It has come to my attention that some feelings were hurt in Room #7 due to clothing that exhibited questionable wording. I am seeking your help to remedy this situation. Although some clothing may seem fine and innocuous at home, at school, the words they might display could be upsetting to another child. Please be thoughtful when helping your child to dress and ensure that any words are kind to all! Thank you so much for your help and cooperation to make sure all of our cherubs feel cherished and appreciated at Hastings!
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!
The Kindergartners have begun a new writing unit on poetry! On Monday, the class and I discussed what are some aspects of poems. They brainstormed a lot of great descriptions including: some poems rhyme, they can tell stories, they can be long or short, and there are many different types. They were incredibly excited to become poets and the very first poem they embarked on was one they had already practiced – an acrostic poem! This time, though, instead of writing about their moms, the kiddos wrote about themselves! We talked about using more than one word to really allow the reader to get to know all the different poets in Room #7. Everyone definitely did some deep thinking and the results are pretty cute. Stay tuned for next week’s poem!
Math Stations:
· 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!
· Snap –it – Working with the number ten (or more), students made trains of cubes. They then “snapped” their trains at various places. Putting part of their trains in front of them and placing the remainder behind them, students worked to figure out how many cubes were hidden. In this manner, they are learning to describe a number by its parts. As a new twist, the boys and girls wrote their corresponding number sentences and got that extra practice!
· 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!
· Two Ten Shapes – (with a recording sheet) – At this center, the cherubs used two ten frames. First, each kiddo drew a number card and then built that number shown by putting cubes on the ten frames. Next, after rolling a die/dice, he/she took that many cubes off the ten frame(s), and wrote the corresponding number sentence. For this activity, there was no specified way of placing the cubes. The boys and girls used the ten frames in any way that made it easier for them to subtract.
· Addition Crossout – An oldie, but a goodie! With a partner, a cherub rolled two dice. He/she then added those two dice together (counting on!) and crossed out that particular number on their sheet. The partners went back and forth until all the numbers were crossed out. The partner who crossed out the final number won!
· Number Shapes (addition) – For this game, the boys and girls worked with number shape cards. This week, the number they worked with was 10. First, they rolled a die to determine how many cubes of a first color to place on the number shape. After placing those, the cherub filled in the remaining spaces with cubes of a second color and then recorded this arrangement by coloring on their recording sheet. This was a great visual for students to see in action the “friends of 10,” something we’ve been working on for a couple of weeks!
· iPad – kids’ choice! – We have learned a variety of games thus far! What better way to continue their mathematical practice than to have the boys and girls pick the game and skill they want to improve!
Do people ever do things that annoy you and you aren’t sure how to deal with it? Well, a great way to stop the annoyance without bickering is to use the following sentence: “It bugs me when you _______. I wish you would ______.” In Superflex this week, the boys and girls began the discussion about this helpful sentence with Mrs. Grubbs. Try to use this lingo at home for extra practice!
Check out the photo page to see your children dancing it up during the all school dance party!
Have a wonderful long weekend!