Room #7 is back at it! We are entering the final stretch of Kindergarten: there are less than thirty days of school left, and we are busier than ever! Read on to see all the learning your cherubs have been accomplishing! Additionally, this will be the last newsletter of the school year. We have a bunch of end-of-the-year activities that the kiddos will tackle, so make sure to ask them what they are up to! I hope you have enjoyed reading the weekly highlights this year and keeping up with all that your talented and beautiful kiddos have learned! It has been an absolute pleasure being your children’s teacher!!!
Room #7 boys and girls are beyond excited that their plants are growing! We have been talking extensively about what plants need in order to grow, and we have discussed the different parts of plants. Ask your child about his/her plant and what his/her responsibilities are in order to nurture it! During Learning Labs, the class made beautiful scientific diagrams of flowers! Check them out when you get a second!
We are transitioning into a new unit: informational writing. On Monday, the class and I talked about the differences between how-to and informational writing. We discussed how one needs to identify at least five things about a topic in order to write about it knowledgeably. Next, we wrote our very own informational book on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches so that they could use it as their personal mentor text. Lastly, the boys and girls brainstormed topics that they could write about and came up with so many fabulous ideas. Moving forward, they will work with a writing partner to ensure they are on the right track when writing about their topic, elaborating on their sentences and anticipating their readers’ questions as well as answering those questions. Everyone is super excited to continue with this unit.
What is so wonderful about our Reader’s and Writer’s Workshops is how nicely they dovetail each other. Yesterday, we began a new part of our avid reader unit: avid nonfiction readers! As soon as I put up our new anchor chart, many insightful cherubs noted: “This goes together with our writing unit! It makes sense!” It was music to my ears! We discussed the difference between fiction and nonfiction books, noting that avid nonfiction readers really think about what they’re reading, constantly asking questions and having new insightful thoughts. Our class is certainly full of avid readers - both nonfiction and fiction!
Math:
- 10 Shape and More - subtraction – An oldie with a twist! Each child took a ten frame and one other shape and wrote the total number of cubes needed to fill both shapes (always a teen number). Next, the kids rolled number cubes to determine how many Unifix cubes to take away, and finally, recorded the corresponding number sentence. This multi-step process required a lot of brainpower for the children to complete!
- Clear the Deck – This game is intended to provide cherubs with opportunities to distinguish between the plus and minus signs and to perform the corresponding operation. Each kiddo filled his/her game board with 20 colored tiles. The goal was to be the first to completely “Clear the Deck” or clear the board by using a plus/minus spinner and a number die. Everyone LOVED this station, and it was great practice for the class!
- Part-Whole Bingo – This game is a spin-off from the kiddos’ work with apple boxes last week. After partners chose a game board, they rolled 2 number cubes. The roll of the number cubes combined determined the number of connecting cubes that each player could place on the board. For example, if a cherub rolled a 5 and a 2, each child took seven connecting cubes and placed them on his or her board. Each player decided independently where to place the cubes, and the two players’ choices could be different. This game promoted the exploration of equivalence, and of decomposing and composing numbers by allowing the boys and girls to cover equivalent arrangements, not just a match to the roll of the number cubes. Because the objective is to cover the entire board, there is a built-in incentive to think about a variety of equivalent expressions.
- Fill the Hexagon - With what different shapes can you make a hexagon? At this center, everyone picked pattern block shapes to determine how to fill in their hexagons. This center really inspired the kids to think critically and carefully to see where they could fit each shape!
- Wall Game – At this center, the kids worked with the number ten. After arranging a vertical line of cubes of that number, a teacher “walled” off a portion of their line so only a certain number of cubes were visible. The children then predicted how many cubes were over the “wall”. What a fun way to see the different number combinations!
- iPad – Hungry Fish! (a new game!) – At this fun and engaging new game, students picked a level where they felt comfortable yet challenged. In each level, a fish emerges with a number on its belly. The student’s job is to combine numbers, or add, to equal the number found on the fish’s belly so that the fish can eat it! Everyone loved this game and enjoyed the challenge!
- Teens on the Rekenrek – After being shown a number card (between 11-20), each kiddo represented that number on the rekenrek. After some practice, they soon noticed that there were always 10 beads on the top and then the extra ones on the bottom row. Finally, the boys and girls described their number using a number sentence: 10+____=_____. This was great visual practice to see the decomposition of numbers!
Enjoy your weekend everyone! Hope it’s a great one!