It is sure hard to believe these Beach Buddies are almost first graders! Wow! We took advantage of the first grade field trip on Friday and visited a first grade classroom. We read Nancy Carlson's book, First Grade Here I Come. It was refreshing to see many similarities between the first grade room and our kindergarten room. We also found some differences that we are excited to explore. We loved reading their word wall and felt good about all the words we could already read! We are ready for first grade!

"Pixie" has become one of our favorite programs on our laptops for creating. Below are some original pieces from the Beach Buddies using "Pixie". 

 Thursday was our "Writing Museum" where other students and staff from Bendix were invited to stop by and listen to our "All About" books. The kindergartners were spread out around the classroom. Visitors met with students individually and even shared a written comment with them. What a treat to look around and see kids sharing stories with teachers, book buddies, cooks, social workers, speech teachers and even Mrs. Reimer and Mr. Niklaus. I know our amazing authors impressed our visitors! 

My heart is warmed every time I hear one of the kindergartners talk about "what they should research next". Their strong reading and writing still shine through during this process. While we enjoy our individual research topics, we also continue to do some class research. Below are some of our findings on pigs and animals that come from eggs. Most recently, we have been learning facts about worms, flies, and spiders. 

As explained in the note sent home, we are working on our "Your Three Words" videos. Below is a link to a "Your Three Words" video on youtube that has some nice examples. You can also google "Your Three Words Good Morning America" and find tons of videos. Remember to send your "three words" and any props to school next week. Thanks for your help! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecRkSSNpSKc

Flower pots, milk jugs, an old croc, string, fruit boxes, buttons, water bottles, lots of tape, and many, many more donations helped us with our exciting Inventions Party on Friday. Our creative juices were flowing as we were "going green" and reusing lots of items to make something new! I am certain you are now enjoying those inventions at home! :) Click on the link below to view footage of our day. 

Inventions Party Video

With the help of books, websites, and our book buddies, we have been completing our research. Topics vary from football to manatees to bodies to dentists to spiders! We checked out books from the library and our wonder center and are working on creating research questions. We are recording our new learning in our science journals. Stay tuned for more about our special projects.