Jan 28- Jan31

Our letter of the week was Hh.  We talked about the sound Hh makes (like in hippo, hat, and heart).  We practiced our hand symbol, practiced the hand writing sheet, and made our hand print book page (hippo), and we decorated the letter Hh with hearts.  The students are doing really well with our alphabet letters.  I am so proud of their progress with the sign language symbol, the sound symbol, the letter and even our handwriting sheets are improving!  

**** Found the correct wording on how to write the letters. Please click HERE It should bring you to a google document.  When you get in the document, you can save it (download) as a PDF.  You can then view, rotate counter clockwise to get a better view.****

We have been journaling as a part of our morning work. Students are doing well with this!  We continue to encourage students to add detail to their pictures as well as do their best to spell and write what the picture "says."

We have been working on shapes.  Shapes we are working on are: square, rectangle, triangle, oval, circle, heart, star, hexagon, and octagon.  We are introducing the number of sides and describing words of these shapes to help the students identify them.  In school this week, we played shape/color BINGO.  We will continue to have activities to teach the shapes.  You can help at home too!  Find shapes in the world around you.  Explain how it is that shape: "LOOK, a triangle sign! See how it has three sides and three points?  That makes it a triangle."  These conversations, again, helps bring their education home, helps them see how what they learn in school is relevant in their life, and helps them form a bond with you while learning.  

We had a student spontaneously bring up hearing the thunder and lightning we (strangely) had Tuesday morning.  We had a vote of who heard it and who didn't.  We then counted the total votes.  Then we drew a line where they were the same and saw what one had more and how much more. Strangely, the morning class saw the lightning more than the afternoon class.  

Studentes are becoming very creative in blocks.  I am seeing a lot more activity of building certain things and elaborating on them rather than just an airplane or rocket that flies around the room.  The projects are getting more elaborate.  

Monday brought a science fair/activity for the PM class and the Extended day students.  They started with building a spaghetti noodle tower that supported a a marshmallow, then played with some oobleck (cornstarch and water), and finally rotated between 6 stations with more science principals and fun!  


Pictures are available on the website gallery.  Click here for Class Website

Tuesday was the Hop for Leukemia. We hopped a lot and worked really hard to raise money for the doctors to find the best medicine for helping these sick people.  The kids really did great, and we got exercise too! 

Wednesday was our winter weather day, I hope you stayed warm and safe!

Thursday the extended day students went on a trip to Player's Choice.  Students practiced/played Tag, soccer skills, and kickball.  

Important Notes:

• Book Orders are due Feb 15th.  There are some great new collections. Also, if you order online you get a coupon for free books.  It also earns points and free books for our classroom as well!  
• Milk Jugs.  We do not need any more milk jugs (though you can bring what you have left over), but you don't have to save any more.
• Dress for the Weather.  We go outside Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Students need coats, hats, and mittens.  If there is snow or even if it is in the 30s I would suggest snowpants and boots for warmth and dryness.  St. Edward Extended day families, these students go outside for "long recess" after lunch daily and need to be dressed for it daily.  Please come with everything they need to stay warm and have fun!
• With weather below zero, students cannot go outside. This does include windchill.  Unfortunately, this means we didn't get outside all last week, but we do attempt to get some exercise in the room and the gym.  Please continue to send snow pants and boots as the commute to school can be rather long and I want them all to stay warm if something should happen.
• Lost and Found.  Our lost and found is growing.  If you are missing something please feel free to check out the box on top of the lockers by our door, or email me and I will take a look for you!  
• As always, any questions or concerns please feel free to email me!  Have a great weekend!

Next week:

Theme: Groundhog's day, Shadows

Letter: Bb

AM Snack: Yenter Family

PM Snack: Court Family

Jan 21-Jan 24

GREAT NEWS!  The host site I use for the school website officially has the blogger tool!  This means this blog is also available on the website.  You no longer have to go to two sites for the blog information (though it is a linked up application so this is always available if you prefer).  

Our letter of the week was Jj.  We talked about the sound Jj makes (like in jaguar, jelly, and juice).  We practiced our hand symbol, practiced the hand writing sheet, and made our hand print book page (jaguar), and we decorated the letter Jj with JELL-O.  The students are doing really well with our alphabet letters.  I am so proud of their progress with the sign language symbol, the sound symbol, the letter and even our handwriting sheets are improving!  

We did our own symbol for letter Jj.  We put the pinky up and drew a J with it saying "j".  This is the sign language for the letter J and helped to draw it so it made more sense to teach it this way.

I met with the kindergarten teachers of the Hortonville school district and they suggest that we teach the PROPER formation of the letters before they get to kindergarten.  I have been working on this with students, but encourage you to help them at home as well.  Almost all letters start on the top (M & N the only exception) and all circle letters (a, d, g, o, q) start at the top and do the circle first.  I can also send you the words we use, if you would be interested.  I will work on getting this as a digital copy and/or something to send home. We practiced this at school by doing rainbow writing.  I showed students proper writing of their name, with starter dots, and arrows, and sometimes numbers to help with order and then they did it in all the colors of the rainbow making their name rainbow.

**** Found the correct wording on how to write the letters. Please click HERE It should bring you to a google document.  When you get in the document, you can save it (download) as a PDF.  You can then view, rotate counter clockwise to get a better view.****

We discussed community helpers this week. We discussed the many people that help our community.  We also discussed how all these helpers are jobs they can have when they grow up.  On Monday, we took the people/community helpers and placed them under, in front, behind, and over the vehicles they drive.  It was pretty interesting to see some of their thoughts, such as some student put their person on the back of their paper for behind and for under.  Interesting to see their perspective!  

Peyton typing a sight word
while his friends look on.

I wanted to start to incorporate technology for the students.  

Technology is becoming more and more prominent in the students' lives.  One skill important for them to learn is the location of the letters on the keys. We started this by typing the words I can print to put on our word wall and to type their names.  I projected this up on the screen as the students in the class helped us to sound out some of the words.  

Logan typing his name, looking for
that letter "o"  Can you tell?  :)

We will begin to do some sign in activities where instead of finding their blue cards, we will type our names onto the lap top.  I will do the best I can to incorporate more technology to get them ready for their future school years as well as the world around them.

On Wednesday, we talked about any job they picked would  make them a community helper.  We then drew a picture of us working this job, and then tried to write it.  We are then putting this in a class book.  Students are very ambitious and they are doing well coloring (adding details) and trying to write.

The igloo is FINALLY done!  We have a whole igloo!  We are still collecting a few milk jugs to make a door way, but after this week we can officially say the igloo is done and no more donations are needed!

Kids are having fun playing in the igloo.  I have seen everything from playing house to pretending to be polar bears.  We are still working on (and could use some reminders about) treating the igloo with love.  I have had to replace the front twice and the back twice as well.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week.   Though we are a public school program, the entire school will be dressing up and doing a variety of activities (non-secular).  If your child would like to participate, they are more than welcome.  As mentioned, all activities will be NON SECULAR. 

• Dress Up days please feel welcome. 
• Monday: Scientist day
• Tuesday:  Spirit wear: School colors navy and gold or St. Edward aparel if you have it!
• Wednesday: Rainbow day
• Thursday: Athletic wear

• Our afternoon class will be going to the science show on Monday (and the students who stay with Mrs. Zajicek for extended day). 
• We will all be hopping for Leukemia on Tuesday.
• Thursday, students enrolled in St. Edward program through the parish (Extended Day, Cole, Howard and Schultz families) students will be going on a field trip in the PM.   Mrs. Drummond, our morning aide will be teaching in the afternoon as I, Mrs. Gloudemans, will be helping out on the trip.
• WEEK LONG:  Our school will have a book fair running Sunday, Tuesday Night, and Friday afternoon. Same company as our book orders, but there are some "Fair specials."  

Important Notes:

• Book Orders are due Feb 15th.  There are some great new collections. Also, if you order online you get a coupon for free books.  It also earns points and free books for our classroom as well!  
• Milk Jugs.  We do not need any more milk jugs (though you can bring what you have left over), but you don't have to save any more.
• Dress for the Weather.  We go outside Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Students need coats, hats, and mittens.  If there is snow or even if it is in the 30s I would suggest snowpants and boots for warmth and dryness.  St. Edward Extended day families, these students go outside for "long recess" after lunch daily and need to be dressed for it daily.  Please come with everything they need to stay warm and have fun!
• With weather below zero, students cannot go outside. This does include windchill.  Unfortunately, this means we didn't get outside all last week, but we do attempt to get some exercise in the room and the gym.  Please continue to send snow pants and boots as the commute to school can be rather long and I want them all to stay warm if something should happen.
• Lost and Found.  Our lost and found is growing.  If you are missing something please feel free to check out the box on top of the lockers by our door, or email me and I will take a look for you!  
• As always, any questions or concerns please feel free to email me!  Have a great weekend!

Next week:

Theme: Community Helpers

Letter: Hh

AM Snack: Darnick Family

PM Snack: Brunn Family

Winter Fun!

Paper Flyers came home in the folders today!  Please be sure to RSVP even if it is a no so I can send an accurate count to Hillside.  Thank you!

Jan 14-Jan 17

Our letter of the week was Pp.  We talked about the sound Pp makes (like in pig, polar, and penguin).  We practiced our hand symbol, practiced the hand writing sheet, and made our hand print book page (penguin), and we decorated the letter Pp with popcorn.  The students are doing really well with our alphabet letters.  I am so proud of their progress with the sign language symbol, the sound symbol, the letter and even our handwriting sheets are improving!  

We continued our theme of Polar Animals.

We started the week by making a walrus.  Students cut their paper plate (it is a thicker material so more difficult to cut), painted a large paper plate, a small paper plate, and the two halves of the small paper plates.   Painting was using our fine motor skills, but also endurance in using this skill as there was so much to paint.  Students then had to follow directions and put two eyes on and two tusks on in the proper location on the head.

We also wrapped up our polar animal unit with making a snow globe.  Students cut out the animals and their globes using their fine motor skills--cutting on straight and curved lines.  Students then opened up a ziplock bag and put their animal pieces in--using their fine motor skills and pinching.  They then scooped 2 scoops of hole punched snow  and added 10 shakes of the snow glitter.  Once their globes were assembled, students wrote the the sounds they hear when they say "polar" and "animals" writing the P and the A.

This and many 

"There was an Old Lady" 

books for many seasons 

and themes are available 

at scholastic

Reading with the stars went well!  It was nice to see new families there!  We read some There Was an Old Lady stories.  These stories continue reinforcing rhymes.  Again, this is a game you can play at home, in the car, or anywhere!  Say a word and have them rhyme to it, have them give you some words they know that rhyme.  Made up words are fine, we just encouraging the actual rhyming.  

Progress continues on the igloo, it is almost done!  We have domed the ceiling and just waiting to close the skylight!  We do have to work on treating the igloo and classroom materials with love.  One of the sides broke out with only 2 days of play!  I will repair the igloo, but hope students will be able to play in the igloo nicely in the next couple of weeks so we can enjoy it.  It is fun to hear the little polar bears, penguins, and families living in the cold in there!

Literacy bags started coming home.  We are going to be doing a 10 child rotation.  PM's 10 students have the bags this week.  Next week, the 10 AM students who go home on the bus or by car will get them. The following week, the 10 students from the AM that stay for the Extended Day program will get them.  This will then be the rotation.  Please try to get your bags in on the Tuesday after you get them so we are able to re-stuff the folders, and get them out to the next group!  I encourage you to do the activities in the folder not only once, but a couple times.  The bonding between you and your child is precious.  The memories you will create laughing and playing together while learning will stick to the both of you while creating foundational skills for your child.

Book orders will be submitted Saturday morning so get them in by midnight Friday (today).  Again, please consider ordering books from our school book order (or going to the library or reading the books you already have!)   Reading is a wonderful bonding opportunity between you and your child.  It also helps build their vocabulary and reading skills.  When reading with them, have them show you where to start the book, where to go next, what letter some words start with.  They are doing great with this in school and bridging the school curriculum to home helps build authentic learning and is fun for the students!

Important Notes:

• Book Orders are due January 18th.  There are some great new collections. Also, if you order online you get a coupon for free books.  It also earns points and free books for our classroom as well!  
• Milk Jugs  Please continue to bring in the milk jugs.  We are almost done!  We are going to use the caps to pattern and sort.  We will use the igloo in counting and other math activities.  Building this will include fine and gross motor skills.  Also, it will build the imagination as they play it in the home living center!  We are all very excited about this and all the learning and imagination it can bring!
• Dress for the Weather.  We go outside Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Students need coats, hats, and mittens.  If there is snow or even if it is in the 30s I would suggest snowpants and boots for warmth and dryness.  St. Edward Extended day families, these students go outside for "long recess" after lunch daily and need to be dressed for it daily.  Please come with everything they need to stay warm and have fun!
• Lost and Found.  Our lost and found is growing.  If you are missing something please feel free to check out the box on top of the lockers by our door, or email me and I will take a look for you!  
• As always, any questions or concerns please feel free to email me!  Have a great weekend!

Next week:

Theme: Community Helpers

Letter: 

AM Snack: Wheaton Family

PM Snack: Sawinski Family

Jan 7- Jan 10

Our letter of the week was Uu.  We talked about the sound Uu makes (like in umbrella, up, and umbrellabird).  We practiced our hand symbol (which they REALLY enjoyed this week!), practiced the hand writing sheet, and made our hand print book page (umbrella).  The students are doing really well with our alphabet letters.  I am so proud of their progress with the sign language symbol, the sound symbol, the letter and even our handwriting sheets are improving!  

We decorated the letter Uu with mini umbrellas.  While doing our alphabet letters, many are self explanitory what they are, but some aren't as obvious, just thought I would share our little learners having fun practing letter sounds, using a variety of materials, letter recognition, and fine motor skills. :)

We continued our theme of Polar Animals.

To start this week, we made some fluffy polar bears.  Mix shaving cream and glue 50/50 and you will get shaving cream that dries fluffy!  Students then painted/dabbed the fur on with a paint brush.  The kids loved it and they love that they get to pet their bears.  We worked on our fine motor skills and worked with a new materials.  

image from mycutegraphics.com 

As we are building our igloo we have also been saving our milk caps.  Our friend started sorting the caps by color!

The next day (in a completely different class) This little friend sorted the caps by color and stacked the dinosaurs on top of the caps!

Earlier in the week we had done a sorting small, middle, big  sheet.  In play time, I observed the students making small, middle, big  towers with dinosaurs on top.

The boys were so proud of their cardboard block tower!  I love to see team work, imaginative play, and enjoying school together.  

I created a little work sheet that worked on scientific thinking.  

The "blubber" is vegetable oil in a ziplock back.  I got actual snow from our playground area. I showed the students that the entire bucket was full of snow and then put the blubber over the top.   

First the students guessed (hypothesized) what they thought would happen when the touched snow with a blubber hand and a plain hand. 
The students then tried the experiment out for themselves (experimented).

They then recorded their results (observations) on their sheet.

After doing the experiment we discussed the scientific methods as well as what the results mean for polar animals.  Polar animals have fat and/or blubber to keep warm.  The blubber kept their hands warm just like it keeps the animals warm walking on the snow.  We also discussed how we cannot walk on the snow barefoot because we do not have the fur or the blubber that the polar animals do. 

We also practiced walking like a walrus. We had fun,  did some weight bearing exercise, and learned about walrus all at the same time!

January 2-January 3

We continued/reviewed the letter Mm this week.
Our letter of the week was Mm.  We talked about the sound Mm makes (like in monkey, Monday, mom, and more).  We practiced our hand symbol, practiced the hand writing sheet, and made our hand print book page.  The students are doing really well with our alphabet letters.  I am so proud of their progress with the sign language symbol, the sound symbol, the letter and even our handwriting sheets are improving!  Mm was an easy transition from the Nn in formation and the students are doing well with it.




I slightly modified, having students do the sign language for M (see website) and rubbing that symbol on their stomachs.
Mrs. Gloudemans' Class Website

Construction continues on the igloo.  Please keep the milk jugs coming!  Students help by holding the jugs together while they dry and then help bring them to the wall to put on.  We are four rows up and will begin the doming of the igloo next!  We are currently waiting on more jumbo hot glue sticks to be purchased to complete the project.  If any parents would be willing to donate the jumbo (fat) high heat glue sticks please let me know.  Thank you! (There is an image on the class website on the wish list page -see link above-of the type of glue sticks as well)

click on image to enlarge

Our theme was Polar Animals.  We started the week by creating a list of what we know about polar animals.  This ranged from names of animals that live there and facts about specific animals.  They are off to a great start with this list and we continue to add more information as we go!  This includes: camouflage, what they eat, and adaptations.


We made penguins out of ripped up paper.  This included using their fine motor skills to rip, pinch, and place on their paper as well as painting in the lines of the template with their glue paint brushes.  Students had to follow mulit-step directions and use their listening skills.  Also, they had to do some counting when I have them 1 piece of yellow and told them it had to make 2 feet and 1 beak. They had to figure out how many pieces to rip from there.  Students did great with them and they turned out even cuter than I had imagined!

We had the opportunity to watch a video of a baby penguin learning to walk and a clip on sled dogs.  The children really enjoyed these clips.

Sensory table if filled with polar animals that live and play in our snow (rice).  That brought a new element to sensory play and the children are enjoying it.  

Finally, Herbie left us a note saying good bye and how happy he was to be visiting us.  He complimented the children on doing their best to be good little boys and girls.  

Please consider ordering books from our school book order (or going to the library or reading the books you already have!)   Reading is a wonderful bonding opportunity between you and your child.  It also helps build their vocabulary and reading skills.  When reading with them, have them show you where to start the book, where to go next, what letter some words start with.  They are doing great with this in school and bridging the school curriculum to home helps build authentic learning and is fun for the students!

We are working on independence with the students getting themselves dressed. Though Mrs. Drummond and myself are always there to help with a stuck book, zipper, or buckling snow pants, we encourage the students to dress themselves. This is a life skill as well as one of our standards we are to meet during the school year.  Please encourage your child to do so at home.  We use a chart posted on the wall to help the students to navigate through getting dressed. 1> shoes in your backpack 2>snowpants on 3> boots on 4> coat on 5> hats, mittens, and scarves.  The chart is posted at left. 

Happy New Year and best wishes in the upcoming year!

Important Notes:

• Book Orders are due January 18th.  There are some great new collections. Also, if you order online you get a coupon for free books.  It also earns points and free books for our classroom as well!  
• Milk Jugs  Please continue to bring in the milk jugs.  We have a good start, but according to the website, we need almost 400!  We are going to use the caps to pattern and sort.  We will use the igloo in counting and other math activities.  Building this will include fine and gross motor skills.  Also, it will build the imagination as they play it in the home living center!  We are all very excited about this and all the learning and imagination it can bring!
• Dress for the Weather.  We go outside Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Students need coats, hats, and mittens.  If there is snow or even if it is in the 30s I would suggest snowpants and boots for warmth and dryness.  St. Edward Extended day families, these students go outside for "long recess" after lunch daily and need to be dressed for it daily.  Please come with everything they need to stay warm and have fun!
• Lost and Found.  Our lost and found is growing.  If you are missing something please feel free to check out the box on top of the lockers by our door, or email me and I will take a look for you!  
• As always, any questions or concerns please feel free to email me!  Have a great weekend!

Next week:

Theme: Polar Animals Continued

Letter: Uu

AM Snack: Eidahl Family

PM Snack: Schmidt Family