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Tadpole Telegram September 3-6, 2013
The word kindergarten in German literally means "children's garden". Kindergarten is a form of
education for young children that serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal
schooling. Many origins are claimed for the first kindergarten. In Scotland in 1816, Robert Owen, a philosopher
and pedagogue, opened an infant school in New Lanark. Another was opened by Samuel Wilderspin in London in
1819. The first kindergarten in Hungary was founded on May 27, 1828 by the countess Theresa Brunszvik (1775–
1861) in her residence in the city of Buda under the name of Angyalkert (Angel Garden). Soon the concept was
reproduced all over the Hungarian kingdom, becoming a popular institution among the nobility and the middle
class.
Monday – Labor Day – No School
Tuesday – We started with an introduction to pattern blocks. Students worked with triangles, squares, rhombuses,
trapezoids, and hexagons. We played two different math games, which had students counting by touch and by sound. I
completed the preliminary benchmark assessment of the students. This early information will assist me in dividing the
students into his or her initial reading groups. Each week students are randomly chosen for eight different classroom jobs.
Those students not chosen this week will be assigned jobs next week. Liam did a great job as the classroom messenger
this week. Everyone did a great job in our journals writing and illustrating a story about school. Everyone was excited
about our very first music class (Mrs. Gordan) and physical education class (Mr. Wing).
Wednesday –Today was a short day for students. We practiced counting down from ten to zero. The class did an
excellent job counting backwards by ones and worked on the concept of zero as a number for “none”. Mason and Oscar
were in charge of going to the kitchen this week to count out the correct number of snack milks and juice. We discussed
the importance of I-Care language such as “please” and “thank you”. Everyone enjoyed our Animal ABC’s Book. This
was a great opportunity to discover what the students already knew about animals and introduce them to some new
species and their adaptations.
Thursday –Our amazing words this week are first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. As we read our book, The Little
School Bus, children focused on the people or animals in the story called characters. This was a perfect time to introduce
our rhyming song. I added the words “I” and “am” to our Word Wall. Students wrote a complete sentence and drew a
picture of themselves. During literacy centers this afternoon, students worked at a variety of stations. Kirsten was in
charge of leading the line this week and Gavin was responsible for the end of line. A student at the end of that line is
responsible for turning off the lights and shutting our door. Both did a good job setting the standard for the rest of the
class. The class was very excited to have our first art class with Mrs. Hackett. Thank you to all the families who came to
Open House.
Friday – I was very proud of my Frogs during our very first fire drill. The students did an excellent job, quickly and
quietly exiting the building and waiting for instructions outside. Students enjoyed their introduction to sorting today.
They were challenged to find ways to sort objects using a variety of attributes. I reread our story today using the pictures
as prompts to lead the class in retelling the story. I modeled for the students how to use the pictures as prompts.
Everyone seemed to enjoy our new song, How We Get to School, which is sung to the tune of Mary Had A Little Lamb.
Jayden did a great job this week as our reporter in charge of the calendar and tracking the weather. The class enjoyed
music class with Mrs. Gordan. Thank you for filling out the student questionnaires and the request for a student directory.
The student directory provides an opportunity for parents to mail out birthday invitations, set up play dates and share
information with other families. Please visit our web site and let me know how I can make it more usable and meet your
needs. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to email, call or write me a note and place it in the
green responsibility folder.
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