THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR A WONDERFUL YEAR IN KINDERGARTEN ENRICHEMENT!
It has been a pleasure and a priviledge to work with your children this year. We can’t wait to see what great things they accomplish in the next 5 years at Willow Creek. If your child is leaving Willow Creek – we wish them the best of luck and they will be missed.
Thank you for all the wonderful gifts, plants, sweet notes and hugs this week! You, the parents have been so kind and generous to us. Also, thank you to those parents who helped us get our cutting projects ready – it’s tedious work and we OH, SO APPRECIATED YOUR TIME!
SUMMER LEARNING CAMPS!
Don’t forget the Kindergarten and Enrichment team are getting together to offer 2 great summer sessions to help your child get ready or refresh for the next school year. They are 2 week sessions: July 16-27 or July 30-Aug 10 (both are from 9am-12pm). It is for children who will be starting kindergarten in the fall and for children who will be returning and heading to 1st grade. This is a great way to give them a headstart to their new year. If you have questions about registration you may contact Sandi Sandler, JoBeth Clark, Susan Martina or Chandra Thomas. 720-554-3900.
Have a great summer! We’ll see you on August 20th 
Posted in Uncategorized June 7, 2012
This week we thought it would ‘BEE’ cool to start off learning about BEES! We watched a Magic School Bus video about bees and how they make honey. We learned cool ‘bee’ facts. The honey bee has been around for millions of years (but not when dinosaurs lived). It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man. It’s sense of smell is so precise it can differentiate between hundreds of types of florals and whether or not they have polan or nectar. A hive consists of 20,000-60,000 worker bees and one queen bee. Worker bees are all female, they live for about 6 weeks and they do all the work. Only the females have stingers. They communicate with eachother by dancing. There is so much more to learn about them – they really are quite amazing. The kids got to make their own honey bee to bring home.
Insects go through metamorphosis. We did a wheel that shows those stages. Like the diagram, they go from egg, to larva, pupa (cocoon) to adult. On Friday they tested their insect skills and played ‘Insect or NOT’. They had a page full of insects and arachnids. They had to figure out which was which. It was tricky!
We began work on a special project (can’t really say what). They will be sent home this coming week for the kids to share when they want.
Our Oviparous books are DONE! We’re hoping by now you’ve seen them, they were sent home on Thursday and Friday. A lot of work went into this project and we hope you appreciate what a great job your children did. Not only was it about following directions, it was about doing their best work – turning the pages into something special. On the back of each page were sentences they worked hard typing + some sentences they came up with on their own. We’re so proud of how they turned out!
TUESDAY IS LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN! Please do NOT send your child to Kindergarten OR Kindergarten Enrichment on Wednesday. If you need Day Care – please contact Petra Lindsey with WCCK.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR KIDS WITH US! It’s been a fast and busy year. We have loved getting to know your children and working with them each day. We look back at pictures we took of them at the beginning of the year and are amazed at the growth – both physically and emotionally that has taken place. Have a wonderful summer! We look forward to seeing them around in 1st grade!
Ms. Sandler, Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Hueser
Posted in Uncategorized June 2, 2012
There appears to be some confusion based on my wording in the latest blog, about our last day of school in Enrichment. My apologies!!!
Kindergarten AND Kindergarten Enrichment will end on Tuesday, June 5th. There will be NO school for Kindergarteners OR Enrichment on June 6th. Only 1st-5th grade come to school on June 6th.
Sandy Hueser
Posted in Uncategorized May 31, 2012
It’s incredible that we are on our (almost) last unit of the school year! This past week we’ve been talking about insects. Insects do not have backbones, they have an exoskeleton. They all have 3 body parts (as shown above): head, thorax and abdomen. They have two antennae and six legs – some fly, some do not. Spiders are NOT insects because they only have 2 body parts and eight legs – we’ll get into them later. Early on in the week we made a little book about insects. We also got busy on our LAST book page! Look for those books to be coming home soon. The kids have worked so hard on them and really made a 1st grade effort!
We watched a video about ‘BUGS’ in the library. We got to see all kinds of insects – some we’d never even seen or heard of before. How they grow and change – they learned about metamorphosis. They also saw how they live and what they eat – we saw a Praying Mantis catch and eat a fly (head first so they can’t get away – it was lovely).
In the computer lab we worked on typing our sentences for the last page of our book. They copied sentences we gave them + came up with one sentence of their own about insects.
Didn’t we have an incredible day for Field Day?! What started off as a worry that we were going to have a sweltering morning turned into a lovely overcast morning that was just right for enjoying all the games Mr. Heacox had set up for the kids. We had a wonderful time. We hope you got a chance to come out and watch or at least heard about some of the games your child got to play.
Our morning KE kids got a special treat! We got to go on a mini field trip to Mrs. Clark’s room to hear Mr. Mueller (Emma’s Dad) talk about fire safety. He is a fire fighter who spoke to our afternoon group back at the beginning of the year. Thank you Mr. Mueller for taking the time to talk to the kids! Thank you Mrs. Clark for inviting us!
REMEMBER! KINDERGARTEN’S LAST DAY OF SCHOOL IS TUESDAY, JUNE 5TH! NO ENRICHMENT ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 6th!
This is different than the rest of the school. 1st-5th’s last day is June 6th. Please DO NOT send your child to Enrichment that day! If you need daycare you can contact Petra Lindsey at WCCK for details.
Posted in Uncategorized May 29, 2012
This week we finished up our Dinosaur unit. Another page was made for our book. We spent a few days working on the all the details. Throughout the week we learned dinosaur riddles which we made into a book that was sent home. We also learned some songs about Dinosaurs. One fiction and one non-fiction. This is always such a fun unit but it is time to move on. Next week we will begin our insect unit.
Starting Monday, please remember that the only kind of sharing your child may bring is anything to do with insects. One item at a time please.
Arapahoe County Library came to visit the kids on Thursday. They were there to kick off their summer reading program. If you are interested you can visit any of the Arapahoe County Libraries on Saturday June 2nd (or after) to register for the program. Lots of prizes and coupons! It’s a great way to encourage your child to read and have fun reading together.
Just a few important dates to remember!
This Tuesday – May 22nd (9am – 12pm) is Field Day for K-2 Please meet at the Kindergarten classrooms (like we did for the Zoo). It’s supposed to be a hot day so PLEASE sunscreen your child, send a hat and water bottle! Tennis shoes are a must! There will be plenty of water available to them throughout the morning. We will have our regular afternoon Kindergarten Enrichment class starting at 12:45pm. If you have a child in afternoon Enrichment and you decide to take them home after field day please make sure you check them out at the front office. Should you have questions about anything on this day – please contact your Kindergarten teacher or Kindergarten Enrichment.
Tuesday, June 5th: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN! Grades 1-5 end on June 6th. There will be NO Kindergarten Enrichment on June 6th.
Posted in Uncategorized May 20, 2012
We would like to thank everyone for the lovely flowers and gifts during teacher appreciation week! Our room has looked and smelled like spring all week. It has been a joy to work with your children this year!
We have gone back in time to the land of the dinosaurs! This is always a fun unit because we know so much yet we still no so little about these animals. We made fact books about dinosaurs and practiced writing true facts about these “terrible lizards” (meaning of of the word ‘Dinosaur’). The kids learned some new grown-up words like: carnivore, herbivore and omnivore. They learned how you could tell by their teeth what type of foods they ate. We learned theories about why they became extinct – a meteor that hit the earth and blocked out the sun and the newest theory that flatulance may have absorbed all the oxygen…seriously! (They loved that fact!). There’s just so much to learn. On Friday they made their own triceratops to hang in the room. The cool thing about dinosaurs is that no one knows for sure what color they actually were so the creativity flows when they get to color their dinosaurs!
The song we learned this week is ‘Dig a Dinosaur’. Some of the kids have been trying to ‘dig a dinosaur’ on the playground this week – we love when they get inspired!
In the computer lab we are working on typing sentences about dinosaurs for our book.
Your children also worked very hard on a “special project” this week! We hope a Happy Mother’s Day was had by all!
May:
Monday, May 14th : Kindergarten programs – 9:15am (AM Kindies), 2:45pm (PM Kindies)
Friday, May 18th: Egg Drop 4pm
Tuesday, May 22nd: Field Day – this will be in the morning for both classes (9am – 12pm) - information from Kindergarten to follow
Tuesday, June 5th – KINDERGARTEN’s LAST DAY OF SCHOOL – including Kindergarten Enrichment.
Grades 1-5, last day is Wed., June 6th.
NO ENRICHMENT ON JUNE 6TH!
Posted in Uncategorized May 13, 2012
SNAKES, SNAKES, SNAKES! So we talked a lot about snakes the first part of the week. As we continued with our unit on reptiles – how could you leave out snakes? You have to be very brave to enter the KE building. There are many crocodiles and snakes all over the walls. We made snakes out of one single sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. The kids came up with their own designs then glued the pieces together – they’re pretty awesome (the snakes…well, the kids too!). Tuesday we did a unique project to demonstrate the scales on a snake. The students colored cobras then used glue to add scales – they dried and felt like scales. They were sent home mid-week.
Two Snakes and a Man. The kids made a game traditionally played by Native Americans. The sticks or bones had a picture of snake (on two) a man (on one) and blank on the opposite sides. Theses sticks were used as dice. They would throw them in the air and earn points based on how they landed – 2 snakes, 1 man – 1 man, 1 snake, 1 blank – all blanks – etc.. They played to 10 points then begin again. This game was used by the Ojibwa, Meskwaki, Potawatomi, Arapaho and Cheyenne Native Americans. We hope you got a chance to try the game out with your child!
LOOK WHAT’S COMING UP!!! We begin the long-awaited unit on DINOSAURS! This week your child may bring in dinorsaur items to share. Remember that they may only share ONE item a day.
May is a busy month!
Muffins for Mom’s: 15th, 8:30am
Egg Drop: 18th, 3:30pm- 4:30 pm
Field Day: 21st (3rd-5th), 22nd (K-2) events are scheduled for the morning
Memorial Day: 28th (No School)
HAVE YOU HEARD?! Willow Creek Elementary will be offering a Summer Learning Camp!
We are offering a fun, academic program for students who will be going into kindergarten and first grade. The program is based on the fun thematic units Dr. Seuss on the Loose and Deep Blue Sea. Students will practice and enhance academic skills with Willow Creek teachers. You may enroll your child for one or both sessions.
Each session is 2 weeks long, M-F
Hours: 9:00am – 12:00pm
Session 1: Dr. Seuss on the Loose, July 16-27
Session 2: Deep Blue Sea, July 30-Aug. 10
Fee is $250 for each session with a $50 deposit for each session (due with registration and credited toward your payment)
Getting Ready for Kindergarten: Practice of daily routines, story time, writing time, handwriting, practice letters and sounds, technology, math activities, science, outdoor fun.
Getting Ready for 1st Grade: Continuing daily routines, reading experiences, math activities, creative writing, science, technology, Thinking Maps, outdoor fun.
For more information contact Sandi Sandler 720-554-3900 or ssandler@cherrycreekschools.org
The minimum class size is 15 students. If we do not have enough students for the session, you will be notified a week before the class start date, and your deposit will be returned. If your child attends WCCK, contact Petra Lindsey for rate adjustment information.
JoBeth Clark Susan Martina Sandi Sandler Chandra Thomas
Posted in Uncategorized May 6, 2012
Alligators and Crocodiles – how do you tell the difference? You look at their heads. Alligators have a wider snout and their teeth do not show when they close their mouths. Crocodiles have a more narrow snout and their teeth are exposed when their mouth is shut. Our projects this week have been mostly about these animals. Another page was completed for our book; the reptile page. In the computer lab we had the kids type sentences about reptiles that will go with their reptile page. When they are typing the sentences they copy ones we give them then they have to come up with one on their own. So you will notice four or five sentences will be spelled correctly and then one where they were left to sound out words.
These are a couple of the videos we saw this week. Poisonous Animals is narrated by ‘Henry the lizard’. The kids always get into this one because of the animals and Henry is just silly. They also love Magic School Bus videos – they help reinforce what we’ve been discussing.
We snuck in turtles on Friday. Read a story and did fun fiction project. They made their own turtles and decorated their shells – they will be sent home next week.
Friday was the 2nd annual Willow Creek Variety show! Our very own Kendal sang a beautiful song – we’ve been hearing bits and pieces of it at recess and WOW! What a performance! Conrad also showed off his (very fast) dribbling skills which he was proud to continue demonstrating at recess! Great job Kendal and Conrad!!
COMING UP: We will be finishing up reptiles this week and moving onto dinosaurs – we’ll let the students know what sharing they will be able to bring.
Kindergarten Orientation- Wednesday, May 2nd 6:30-7:30pm (this is for incoming Kindies for next year)
Field Day – Tuesday May 22nd (a.m.). Details TBA
Hard to believe we’re rolling into May already and there’s still so much to do!
Posted in Uncategorized April 28, 2012
Ok so that’s NOT a reptile….
These are:
but the first picture kind of depicts how busy our week was! We started off finishing our unit on Amphibians by doing a fun frog riddle book. Tuesday we began our unit on Reptiles! For project the kids wrote their OWN sentences about reptiles. This is a departure from what we normally do. Usually we talk about true facts, write them on the board and the kids copy them. This time we watched a video by Bill Nye The Science Guy (all about reptiles) and looked at some books in the classroom. Armed with all this new information they had to sit and come up with 3 true things about reptiles on their own. They did an awesome job!
Other projects this week included an activity where they sorted animals into two categories (Amphibian or Reptile). They had 24 pictures they had to go through and place in the correct category. For our walls we made some ‘enormous’ crocodiles – to go along with the book we’re reading: The Enormous Crocodile by Ronald Dahl (Charlie and The Chocolate Factory).
The highlight of our week was the zoo field trip! What a gorgeous day we were given. Thank you to all the parents that volunteered to chaparone. It’s a lot of work but the kids have such a good time. The zoo did a class for us about Africa. The students got to see a millipede, a hedgehog and a turtle. They also learned a few African words like ‘Jambo’ (hello) and Kwaheri (goodbye). See if they can remember some of the other words they learned. Unfortunately some of the favorite animals weren’t out (elephants, hippos, seals) so maybe you can take them back this summer to see the new Asian Tropics exhibit where the elephants will be. In opens in June. Check their website for details.
The second highlight of our week was seeing our 4th grade buddies. They brought double dice with them to play math games that focused on addition. They also used inch cubes to play adding and subracting games.
What about our book? Still working on it! We typed sentences for the amphibian page early in the week and will continue with our next page sometime during this coming week.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Friday April 27th 2pm – All School Variety Show. Everyone welcome, it will be in the gym. Spring Fling, Friday April 27th 6:30-8pm. Parents MUST attend with their children. Field Day May 22nd – stay tuned for details!
Posted in Uncategorized April 22, 2012
We continued amphibians this week by doing some more frog projects and talking about salamanders. Salamanders are interesting little creatures – over 700 different species! From the newt to the Giant Chinese Salamander that can grow up to 2 meters long. They are able to regenerate limbs and other body parts too. The males colors get brighter when trying to attract a girlfriend. They are aquatic and semi-aquatic. They lay up to 300 eggs at a time. We made a little book about Salamanders that went home the beginning of the week.
Page two of our book is mostly completed. We are still working on our sentences to go with the page the kids finished this week. It’s really quite something to see how far the kids have come with their skills in following directions. These pages sometimes have lots of parts that need to come together to make the final picture. From cutting and glueing to adding unique details that make these pages their own.
Frog and Toad! Well, not THAT frog and toad. On Friday we discussed the differences between the frog and toad. Frogs have smooth, moist skin where toads have bumpy drier skin. Frogs live mostly near water and toads on land. Frogs come in lots of colors, toads are mostly green, gray, brown. Only the male toads croak – we didn’t really learn that but I just read it
We will begin our unit on reptiles this coming week, it’s always a popular unit. Once we begin this unit the kids will only be able to bring things that have to do with reptiles. Pleeeeeeeeaassee – no live reptiles :/
It’s almost here! Our field trip to the Denver Zoo! This Wednesday (April 18th). Please do not come to the Enrichment room in the morning – please go to your kindergarten classroom. Please be on time that morning as we leave the school promptly at 9:15am. We will be attending a class at the zoo so it is important we be on time.
It looks like a nice day is in store for us! Please make sure your child has water, sunscreen, a hat if they want and A LUNCH! The teachers and chaparones will all have backpacks to carry the lunches as your child will not be bringing their backpacks.
We get back around 2pm – Students in AFTERNOON Kindergarten Enrichment will go out to the mobile for the remainder of the afternoon unless parents choose to bring them home.
We are looking forward to a fun day of exploring! Please contact us or your kindergarten teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
Actually, two more things. Friday April 27th is a busy day at Willow Creek. At 2pm, in the gym, is the 2nd Annual Willow Creek Variety Show. We have a few kindies who will be performing! It is open to everyone so feel welcome to come. Later that night is the Spring Fling Dance (6:30-8pm in the gym). $2 Admission – parents must come and STAY with their children. This is a family event.
Posted in Uncategorized April 15, 2012
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