We have a class filled with literacy enthusiasts! The boys and girls not only are constantly finding Alphafriends and circle words in the books we read but also are doing an extraordinary job writing them! As a class, we have been creating books to which everyone has contributed a page. It’s quite awesome to see the students referencing our Word Wall and Alphabet to help them with their writing. With teacher support, they are listening to the sounds various letters make and are identifying them in their writing! Holy moly! They are also drawing detailed pictures, making sure to include a background and utilizing realistic colors!
During Writing this week, the boys and girls brainstormed a huge list of true stories they can write about. They came up with events such as: riding bikes with one’s family, going to the beach or pool, a sports-related story, going to the movies and eating popcorn, discussing what one had for breakfast, a bedtime ritual, etc. The list is stupendous! Moreover, the kiddos and I started chatting about labeling their work. For example, writing the people’s names who are in the story and writing the first letter (or more!) of an object they have included as an important detail. As I walked around Room #7, I noticed the letter “s” for sky and sun as well as “k” for car and cookie and even a “p” for popcorn! Way to go, Kindergartners! Additionally, the students are trying to incorporate circle words like “I” and “am” into their writing; it’s exciting to see the day to day growth already!
Well, parents, this week Room #7 accomplished their very first day of Read to Self! As a class, we made a list of everything readers should do during this time. Kiddos had a lot of great ideas: stay in one spot and read the whole time, read quietly, take care of the books, and focus! I introduced a new word that helps encapsulate the cherubs’ work in this area – STAMINA! We discussed how over time, they will build up their stamina in reading to themselves! Everyone did a great job reading their books in the three different ways – read the words, read the pictures, and retell the story. We started with 3 minutes and they are all excited to go for even longer!
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! 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.
Our Math stations over the next few weeks will focus on a variety of areas including counting, telling how many more, and sorting shapes! Read on to see what we did this week!
· Dump Truck Numbers – Using a work mat with a large image of a dump truck with various numbers on it, the kiddos received practice with their 1:1 correspondence and counting skills, placing the correct amount on each mat.
· Roll a Tower – At this independent station, a cherub rolled a die, built a tower with enough cubes to match the number rolled, and then placed the tower on the game board in the corresponding column. The child kept rolling the die and building towers until an entire column was filled and a number had “won”! The boys and girls got so excited to see which number ended up winning!
· Dot Bingo – At this 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!
· Sorting Shapes - Using a variety of different sized triangles, rectangles, squares, and circles, the boys and girls worked hard to sort them on their shape mats!
· Grow and Shrink (an oldie but a goodie!) – In a small group, a teacher asked the students to show a certain number on our ten frame manipulatives. Next, the teacher told the students to either add (grow) or subtract (shrink) to a new number. The students then discussed how many they had to add or take away to obtain that number, and they pointed out the different configurations that made the same number.
· Roll and Build – At this new station, the boys and girls chose a work board that they thought challenged them. There was a 1-6 board and a 6-12 board. The class and I discussed how if they decided to really challenge themselves and try the higher number board, it was important that they take two dice and learn how to “count on”. For example, if they rolled a 4 and a 5, say the number 5, then count “6, 7, 8, 9”. After they built the tower of 9, they would then put the tower on the corresponding number. This was a great station to practice counting, numeral recognition, and the newest skill “counting on”!
During our Word Work, we are working on the idea of sentences. In class, the children are learning that sentences are made up of words that when put together, make sense to the reader. The children are also realizing that we say one word for each word we see in writing. Knowing this will help them as they read sentences in books and write their own sentences.
Have a fabulous weekend!