Our chicks have hatched! Room #7 was very lucky to have experienced this learning opportunity and also to have had the chance to come in contact with some very cute, chirpy, and fun chicks in our classroom this week. The boys and girls were over the moon with excitement! Learning about the embryos and how they develop from an egg to a chick has been a thrilling time!
This week, many of our Math stations revolved around chicks and eggs. The kids absolutely adored these integrated activities!
· Weighing Eggs – With a partner, cherubs took turns weighing various plastic eggs with Unifix cubes. They then recorded their answers. Finally, they had to decide which color egg weighed the most and which weighed the least. Everyone LOVED this station!
· Subitizing Chicks – In this fun book, students were asked to subitize! On each page, drawings of chicks were placed strategically 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!
· Rearrange-it – In this activity, each group of kiddos started with a number of cubes (e.g., 26), then they snapped the cubes together to form 10 and determined how many “leftovers” they had. Next, the cherubs were asked to decide how many cubes they had altogether. Finally, they had to find out if they had enough loose cubes to make another ten. Very tricky, thought-provoking work!
· 3 Towers of 10 – This partner game is all about adding! Each person picked a cube color and rolled a die. After taking the specified number of cubes and putting them together, the student colored the recording sheet correspondingly. The game was over when there were three towers of 10 cubes! Lastly, each child recorded his/her number sentences!
· High Roller Game – At this partner station, each partnership had 2 dice – a number die and a dot die. Each kiddo took a turn rolling both dice and deciding which number was higher. Next, he/she rerolled his/her lower number and then counted on to determine what the addition result was. Then, the partner followed the same steps. The highest number won the round!
· 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!
· 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!
We’re making sentences together. As a key part of learning to read and write, the children are comprehending that a sentence is a group of words that makes sense when put together. Understanding this helps the class read the sentences we see in print as well as compose the sentences each child wants to write. At school, the boys and girls made their very own books practicing this skill. When the books come home, invite your cherubs to read the sentences back to you! You can even make your own!
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!
On Thursday, the boys and girls of Room #7 became engineers! Given 100 cups, the 3 different groups were asked to make structures! The kiddos did a fabulous job working together to create unique "buildings," and quickly learned from mistakes! Ask your child what he/she constructed!
Thank you to all the volunteers who were able to come in for the Spring Craft! The kids had so much fun, and it was great to be able to watch them create such unique and awesome chicks in nests! Additionally, I would like to thank all the parents who were able to come in for Teacher Appreciation week and read a special book to the class. Read alouds are always a memorable time for the boys and girls, and the thought you all put forth in picking books that conveyed teacher appreciation was incredibly touching!