Because we are now in the month of October, we decided it was time to create our monthly self-portraits! The kids did a phenomenal job using the new medium, water-color resist. First, the kids used crayons to draw themselves. They paid special attention to all the details of their faces, making sure to use realistic colors. Then, they employed vivid water-color paints to wash their portraits in. They were amazed to see that the water bubbled up and did not stick to the places where the crayon strokes were. As a result, our self-portrait wall is full of colorful renditions of your beautiful children!
As a Kindergartener, it is important to learn how to problem solve across many areas, including writing! In Room #7, the Kindergarten writers are learning that when writers have problems and don’t know what to do, they say, “I can solve this myself.” Then, writers come up with solutions to those problems and carry on, writing, writing, writing! That way, the writers don’t waste their precious time! Ask your child if he/she is the boss of his/her own writing!
The cherubs have also been looking at the specific shapes of the letters of the alphabet and connecting a name and sound to each. Together, we’ve been exploring the letters in each child’s name, noting how the letters are always in the same order for that name. Alphabet charts and manipulating letters in each other’s names are helping to cement this concept! By learning to read our abc charts in different ways, they receive more practice in recognizing letters and words that begin with those letters. During Word Work this week, the boys and girls read their alphabet charts in three different ways: the letters, the pictures, and the letters and the pictures. They paid special attention to point to each thing they read and to make sure they went in the correct alphabetical order! Great work, friends!
Wowza! Read to Self is going so well! The boys and girls have been concentrating on building their stamina, and they are up to 8 whole minutes of reading the words, reading the pictures, and retelling their stories without stopping! What impressive work! As part of our Daily 5 work, two new “centers” will be introduced over the next three weeks: Word Work and Work on Writing. Stay tuned to hear more when the time arrives!
Math Stations:
· Finger Count Fun – At this station, students worked on number recognition in two different ways: recognizing how many fingers are held up and showing a specific number on their hands!
· Build a Staircase – This week, this fan favorite got a bit trickier! Instead of working with dot dice, the boys and girls used number dice. In this manner, they practiced their number recognition. Working with a partner, the boys and girls of Room #7 took turns rolling a die. They then stacked cubes together to represent that number. Once the partners finished building their staircases (1-6), they took turns rolling the die to disassemble them!!
· Great Dice Race – This independent activity required students to roll dice and trace the number their dice had landed on. The students continued rolling and tracing until a particular number won!
· Dot Bingo – At this repeat station, students rolled a die to determine what number to focus on. Next, they put a marker on a representation of that number (e.g., picture of fingers, the numeral, the dots, OR what it looks like on a ten frame)! In this manner, the cherubs were able to notice that one can represent numbers in a variety of ways! First one with five in a row won!
· Shape Puzzles - Using various paper puzzle pieces, the children counted how many Unifex cubes could fit on each. Great job practicing your counting skills, Kindergarteners!
· My Mini Ten Frame Book – At this center, students used BINGO dobbers to represent
specific numbers on 10 frames! They each had their own book with a different number on each page. Lastly, they received practice tracing those numbers and number words!
On Wednesday, to go along with our Alphafriend of the week, Tiggy Tiger, the kids tore pieces of autumn-colored paper to decorate their October calendars! They formed a tree making a stamp of their arms and hands. Next, they created a colorful fall tree with their torn paper. What pieces of art!
This week, the students and I talked about what the word “flexible” means. They sorted a variety of objects into a graph, labeling items as either flexible or not flexible. Some of the items included rubber bands, play-doh, a ruler, a block, a tissue, a crayon, etc. For this exercise, we decided that an item was flexible if one could change its shape without breaking it. The kids did a tremendous job with this activity. Afterwards, the conversation transitioned into one’s thinking. Can one’s thinking be flexible? Absolutely! The kiddos even made their very own Superflex puppet using their pictures! Too cute. Moreover, we discussed different ways people can be flexible, and we even invented a nonverbal hand sign that means someone is being flexible or going with the flow. Lastly, I talked about our Flexibility Chain. Every time a teacher notices a student being flexible, we will add a link to our chain. Once the chain hits the floor, we will have a flexibility party! The kids are very pumped to show how flexible they can be.
Have a fabulous weekend!