Behind the scenes of Vita Nova

Tuesday

November 18, 2008

Today we went on an exciting field trip to Vita Nova restaurant, located within Trabant. During this field trip the children actively explored the roles, processes and operations found inside a real live restaurant. Chef Josh was our fabulous tour guide who took us around the restaurant to explore all the inner working. We visited the dining hall where we learned about their lunch buffet and the roles of servers and customers. There we met Mr. Mayer the restaurant manager. We then took an adventure into the kitchen where we first talked about safety. Chef Josh told us about some of the dangerous things that can be found in a kitchen such as fire and knives.

On our way through the kitchen we encountered a huge machine. This huge machine was a dishwasher. The children expressed their comparison of this dishwasher to the dishwasher that they have at home. As we moved through the kitchen the children used their scientific eyes to view the other students/ chefs cooking, chopping, mixing, and stirring things. The children then got to meet Chef Joe. Chef Joe is the kitchen manager and he told us all about how he is the teacher to all the other chefs in the kitchen. He also talked to us about some of the different recopies that he uses in the kitchen.

Chef Josh then showed us the huge freezer where they keep all the dairy products. He explained that they have different freezers for different things because some things have to cooler than other and that is also how they stay organized. After getting chilly by the freezer we turned around and took a look at all the food in the pantry.

Our adventure continued when we headed on into one of the classroom that they have right in the back of the kitchen. In there we meet the sous chef, Chef Debbie and she told us about some of the tools that she uses each and every day to help do her job. We were then given a delicious snack from Vita Nova. This snack was a yummy pumpkin muffin. While enjoying our snack we explored and expanded our minds by asking Chef Josh some of our questions that we had come up with the day before. He answered all of our questions with kindness and thought and he expressed to us that his inspiration at Vita Nova is love. He loves what he does and that all the children will love what they do when they grow up and have jobs.

The children truly enjoyed this wonderful experience. They actively explored all the happenings behind the scenes of a real live restaurant. They were able to engage through hands on experiences. Thank you Vita Nova!

Kindergarten Healthy Chefs

November 13, 2008

This week we have been exploring  different healthy foods that we found on our exciting field trip to Perkins. The children have become engaged in cooking activities that have supported their ability of follow directions and sequencing, as well as their teamwork capabilities.

Our first delicious snack was a salad.  The children each made a healthy snack from a salad bar that was set up in the classroom during center time.  The children chose from several ingredients carefully making sure to follow directions and add the correct amount of each ingredient to their salad. While preparing their salads the children were encouraged to try different foods in order to expand their exploration of healthy choices. After enjoying their salads children used recall to document their healthy choices by completing a checklist to show which ingredients had been chosen.  Throughout the activity children engaged in rich conversation about their healthy choices that they had made. We were amazed at how brave they were with their healthy choices. 

Our second exciting cooking activity was the creation of salsa. In small groups children read recipe cards with teacher assistance and prepared salsa that was paired with a cheese quesadilla for snack. Children worked together to read, measure and mix the ingredients to make this healthy, delicious treat. Yes, your children at a mixture of tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemon juice with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Some children even drank this delicious treat. We are thrilled that they can make such healthy choices! 

The children within our classroom are young chefs. They have enjoyed exploring, preparing and tasting these different types of food found at Perkins. We encourage you to cook with your child at home!

Making our healthy choices

YUM! Salad

Think. Think. Think. What did I chose? Esther recording the healthy choices that she made

Chop. Chop. Chop. Working together to complete the recipe

We used team work to chop onions

Geometry Jack-O-Lantern

October 30, 2008

Today during group time we used team work and our knowledge of shapes to plan our class Jack-O-Lantern. To create each piece of the Jack-O-Lantern we chose from different shapes such as a square, rhombus, triangle, trapezoid, and circle. The children used personal choice, knowledge of shapes, and ability to follow directions to vote for their preferred shape. The children formed a line behind their preferred shape which represented a human graph. The shape with the longest line was chosen for each piece. The children first had to decide on what shape our eyes on our Jack-O-Lantern would be. The children voted and the triangle shape was chosen with the most class votes. The children then choose the shape for the mouth. During this vote the children were dispersed among most of the shapes. We had a tie between two of the shapes; the circle and trapezoid. As a group we came up with a solution to our tie and we decided to revote. After voting again the circle was chosen for the mouth of our Jack-O-Lantern. The children then voted for the shape of the nose. They voted and a rhombus won our vote and became the nose on our Jack-O-Lantern. The children had a great time creating our Jack-O-Lantern, working together and each being a part of our class decoration. To display our team work we lit our Jack-O-Lantern during read and relax and watched it shimmer in the darkness. Throughout the activity we used vocabulary describing more or less, worked cooperatively to compromise and used our creativity to create our Jack-O-Lantern. We also strengthened our shape knowledge by using various shape vocabulary. The children truly enjoyed this activity. They were able to work together and create a product that was displayed in the classroom.

Children are using their shape knowledge to vote for the shape of the Jack-O-Lantern’s eyes

Children display team work to trace our choosen shapes

Our geometry Jack-O-Lantern is complete. Now it’s time to carve and display.

Kindergarten Families Reconstruct “The Green”

On Wednesday October 22^nd the Lab School Kindergarten class participated in Family Build Night, hosted by student teachers, Allyson King and Brenna Schadegg. The student teachers planned the event as part of their two-week unit on “Building.”

Their unit focused on the following Delaware content standards:

Science:
Standard 2: 1. The properties of materials influence their use. Some materials are more suitable for making a particular product or device.
Math:
Standard 3: Recognizes geometric shapes and structures in the environment
Standard 3: Find items that are longer than or shorter than a given measure
Social Studies:
Geography standard 1 K-3: Students will understand the nature and uses of maps, globes, and other geo-graphics.
Civics standard 4 K-3: Students will acquire the skills necessary for participating in a group, including defining an objective, dividing responsibilities, and working cooperatively.
Language Arts:
Standard 2.1: Learn new vocabulary through stories and instruction
Family Build Night was a community night where families were encouraged to come enjoy company and spend time with their child while reconstructing the University of Delaware Green out of recycled materials.

Families and children worked together to choose a building to create, materials to use and a plan to follow. The children used various recycled products including boxes- big and small, tubes and cylinders- tall and wide, and used markers and crayons to draw on the floor which was covered in white roll paper.

Children and families created unique buildings that mirrored many of the real building structures such as columns, arches, pointed roofs, and brick siding. The children used their imaginations and comparison skills to achieve this success. The cardboard infused green became a masterpiece of recycled materials.

Top 10 Signs of a Good Kindergarten Classroom

I came across this article and wanted to share it with you since it highlights the importance of block play, as well as play across the curriculum within a kindergarten classroom. I welcome feedback to this article and would love to get a discussion started among the families.

Top 10 Signs of a Good Kindergarten Classroom
http://www.naeyc.org/ece/1996/12.asp

Kindergarten is a time for children to expand their love of learning, their general knowledge, their ability to get along with others, and their interest in reaching out to the world. While kindergarten marks an important transition from preschool to the primary grades, it is important that children still get to be children -- getting kindergarteners ready for elementary school does not mean substituting academics for play time, forcing children to master first grade "skills," or relying on standardized tests to assess children’s success.

Kindergarten "curriculum" actually includes such events as snack time, recess, and individual and group activities in addition to those activities we think of as traditionally educational. Developmentally appropriate kindergarten classrooms encourage the growth of children’s self-esteem, their cultural identities, their independence and their individual strengths. Kindergarten children will continue to develop control of their own behavior through the guidance and support of warm, caring adults. At this stage, children are already eager to learn and possess an innate curiosity. Teachers with a strong background in early childhood education and child development can best provide for children what they need to grow physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Here are 10 signs of a good kindergarten classroom:

1. Children are playing and working with materials or other children. They are not aimlessly wandering or forced to sit quietly for long periods of time.
2. Children have access to various activities throughout the day, such as block building, pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as legos, pegboards, and puzzles. Children are not all doing the same things at the same time.
3. Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and the whole group at different times during the day. They do not spend time only with the entire group.
4. The classroom is decorated with children’s original artwork, their own writing with invented spelling, and dictated stories.
5. Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences. Exploring the natural world of plants and animals, cooking, taking attendance, and serving snack are all meaningful activities to children.
6. Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to play and explore. Filling out worksheets should not be their primary activity.
7. Children have an opportunity to play outside every day that weather permits. This play is never sacrificed for more instructional time.
8. Teachers read books to children throughout the day, not just at group story time.
9. Curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional help. Because children differ in experiences and background, they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same way.
10. Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel safe sending their child to kindergarten. Children are happy; they are not crying or regularly sick.

Individual kindergarten classrooms will vary, and curriculum will vary according to the interests and backgrounds of the children. But all developmentally appropriate kindergarten classrooms will have one thing in common: the focus will be on the development of the child as a whole.

UD Lab School Picnic and other Kindergarten events

Wow families! What a busy week it has been! Our Lab School picnic was a roaring success, and we’re happy to report that every single kindergartener and his or her families made it. It was wonderful to get to see the children outside of school and to interact with all of the families. We’re loving these opportunities to get to know more about you as the year gets rolling.

In the classroom you’re children are becoming excellent students. The children are showing and talking about many different ways to be kind to their friends, teachers, and classrooms, including:

- raising a quiet hand when wanting to contribute to a group conversation

- listening to a friend when he or she is speaking

- Saying kind words and asking friends for help

- Sharing

- taking turns

Your children are also participating in many new activities. This past week in the classroom we have:

- gone on a shape walk around campus identifying arches and triangles

- built our homes out of grapes and toothpicks and Gore Hall out of cheese and toothpicks

- explored shaving cream

- painted beads following a picture book which we will be stringing soon

- introduced our new dramatic play: the doctors office. Which comes fully stocked with a working x-ray machine, doctors and nurses uniforms, patient waiting area – even with paperwork to be filled out! and of course many ace-bandages.

- introduced gas pumps and signs to our recess time. Which has turned the playground into a mini highway filled with stop signs, one way signs, and a gas station.

- been archaeologists and dug for letters in the sand

- created our own patters and looked for patterns in the classroom.

Many of this past weeks activities have been documented on our digital camera for your viewing pleasure. Please browse the pictures and look at all of the fun things going on! And as always any comments are welcomed.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Miss Katie, Miss Diane, Miss Sarah, Miss Allyson, and Miss Brenna

Kate and her mom and one of our beautiful pumpkins

Maya and her mom enjoying some treats

Katie and Bella’s mom and dad

Owen and his mom enjoying their yummy dinner

Emma and her family enjoy some dinner

Aditya and his mom listening to the speeches

Esther also enjoys listening to her College School buddy as she reads her books

Andrew is listening intently to his College School buddy

Bella, Esther, and Joey working to fill up the entire Intarviso board

Minjie, Tobias, and Maya exploring the dominoes

Michael and Gabby with their dad’s

Minjie and Andrew on the glider

Our first few weeks in Kindergarten!

Welcome back parents! We have been busy busy busy exploring the room, making new friends, and learning about being kind. The children have all seemed to find their favorite spots in the room and are getting comfortable with each other.

The children have been playing a lot of cooperative games like Dino Wars, Max, matching games, and drawing pictures of each other. They have been sharing and working together to achieve common goals and having fun while doing it!

They have spent lots of time in our different centers. Some favorite centers are the block area, the math and science area, dramatic play, the writing area, and the art center. They have observed gourds from our pumpkin patch, are building with tangrams and Dr. Drew Blocks, painting, making friend portraits and playing house and/or restaurant in dramatic play.

The children have been detectives on our campus cruises and have found different shapes in the buildings around campus. We have spent time talking about how our school is located on the University of Delaware Campus and how we are a part of that bigger community. Some shapes the children have found on campus are circles, rectangles, squares, arches, diamonds, and triangles.

Attached are pictures we have taken over these first weeks of school. Thank you for all of your support and cooperation!

Miss Katie, Miss Diane, Miss Allyson, Miss Brenna, and Miss Sarah

Joey decided to write his name in the tangrams

Esther building a city in her tangrams

Zachary made a pattern building out of the tangrams

Andrew and Melissa decided as a team on what picture to draw and then went to work!

Children sit around the table at center time and play a game of Dino War

Joey eating a snack he made for himself

Melissa reading a book during free centers

Andrew building a tower held up by 3 cylinders

Aditya’s tower

Tommy and Kate trying to save the animals from the hungry cat Max!

Emma using the blocks as domino’s

Some of the towers the children made with the Dr. Drew Blocks

Aditya’s model of “New York City”

Our class on a Campus Cruise for Shapes

Owen and his tower he built

Minjie painting a picture

Michael making a wall out of the cube blocks

Bella and Zachary practicing their sharing

Patrick working on a floor puzzle with a group of friends

Esther’s drawing of Bella

Aditya’s drawing of Esther

Tobias’ drawing of Minjie

Kate’s drawing of Tommy

Daniel’s drawing of Andrew

Zachary being the class detective!

Zachary browsing through a book about buildings

The line to get gas. What patience!

Daniel being a kind friend and assisting all of his friends in getting gas

Minjie looking at a nail through the magnifying glass

The end result of what happens when you take away one carpet square over various rounds of music. All the children found a way to share one carpet square!

Michael’s building that he balanced on top of 2 cylinders!

Maya spending some time reading a book before lunch

Welcome Back!

Welcome to Kindergarten!  We are so excited to have you and your child as part of our class this year.  First off, thank you for inviting us into your homes.  It gave us a valuable opportunity to get to know your child individually.  We are looking forward to incorporating their interests into our classroom this year.  

Our open house on Thursday was a huge success! Thanks to all of the families who were able to join us.  We hope you and your child enjoyed meeting the other families and getting a glimpse into our classroom before the school year gets rolling! Attached to the post are some pictures Ms. Diane snapped from the open house. We hope you enjoy them!

We can’t wait to see all of you for the beginning of Kindergarten! Enjoy the last few days of summer. 

Ms. Katie, Ms. Diane, Ms. Sarah, Ms. Brenna, & Ms. Allyson

 

Andrew, Bella, Luke, and Joey enjoying the playground

Joey loved the block area!

Andrew, Minjie, and Patrick with the peg boards

Maya enjoying a book

Michael and Nibbles!

Kate

Patrick and Ms. Allyson

Ms. Brenna and Zachary making sure his card was turned over!

Owen and Dad!

Daniel

Andrew overlooking the playground

Ms. Sarah and Bella playing with the pegboards

Luke, Tommy and Joey going down the slide

Gabby and her sister Sarah at the baby changing station

Ms. Sarah and Emma sorting bottle caps

We’re the Kids of the Future!

The idea for our end of the year show came from Chase’s music collection. Being a big fan of the Jonas Brothers made quite an impact on our theme. His favorite song is the upbeat “We’re the Kids of the Future”. We sure were moving and grooving to the beat! This class is sure to make BIG changes on the future, with their interests ranging from scientists to artists we look forward to the years ahead of us!

We sang three songs at our show:

We’re the Kids of the Future by Jonas Bros.

We’re Building a Better World by Peter & Ellen Allard

Turn this World Around by Raffi

Here are the stars of the future!

Spirit Week

We wanted to share our Spirit for the UD Lab School by having a Spirit Week! The children went all out and expressed themselves in such creative ways! Take a look…

Crazy Hair Day

Multiplicity Twin Day