We love bugs (and insects too!)

We have gone buggy in SK P217 this week!  

Our days were filled with learning galore:

Science:

- Bug Walk with USM Lower School Science Expert Mrs. Ziegelbauer where we collected critters to observe up close.

- Comparing/contrasting what Insects have/don't have, what Insects are/aren't, and what we thought we'd see on our walk/what we really did see!

- Predicting a timeline for the next phase in our caterpillar's life cycle!  (How many days until chrysalis?)

Language:

- IPICK Just Right Fit books (learning how to choose a book that's just right for us as readers)

- Journaling about our exciting Bug Walk adventure

- Reading to self (and building our stamina by many minutes!)

- Working on our letter formation with shaving cream, wiki sticks and play dough!

- Enjoying Word Work in small groups (focusing on upper and lower case letter matches, ordering words alphabetically, etc.)
- adding MY to our Star Words and Word Wall!  Reading "My Bus" to self, and reading EEKK (elbow-elbow, knee-knee) with a buddy, as well as in small groups

Math:

- Learning to tally the days we've been in SK, the number of friends wearing blue vs. gold, the number of red cars in a book... we love to tally!

- Meeting Zero the Hero, and learning more about his important job in the world of math

- Sorting each other and objects by attribute (and working to guess "What's My Attribute" when others sort!)

- Strengthening our number identification, and formation of numerals in our writing

Books We've Loved This Week:

- "Tally O'Malley" by Stuart J Murphy

- "Move Over, Rover" by Karen Beaumount

- "Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies" by Mel Boring
- "Monarch Butterfly" by Gail Gibbons
- "Looking at Bugs" a My First Field Guide series book
- "The Life Cycle of a Butterly" by Paula Z. Hogan
- "Emily's First 100 Days of School" by Rosemary Wells

Extra!  Extra!  Announcements:

- Towels: please bring in any gently used hand or bath towels to be cut up and used as dry erase board erasers for the children in their math and word work

- Picture Day: please bring in your forms... picture day is September 20th!

- Homecoming: please remember that we are celebrating our Wildcat Spirit next week!  Encourage your SKer to participate by wearing the following Spirit Gear: 

Tuesday: Crazy Sock Day, Wednesday: Blue and Gold Day, Thursday: Crazy Hat Day, Friday: Jersey Day (any team you like!)

- Our First Field Trip: We are headed to the Museum on Thursday afternoon!  Remind your SKer to pick out comfortable shoes for lots of walking and exploring.
- Picasa albums: up and running!  Please see the upper right hand gadget on our blog for weekly album uploads filled with fun and learning in SK!

Coming Up Next Week:

- TUESDAY: SK Parent Coffee (8:15 in Ells Conference Room)
- WEDNESDAY: Whole school Spirit Rally to cheer on USM!
- THURSDAY: Field Trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum!
- FRIDAY: a visit from Willie the Wildcat at recess!
(**** Picture Day is NEXT week Friday - sorry about the mix-up!)

(for more details on much of the above, please see our wonderfully informative weekly e-mail from friendly room parent, Melissa Sheppard! If you are not receiving these e-mails, send a kind request to mnmplus2@gmail.com)

Have a fluttering, zipping, dip-diving and growth-filled weekend (inspired by our insect friends!)