Friendship is being caring and considerate to self and others. A kind person shows concern for the feelings of others and is helpful and generous.
Assembly Read Aloud:Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev.
When the local Pet Club won’t admit a boy’s tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution—one that involves all kinds of unusual animals in this sweet and adorable picture book.
Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn’t understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend.
April’s word of the month is flexibility. Having a positive and hopeful attitude helps us to overcome challenges. When times are difficult or mistakes are made, it is important to stay motivated and be flexible. Being flexible helps us when we need to cope with changes. Flexibility helps us to think about problems in new, creative ways.
Overview: Flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Assembly Read Aloud: But, Excuse Me, That Is My Book by Lauren Child
In this funny “Charlie and Lola” adventure, Lola insists on going to the library to get her favorite book, the same one she has taken out over and over again. What will happen when she discovers that the book she loves is not on the library shelves? Will Lola be flexible and take an different book from the library shelves?
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Read Alouds:
Zoom by Istvan Banyai
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy
Not a Box by Antionette Portis
The Girl Who NEVER Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
This week we are completing our unit on bridges. We have read about bridges, looked at photos of famous bridges, painted bridges, and studied different materials that were used for our bridges. We began by looking at bridges in our area and discussed how a new bridge is being built right now!
Brooklyn Bridge
George Washington Bridge with the Little Red Lighthouse
Tappan Zee Bridge
We read many books about bridges, including The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge, seen here:
And 21 Elephants, seen here:
After discussing these bridges, we read the story Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beatty.
We talked about how we could design our own bridge. What could we use to build it? How could we make it strong? How big could we make it? We explored different kinds of wood, paper, and fabric to determine what would be the best material to use. We practiced copying some famous bridges and buildings in our block center, and using Legos, K’Nex, and other building materials.
And then we were ready to construct our own bridges! We learned that building bridges were not as easy as we thought! We had to change our thinking and our designs as we worked. We had to try out different materials. Some of our bridges even fell over, but we learned that determination and hard work pays off. We didn’t give up and we were able to create some very creative bridges!
This project was a great way to talk about mindset with the students.
Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.
In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.
Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. It enhances relationships. We learn about and talk about the the value in hard work and determination, problem solving and creativity.
Learn more about a growth mindset with Carol Dweck:
Be responsible! Responsibility is being accountable for your own actions.
Assembly Read Aloud: But It’s Not My Fault!by Julia Cook
My name is Norman David Edwards… but everybody calls me Noodle. Sometimes things happen to me that get me into trouble. But it’s not my fault! This first book in the new Responsible Me! Series, follows Noodle through a very rough day at school. It just isn’t his fault that his brother’s game ran late and he didn’t finish his homework. Or that his mom forgot to remind him to turn in his library book. Or that Mary Gold got in his airspace and hit his arm with her head…
Students will join Noodle on his journey as he learns not to blame others or try to find fault, but instead practices accepting responsibility, and turns his very rough day into a very good NEW day!
Books:
Pigsty by Mark Teague
I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer
Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin
The Way I Act by Steve Metzger
Lucy Goosey Takes Responsibility by Katherine Ciriello Clark
The Worst Day of my Life Ever! by Julia Cook and Kelsey De Weerd
I Am Responsible! by David Parker
I Tell the Truth! by David Parker
Read Aloud YouTube Videos:
Charlie and Lola:It Wasn’t Meby Lauren Child
Pigstyby Mark Teague
What If Everybody Did That?by Ellen Javernick
The Paperboyby Dav Pilkey
Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin
The Emperor’s Egg by Erin Boone
The Way I Act by Steve Metzger
The Worst Day of my Life Ever!by Julia Cook and Kelsey De Weerd
Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading. Today, March 2, we will celebrate the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss!
Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote 46 children’s books, among them, The Cat in the Hatand Green Eggs and Ham. Did you know his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 29 times before finding a publisher! He sure had perseverance!
Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school. So…Hats Off To Reading!
On Monday, February 13, we celebrated our 100th day of school. We had a great day visiting other kindergarten classrooms and participating in activities to celebrate in each room. We all had a picnic snack together in the hall as part of the celebration and had a special visitor, Zero the Hero. It was a great day!
This week we had a wonderful snowy day and we decided to learn a little about snow and snowflakes. We have learned about nonfiction and that nonfiction books have facts and information to teach us about something. We read and learned about a man names Wilson Bentley, who was the first person to photograph a snowflake, and that many of the things we now know about snowflakes are because of his work.
We took what we learned about snowflakes and made our own using pattern blocks. Mrs. Levine and Ms. Sorrentino taught us that most snowflakes have 6 sides and 6 point, or branches. Snowflakes start as a speck, very tiny, and then become bigger and more beautiful as they fall from the sky. Some snowflakes are “twin flakes,” two snowflakes that stick together. These will have 12 branches. Some snowflakes are star shaped, some are plate shaped, and some are even rod shaped! We enjoyed creating many of our own beautiful snowflakes!
Last month, we focused on diversity and celebrating the unique qualities- the traits of each of us. A trait is something special to describe yourself. It can be something that is easy to see like your cheerful smile or the color of your eyes. Or it can be something on the inside, like your funny sense of humor or good manners or great piano playing. You can think of your traits as your special little lights. We learned the song “This Little Light of Mine” and wrote about our special little lights.
Be Positive! Optimism is the ability to remain hopeful and confident about the future or successful outcome of something. Assembly Read Aloud: Pete the Cat I Like My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Books with Optimism Theme:
Be Positive! A Book about Optimism by Cheri Meiners
Wanda’s Roses by Pat Brisson
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Assembly Read Aloud: But, Excuse Me, That Is My Book by Lauren Child
