Many of our Math stations for the next two weeks are centered on 100th Day. This is a big deal for the Kindergarteners, and they are eager and excited to visit each station.
- Noodle Necklaces – The students made their very own necklaces using 100 noodles. This was a multi-step process where the kiddos counted out 10 noodles of one color. In order to ensure they had the correct amount, they used 10 frames. Next, they strung these noodles, adding additional groups of 10 colored noodles to make multi-colored necklaces! They went all the way to 100. Wowza! Super practice to improve finger dexterity too!
- 100th Day Crowns - The boys and girls have been hard at work on their 100th Day Smarter Crowns! For the 100th Day, students created beautiful, one-of-a-kind crowns with 100 items on them to match their 100th Day necklaces and vests. Each crown contains 10 multi-colored strips of paper on which students put 10 “things” (bingo dobbers, buttons, stamps, tissue paper, sequins, googly eyes, hole-punched dots, etc.). This was a definite fan favorite! The crowns look amazing, and the kids can’t wait to wear them J
- iPad – Park Math – Addition! – For this new game, the students practiced their addition skills by adding two groups of ducks together!
- Bump! – An oldie, but a goodie! Working with a friend, each student took 10 cubes of the same color (e.g.: Player 1 = green, Player 2 = blue). Next, Player 1 rolled the two dice and added them together. That player then put a cube on the circle with the matching sum. The game continued in this manner; however, if someone achieved a sum that was already marked, that player could “bump” the cube off the game board. Players could also “freeze” a number by rolling the same sum twice. Once a cherub used all ten cubes, the game was over! So much fun!
- Top-It (less than!) – This partner card game is similar to the card game, War, but with a new twist! Each student put down a number card, and together they decided which number was less. The child with the lesser number card won and took the two cards. The kids LOVED playing this game! This time, the person with the least amount of cards won the game!
In one of our whole group Math times, the cherubs of Room #7 learned about the subtraction sign and what it means! We did a few problems where the kiddos represented the number sentences. Everyone had a lot of fun with this activity – something we will definitely do again!
Our class is working on matching beginning sounds in words to initial letters. By recognizing letter sounds and identifying the letters, the boys and girls are learning to distinguish between words. In our lesson, the children worked with Three-Way-Sort Sheets with letters in the tops of the columns. They worked independently to match pictures to the beginning letter. For example, under the Pp, the children placed pictures of a pig, piano, and pillow.
Additionally in Word Work, the cherubs are learning to break down words into patterns or parts. They can easily hear the break between the first part of a word and the rest of the word, such as h-op, br-own. The pattern we’ve been studying is the –at ending in words, such as cat, bat, sat, etc. Everyone loved brainstorming words that end in –at and noticing how the ending sound was always spelled the same. This connection will help them in their reading and writing!
We are wrapping up narrative writing this week! On Monday, the cherubs started publishing two of the pieces that they are the most proud of. To publish their stories, they worked hard to:
- Add more details to their pictures
- Add color (yay!)
- Make sure their words are readable and all details are included (e.g., who was there, what they did, where they were, and how they felt)
This is a lot of hard work! Next, we chatted about creating title pages for their books, making sure that the title encapsulated what the story was about! Lastly, on Thursday, with stories in tow, the writers of Room #7 proudly read their published works of art to their buddies. It was awesome to witness! How far they all have come! After vacation, Kindergarten will move into opinion and persuasive writing!
On Monday, the Kindergarten scientists began their magnet journals. At their tables, each kiddo conducted an experiment to see which objects are magnetic or not magnetic. These items included: a book, a paper clip, a cup, a nail, a scissors, and a cup. They worked together to determine which picture to glue to each item. They had fun exploring!
In Reader’s Workshop, the boys and girls are learning about blends. I am encouraging them to notice the beginning of the word and to recognize if there is a blend present. We have brainstormed a bunch of different beginning blends (l, r, and s blends: clown, ground, smile)! This work dovetails nicely with Writer’s Workshop as the knowledge of blends will make them even more adept at stretching out those longer words!
Keep those 100th Day vests coming! I would be happy to store them in the classroom until February 10th! In addition, please bring in finished Valentine boxes and cards! Thank you so much for all of your support!
Enjoy the weekend!