We love to go out for recess and the weather has been splendid! Many children head for the swings as soon as they arrive on the playground. It reminds me of a poem we will illustrate come springtime by R L Stevenson, The Swing.

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air
and over the wall
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside-

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown-
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Here’s a link to this week’s newsletter :

Microsoft Word – news0918

The following video was taken after these girls asked me to make a movie of them. They had been exploring the shells and sorting them in a number of different ways. Since language skills are a big focus in kindergarten, I am always happy to put their skills to work by formulating their thoughts and ideas into a story.

(www.OneTrueMedia.com)

I asked the children to brainstorm with me about some of the things we have learned this year. This VoiceThread is a sample of just a few of those things. Feel free to add your own comments with the links at the bottom of each picture. You can do this either by webcam, audio only, text, or telephone.

For the past couple of weeks, we have been studying and exploring Simple Machines. The key concepts I want the children to know and understand are:

• machines are all around us
• machines make work easier
• levers, inclined planes, and wedges are examples of simple machines

We have used Discovery Education and its United Streaming videos as part of our learning adventure. Here are  some clips of the children creating these simple machines. They declared it to be a really Fun Friday!

For several weeks we have shared a VoiceThread presentation of a child acting as the Star of the Week. The rotation for the Star is over but we have not celebrated each child with their own VoiceThread. So let us complete our reflections with the last student in the spotlight. This week we will hear a bit more about Our Buddy Ryan.

For several weeks we have shared a VoiceThread presentation of a child acting as the Star of the Week. The rotation for the Star is over but we have not celebrated each child with their own VoiceThread. So let us continue on through the class. This week we will hear a bit more about Our Buddy Kaelin.