Our Favorite Activities

Learning is so much fun.  We just wanted to share our favorite activities as Summer School is coming to a close.

              

Aloha Parents,

Well, here it is! This is the last week of Summer School. Wow, it was a GREAT! I am writing you one last time to thank you for sharing your keiki with me these past 6 weeks. It seems just like yesterday you were dropping them off for the first day in K-1. I have enjoyed working with such a great group of amazing students and supportive parents!

I hope that along the way the students have gained more knowledge, tips on organizing themselves,
enhanced their collaborative skills, and learned to be more flexible. They also made a few new friends too. 

Over the next few weeks of summer before school resumes, I strongly encourage you to have your keiki read, write short stories, and practice skip counting. Doing one or two of these activities each day will help to keep your child's skills sharp. Please remember that your keiki also have access to myON and IXL until July 24th.

Malama pono,
Mrs. Lee

Our Dream Hats

Jennie's Hat by Ezra Jack Keats, was a funny story about a girl named Jennie, who thought she would be receiving a beautiful and wonderful hat with big colorful flowers from her aunt. But when she opened the box, the hat inside was plain and white. Jennie was so disappointed,but received a surprise from some special friends who helped her decorate her hat with flowers, pictures, and ribbons.  We had the chance to create our own dream hats this week.  

Free picture collage customized with Smilebox Aloha Parents, This week the focus was on a famous American author, Ezra Jack Keats. This author wrote and illustrated about 25 children's books. Because he experienced poverty and anti-Semitism as  a child, he felt sympathetic to city children from different races and backgrounds.  So Ezra Jack Keats wrote simple stories about concerns children had: the joys and sorrows of a snowy day, inviting friends to a party, the problems created by a new sibling, expecting a perfect birthday gift and realizing it wasn't very nice, etc. The students enjoyed the stories. They compared the problems the characters had with situations in their lives. Each story was followed up with  crafts which are part of our classroom's wallpaper. You are invited to visit and see their fabulous and delightful work! Math concepts this week included: Telling Time, Subtraction, Fact Families, and Shapes (Solid and Plane). Your home is full of great opportunities to explore these Math topics and more with your child throughout the summer. It would also, at the same time, build his or her self-confidence and understanding of mathematical ideas.  Please have your child bring in a recyclable bag by Wednesday, July 15th.  They will be using it to carry all their Summer School treasures home on Friday, July 17th. I know they'd love to share their classwork with their family and friends.  Dates to Remember: Wednesday, July 15th - myON reading assignment due (minimum of 10 books) Wednesday, July 15th - Recyclable bag due Friday, July 17th - Summer School ends Friday, July 24th - Last day for free access to MyON and IXL A hui hou, Mrs. Lee

Clumsy Crab

Nipper, a loveable crab has huge, clumsy claws. He loves to play games with his friends but his claws always get in the way. While playing hide and seek, Nipper has to find Turtle and Jellyfish, but there is no sign of Octopus.  Poor Octopus is tangled tight in seaweed.  Nipper rescues Octopus with his big claws. What a great friend Nipper is!
Listen as we share our thoughts about crabs and how they could use their claws.



Aloha Parents,

The students are enjoying the hot summer days in the air conditioned classroom!  Within the 4 walls of K-1 they are learning about nouns, adjectives, compound words, consonant blends, digraphs, etc.  Our last activity of the Camping Unit was about enjoying a traditional campfire treat, S'Mores! They loved every bit of this perfect combo of graham crackers, marshmallow, and chocolate.

Basic Math Concepts of Time and Money were practiced and enriched through instruction, partner activities, and manipulatives.  Hands-on activities and lots of practice at home can also reinforce and help so your child will feel comfortable telling time and counting coins.

Dates to Remember:

• Monday, July 6th through Friday, July 10th - Scholastic Book Fair in the Library
• Wednesday, July 15th - myON reading assignment due (minimum of 10 books)

Have a cool weekend,

Mrs. Lee

We're Not Alone at Camp

Learning about owls, frogs, and bears were the highlight this week. We might have a slim chance seeing a Barn Owl around sugar cane fields, but we could see frogs in ponds.


Forest Animals on PhotoPeach


Aloha Parents,

The keiki have been  learning some interesting facts about wild animals and other things associated with camping.

• They listened to books about bears, including Bear Snores On, which is about a bear who suddenly wakes up  to discover a host of different animals and birds in his cave. The students created a fun little bear craft and wrote how they feel when they wake up.
• Non-fiction books about owls served as reference information when the keiki cut and glued cute owls and wrote facts underneath the little 'chest fluff' on their bellies.
• They connected this activity to a math craftivity.  After drawing a camping scene, they used paint on their fingers to place owls in their picture. The keiki then wrote two fractions about the owls that were in the different parts of their scene.  A paper bag owl was also added to their 'Owltraction' craft.
• Frog and Toad are Friends, a story about friendship,  was shared. After creating a bright green hand-print toad, a text to self connection was made about how they can be a friend to someone else. Text to self connections occur when a book that you are reading reminds you of something from your own life. Their thoughts were written on the toad's stomach.
• Fractions using jumbo and mini marshmallows and graphing of favorite camping food were also incorporated in this week's activities.

Positive feedback regarding MyON  has been shared by the students.  Continue to encourage your child to read as it is so important! Reading is also necessary for them, as well as for everyone, because it:

• develops the mind
• helps them to discover new things
• develops the imagination
• improves spelling
• helps to expand their vocabulary
• are the building blocks of life

The next MyON reading assignment  is to read a minimum of 10 books by Wednesday, July 15th.

Dates to remember:

• Monday, June 29th - Progress Reports will be emailed to you
• Wednesday, July15th -  myON reading assignment due ( minimum of 10 books)

Warmest regards,

Mrs. Lee

Skunks or Porcupines

Which animal would make a better pet? Do you think the skunk would make a better pet animal than the porcupine? Or would the porcupine make a better pet animal than the skunk? We thought a lot about our two choices and decided which would be a better pet animal.

Aloha Parents,

Since the keiki have been learning about skunks and porcupines, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for them to reflect and share which animal they would like as a pet. They worked in small groups, then as a class to share their ideas before these short videos were taken.

In Language Arts, concepts reinforced, practiced, and/or enriched included: silent e words, digraphs: sh, ch, th, and wh, synonyms, compound words, etc.  Students were also involved in interactive writing, oral reading, and writing which correlated to the craftivity.

Some of the Math concepts practiced and extended were: addition word problems, more and less than, place value with numbers larger than 100, and fact families.

Dates to remember:

• Wednesday, June 24th - 2 pieces (about 12"x8") of everyday gift wrap with a pattern (no holiday of birthday wrap, please) due
• Friday, June 26th - myON reading assignment due (minimum of 5 books)
• Monday, June 29th - Interim Progress Reports emailed to you

Have a nice weekend,

Mrs. Lee

Summer Time Fun

Watch us as we had a funtastic week in Summer School!



Aloha Parents,

Wow! I can't believe the first week of Summer School has come and gone! Our mornings are fast paced and fun. All the keiki are excited and motivated to learn.

Our camping unit began with the students answering the question, "Have you ever been camping?" Everyone has been listening to stories, writing campfire tales, learning to alphabetize using words related to camping, etc. in Language Arts.  Math skills are also related to camping.  They have been using a camping visual for graphing, tallying, and creating a bar or picture graph.

Weekly Assignment sheets will be distributed on Mondays. Please leave the Assignment sheet in their folder. All the students have been completing their homework assignments in class. I know you review it in the evening, which shows your support for their learning.

Summer reading is the perfect way for your child to pursue his/her individual interests and at the same time maintain and strengthen important reading skills such as vocabulary and comprehension. Reading is crucial to a child's success in all school subjects and in the world outside of school.

I am certain you encourage your child to read as often as possible.  You won't need to visit the public library or purchase books because HMS students have access to myON, the on-line digital library. It is a great site for students as they are able to select from over 8000 books anytime and anyplace.

Besides their daily homework, each child will be required to read a minimum of 5 books using myON, by Friday, June 26th. All usernames and passwords will remain the same. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Dates to remember:

• Friday, June 26th - myON assignment due

A hui hou,
Mrs. Lee

Summer School Potpourri

It's been so much fun in Summer School that we want to do it again!

Free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox   Aloha Parents,   Summer School has  been a time for learning and exploring for the Kindergarten students.  While they miss their old friends, they've made many new ones.    They have also loved engaging in different types of hands-on learning. They are usually paired with a partner or part of a small group so they can experience collaborative learning. Hope you have  conversations with your child about this slideshow and their activities.    A hard copy of your keiki's Progress Report will be sent home on the last day of Summer School (July 11th). If s/he is absent, the Progress Report will be mailed to you.   A hui hou, Mrs. Lee 

The Many Things We Liked

We wanted to share with you our Reading and Math work with a Camping theme. Enjoy!



Hope everyone has a cool weekend,
K-1 Keiki

Life with Friends

Summer School is the most fun when we are with old and new friends.  We're working, playing, and eating lunch together very well.

We continued with our camping theme and here's what we've been up to...

After we learned some interesting facts about some animals people might see while camping, such as skunks, owls, and porpcupines, we wrote about them. It was awesome making the animals with colored paper, toothpicks and googly eyes. In Math we worked with a buddy to compare numbers and solve word problems. It is great to have these activities.

Make your own picture slideshow 

Aloha Parents,

Progress Reports will be emailed to you by Friday, June 20th. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Have a nice weekend,
Mrs. Lee

We are Happy Campers

Summer School is alot of fun!  We started the week with a camping theme.  Of course, all these activites were in our classroom.  Hopefully, we'll get the chance to go camping outdoors with our families.

We are Happy Campers on PhotoPeach

Aloha Parents,

All the keiki are off to a fun-filled summer filled with all sorts of academic adventures.   They set up their tents, started their campfires, and got their flashlights ready. Some activities they worked on thus far included: Writing Campfire Tales, Compare and Contrast (cabin/tent) Venn Diagram, Spin and Graph (items used at camps),  ABC Order (camping words), and Star Gazing (reading and recording camping words).  They've been enthusiastc about following the camping theme unit so far, and are excited that it will continue for a few more weeks.

myON Reader, the online reading program is still available for your child.  Encouraging them to read will not only improve their vocabulary, but  they'll learn interesting and useful information, help them to write better, and develop their imagination skills.

All young students have small stomachs.  After 3-4 hours without food, their stomachs are empty and their blood glucose levels are reduced.  Healthy snacks at first recess helps to keep their blood sugar levels even and prevents them from getting so hungry that they can't focus on the second half of the summer school class. Please pack a small, nutritious snack for them daily.

Most students purchase snacks from the Snack Bar in the afternoon.  Please be sure to write their name and room number on their plastic bag or wallet.  This will be most helpful to  Mr. Jason Noh, the K-1 Group Leader, and his assistant.

Malama pono,
Mrs. Lee

Summer Plans

We love to do different things in the summer. It is fun to have 'fun'.

This free photo collage customized with Smilebox

Aloha Parents,

It has been a terrific summer teaching your keiki. They were anxious to learn and willing to explore new ideas. I hope this positive energy lasts a lifetime.
Report cards and completed work were sent home today.  Please email me if their report card is missing.

Wishing you and your family a safe and delightful summer. 

Aloha,
Mrs. Lee

Jack and the Beanstalk

This week was spent learning about contractions, putting words in alphabetical order, and antonyms. The students practiced these skills through games with a partner, lessons on the IWB, and cut and paste worksheets. 

There was also many read alouds with writing activities that were shared.  The keiki especially enjoyed 'This Plus That: Life's Little Equations'.  In this collection, the author put together unexpected combinations that always added up to something special. The students created their own equations about life.

Measuring things are quite important in life.  The students had an opportunity to practice this skill with rulers this week. Graphing and learning about fractions were also concepts taught which can truly benefit them as life long learners. 

Create your own digital slideshow

Learning Together

 

This week was spent continuing to enrich the keiki's exposure to literature. Some stories they enjoyed were Where the Wild Things Are, Miss Rumphius, and Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale. After the stories were discussed, everyone was involved in a writing assignment and fun activity.

 

Shapes (solid and plane) and Lines of Symmetry were the Math topics for the week.  The students were engaged in cool math games and activities. Look at these creations using shapes to form 'Jungle Animals' and 'Scenes of Symmetry' which were really quite awesome. Don't hesitate to visit our classroom filled with more of their treasured work.

 

What did your keiki enjoy the best during this summer school session so far? This Wordle explains it in a 'cloud'. Click to enlarge.

 

Have a restful weekend,
Mrs. Lee

Bright Skies are Ahead of Us

How can we get the keiki interested and involved in school?  Well, by planning many fun, collaborative, and critical thinking activities! That's what happened this week. 

Literacy lessons included a craftivity and some sort of writing.  Visit our classroom to view the vast array of beautiful work on display.

Coins and Time were the topics covered in Math.  Children learn best through active involvement with real objects. So our room is normally filled with 'learning' noise which is great because they are participating and working together with a partner.  Some of the games they played were Cup of Coins, Coins in the Piggy, and Human Clock.

Ask your child what skill they were learning as you view the slideshow together!

This picture slideshow customized with Smilebox

Busy Keiki

Learning and playing go hand in hand, and that is what the keiki are doing everyday in K-1. It is an exciting experience for them as they share ideas, collaborate, and stretch their creativity. Activities are planned so they can be successful and build their confidence.

This week, Literacy continued to focus on books written by Ezra Jack Keats, an American writer and illustrator of childrens' books. He is known for his multicultural characters who faced dilemmas and held friendships, and lived in the city. Some of the books we enjoyed were: Jennie's Hat, Whistle for Willie, Apt 3, and Hi Cat!

Everyone was engaged in learning and playing games in Math about the place value of numbers to 100 and comparing the size of numbers.

Your child will enjoy explaining their activities shown in this short video.  Please share your interest with your keiki.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Lee

Summer's Here

Summer School is in full swing.  Each day this week, your keiki listened to a different picture book written by Ezra Jack Keats.  Following the story, class discussion focused on the problem that the main character faced and the related solution that the character chose.  After each read-aloud and discussion, the keiki compared the different stories and plots using a graphic organizer on the IWB. As a  daily culminating activity, the students wrote their own problem-solving story and included an illustration.

This week's focus in Math was on patterns, addition, and subtraction. Numerous games were played which were great for review, practice, and enrichment.

Summer is a wonderful time to continue to encourage your child to read because:
1.  It improves their vocabulary.
2.  Reading saves energy. Isn't it better than watching television or playing video games?
3.  Reading helps with the skill of visualizing!
4.  They will learn interesting, and useful information for an assignment or for fun.
5.  Reading helps them to write better!
6.  Reading provides characters as role models and teaches them about social situations.
7.  It sets an example for other students so they'll read too.

Please remember:

• Swim Classes are scheduled on Mondays.
• Snacks and a water bottle should be brought daily as the keiki become hungry and thirsty.

                            

 

 

 

Aloha,

Mrs. Lee

Our Favorite Memories

We all have memories but the best ones are those that we cherish for a long time.  Please listen to us as we share our favorite memory using Voicethread.




A note from Mrs. Lee:
It was such a exciting summer session for all the keiki, including myself.  They enjoyed learning about themselves through various characters after listening to stories by Ezra Jack Keats  and the world's funniest Kindergartener, Junie B. Jones, who is now in first grade. Math was especially loads of fun when they practiced skills using fractions with goldfish, probability with M & M'S, and other daily collaborative activities. The children continued to develop  skills in Literacy, Math, social interaction, and critical thinking in preparation for first grade.
Wishing everyone much success in first grade and in the years to come.
A hui hou,
Mrs. Lee

How Tall is Jack?

Jack and the Beanstalk  is a fairy tale that was quite funny.  The story was about  a boy named Jack, who climbed a giant beanstalk into the magical clouds. He met a hen who could lay golden eggs, a  harp that sang by itself, and the funny ogre with his wife. Like all fairy tales, there was a happy ending. Jack married a princess, became even wealthier, and together they lived happily ever after.
Working in teams, we collaborated and produced our own life-size Jack.  We measured and labelled different parts of Jack. Our creations are hanging in our classroom.  Drop by to check it out!

Another picture collage by Smilebox

A note from Mrs. Lee:

The students are currently engaged in a unit on Junie B., First Grader (at Last). Many giggles have been heard as Junie B. was the world funniest kindergartener, but is now in first grade.  A chapter is read,  followed by a group discussion.  The students individually  compose sentences about key events  and add  an illustration in their 'booklet' daily. The culminating activity will be to retell the story to a peer, using their 'booklet'.
Everyone is given the opportunity to respond to the text before, during, and after the reading.  Eventually the students will develop the capability to focus on the text and increase their comprehension.

Shapely Jungle

Learning about solid and plane shapes has been a whole lot of fun.  One of our activities was listening to Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert.  We saw how animals in the zoo were  created using shapes and colors. So we made new animals for our zoo using flat shapes.


A note from Mrs. Lee:

Mahalo for sending in the wrapped empty cereal boxes.  They will be used  for a literature based activity later this week.
This Fourth of July, America will celebrate its 236th birthday. Celebrate it with firework displays, festivities, and parades.  Happy Birthday, America!

Our Favorite Stories by Ezra Jack Keats

We just completed our unit on children's books written by Ezra Jack Keats.  Mr. Keats wrote and illustrated many books and we enjoyed just a few of them these past two weeks. We wished to share our reasons for choosing our favorite story with you. Please click  below on the box ('Word it Out') to enlarge.