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1/23-1/27

1/28/2017

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It was a fun week in Kindergarten exploring winter! Here are some of the highlights... 

We started off our week with a science centers! We had so much fun exploring the different experiments. 
On Tuesday we had ALO with Mrs. Belkind. We presented the students with the question, "How many feet are underneath the table?" The students had to work together to figure out how many feet there were under the table, and then explain how they got their answer. The students used paper and unifix cubes to help show their work. Once they solved that problem, we then asked them "How many fingers are at the table?" This was great practice working with 10. It was amazing to watch the students collaborate and solve the problems. 
The rest of our week centered around answering the student's winter-related questions such as "how is snow made in the clouds?" and "how are igloos made?". We learned about these topics through books, videos, and inquiry. 

To investigate igloos, we watched this video on Inuits building an igloo: ​
I then put the students into teams and challenged them to make an igloo out of sugar cubes. They had to work together, make it circular, and then measure the width and height. ​
Our other big math task this week involved our study of teen numbers. The students each made a white paper chain with 10 links on it. Then, they worked in a group to turn those chains of 10 into 11-19 by adding on with blue paper. For example, 13 would be 10 white links with 3 blue links added
We extended and elaborated on our centers from last week and they were so much fun! They included: 
1. building a winter setting in the block corner and then writing labels with post-it notes 
2. exploring igloos by making structures out of sugar cubes and mini marshmallows
3. making  symmetrical snowflakes and snowmen with loose parts, and then counting the parts
4. building a snowman with play-doh, and then explaining "how to" on Seesaw
5. Exploring ice in the sensory table, and sorting/patterning the objects frozen inside the ice
Next week, we will become researchers and start learning about animals in preparation for our polar bears and penguins unit! The students are already so excited :) ​
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1/17-1/20

1/21/2017

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This week was all about winter and snow!
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Before we could start our week, the students brainstormed what they already knew about winter, and what they wanted to learn. This helps us frame what we are going to do and learn in the next few weeks. ​
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​Our literacy activities were centered around the book Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner.
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We read/listened to the story 3 times this week so we could practice retelling the story. We identified the beginning, middle, and end, and also sequenced the events.  Then, we wrote about what we would do if we were snowmen at night, and made q-tip snowman paintings. 

Additionally, this week the students took a big step in owning their writing by making their own lines and starting their writing independently. When we write in our journals, we count how many words we are writing. For example, "I went to eat pizza" (5).  Usually I help the students count and make the lines, this week they all tried it on their own and rocked it! 
We also learned one new blend in Jolly Phonics- oa. ​
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Our centers were the highlight of the week! The centers revolved around the concept of winter and snow. The 4 centers were:
1. building a winter setting in the block corner
2. creating a winter scene with oil pastels and water colors
3. using loose parts and pattern blocks to make snowflakes
4. making fake snow in the sensory bin with baking soda and shaving cream! 

The students visited each center throughout the week and had so much fun collaborating and creating! ​​
The students worked really hard in math this week. We started by composing teen numbers using this video:
We then dug deeper into our first teen numbers, 11 and 12. I asked the students to make 11 using their 10 frame boards. We then talked about what the best way to identify 11 was, and we decided it was having 10 be in one color, and the "extras" be in another. We then recorded all the ways we know how to make 11. We repeated the process with 12, and will continue this with all teen numbers next week. Lastly, we practiced our number writing with a "snowball fight", where the students wrote a number, crumpled it up, threw it like a snowball, then picked up a new paper and wrote the next number. 
Next week we will continue with snow!
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1/9-1/13

1/13/2017

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This week, we wrapped up our unit on traditions by learning about wish and tooth traditions! ​
We started the week reading the Wish Traditions book,  that took us all over the world to learn about the different traditions they celebrate- such as throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain in Italy. ​
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​We used the beautiful illustrations to inspire us to retell our favorite wish tradition through it's setting. The students had to build, draw, or paint the setting, and then tell about. The final products were so cool! We also started our own tradition, a wish jar! The students wrote down a wish they had, and we all took turns placing them in the jar. We read a poem about the wish jar, and sealed it up tight. It will proudly sit in our room the rest of the year. 
​After wish traditions, we moved on to tooth traditions. We read a book called Throw Your Tooth on the Roof, and learned about what children all over the world do when they lose a tooth. After practicing turning and talking to a partner, we learned that our class has a shared tradition of the tooth fairy coming when we lose a tooth. We also learned that some families have unique traditions, such as what they put the tooth in. Again, we picked out favorite traditions, drew it, and wrote about why we liked it. Ask your child which was their favorite... there were many interesting ones to choose from!
Additionally, this week in literacy we learned our first diagraph in Jolly Phonics, ai, and also the letter j. The students are working so hard on hearing sounds and blending to make words. Lastly, we learned a little about Martin Luther King Jr. by reading Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport. We then wrote our "dream"- something we could do to make the world happier. 

In math this week, we talked about 10's and practiced our number writing. 
We sang this song and practiced counting by 10's : ​
We also used Handwriting Without Tears to learn how to write numbers 4-6. The students then played a dice game to practice their number writing 1-6. We also played our 10's baseball game again this week at review. 
Last but certainly not least, PM Kindergarten was the class Tiger Stripe winner this week! We won this for awesome behavior around school. Stripes the tiger will get to hang out in our room all week. 
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Next week, we're diving deep into teen numbers, and SNOW! Maybe will get some real snow to go along with our theme :) ​

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1/3-1/6

1/6/2017

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We are getting back into the swing of things in Kindergarten. 

Tuesday we were so excited to be back! We talked about what we did over break and then journaled about it. We also ready Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and painted beautiful snowy landscapes with crayons and watercolors during center time. During ALO and read Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson. We ended the day making snowman picture frames with our 3rd grade buddies, the perfect first day back! 
On Wednesday we learned B in Jolly Phonics and Handwriting. We also began learning about traditions. We started by reading a non-fiction book about New Year's Day, and the traditions people do to celebrate. The students participated in the tradition of writing a new year's resolution. They did a great job thinking of thoughtful and sweet goals for themselves. Additionally, we started talking about our own family traditions, and what makes them special. 

On Thursday, we took our own family traditions and drew them on the iPads using Seesaw. The students then recorded themselves talking about their tradition. We also reviewed the letters L, F, and B with a sound sort and played math games with our 3rd grade buddies. Last but not least, the students completed a group math task. We talked about how we have been in school for 73 days, and I asked the students to work in groups to represent 73 using unifix cubes. They did a great job being creative, and learned the best way to complete the task was to work together! This also led to a great discussion about 10's- and we ended up making 7 groups of 10 with 3 extras. This leads perfectly into teen numbers and groups of 10, which we will be working on for the next few weeks. 

On another note, the favorite center this week that you may have seen a lot of on Seesaw has been Osmo! The students LOVE all of our new games. They are so great for creativity, higher level thinking, and teamwork (the students often work in groups to complete the games or tasks). So much fun! 
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Friday we learned a new math game, "tens baseball". The students played with a partner, and they took turns rolling a dice with 0, 10, 20, etc. on it, saying the number and indentifying it on their score sheet. More practice with our tens! We then finished up our Seesaw tradition drawings, had Music, and ended with centers. 

Next week, we will learn about tooth traditions, tens, and teen numbers! 
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