Art Show

Pictures from our Art Show!

Great last week!

We had a great last full week in Kindergarten!  The field trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo was so fun - perfect weather, respectful children, and a lot of parent volunteers!  We were able to see the lions, monkeys, gorillas, bears, and giraffes.  The K-Kids enjoyed a picnic lunch with their friends and parents, and we took advantage of the photo ops along the way!

The Upper School science students wrote stories to explain complex science concepts to children.  They came to our class to read their stories and teach the K-Kids some pretty complicated science themes!

We also let our ladybugs go this week!  Watching a life cycle in real life is much more powerful than reading about it in books.  I think the children will remember this insect's life cycle for a long time!

Lastly, our Kindergarten Out To Lunch was a big hit!  We, again, were very fortunate to have so many parent volunteers.  I am proud of the K-Kids and their STAR manners to each other, the waiters, and to the other patrons in the restaurant.  We even enjoyed a trip to Bennison's Bakery - our new neighbors at our new school - and enjoyed a special treat!

Ladybugs and Bees

This week we studied insects with an emphasis on ladybugs and bees.  The K-Kids learned what classifies a bug as an insect: three body parts, two antennae, compound eyes, six legs and some insects have wings.  They drew the life cycle of a ladybug and wrote in their science journals about the changes taking place in our Ladybug Habitat.  I also read them the story, A Very Grouchy Ladybug, and the K-Kids practiced telling time and putting the story back in order.  Each K-Kid wrote about what makes them grouchy in real life and took a picture showing off their very best grouchy faces!  These are on display on the back wall of the classroom.  We moved onto learning about the honey bee, created a construction paper bee, and learned facts about bees and wasps.  The K-Kids have been very attentive during the insect unit and are making great connections with previous unit taught!

Luckily, ladybugs are rarely grouchy in Kindergarten! :)

We celebrated filling our class STAR jar with a pajama party!  We combined our pajama party with watching the movie, Charlotte's Web.  The last couple of weeks we have been reading E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.  It is a very special story to me as it reminds me of my childhood on a farm and my attachment not only with the animals but the summer filled with the friends and the county fair.  I cry every time I read it.  I love sharing the story with the K-Kids each year and being a part of them as they create their mental images of the story, attachment to the characters, and true understanding of first friendships.  The movie and pajama day was so much fun!

"Sleeping" on our new classroom rug in our pjs - we love our new rug!

I am looking forward to continuing the academics but also creating some fun memories for the last 11 days of Kindergarten!

Happy Mother's Day!

We ended our Around the World unit this week with travel to Germany.  The K-Kids learned about the food and costumes and enjoyed looking at many pictures of Rhett's mother's childhood in Germany.  They especially loved eating the sweet treats from Germany including a cherry cake, apple treat, and soft pretzels!

I hope you all enjoyed your Mother's Day books!  The K-Kids worked very hard on completing the open-ended sentences and drawing pictures to match.  I am sure some of you will be surprised how insightful your child is about your favorite things, ways to relax, and what bugs you the most!  It was fun to help them complete their books and watch them "wrap" the presents up with the tissue paper and a lot of scotch tape!

We started our ladybug unit this week by starting our "bug journals."  Late last week we received a ladybug habitat and "weird bugs."  I told the K-Kids that I ordered ladybugs, but the company sent me the weird bugs instead - little did they know that the weird bugs are actually "baby" ladybug larvae.  They have since made the connection that the bugs in our habitats are baby ladybug by reading the non-fiction books and seeing the pictures of the ladybug life cycle.  It was so fun to see them make that discovery on their own and be sooooo excited about correcting me!!!  Through the week we have made entries in our bug journals about the changes happening in the habitat and used scientific words such as larvae, pupa, and metamorphosis.  We also created construction paper ladybugs using a glyph based on our gender, age, and feelings toward bugs.  These are on display on the back windows - take a minute to see if you can guess which bug is your child's!

Lastly, we studied two different artists this week for our Fine Art unit.  The K-Kids learned about Frida Kahlo from Mexico.  Frida Kahlo's artwork is often viewed as sad, angry, and scared, and the idea behind studying her art is to understand that art is not always happy.  The children then drew pictures of a time that they were sad, scared, or mad and wrote about it.  On Friday, the K-Kids learned about Vincent Van Gogh and his famous sunflower painting.  They replicated the piece and -oh my goodness- these drawings are some of my favorite!  I am very excited to share all of the masterpieces at the Art Show during Culmination Night!

Temples in India; Grapes in California; and Bagels in New York City!

The K-Kids traveled to three more places this week with the classroom parents.  Avneil's mother came in and spoke about the Gods and temples in India.  The K-Kids loved learning about the different Gods, their abilities, and the stories.  They especially loved the pictures of the kid Gods!  She also showed us a model of the Taj Mahal!  After learning even more about India, the K-Kids had a special sweet treat from the country.

Avneil showing us his "om"

On Thursday, the K-Kids traveled to California with Dillon's mother.  She designed a BINGO game for the K-Kids to play as she explained the different tourist attractions, food, and landmarks in California.  The K-Kids were great listeners and all were winners by the end of the presentation!  They then enjoyed some cheese, grape juice and grapes from California!

BINGO fun!

We ended our travel week by going to New York City with Maddie's parents!  The K-Kids learned about the different boroughs in the Big Apple, the Empire State Building, Central Park, and the Brooklyn Bridge.  Maddie's dad read a very imaginative book, Sector 7, that took place on the Empire State Building.  They also enjoyed some "New York" bagels and cream cheese.  How fun!

Maddie's little brother, Gus, was helping Mom :)

Maddie's Dad reading a story

 Flat Stanley was also busy as he traveled to Anisa's family in Tennesse!  He sent back brochures of many cool activities - he even got to visit Elvis's house and some cool caves!

We also learned about two different artist - Michelangelo and Jackson Pollock.  The K-Kids learned about the Sistine Chapel and discussed how Michelangelo would have painted the ceiling.  They learned that he had to lay on his back and paint for hours with his hands up in the air.  They all practiced laying down with their hands up...

 Then they drew pictures under tables to have a true Michelangelo experience!

 We then learned about the different style of Jackson Pollock.  He used movement and energy to create paintings and dripped, splashed, and flicked paint on the canvas.  It was a little messy, but we did the same! 

I am so excited to share these masterpieces and others with you at Culmination Night on May 31st!

Where in the world is Flat Stanley?! Everywhere!!!

Flat Stanley was busy this week!  He went to Hawaii; San Francisco and Disneyland in California; Leon, France; Oslo, Norway; and, Zurich, Switzerland!  The K-Kids loved looking at the beautiful pictures of the beach in Hawaii and the humongous turtle on the beach.  They also enjoyed the pictures of the aquarium and San Francisco trolley.  I think the K-Kids were a little jealous as Flat Stanley was describing his favorite rides at Disneyland with Dillon's friends!!  They noticed similarities and differences between Oslo (Isabelle's friends) and Zurich (Max's friends) and learned about the flags, playgrounds and sports, and even saw a picture of a very unique drinking fountain in Zurich.  Macy's cousin took Flat Stanley around Leon, France and showed us a very interesting castle built of rocks.  Take a moment to check out our hallway to read and see more of Flat Stanley's adventures!

Hawaii

San Francisco

A castle made of small rocks in France

Isabelle was also able to take Flat Stanley to Colorado.  She taught him to ski and bungee jump!  Isabelle's friends, Lily and Leni also sent a picture from Shanghai.  We wrote them a letter about our school here in Evanston.

Flat Stanley then traveled to Boston to see Macy's cousin, India and Sweden with Avneil and his friend, and Washington D.C. to see Anisa's Godmother and Godbrother.  Good thing Flat Stanley is flat and can travel by mail - I am sure he was tired!

Anisa's Godbrother playing soccer with Stanley

His last rounds of travel thus far was to Florida to visit a family friend of Maddie.  Flat Stanley loved the pool and the warm weather.  Maddie's friend also described other places she has visited over the year.  He then headed back to California to see Dillon's friend and learn about his school.  And, he took a long flight to Germany to visit Isabelle's friend, Hugo, and learn about their food and see his cool tree house!

Dillon's friend in California

Hugo in Germany showing us his old yearbook

Uganda, Russia, and India

The K-Kids continued to travel around the world during the second half of the week!  They put on their sunscreen and went to Uganda.  While there, they learned about the geographical layout of the country, the Nile River, the game parks, how to say a few words, and the culture of the people.  Anisa's mother created a wonderful visual for the K-Kids to see the flag, pictures of animals, and even pictures of Anisa in Uganda when she was a baby.  She brought in props including bracelets, dolls, and Anisa's passport.  The K-Kids also loved watching the video of a traditional dance and trying out the dance after they ate a flat bread, chicken, and yummy yogurt sauce.

Max's mom came next and brought us to Russia.  She taught us how to say some Russian words and showed us that Russia is the largest country in the world!  The K-Kids had to repeat Russian words to wake up a special friend - a brown bear which is a very typical bear of Russia.  They also learned that soccer is the most popular sport, tasted a traditional Russian candy, and played a traditional Russian game.  Max's mom read us a story about Matryoshka dolls and showed us her own nesting dolls.  The K-Kids then worked very hard to decorate their own nesting dolls.  They were so excited with their finished products!

Playing the game

We finished our week by traveling to India.  Anoushka's mother shared a map showing the different states and regions of India and described how the states are different in terms of language, customs, food, dance, etc.  She created wonderful visuals showing the different spices in all the regions, dances, temples, forts, and dress.  The K-Kids loved seeing the pictures of Anoushka participating in traditional dances as well!  Anoushka's mother brought in a beautiful doll, Indian jewelry, and examples of handiwork done in the villages.  Then the K-Kids were in for a treat as they tried an Indian sweet and had a small henna design painted on their hands.  The K-Kids loooooved the henna (as I did, too), the holi colors on their faces, and their bindi dots.

The K-Kids each chose a small design...I loved the henna so much that Anoushka's mother did my entire left hand!

We are so lucky to have a unique and diverse community at Roycemore School, and I love taking advantage of the cultures and ideas we have right here in our own classroom!  The K-Kids are being exposed to different ideas and ways of living and are learning tolerance and respect for those differences.  It can be tricky when you are five and six-years-old to not laugh when you see something "different" - hairstyles, clothing, dances, food, etc.  But, I am trying to teach them that those differences are not considered funny or "gross" but more unique and special for those people who live in those places or who live here and are from those different places!  It is a hard concept and natural for children to be nervous, laugh, or want to talk about differences, and I hope to provide a safe community where our students can be proud and learn to respect and value everyone.  I really, really, really appreciate the many parents' efforts and time to come in and speak about their own cultures or places they have visited, and you all have helped expand our little ones' sense of the world!

To go hand-in-hand with our unit, the YWCA of Evanston arranged a "Stand Against Racism" along Ridge Avenue on Friday.  The Evanston community stood with linked arms to show their unity against racism.  The early childhood department was lucky enough to have many Upper School volunteers to help keep us safe and be a part of this great Evanston moment!