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April
2008 Journal
It's April -
Spring is here! The weather has been beautiful this month!
I have even gotten to wear shorts to school again!
The month had a slow start but a busy finish.
It is report card time, Karate school starts, a day trip to Philly,
and art show at my school, a trip to the dentist (ya, I like that)
and lots of fun playing outside....I am even riding my bike this
year! Mom and Dad are thrilled!
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Week #32 ~
Kindergarten News
April 11,
2008 |
We have been
very busy doing activities and reading stories about spring!
We made silly windy day stories, talked about April Fool's Day, read
a book called "Where is Green Sheep" and then made our own big class
book with a similar title, we discussed signs of spring, looked for
signs of spring outside, and wrote about them. We also wrote
about our favorite things to do in the springtime. We also
thought about all the words we could that rhyme with spring!
We are reviewing our vowel sounds, this week it is the letter "e",
and now I am being told it makes 2 sounds!
I have been very busy practicing my writing/spelling at home.
I can spell almost all of my wall words with no help from Mom or
Dad!
Math lessons are my favorite right now, we are practicing beginning
adding and subtracting skills thru the use of manipulatives and fun
games.
Our new centers are spring themed. We are searching for spring
words and writing a sentence with them, filling in missing words in
a book about animals that hatch out of eggs, putting the correct
petal on flowers with different endings, adding jellybeans together,
measuring flowers, writing about signs of spring, and listening to a
book about a mouse's first spring.
Whew...I sure have been busy! Is it summer vacation yet?
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Spring Has Sprung
- FINALLY!
April 12,
2008 |
It was beautiful
today! Actually, we have had a rather nice week. Still a
bit breezy outside and we have had some scattered rain showers, but
just enough to get the grass green and encourage all the spring
flowers and buds on trees to blossom.
We really have not been up to too much around here. Daddy, of
course, has been really swamped with more work than there are hours
in the week. I am busy learning a lot at school. I have
all the sudden gotten very interested in writing and reading (well,
to a point) but math seems to be where I am intrigued. I have
been busy (still) writing books about some kind of silly superhero,
right now it's "Gerbil Man". I have been writing my own music
for my drum set. I am still way too addicted to TV (Cartoon
Network - favorites are Chowder, Ben 10, My Gym Partner is a Monkey
and Pokιmon), and video games. Mom and Dad make me stop and do
something else! I have gotten a new helmet and have taken my
bike around the block a few times. They are just excited to
have gotten me on it this year, who knows if it means anything.
I still like my little scooter best! Mom would like me to get
a new one that is more for my age, but I am not convinced of that
yet. We'll see. Another fun activity is drawing on the
driveway with chalk - I already got my new box opened and Mom and me
have been creating all kinds of things...my new favorite is to make
a maze that you have to follow, you have to be careful because I put
in all kinds of booby-traps and dead-ends, I also like to make all
kinds of circles that make Daddy dizzy!
Mom and I painted my birdhouse that I have had and we set it up by
the tree. The birds have found it and I like watching them
eat. So far we have seen a robin, bluebird and some little
brown bird with a red head and other little birds that we aren't
sure what they are.
Today it was so nice out that we all got to work outside cleaning up
the yard. Mommy mowed, while Daddy ran the trimmer. We
emptied out my sandbox, cleaned it up and put in in the basement.
I decided that I am done with it. I want to plant a garden
this year, but Daddy hasn't seemed to interested in that idea.
We had a picnic lunch break and Dad and I went for ice cream!
Tomorrow is to be kind of rainy but we should get up and go
bowling...it's been a long time since we've been and I have a
birthday party for a classmate in the afternoon!
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HI-YA!
Karate Begins!
April 17,
2008 |
I have been
being told that I was going to start up taking/learning karate.
Well, you know me, I am kind of resistant when it comes to doing
anything new or causes me to have to leave my house. However,
my parents are pretty good and "making" me do things that I do end
up eventually liking....so we shall see.
Mommy found out about this karate place because our neighbors go
there. They speak very highly of the school and when Daddy did
talk to the gentlemen that works there, he got the same impression.
First, some background information about my day. I woke up
this morning with a pretty stuffy nose and we just figured my
allergies were flaring up, it's gotten warmer outside, windows are
open, people are mowing grass...etc. I went to school, home,
played all afternoon with Mom - even went for a bike ride! I
just was really not myself and my nose was getting worse, so Mom and
me came inside just to rest. Dad came home from work early and
he brought me some medicine for my runny nose, so I took that.
I knew why he was home early though and I started to get worked up
about going to karate. I tried my best of "I don't want to go,
I hate karate, I already know it...blah, blah" apparently all
went upon deaf ears though, because we were in the car and on our
way. I fell asleep in the car on the way there, it does take
about 20 minutes to get there.
Mom got me up and we walked into the school. It is kind of
small but it sure was busy. There was stuff hanging all over
the walls, uniforms, pictures, and awards. There was a class
of older kids having their lesson too and they were using some kind
of stick weapon. I was feeling a bit nervous and curious and
tired. The lady at the counter had Mom fill out some papers
and she got me a uniform. Daddy and I went to the locker room
and I got changed. I tried again to get out of doing this.
Dad didn't tie my shirt up right, so the lady fixed it for me -
heehee. I was ready to go...well not really. This man
came out - dressed like me but he had a black belt around his waist.
He told me his name was Sensei Bill. I just stood there, he
asked me if I was ready to learn karate and I said, "no". He
asked me if I was nervous and I shook my head yes and it took all I
could muster to not cry but Mom gave me a hug and Sensei Bill
assured me that it would be fun, he would be there with me and that
Mom and Dad would be in the room to watch. First, he
showed me how we have to bow before entering the room/mat. I
didn't want to go in, so Mom did it with me. Once I got in
there (oh, and we should mention that is was really warm in there)
Sensei Bill started me out with my first skill (he said I would be
learning 5). The Ready Stance - you stand with feet
apart and hands behind your back. Snap to move number 2 - The
Attention Stance - just like it sounds, feet together arms to sides.
We practiced that back and forth and we got a little silly as he
tried to trick me, but it didn't work! High 5 for me!
Next - skill number 3 - Guard Stance - one foot forward and hands up
to guard the face. Then he would say "switch" and then I would
need to lead with the opposite foot/hand that I had just done.
This is my favorite of all the skills....Sensei Bill would say
"switch, switch" and I would have to do it really fast...lots of
giggles now. Okay, I have those - skill 4 (oh and Sensei Bill
made me do some math too - figuring out how many I had already
learned and then figuring out how many are left to learn - that's
okay because I really like math!). Straight Punch - feet
shoulder width apart, fists with thumb on top on hips, arms back -
NO CHICKEN WINGS (heehee) and punch forward straight out from my
chest. I will practice this, I tend to point my arm up instead
of straight, but I will get it. Last one - skill 5 - Front
Kick (ooh, I love kicking! PapPap even called me Cole Double
Kick when I was showing off what I think Karate would be like) -
anyway, hands on waist, lift knee forward, kick straight out, foot
back down. Kick, kick, kick! I like this one, I have
some trouble remembering to keep my hands on my waist, then I lose
my balance and my kick gets all sideways and sloppy, but when I do
remember - it looks sharp! We reviewed everything once more, I
was definitely more relaxed and having a better time than I had
thought I would...those silly parents being right again about
something! Sensei Bill then taught me how we bow to each other
after a lesson. It's the Japanese way of saying "thank you".
He was thanking me for being a good student and I was thanking him
for teaching me.
Next, he talked to Mom and Dad about rules, and other questions that
they had. I could barely hold my head up and was laying on
Mom. Mom told him about my allergies and the medicine but when
he was talking to me, I listened. One last thing, he
taught me how to count to 5 in Japanese. I like to do it
really fast, Mom has to remind me to slow down. I can't help
it, it sounds so cool. Ready?
1. Ichi (ee-chee)
2. Ni (nee)
3. San (san)
4. Shi (shee)
5. Go (go)
Dad scheduled me for next Tuesday, we will go to back and I will
have to show Sensei Bill all of the skills he taught me AND count to
5 for him and then I will get my very first belt - a white belt!
I am actually a little bit excited but don't tell anyone that or I
will completely deny it all!
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It Was A Little
Cold
~ Aaa-Choo!
April 18,
2008 |
Well, we are
thinking that I did have a bit of a cold and it's not all from my
allergies. Nothing too serious though. I had a fever
Thursday night at bed time so Mom gave me some Motrin. I did
wake up with a sore throat but after Mom checked it out she was
pretty sure it was from my runny nose. I was okay for school.
Mom and I talked about how sometimes you have things you have to do
even if you are feeling a little bit blah. My fever was down
to only 99 and my nose was still runny. I took my own box of
tissues to school - ha! I had hot chocolate, applesauce and a
popsicle for breakfast! I thought that was just great that I
was allowed a popsicle for breakfast! :P
Mom offered to take me to school so I didn't have to ride the bus,
but I wanted to ride it to school but I wanted her to pick me up
afterwards, and she did. I got home and laid on the couch and
watched a movie and pretty much just took it easy all night.
However, I did manage to muster some energy to teach Mom some karate
moves!
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3rd Report Card
Period
April 21,
2008 |
I brought home
my third report card today! I was excited to show it to Mom
when I got home from school. This time I was evaluated in 41 different areas.
This time my PLUS'S blew the checks out of the water!
So check out my how my hard work has measured up!
I will add the new areas and marks in another color...hmm, I pick
GREEN!
Social Development
and work habits:
Works well independently - +
-
check -
+
Follows classroom
routines - + - check -
check
Demonstrates self-control check -
check -
check
Organizes/cares for
personal property check -
check -
check
Interacts cooperatively
with peers - + - + -
+
Completes work neatly
check - check -
check
Remains on task, completes work in a timely manner check -
check -
check
Pays attention in
multiple settings check - check -
check
Follows school rules,
well-mannered check -
+ -
+
Proper pencil and
crayon grip - + -
+ -
+
Uses scissors correctly
- + -
+ -
+
Listening/Speaking:
Listens attentively
check -
check -
check
Follows oral directions
check -
check -
check
Waits turn to speak
check - + -
check (oops)
Orally expresses ideas - check (Cole does not like to talk) -
+
(yay!)
Identifies rhyming words -
+ -
+
Produces rhyming words -
+
Reading:
Identifies uppercase
letters in random order - + -
+ -
+
Identifies lowercase
letters in random order - + -
+ -
+
Knows sounds of consonant letters - check -
+
Makes
predictions - check
Reads word wall words -
+
Reads using:
directionality - +
one-to-one matching -
+
knowledge of sounds and letters -
+
Retells important facts from a story - check
Written Communication:
Prints name properly -
+ -
+ -
+
Forms written letters neatly -
check -
+
Uses drawing with details to represent ideas -
+ -
+(if
we didn't have a + here, I'd be worried!)
Writes using:
left to right directionality -
+ -
+
letters to represent sounds in words - check -
+
a sense of sentence - check - +
Mathematics:
Identifies numeral in random order (0 thru 10) - + -
+ -
+
Writes numerals neatly -
+ -
+
Understands math concepts -
+ -
+
Problem solving skills (not all math related issues) - check -
check
Interprets charts and graphs -
+
- +
SCIENCE: Myself
and Others; Farm; Fabric
Understands basic
concepts - +
Participates in active explorations -
+
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Me In My World
Understands basic
concepts - +
Participates in activities -
+
Looking
good! His teacher gives us another report on how he does
with identifying his letters (lower and upper case), wall words,
sounds, and numbers. This marking period he has smiley
faces in all areas except for Sounds, he missed "Y"...not sure
"why" he missed "Y". He was able to tell me. She
tested up to number 21 this time, which he knew all of them.
Math seems to be his strong subject. I hope it stays that
way, given all of my struggles with math and numbers. They
know a total of 32 wall words, he can easily read these and can
spell all of them. He is doing a lot more free "sound
spelling" on his own now. Before, he would want to know
how to spell things. He stills asks but then I just wait,
repeat the question and then he tells me how it is spelled.
He is also reading a lot more, but I can't say that I have seen
him sneak off with a book and read it to himself yet. I am
not sure where he is at on a reading level. They will not
tell us this until the last marking period. I am hoping he
will be "at benchmark". It would be nice to have him be
above, I am not sensing that but heck, I have no idea where the
school thinks he should be. I mean, when I was in
Kindergarten, we played and did mazes! Cole's listening
skills are a bit of a concern for me, however, the teacher has
not mentioned any thing to us yet. I wish they had
conferences more than once and especially not at the beginning
of the year, what can they tell in just a few weeks, c'mon,
really? I guess Mark and I can request one if we feel it's
necessary. I find it funny that he bumped his check in
"expresses ideas orally" to a plus only to have his plus in
"waits turn to speak" bumped down to a check!?!?
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Karate
WHITE Belt Test
April 22,
2008 |
Today I had my
"test" for my white belt in Isshinryu Karate and I did a great job!
We got there early so we got to watch Sensei Bill teach a rather
large black belt class. They were sparring and if you did not
score a point on your partner you had to do some push-ups!
Sensei Bill walked Mom, Dad and myself back to another room. I
had to count to 5 for him in Japanese. Then we went thru all
the positions. We practiced the Front Punch a few times, first
nice and slow and then got faster and faster. Every time he
would count I would have to do it to the tempo he was setting.
I did pretty good. I have to remember when doing the Front
Punch to keep my shoulders locked in position. My Front Kicks
are good too...I just need to remember to keep my hands on my hips.
I earned my belt....he said I did great and to keep practicing at
home! He showed me how to tie my belt, it has to be done a
special way. Mom and Dad had him show them again, but none of
us are sure if we have it yet or not.
I can start going to regular classes next week! YAY! I
actually AM looking forward to it. Sensei Bill took my picture
and put it on a "Welcome" board at the school! I struck my
best karate pose and smiled! I was very pleased with myself!
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Week #34 ~
Kindergarten News
April 25,
2008 |
WOW! 34
weeks of Kindergarten under my belt...already?
We are doing reading and writing activities to practice our skills
ALL the time now. We made rainy day stories, reviewed rhyming
words, discussed Earth day and nature. We had to bring an
Earth Day "item" in to share. I took in a branch from Mom's
azalea bush out front. I like the purple flowers on it, but
they are so delicate and it fell apart pretty easy. We
wrote about tree, recycling and what the Earth gives us.
For math, we have moved on to larger numbers...numbers higher than
12. This is just a review as we count and talk about number
every morning with our calendar.
Centers these last few weeks have been all about nature as well.
We have been writing and drawing about things that need water to
survive, reading a book about animals that need trees, picking an
animal and drawing it in their habitat, listening to a story about
"Seeds" and drawing what it needs to grow, finding pictures of
Earth-wish way to and writing 2 ways to help the Earth, completing a
word wall word search, and putting rhyming sentence puzzles
together. We have been busy bees, that's for sure!
We had a special visitor come to our school - Sarah, the Jr.
Firefighter. She taught us fire safety and then we explored a
smokehouse and fire truck!
We have a lot of fun events planned in the next month - I am looking
forward to it!
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Star Wars ~ Where
Science Meets Imagination
April 27,
2008 |
We had heard
that the travelling Star Wars exhibit would be making it's way to
Philadelphia's Franklin Institute this spring, so we had our tickets
weeks ago! We had to be there really early because they sold
tickets by "time frames" in order to control the crowds. We
had to be there (yes, in Philly) by 9AM!
We were up and out the door, on the road by 6:45AM! I was
ready and excited to go! It is not that long of a drive there,
I hardly noticed since I had my DS to keep me busy.
Anyway, we got there early and the first thing we did was get
tickets for the Millennium Experience. It was an actual size
replica of the cockpit of the famous ship. Okay, I thought
that was cool, until they turned the lights off. I kind of
freaked out. Mom sat me on her lap and tried to convince me it
was just like a video game, but I wasn't having any of that.
It was like we were traveling thru space at warp speed sometimes,
passing things along the way. I did kind of like the end when
all the X-Wing Fighters flew passed us...but it could not have been
over soon enough for me! Wish my parents would just get over
this "face my fears business" - you know I'm only 6!
Anyway....by the time this was over, geez, you should have seen the
line when we came out of there! Glad we were early!
We were able to enter the Star Wars section of the Institute.
We had special tickets and once in, you were not allowed to leave.
It was really cool...they had the actual ships - large and small -
models that they used in the movies! I enjoyed the Land
Speeder section. They had an area to teach us how the Land
Speeder concept can be put to real life use, well sort-of. I
was excited to see Lego's in the "parts" bin! Dad and I built
our speeder and then went to the testing section. It was
tricky as the Lego's didn't want to stick. We remained
patient, I wanted to see this thing work! Finally, it did.
I wanted to keep moving around all over the place, probably much
faster than Dad wanted me too, so Mom just kept an eye on me.
I know I am not the only Star Wars fan in the house. I liked
the costumes they had there too. Then silly Mom tried to tell
me to pose with "Chewie" and I told her it wasn't him, she didn't
believe me...then she must have noticed her error...silly Mom not
knowing what "Chewie" looks like!
I loved all the hands-on stuff they had and we did them all.
It worked out well that we were one of the first groups to go in
this section, as once you were in, you could stay as long as you
wanted...so it kept getting busier and busier behind us. Dad
and I built and programmed a robot. I was very interested in
the robotic prosthetics they had there, real life ones as well as
Luke's hand from Empire Strikes Back! The end of the Star Wars
section was very busy, as the most popular costume was at the
end....Darth Vader! By this point, I was ready to go see the
rest of the Franklin Institute. We had come here when I was
about 3 or 4 and I remember the Giant Heart! I wanted to go
there!
On our way out we saw Storm Troopers....and they were not incased in
glass! They were actually walking around. They had hired
a company to come and entertain the guests...it was fun spotting
them throughout the place. I posed for one picture and that
was enough for me...but I still liked seeing them there. Mom
wanted Dad to pose with Darth Vader but he wouldn't do it either.
HA! Who all was there...Storm Troopers, different ones, Sand
People, Jawas, Bobba & Jenga Fett and of course, the most popular
one....Darth Vader!
We had a fun time exploring the rest of the museum. They have
added some new sections since we were here last. We went
outside and grabbed some hot dogs, went for a walk to the park
across the street so Dad could grab a geocache. We were
dressed for inside weather and it was freezing out, so we headed
home. It would have been nice to spend the rest of the day
exploring Philly if the weather had cooperated.
It was still a fun day!
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First Karate Class
April 28,
2008 |
Today I went to
my very first karate class! I was excited to go, put my stuff
right on when Mom told me to get ready!
I met my new teacher, Sensei Justin, he was very nice and excited
for me to be there. The class started small...there were just
3 of us. We played a game where he spun this ball on a rope
around the circle and when it got to me, I was supposed to jump over
it. Sound easy, right? Not so much...I had a tough time.
He had me switch spots because he thought maybe that spot was
unlucky, I did better but Mom and me will need to practice this game
at home! More kids started to show up so Sensei Justin had me
stand in front of the class so everyone could come around, give me a
high five and tell me their names! Next, we had to stretch our
leg muscles and then we did some jogging around the "dojo" (that is
the name for the room/mat we are using for class). Next, we
learned some new stuff...he had us practice being fast to stand to
attention from our "lock it up" (criss-cross seating) positions.
We learned that we will test for our
BLACK
stripe at the end of the month. This months lesson is all
about FOCUS! This will be a challenge for me :). We
practiced a reverse punch and a kick. Sorry, can't remember
all the technical names. Sensei Justin thought I was a ninja
in disguise because my kicks were so good. Then he said we
were going to BREAK A BOARD! He taught us how to hit with our
hands flat, keeping the thumb to the side and you push the punch
thru from your waist. We did a white board, since most of us
were white belts. I missed on the first punch but I was a
little scared, I mean this was my FIRST class and you want me to
break a board?! He reminded me to put my muscles into and BAM!
I did it! Mom said I need to work on my yell though....heehee.
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MY First Annual
Art Show
April 28,
2008 |
I have been
working on a lot of fun art projects during art class at my school,
however, we haven't been sending them home for our parents to see
because my art teacher was preparing for an Art Show. Tonight
was the big night. My art teacher had spent a long time
getting things all set up. The entire lobby and cafeteria were
decorated with the entire schools artwork, it looked really neat.
There sure are a lot of artistic kids in my school...everything
looked so nice. I liked seeing what the older kids got to
do...some of them got to make clay fish bowls, frogs and bird nests!
I can't wait until I get to do that stuff! I had 3 items on
display an "Cole and the Red Crayon" drawing, a neon painted "Alien"
and a project using Primary and Secondary Lines. I was excited
to show off my work but more excited about spotting friends from my
class there! The place was very crowded with people, everyone
must have came to see their kids work, so that was nice. I got to
bring home 2 of my things but the rest needed to stay on the walls
as part of the decor. Mom would have liked to have gotten some
more random photos of the art and how the school was decorated but
it was just too crowded.
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Dentist
April 30,
2008 |
We had a family
dentist appointment today. Dad has those cavities and broken
fillings to get repaired. Sandy, the hygienist, said that he
was going to be their "buddy" for awhile...how lucky for him.
Mom and I checked out great! I had to get some fluoride again,
this time mint-flavored. I need to floss more...Mom got a
great report on her teeth! I have some grinding spots on my
teeth that Dr. Savage said will go away once my adult teeth come
in...and not to worry! Still not a single bit of movement in
those teeth of mine!
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Karate Class #2
April 30,
2008 |
Of course I am
not going to be able to report on every one of my karate classes but
thought I would update again since this is just the beginning for
me.
Tonight the class started out really small, just me and another
little girl. We played a game with a ball. I think this
may have been a "focus" lesson....we had to hold it under our chin
and walk across the floor without dropping it. I did that.
Then we had to hold it under there and HOP across the floor, this
was harder. Then Sensei Justin had us hold it under our chin,
grab it with our elbow, put it between our knees, use other elbow to
pick it back up, then put it back under our chins...that was fun and
tricky. We had to try and do it really fast and beat him.
I think he's had lots of practice though.
Anyway, we learned Universal One, which is a series of moves all
done together. Dad and I practiced it when we got home, we are
still unsure of some of the moves at the end, so after one more
class, I bet I will have it down pretty good.
We ended our class with a game of "Haircut" and "Sensei Says".
It was a fun time...when do I get to go again?
I also have a take home worksheet about Respect that I have to
complete by the end of the month in order to earn my 1st stripe.
So, I'll be busy.
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