans, learn new works, move up reading levels, get a math binder and learn new math works. It is great to see the whole class helping to motivate each other and working together to meet their goals. Ask your child what they feel has been their biggest accomplishment lately?

Readers Workshop:

This week in Readers Workshop students were working on practicing re-tell strategies. Students learned about the character, setting, problem/solutions and events (Beginning, Middle, and End). We learned how to stop and check in through out the story to make sure you know whats happening. After reading students learned how to tell across their fingers to recap important parts/characters in the story. We also took a look at different ending sounds such as "ed" and "ing" to help us tell if something is happening or already happened. Practice looking for those endings and retelling while you read with your child.

Dr. Seuss Day:

Last week students ended our week of celebrating Dr. Seuss by doing a fun activity in each K/1 classroom. During the week students read Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Tere's a Wocket in my Pocket, and If I ran the Zoo. Students participate in an activity that matched each book such as making their own Wocket, creating their own crazy animal for the Zoo, making their own Hat, and trying green eggs and ham! It was a fun way to celebrate Dr. Seuss while visiting other classrooms!

Writers Workshop:

We've embarked on a new writing unit, opinion writing! Students were able to watch four movie previews and then write about which movie they thought was the best and why. Students did a great job adding more details and really trying to convince me their favorite movie. Ask you child which movie they choose? Last week we also did a fun lesson with Oreo's where students Planned with a partner Oreo opinion writing. We imagined the top the cookie our opinion, the middle the reasons/details, and the bottom where we restate our opinion. After students planned their writing, they got to eat their Oreo and get started writing. Students did a great job going back and planning their opinion, reasons, and then restating. We are going to continue opinion writing over the next week and really dive into giving great reasons to support our opinion. Brainstorm with your child about some ideas they could write about, this is a great conversation to have and ask them to support their reasoning.

Geography:

Last week students took a closer look at South Korea. Students learned about their flag and a fun game called, Yut (Four-Stick Game). It was fun for students to learn about a different culture and games they play for fun. This week students have been learning more about Turkey. They learned that Turkey is surrounded by three seas, is part of Asia and Europe, and more about some of the amazing food they eat! Students have had a chance to decorate their own textile square using crayons and water colors. We'll continue studying Turkey this week, while getting to end the week trying some traditional Turkish dishes.

ROE: Roots of Empathy we've been learning about safety. Baby Sam came to visit the other week and it is amazing to see how much he has grown. The other week he crawled for the first time while visiting us! Since then he is crawling much more, using his pincher grip, and really working on developing his fine motor skills. Students are helping to recognize how to keep babies safe and making more and more connections to Baby Sam's emotions.

Star Student:

Violet- Violet these past few weeks has really pushed herself. She has become much more independent during worktime. She is able to look at her workplan for the week and see what she needs to do to finish it. She has been practicing everything we talk about in readers and writers workshop and applying it to her own reading. She has moved up several reading levels and continues to challenge herself. Yahoo Violet!

Robbie- Robbie really set up as a great role model in the class. He has been welcoming in class and making new friends as well as joining in with others at recess. He has been focused during worktime and learning new works to add to his workplan. He has been participating more in our readers/writers workshop and sharing out his great thinking. Way to go Robbie!

Sarah- Sarah really stepped up this week as a leader in our class. She was following directions everyday and really setting a great example. She also challenged herself with new work. She finished a whole section of her language work plan by working on it everyday. During writers workshop she was focused not only on adding more to her opinion writing, but really stretching out her words to do her best guess spelling. She has become much more independent in trying her best. Keep up the great work Sarah!