As the Winter Holidays approach, we just can't help, but still think about what we are thankful for :)
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Tale of Despereaux
Once upon time there was a book and now there is a movie!
Thursday, January the 8th, We will get to enjoy the Tale of Despereaux in theater!
All field trip money for our Regal Theater and Sunshine Park field trip is due on Friday. NO money will be accepted after Friday, December 12th. Please send in your child’s permission slip and $6.00. Thank you for sending it in!. All chaperones are welcome. They will pay $7.00 at the door.
You can preview this movie by following the link below.
http://www.thetaleofdespereauxmovie.com/splash/
Thursday, January the 8th, We will get to enjoy the Tale of Despereaux in theater!
All field trip money for our Regal Theater and Sunshine Park field trip is due on Friday. NO money will be accepted after Friday, December 12th. Please send in your child’s permission slip and $6.00. Thank you for sending it in!. All chaperones are welcome. They will pay $7.00 at the door.
You can preview this movie by following the link below.
http://www.thetaleofdespereauxmovie.com/splash/
Sunday, November 30, 2008
A Thanksgiving Read-Aloud to Remember
The day before we left on our Thanksgiving break, we had a very special guest for a Kindergarten Read-Aloud. A native of Massachusetts, Mrs. M, her daughter, Mrs. G, Mrs. Bridges' Mom, brother, and twin sisters dressed as Native Americans entertained us with drum playing, tales of Massachusett life, and the story of the first Thanksgiving. Each kindergartener was reminded to think about the things they are most thankful for. Mrs. Bridges is very thankful for a wonderful class and school, Chets Creek.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Chet Wins the Race!
Dear Mrs. Bridges' Class,
You will never guess where I just went! I went with T's family to go my very first race! I got to ride on the back of the bike and even got to keep a few balloons at the end! The excitement, the cheering, the balloons, and the great cause!! What a great time to be outdoors with my buddy from our class.
Check out our race day pictures.
You will never guess where I just went! I went with T's family to go my very first race! I got to ride on the back of the bike and even got to keep a few balloons at the end! The excitement, the cheering, the balloons, and the great cause!! What a great time to be outdoors with my buddy from our class.
Check out our race day pictures.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Literary Pumpkin Award!
Last week, our class submitted a group of wild pumpkins to represent the Kindergarten Star book, "Where the Wild Things Are". A team of moms, Mrs. Villena, Mrs. Colbert, Mrs. Warren, and Mrs. Kaiser rolled up their sleeves and helped our students to create their little monster pumpkins. Our students had a wonderful time creating their masterpieces. Last Thursday, judges from outside our school awarded the Literacy Pumpkins according to their choice. We won the award for Primary, "Hands Definitely Touched These"! We were so excited that our students' work was recognized because they did a wonderful job! Thank you to everyone that made this possible for our students, what a wonderful Pumpkin Week!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Chet returns from Detroit, Michigan
Dear Mrs. Bridges Class,
What a time I had with Christopher K. and his family on our trip to Michigan!
I got to go on an airplane for the very first time! I was a little nervous, but Christopher was my travel buddy and made me feel at home. He always made sure I had my seat belt on! We visited many incredible landmarks while we were there, The Detroit Zoo, Lake St. Clair, Joe Louis Arena, Tiger Stadium, and many more!
On our way to these amazing travel destinations, we got to take a picture from our car of the The Uniroyal Giant Tire. This tire is 8 stories tall. The Uniroyal® Giant Tire was originally created as a Ferris wheel attraction at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. The wheel held 96 fairgoers and was powered by a 100-horsepower motor. More than two million people rode the Giant Tire Ferris wheel during the fair, including Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, John Jr. and Caroline. We had to hurry if we wanted to take a picture, because you are not allowed to stop your car!
We traveled by car to one of the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair. Out the window, I could spy the change of season, the leaves I saw were yellow, red, and bright orange! It was amazing to see Lake St. Clair. It is a lake that lies between Ontario, Canada, and Michigan in the United States. Even though it is a bit on the small side, it is still considered a Great Lake.
What a view! Next, we traveled about town visiting the The Spirit of Detroit (a city monument), The Joe Louis Arena (Home of the Detroit Redwings), and the tallest building in Michigan, The GM Renaissance Center.
Last on my list to share from my trip was my favorite stop, the Detroit Zoo!
The Detroit Zoo is home to the world's largest polar bear exhibit - Arctic Ring of Life. Visitors can view the polar bears and seals from a 70 foot long underwater tunnel. I love my friends at the Detroit Zoo.
I had a wonderful time in Detroit, Michigan and felt right at home with Christopher K. 's family. I can't wait until my next adventure!
What a time I had with Christopher K. and his family on our trip to Michigan!
I got to go on an airplane for the very first time! I was a little nervous, but Christopher was my travel buddy and made me feel at home. He always made sure I had my seat belt on! We visited many incredible landmarks while we were there, The Detroit Zoo, Lake St. Clair, Joe Louis Arena, Tiger Stadium, and many more!
On our way to these amazing travel destinations, we got to take a picture from our car of the The Uniroyal Giant Tire. This tire is 8 stories tall. The Uniroyal® Giant Tire was originally created as a Ferris wheel attraction at the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair. The wheel held 96 fairgoers and was powered by a 100-horsepower motor. More than two million people rode the Giant Tire Ferris wheel during the fair, including Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, John Jr. and Caroline. We had to hurry if we wanted to take a picture, because you are not allowed to stop your car!
We traveled by car to one of the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair. Out the window, I could spy the change of season, the leaves I saw were yellow, red, and bright orange! It was amazing to see Lake St. Clair. It is a lake that lies between Ontario, Canada, and Michigan in the United States. Even though it is a bit on the small side, it is still considered a Great Lake.
What a view! Next, we traveled about town visiting the The Spirit of Detroit (a city monument), The Joe Louis Arena (Home of the Detroit Redwings), and the tallest building in Michigan, The GM Renaissance Center.
Last on my list to share from my trip was my favorite stop, the Detroit Zoo!
The Detroit Zoo is home to the world's largest polar bear exhibit - Arctic Ring of Life. Visitors can view the polar bears and seals from a 70 foot long underwater tunnel. I love my friends at the Detroit Zoo.
I had a wonderful time in Detroit, Michigan and felt right at home with Christopher K. 's family. I can't wait until my next adventure!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Chet and the First Field Trip!
Dear Mrs. Bridges Class,
I loved going on my first field trip with you! I had never been on a bus before! It was a little hot when we left the school, but once the we got going the breeze felt great on our bus. We went over the Hart bridge to our first stop, Kids Kampus! This was such a great way to start a field trip, we played on the playground and then ate a yummy lunch.
After that, it was off to a exciting show at the Florida Theater. It was so big inside, I liked the tall curtains and how the lights were different colors. I couldn't wait for the show to begin. I had to sit very quietly to be a good listener! I sat with my friends as Harry the Dirty Dog was the star of the show. I loved all of the dancing and singing. I can still remember how to call Harry back home, "Harry, Harry, please don't roam, Harry, Harry, please come home!".
I absolutely loved my first field trip and was glad to come home to my school so I could rest up for my next adventure!
I loved going on my first field trip with you! I had never been on a bus before! It was a little hot when we left the school, but once the we got going the breeze felt great on our bus. We went over the Hart bridge to our first stop, Kids Kampus! This was such a great way to start a field trip, we played on the playground and then ate a yummy lunch.
After that, it was off to a exciting show at the Florida Theater. It was so big inside, I liked the tall curtains and how the lights were different colors. I couldn't wait for the show to begin. I had to sit very quietly to be a good listener! I sat with my friends as Harry the Dirty Dog was the star of the show. I loved all of the dancing and singing. I can still remember how to call Harry back home, "Harry, Harry, please don't roam, Harry, Harry, please come home!".
I absolutely loved my first field trip and was glad to come home to my school so I could rest up for my next adventure!
Sink or Float
As we continue our Pumpkin Unit, we have made many predictions as scientists. One of these predictions was whether or not our pumpkins would float if placed into a tub of water.
Students' predictions were charted in our classroom and later that day we took a trip to the Science Lab to test our thinking!
Yesterday was that big day! We went upstairs to the Science Lab to test our predictions and were amazed at the results! When we placed the big pumpkin in the water, it floated (this was the opposite of most our predictions). Next, we wanted to see what would happen with the small pumpkin and it didn't sink or float, it did both! We call that "flinking"! Then the students predicted that the pumpkin slice would sink and it did.
One of our extensions to this activity was to try an object that was not a pumpkin. The students chose a container. When the closed container was placed in the water, it floated. This was just like the big pumpkin! One of our students wanted to try it with the container open, so like good scientists we tested this theory and it sank.
All in all, our students were able to test and/or prove their predictions about pumpkins sinking and floating. A great scientific explanation for why pumpkins float is found by following the link below.
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01166.htm
Also watch our Pumpkin Movie to see our Lab!
Students' predictions were charted in our classroom and later that day we took a trip to the Science Lab to test our thinking!
Yesterday was that big day! We went upstairs to the Science Lab to test our predictions and were amazed at the results! When we placed the big pumpkin in the water, it floated (this was the opposite of most our predictions). Next, we wanted to see what would happen with the small pumpkin and it didn't sink or float, it did both! We call that "flinking"! Then the students predicted that the pumpkin slice would sink and it did.
One of our extensions to this activity was to try an object that was not a pumpkin. The students chose a container. When the closed container was placed in the water, it floated. This was just like the big pumpkin! One of our students wanted to try it with the container open, so like good scientists we tested this theory and it sank.
All in all, our students were able to test and/or prove their predictions about pumpkins sinking and floating. A great scientific explanation for why pumpkins float is found by following the link below.
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01166.htm
Also watch our Pumpkin Movie to see our Lab!
Sound Skills
By this time of the year, our students should be including at least beginning and ending sounds in their writing as well as trying some of our WOW words ( the, me, I). In our Skills Block, we have been working on putting down at least two sounds (beginning and ending) for each word we want to write. You will see examples of this type of work coming home in your student's planner.
For example, students are asked to draw four boxes and place a picture for a particular sound in each box, then they are to label that picture with at least the beginning and ending sounds.
You can see in the example, that the student has taken the next step because she has written middle sounds as well.
We have also done this with picture cards. First, the students sorted the cards by beginning sounds and then used three pictures to label with words.
Another way we are practicing writing down all the sounds that we hear is to finish WOW word sentences. For example, the students were shown the sentence starter: I see a ________. The students were to draw a picture and write the word to complete the sentence.
For example, students are asked to draw four boxes and place a picture for a particular sound in each box, then they are to label that picture with at least the beginning and ending sounds.
You can see in the example, that the student has taken the next step because she has written middle sounds as well.
We have also done this with picture cards. First, the students sorted the cards by beginning sounds and then used three pictures to label with words.
Another way we are practicing writing down all the sounds that we hear is to finish WOW word sentences. For example, the students were shown the sentence starter: I see a ________. The students were to draw a picture and write the word to complete the sentence.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Our Pumpkin Adventure Begins!
Thank you to all the families that have sent in pumpkins for our Pumpkin Unit. We began our unit this week learning that pumpkins are not always orange! What an amazing fact to start the unit. Most of us (including me) were amazed by all the different colors that pumpkins can be! Even blue! This is a picture of a blue pumpkin from our Class State, Massachussetts!
We started learning about pumpkins by listing all of our questions about pumpkins. Most students wanted to know what different types of pumpkins are there?
We have learned that pumpkins are not only different colors, but we can also sort them by size! We used pumpkins in our class to sort by their size and then make pumpkin patterns :). Check out the three part pumpkin pattern created by our
students!
We started learning about pumpkins by listing all of our questions about pumpkins. Most students wanted to know what different types of pumpkins are there?
We have learned that pumpkins are not only different colors, but we can also sort them by size! We used pumpkins in our class to sort by their size and then make pumpkin patterns :). Check out the three part pumpkin pattern created by our
students!
Literacy Stations
Literacy Stations are apart of our everyday Reader's Workshop. We use Literacy Stations as a time for students to engage in different genres such as, Science books, Math books, books by a certain author, etc. It is also a time for students to practice retelling stories with a puppet, listen to stories on tapes, rereading poetry, and retelling stories with felt. Students are paired with a partner or a group of three based on the strategies that they are focusing on.
These stations last for about 15 minutes following the 15 minutes of Individual Reading time.
During this time, students are working on their own in their stations. Sometimes they will be working on a particular strategy with their partner and/or meeting with me for small group work.
These stations last for about 15 minutes following the 15 minutes of Individual Reading time.
During this time, students are working on their own in their stations. Sometimes they will be working on a particular strategy with their partner and/or meeting with me for small group work.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Open House Powerpoint
For any of the Parent(s) that missed Open House, here are some of the main points that were covered.
Bridges Open House
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.
Apples, Apples, Apples
What a fantastic day to celebrate fall! As our weather has turned cooler and we have been observing the changes we can see and hear, we realize that fall is finally here. We went on an Apple Learning Adventure today as we sang apple songs, picked our favorite kind of apple, made applesauce, and tried all the delicious apple treats made by our families.
We learned that apples are picked during the fall. They are also a fruit closely tied to Massachusetts' State Folktale, Johnny Appleseed. We learned about this story as we started our day with Gail Gibbons' book, Apples. You can read this book along with your student online at lookybook.com. Or by checking out the widget below.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Welcome Back Chet!
It is I your furry pal Chet and I have returned from a fantastic trip to Boston, Massachusetts! I traveled with Ms. Hopfe's parents (Ms. Hopfe helps us in the dining room every day). They took me to so many great places. I was a little nervous, because this was my first trip and I missed my class, but I had a wonderful time!
While I was on my trip to Massachusetts, I visited the historic Plymouth waterfront. This is where our Founding Fathers first arrived when coming to America. I saw lots of great boats, even one that looked similar to the Mayflower herself. I had a great time at the harbor and even saw Plymouth Rock, the landing place of the Pilgrims in 1620!
Nearby, I was able to see Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II. I journeyed to the Old House at Adams National Historic Park. Then I did some more sightseeing at a church where two of our Presidents attended, President John Adams and his son, President John Adams Jr. My little furry legs were tired from all this walking, it was time to hitch a ride with the Ms. Hopfe's parents to continue our tour!
I decided to take a drive to Fenway Park, I liked my view on top of the car! What a time! I got to see a Hockey Game and meet a first grade Hockey Player. She wanted to give me a hug, so we posed for a great picture.
After all that sightseeing, posing, and driving, I had a great snack with Ms. Hopfe's parents at a local pizzeria. The cook there wanted to give me a hug too, I guess I am just too cute! So we posed in front of our tasty lunch!
On the way back to Ms. Hopfe's family home, we dropped by Harvard Medical School. My dad keeps telling me I should be a doctor. You never know, so I got my picture taken there just in case I want to come back! And just before I hit the hay, I posed for a few more photos with all my favorite team hats and flags, the Boston Red Sox, Patriots, and the Celtics of course!
The next day, I flew all the way back to Jacksonville, Florida where I am awaiting my next trip! I love to travel, but my little furry feet are glad to be at rest for now with Mrs. Bridges' class!
ps. Check out my pictures!
While I was on my trip to Massachusetts, I visited the historic Plymouth waterfront. This is where our Founding Fathers first arrived when coming to America. I saw lots of great boats, even one that looked similar to the Mayflower herself. I had a great time at the harbor and even saw Plymouth Rock, the landing place of the Pilgrims in 1620!
Nearby, I was able to see Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II. I journeyed to the Old House at Adams National Historic Park. Then I did some more sightseeing at a church where two of our Presidents attended, President John Adams and his son, President John Adams Jr. My little furry legs were tired from all this walking, it was time to hitch a ride with the Ms. Hopfe's parents to continue our tour!
I decided to take a drive to Fenway Park, I liked my view on top of the car! What a time! I got to see a Hockey Game and meet a first grade Hockey Player. She wanted to give me a hug, so we posed for a great picture.
After all that sightseeing, posing, and driving, I had a great snack with Ms. Hopfe's parents at a local pizzeria. The cook there wanted to give me a hug too, I guess I am just too cute! So we posed in front of our tasty lunch!
On the way back to Ms. Hopfe's family home, we dropped by Harvard Medical School. My dad keeps telling me I should be a doctor. You never know, so I got my picture taken there just in case I want to come back! And just before I hit the hay, I posed for a few more photos with all my favorite team hats and flags, the Boston Red Sox, Patriots, and the Celtics of course!
The next day, I flew all the way back to Jacksonville, Florida where I am awaiting my next trip! I love to travel, but my little furry feet are glad to be at rest for now with Mrs. Bridges' class!
ps. Check out my pictures!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Star Book Vocabulary
Each day during Skills Block, We are learning a new vocabulary word from one of our Star books! The students are taught these words along with a picture example. We challenge them to use them throughout the day in our conversations and to create new examples.
We have just finished learning vocabulary words from the book, "Caps For Sale". Our students showed their understanding of these words by illustrating four of them for us on Friday. The words we illustrated were, "disturb", "ordinary", "refreshed", and "mischievious". You will receive this work on Monday. Ask your student about their illustrations, they are precious!
Book-in-a-Bag
Reading is something we do everyday, everywhere! Monday through Thursday, your student will bring home a Book-in-a-bag as their homework. This can be a STAR book or a Leveled "A" book. Please help them record the title of this book in their yellow Homework Folder. For each title recorded, they will receive a star on our class homework chart. They will need 25 stars to earn their reading award for this nine weeks.Students can practice reading and retelling these books to you with your assistance :). Thank you for your support in this important part of our learning adventure!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Ready to Read!
This week at the Bridges Bay, we will begin individualizing our reading by picking "just right books". Just like we get ready for school by finding the perfect shoes or perfect new jacket, we each need a book that fits just right. Just like our favorite books, these are ones that we will read, "over and over".
To carry all our books from our classroom library to our reading spots each day, we will be using our handy dandy "Book Bags" (Target Reusable Bags). If you have not sent one in for your student, please do so, so we will have enough :). Thank you to the parents that sent in multiples!
Meet Chet the Traveling Bear!
It's a bird, it's a plane, no! It's Chet the Traveling Bear! As apart of our Kindergarten Adventure here at Chets Creek, we are adopting a new little traveler! Introducing, Chet the Bear, Chet Bridges to be exact. Chet will be traveling near and far as we correspond with him by letter, postcard, e-mail, and photography!
In your student's planner was the blog address for Chet's Travels : http://travelingchet.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-blog-is-born.html. Keep in mind that many other classrooms at Chets Creek also have a traveling bear so look for "Chet Bridges" to check out our little tour guide's adventures.
Chet's first adventure will be this week in Massachusetts! He is traveling
with the parents of one our own Dining Room Paras, Ms. Angela Hopfe.They
will be mailing him back with picture of his trip. Stay tuned for the highlights
of his New England Journey!
As you may have read in your student's planner, you too can participate in
Chet's adventures. Let me know if you would be willing to take Chet with you
on a trip and journal about it for our class (words or pictures!). This can even
be a trip within Jacksonville or out of State.
Chet is ready for travel and we are ready for adventure!
First Days of our Travels :)
Well, we have started school off with quite a
storm this year, but we are not letting it get in the way of our travels. We are on a journey to learn, rain or shine! The first day of school was fantastic, we got to meet our new friends, we
took a grand tour of the school with Chester
the Raccoon, and ended with a fabulous assembly!
Rain came along,but not before we could celebrate our new theme with a
Rain came along,but not before we could celebrate our new theme with a
class picture :). We will wear these adventure garbs each Friday in honor of our travels here at Chets Creek!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Summer Vacation
Summer can be a wonderful time to spend with our families. I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to mine! I spent the summer with my husband, Zach, and sons , Josiah and Josh.
We had a wonderful time trying to stay cool!
We recently went to St. Augustine's beach and had a fantastic time.
Josiah, two years old, loved the beach at St. Augustine due to the great amounts of sea shells! You may even see some of the sea shells he collected in our classroom.He was a great helper! Josiah also had a great time building sandcastles only to knock them down instantly! Josh, my 8 month old, is learning to like the beach and is mainly concerned with one thing, the water. I think that is most likely the best of beach when it is scorching hot, the cool water.
Well, now that you have heard a little about my summer vacation, I would love to know about yours. You might even want to share with our class if you traveled someplace near or far!
Well, now that you have heard a little about my summer vacation, I would love to know about yours. You might even want to share with our class if you traveled someplace near or far!
,
Friday, July 11, 2008
Welcome to Kindergarten the Best Place in the World!
Dear Future Parents and Students,
Welcome! I can not say enough how excited I am for our year to begin! I hope you have had a fantastic summer with your families. My name is Rachel Bridges. I am your new teacher! I am honored to be apart of one your first learning adventures, Kindergarten. We are going to have a wonderful year learning to read, write, explore math, investigate science, and discover the history of our amazing country. We will learn much about ourselves and others. We will learn to build a caring community as we journey together. This learning adventure is surely one that will "wow" us all and we will keep track of it here on this blog!
Parents, I will use this blog as a means to communicate what we are learning and exploring in our classrooms. We will also post pictures from our adventures inside and outside of our classroom. Feel free to comment and submit pictures from our activities.
Kindergarten at Chets Creek is a magicial experience and I can't wait for you experience your first day here. I won't give you any hints because I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise! I wanted to introduce myself and my family, so check out my next blog to see what we have been up to this summer. Feel free to comment with your summer tales as well!
Welcome! I can not say enough how excited I am for our year to begin! I hope you have had a fantastic summer with your families. My name is Rachel Bridges. I am your new teacher! I am honored to be apart of one your first learning adventures, Kindergarten. We are going to have a wonderful year learning to read, write, explore math, investigate science, and discover the history of our amazing country. We will learn much about ourselves and others. We will learn to build a caring community as we journey together. This learning adventure is surely one that will "wow" us all and we will keep track of it here on this blog!
Parents, I will use this blog as a means to communicate what we are learning and exploring in our classrooms. We will also post pictures from our adventures inside and outside of our classroom. Feel free to comment and submit pictures from our activities.
Kindergarten at Chets Creek is a magicial experience and I can't wait for you experience your first day here. I won't give you any hints because I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise! I wanted to introduce myself and my family, so check out my next blog to see what we have been up to this summer. Feel free to comment with your summer tales as well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)