Posts filed under ‘Kindergarten’
Technology at Allen Brook School by Lily, Parker and Kevin
We have iPads, computers in classrooms and a Technology lab. We all interviewed students and teachers about technology. If you want to learn about technology at Allen Brook School you have to keep reading!
Technology Lab by Lily
In the Technology lab you can learn on Type To Learn Jr. It teaches you to type on the keyboard; you learn ABC’s, 123′s and sentences. With Star Falls you can learn ABC’s and to read. There’s music, too. Learning is fun in the tech lab. First you type in your name, then you type in your password and then you go to a web site. There are 23 computers and a printer.
I interviewed Mrs. Rogers in Synergy. Her class goes to the Technology Lab about every two weeks to learn something new. Then they practice in class on laptops and classroom computers. They use Google Earth, word processing, student blogs, art and favorite internet sites. Ms Munt in Harmony said that they use the Paint program to add pictures to their words. They made a Voicethread of their wishes for the world. They also use Type to Learn 4 and a program called Animationish to learn about matter.
I asked Jasmine in Horizon if she liked to use the Tech lab and why. She said she tries to get better and better on the computer. I also asked her what she liked to do best. She said she likes Paint and Type to Learn 4.
iPads by Parker 
Lily, Parker and Kevin stand by the iPad cart.
We have iPads in the tech lab. There is a cart to put the iPads in to recharge. Teachers can sign up to use them in the classrooms. I interviewed some people to learn how they use the iPads. Sabina, who is a second grader in Synergy House, said she can post on the class blog. I said, “Do you use them correctly?” And she said, “Yes.” Collin, who is a second grader in Horizon House said yes to the same question. Collin also said they have iPads to help students learn technology and without them, kids wouldn’t be so smart. I asked him what games he played to learn. He said, “Word Wizard, Word Wall, Bob Books, and Read on Sight.” 
In Ms. Macnee’s room, Kali learns with one of the iPads.
On the iPad, there are games that help you learn. Bob Books have four levels and in every level you spell words. It gets harder and harder. In Word Wall, you try to find a hidden word. Or you can match a word and a picture. In Word Wizard, there’s a broom in the corner to sweep the letters away. There is a big map in Puzzle Map; you drag the states to where they go in the puzzle.
Computers in the Classroom by Kevin 
Ava and Wyatt work together in Mrs. Dyer’s classroom.
Our computers have Star Falls. It has music and letters. On the v, on the first part it just shows you a vacuum cleaner, then it goes away and a V just boings up. It has an uppercase and a lower case. In my classroom, we all get to use the computers during ease-in time. We wait in line if someone else is on them and we can watch. Sometimes it is a station to go to the computers during work time.
In Ms. Schwartz’s class they use them before Morning Meeting and during Writers’ Workshop. The students looked for pictures for ‘All About’ books. The kids also use them for their own blogs and to finish work they started in the Tech Lab.
We think that everybody likes the technology and that it is very important.
The Snowy Day Stories by Mrs. Spagnuolo’s Class
Kindergarten students wrote about activities for a snowy day after reading the story by Ezra Jack Keats. Enjoy hearing their ideas. Please comment below.
Our Community Song
Kevin and Lily show two books from the Kindergarten Community study.
Our Community Song
by Kevin and Lily
Our Community Song is about our school community. We talked about community in our classrooms. The song is about things that happen in our school like being safe, being kind and being responsible. Kevin says that community can be about people in a town. Lily says that it can mean people in the state and the earth. Lily and Kevin think that community means working together.
We interviewed Mrs. T-H, our music teacher. We asked her who wrote Our Community Song. She said that Mrs. Tatlock, the person who helps us be safe, kind and responsible, wrote the words and that she wrote the music. Mrs. T-H thinks a community is people working together.
We interviewed Mrs. Tatlock. We asked her what the song is about. She said it is about school rules. Next we asked, “How did you and your friends come up with the song?” She told us who wrote the words. It was Mrs. Tatlock, Mr. Terko, Ms. Kozlik, Ms. Pouliot, and Ms. Casey. They got together and thought of rhyming words. It was fun. Mrs. T-H wanted to help so she wrote the music.
The last question was, “Why so you like the song so much?” She said it was because she helped write it, she loves music and music brings everybody together.
Four Winds in My Classroom by Parker
L to R: Jaden and Oliver are tearing the log apart to try and find bugs.
Four Winds was about rotting logs. First, we learned it takes eight years for a log to turn to soil. The Four Winds volunteers counted out, “one year, two years, etc.” while we all made sounds of rain or wind or bugs.
We saw a puppet show. We could see a bear, a raccoon, a spider and a worm. The bear gave them directions to the same home. They all said, “This looks like the home the bear was talking about.” They were having trouble trying to all live there together. They thought that the bear must have made a mistake for them to go to the same home.They figured out how to live together and the raccoon said, “But, there’s one more thing.” The spider said, “What is that?” The raccoon said, “Welcome home.”
At the very end, we tore the logs apart to see if we could find any bugs. I tore one apart and all the ants came out. Sylvie found an egg sac and Asher found a spider that had made a web. We put the bugs in little containers with a magnifying glass cap. Four Winds is very excellent!
Thanksgiving, Graphing and Stone Soup by Lily A.
Shown L to R: Logan, Lily, Jacob and Storey stand in front of the Stone Soup graph.
We have been reading a lot of Stone Soup stories. We were doing a graph. You put your name above the story you like the best.
The class enjoys the ‘stone soup.’
We are eating Stone Soup like in the stories that we read. We cooked the soup with a stone in the pot. No one ate it , though. You can’t eat a stone! The stone was there because in the story it was there to give it flavor.
Thanksgiving Turkeys by Kevin Lahiri
Mrs. Dyer’s class poses with their Thanksgiving turkeys.
Our class made turkeys by cutting feathers and then writing what we are thankful for on each feather. We cut out the body parts and then drew eyes, a nose and a mouth. We all made the turkeys ourselves. We heard stories about turkeys and about Thanksgiving.
I’m thankful for my friend, Nina, and Mrs. Dyer, Allen Brook School, my family and my friends. Bella is thankful for ‘Pillow Pets” and her family. Mitchell is thankful for his Dad, spy goggles and P. E. (Physical Education) Andrew wrote t.v., the food shelf and school. (Our class learned about turkeys at the food shelf.) Mia is thankful for Mia, her home and Mom and Dad. Kaiya is thankful for herself, and the Milky Way.
We helped each other with this project. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!
Visiting the Food Shelf
Parker listens carefully at the Williston Food Shelf.
The Food Shelf
by Kindergarten Reporter, Parker
Ms. Davison’s class walked to the food shelf. Some of the things we brought were Cheerios, fruit snacks, macaroni and cheese, soup and beans.
If people need food, they can come there. You can only come twice a week. They have a list of how many people you are feeding. They have a lot of food in a different room. When the shelves get empty, they replace the food.
They have a lot of healthy fruits and vegetables. They have diapers and they try to have dog and cat food.
We went to the food shelf to learn new things and so they can have more food and never run out. That’s being kind.
WE LOVE KINDERGARTEN by students in all of our Kindergarten Classrooms
Kyle loves painting.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT KINDERGARTEN
In Ms. Spagnuolo’s class we love…
the fact that we can cook. We cooked gingerbread men last week. (Morgan Curtis)
learning to read and playing with friends. (Nicolas Menard)
playing with friends on the playground. (Scout Barbic)
In Ms. Canfield’s class we love…
coloring and drawing pictures. (Trevin Keefe)
gym and the lunchroom recess. (Simon Barrett)
to color and make books. (Amelia Novak)
reading books. (Abigail Rock)
In Ms. Davison’s class we love…
Knuffle Bunny Too. (SylvieMilks)
to look at the Smartboard. (Montana Wright)
playing with friends on the playground. (Sally Wahl)
In Ms. Read’s class we love…
EVERYTHING! It’s awesome. (Alex Clough)
coloring. (Sierra Potter)
drawing. (Nina Zimakas)
In Ms. Dyer’s class we love…
gym and the bus. (Wyatt Wolpert)
getting hot lunch. (Griffin Smith)
being so excited because Mommy packed my thermos. (Mia White)
going on the bus home. (Hiwat Eshete)
In Ms. Macnee’s class we love…
going to the library. (Lily Alban)
the smartboard. (Brayden Carlson)
Kindergarten SO much! (Jacob Underhill
