Friday, March 25, 2016

Catching Up

I apologize for the time that has past as it has been quite a while since my last post!  We have been busy with an author study of Mo Willems.  This award winning children's author is the person responsible for the hilarious Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie books!  He also wrote and illustrated Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny Too, and Knuffle Bunny Free all dedicated and based on adventures with his daughter Trixie.  We have had so much fun exploring, comparing, and contrasting some of these great books.  We even completed a project based on the Pigeon character from The Pigeon Needs a Bath, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.  Below are some photographs to catch you up on new things in classroom!

One of our friends practicing chapter book reading!


Using rulers to measure in inches and centimeters.
The whole class LOVED using rulers and learning
about measurement.

Just a few of our favorite Mo Willems books that were part of our author study!

Our Pigeon craft using crepe paper and plates.

Learning about subtraction with a nursery rhyme.
One of our friends demonstrates how to use a
"Wiggle Stool", one of the new furniture options
that might be in our new school!

One of our classmates using the Wiggle Stool.
It requires the student to engage their core muscles
and is perfect for kindergartners, helping them
focus on learning.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Super K

Hello Kindergarten Families!
We are excited to announce a new learning opportunity that will occur after spring break! Here at Lowell School we pride ourselves on being innovative educators that meet our students’ needs through engagement and dynamic teaching styles.  Mrs. Baied and Mrs. Griffith have taken the opportunity of a lifetime to further themselves as educators and pilot an innovative combined classroom or “Super K” teaching model.  Beginning after spring break, Mrs. Griffith’s class will be moving down the hall and into Mrs. Baied’s room which will be turned into a Super K classroom. It will provide all of your kindergartener’s normal daily routines with the added bonus of an extra teacher and more kindergarten friends.  Mrs. Baied, Mrs. Griffith, and Mr. Bessette are all excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to make the switch!  All line up areas, specials schedules, daily schedules, and folder routines will remain the same.  You are encouraged to still communicate with your child’s assigned classroom teacher, but know that they will now have TWO teachers to help them be their best each and every day.  The only change that will affect parents will be that Mrs. Griffith’s room number will now be #101 (just up the hall nearest the doors on the left), and the best phone number to use to reach both teachers will be (406) 728-2400 x4443. We are excited to extend our classroom communities to include more kindergarten friends and be able to meet the needs of more of our students.

What will learning look like in Super K? For the majority of our day one teacher will teach whole group mini lessons to introduce new concepts while another teacher will be either co-teaching, providing behavior support, or pulling small groups for extension or reinforcement activities.  This means that nearly each child will get small group or one-on-one instruction EVERY DAY!  Both classes already combine to do many activities together and follow the same progression of skills sequenced throughout the school year.  Super K will reinforce many academic skills as well as social skills such as sharing, character development, and allows for more developmentally appropriate centers and play time. 
Mrs. Griffith’s class will be making visits to our new Super K classroom, and both classes will engage in conversations about the changes in an effort to familiarize all students as much as possible before the transition.  In addition to involving students, both teachers will work hard to pass on information to parents as decisions are made. As with all changes nervousness is to be expected, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher with any questions and concerns.
Love,    Mrs. Baied and Mrs. Griffith

Thursday, March 3, 2016

DEAR and 80s!

Our class during Drop Everything and Read in honor of Dr. Seuss's Birthday
We have had a blast dressing up and celebrating Read Across America Week here in kindergarten.  My intention was to post yesterday but we had such a great time during Wanna Sleep Wednesday that my post was delayed!  Here is an update:


In honor of Dr.Seuss's birthday yesterday all of the kids in Lowell School dropped what they were doing and grabbed some books to read! It was an amazing sight to see, the halls were filled with students enjoying reading books. Happy (Belated) Birthday Dr. Seuss!



Jenny, Jenny You're the Girl for Me! 867-5309 addition!

Pop Rocks adjectives writing, this project was SWEET!
Today was a fun Throwback Thursday to the 80s theme!  We rocked out and had a fabulous 80s dance party.  Then we completed some totally tubular assignments that coordinated with songs like "Jenny (867-5309)" and even learned about adjectives using Pop Rocks candy!  We have had a fun throwback to the 80s to say the least!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith



Friday, February 26, 2016

Dental Presentation Today

Today we were visited by two lovely ladies from Children's Dentistry of the Rockies.  We had fun talking about healthy teeth foods and ways to keep our teeth shiny and healthy!  To keep our teeth healthy we need to brush them at least twice a day--once in the morning and once at night--and floss as regularly as possible.  Sparingly indulging in sweet and sticky treats as well as soda will help to keep the enamel on our teeth strong and healthy.  Four kindergarten friends volunteered to act as giant teeth during the presentation while we learned the appropriate ways to brush and floss.

Just a reminder that Monday kicks off Read Across America week with Monochromatic Monday!  All kinders are invited to wear RED to school. If you need a reminder of the themes check out below:




Monochromatic Monday: Wear RED to school
Ties & Tutus Tuesday: Wear a tie and/or a tut
Wanna Sleep Wednesday: Wear PJs
Throwback Thursday: '80s is our theme!  Wear '80s inspired clothing with neon and bright colors
Flannel Friday: Wear flannel or plaid

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Monday, February 22, 2016

Extra Extra Read All About It!

This afternoon we took our writing OUTSIDE into the beautiful sunshine!  We were all working in Westside Park behind our playground when a photographer from The Missoulian was driving by.  He came over and asked permission to take some photographs of the class working on their writing out in nature!  Keep your eyes on the lookout for pictures of our class in the upcoming newspapers!

Love,
Mrs Griffith

New Centers and Dental Health

Kiddos at the listen to music center
We have some new centers this and a fun new theme for our learning...DENTAL HEALTH!  We have reintroduced the the dramatic play center with the puppet show and fun animal puppets.  We have also started a new listen to music  center where kiddos can tune out the world and rock out to a variety of different music including  two albums made by an uncle of one of our classmates!

All of Lowell kindergarten is also learning about dental health and how to keep our teeth as healthy.  Look for different dental health activities that will be coming home.  A local dentist will be visiting us on Friday to teach us more about our responsibility in keeping our teeth healthy and clean!

That's all for now!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Our New Classroom

Today was a day for rearranging and spring cleaning!  We now have BIG, small, and regular tables. The BIG table is made for kids to stand and complete their work.  The small table is made for kids to sit on the floor to complete their work.  We also have two regular tables for kiddos!  In addition to tables we are going to use clipboards to lay or sit on the floor to complete our work.  This flexible seating arrangement is made to meet the diverse needs of all learners and we are excited to give it a try!

The class also helped to deep clean our classroom.  We threw out old supplies and wiped away all of the dust and germs.

If you have any questions or concerns about our flexible learning environment please let me know!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

First we sorted our candies
into their columns...
...then we removed the candies
and colored in our graph.
I hope everyone had a fabulous three day weekend!  I wanted to post about our Valentine's Day on Friday, but I was having some technical difficulties so here it is today!
 All throughout the day we did bits and pieces of a "party", concluding with opening cards from our classmates and enjoying a small treat.  We started the day with a pink number morning job and then read Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine.  From there we danced our hearts out with a game of Freeze Dance and practiced our boogie for the school-wide dance party.  Then we used a variety of materials to decorate valentine bags.  While the glue on our bags dried we used conversation heart candies to practice our graphing skills during a sweet math lesson.
Some of the great cards and treats from
classmates!
After lunch our bags were ready to go and we passed out our Valentine cards to each of our friends.  The thank yous  and excited squeals coming from every part of the room would melt your heart!  These kiddos truly care for one another and were delighted to receive their cards and treats.  The day wrapped up with the entire school boogyin


g down during the Valentine Dance Party in the gym!

All in all the day was super successful and fun!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Valentine

This is a reminder that kinder kiddos need to bring 20 valentines for the class by Friday, 02/12.  Students can sign their name in the "From:" space but should leave the "To:" space blank.  This allows kinders to independently pass out valentines to their friends.

We have been discussing social and emotional skills in depth for the last week using a set of books that address behaviors and well-being.  The main character in the books is Howard B. Wigglebottom and he learns everything from how to listen respectfully to good sportsmanship.  All of the books are available as animated online stories along with talking points at the website listed below.  It is a great resource and way to start conversations with kindergartners about emotions and appropriate behavior.
Check it out!

www.wedolisten.org

Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

101 Dalmatians for the 101st Day of School

We had a great 101st day of kindergarten!  The teachers wore dalmatian polka-dot shirts and we completed theme activities and even watched part of the movie 101 Dalmatians.  Take a peek at a couple of photos from our fun day!
Love,
Mrs. Griffith

Thursday, February 4, 2016

100th Day!

Monday, February 8th is the 100th day of school!  We will celebrate in class with special 100 themed activities and lots of counting to 100.  This is a fun milestone for kindergartners to celebrate and is really special.  Stay tuned for pictures from our special day!
Love,
Mrs. Griffith

PS: There are plans and layouts of the new Lowell School renovation at the office.  There are still minor changes being made, but stop by to check in on the progress, it is exciting!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Time to Dust Off the Ol' Blog!

Hello Families!

I am finally posting on the blog again!  It has been a busy time in kindergarten.  As we enter into February I want to keep all families posted on important dates and fun activities in our classroom.  I will continue to send home a hard copy of newsletters on Wednesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays, BUT the blog will be the best place to keep up-to-date on information!
See you tomorrow!

Love,
Mrs. Griffith