The honeybees extended our study of winter by learning about polar animals this week.  We learned that many animals living in polar regions use camouflage to protect themselves and that their body coverings help insulate them from the harsh elements.  We took a close look at penguins this week as well.  Students discovered where penguins live, what they eat, how they move, how they raise their young and distinguishing physicals features of these flightless birds.  Be sure to ask you child to relay some of these facts to you.

     In reading, we worked on learning information from nonfiction texts.  One of the Georgia Kindergarten Reading standards states that students will listen to and read a variety of literary and informational texts and materials to gain knowledge.  We began by identifying if a book is fiction or nonfiction.  Next, we practiced making connections to a text by using what we already know to learn new information.  Students learned to ask questions as they read, shared the information learned with a peer, and identified new information they wish to learn in future readings/research.  We explored the use of a table of contents and how it saves readers time when locating information.  Our letter sort for the week focused on the /k/ and /l/ sounds while handwriting instruction gave practice in forming the letters Jj and Qq.  We continued math work with numbers 10-30 by using ten frames and objects to build visual representations of double digit numbers to 30.  By designing concrete representations of numbers, students are able better able to communicate their mathematical thinking clearly to peers and teachers (a Georgia Math Kindergarten standard).  The honeybees also used data from graphs to problem solve.  Vocabulary terms that were covered included more, most, fewer, fewest, graph, row, and column.

Today we celebrated the 100th day of school!  Students traveled to each Kindergarten classroom to participate in various activities such as creating self-portraits of themselves at age 100, designing 100th day hats, listening to 100th day stories, making 100th day badges and more.  We met as a grade level to line up and count 100 cupcakes. . . they made a great dessert at lunch!  The 100th day homework projects look great hanging in the hallway--thanks for helping your child build a set of 100 using such creative items!

Congratulations to Ella, our Honeybee of the Week.  The unique poster and snack that she shared with our class was enjoyed by everyone!

Important items to note:

• Please be sure to read the letter sent home today regarding coins needed for our upcoming math unit on money.
• Scholastic Book orders are due next week.  If you care to place an order, it may be done online or sent to Mrs. Turner via your child's take home folder.  Participation is optional.
• The GM Foundation will be hosting the 2012 Gala on Saturday, February 4th at the Olde Town Athletic Club.  A Moonwalk & Munchies Party with Mrs. Hutcherson and the other Kindergarten teachers will be available for bid during the Silent Auction.  Please visit the GMEF website for more details.
• Looking ahead. . . Honeybee Dads are invited to Donuts for Dads on Thursday morning, March 1st.  More information will follow. 
• The new sight words for next week will be for and like.
• Specials next Friday will be Music.

Have a nice weekend,

Janie Hutcherson

Dear Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that, as a gala auction item, the kindergarten team is offering "Munchies and a Moonwalk."

This will be for 12 lucky students. Bounce away with the kindergarten team after school at GM for approximately 1.5 hours.  Fun snacks provided.  Top two bids for each teacher.  Date and time to be worked out between teachers and parents.

The Gala Auction will be held February 4, 2012 at Olde Towne Athletic Club from 7 to 11 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://gmefoundation.org - $35 and $45 at the door or you can Download 2012GALATicketformto purchase tickets in advance. Visit the website for a sample of items to bid on. All proceeds go back to GMEF.

The proceeds will be used to improve our school by providing funding for programs such as technology, educational curriculum and facility improvements. The GMEF will accumulate and distribute resources beyond those provided by Cobb County or the PTA, in order to further enhance, foster and enrich the educational experiences of all students at Garrison Mill.

Thank you for your support!

This week we enjoyed winter literature by reading Jan Brett's adaptation of the Ukrainian folktale The Mitten and Shirley Neitzel's story The Jacket I Wear In The Snow.  Both of these books were excellent for teaching story sequence as well as reinforcing sight words and building new vocabulary.  Kindergarten standards state that students will communicate effectively when retelling stories heard. . . please have your child use the mitten/animal characters as well as the snowman slider to retell these two stories.  In reading this week, we worked on identifying and using text features.  The honeybees explored the use of speech & thought bubbles in text, noticed word patterns in the text, interpreted charts/maps found within a book, and used illustrations to understand stories.  In phonics, students identified the initial /f/ and /d/ sounds in words and used alphabet boards to practice letter identification, letter sequence, and letter sounds.  Handwriting lessons focused on the letters Ee and Ff, both of which use horizontal, vertical and backward circles. 

    Math instruction was on numbers 10-30.  We used ten frames to help organize objects and "count on" from the number 10 (ex. 10-11, 12, 13).  The children discovered that counting on from 10 is a much faster way to count a large set of objects rather than counting each individual member of the set.  Using ten frames also helped with the understanding of double digit numbers.  Students built numbers to see the visual representation before writing--for example, 12 (one set of 10 and 2 more) is not the same as 21 (2 sets of ten and 1 more). 

Happy birthday to Marcella!  She celebrated her special day earlier this week by sharing strawberry cupcakes with the class.

Congratulations to this week's Honeybee of the Week, Kyle.  We enjoyed his poster and the delicious chocolate chip cookies together.

Important items to note:

• The GM Foundation will be hosting the 2012 Gala on February 4th.  A Moonwalk & Munchies Party with Mrs. Hutcherson and the other Kindergarten teachers will be available for bid during the Silent Auction.  Please refer to the informational postcard that was sent home earlier this week for more details.
• Thank you to our room parents, Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Fisher, for creating the on-line calendar for classroom volunteer opportunities.  All Reading Parent and Computer Lab slots for the remainder of the school year have been filled.  We still have a few openings for Center Time volunteers (M-TH 9:00-10:30 a.m.).  Please visit the Signupgenius.com website for available times.
• The new sight words for next week will be are and come.
• Friday, 1/27 is Relay For Life Baseball Cap Day.  Students may wear a baseball cap during class for a $1 donation.
• Friday is also the 100th Day of School!  Look for information about the 100th Day homework project and special activity in Monday's take home folder.
• Specials next Friday will be P.E.

Happy Friday!

Janie Hutcherson

Happy New Year!  It is hard to believe that we are now in the second half of the school year.  This week has been a great one as students have returned from the break ready to greet friends and settle back into our community of learning.  I am so pleased with the tremendous progress of the children as reflected in the second quarter report cards and their performance this past week.  Please take the time to tell your child how proud you are of his accomplishments!

  Over the rainbow. . .  Each student is progressing at his own rate with the Kindergarten sight words.  We celebrate mastery of each color (set of 10 words) on the rainbow in our classroom; however, as students master all 60 rainbow words, they will be recognized on the GM morning news by Mr. Giesler and Dr. Stasiak.  I will be checking rainbow words each week as students work to master all 60 words.  Thank you in advance for helping your child review at home.

  This week our classroom was invaded by snowmen!  We read many winter books and created snowmen with everything from torn paper to foam letters to marshmallows.  Students used their snowman creations as prompts for descriptive writing and name building frames in language arts and number combinations in math.  We learned about the stages of water (solid, liquid,and gas) and discovered that snow is a frozen solid.  Our word sort for the week focused on the /c/ and /h/ sounds.  We were reminded that the letter Cc has both the hard c sound (cake) and the soft c sound (circle).  Handwriting practice was done with the letter Cc.  We concluded our week learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream for peace and fairness in our world.

Happy birthday to Andrew, who celebrated his big day during the winter break.  Our class enjoyed sharing chocolate cupcakes with him.

Happy birthday to Kaitlyn--her special day was also during the break.  The honeybees enjoyed the cookies she brought to share.

Important items to note:

• Congratulations to the honeybees for earning ice cream sundaes at Cafe GM!  Our class was recognized for their outstanding cafeteria behavior during the first semester of the school year. 
• Just a reminder that your child needs a nutritious snack, a rest towel, and appropriate outerwear each day.
• The new sight words for next week will be to and we.  These are the last of the yellow rainbow words.
• Specials next Friday will be Art.
• There is no school on Monday, 1/16 in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Janie Hutcherson

   The honeybees enjoyed  holiday books and songs this week, including many titles from author/illustrator Jan Brett.  We began the week by reading the stories The Gingerbread Baby and Gingerbread Friends.  Students were able to make comparisons between the classic tale and Brett's work.  The class also designed their own gingerbread babies and ended the week by creating a gingerbread house out of yummy candy treats.  Students had a fabulous time decorating their houses like Mattie from The Gingerbread Baby--there were many patterns and designs with everything from gum drops to Skittles to marshmallows.  Thank you for sending in the needed items for this special literature-based activity.  Also, thanks to Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Fisher for helping with the prep work.

Our class holiday party is scheduled for Wednesday, 12/21 from 9:30-10:30 a.m.  We will be playing games, making crafts, and enjoying delicious treats with our classmates.  Parents are welcome to join us for a morning of fun!  On Thursday we will be sharing snacks and watching the movie, "The Polar Express".  The honeybees may wear their pajamas to school as we head to the North Pole via the Polar Express.  Be sure your child wears appropriate footwear to school--no slippers, please.

 The Honeybee of the Week was Natalie.  The children enjoyed her honeybee-shaped poster and the delicious snacks together!

Important items to note:

• Monday and Tuesday, 12/19-20, we begin our "Holidays Around the World" study.  Students will be visiting the countries of France, Germany, Mexico, Israel, and China to learn how the holidays are celebrated in various countries around the globe.   
• Wednesday, 12/21 is our class holiday party.
• Thursday, 12/22 is Polar Express Day.
• There is no school on Friday, 12/23.

Enjoy the remainder of the weekend!

Janie Hutcherson

Where in the world are we?  The honeybees have been hard at work with map and globe skills.  With respect to the globe, we have been learning to distinguish between land/water and to identify the continents.  Map skills included recognizing the US map, locating the state of Georgia, and plotting each child's birthplace on the United States map.  We discovered that our classmates were born in many different states throughout the nation and one honeybee was born in a country on a different continent!

     In reading, we continue to work on story grammar.  Students are identifying the main characters, setting, and problem in a story as well as identifying how characters feel about story elements and how the problem in the story is solved.  Our word sort for the week focused on the letters Gg and Tt.  The honeybees listened for the beginning sound of /g/ and /t/ in words and illustrated examples of objects beginning with these initial consonant sounds.  The letter Oo was practiced during handwriting instruction. 

     We continue to work on geometry in our math lessons by identifying plane shapes (circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles) when they are in various rotated positions.  We also worked to combine plane shapes to create more complex shapes and pictures.  In the Computer Lab, a drawing program (Kid Pix) and graphic tablet was used to design a picture using plane shapes.

Congratulations to Andrew, our Honeybee of the Week.  The children learned many new facts about him from his poster, and we all enjoyed the delicious popcorn!

  The honeybees say good bye to our friend, Mary Elizabeth.  We wish her and her family well as they move out-of-state to a new home and school.

We welcome a new honeybee to our hive. . . Amaris!  The children have done a wonderful job helping her adjust to a new classroom and school.

Important items to note:

• Thank you for your generosity with the MUST Ministry food drive.  The honeybee families donated many items to help those in our community!
• The book order for Scholastic Book Club has been extended until Monday.  If you care to place an order, please do so on-line or send your selections in a sealed enveloped on Monday.  Participation is optional.
• Supplies for our gingerbread house activity should be sent to school by Wednesday, 12/14.
• If you have not already done so, please send in an adult-sized shoe box.  Any extras would be appreciated.
• Everyone is invited to attend our Holiday Party on Wednesday, 12/21 from 9:30-10:30 a.m.  Please respond to the e-vite sent out by our room parents so that we may plan accordingly.
• The new sight words next week will be he and she.
• Specials next Friday will be Art.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

Janie Hutcherson

The question of the week. . . how can we GO?  The honeybees have been exploring the ways transportation helps people and things move from one location to another.  The children identified vehicles and their uses as well as sorted them into modes of transportation for land, air, and water travel.  We discovered that not all forms of transportation require wheels and engines--some vehicles rely on people power or nature (wind/water)to help them go.  Technology was integrated into our unit of study when students used drawing tools to illustrate different forms of transportation.

In reading, the honeybees worked on understanding story grammar.  Students learned that characters, settings, and plot are part of a story, and good readers recognize and ask questions about these story elements.  Handwriting instruction focused on the letters Ii and Tt, both of which are composed of vertical and horizontal lines.

We began our new math unit on Geometry where we are learning about plane and solid shapes.  Students learned that circles, squares, triangles and rectangles are plane shapes.  Spheres and cubes are solid shapes.  We practiced finding plane and solid shapes in our classroom and learned about the defining characteristics of shapes--i.e. the number of sides each shape has, the number of corners on each shape, and which shapes have curves.  The honeybees also investigated the ways shapes can be manipulated by rolling, sliding, and stacking.

Happy birthday to Ella, who celebrated her special day this week.  The honeybees enjoyed sharing birthday treats together!

Happy birthday to Haley!  The class enjoyed celebrating her big day with delicious cupcakes.

Important items to note. . .

• Tomorrow, 12/3 is the GM Foundation's Pancake Breakfast from 7:30-11:00 a.m. in the cafeteria.
• Please send in an adult-sized shoe box if you have not already done so .
• Kinder Keys assignments are due each Friday.  Please send an electronic copy or a print out of your child's work along with the signed assignment sheet.
• Please make certain that your child wears appropriate outwear for our morning recess time. 
• Congratulations to the honeybees for earning a popcorn party at Cafe GM!  Our class was recognized for having exemplary lunchroom behavior during the month of November.
• The canned food drive sponsored by the Student Council continues next week.  All donations will be given to MUST Ministries.  Thank you for your generosity as GM students strive to make a difference in our community.
• The December Scholastic Book Club magazine was sent home today.  Orders may be submitted online or may be sent to school in a sealed envelope labeled Scholastic Book Club Order.  Remember, our class earns free books for every item purchased.  Participation is optional.
• Mark your calendars for Wednesday, 12/21.  Our class holiday party will be from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in our classroom.  All parents are invited to attend--please make alternate arrangements for younger siblings.
• The new sight words for next week will be and and see.
• Specials next Friday will be P.E.

Enjoy the weekend!

Janie Hutcherson

Happy Thanksgiving to the Honeybee families!  It was a joy to have you visit our classroom today for the Grandparents and Special Friends Luncheon.  The children enjoyed sharing our Thanksgiving play and music with you.  It was a delight to see the students take pride in showing their classroom, school, and friends to family members.  Thank you for making this event a special one for your child!

Happy birthday to Griffin, who will be celebrating his big day during Thanksgiving break.  Our class enjoyed sharing birthday treats together this week.

Important items to note:

• Thank you to everyone who purchased books at the Book Fair.  The honeybees received many new titles for our classroom library.
• Remember that there is no school next week, 11/21-25.  I look forward to seeing your honeybee back at Garrison Mill on Monday, 11/28.
• The new sight words when we return will be can and the.
• Please send in one adult-sized shoe box (with lid) for an upcoming project.
• Our classroom supply of "emergency" snacks has been depleted.  If you would care to send in a box/bag of nutritious items for students who have forgotten their morning snack, it would be greatly appreciated. 
• Specials on Friday, 12/2 will be Music.

     Thank you for the privilege of working with your family.  It is my joy to help your child grow and discover new things each day.  I hope that your family has a happy Thanksgiving with plenty of time together doing the things you love. . .

Janie Hutcherson

The week was short, but lots of learning has taken place in our classroom!  Students began preparations for our upcoming Thanksgiving program by learning new songs and play parts.  We explored the life of Native Americans, learning about the different groups throughout the country--each with different types of homes, transportation, food sources, and climate.  Every student was assigned a "new" name. . . has your child shared his/her name with you?  Next week we will look at how the Native Americans aided the Pilgrims during their first year in America.  We will study about the first Thanksgiving and continue reflecting on things for which we are thankful. 

    Today we celebrated Veterans' Day, learning about what veterans are, how they serve our country, and how we honor them on this special day.  Students crafted a class thank you letter and drew pictures to illustrate their understanding of this patriotic day.  Our letter and artwork will be part of the Veterans' display in the Media Center during next week's Thanksgiving luncheons.

     Building vocabulary was the topic of our reading lessons this week.  Students were encouraged to think about the words in the title, use picture clues to figure out words, look for words that repeat, and notice words that authors use throughout the text. Our phonics work involved the letters Rr and Ss--sorting pictures by beginning sounds and illustrating examples of the /r/ and /s/ sounds.  Math instruction focused on numbers 6-10.  Numeral formation for these numbers as well as one-to-one counting and set making was part of our math instruction.  The honeybees are working hard to understand number concepts such as more, greater, less, fewer, equal, and empty set.

This week's Honeybee of the Week was Mary Alice.  Our class enjoyed her poster, her favorite story, and Rice Krispy treats together.

 Important items to note:

• Our class will be eating in our room both Wednesday and Thursday, 11/16-17, to accommodate other grade levels' luncheon times.
• Friday, 11/18 is the Grandparents and Special Friends' Luncheon for Kindergarten classes.  EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND.  The honeybees will be dining at 11:05 a.m. and will return to the classroom for our Thanksgiving program, "Hooray For Thanksgiving".  Guests will be invited to have family photographs made, visit the Book Fair, and enjoy the Veterans' Day display in the Media Center at the conclusion of our program.  Please make every effort to have a guest in attendance for your student on this special day. Parking will be limited, so please plan your arrival accordingly.
• No new sight words for next week--we will be reviewing all of the red and orange rainbow words.
• Specials next Friday will be Art.

 Have a wonderful weekend with your family!

Janie Hutcherson

Family and friends has been the topic of study this week in our classroom.  The honeybees enjoyed sharing about their families--the number of people in each family, how each family works together, favorite things each family enjoys, and responsibilities of each family member.  We created family crests by spelling our last names and drawing important elements of our family lives.  In reading, the honeybees explored the idea of using what you already know when reading a text.  Using pictures to think about what we know and using what we know about a topic can help readers understand the text.  Our phonics work with beginning sounds focused on the /b/ and /m/ sounds.  Handwriting lessons used the vertical and horizontal strokes to form the letters Ll and Ii.  In math, we completed our chapter on numbers 0-5.  We practiced numeral formation and set making for each of these numbers.  Comparing two sets to determine which had more and fewer was part of our lessons as well.  Next week we will begin a chapter on numbers 6-10.  

Congratulations to Sarah who was our Honeybee of the Week.  We enjoyed the delicious chocolate cupcakes and the cute honeybee poster! 

 Important items to note:

• This week the honeybees enjoyed popcorn at Cafe GM--the students were rewarded for excellent cafeteria behavior during the month of October.
• Tuesday, November 8th is a student holiday.
• There will be club photos taken for the school's yearbook on the morning of Thursday, November 10th for any student who has participated in any after school club.  This may include: Chorus, Art Club, Young Rembrandts, Odyssey of the Mind, Drama Club, Chess Club, Golf Club, Spanish Club, Cheer Dance, Club Scientific, Cub Scouts, Student Council, Wee Deliver, News Crew, Safety Patrol, etc. Please be sure to make your child aware of this activity which is strictly voluntary.
• Friday, November 18th at 11:05 a.m. is our Grandparents' and Special Friends' Luncheon.  The honeybees will be presenting our class play, "Hooray For Thanksgiving", immediately after lunch.  Family photographs and the Book Fair will be available in the Media Center after our program.  If you have not already done so, please return your RSVP form so that our cafeteria staff can plan accordingly. 
• Please be sure to send in a nutritious snack for your child each day. 
• The sight words for next week will be pink and white (the last remaining orange rainbow words).
• Specials next Friday will be P.E.

Remember to set your clock back one hour Saturday evening!

Janie Hutcherson