What a busy week we have had in kindergarten! This week we focused on the artist Mary Cassatt. Cassatt was born in Pennsylvania, but later moved to France to study art. While in France she became close friends with the artist Edgar Degas, and joined him in a group of other artists who called themselves Impressionist painters. Impressionism was a new style of painting and went against what many at the time considered to be great art. Cassatt loved to paint things in everyday life. Some of her favorite things to paint were pictures of mothers and their children. She also became very adept at using pastels to paint with as well. Mary Cassatt lived during a time when women were not encouraged to pursue careers in art. Being an artist was thought to be a man's job. Luckily, Mary Cassatt did not give up and believed in her talents. She was determined to follow her dream to become a great artist!
In our centers this week we used watercolors to paint our own Mom and baby pictures using the beautiful pictures you all sent in of you and your sweet babies. We read the book Suzette and the Puppy, a story about Mary Cassatt, and each child used oil pastels to draw a picture of his/her favorite pet, or pet he/she would like to have. We created a book about Mary Cassatt that goes along with the song we have been learning about each artist. Finally, Mary Cassatt was an accomplished print maker. We each created our own monoprint painting in the style of Mary Cassatt. We can't wait to show you all our beautiful art work at our upcoming gallery crawl this week!
In literacy this week we focused on the words for, is, this, the and my. We created a book with these words in it and highlighted the word "for" throughout the book. We stamped our words and practiced writing them as well. We also had lots of fun creating scratch off word cards with our new words on the cards. This was a huge hit! We added these words to our word wall as well. I have been so impressed that the students are noticing these words in their everyday lives as well. One student was very excited to show me the word "for" that he found in a new book! See if your child can go on a word hunt with you at home and find these words in books or in places as you are out and about.
In math this week we worked to finish up our unit on geometry. Students used geoboards to create 2D shapes. We also introduced dot paper as well to the students to help them as they draw shapes. They really enjoyed using the dot paper. We will begin working with Range Cards in the few weeks, which will help with our number sense, fact fluency and ability to add and subtract numbers. These will be lots of fun!
A HUGE thank you to all of you who came to help out at the book fair. I was sad I had to miss this fun event, as I had to be out that day for a family matter. However, Ms. Diane and Mrs. Hazlett were so appreciative to all of you for your help, as well as all the wonderful books that you donated to our classroom. Thank you, thank you! We will be reading up a storm! You all are the BEST!
This is going to be an even busier week than normal. Please don't forget that our Valentine celebration will be on Wednesday. Students will need to bring their Valentine couplets to school with them by Wednesday. Everyone is getting very excited about sharing their special Valentines. Anyone is welcome to join us to help us read our special poems. The celebration will begin at 1:00.
On Thursday we have our gallery crawl. We can not wait to share all our fantastic art work with you as well as all we have learned about these amazing artist. We will have a bag with your child's name on it that day for you to collect your child's artwork once the gallery crawl is over. Lots of this art work you may want to display in a special place in your home, so we know that it can get crumpled in books bags and want you to be able to transport it home safely. Once everyone is finished at the gallery crawl please feel free to take all of your child's artwork home with you.
There is no school for students on Friday. This is our conference day to share all the wonderful ways your child is growing and learning. I know that all conference slots have been filled. If you were unable to sign up for a conference and would like one please let me know and we are happy to conference with you on a different day. Friday will be a jam packed day of conferences, so please know that we want to give each family their allotted time to hear about their child's progress. We are going to do our very best to stay on schedule and keep things moving along. However, if you feel that you have more to share or want to know more and your time runs out please know that we are always happy to set up an additional time to talk and meet. We just don't want to keep others waiting. We appreciate you all taking time out of your day to come and talk with us.
Upcoming Events:
February 14 - Valentine's Day...don't forget your special Valentine's
February 15 - Kindergarten Art Gallery....MARK YOUR CALENDARS (all parents are invited to attend)
February 16 - No School...Optional Parent Conferences
February 19 - No School....President's Day Holiday
February 20 - Field Trip to the Laurels Nursing Home
February 28 - Family Math Night - 6:30 pm
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