Together Everyone Achieves More - TEAM!

The Science of Seuss

2012-01-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

January is "Literacy Month" for the Florida Department of Education. They have a variety of initiatives put in place to get teachers, students and parents fired up about reading. At New Berlin, we also celebrate Science in January because this is when individual and class science projects are due. This year we decided to combine the two (literacy and science) and we had one big "Science of Seuss Day" on Friday the 13th. In Kindergarten through 2nd grade, students and teachers particpated in a variety of science activities centered around the famed author Dr. Seuss. In our class we read the book "My Many Colored Days" and experimented with mixing primary colors to make secondary ones. We also read "Bartholomew and Oobleck", where a gooey green substance, Oobleck, fell from the sky and wreaked havoc in the kingdom. The students had an opportunity to make and take home their very own gooey Oobleck. The Science of Seuss was a fun way for the students to think outside of the box in literacy and engage with the scientific process. Here are a few snapshots of our day....

How do we MEASURE up?

2012-01-15T05:52:00.000-08:00

Rulers, meter sticks, measuring tapes, craft sticks, colored tiles.... all tools that we have learned about measuring with in Math. The Common Core Standards K.MD.1 and K.MD.2 state that students should be able to describe and compare measurable attributes. More specifically they need to be able to:
1. Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.
2. Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.

We have been working towards mastery of these standards by measuring objects in our classroom using a variety of math manipulatives. We also have been creating connecting cube towers and then determining which has more or less. The students have enjoyed the many hands on measuring activities and exploring this math concept.

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! To get in the spirit of the holidays, we had our very own Winter Festival. We started out with a relaxing and delicious lunch in our classroom. We ate pizza, carrots and ranch, yogurt and a yummy Christmas cookie. This was followed by an afternoon full of crafts, activities and goodies. We decorated Christmas trees made of pinecones, made reindeer food, designed and ate Christmas trees made out of waffle cones and frosting, and even created snowman ornaments! We ended the day with a holiday movie and a special treat brought in by one of our classmates. It was a fun time for all! Thank you to all of the wonderful parents who helped make the holiday party a success!

Another slideshow design by Smilebox

All Aboard.......

2011-12-26T13:12:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night, December 16th, we had our annual Polar Express Night. Students from all grade levels came back to school dressed in their pajamas, ready for a magical night. The first stop for students and parents was a classroom or designated location where they stopped in to listen to the reading of the book "The Polar Express." Following the book reading they headed down to the cafeteria to do lots of fun crafts, eat delicious treats, make Christmas cards for soldiers, donate Toys for Tots and get a picture with Champ (our school's mascot) by the Christmas tree. This year we celebrated the Polar Express Florida style; which entailed yoo-hoos instead of hot chocolate and fun beach themed Christmas crafts. Champ even arrived in his bathing suit!! It was a fun and wonderful way to kick off the holidays!

What do you know HOW TO do?

2011-12-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

We are just wrapping up our 4 week study on Functional writing. As I like to tell the students - "We put the FUN in Functional" in Kindergarten at NBE! The students have been telling how to do or make something that they are experts at in their writing. We have discussed all of the important components of a great functional writing piece that meets the Kindergarten Functional Standard - W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. The student will write in a variety of informational/expository forms (e.g., rules, summaries, recipes, notes/messages, labels, instructions, graphs/tables). They have learned how to title their work, include 4 steps or more in their piece, use transition words (first, next, then and last) and label the picture to match their writing. We have a class full of experts on many different "How To" topics! As a class we have written about How to Brush Our Teeth, Paint, Make a S'more, Put on Socks and Shoes, Get Ready for Lunch and many other exciting things that we know how to do. One of the students' favorite writing days was when I demonstrated "How to Make Chocolate Milk." After the students assisted in writing the steps, they went back to their seats and made their own chocolate milk. Here are some pictures to give you a glimpse of our "Fun"ctional Writing!

Yeehaw!

2011-11-27T05:23:00.000-08:00

Another photo album by Smilebox

On Friday, November 18th, we went on our first field trip of the 2011-2012 school year. We were all matching in our blue field trip shirts and ready for a day of excitement and nature exploration. For many of the students, the bus ride alone was a fantastic adventure! It would soon prove to be pale in comparison to Diamond D.

We started off our day at Diamond D Ranch with a little barrel roll. Several students opted out of the ride, but many were brave and stepped up for a tummy turning roll in the barrel. Our next stop was the animal orientation, where we checked out a special mini horse and bull. Next we were on to a fun picnic lunch with friends! After lunch we rode the ponies and that was followed by the Nature Trail. The students learned about different uses for trees and were amazed by the massive catfish that showed up when they tossed food into the pond. We ended the day with an exciting wagon ride. On our journey around the property we learned about a bison and we were even surrounded by and fed "cow chow" to a herd of hungry cattle. The best part was that our tractor and wagon broke down in the middle of the cow pasture. Luckily Diamond D sent a backup wagon to rescue us! :) All in all, it was a great day on the ranch!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-15T19:48:00.001-08:00

In honor of Veteran's Day, we had our first flag raising ceremony last Thursday. It was a chilly morning with bright blue skies and a wonderful way to honor our veterans. We were fortunate to have several active Marines come to New Berlin and lead a traditional flag folding ceremony. The 5th grade patrols took down our old school flag and hung up a new one in its place. We sang a few patriotic songs and paid tribute to all of the men that serve our country. Thank you to all of the veterans near and far!

Happy Fall!

2011-11-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can't believe it's November already! Last week we celebrated the season by having a Fall Festival in our classroom. We made a few fun crafts and a spooky edible marshmallow spider. I am so proud of all of the students and it was a great way to celebrate their successes so far in Kindergarten. Thank you so much to the parent volunteers who helped make it a great day for us all!

Skills Block

2011-10-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Dadada Da... Skills Block! Dadada Da... Skills Block! We learn our ABCs, Counting 1-2-3s, Standards Yes Siree... at Skills Block time! This is the song that we sing to start our Skills Block each and every day!

Skills Block is the portion of our state mandated 90 minute Reading Block, in which we focus on developmental skills that our students use when reading. It is also one of our students' favorite parts of the day because they get to go to their Literacy Work Stations around the classroom. In the stations, the students get to work hands on with materials that reinforce the skills that they are learning during the mini lesson. The focus is on practice and purpose that is linked to our daily teaching. There are 10 stations total in our classroom that the student go to weekly. Some of the activities include: Listening Station, Writing Station, Word Work, Poetry, Creation Station, Computers and Classroom Library. The students rotate to two different stations each day. For our emergent readers, these work stations will give the children the opportunity to develop phonological awareness (the ability to isolate and manipulate the sounds in language), print awareness and concepts of print, and learn about letters and sounds. The students love stations so much because they are fun and engaging -- which is exactly what I want learning in our classroom to be!
Ask your child which station is their favorite - I'm sure they will have lots to share! :)

Start the Arts at NBE!

2011-10-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

New Berlin is excited about the Arts! Yesterday we had our official "Start the Arts" parade, which got the students excited about expressing themselves through various art forms. We went on a tour around our school to learn more about the arts. We visited six different stations along the route, which each featured a different expressive art form. The stations included literature, film/video production, photography, visual arts, musical composition and dance/choreography. The students learned about each of the various arts and were able to take part in several fun activities. At the end of the day, we handed out forms for the PTA Reflections contest, which gives each child the opportunity to express themselves through an art project. This year the students will be creating a reflective piece on diversity. I can't wait to see how creative our students can be!

Sliding Into Writing

2011-09-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Storybook Language, Finger Spaces, Stretch Out Your Words, Events in Order, Matching Pictures, Sight Words....

These are all strategies and techniques that the students use daily during Writer's Workshop. For the last 27 days of school, we have worked diligently to learn about and meet the Kindergarten Writing Standard. The Narrative Writing Standard states that students will be able to write stories that stay on topic, tell events in order, have a matching picture and use storybook language. Writer's Workshop includes a mini lesson, a work period (where students are writing their stories) and a share time, where we take a look at work that is meeting the standard or still needs improvement. Right now we are focusing on "stretching out words" by using the letters and sounds to write simple stories. I encourage the students to begin their writing with storybook language (One day, One time, Far far away) and use finger spaces between words. The students truly love to create stories and express themselves through writing. For some this is the best part of the whole day! I have seen a tremendous amount of growth in all of our students and their ability to write meaningful stories. Please encourage your children to practice writing stories at home. We have a TEAM of authors that are "Sliding Into Writing!"

An Elephanormous Reading Goal Challenge...

2011-09-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today, Tony Vecchio (the director of the Jacksonville Zoo) stopped by New Berlin and gave us an ELEPHANORMOUS challenge. He has challenged the students at our school to read 1 million words this year. If our school reaches the goal, Mrs. Reese will get to spend a day with the elephants and help clean up after them... The class who reads the most will get a behind the scenes tour of the elephant exhibit and their teacher will join Mrs. Reese on "clean up duty!"

In Kindergarten, we have set the goal of each child reading 180 books at home throughout the school year. Parents and students are responsible for logging the books read on the Book Log, which is located at the back of the agendas. Please read to your child daily, so we can meet this ELEPHANORMOUS challenge!

We're a Team of Scientists!

2011-09-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

In Science this week, we have been talking about scientists. We have learned about what scientists do and the tools that they use. We have explored the scientific process by making hypotheses about weights of objects on the balance, as well as making observations indoors and outdoors. Today we went on a scientist adventure outside and used magnifying glasses to observe nature. The students had a great time discovering bugs, observing caterpillars and engaging with the scientist tools. After our observation period, we returned to the class to record what we saw in our science journals. Here are a few pictures of our scientists hard at work!

NED

2011-09-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

On Friday, all of the students at New Berlin attended the NED show. This was a anti-bullying presentation that teaches kids to Never give up, Encourage others and Do your best - N.E.D. Not only did our students learn how to deal with bullies, but they also learned ways to build great character. NED kept us entertained by telling funny jokes and doing neat tricks with yo-yos. It was a fun Friday event for us all! Take a look at NED...

All-Star Mathematicians

2011-08-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

The first week of Kindergarten went off without a hitch! The students are all adjusting to a "long" day and seemed to enjoy their time in the classroom. In Math, we began learning about and exploring with all of the manipulatives that we will use this year. We made patterns using colored tiles and connecting cubes and had a fun time creating pictures and structures with the geo and pattern blocks. Here is a glimpse at our All-Star Mathematicians at work....

Ready to Read!

2011-08-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Team Eshleman Parents! I found this video clip by Dr. Jean (a veteran educator) and I feel that it has great tips and ideas for you to use at home when reading with your child and getting them ready to read. We are going to become "All Star Readers" this year and working at home will only help your child become more successful!

Happy Reading!

Welcome

2011-08-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2011-2012 School Year! I am so excited to meet our "All Star Team" and work together to help your students SCORE BIG! I look forward to a wonderful and exciting year in Kindergarten! Please check in on our blog frequently to stay informed about what is happening in our classroom.

Reading Celebration!!

2011-06-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Dr. Seuss

On Thursday, the students who met the Kindergarten reading goal of 180 books attended the PTA hosted Reading Celebration. It is a great way to celebrate a year's worth of reading! It was a toasty day outside, but we cooled down with water and Rita's Italian Ice. Between the jumpy houses and inflatable slides to the dunk tank; the students had a blast and they were glad they read and logged books throughout the year! Next year the goal goes up, so make sure you continue reading at home with your child each night!

Safety Day in Kindergarten

2011-06-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, all of the Kindergartners at New Berlin participated in Safety Day. Mrs. Callejas organized a day where community helpers came to our school and discussed the importance of safety with our students. We had firefighters, lifeguards, police officers, members of the coastguard and animal experts stop in and teach us about safe practices in several real life situations. Our students learned about the importance of not talking to strangers, gun safety, how to safely touch wild and domestic animals, beach, water and boat safety and what to do in case of a fire emergency. The students enjoyed meeting the safety experts and loved all of the hands on experiences. Hopefully they all came home and shared a little of what they learned at school with you at home!

Field Day Fun

2011-05-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, May 18th, we participated in Field Day outside in the airnasium and on the open field next to the playground. The kids had a ball! Field Day is an annual event that Coach P puts on for all of the grade levels. We lucked out with absolutely beautiful Spring weather, which made the day even better. We played kick ball and target ball, stacked cups, bounced on hip-pity hops and even had relay races! It was a wonderful exercise filled afternoon in Kindergarten!

Our Zoo Adventure

2011-05-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, May 17th, we went on our last field trip of the 2010 - 2011 school year! We loaded up the buses and headed out for a day at the Jacksonville Zoo. What a wonderful and educational adventure for all! Before leaving school, we gave out a zoo scavenger hunt card and stickers to use as markers to each student and chaperone. The students wore them as necklaces and used it as a guide, as they explored the zoo.

When we first arrived at the zoo, we attended a presentation of animals at the Zoo's Education Center. The children were able to interact with a variety of animals such as a fancy chicken, owl, bearded dragon and a chinchilla. After the program we set out to venture through the zoo. We met up for a picnic lunch at the Shaba Terrace, where the students had an opportunity to talk about all of the animals they had seen so far. By the end of the day, almost all of our students had the chance to see each animal on the scavenger hunt! Thank you for all of the chaperones who helped once again to make our field trip a success!

Literacy Week at NBE!

2011-05-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated all things Reading! We kicked off our annual Literacy Week with a book character dress up parade on Monday morning. We had a ton of our students participate by dressing up as their favorite book character. The entire school lined the bus loop and cheered on all of the students who came dressed in character. This set the tone for a fun week at NBE. On Tuesday we created our favorite book cover posters, which are proudly displayed in the halls. Wednesday was the "book swap;" followed by a visit by a celebrity reader on Thursday morning. Our celebrity reader was Miss Teen Jacksonville, Michon Pride, who read a fun story to the students. At the end of the book, the students had a chance to ask Michon any question they wanted. We had several girls quite interested in what a beauty pageant is like and how they can become Miss Teen themselves. On Friday we polished off our week of Literacy with a storyteller assembly, where Kaye Bryne shared one of her stories with the students. All in all it was a great week to get fired up about READING!!

Boosterthon Success!

2011-05-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

On Friday we had our first ever Boosterthon Fun Run at NBE. It was a huge success! Our students not only ran close to 2 miles each, but they also learned important leadership character traits that they will carry with them through life. Decked out in our Boosterthon t-shirts and tennis shoes, we took to the course for about 45 minutes. The kids ran their hearts out and had a blast participating in each of the themed laps (rockstar, football, find a friend). Thanks to all of the support of our families and friends, New Berlin raised close to $25,000. Way to go parents and students!!

Leader Launch!

2011-05-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

This Friday, May 6th, we will be having our first Fun Run at New Berlin. The Boosterthon Fun Run is a not only a PTA school fundraising event, but it also wraps fitness, leadership and character all in one to motivate kids to be all they can be. We had a Pep Rally to kick off the Boosterthon last Wednesday. The kids are fired up and excited to get pledges for the big event. Each student in our class was sent home with a pledge pack that included our classroom access code. We are up to $11.00 a lap so far and hope to continue climbing up the pledge ladder before the end of the week. All you have to do is log on to funrun.com and enter in our class code. Each day this week, one of the Boosterthon leaders will stop by our classroom and reward the students who have received pledges. They will also teach us about positive character traits and how to become a leader. Please support our class and New Berlin by helping your child make contacts to receive pledges.

Leader Launch! Leader Launch!

Easter Eggstravaganza!

2011-04-25T19:04:00.001-07:00

In preparation for the big holiday weekend, we had a class Easter egg hunt on Thursday. We had close to 500 eggs hidden out in the field for the kids to find. Some were filled with delicious treats, while others had fun stickers, tattoos and other surprises inside. Our students had a blast searching for the eggs and everyone went home a happy camper! We hope your holiday weekend was just as fun and joyful as our class celebration. Happy Easter everyone!

A trip to the museum...

2011-04-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we went on our third field trip of the year. Mrs. Hadden, our art teacher, organized a wonderful field trip for all of the Kindergarten and 1st grade students. We visited two hot spots for kids in downtown Jacksonville. Our first stop was the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). During our visit, we created Picasso-esque pictures of our faces, checked out intriguing and colorful artwork and played in the art inspired "playroom." The kids had a fabulous time learning about the neat artwork that MOCA has to offer and getting hands on in the kid-friendly section. Next up on the trip was lunch in the courtyard of the Main public library. The kids enjoyed an outdoors lunch and were even joined by a few pigeon friends. After lunch we headed inside the library for a tour. The kids were in awe of the exciting children's section and even got to have a special story session with the "talking owl." Our students were on their best behavior and made us proud! All in all it was another great day in Kindergarten!

Sneaky Mr. Schnickelwitz....

2011-04-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Back in March, we had a sneaky visitor pop into our classroom! When we stepped out for resource on St. Patrick's Day, Mr. Schnickelwitz dropped by for a visit. Unlike last year, this leprechaun left us a yummy treat instead of reaking havoc on our class. The kids were excited to see the note he left behind, as well as the yummy cookies that were on each of the tables.

Shoot For the Moon!

2011-03-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

In Science, we have been discussing Space and Earth and exploring the differences in the day and night time sky. To wrap up our studies, the students took part in a tasty "cosmic" activity to create the different phases of the moon. We read "The Moon Journal" in class, which documented the different phases of the moon over the course of a month. The students learned what the moon looks like when it is a new moon, all the way through a full moon. We even learned new words such as "gibbous" and "waxing versus waning moons." One of our favorite new moon facts is that it is sometimes visible during the day. Our students have been on the lookout ever since! Ask your child what each phase of the moon looks like in the night time sky and you may want to even take a look for yourselves! Here is a glimpse of some of our "stars" enjoying their cosmic treat!

“I do so like green green eggs and ham!"

2011-03-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, March 2nd we celebrated the beloved Dr. Seuss' birthday! Throughout the day we did a few fun Dr. Seuss related activities and even ended our day with a special treat. During Skills Block we created our own "Cat in the Hat" hats. The students decorated them to match the "Cat in the Hat" and then included some of our "y as long vowel i" words that we have been learning about this week. Mrs. Callejas read "Green Eggs and Ham" during Reader's Workshop, which led us into our interesting and tasty treat. Instead of the traditional birthday cake, we enjoyed a taste of delicious green eggs and ham. Several of the students were insistent that they would not like green eggs and ham, but to our surprise there were lots of clean plates. It was a fun day to honor a wonderful children's author!

Flag Raising

2011-02-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful morning to honor all of the men and women who serve our country. The air was crisp and the sun was shining bright! We had a flag raising ceremony this morning in honor of President's Day, which we observed earlier this week. All of the New Berlin students and staff gathered around the flag pole to show respect for our country and those that sacrifice their time and lives to keep our country safe. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and listened as one of New Berlin's own sang the National Anthem. Our students did a wonderful job during the ceremony and made us proud teachers by showing us what respectful and patriotic students they are!

Happy 100th Day!

2011-02-05T10:13:00.001-08:00

Can you believe we have already been in school for 100 days??!! On Thursday we celebrated the 100th day of school. Each day we add a number to our number line during our Morning Meeting. Our students have learned how to count by 1’s, 2's, 5’s and 10’s up to 100, as we have been anticipating the 100th day! To celebrate this exciting day, we had a celebration that was ALL about 100. To start off the day, the students each wrote about what they would do with 100 dollars. The responses varied from buying a real F350 truck to buying toys, babydolls, IPODS and even saving it! Each child had their own idea of what 100 dollars would get them. We then made 100 day trail mix; which was made up of 10 pieces of 10 different yummy treats (fruit loops, M & M's, gummy bears, etc..). It was delicious! During Skills block we made 100 Day sunglasses, which were fun to design and made for a great photo op! During Reader's Workshop we read "100th Day Worries" and talked about our worries for the day. All in all, it was a fabulous and fun 100th day! Hopefully your children came home with lots to share! Thank you to the parents who sent in items for our trail mix! We couldn't have done it without you!

PTA Presents....Kindergarten and 2nd Grade!!

2011-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night, we had our Kindergarten PTA performance. This year we were teamed up with second grade for our show. The students did a fabulous job and we are certain it was and will be the best PTA presentation of the year! Our class dressed up as sheep for the skit called "Down By the Cool of the Pool." Decked out in our sheep hats and white (sheep wool) t-shirts; we stole the show! Thank you to all of the parents and students who came out for a great night!

Mad Science

2011-01-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

Throughout the month of January, New Berlin is focusing on Science. We are working on Science projects in our classrooms, as well as learning exciting new Science facts as a school. On Friday, Atomic Allie from Mad Science of Jacksonville stopped by our school and got us fired up about Science. The students learned all about Fire and Ice, which included molecules, air pressure, and the states of matter. Dry ice was a huge hit, as well as the incredible disappearing flammable paper. We learned new words such as "carbon dioxide" and "sublimation" and we even had one of our own classmates join the Mad Science show.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! To get in the spirit of the holidays, we had our very own Winter Festival. We started out with a laid back and delicious lunch in our classroom. This was followed by an afternoon full of crafts, activities and goodies. We decorated ornaments, made reindeer food, designed and ate gingerbread men cookies, and even created patterned candy canes! We ended our festival with a gift exchange. Each student brought in their "Secret Santa" a gift and then personally handed it to them on Thursday afternoon. Excitement filled the air as each child unwrapped something special. We learned that the holidays are not only about receiving gifts, but giving them as well. It was a fun time for all! Thank you to all of the wonderful parents who helped make this celebration a success!

Meet Buddy!

2010-12-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

Be a Buddy not a Bully! Buddy (an Irish Wolfhound) and Mr. Courtney (Buddy's master) stopped by New Berlin to talk to us about the 5 Winning Character Traits and how to be a buddy to our friends and peers. Mr. Courtney and Buddy talked to us about Integrity and being truthful with our word. We also learned about being Responsible, Caring, Respectful and Successful with our actions and words at home and in school. Mr. Courtney also talked about the importance of being a buddy to our peers and how to steer clear of a bully. The students enjoyed Mr. Courtney's tips, but they were even more excited about Buddy's tricks!

We put the "FUN" in Functional!

2010-12-09T03:47:00.000-08:00

For the last few weeks we have been working on a new genre of writing - Functional. The students have been telling how to do or make something that they are experts at in their writing. We have discussed all of the important components of a great functional writing piece that meets the Kindergarten Functional Standard - LA.1.4.2.1 The student will write in a variety of informational/expository forms (e.g., rules, summaries, recipes, notes/messages, labels, instructions, graphs/tables). They have learned how to title their work, include 4 steps or more in their piece, use transition words (first, next, then and last) and label the picture to match their writing. We have a class full of experts on many different "How To" topics! As a class we have written about How to Brush Our Teeth, Take Care of a Pet, Wrap a Gift, and even Pull Out a Tooth and many other exciting things that we know how to do. One of the students' favorite writing days was when Mrs. Callejas demonstated "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich." After the students assisted in writing the steps, they went back to their seats and made their own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Here are some pictures to give you a glimpse of our "Fun"ctional Writing!

Special Delivery

2010-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

On Friday, we had a special delivery from Mrs. Claus herself! Mrs. Claus and her reindeer helper (Mrs. Reese and Mrs. Stewart) paid our class a visit. They hand delivered our Book of the Month, which came all the way from the North Pole. The Book of the Month is titled "Santa's Book of Names," which is a story that combines the magic of Christmas and the importance of reading into a great tale. The students were excited to know that Santa sent his helpers down to drop off a new book to our class, as well as remind us that Christmas is around the corner and we should all be on our BEST behavior! Hold on tight...the holidays are coming quick! We can't wait!

Pattern Snakes

2010-11-21T05:21:00.001-08:00

In Math Workshop, the students have been working hard to meet the Math Standard MA.K.A.4.1 Identify and duplicate simple number and non-numeric repeating and growing patterns. We have learned how to identify and create a variety of patterns such as color, shape, size and even snake patterns! This week we looked at pictures of real snakes that have a color or shape pattern on their scales. The students were in awe of the snakes and were eager to make snake patterns of their own. We had some creative patterns and we were excited to see our students mastering the Kindergarten Math Standard.

Diamond D Ranch

2010-11-07T17:49:00.000-08:00

Yeehaw! On Tuesday, we went on our first field trip of the 2010-2011 school year. Decked out in our lime green class shirts, we headed to Diamond D Ranch for a day of excitement and exploration. For many of the students, the bus ride alone was a fantastic adventure! Little did they know what would lie ahead....

We started off our day at Diamond D with a hay ride around the ranch. On our journey around the property, we fed billy goats, learned about a bison, and we were even surrounded by and fed "cow chow" to a herd of hungry cattle. Our next stop was the bounce houses, followed by the Nature Trail. The students learned about different uses for trees and were amazed by the massive catfish that showed up when they tossed food into the pond. After lunch we rode the ponies, went on a barrel roll ride and stopped by a special animal pen to check out a mini horse and a bull. All in all, it was a great day on the ranch!

Fall Festival Fun!

2010-11-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

It's Fall Ya'll! On Thursday, we celebrated the season in our class. We spent the morning doing a variety of activities related to Fall. The students participated in 5 different stations that included painting a pumpkin, making a "Fall friend" animal, coloring a scarecrow, eating a tasty spider treat, and reading Fall books with our special parent volunteers. All of the kids had a great time and went home with tons of fun goodies! Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time and supplies to make our Fall Festival a great success!

Learning Under the Big Top

2010-10-24T14:28:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, we had our "Learning Under the Big Top" night at New Berlin. This was a family event, where our students and parents got to take part in several hands on activities that focused on the core curriculum areas. The stations included Making Writing Prompt Jars, Investigative Math, Hands on Science, a Reading Bookwalk, and creating a delicious Circus Mix treat. The Literacy Pumpkins were on display in the library and Maggie the Reading Dog also stopped in for a visit. It was a fun-filled evening for all!

Start the Arts!

2010-10-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

New Berlin is excited about the Arts! Last week we had our official "Start the Arts" ,which got the students excited about expressing themselves through various art forms. We went on a tour around our school to learn more about the arts. We visited six different stations along the route, which each featured a different expressive art form. The stations included writing and literature, film, photography, art, music and dance. The students learned about each of the various arts and were able to take part in several fun activities. At the end of the day, we handed out forms for the "Start the Arts" contest, which gives each child the opportunity to express themselves through an art project. We can't wait to see how creative our students can be! It was another great day in Kindergarten!

Narrative Writing

2010-10-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

Storybook Language, Finger Spaces, Stretch Out Your Words, Sight Words....

These are all strategies and techniques that our students use daily during Writer's Workshop. For the last 31 days of school, we have worked diligently to learn about and meet the Kindergarten Writing Standard 2. Our Narrative Writing Standard states that students will be able to write stories that stay on topic, tell events in order, have a matching picture and use storybook language. Our Writer's Workshop includes a mini lesson, a work period (where students are writing their stories) and a share time, where we take a look at work that is meeting the standard. Right now we are focusing on "stretching out words" by using the letters and sounds to write simple stories. We encourage the students to begin their writing with storybook language (One day, One time, Far far away) and use finger spaces between words. The students truly love to create stories and express themselves through writing. We have seen a tremendous amount of growth in all of our students and their ability to write meaningful stories.

Math Investigations

2010-09-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

In Math Workshop, we have been "investigating" the concept of representing a number in more than one way. We have been practicing number representation through games and hands on activities. The students have learned how to show the same number by using the number, number word or representing the number with a picture and math manipulatives. We are working hard to meet the Next Generation Standard - MA.K.A.1.1 Represent quantities with numbers up to 20, verbally, in writing, and with manipulatives.

Last week, we practiced this skill by playing a game called "Build It." The students used primary number cards as a way to recognize a number and then build the number with the matching amount of buttons. Everyone enjoyed playing and they were all winners! We also used Inventory Bags as a counting lesson and a way to find out how many items we have in our classroom. The students received a bag of items, in which they were asked to count and represent how many objects they had in their bag. The students loved the "mystery" of what would be found in their bag and did an excellent job counting and recording their inventory.

Exploring Our Senses

2010-09-18T04:54:00.000-07:00

This week in Science, we started talking about our 5 Senses. We began by asking the students if they knew what our 5 senses are and how we use them. We had a variety of exciting responses and some fun stories to share about how we use the different senses in our daily lives. In order to meet the Next Generation Standard, students must be able to recognize the 5 senses and the related body parts.
We thought we would begin with one of our favorite senses - Taste! The students participated in an activity which allowed them to taste a few different foods (corn chips, orange peel, sour cherry drop and a gummy bear) and determine how they tasted. We discussed some common adjectives to describe food; sweet, salty, sour and bitter. In our Science journals, the students had to first make a prediction about how the food would taste. They used the adjectives that we talked about in our mini lesson, which were written on the board. After tasting the food sample, the students had to check their prediction and decide if they were right. They were asked to give themselves a happy face if they were correct or a sad face if their prediction was wrong. It was a fun and engaging way for the students to explore the sense of taste!

Meet the Art Ringmaster - Mrs. Hadden!

2010-09-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

At New Berlin, we have a variety of wonderful resource classes that the students participate in. We are on a 6 day Resource class rotation, so the students typically go to each resource about once a week. Resources classes include: P.E, Music, Library, Art and Computers. We have one day in the rotation where there is no resource class scheduled, so we do engaging activities in the classroom during that time. The students love visiting the resource teachers!

On Friday, the students went to Art class for the second time. They were so excited to see Mrs. Hadden again! Most everyone remembered their seats and were anxious to sit on the spinning chairs! Mrs. Hadden taught the students about drawing people and the different shapes that they can use to do so. The kids had a great time and did an awesome job on their self portraits!

Literacy Stations

2010-09-06T19:48:00.001-07:00

Dadada Da... Skills Block! Dadada Da... Skills Block! We learn our ABCs, Counting 1-2-3s, Standards Yes Siree... at Skills Block time! This is the song that we sing to start our Skills Block each and every day!

Skills Block is the portion of our state mandated 90 minute Reading Block, in which we focus on developmental skills that our students use when reading. It is also one of our students' favorite parts of the day because they get to go to their Literacy Work Stations around the classroom. In the stations, the students get to work hands on with materials that reinforce the skills that they are learning during the mini lesson. The focus is on practice and purpose that is linked to our daily teaching. During the past week, we introduced several different Literacy Work Stations. Some of the activities include: Listening Station, Writing Station, Word Work, Poetry, Computers and Classroom Library. The students rotate to a different station each day. Soon they will get to visit 2 a day! For our emergent readers, these work stations will give the children the opportunity to develop phonological awareness (the ability to isolate and manipulate the sounds in language), print awareness and concepts of print, and learn about letters and sounds. Our students love stations so much because they are fun and engaging -- which is exactly what we want learning in our classroom to be!

Reading Campaign

2010-08-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

We hope that everyone enjoyed their first week of Kindergarten! The kids seemed excited to be in our classroom and anxious to learn the new routines of school. Thank you for all of your support this week and we look forward to working with you this year! On Friday, the students at New Berlin attended an assembly to kick off the Million Word Reading Campaign. We had a special visitor (from the circus) come to our school, to help get the students excited about reading! He shared with us a few of his special talents and even told some of his favorite stories. It was a great way to get motivated to READ! We challenge all of our students to read at home (or with a parent) each day to meet our grade level reading goal. Don't forget to log your books!

Welcome

2010-08-09T12:59:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the 2010-2011 School Year! We are so excited to "get this show on the road!" We look forward to a wonderful and exciting year in Kindergarten! Please check in on our blog frequently to stay informed on what is happening in our classroom.

We made it!!

2010-06-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

We have made it through 180 days of Kindergarten! What a wonderful and fun school year! Thank you for all of your support at home and we are both so proud of all of our students! Here is a glimpse of our final week at school....

Safety Day

2010-06-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday, all of the Kindergarteners at New Berlin participated in Safety Day. Mrs. Callejas organized a day where community helpers came to our school and discussed the importance of safety with our students. We had firefighters, lifeguards, a detective and animal experts stop in and teach us about safe practices in all situations. Our students learned about the importance of not talking to strangers, how to safely touch wild and domestic animals, beach and water safety and what to do in case of a fire emergency. The students enjoyed meeting the safety experts and loved all of the hands on experiences.

Book Character Parade

2010-06-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

To wrap up a fun filled week of Literacy, we had a school wide Book Character Parade at New Berlin. Students and teachers came to school dressed as their favorite book character. Cheer Girl (Principal Reese) even led the way! Take a look at a few "characters" from our class...

Pancakes, Pancakes....

2010-05-18T12:54:00.001-07:00

"Its time for Writing....at Writer's Workshop...."
We are re-visting Writing Standard 2 - Narrative Writing. We have spent the last 3 weeks discussing Eric Carle for our Author's Study. We have learned about his craft (the way he writes) and his unique illustrations which are created out of tissue paper. The students have enjoyed reading several of his books and creating narratives of their own, while tying in Eric Carle's style. Today we read the book "Pancakes, Pancakes" during Reader's Workshop and had a special pancake treat to get our creative juices flowing. While we ate our delicious chocolate chip pancakes, we designed our posters of our favorite books, which will hang out in the hall for Literacy Week!

Field Day!

2010-05-07T05:13:00.001-07:00

On Thursday morning, we participated in Field Day outside in the airnasium and on the open field next to the playground. The kids had a ball! We were all sweaty and tired by the end of the morning, but it was a well organized and fun event that Coach P is putting on for every grade level. We played kick ball, hippity hops, target ball, basketball and even had relay races! Take a look at our photos to share in on our fun!

A letter from the President....

2010-04-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a tradition for the Kindergartners to send a letter to the White House to showcase their letter writing abilities. So this year was no different! During our letter writing genre study, we wrote letters to President Obama. Mr. Blakeman mailed them off to the White House in early March with high hopes of receiving a letter in return. We finally received a letter back this week! The students were thrilled as we shared the letter with them and showed a few photos that were attached. We even received a photo of Bo Obama, the first family's dog!

The Zoo!

2010-04-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, we went on our last field trip of the 2009-2010 school year! We loaded up the buses and headed out for a day at the Jacksonville Zoo. What a wonderful and educational adventure for all! Before leaving school, we gave out a zoo scavenger hunt card and stickers to use as markers to each student and chaperone. The students wore them as necklaces and used it as a guide, as they explored the zoo. By the end of the day, almost all of our students had the chance to see each animal on the scavenger hunt!

After lunch, we attended a presentation of animals at the zoo's Education Center. The children were able to interact with a variety of animals such as a bunny, fancy chicken, owl, snake and a baby alligator. It was a great way to end our visit to the zoo! Thank you for all of the chaperones who helped once again make our field trip a success!

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Today we read the book "Michael Recycle" to help get us excited about Earth Day. The story gave us great ideas about how we can take part in saving the Earth! We learned that by recycling, planting trees, riding our bikes (instead of driving or riding in cars, turning off lights that we aren't using and even shutting off the water when we brush our teeth; we can ALL make a difference in protecting our planet! After reading the story and discussing these ideas, we made Earth pictures out of coffee filters, markers and water! What a fun and slightly messy activity! We then headed outside to eat a little "dirt" for a snack. Don't worry parents....it was really a scrumptious chocolate pudding, crushed oreo and gummy worm treat!

Looked Who Stopped In....

2010-04-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Jaxson Deville stopped by New Berlin as a way to say thank you to the Kindergarten through second graders for their support of the "big kids" during FCAT week. He encouraged our students to always do their best in school and reminded us to have big dreams that they can work to achieve! The kids loved all of his crazy antics, especially when he opened the "SCREAM MACHINE!!" It was a fun way to kick off another exciting week at school.

"Hoppy Spring!"

2010-04-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring Everyone! We celebrated the kick off to the Spring season, as well as Easter, with another great extravaganza! On the Wednesday before Spring break, we had an Easter egg hunt with over 1,000 eggs! Our class, along with Ms. Ryan and Burns' class, hunted for Easter eggs in the bus loop! Thank you to all the parents who donated and those who came to hide eggs and watch the excitement unfold! All of the students had a fantastic time!

Back in the classroom, we continued the festivities by decorating a paper Easter egg, graphing jellybeans according to color and making bunny ear headbands! It was a fun way to start out our spring break! We are "hopping" into the final nine weeks of school and we look forward to watching the students blossom into first graders! Thank you again for all our your support!

Meeting the Math Standards!

2010-03-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

We are Math Standard Superstars in our Kindergarten classroom! Over the last few weeks we have mastered the standard of naming, recognizing and describing 2 and 3 dimensional shapes. We now know all about triangles, squares, rhombuses,diamonds, trapezoids, hexagons, circles, spheres, rectangular prisms, cubes, pyramids, cones and cylinders! We have become experts at recognizing all of these shapes in our classroom and at home, as well as working with the different shapes to create new ones. We wrapped up our shape study with a variety of our favorite Math stations. We used playdough to create shape border outlines, played a game called "fill the hexagon," made 2-dimensional pattern shape puzzles and used the 3-D blocks to build new creations! The students all had a ball working hands on with the Math manipulatives!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T13:03:00.001-07:00

We had an exciting St. Patrick's Day in our classroom! The sneaky Leprechaun somehow made his way into our room during lunch and made a mess! He turned over chairs, threw shamrock confetti everywhere and even stole all of our treats from the treasure box! The students couldn't believe their eyes! We read the book "Leprechaun on the Loose" during Reader's Workshop. Each student filled out a "Looking for Leprechauns" graph during Math and made a Leprechaun of their own! At the end of the day, we celebrated with green punch and cookies. It was a great GREEN day in room 122! :)

We're over the moon about Science!

2010-03-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

In Science, we have been discussing Space and Earth and exploring the differences in the day and night time sky. To wrap up our studies, the students took part in a tasty "cosmic" activity to create the different phases of the moon. We read "The Moon Journal" in class, which documented the different phases of the moon over the course of a month. The students learned what the moon looks like when it is a new moon, all the way through a full moon. We even learned new words such as "gibbous" and "waxing versus waning moons!" Ask your child what each phase of the moon looks like in the night time sky and you may want to even take a look for yourselves! Here is a glimpse of some of our "stars" enjoying their moon pie treat!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2010-03-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

On March 2nd, we celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday in our class! That same day was also chosen by the National Education Association as "Read Across America" day; which means that children around the country were reading "The Cat in the Hat" in their classrooms as well. We actually spent the entire week reading many of Dr. Seuss's greatest books! We had several guests come in and read a book and help out with a fun Dr. Seuss activity. Our class read "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut," "The Cat in the Hat", "The Foot Book," "Hop on Pop" and "Green Eggs and Ham." The students loved each story and shared with us about their favorite book by Dr. Seuss. We made our very own "Cat in the Hat" hats, a class foot book and even sampled a little green eggs and ham! Needless to say, we had a fabulous time in Reader's Workshop!

Music to Our Ears!

2010-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, we had the privilege to hear the music of the Jacksonville Symphony! A quintet came to New Berlin to play a short set of music for the students. All of the Kindergarten and First Graders piled into the cafeteria for our very own mini concert. The students loved learning about different composers and they were close enough to almost touch the instruments! It was another wonderful experience for our "Red Carpet" students!

February is Dental Health Month!

2010-02-21T15:18:00.000-08:00

February is not only Black History Month, but also Dental Health Awareness Month! In Writer's Workshop we have been writing reports. We have focused primarily on animals, but we are working towards writing factual reports about all types of people, events and things! As a part of our Health and Science curriculum, we learned the importance of good dental health and discovered facts that we can also use in our writing. We started off our discussion of dental health, by doing an experiment with hard boiled eggs. On Wednesday, we placed one egg in a cup of fruit punch, one in coke and one in water. We let the eggs sit for 3 days before cracking them open. We were able to explore what will happen if we do not brush our teeth regularly, by observing what happened to the shell of the eggs and the way they were stained. The students shared their experiences with going to the dentist and cavities. We read a few books that talked about our teeth and how to brush and floss correctly. The students were fascinated by the different types of teeth in our mouth! To conclude our study of dental health, the students each received a bag that was filled with a tooth brush, toothpaste and floss - which was generously donated to our class by a friend of Ms. Eshleman. Happy Brushing! :)

Goldilocks and The Three Bears

2010-02-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, February 9th, the Kindergarten classes took a field trip to the JCA to see the play "Golidlocks and The Three Bears." They put on a great performance and the students all enjoyed the show! We were even able to interact with the characters at the end of the play! The students had the chance to get up and dance along to a few songs during the performance and all of our students had red carpet behavior! Goldilocks is a favorite read aloud story in class, so it was exciting to have the chance to see it live!

100th Day of School!

2010-02-07T07:27:00.001-08:00

We made it! On Friday we celebrated the 100th day of school. Each day we add a number to our number line during Calendar Math. Our students have learned how to count by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s up to 100, as we have been anticipating the 100th day! To celebrate this exciting day, we had a celebration that was ALL about 100. To start off the day, the students wrote about what they would do with 100 dollars. The responses ranged from buying barbie dolls, toys, and houses to hiring a babysitter for a younger brother! Each child had their own idea of what 100 dollars would get them. We then shared the collections of 100 items that the students brought in to show their classmates. The collections varied from pennies, nickels and buttons to Hershey kisses, smarties and puzzle pieces. We read the story "One Hundred Hungry Ants," which taught us even more ways to make rows of 100. To wrap up the day, each child made a 100th Day of School hat, necklace (out of fruit loops), glasses and a scrumptious snack mix. Thanks to our parent volunteers who helped make the 100th day memorable!

He Saw His Shadow!!!

2010-02-03T03:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Groundhog's Day!

In class we learned all about the holiday by reading a few fun and informational books - "Groundhog Gets a Say" and "Substitute Groundhog." All of the students predicted whether or not "Punxsutawney Phil" would see his shadow....and he did! We are not so excited about 6 more weeks of winter because that means more days of cold recess! We can't wait for the Spring weather! After learning about the holiday, each student decorated a poem about Groundhog's Day to bring home and share with their family.

Just a quick game of cards to make learning FUN!!

2010-01-23T05:43:00.000-08:00

Its Math Workshop time.... its Math Workshop time.... We do Investigations at Math Workshop time!

In Math, we have been investigating the concept of least to most. Using snap cubes we practiced grab, count and compare; which taught us how to order numbers from least to most. The students love using the manipulatives and made some pretty impressive comparisons. We also partnered up and played a card game to look at numbers and determine which was more or less. The partners each had a deck of primary number cards that were divided into 2. Each student flipped over one card at a time and compared whose was higher or lower. The student with the higher number card won the set. It was a great learning opportunity and a fun day in Math!

Happy Belated Holidays!

2010-01-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010! We had a wonderful Winter Break and hope that you all did too! On our last day of school (before the break), we had a Holiday party in class. The students chowed down on pizza, chips, cookies, brownies and all kinds of yummy treats! After filling our bellies, we rotated through 5 different activity and craft stations. Thanks to our many helpful parent volunteers, the day was a success! What a great way to head into the holidays....

We are one big "Word Family"

2010-01-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

We have been learning about a new word family each week for the past few months. The students have become experts on the at, an, et, it, ot, en and ug word families! At the beginning of each week the students are amazed at how many words they already know by simply rhyming! We decided to put our word families in action by allowing the students to "come together" and make words! Here is a peek at our students working together to create words....

We Put the "Fun" in Functional Writing!

2009-12-10T12:39:00.001-08:00

We have become excellent "How To" functional writers. For the last few weeks the students have been working hard on meeting the functional writing standard. They have learned how to title their work, include 4 steps or more in their piece, use transition words (first, next, then and last)and label the picture to match their writing. We have a class full of experts on many different "How To" topics! As a class we have written about How to Brush Our Teeth, Skateboard, Bowl, Make Grapfruit Juice and many other exciting things that we know how to do. One of the students' favorite writing days was when Mr. Blakeman demonstated "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich." Here are some pictures to give you a glimpse of our "Fun"ctional Writing!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for 30 fantastic Kindergarteners! Enjoy your time with family and friends!

Our First Field Trip

2009-11-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

On Monday, November 9th, we went on our first field trip to Diamond D Ranch. Everyone had a fantastic time! Students and parents participated in a variety of activities such as; pony rides, a bounce house, a nature walk which included feeding fish and a tractor ride where we fed the goats. We didn't let a few rain showers stop us from having a great day outdoors! We learned tons about the animals and plants that live and grow on the ranch. For some students, it was their first school bus ride, which was an adventure in itself! Needless to say... there were many tired Kindergarteners on the bus back to New Berlin!

Literacy Stations

2009-11-08T18:37:00.000-08:00

Each day during Skills Block the students rotate through a variety of Literacy Stations. The literacy stations focus on skills that we are working on throughout the week. Each child goes to 2 stations daily for approximately 15 minutes a piece. Some of our stations include; word work, poetry, classroom library, listening, creation station, math, abcs, science, pocket chart, writing and computers. The students get to have hands on engagement with the curriculum during stations, while reinforcing what has been taught. Skills Block and Stations tend to be most of the students favorite part of the day!

Fall Festival Fun

2009-10-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Its our blog debut! As a way to keep you better informed of the happenings in our class, we have created a blog for you to periodically check in on. We will post events that are happening in our class and you will get a glimpse of what your students are learning. Enjoy!

As a way to celebrate all of our students' hard work and the Autumn season, we had a Fall Festival in class on Thursday! Fun was had by all! We had 5 stations set up; including pumpkin painting, egg carton spiders, decorating cookies, making fall hand print leaves and playing sight word Bingo with candy corn! All of the students showed their creativity and really enjoyed having an afternoon of festive activities. We certainly could not have done it without our fantastic parent volunteers. Thank you again!

As we enter the second nine weeks, the students will continue to add to their list of sight words. We have already mastered 13 words! In Reader's Workshop we have been working on using a variety of Comprehension Strategies (summarize, sequence of events, story structure) as the students are emerging as readers. In Writer's Workshop, we have been focusing on narrative writing. They are all becoming excellent writers and we are beginning to see lots of details being added in their writing! In Math Workshop the students have spent several weeks identifying different types of patterns....2 part, 3 part, body patterns (clap, stomp) and working with breaking and making their own patterns. Hopefully they have even pointed some out to you at home!

It was a busy 1st nine weeks and we are so proud of our students and their achievements!