Red Ribbon Week, Spiders and Bats, and Halloween

We've been very busy in Kindergarten learning about tricky teen numbers 11-20, estimating, symmetry, carving a pumpkin, putting letters and sounds together to read consonant-vowel-consonant words, and practicing the sight words.



Today we had an AWESOME Halloween party! Thank you so much to Mrs. Mendoza, Mrs. Sanabria, and Mrs. Scully for all of your time and energy in organizing and preparing the activities. The kids dressed in their costumes, had a cupcake and juice snack, played games, participated in a school-wide parade, made a pumpkin craft, and watched a special Word World Halloween DVD on the projector. Please remember to send only 1 piece of candy in your child's lunch next week.



What did you learn at school this week?

"Bats and birds can fly." -Mark
"Symmetry is the same on both sides." -Zoe
"We guess to estimate." -Mackenzie

What Did You Do at School This Week?

There might have only been 4 school days, but they were packed with learning. I'm so proud of how the kids are improving and becoming more and more independent with each day. I couldn't believe that it was pouring down rain Wednesday morning for the field trip. Once we arrived at Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm in South Barrington, the sun was shining and we had perfect weather.

When asked, "What did you do at school this week?"

"We tasted lemons, and radishes, and crackers, and grapes." -Josephine

"We had lunch." -Brianna

"We played outside and run around and played football." -Michael S.

"We went on a fun field trip." -Mackenzie

"We saw pumpkins, animals, corn, and vegetables." -Joey and Vincent

"WE HAD FUN!" -Everyone


Here are some pictures I think you will enjoy...

What Did You Do at School This Week?

Fire Safety

We were so lucky to have had a presentation about fire safety from Mackenzie's dad, Mr. Pack. He taught the kids about his firefighter gear, staying safe, and calling 911.

Can you find the shapes we used to make fire engine artwork? (Hint: rectangle, square, circle, triangle)

"We read stories about families." -Julie

"We learned about controlling our bodies." -Zoe

"You need a mask to breathe in the fire." -Konrad

"Stop, drop, and roll." -Julia

"When there is a fire in your house, get out." -Joey

"We learned the words; I, the, a, my." -Mackenzie

What Did You Learn at School This Week?

This week we continued to practice following our class rules:

1. Raise your hand
2. Make good choices
3. Control your body
4. Follow directions

We made leaf rubbings. There is something stunning about these simple pieces of artwork.




Mark shared a super funny joke...

Question: Who is the chicken's favorite teacher?

Answer: Ms. Boc-boc-boc man

Thank you Mr. Evans for your creativity!


The kids worked on numbers 1-10, identifying bigger and smaller, taller and shorter, as well as an introduction to money.



Ms. Rojas, Garvy's Occupational Therapist, came to teach us about the tools necessary to make all letters. They are big curve, little curve, big line, and little line.

What did you learn at school today?

Hi Kinderfamilies! Today we had our first science experiment of the year. The kids made predictions, choosing if the apple would float or sink, and then observed. We saw apples floating in the tub of water. Here's what they learned;



"We did a science experiment of apples." -Reed



"Apples float." -Dehne



"Air inside the apple (makes it float)." -Vincent



"Water balloon floated." -Joey



"Rock sunk to the bottom." -Sebastian

Welcome to Kindergarten!

After two busy weeks of classes, we are off to a great year in Room 3-0-1(fun). We will continue to work towards making new friends and good choices. The kids have really enjoyed trying the NEOs which they call their "laptop." Some of their favorite activities are listening to stories and playing toys with each other at the end of the day. They LOVE the toy cars, magnetic building pieces, building blocks, Lincoln Logs, and Legos. It's awesome to watch them work together and foster imaginative and creative growth. I'll start posting pictures soon!

Field Day

We had the greatest time moving from station to station. The kids got to participate in many games and activities. Mr. Dewitt coordinated the events and we had GREAT parent volunteers to run each station. Thank you parents for being here today and volunteering to help make field day a success!

Some of the kids favorite stations were: tug of war, Frisbee toss, throwing rockets, using sticks to pick up toys, water sponge game, lacrosse throwers, and the parachute.

Teagan's Birthday Book Club

I felt good when Mom read the story "Peter Pan." I like the story because I like Peter Pan. By Teagan

Tommy's Birthday Book Club

My dad read the story "Sponge Bob the Art Contest No Cheating Allowed." I like it. We had fruit snacks that had Sponge Bob and Toy Story 3. By Tommy

Maggie's Birthday Book Club

Mommy read "The Velveteen Rabbit." It was very good. I liked it because it had a bunny in it. By Maggie

Austin's Birthday Book Club

I love my birthday because my mom read, "Patrick's Big Teeth." My mom read the story, it was fun, and the fruit snacks were tasty. -by Austin Witas

These are a few of our favorite things...

There is so much to enjoy about Kindergarten at John W. Garvy. We love being Bulldogs, learning about the calendar, building 2-D and 3-D shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks, counting money in our very own grocery store, center time, and learning about the life cycle. This year, we've investigated tadpoles, snails, fish, hermit crabs, newts, and now caterpillars. Ms. Rojas teaches us about tying our shoes. The students now know how to read and write stories, I'm obviously so proud of them! Regardless of all the curriculum...the kids favorite part of the day is, you guesses it, RECESS!

Worms Worms Worms

We love when Mrs. Hehn comes to Kindergarten on Friday afternoons. She is sure to bring something fun for us to learn about. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been observing worms. We have compared and contrasted between Night Crawlers and Red Worms. The kids used measuring tapes to find their length, magnifying glasses to get a closer look, and their hands to hold the worms. It might have gotten a little messy, but the kids LOVED it!

Here is a poem we wrote together:

Worms worms worms
Worms eat dirt
Worms are squishy
Worms don't have eyes
Worms don't have legs
Worms like the dark
Worms poop
And sometimes worms wiggle
Worms worms worms

Spencer's Birthday Book

Spencer was so proud to have his mom come and read us a story!

Earth Day with Mrs. Grossart

We were so lucky to have beautiful weather on Earth Day. In the Garvy Garden we listened to a story, learned about composting, and watched the Grossart's worms eat away at their garbage. We learned that the worms eat egg shells, coffee grinds, paper, and most of all they like to hide in the darkness of the mud. Here is a link to a cool website that shows you how to start and maintain a worm compost. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did! http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html