We started off our school year focusing on grace and courtesy to teach and fulfill our student’s innate need for order. Every student has a need to know and to absorb the social structures in order to be more at ease in their environment. Grace and courtesy lessons give the student the vocabulary, actions, and steps required for them to build their awareness and responsiveness of those around them. We worked on walking in the classroom, using our inside voices while in the school building, using kind words to one another, using safe hands, how to clean up our area when we are done working and how to use our words to express our feelings.

 

The third week of school we talked and learned about community helpers. We had many parents, family members and friends volunteer to come in and talk to the children. They briefly described their occupation, they talked about where they work, what they wear, tools they use, and tasks they perform. I would like to thank all of the volunteers that came into the classroom! It was a wonderful learning experience for both the students and teachers!

 

The fourth week of school we discussed families, each student has a chance to share their family tree with their friends. Their family trees included their name, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. The students also brought pictures of their families either on the family tree or hard copies for the children to share with their friends. The children enjoyed learning more about their friends and where they came from. It was great to see the students discover the differences and similarities in all of the families and accept every family for who they are.

 

The fifth week of September we talked about feelings and emotions. The students brainstormed things they could do when they were angry, happy, sad, frustrated, and excited. Then they discussed with one another whether the reaction they came up with was a good choice or a bad choice. The students did a great job learning how to manage their emotions. We role played how to process, identify and appropriately express their emotions as much as possible. After a few days of talking about feeling and emotions it was great to hear the students tell their friends what they were feeling and why on their own.

 

The last week of September we explored the five senses of touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing. During this week the students got a chance to identify the different senses. Compare and classify items using their sense.

Kindergarten

We kicked off Kindergarten with a lot of Geography. The students learned about the seven continents, fun facts about the continents, and a few countries in each continent. The students became very familiar with the cardinal directions, the equator, the prime meridian, and the hemispheres. We took a look at our home state of Ohio and the surrounding states (their abbreviation and nickname). Make sure you ask your child all about Ohio! They will be able to tell you that the cardinal is the official bird, scarlet carnation the official flower, lady bug is the official insect, and tomato juice is the official drink. You will want to contact a company like Mid-Atlantic Wildlife Control that handles groundhog control in your city. They learned how we are the buckeye state and that the official rock and roll song is Hang on Sloopy.

 

Art
By: Ms. Faith

The first month of school the students learned many new and exciting things about their classroom, teachers, and friends. They also discovered how much fun art class is with Ms. Michele. Throughout the month, students were taught the rules and procedures for different art materials. To start off the first lesson, Ms. Michele discussed what an artist is and we decided that they create things. The students then made an Eric Carle inspired tissue paper butterfly using shapes cut out of tissue paper, coloring over top using crayon rubbings over different textures, and then gluing the shapes to create a beautiful butterfly. The next lesson was all about primary colors. There are three primary colors and they are red, blue, and yellow. The students then created their house by gluing black construction paper onto paper and then used primary colors to paint their houses. Ms. Michele showed the class works from Piet Mondrain who is best known for painting with lines and primary colors. Our third lesson was all about patterns. The class learned what a pattern is and practice making patters before creating their own flowers using oil pastels and filling them with different colors and patterns. Ms. Michele showed the students how paintings of flowers have changed over the years from realistic to more abstract by looking at works from Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gough, and Andy Warhol.

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During the fourth week, the little artists learned about secondary colors, which are the colors that primary colors make when mixed. We learned about a local artist, Don Drumm who is know for his sun sculptures, so the students got to make sun, sun catchers using Modge Podge mixed with food coloring on clear plastic. The colors blend together and when they are dry, the sunlight shines beautifully through. To end the month, we got to create shape animals using shapes cut out of construction paper and glued together on another piece of paper. The inspiration for this piece comes from an artist named Charlie Harper. He created wildlife prints using simple shapes. The students love getting to use the art materials and learn how talented they are. We can’t wait to see what next month’s art lessons will bring.

 

Music
By: Ms. Faith

All the students get so excited when it’s music day and it’s no wonder why. Ms. Lisa brings music and movement to their lives once a week. In music class, the little musicians learn how to use different musical instruments such as tambourines, egg shakers, and rhythm sticks. Ms. Lisa also teaches musical terms and plays games with the class to help them remember the term. So far, we have learned Adagio which means slow, Allegro, which means fast, Piano which means soft, and Forte which means loud. Our music teacher brings puppet friends with her and makes them move slow or fast and sing loud or soft to help the students guess the musical term. Every class, the kids get to sing to the puppet friend and either sing in a Piano or Forte voice. The students also learn many valuable life lessons like patience and following directions through music class. They have to learn how to use the instrument properly and how to wait for Ms. Lisa to tell them when they can pick their instruments up. It’s amazing to see how much the students improve over the school year with their rhythmic skills and ability to use the materials. Throughout the week, students will ask when Ms. Lisa is coming because they love learning about music with her.

 

Science
By: Ms. Faith

For our first science experiment of the year we made explosive chalk with cornstarch, water and food coloring. We added an alka seltzer which made it pop and send the sidewalk chalk bursting out, creating beautiful chalk art.

 

The second week we put different candy bars in a bowl of water, some of them sank and floated. We discovered that if something is more dense than water, it sinks. Snickers will sink, but a 3 Musketeers bar will not because it contains trapped air, so it’s less dense than water.

 

The third week we made a bottle rocket using a 2 litter, cork, water and bike pump.

 

The fourth week we soaked an egg in vinegar and highlighter. The eggshell dissolved and a glowing effect occurred because the vitamins are fluorescent. When the eggshell dissolved the membrane of the egg became permeable so some amount of the glowing vinegar infused the egg, causing it to glow!

 

The last week of September we made ice grow by putting colored water in the freezer until it got slushy like. We then dumped the water on ice cubes keeping the stream of water going moving it around a bit and our ice grew taller.