Thank you, Moms and Dads who were able to come help us celebrate Halloween this afternoon.  We enjoyed a snack and then taught everyone how to play our favorite games...Monster Mash, Alphabet Candy Land, Grab and Count Spiders...We even got to make a book!  It was a mini-version of our favorite Halloween Poem.  Our party was a hugs success!!!  
If you were not able to make it, no worries!!!  Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!!!

Ask me all about our Halloween Fun!!!  Today we had ghosts greet us at the door. We had to count the ghosts 0-10, in order to come in the room!!!  When we left the room we had to read the words!  So fun!  
We had many special guest readers and our Fourth grade buddies joined us for Reader's Workshop.  We also had a special Halloween Number Talk.  What a fun day!
Watch part of our Number Talk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs4frEkp974&feature=youtu.be

Can you guess who our Halloween Readers Were???

Ask me all about my small moment story!!!  We are adding so many details to our writing that we have to add pages.  Some of our stories even have 3 pages...a beginning, a middle, and an end!!  The are so exciting.!!! 
At the end of writing today we shared in a big group.  One of our writers even said this was her best writing day EVER!!!

Ask me all about Wellness!  Today we shared reflections on our Harvest.  We made special memory bracelets and Mrs. Wright created a video with us all about our thoughts and feelings.  It is wonderful!!! 
Click on the link below and enjoy!

Ask me all about Writer's Workshop!  We are working on slowing down our writing & illustrating and stretching our small moments.  We are all trying so hard!!!  We have been collecting our writing tips and ideas on a special chart.  When we work together, we remind each other "DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS!!!"

Thank you so very much for coming to Parent Teacher Conferences this week!!!  I know how busy life can be and I appreciate all that you do to support your children!!!  It was wonderful to sit and share your children's progress with you.  Thank you for your questions, your stories, your excitement, and your patience as we navigate Kindergarten together!  What a fabulous year we are having!!!!

Ask me all about Small Moments.  We are writing about them in Writer's Workshop.  A Small Moment is a special memory that sticks with you forever.  Small Moment stories can stretch across several pages because the moment is so important.  We made a chart of ideas during writing this week.  It is filled with BIG life stories..."Reeling in my first fish", "Snuggling with Mom", "When Grandma opens the door for us with a big Hello".
Yesterday, Kindergarten had a very special "Small Moment" at Warren School.  Mrs. U. came and took each one of us out to the hallway and we all got to put our hand print on the wall.  It is a Warren School tradition.  It only took a few minutes, but it is something that will last a lifetime.   When we come back to visit Warren School when we are all grown up, our hand prints will still be there.  Many of us chose to write about it and how we felt.   
What a very special memory.

Ask me all about our Shared Poetry!!!  We have been learning many special poems this fall.  We read them together on the Smart Board.  We practice reading them in different voices and we look closely at the letters and words.  We search for sight words we are learning and look closely at word boundaries and rhymes. 
This week we have been working with a pumpkin poem and a ghostly song!  We have had so much fun!  Today we practiced using scissors (open, shut, open, shut...) and made spooky ghosts for our windows, while we sang our song.


Five little ghosts,
Went out one night,
Ready for fun and ready for FRIGHT.
Along came a witch,
on a big old broom.
She scared those ghosts by yelling...
BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Ask me all about the Book Fair!  We got to visit the library today and it doesn't look like a library anymore!!!  It looks like a Book Store!   We spent some time browsing all of the bookshelves looking for some books.  We brought a clipboard and a pencil with us so that we could make a "wish list" of books.  Our fourth grade buddies helped us find books that were just right for us.  Then they helped us write down the titles and the prices.  They were so helpful!!!
Mrs. Brown said that if we would like to buy one or two of the books on our list we can bring them money to school and visit the book fair or we can wait and come back  with our parents.  It will be open each day this week and even Thursday night during conferences!!!

Ask me all about our new math stations!  This week we are working carefully on counting, building, and decomposing numbers.  We are playing new games and even making cool counting books!
One of our Math Stations is full of spiders!!!!  ICK!!!  We have to count them and match the quantity with the right haunted house.
Another one of our Math Stations is our favorite game "Race to the Top"!   Instead of filling in the graph square, this week we have to write the number....and the dice have skeletons on them instead of dots!!!!  
Who knew math could be so creepy!!!

Ask me all about my fourth grade reading buddy!  Today we went to Mrs. Newton's classroom to enjoy some picture books together.  Our fourth grade buddies spent some time in the library this morning and picked out some stories just for us!  They were so thoughtful!  
We loved curling up and enjoying great literature together!!!

Ask me all about our trip to the Warren Firehouse!!!!  We had so much fun walking up the hill to meet the firefighters.  When we got there, Mr. Gordon explained how the firehouse works.  He told us that teamwork and organization were very important...we told him that our classroom runs the same way!!!
Mr. Lethbridge and Mr. Schultz talked to us about 911 and showed us some of the equipment they use.  Then something exciting happened.  The radio went off because someone had called 911.  We got to watch how quickly the firefighters and EMTs respond to an emergency.  It was so cool!!!!
They also gave us some special gifts.  We decided that tomorrow we are going to write them a BIG thank you note!!!

Ask me all about my reading strategies!!!
We have been working hard learning to be Super Readers!!!
We know that reading is hard work and we practiced today by reading a big book on our SMART board.  Mrs. Brady covered part of the words so we had to get our mouth ready and then we had to check the picture!  She couldn't trick us!!!  After we shared The Zoo, we practiced using our strategies with our Just Right Books.  It was so much fun.  

Tonight something special is happening.  We are bringing home our Just Right Books for the very first time!!!!  We are so excited to share some of the books we have been reading during Reader’s Workshop and Shared Reading with you!  These books will be coming home every night (Monday-Thursday) in our folders.  Please listen to us read the book once or twice and then put it back in the pocket so it is ready to return to school the next day.  Please encourage your child to handle the books carefully since they will be used in daily reading instruction.  (If the book is a favorite, you may see it more than one night in a row!!!)

During Reader’s Workshop we have been working on “sitting like a reader”, “picture walking”, “getting our reading finger out”, and “pointing to each word as we read it”.  We should be practicing these strategies at home as well.

Thank you for your help and support at home!!!!  

We filled our Warm Fuzzy Jar!!! 
To celebrate, we all brought in (or borrowed) a special stuffed friend or blanket.  We snuggled on the carpet and listened to stories, we wrote together, we asked questions during our Number Talk, and we even made a healthy snack together! 
It was such a fun day!
Filling our Warm Fuzzy Jar is a big deal.  We have to work hard and work together.  We get to put a Warm Fuzzy in the jar when we are kind, helpful or try our best.  It was nice to celebrate together!

Ask me all about our visit from the Warren Fire Marshall.  October is Fire Prevention Month!  Mr. MacMillan talk to us all about fire safety. 
We learned that every house should have a fire safety plan and smoke detectors.  Mr. Lethbridge, a volunteer from the Warren Fire Dept, showed us his special gear and we got to hear what it is like for him to breathe with his oxygen tank.  We also practiced crawling under the smoke to get out of our house.    It was so cool!

Ask me all about our iPad.  We have been using it in our classroom all year.  But today we used it during Reader's Workshop, as a reading station!!  First, we reviewed how to use it carefully and responsibly.  When we use the iPad we lay on our bellies and put the iPad on the carpet.  We worked together with our reading partners on a special app called Starfall ABC.  We have used the website on our Smart Board, so it was the perfect app to start with on our iPad.
After Reader's Workshop we came back together and shared our thoughts.  We had so much fun exploring the alphabet together!

Ask me all about the number 3!!!  Today during or Number Talk we looked very closely at groups of 3.  First we showed each other different ways to make a set 3 dots.  Next we explored the room and made collections of 3 things...beanie babies, crayons, book buckets, blocks, play doh containers...you name it, we found 3 of them!!!
Then we practiced writing the number 3 and the word three.  We also looked at how to build 3 on our tens frames!!!!  
We are so Math-Smart!!!!!
Check out our new favorite Math song!!!
http://safeshare.tv/w/ZDYtpdBaPT

Ask me all about Roll and Record!!!!   It's our new favorite math game.   We started playing it today in order to practice our number recognition and fine motor skills.  We used very special dice with the numbers 1-6 on them.  We also had a special game board to color in as we went along. 
Our job was to roll the die, recognize the number, and then carefully color in a square on the game board graph.  In addition to our numbers, we used lots of special math language while we worked (more than, less than, fewer, most, & the same amount)
Roll and Record is a game that we will revisit and play many different ways throughout the year.  IT IS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

Ask me all about our Read Aloud!!!   Every day after recess we curl up and enjoy a chapter.  We love this time of day!!!  Right now, we are sharing The Enchanted Wood, by Enid Blyton.  We discuss how the characters behave and what we think might happen next.  We also make connections to the story.                          
We read very closely and we always talk about the new words that we hear.  We are making a big list so that we can remember them.  Talking about the author’s language helps readers understand the story even better!!!