Winter Craft Centers

My Favorite Christmas Book!

Yesterday I read my favorite Christmas book to my kiddos and they loved it! The best part of December is reading holiday books- so much fun. Don't forget that Friday is pajama day- wear you pajamas to school (no slippers):)

Needs, Wants, and Money

We are starting our unit on Economics (what a big word for kindergarten!). We are discussing the difference between needs and wants and how money is used to buy things. Above are some of the books we are reading. Next week we will be earning dollars from the teachers and at the end of the week we will get a chance to choices with our money by buying different little trinkets in the classroom.

December Update!

Happy Turkey Day!

Congratulations to Mr. Kipman, a fifth grade teacher, for winning the turkey canned food drive contest. My class was a little sad that I didn't win a chance to wear the costume, but Mr. Kimpan was so nice to come visit our class and pose for a picture. Thank you so much for all who donated cans of food for the food pantry! Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Centers

We are Thankful!

This great lesson was created in the computer program kidspiration:)

Science Lab- Exploring the Five Senses

The Power of Quality Literature.

Can You Help our Class?

We are in need of a home volunteer to sharpen a big bag of pencils for us. If you are able to help out our class and have a sharpener at home, please email me at rebecca.rose@vbschools.com. We will send home the bag of pencils with your child. We really, really appreciate it! Thank you for helping our students be good writers!

Q is For Duck

Today Mrs. Law came to our class to do a creative lesson. She read the book "Q is for Duck" - an alphabet guessing game book.

Our Fall Pumpkin Day!

Painting Leaves and Drawing Trees

Today we painted leaves during SPARCH and drew pictures of a fall tree in our science notebooks.

What is a Scientist?

Today we extended our "what is a scientist" lesson with Mrs. Law. We looked at a leaf magnified under the smart camera. We also explored leaves with our five senses.

Shape Project Using Kidspiration

Today we studied shapes in the computer lab and completed this technology activity using the program kidspiration.

JBD's Literary Pumpkins

Checkout the media coverage about JBD's literary pumpkin project by clicking here!

Donations Needed:)

Hi Parents- We are down to our last bottle of soft soap. If possible, please send in any soap donations with your child. We love to be healthy in kindergarten and always wash our hands before snack. Thanks!

Wednesday is Picture Day!

Wear your smile- tomorrow is picture day!

Our First Gifted Resource Lesson

On Friday, Mrs. Law our gifted resource teacher came to teach our first whole group gifted lesson. Her lesson was "What is a Scientist?" and she gave partners different tools to analyze and discuss what they could be used for. Mrs. Law will visit our class once a week to help us with critical thinking, creative thinking, and analytical reasoning.

IPADS

Friday we used the IPADS and the kiddos did great! Thanks for sending in headphones for your child to use.

The Fall Festival is Coming!

Fall Festival
Saturday, October 22
RAIN OR SHINE
12 - 5pm

Make your own scarecrow, pumpkin decorating, DJ music, maze, balloon fun, arts and craft activities, game booths and prizes, hair & face painting,
food & hot cider, cake walk & bake sale,
and moon walk & other inflatable fun.

Spirit Night!

October Newsletter "Sneak Peak"

This will be sent home on Monday:)

Daily Five

The kindergarteners are doing a great job with Daily Five activites. We have worked on "read to self, work on writing, word work, and listening to reading". Above are some pictures of the different activities. Soon we will learn "read to a buddy"

Technology Project

Our New Read Aloud

We have begun reading "My Father's Dragon" which is always a favorite among kindergarteners even though it was written in 1948 (author is Ruth Stiles Gannett). The favorite part is looking at the map in the back of the book that shows all the adventures of the little boy, Elmer Elevator.

Computer Lab

We are continuing to practice using the mouse. These colorful pictures were created on Friday in the computer lab using the computer program Pixie.

Thursday is Library Day:)

Hi parents! We had to tweak our class routine for checking out library books. In the past, I have always had my kindergarten students check books out each day they brought one back. But this year our school population has expanded- we have added a new class in several grade levels and have almost 900 students in our school (we are currently the second largest elementary school in Virginia Beach). Anyways, we have tried really hard to do daily checkout this past few days and it is a bit overwelming for our cute little kindergarten students because so many older students are using the library. Our grade level has decided to let the older students establish their library routines first and then later we will try daily checkout in all kindergarten classes. We will now only checkout books on Thursdays- so please make sure your child brings back their library back before or on Thursday of each week. Thanks!

Dr. Adolf Brown

Tonight I went to hear Dr. Adolf Brown speak about bullying at John B. Dey for his program called "one love". Dr. Brown is a national speaker and one special thing about him is that he graduated from Virginia Beach Public Schools. For me, the most compelling part of his program was when he called his third grade teacher (who was his teacher at Newtown Road Elementary) and put her on speaker phone. They chatted about how they both made a difference in each others lives. I always think that no student will remember me because I can't remember my own kindergarten teacher, but knowing that a student and teacher are still in touch after all these years is really inspiring!
Check out his bio and website at http://www.docspeaks.com/.

Reading Independently

We have been working hard on reading to ourselves in class. During "reading to self" we focus on finding a place to read right away, reading the entire time, having "bubble space", and using a quiet whisper reading voice. We have learned to read a book by looking at the pictures, reading words we know, and reading a familiar book.

During this time we also "listen to reading" and we share the computers to listen to tumblebooks.

Library Lessons on Thursdays

Today was library day and your child was able to check out a book to take home. In my class each day a child brings back a library book they are able to check out a new book. Last year I had several students who checked out a new book each day! Occasionally the library is closed for special events- if this happens I will post it on twitter and your child will check out a book the next day. Your child will be responsible for taking the library book out of their backpacks each day. Occasionally we might have a mix up where your child's book is returned, but they didn't bring a new one home (keeping track of 44 students who may or may not bring back library books can get a little confusing for subs or half days). If this happens simply put a note in your child's folder or email me and we will fix the situation immediately. Thanks!

SPARCH

This year we have a new program at JBD with our two wonderful specialists the art teacher, Ms. Rossetti and speech teacher, Ms. Ward. SPARCH combines speech and art lessons and we are so excited to havethis type of class for our kindergarten classes. Stay tuned this year for more pictures of our finished art projects.

Electronic PTA and School Information

Would you like to help our school system save money and valuable volunteer time not to mention make things simpler for the classroom teacher? Please consider signing up for my school mail on the JBD website at www.deyes.vbschools.com. This will allow you to receive PTA and school information through your email on Thursdays.

WANTED: MORNING ROOM PARENT

Please email me if you would consider being our morning class room parent. It is very hard to have a successful year without a room parent and we currently don't have anyone volunteering to do this rewarding job for the morning class. Don't worry! I'll help you with the activities, but I do need a room parent to make our year awesome:) Thanks!

Curious about BookFlix?

Bookflix is something special we use in class and I'm sure your child has meantioned "we watched a bookflix or we watched a book on the smartboard". Last year I wrote and was awarded a grant from a subscription to Bookflix for our entire school. After being awarded the grant, a film crew came to my class to show the educational value of Bookflix in our classroom. I have posted the short video below. I plan on rewriting the grant this year (due around the end of October). The great news is that you can also use Bookflix at home with your child. Please email me if you are interested in using Bookflix and I will email you the login and password. Enjoy the video below!

Open House Information

This is my class letter that I hand out at Open House to my parents in case you are unable to attend. We also show a short movie with general information and examples of hands on learning from last year. . If you are a teacher and would like an electronic copy (which was created in microsoft publisher) to make your own, please email me at rebecca.rose@vbschools.com and I will send it to you immediately. Thanks!

Open House Video

Room Parent Wanted!

Would you like to be our class room parent? The class room parent will organize volunteers for class and school activities and also work closely with teachers on various projects. Please email me at rebecca.rose@vbschools.com if you are interested. We only need one parent for the morning class and one parent for the afternoon class. Thanks!

Welcome

Welcome to Mrs. Rose's Kindergarten Class! We are so excited for the 2011-2012 school year. Please join us for Open House on Thursday, September 1st from 11:00-12:00 to see the classroom and meet the teachers.

We do have a wishlist for our classroom below. Thank you in advance for your donations!
1. AA batteries
2. Tissues

The batteries are for our classroom digital camera which we use to update this blog. Each year we do have students who are unable to provide school supplies. If you are able to provide extra supplies please donate either a box of 24 crayola crayons and/or a small plastic pencil box (please no pink). Thanks!

Become a Techno-Savvy Parent

Are you overwhelmed by technology and all a “twitter” over social media? If so, the Parent Connection Technology Academy is for you! This ten-month series of evening classes is designed to provide parents with the tools and resources needed to assist children with their technology needs.

All sessions will be taught by Virginia Beach School’s Technology Experts – the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students from the Advanced Technology Center. Each class will offer hands-on sessions, an informational booklet and student teachers assisting participants. Sessions will be held at the Advanced Technology Center Theater located at 1800 College Crescent, in Virginia Beach, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. and pre-registration is required. To register, contact the Office of Community Relations at 757.263.1936.

Parent Connection Technology Academy sessions include…

Word Processing—Thursday, August 18, 2011
Internet—Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Buying Computers & Accessories—Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wireless Networking—Wednesday, November 12, 2011
PC Maintenance & Troubleshooting—Thursday, December 8, 2011
PowerPoint—Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Social Networking—February 15, 2012
Spreadsheets—Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Internet Security—Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Freeware & Tips and Tricks—Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The End!

Ice Cream Social

Today we had an ice cream social with all the teachers and support staff that have helped our class this year. It was so much fun and the kiddos were so well behaved. I tried to snap a few pictures, but things got a little hectic so Mrs. Hardesty took a few which was great because I was in the pictures and I was wearing my fun black/yellow party dress. After blogging for so long, I realized I have no pictures of me because I'm always taking the pictures. Thank you teachers for coming to our social- the kiddos were very excited to share our ice cream. When Mr. K walked in all the kiddos cheered making him feel like a rock star. Thank you parents for all the ice cream supplies:)

End of the Year Fun!

Just some snapshots of the end of the year activities....choosing a book to keep for the summer and signing our autograph sheets.

Penny Science Lab

Summer Vacation is Coming!

Summer vacation is almost here!
We are getting very excited in kindergarten because we are about to be first graders. Things are a little hectic at school with finishing up everything before the end of the year. We do have some fun last things planned in the next week.
1. Science Lab this Thursday- this is the lab where we explore pennies. Stay tuned for pics:)
2. Field Day this Friday- we are very excited. I have to confess this is a long day for kindergarten teachers because we are basically outside all day (field day for both am and pm classes), but the kiddos have a ton of fun and I love getting a tan:) Don't forget to put suntan lotion on your child.
3. Lots of playground time- we've been cooped up inside because of SOL testing and the kiddos were so well behaved during these last two weeks. We are going to make time to stretch our wings and run around.
4. Spend quality time together as a class so we have happy memories of the end of first grade.
5. Have the kiddos paint (this goes under quality time).
6. Singing our favorite songs
7. Finishing up the chapter book "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane"

I have a few teacher things to do before the end of the year and I am trying really hard to keep up with email and lnotes, but if something needs to be done before the end of the year- please let me know as soon as possible by calling me at 648-2440 ext 51330. Thanks!