Diary of a Silkworm: Part 1

Dear Diary,
Today was a very interesting day!  My friend, Audrey, put me in a box at her house, and when the box opened again, I was in Mrs. Riccomini's kindergarten class!  The kindergarteners have been very nice to me.  They are very gentle and compassionate toward me.

I am so glad that there are three mulberry trees in the Eisenhower kindergarten yard!  I LOVE to eat mulberry leaves.  In fact, my only job right now is to eat as many mulberry leaves as possible!  I am a very hungry caterpillar!

Diary of a Tadpole: Part 2

Dear Diary,
I am growing so quickly!  I now have two back legs!  

Just a little while ago, my legs were only little numbs...now they look like frog legs?  Or maybe toad legs?  What do you think?

My back legs do not move much yet, but soon they will be very useful and will help me swim through the water.  I still eat algae everyday so I can keep growing!

Hidden Villa Trip

Thank you to all the chaperones who came with us to Hidden Villa!  It was a very memorable and exciting trip.  Our kindergarteners did great as they toughed out the drizzles, mud, and clouds.  Below are some pictures taken from the trip.  Thanks, Richelle for sharing the pictures you took!  Seeing the animals we have been studying in a real farm setting has deepened their understanding.

Students got to see a worm compost bin.  Some were even brave enough to hold a worm!

As students fed the chickens, they discovered that chickens like to peck to get their food.

Students saw how chickens lay eggs and how chicks are raised in farms.

Students saw that pigs come in many different colors!  Not just pink!

Cows are not just white and black.  They can be brown, too!

Some sheep have all their wool, some sheep have been sheared.

Farm Unit

We are getting ready to go to the farm!  Hidden Villa Farm, that is!  Last week, we began our Farm Unit and practiced the reading comprehension strategy of visualization, or "making movies/pictures in our minds."   First, we visualized as we read Cook-a-Doodle-Doo and Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza.  We continued to practice visualizing with non-fiction books.  Students were asked to visualize an animal before they read and then again after they read.  They found that reading and paying close attention to details in books allows you to make a better picture in your mind.

Visualization of a goat before a student read.

Visualization of a goat after a student read.

This week, we are reading more non-fiction books about farm animals.  Before and as we read, we create "I wonder..." statements.  Good readers ask questions as they read, so they become more curious and focus more on the text.  We are also learning about the Table of Contents and bolded words.  We are gathering the answers to our wonderings in graphic organizers.

We will continue to work on the Farm Unit for several more weeks.  Check back later to see more work!

Diary of a Tadpole

Dear Diary,
I must be about 14 days old today.  Wow, I need to tell you about my weekend!  On Sunday, I was swimming around the pond in a principal's backyard when someone with big boots came near me!  Next thing I knew, I was swimming in a bowl with three of my friends in a kindergarten classroom!  And guess what?  There are no fish here to worry about gobbling me up!  Mrs. Riccomini, the teacher in the classroom, said we are just visiting, and once we are big we will go back to our home.  By then, I think I will be able to hop away from fish!  I also heard her say that it was a former 3rd grade Eisenhower teacher, Ms. Cuenca, who saved us from the fish.  Thanks, Ms. Cuenca!

I love to swim around and find algae to eat.  I feel like I need to eat a lot since I am growing so quickly!  I bet I will look different the next time I write to you, Diary.

ABC Book

When I was a kindergartener at Cumberland Elementary School in Sunnyvale, I made an ABC Book at the end of the year.  I was so proud of it!  For me, writing the book meant I was all ready for first grade!  I dedicated it to my dog, Auggie, because he did not know his alphabet, but I did!

 My cover

My "e" page

I have always thought this book was important and have saved it.  The book gave me an idea...have our kindergarteners complete a similar book!  A book to show so much of what they have learned...a book they could be proud of.  Thanks, Mrs. Brown, for the great idea!

Kindergarten is a bit different nowadays, and we are asking them to do much more than I did as a kindergartener.  I am always amazed at how fast they learn and how much they are able to do.  You may notice that they are writing their own sentences, while I dictated my sentences to my teacher.

The students are completing about 2 pages a week, and will continue to work on it until the end of the year.

Color Wheel Flowers

Students learned about primary and secondary colors with this wonderful art project I found on Deep Space Sparkle.  Students mixed red, yellow, and blue to make green, yellow, and orange.  They then cut out petals and put them in the order of the color wheel.   Thanks, Deep Space Sparkle!