We are getting closer and closer to our chick hatch! Every day, the kiddos learn more and more about how the chick develops inside that egg. On Tuesday, we had the privilege of inviting Karen McCarthy, head of Elementary Science for all of Lexington, to do an egg show for us. Ask your children what they learned!
Math Stations:
- Combo Toss – This game provides a visual display of the number combinations that make up each sum from 1 to 10. With a partner, a cherub rolled 2 number cubes and built two stacks of cubes to match the numbers rolled. He/she then placed the two stacks in a column of the game board according to the sum of the numbers rolled.
- Snap It! – Working with numbers six to twelve, students made trains of cubes. They then “snap” their trains at various places. Putting part of their trains in front of them and placing the other part behind them, students worked to figure out how many were hidden. In this manner, students are learning to describe a number by its parts. We then brainstormed and recorded all the corresponding number sentences! It was fun to see all the different ways to make the same number!
- Dr. Seuss (1 More/1 Less) – Using three dice, students rolled and counted to see how many dots they had in all. After recording that number, they then had to determine what was one more and one less than that number. Challenge! Some students used 4 dice! Holy moly!
- Tub Game – At this center, students received practice describing a number by its parts. This week, the students worked with the number 10! This was a challenge, but a fun one, where they had to figure out how many cubes were underneath the tub! They then said the corresponding number sentence. For example, if I put 5 cubes under the tub, they had to discern how many more would equal ten. Lastly, they named the corresponding number sentence!
- Subitizing Chicks – In this fun book, students were asked to subitize! Drawings of chicks were placed strategically on each page so that students were able to see groups. After they framed the groups with pipe cleaners, they then circled those groups and wrote a number sentence that reflected how they subitized. Challenging work but the Kindergarteners rose to the occasion!
- iPad – you pick! Students got to choose what game they wanted to play from the ones we have already learned. What fun and great extra practice!
The cherubs are learning to solve new words by making connections to words they already know. In class, we’ve been changing the last letter or letters of a word to form a new word, such as in to if; cat to cap; an to at back to an and finally to and! This understanding is helping the children take words apart as they read and spell as they write. Play this game at home! See what your word solver comes up with!
We are finally starting our “how-to” writing unit! The kiddos became the teachers (and writers) as they learned about informational how-to texts. To begin the unit, I showed an exemplar story to the writers in our room on the topic of building a snowman. After reading it, the kiddos identified a variety of aspects included in the writing: tips, warnings, lots of details, labeled pictures, hooks, or getting the reader excited, and arrows.
Next, the class brainstormed a list of all the things they know how to do. The cherubs did a magnificent job coming up with a variety of topics! Last, they dove right in and started their own how-to stories. It was amazing to see how much excitement and eagerness the kids displayed, and they were totally motivated to start writing! They wanted to show all their expertise! Over the upcoming weeks, they will be immersed in a variety of mentor texts, and our list of what to incorporate in our books will continue to grow! How fun!
Have a wonderful looooong weekend!