A few reminders:
- Jolly Phonics assessment on g, o, u, l, f, and b will be Monday, December 7.
- The math tens assignment is due Wednesday, December 9th. Tape any 10 objects on the notecard and practice counting them!
- Book orders are due Friday, December 11th.
- Please remember to label all winter gear AND practice putting on and taking off hats, gloves, boots, etc.
- I am requesting once again recycled materials to use for a few upcoming projects... especially cardboard boxes of ALL sizes! You can send them in anytime between now and winter break.
This week in Kindergarten was all about reviewing and centers!
With a week off, we reviewed our Jolly Phonics sounds and handwriting skills with literacy centers. The 4 centers included a "lego museum" where the students had to build something that started with g, o, u, l, f, or b, using the Jolly Phonics app on the iPad, practicing writing and reading words that contain the letters we have learned so far, and playing the sound practice board game. Centers are also a great way for us to practice our communication and cooperation skills.
*By now, the students know and expect that I will be taking pictures of them working. Some of them request I take pictures of their work or them doing certain activities, and of course I always oblige! So, if you see a large amount of pictures of your child, they are probably requesting them :)
- Jolly Phonics assessment on g, o, u, l, f, and b will be Monday, December 7.
- The math tens assignment is due Wednesday, December 9th. Tape any 10 objects on the notecard and practice counting them!
- Book orders are due Friday, December 11th.
- Please remember to label all winter gear AND practice putting on and taking off hats, gloves, boots, etc.
- I am requesting once again recycled materials to use for a few upcoming projects... especially cardboard boxes of ALL sizes! You can send them in anytime between now and winter break.
This week in Kindergarten was all about reviewing and centers!
With a week off, we reviewed our Jolly Phonics sounds and handwriting skills with literacy centers. The 4 centers included a "lego museum" where the students had to build something that started with g, o, u, l, f, or b, using the Jolly Phonics app on the iPad, practicing writing and reading words that contain the letters we have learned so far, and playing the sound practice board game. Centers are also a great way for us to practice our communication and cooperation skills.
*By now, the students know and expect that I will be taking pictures of them working. Some of them request I take pictures of their work or them doing certain activities, and of course I always oblige! So, if you see a large amount of pictures of your child, they are probably requesting them :)
This week we also started the Second Step Program in our classroom! Second Step is a social-emotional development program that uses music, puppets, and stories to teach kids age-appropriate skills for success. According to their website, "Students in grades K–5 continue developing their social-emotional skills—including making friends, managing emotions, and solving problems—to set them on the path for social success and academic readiness." If you would like to know more about the program, you can read it here: http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step
It has been so fun introducing and teaching Puppy to be a good learner! Please ask your child to explain to you who Puppy is and how we have been teaching him.
In addition to phonics and writing centers, on Friday we also practiced building our stamina for guided reading centers. Once we start guided reading, I will be reading with a group while the other groups are working independently at their stations. In preparation for when I will not be available, we practiced working in our groups WITHOUT asking Miss Duckman questions. We will continue practicing this next week as well.
It has been so fun introducing and teaching Puppy to be a good learner! Please ask your child to explain to you who Puppy is and how we have been teaching him.
In addition to phonics and writing centers, on Friday we also practiced building our stamina for guided reading centers. Once we start guided reading, I will be reading with a group while the other groups are working independently at their stations. In preparation for when I will not be available, we practiced working in our groups WITHOUT asking Miss Duckman questions. We will continue practicing this next week as well.
In math this week, we reviewed our comparing skills and worked with adding numbers together. We used a number line and talked about how the numbers get higher the further down you go. We worked in centers on comparing number of objects, using the number line, subitizing numbers, and writing comparing equations (like 5 >4).
On Friday in math we switched gears and talked about counting in tens. We have a chain of shapes we use to count how many days we have been in school, and it changes color every ten. Our chain is always breaking and falling, so I asked the students, "what else can we use to count to 63?" I then gave each group a cup of straws and posed the question, "How can you use the straws to make 63?" I gave them no other guidance and just let them work in groups to figure out a way to do it. They came up with connecting 63 together, lining 63 up, making an actual 6 and 3 out of the straws, and counting out 50 straws, then 10, and then 3. We then came together as a class and counted them in groups of 10 with 3 left over. We are going to do many more math lessons like this in the coming weeks... it was so neat to see what they could come up with!
With our buddies this week, we played a game with dice to build a snowman, and we also made paper snowflakes.
Speaking of snowmen, we had a very special visitor on Friday...
Olaf! He is going to be here until winter break and he is watching our class looking for good behavior (especially being safe, respectful, and responsible). He is going to be picking students he sees showing these good behaviors to come find him in the morning, and maybe even give them a little present! He will of course be making sure that all of the students get a turn :) Ask your student about his visit, and how they can show good behavior in our classroom.
That is all for this week!
That is all for this week!