Weekly News (Feb. 16-20)

Well, another short week in kindergarten! Warmer days and sunnier skies have to be around the corner, right?!

Math
The children continued to explore measurement this week and used different sized "feet" to measure objects in our classroom.  They used their own foot, a partner's foot, and a standard foot to take their measurements.  Then we compared our results.  We talked about why the number of "feet" were different each time and that using a standard measuring tool, like a ruler, helps keep our results consistent, or the same. Students recorded their measurements in their math journals and drew a picture to match. We also practiced counting by 5's this week and watched a video to help us count by 5's to a beat!

The children did a TERRIFIC job with their 100's Day projects, and they were all eager to share. What a creative collection we had!

Literacy/Social Studies
This week the students learned the sight words do and this, and they brought home a new sight word book. We practiced how to "read" the punctuation marks by making our voices go up when we see a question mark or using expression when we see an exclamation mark. We also spent some time practicing how to take care of the books in our class library and reading independently from our individual books bins during reading workshop. The students met in guided reading groups and practiced reading and writing their sight words as well.

The students have been doing a great job with their "What did you do this weekend?" writing. It's fun to hear about all of the fun things the children do each weekend, and it's amazing to see how much they are growing as writers!

Talking about our weekends before doing our "weekend" writing!

The students also enjoyed listening to a nonfiction book about George Washington in celebration of his birthday and made their own George Washington portraits.  We even learned a new song about George to the tune of When the Saints Go Marching In. We added the song to our poetry folders to enjoy at home!

LMC
This week in the LMC the students had their first experience with coding. They were able to dip their toes into the world of computer science by completing various activities on the code.org website. Students used their own individual accounts to complete several coding tasks. Information about how to access your child's account on the code.org website will be coming home soon!

All About Me
The class loved learning all about Julia's favorite things this week! We learned that Julia is very creative, and she loves to paint, color, and draw. She likes doing puzzles and reading. She enjoys playing with her barbies and her Lego friends. She likes to practice writing her letters, and she loves spending time with her family, especially with her twin brother David!

The class loved the story that Julia's Mom read about Grandmas and Grandpas.
Thank you so much for coming in to read!

Centers
The students also enjoyed some "free choice" centers this week!

Have a great weekend! 

Stay warm!

Weekly News (Feb. 9-13)

It was an exciting week in Kindergarten. There was a lot to celebrate!

Math

The 100th day of school was definitely one of this week's highlights! The children had a great time celebrating this special milestone. In honor of our 100th day, we reinforced several math concepts including: counting by 10's, making 5 groups of 20 to show 100, searching for the number 100, making 100's Day necklaces, and even singing a song about our 100th day of school! 

100's Day Necklaces

We reviewed the concept of attributes this week and played a game called "Guess My Number" where students had to figure out the "mystery number" by listening to clues such as: "This number comes right after the number 34" or "This number comes right before the number 67." We also used heart-shaped counters this week to practice solving addition problems such as: 4 + 2 = ___.

Literacy

It was an exciting week for reading workshop. The children had their first opportunity to independently "shop" for books in our classroom library. They did an AWESOME job selecting books for their individual books bins using all of the strategies we have been learning. They did a great job looking through the books in our classroom library and asking themselves questions such as:

• Am I looking for a fiction or nonfiction book?
• Is this a topic or story that interests me?
• Is this a book I can read all by myself, or will I use the pictures to help me understand the text?
• Is this a "good fit" book for me?

I was so proud of how engaged and thoughtful they were when selecting their own books. They did such a great job!

The children continue to grow and develop as writers too. During writing workshop, we continued to work on stretching out the sounds we hear when writing, leaving spaces between words, and adding detail to our writing. They gain more and more confidence in themselves as writers each week. If you're looking for ways to help your child practice their writing skills at home, you can have your child: 

• help you write out your grocery list
• write thank you notes after they receive a gift
• write notes to family members
• make a birthday wish list

In honor of our 100th day of school, the children also worked on a 100th Day writing project. After reading a story about the 100th day of school and talking about what we might look like when we are 100 years old, the students wrote out a "bucket list" of 3 things they want to do before they turn 100. We even used an app on the iPads that altered a photo to show what the students might look like when they're 100 years old. Take a peek at the video below to see their reaction to their 100 year old photos!

Science

We took a closer look at the properties of water this week during our experiments this week. We did an experiment to see how many drops of water fit on a penny. We also made predictions about objects that might sink and float, and then we tested out our predictions. Some of our results were quite surprising!

All About Me

We had a great time learning all about Mia this week! It was fun to learn about all of her favorite things. Mia is a big fan of Frozen, and she loves to wear necklaces and dresses. She enjoys putting together puzzles, playing the violin, building with blocks, and playing with her dolls. Mia also likes ice cream, and she loves spending time with her family!

The class loved the story Mia's mom read called A Pipkin of Pepper. Thanks so much for coming in!

Valentine's Day

The children had a fabulous time at our Valentine's Day party. A huge thank you to all of our parent volunteers who came in to help with the party and the parents who donated items. Thank you SO much!

Thanks for reading!

Weekly News (Feb. 2-6)

We sure fit a lot of learning into another short week! Keep reading to see what we have been learning about!

Math

This week we began a new unit in math that will focus on the following topics: measurement, number patterns, tally marks, graphing, and using a number grid. During this unit, students will work in a math journal for the first time. Activities in the math journal will reinforce concepts from our math lessons. We will continue to use our journals weekly throughout the rest of the year, which will be great practice for first grade! 

This week we learned about about the concept of a timeline and the order of the daily events in our class. We reviewed the concept of patterning this week as well, and the children also brought home their February calendars.  Please continue to use the calendar at home to reinforce number writing, number identification, counting, and other math skills.

Literacy

During reading workshop this week, students practiced "reading" punctuation marks. We learned that good readers pay attention to punctuation marks while reading to help them pause and emphasize words to help make meaning of the text. Using the following anchor chart, we identified the punctuation marks in a short piece of text and practiced reading with good expression and phrasing. 

We also learned some new phrases during reading workshop to help us clearly articulate our ideas when talking about books. We learned the following phrases:

"I think....because...."

"I notice..."

"I agree with you because..."

I disagree with you because..."

The students did a great job using these phrases during our whole group read aloud and when discussing books with their partners. It was great to see how these phrases really encouraged students to support their thinking with examples and evidence from the text!

Science

Our scientists had a great time exploring and making discoveries during our "Dirt, Sand, and Water" lessons. This week the children learned how sand is formed and what materials can be found in dirt. Students were able to record their findings in their science journals. Next week we will do some experiments with water!

We used our "Proscope" to take a close-up look at a sample of dirt.
It was amazing!

 All About Me
It was Colin's turn to bring in his Me Box, and we loved learning all about his favorite things! We learned that Colin likes to color and read. He is a big sports fan! He loves to play catch with his dad, and he is a great hockey player! Colin also enjoys playing Minecraft, skiing, and spending time with his family.

The class loved the book Colin's mom read this week by Mo Willems
 called  The Duckling Gets a Cookie! Thank you!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Thanks for reading!

Weekly News (Jan. 26-30)

Well, we certainly got the blizzard they were expecting! Hope everyone was able to stay safe and warm over the snowy weekend! Take a peek below to see how we wrapped up the month of January.

Math

This week in math we used our attribute blocks to learn about sorting, patterns, and size comparisons. We played a game called "What's Inside My Bag?" where students had to ask yes or no questions related to the attributes of size, color, thickness, and shape to identify an attribute block  hidden inside a paper bag. The class LOVED the game and did a great job describing each item in the bag using these attributes. 

We played another game this week called "What's My Rule?" to help prepare students for some math routines that they will learn in first grade. Using a group of children, we had to identify what trait or traits all of the children had in common such as: hair color, color of clothing, hairstyle, etc. In first grade, students will apply this type of skill when trying to identify an addition or subtraction rule for a given set of numbers. 

We revisited number stories this week and created some of our own addition and subtraction number stories and practiced reading and locating two-digit numbers as well!

Literacy

This week we began reading books by an amazing author and illustrator---Jan Brett.  Not only are her books well written, they are also beautifully illustrated.  Her books are a great way to help students learn how both pictures and words work together to tell a story.  We kicked off the week with one of my favorite Jan Brett books--The Mitten.  When a boy drops his new mitten in the snow, the animals of the forest squeeze inside one-by-one to stay warm--even a big, brown bear!  Then I bet you can guess what happens when a tiny mouse squeezes into the last spot on the bear's nose--the bear sneezes and all the animals fly out of the mitten!  The loved the story and had a great time making their own mittens and animal cards to practice retelling the story.  Retelling practice is a great way for the students to strengthen their reading comprehension skills by using their own words to retell the story.

Making our animal cards to help retell the story of The Mitten.

This week during reading workshop, the students did a great job learning about the collection of books in our classroom library. We learned that books in our library fall into two categories--fiction and nonfiction. The students learned about many different features of nonfiction text during an interactive read aloud of the book Penguins, and they had opportunities to share their thinking about the book during "turn and talk" time. During another reading workshop lesson, we spent some time talking about how good readers practice their sight words so that they can read them quickly and with ease when reading a book. While listening to the book How Rocket Learned to Read, the students learned how to follow and understand a fictional story from the beginning, to the middle, and to the end. 

During writing workshop, the students have been making great strides with their writing. Students are working to start each sentence with a capital letter, leave spaces between words, and end with a period. We continue to add detail to our writing, and the children have enjoyed sharing their writing with their classmates too!

The children have been making solid progress with their handwriting skills too. This week we learned the strokes for the letters "q" and "b."

LMC

As an extension of our fiction/nonfiction lesson during reading workshop, Mrs. O'Kelly prepared a fantastic lesson in the LMC this week for our kindergarteners. Using an app called Nearpod, Mrs. O'Kelly guided the students through a lesson on "author's purpose." The children learned about the different reasons authors write books such as to persuade, to inform, or to entertain. The children worked in small groups to sort a collection of books into piles of fiction and nonfiction and then identified the author's purpose for each book by voting using the iPads. The students' responses were right on target. It was great to see!

All About Me

This week we loved learning all about Hailey. We learned that Hailey is artistic, and she enjoys painting and coloring. She is a big fan of Barbie and Doc McStuffins, and she likes to play ball. Hailey loves to spend time with her family, and she really enjoyed their trip to Disney!

A big thank you to Hailey's mom for coming in to read to our class.
We loved the stories!

Science
In the upcoming week the children will be learning about Dirt, Sand, and Water.  Students will be working in centers to explore the properties of each of these materials by observing and conducting experiments.