This week our classroom was overtaken by terrible lizards. . . dinosaurs!  In addition to reading many books on the subject, we went on virtual field trips to dinosaur digs and museums where we explored the world of paleontologists.  The children studied about how these scientists discover dinosaur fossils and reconstruct them to learn about the giant reptiles of long ago.  The class learned that some dinosaurs were meat eaters (carnivores) and some were plant eaters (herbivores).   Next week we are looking forward to learning more about dinosaurs as each honeybee shares his research project!

     In reading, we worked on strategies that help us keep track of and remember information from a story.  Reviewing the events of a text, remembering favorite parts of a story, drawing pictures after reading a text, and sharing favorite parts of a text are all strategies we used to make our reading experiences more meaningful.  The word sort for the week focused on the ending sounds of Tt and Xx while handwriting centered on reviewing the correct formation of the letter Ss, Uu, Bb, and Pp.

In math, we worked on making fair trades with pennies & nickels and pennies & dimes.  Additionally, we practiced making different coin combinations of the same value (i.e.  10 cents can be shown as 10 pennies or 1 nickel and 5 pennies or 1 dime).  Next week we will go shopping at the school store with the money sent from home.  Although we have concluded our math chapter on money, we will continue to review coins, their values, and making fair trades throughout the year during our daily calendar time.

Important items to note:

• Dinosaur projects are due on Monday.  Please help your child "rehearse" his information so that he will be ready to share the research with our class.
• Doughnuts for Dads is Thursday, 3/1 from 8:15-9:00 a.m. in our classroom.  Please make every effort to have a guest in attendance for your honeybee.
• Read Across America Day is Friday, 3/2.  All GM students are invited to wear their p.j.'s to school; however, please remember that appropriate footwear is needed (no slippers, please).
• All Honeybees who have mastered the 60 Kindergarten sight words by March 1st will have their names entered into a drawing for tickets to an Atlanta Hawks game.  There will be one winner for each grade level.
• Please send in a photograph of your student and his/her dad if you have not already done so.
• The new sight words for next week will be one and six.
• Specials next Friday will be Music.

Enjoy the weekend!

Janie Hutcherson

 This week we wrapped up our unit on American Symbols by studying about Presidents' Day and reviewing the many national symbols and landmarks of our country.  I am so proud of the children and the knowledge they have gained about the USA, its patriotic symbols, and what they mean to our citizens. In reading, our focus was on how using features such as charts, photographs, and illustrations help readers gain more information from what they read.  We also examined how the text's organization helps the reader better understand the information being presented (such as one topic per page, the use of headings and charts, and predictable text).  The letters Pp and Bb were practiced in handwriting.  We continued to work on our Georgia Kindergarten math standard (identifying coins by their appearance, name, and value) by specifically examining the dime and the quarter.  The honeybees also worked on making fair trades with pennies & nickels and pennies & dimes.  Today in the Computer Lab, we explored a new math application, Graph Club, to integrate math standards with technology. Students used data collected from a sorting activity earlier in the week to create a picture and bar graph of their coin sets.  Be sure to ask your student to interpret the graphs for you--which set has the most? the fewest? equal sets?  Also, see if your child can count the value of each set by counting by ones (pennies), fives (nickels), tens (dimes), and twenty-five (quarters).

  Tuesday we celebrated friendships in our classroom by exchanging valentines.  The children had a wonderful time sharing their valentine boxes and delivering cards to classmates.  We enjoyed a special snack and met with our Book Buddies for some valentine fun.  Mrs. Jann and I would like to say thank you for the many cards, flowers, and goodies we received on Valentine's Day--the honeybees made us feel very loved!

Our Honeybee of the Week was Griffin.  We had fun looking at his poster and eating brownies together!

Important items to note:

• There will be no school on Monday, 2/20 in observance of Presidents' Day.
• Our High Touch, High Tech program "Chem Fun" is scheduled from 11:20 a.m.-12:50 p.m. on Tuesday, 2/21.  Please note that we will be eating in our classroom at 10:30 a.m. to accommodate our program time.
• GM's Relay For Life Team is sponsoring Baseball Hat Day on Friday, 2/24.  Students may wear a baseball hat during class for a $1 donation.
• All Honeybees who have mastered the 60 Kindergarten sight words by March 1st will have their names entered into a drawing for tickets to an Atlanta Hawks basketball game.  There will be one winner from each grade level.
• Doughnuts for Dads is Thursday, 3/1 from 8:15-9:00 a.m. in our classroom.
• The new sight words for next week will be this and you.
• Specials next Friday will be P.E.

 Enjoy the holiday weekend with your family!

Janie Hutcherson

  The honeybees have spent the week learning about two American presidents with February birthdays--George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  We read many nonfiction titles to gain new information about these great Americans.  Students used graphic organizers such as bubble maps and word splashes to record information about each president.  We used these organizers to help write informational pieces about Washington and Lincoln.  This week students also shared their American Symbols projects. Georgia Kindergarten Standards state that students will use oral and visual skills to communicate. . . the honeybees did a wonderful job telling classmates about their research findings!  Thank you for your assistance at home with this learning activity.

     In reading, our focus was on learning how to read nonfiction texts.  We discovered how special features such as content pages, headings, tables, and photographs help the reader gain understanding from the text.  The initial sounds of Vv, Yy, and Zz were the subject of our word sort while handwriting instruction was given for the letters Uu and Ss.

In math, we began our unit on Money where we focused on coin identification and values.  We are in the process of constructing a graphic organizer titled "Coins" to help students visually see the characteristics of the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter.  Students worked to identify the president on the obverse or head side of each coin as well as the monument/symbol on the reverse or tail side of each coin.  The honeybees were challenged to be Coin Detectives and search for new pennies, nickels, and state quarters. . . several children have brought in their findings to share!  We also made fair trades with pennies and nickels.  You can help at home by giving your child pennies and nickels to count.  Ask him to sort the coins and name their individual values.  Give combinations of coins (pennies and nickels) and ask your student to tell the value--how much money do you have?  We have practiced using the "counting on" strategy (one nickel and 3 pennies is 5-6-7-8 cents).  Next week we will look closely at the dime and quarter.   

This week we celebrated Joseph, our Honeybee of the Week.  The class enjoyed his poster and delicious sugar cookies!

Important items to note:

• Our class will be exchanging valentines on Tuesday, 2/14.  Please make certain that your child brings his decorated box and addressed valentine cards (with individually wrapped candy treats if you wish) to school by Tuesday morning.
• All permission slips for our upcoming High Touch, High Tech programs "Chem Fun" and  "Get Buggy" are due.  If you have not already done so, please return forms as soon as possible so that your child may participate.
• Friday, 2/17 is Spring Picture Day.  Individual photos and a class photo will be taken.  Look for information regarding packages and pricing in next week's take home folder.
• GM is collecting Box Tops for Education.  All clipped Box Tops should be deposited in our classroom collection bin by next Friday, 2/17.
• There will be no school on Monday, 2/20 in observance of Presidents' Day.
• Honeybee Dads, save the date. . . Thursday, March 1st is Doughnuts for Dads from 8:15-9:00 a.m. in our classroom.
• We are in need of parent volunteers to work during center time (M-Th 9:00-10:30 a.m.).  Please check the Signupgenius.com website for all open dates. 
• The new sight words next week will be play and run.
• Specials next Friday will be Art.

Thanks for making my birthday a great one today!

Janie Hutcherson

   The honeybees love the USA!  This week we have been studying about our country and American symbols.  The children took great pride in discovering that a symbol stands for something we believe in.  Our nation's flag (liberty and justice), the bald eagle (freedom and power), the Statue of Liberty (liberty and friendship), and the Liberty Bell (independence) are all American symbols.  Ask your student to tell you about these important symbols and where they are located.  We also studied about the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol--can your child tell you their location and who they were built for/what they are used for today? 

     This week's reading lessons focused on recognizing print as a means of gaining information.  We explored the roles of photographs and illustrations in nonfiction texts.  The letters Jj, Qq, and Ww were the topic of the week's word sort activity while the letter Gg was practiced in handwriting.

     In math, we completed our chapter on numbers 10-30.  During this unit, the honeybees learned to build and record two digit numbers.  We also practiced counting sets of objects to 30.  Next week we begin our study on money, where we will address the Georgia Math Kindergarten standards of coin identification and values, making fair trades with pennies/nickels /dimes, and counting pennies for items totalling less than 3o cents. 

 Congratulations to our latest Honeybee of the Week, Mackenna.  The honeybees had fun listening to her favorite story and sharing a snack together.

  Important items to note:

• Our class earned a popcorn treat at Cafe GM for outstanding lunchroom behavior during the month of January.  Way to go honeybees!
• If you have not already done so, please send in a one inch binder for an ongoing writing project.
• Our class is in need of stickers.  If you care to send in a package for our young writers to use as writing prompts, it would be greatly appreciated.  No particular theme is needed, just colorful stickers appealing to Kindergarten students.
• Many of the honeybees have reached the end of the rainbow. . . mastery of all 60 rainbow words.  Today I sent home the 1st grade word list with those who have mastered the Kindergarten sight words; however, please continue to review the correct spelling of the rainbow words at home.  This will be most beneficial to your child as he works to improve independent writing skills.
• The Gala sponsored by the GMEF is tomorrow night, 2/4 from 7-11 p.m. at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.  There will be many items available at the Silent Auction including a Munchies & Moonwalk Party with the Kindergarten teachers.  Hope to see you tomorrow night!
• Don't forget. . . the American Symbols project is due on Monday.
• Looking ahead-- "Donuts for Dads" is Thursday, March 1st from 8:15 -9:00 a.m. in our classroom.
• The new sight words for next week will be look and make.
• Specials next Friday will be P.E.

Looking forward to seeing your child and his project on Monday!

Janie Hutcherson

 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