Dear Kindergarten Parents:
The Kindergarten had a wonderful field trip to the Grafton Nature Museum to learn about bats. Thank you to Judy Wagenbach (Kemp's grandmother) and Madeline for driving. Your child might have shared with you that, upon our arrival, a state trooper was there. Sadly, the museum had been burglarized the night before, so there was some extra excitement at the start of our visit. The rest of our time was spent exploring the museum's permanent exhibits and then enjoying an informative session about bats.
This past week we spent quite a bit of time exploring two pumpkins we have in the classroom. We extracted the seeds from each pumpkin and students estimated how many seeds they thought were in each. Estimates ranged from 15 to 1,220. We then actually counted the seeds, dividing them into groups of ten. After counting the seeds by tens, it was determined that the curvy stemmed pumpkin had 470 seeds and the straight stemmed had 430 seeds. In addition, we estimated their weight and then weighed the pumpkins with and without seeds.
Students have been practicing their letters and drawing and writing in their journals. This is a time for them to explore invented spelling, as they begin to decode words by sounding them out. Students have been labeling their pictures and are beginning to write short sentences. Encouraging them to use invented spelling at home is a great way to reinforce these burgeoning skills.
On Tuesday, the Kindergarten and Preschool will travel to Green Mountain Orchard for our traditional hay ride and apple picking. All are welcome to join us. We will leave school on the bus at 10:30 and return in time for lunch at noon.
On Wednesday, the Kindergarten will perform two poems for All School Meeting at 2:15 p.m. in the theater space. Please join us if you can. One is about bats and one about pumpkins.
Finally, I want to officially let you know that Olivia is a big sister. Willa Jane Burns was born on October 14 and all are doing well. We hope to visit with Olivia this week via Skype to learn more about her new baby.
It was a pleasure to meet with you all on Thursday for conferences. This is a wonderful, curious and exciting group to work with. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Libby
Sowing the Seeds of Spring
