Holiday Program

Kindergarten and 1st Grade will be presenting Colors of the Season on Friday, December 18th at 10:15 am.  The production will be happening in the Lowell Elementary School gym.  Although seating is provided, it can be limited, and will be on a first-come-first-serve basis.  Our kindergartners have been working hard on their songs and I am sure that their performance will be adorable!
Kinders will be singing some songs on their own, and other songs will be with a 1st grade accompaniment.
I hope to see you there!
Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Baby It's Cold Outside!

As the weather turns chilly and snow begins to fall, we enter the season of SNOW GEAR!  All kinders need to wear weather-appropriate clothing to school including warm boots or shoes, a heavy winter coat, mittens, and hats.  Kiddos can also wear snow pants to school.  A few tips to keep in mind when choosing snow gear for your child:

Coat
Does it have a hood?
Is it large enough to fit over other cold-weather clothing such as sweatshirts?
Can my child independently put on and take off the coat, including zipping?
Label with your child's name somewhere inside the coat.

Snow Pants
Can my child independently put on and take off the snow pants?
If they choose to wear them during the day...can my child independently undress to use the restroom?
Label with your child's name somewhere inside the pants.

It is inevitable that hats and gloves will go missing throughout the winter.  It is important that kindergartners learn responsibility and cold-weather gear is great practice!

We have LOTS and LOTS of snow boots and heavy winter coats at school, if you are in need please let me know or talk to Ms. Nave at the front desk.

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Elf on the Shelf

He has arrived!!!
Our Elf on the Shelf made his debut yesterday morning and the kinders could not be more excited. He left us a note and a package that contained a special book!  We read the book and learned about "Elf Laws".  The laws say that elves cannot talk to kids, or move when kids are looking.  We also learned that the elf will lose his Christmas magic if he gets touched by a human.
In order for our elf to get his Christmas magic we had to give him a name.  After much consideration and a few class votes we decided to name him Henry (or Hank for short!).  Henry has been hanging around our classroom and helping us use our imaginations and creating mischief along the way!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Conferences

As conferences are right around the corner, I wanted to let all families know to be on the lookout for a few important documents that will come home with kinders in the next few days.

Report Card Information:  this document outlines the report card and explains what each "grade" means.  Please review this thoroughly as we will be discussing your child's grades for the majority of our time together.

Conference Reminder:  a reminder will be coming home with your conference appointment date and time.  Sometimes conferences run a little longer than the 15 minutes allotted, and sometimes they are shorter!  Please keep that in mind and arrive promptly for your time slot.

I Would Like to Discuss...: a small paper will be sent home with the Report Card Information document.  Feel free to write down any questions, concerns, or observations that you would like to discuss.  Once the conference gets started, questions are often forgotten and I want to make sure that I answer as many of your questions/concerns as possible!

I cannot wait to see you at your Parent-Teacher Conference appointment, it is always fantastic to get a chance to chat one-on-one!  As this is an important time for adults to connect and communicate, please make other arrangements for kiddos if possible.

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Getting Ready for Veteran's Day

Happy Friday!

Today we made veteran characters and worked on writing!  We got our creative juices flowing and finger painted camouflage jackets and happy smiles.  We will continue to learn about veteran's day and ways that we can respectfully show our thanks.
Have a great weekend!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Hat Day!

Good Morning!

Today kicks off National Red Ribbon Week!  Our theme for today is Hat's Off to Red Ribbon Week, so we wore hats to school.  Our goal was 90% and we came in at.....86% with hats!  That is soooo close!  I am so proud that so many students are showing support for being drug free.  Tomorrow is crazy sock day, and I cannot wait to see how many friends participate!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

National Red Ribbon Week

Happy Wednesday!

Next week is an exciting week for Lowell Elementary School!  It is national Red Ribbon Week!  Red Ribbon Week is an annual recognition of keeping our students healthy and substance free.  Each day we will be dressing up according to a theme for the day to show our support.  My goal is to have at least 90% participation on all days, and I know that we can meet that goal!

Monday: Hats Off to Red Ribbon Week  Wear a hat to school
Tuesday: From head to Toe, I am Drug Free!   Wear crazy socks
Wednesday: Your Choices are the Key to Your Dreams  Wear pajamas
Thursday: Voting for My Future to be Drug Free   Wear red, white, and blue
Friday: Spook Out Drugs!  Bring your costume in a bag or backpack to school

This is always a fun week for students and staff here at Lowell Elementary!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Fire Station, Pumpkin Week, and NO SCHOOL...Oh My!

Good Afternoon!

Last Friday we had our first field trip to the fire station.  We got to see a real fire truck, sit inside and look at all of the tools that firefighters use to keep us safe.  Our fireman teacher even showed us all of his cool gear that he wears to keep himself safe.  After we had seen the truck, gear, and tools, our fireman teacher took us into the living quarters of the fire station.  Our class got to see where firefighters sleep, spend their extra time, and even cook!  (He said that they are known for setting off the smoke alarm when they cook, how ironic!) I took some awesome pictures of our experience and will post them at a later date!

On another note, this week is PUMPKIN PALOOZA, so be on the lookout for all things pumpkin-themed!  We will be completing pumpkin projects, doing pumpkin science, and bringing home pumpkin books.  Remember, there is NO SCHOOL Thursday and Friday of this week.

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

PS: The class earned a pajama party, so send your kinder in their favorite pajamas or comfy clothes on Tuesday, 10/13!

Puppet Show

Happy Wednesday!

Frank the Firefighter teaching us about fire drills

Today all of the kindergarten classes were treated to a fun fire-safety themed puppet show!  Local Missoula firefighters came in to our classroom to perform and teach us about fire safety.
Frank the Firefighter asked us to practice a fire drill at our homes and create a fire plan with our families.  To create a fire plan talk about two different exits that can be used to leave your residence and get outside to a safe meeting place. Practice leaving your home in a fire drill and check all of the smoke alarms!

Orange Juice sang us a song about getting low and crawling under smoke.
We learned that smoke is a poison so we should cover our nose and mouth and "get low and go!"

Texas Cactus Pete taught us an important lesson--kids should play with toys, not tools.  Matches and lighters are tools that need to be used safely and if a kiddo finds them they should tell a safe adult.

We also practiced STOP DROP and ROLL, fire safety is our goal!

Ask your kinder about their favorite parts of the show!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Fall Garden Fun

Hello Families!

Our vegetable ingredients
for soup

Today was our last lesson in the garden for the fall!  The Turtle Team enjoyed working with Farmer Katie and Farmer Clara.  They cut up vegetables to make a yummy fall soup and even got a chance to sample some new vegetables in the garden!

Safe vegetable chopping
using the crinkle cutters

Kiddos used crinkle cutters to help chop carrots, potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, onions, and even smashed garlic to throw into the soup pot.  The vegetable soup that our kindergartners made today will be cooked overnight by Farmer Katie and delivered to Paxson Elementary School for tasting by their 3rd grade classes.  We also got a chance to warm our bellies with yummy soup-- and though it was cooked by Farmer Katie, the veggies were grown here in our Lowell garden and prepared by our very own 3rd graders in Mrs. Notti's and Mrs. Robinson's classes.

Farmer Clara
helping us taste
goodies from the
garden!

Ms. Clara who is the fearless leader of our Lowell Flagship Program put on her farmer hat and turned into Farmer Clara for our garden lesson today!  She helped students observe the changes happening in the garden, and cut up samples for everyone to try.  We tasted tomatillos, sweet peppers, basil and tomato (together in one bite!), and sweet peppers, just to name a few!

Our yummy garden vegetable soup

We had so much fun in our garden this fall and look forward to our spring garden lessons!

Just a friendly reminder, Smart Schools 2020 Open House on Thursday, Oct. 8th from 6-7pm in the Lowell Elementary School gym & field trip to the Fire Station on Friday, Oct. 9th from 9:45am-11:00am.  Please be sure to dress your kiddo in sneakers and weather-appropriate clothing!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

PS: we will have a surprise coming to our classroom tomorrow!  A Fire Safety Puppet Show put on by local Missoula firefighters but shhhhhhhh....it is a surprise!

Kindergarten is Smelling Cider-rific!

Happy Friday!

You see a tote full of blocks,
we see a table for apple cider! :)

Things are heating up in here in kindergarten!  We busted out the Crock Pot and starting warming our apple cider this morning.

Yummy apple cider!

A few ingredients were sprinkled into the pot, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, a touch of brown sugar, two cut up granny smith apples, and lots
of yummy unfiltered apple cider juice.  Each kiddo is taking a turn stirring the cider while it perfumes our whole class with the smells of fall!

After it "cooks" all day we will take a sip!  Ask your kinder if it was yucky or yummy!



Have a fantastic weekend!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Apple Tasting and Apple Art

Happy Friday!

Apple Art

Apple Art

Today marks the end of our first apple-themed week!  We have been reading apple books all week and learning about how apples grow.  Today we made a multi-media apple art project with a water color resist and tempura paints.


We also got a chance to perform an apple taste test.  We sliced up red delicious apples, granny smith apples, and golden delicious apples.  After a good taste and a vote we realized that our class liked the yellow and red apples equally, with both winning our taste test!

Have a fabulous 3-day weekend and I will see the kinders on Tuesday!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Field Trips on the Horizon

The following field trips will be happening 

in the month of October:

Field Trips

Bus Safety ~Thursday, Oct. 1^st

For this field trip we will be watching a presentation from Beach Transportation regarding school bus rules and safety.  After the presentation we will take a short bus ride through our neighborhood (less than 5 minutes, but kiddos love it! J) Chaperones are not needed for this short trip.

Fire Station ~Friday, Oct. 9^th

We will be visiting Missoula Fire Station #1 located on Pine St. This is an annual kindergarten field trip that is always fun!  We watch presentations given by local firefighters and even get to sit in a REAL fire truck.  All registered and background-checked chaperones are welcome!

Pumpkin Patch ~Wednesday, Oct. 14th

For this field trip we will visit the pumpkin patch located outside of the Missoula Alliance Church next to our friends at Chief Charlo Elementary!  While we are there will learn about pumpkins and even get to try some yummy pumpkin treats.  All registered and background-checked chaperones are welcome!

Hoping to Chaperone?

With field trips on the horizon, kindergarten is going to be needing chaperones!  If you are interested in chaperoning visit http://www.mcpsmt.org/domain/818 to register as a volunteer; all chaperones will need to pass a background check as well.  Please get started with this process as soon as possible as it may take a few days.

I hope that you can join us!

Love,

Mrs. Griffith

Guest Teacher Success

Good Afternoon!
After checking in with the kindergarteners this morning and reading the notes left by the substitute, I found that the class had a great day with the guest teacher!  I am so proud of their success (and not surprised! I knew they would do well!).  We will look forward to our next guest teacher on Wednesday, September 30th.

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Guest Teacher

Happy Tuesday!

Today is a special day in kindergarten...our first guest teacher!  The substitute will be handing out PINK Bobcat Bucks today to kiddos who are being safe, respectful, responsible, and kind.  Our class goal is 25 Pink Bobcat Bucks to earn a special reward activity upon my return.  My fingers are crossed!
I will post an update of their substitute success tomorrow.
Until then...

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Growing in the Garden

Hello Friends!
This afternoon we visited the garden for the first time!  The kinders met Farmer Amy and Farmer Katie, and learned about the expectations in the garden: calm body, listening when someone is speaking, respect all living things, and don't "yuck someone else's yum".  

Kindergarten friends sitting patiently in the garden

We met on the stumps, listened to the expectations, and then were split into groups.  

My group's garden finds

Each group was given a set of color cards and a basket.  Our job was to find something from the garden that matched each color card.  My group found a purple flower, an orange tomato, a green leaf, a pink flower, and a red raspberry.  We used calm bodies when we walked through the garden and only picked a little bit of what we needed.

Next came the most fun (and tasty!) part of our garden experience.  The class was split into two groups, one with Farmer Amy and the other with Farmer Katie. 

Delicious ingredients

 We made Vegetable Faces from a whole wheat tortilla, a smear of hummus, and then used fresh veggies from our garden to make cute faces.  We used carrots, beets, onions, kale, tomatoes, and lemon cucumbers and got creative!

Our silly veggie faces

After leaving the Veggie Faces we discovered other yummy edibles in our garden.  We tasted dinosaur kale, kohlrabi, and tomatillos, as well as beautify flowers and even fall pumpkins!  Our last expectation "don't yuck someone else's yum" was tricky, but we were able to keep our opinions about the new foods to ourselves,  I was so proud of the kindergarteners for practicing this so well!

Pumpkins!

The kindergarteners LOVED their first garden experience and we cannot wait for our next lesson!

Love,

Mrs. Griffith

PS: See below for a few more pictures from our garden!

Delicious dinosaur kale

Full Marble Jar = Popsicle Party!

Happy Friday!

Something exciting happened for the first time on Wednesday....we filled our marble jar all the way up to the tippy-top!  The class earns marbles in the jar when they are making the teacher proud!  We put marbles in the jar when friends are following directions, listening quietly, or are doing their best work.  Wednesday we put the last 3 marbles in the jar and took a vote.  Did we want a PJ party or a popsicle party? The majority voted for popsicles, which worked out perfect because we got to enjoy one of the last warm and sunny days of summer outside while we ate our treat!
Give your kinder a huge pat on the back for working so hard and being awesome!
(We also do a cute little cheer each time we put a marble in the jar, ask to see it!)

You may wonder, what about the Bobcat Bucks?  We earn Bobcat Bucks in other parts of the school and collect them in a jar, but in our classroom we earn marbles! (This helps the Bucks keep their novelty and remain a motivator throughout the entire year!)

Have a fabulous weekend!
Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Math, Bootcamp, and Animal Friends...OH MY!

Hello Friends!
It has been a busy Tuesday back in kindergarten.  We have worked on learning and perfecting the rules and routines of the classroom!  The kinders have also been meeting all of the Zoophonics Animal Friends during ABC Bootcamp!
Each day we focus on a letter in the alphabet.  Today was Ff day, we learned about the letter, how to write it, made a poster of words that start with Ff, and even met Francy Fish.

During math time we work on identifying numbers and learning important counting routines. The kiddos have also gotten their hands on various math manipulatives and have been starting to write numbers 0-10.

Be on the lookout for our first publication of The Turtle Times weekly newsletter to come home tomorrow in your child's turtle!

Until next time...

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Heads Up for Thursday!

Good Afternoon!

I just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 3rd is an early out day.  Kinders will be dismissed at 2pm.  It is also Open House from 6-7pm.  Come check out our classroom and
chat with the teacher!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

First Full Day is in the Books!

Happy Monday!

Our first full day of kindergarten is officially over, and boy was it fabulous!  The kiddos began ABC Bootcamp, learning about the letter Aa.  We learned its' sound, its' Zoo friend representative, made a chart of A words and even practiced writing upper and lower case.  We also learned lots of new routines and expectations.

The kiddos even got to visit the Lowell Elementary library for the first time and listened to a story read by the librarian.

I am hoping for another great day tomorrow as we continue our kindergarten adventures!

Psssttt....don't forget to bring your PE shoes!

Love, 
Mrs. Griffith

Welcome!

Welcome to Mrs. Griffith's kindergarten!
I am so excited to to have a new batch of kindergartners in my classroom this year!  We will have so much fun making new friends and learning new things.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns throughout the school year.

A few reminders....
...please complete and send all paperwork back as soon as possible.
...Thursdays are early out, dismissal is at 2pm.
...the beginning of school can create anxiety and uneasy feelings in new kinder kiddos.  I PROMISE that these will soon wain and that you have probably cried more tears than they have! :)
...your child will probably come home starving for the first few weeks of school!  The experience in the cafeteria is often sensory overload and they will eat very little.  They will also rush through eating their lunch in an effort to run outside and play, this will diminish after they have learned all of the lunch routines and the novelty wears off.

I am looking forward to a fabulous school year!

Love, Mrs. Griffith