This has very little to do with what it going on in our classroom.... But, a lot of parents were wondering if we were expecting a new addition to our family. Well, let me put an end to these rumors...
Mrs. Gibbs and I are expecting! She is about seven weeks, which means this will be an October baby. We are very excited and we thank you all for making my job a little less stressful! You are an amazing set of parents... I will be very sad when your students leave my class at the end of the year- because I will truly be losing the best parents in all of Samsula.
Thanks again!
Dental Health
Were fighting crime one cavity at a time! We just finished another fun learning week in Mr. Gibbs’ kindergarten classroom. We began our final trimester on Monday. Can you believe there are only 65 more days left in the year? Mrs. Shannon and I are amazed at the progress that each child has made. Our students are writing five and six sentences! Our students are reading chapter books! Our students are amazing! We are so proud of their hard work and much credit also goes to the parents – you’re amazing! Remember, children strive for structure. Remember to challenge your child – set high expectations because believe me… THEY CAN DO IT! And THEY WILL DO IT!
In reading, we learned the –it word family. On Monday, children created their own list of spelling words. Rather than choosing basic CVC words, children were eager to name words that contained blends. Some of the words were: spit, slit, and split! We read two decodable readers that had the –it word family. We practiced a lot with listening to each sound in the word. We read several stories about teeth this week (as that was our theme). We also began the first grade Dolch words this week. Let me just say, WOW! Every student was focused and was on target this week. Next week, we will review the short i word families and continue to our next five Dolch words.
In writing, your child wrote two amazing stories this week. The first, your child wrote a story about how they care for their teeth. Because the stories were amazing, we made it into a class book. Students are showing so much enthusiasm for writing and that’s what I like to see. On Thursday, we wrote about what we would do if we were a tooth superhero or tooth fairy. The stories were very creative and are on display in our classroom. Let me just say, I have two students who wrote twelve sentences and needed two sheets of paper. Impressive!
In math, we began a new unit on measurement. We discussed key terms such as: longer and shorter. We put objects in order by length. We also measured items by nonstandard measurements. We used snap cubes, blocks, and tooth brushes to measure different items. Children caught on very quickly. Next week, we will finish our unit on measurement by studying weight and capacity.
In science, we learned about taking care of our teeth. A dentist came to talk to our class on Monday. Children were very eager to ask questions and learn more about keeping their teeth healthy and strong. This week, we learned about good/bad foods for our teeth. We even learned how to properly bush our teeth. In fact, on Monday we brushed our teeth in class! We brushed our teeth for three minutes (as recommended). It was fun! On Wednesday, we began a project to see what soda does to your teeth. We placed an egg in soda and left it overnight. The next day, we looked at the egg and noticed it turned brown. It also had several small cracks in it and a bubble sticking out the side. “It was gross,” one student said. We then brushed one side. Such enough, it worked! We compared and contrasted the two sides of the egg and noticed that brushing your teeth is very important!
In afternoon workshops, we lacked a tooth and made a happy and sad tooth. We also created a tooth super hero, completed a tooth activity book, and made a super tooth paper bag puppet. All of these items are on display in the classroom and will be going home within the next week.
Remember Tuesday is Read Across America day! We are celebrating Dr. Seuss all week long. If you signed up for a time and I confirmed it, please be here at that time. Also, we are celebrating with O.J. and Doughnuts. I have a parent providing the doughnuts- anyone for O.J?
We are still in need of gallon jugs and shoe boxes. We will begin a very intense project on dinosaurs and we really need those shoe boxes! J
Mr. Gibbs
PS: We are also doing a lot with brown paper lunch bags. If you have any that you are not using or are willing to donate… Please do so.
Skyler did an amazing job this week! Here is Skyler. He was our terrific kid this week!
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Gung Hay Fat Choy! We have been celebrating the Chinese New Year this week in our classroom in addition to learning about former president’s George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. This was a short week and was over before we knew it. We did many fun activities this week and learned a lot. Today marked the 110th day of school. There are 70 more days before the end of kindergarten!
In reading, we learned about the –ip word family. We built words through rhyme. Because children knew the word dip, they could name other –ip words by naming rhyming words. Children created their own spelling list this week with these words. We reviewed all primer words this week. Your child was assessed and we were very impressed. Nearly everyone has mastered the entire set of words. The ones, who did not, missed it by only a few. Your child can now recognize pre-primer and primer words. Next week, we are moving on to the first grade set. Are you ready?
We read books about our presidents this week. I was impressed by their knowledge of former presidents George Washington and Abe Lincoln. Students were able to identify them and tell me they were both presidents. We learned more about them this week. We learned about their early life, their presidency, and how we remember them today. Children also got into a discussion about our current president. I was very impressed that children could name Obama as our current president. These children are up to date on their current events.
We read a book about what it would be like to be president. We also write stories this week. “I would like to be president because I do not have to cook,” said one student. This student further said, “I will cut Mr. Gibbs’ bills.” {There goes by vote!} “I do not want to be president because it sounds like too much work,” said another.
In math, we learned how to read picture graphs and tally tables. Children knew how to do each by the end of the week. Next week, we are moving on to measurement.
Afternoon workshops were a hit. We read a weekly reader magazine about the Chinese New Year. We made different crafts in honor of this celebration. We made a Chinese calendar, a dragon/lion dance craft, and a Chinese lantern. These items will currently be on display in the office.
Remember next week is early release. If you have not done so, we need your permission forms and money for our upcoming field study. We will be learning about dental health next week and will even have a visit from a dentist on Monday.
We are still in need of shoe boxes! We are also beginning to collect gallon jugs for our Easter baskets. Thanks!
In reading, we learned about the –ip word family. We built words through rhyme. Because children knew the word dip, they could name other –ip words by naming rhyming words. Children created their own spelling list this week with these words. We reviewed all primer words this week. Your child was assessed and we were very impressed. Nearly everyone has mastered the entire set of words. The ones, who did not, missed it by only a few. Your child can now recognize pre-primer and primer words. Next week, we are moving on to the first grade set. Are you ready?
We read books about our presidents this week. I was impressed by their knowledge of former presidents George Washington and Abe Lincoln. Students were able to identify them and tell me they were both presidents. We learned more about them this week. We learned about their early life, their presidency, and how we remember them today. Children also got into a discussion about our current president. I was very impressed that children could name Obama as our current president. These children are up to date on their current events.
We read a book about what it would be like to be president. We also write stories this week. “I would like to be president because I do not have to cook,” said one student. This student further said, “I will cut Mr. Gibbs’ bills.” {There goes by vote!} “I do not want to be president because it sounds like too much work,” said another.
In math, we learned how to read picture graphs and tally tables. Children knew how to do each by the end of the week. Next week, we are moving on to measurement.
Afternoon workshops were a hit. We read a weekly reader magazine about the Chinese New Year. We made different crafts in honor of this celebration. We made a Chinese calendar, a dragon/lion dance craft, and a Chinese lantern. These items will currently be on display in the office.
Remember next week is early release. If you have not done so, we need your permission forms and money for our upcoming field study. We will be learning about dental health next week and will even have a visit from a dentist on Monday.
We are still in need of shoe boxes! We are also beginning to collect gallon jugs for our Easter baskets. Thanks!
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day
Wow. I was so amazed as to how creative our Valentine's Day boxes were. Above is a video of the boxes. One box was made into a truck. Another was a dino. We also had one made into an actual mailbox. Enjoy our video!
We had a fantastic week! We celebrated our friendship this week and learned more about being good friends. We are trying very hard to get along. We have recently had a problem with bullying. This was a great week to talk more about bullying. We read "Billy the Bully" this week which was about a bully named billy who was very mean. Because of his actions, he had no friends. Billy decided to make better choices and become less of a bully. At the end of the story, everyone became friends. It was great and really hit home to our class. Hopefully our problem is solved. With that being said, here is what we did this week:
In reading, we worked with the -ig word family. We built and read words that have the -ig word family. Children spelt words such as: pig, twig, and strig. We had a great week. We also finished our primer words. Children should now be able to recognize all of pre-primer and primer words. We will review the primer set next week. By Friday, your child is expected to know all pre-primer and primer words. Remember to practice with your child daily. "I am practicing every night," said Trevor M. I am so proud of him. He was able to identify all of the words this week. He is trying so hard, as is everyone. We read several books this week about friendship and Valentine's Day. We are learning about character traits, sequencing, and making connections.
We write everyday! We had a district writing assessment this week. The scores were sent home only if your child was not making adequate progress. Students should be writing four or more sentences on their own correctly. This is a challenge to many. Please make every night a writing night in your home - even five minutes will do!
In math, we reviewed our number words by completing several Valentine's Day activities. On Friday, we sorted Valentine candy and graphed them. We found out that we typically get more purples and pinks than any other color. Next week, we will be moving on to a new unit on graphing. This was a great way to kick off our unit!
Afternoon workshops were fun because we made special crafts for our fantastic parents! Hopefully you had the chance to go through your child's folder and pull all of these special crafts out. Keep them in a safe place - your child made it with love and care.
Remember to send in $5.00 for the Jack Hartmann field trip. We need to reserve the tickets as soon as possible. We will have early release on Wednesday. There is no school on Monday. We will be doing afternoon workshops next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We could use some help on T, Th, and F from 1:00 to dismissal and Wednesday at 12:00 to 12:30... We could use one or two parents for each day. If a time works for you, come on in! We love our parents!
We are currently in need of some gallon size Ziploc bags and brown lunch bags. Anything else would be greatly appreciated. We have 75 days left. If you have not sent in twistable crayons, please remember to send them in ASAP.
Two Celebrations and 1 Great Class!
Two celebrations in one week! I bet your child is exhausted! We just finished another fun learning week in Mr. Gibbs’ classroom at Samsula Academy! We reviewed the short E word families, reviewed our solid figures, celebrated Groundhog Day, and celebrated the 100th day of kindergarten. We did so many things this week and many thanks is given to the parent volunteers who helped us in our classroom. Mrs. Shannon and I could not have done it without you.
In reading, we reviewed the –en, -et, and –ed word families. We also continued working with our primer words. We are nearly finished. This week, children had trouble with: they, there, was, went, and want. Please practice these in addition to all previous words. Mrs. Shannon and I are currently working on a Sight Word Olympics activity (to be sent home later) that will help practice these words further. We counted our sight words this week and we know 101!!!! Wow. We used these words when we read Frog and Toad Together or Green Eggs and Ham in our literature circles. Remember to practice retelling with your child.
In math, we reviewed our solid figures and wrote numbers up to 65. On Thursday, we celebrated the 100th day of school (see below post). We did a lot of different activities that were fun and full of learning.
In science, we learned about Groundhog Day and shadows. We watched as Phil seen his shadow declaring six more weeks of winter. We also wrote a story including our predictions. Our theme was groundhogs. In afternoon workshops, we made a TP groundhog, paper bag puppet, and a book. We had a lot of fun!
Wednesday is not an ERD next week and we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Friday. Bring in your valentine’s and any snacks for our celebration. Family projects are due on Monday. We will be working with the –ig word family next week.
(Pictures to come)
In reading, we reviewed the –en, -et, and –ed word families. We also continued working with our primer words. We are nearly finished. This week, children had trouble with: they, there, was, went, and want. Please practice these in addition to all previous words. Mrs. Shannon and I are currently working on a Sight Word Olympics activity (to be sent home later) that will help practice these words further. We counted our sight words this week and we know 101!!!! Wow. We used these words when we read Frog and Toad Together or Green Eggs and Ham in our literature circles. Remember to practice retelling with your child.
In math, we reviewed our solid figures and wrote numbers up to 65. On Thursday, we celebrated the 100th day of school (see below post). We did a lot of different activities that were fun and full of learning.
In science, we learned about Groundhog Day and shadows. We watched as Phil seen his shadow declaring six more weeks of winter. We also wrote a story including our predictions. Our theme was groundhogs. In afternoon workshops, we made a TP groundhog, paper bag puppet, and a book. We had a lot of fun!
Wednesday is not an ERD next week and we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Friday. Bring in your valentine’s and any snacks for our celebration. Family projects are due on Monday. We will be working with the –ig word family next week.
(Pictures to come)
I'm 100 Days Smarter!
Wow! February 4th was the 100th day of Kindergarten! We had a great day today celebrating 100 days of learning fun! We did several activities all related to the number and had a celebration to celebrate our accomplishments!
To begin, Mr. Gibbs dressed up like he was 100 years old! The day before, we made a class book about what it would be like to be 100. On February 4th, Mr. Gibbs wore a wig and had a walker to help him move around. From the beginning, the kids knew it was going to be a fun and silly learning day!
We counted by 1s, 5s, and 10s to 100 and finally completed our "100 Days of Learning" wall! There are now 100 bees circling the hive. We also sang songs relating to the 100 days of school. We have a great start to the morning.
In morning workshops, we helped fill in a bee's stripes with 100 dots. We also made 100 day of school hats with 100 bees on them in groups of 10. We also made a fruit loop necklace out of 100 fruit loops. We made 100 day pennants and even wrote 100 sight words. We know 100 words! Wow!
After lunch, we counted out our snack. After having one hundred, we combined everything together and mixed it up. Finally, we had a celebration to celebrate our accomplishments. I hope you enjoy the pictures and slideshow.
I am soo looking forward to the remaining 80 days!
To begin, Mr. Gibbs dressed up like he was 100 years old! The day before, we made a class book about what it would be like to be 100. On February 4th, Mr. Gibbs wore a wig and had a walker to help him move around. From the beginning, the kids knew it was going to be a fun and silly learning day!
We counted by 1s, 5s, and 10s to 100 and finally completed our "100 Days of Learning" wall! There are now 100 bees circling the hive. We also sang songs relating to the 100 days of school. We have a great start to the morning.
In morning workshops, we helped fill in a bee's stripes with 100 dots. We also made 100 day of school hats with 100 bees on them in groups of 10. We also made a fruit loop necklace out of 100 fruit loops. We made 100 day pennants and even wrote 100 sight words. We know 100 words! Wow!
After lunch, we counted out our snack. After having one hundred, we combined everything together and mixed it up. Finally, we had a celebration to celebrate our accomplishments. I hope you enjoy the pictures and slideshow.
I am soo looking forward to the remaining 80 days!
