Weekly News (May 11-22)

It has been a busy couple of weeks in kindergarten! Take a peek below to see what we have been up to!

Math

The students were excited to use their ladybug clocks to practice telling time to the hour. Thank you SO much for your help preparing them at home! They have come in handy during our math lessons! When the ladybug clocks are sent home again, please continue to use the clock at home for practice telling time and even keep it handy for first grade when the children learn how to tell time to 5-minute intervals. Continued practice counting by 5's will help them be ready for this skill as well as counting nickels.

We also played a game called "Number Gymnastics" that helped the children develop their mental math skills and strengthen their number sense. For example, I would ask a series of questions such as:

What number has a 3 as the first digit and a 1 as the second digit?--31

What number do you get if you flip these two digits around?--13

What number comes after 13?--14

What number do you get if you reverse those two digits?--41

It's another great game to play at home or in the car! This  children also learned how to apply basic addition and subtraction rules this week as they learning how to use "In and Out Machines." (see sample below) This type of exercise helps children see the relationship between adding and subtraction.

This is a sample of an "In and Out Machine." Our addition problems were more simple than this, but it gives you an idea of how this function machine works. You will be seeing a lot of these in first grade and beyond!

Literacy
We have continued to explore some amazing creatures this week through our read aloud stories. This week we focused on the amazing world of insects! After reading several stories about ladybugs, the children wrote three facts they learned about these interesting creatures. They did an unbelievable job pulling out key details from the books we read and recording their ideas in writing.  It is amazing to see how far they have come as writers this year! The students have also been doing a great job learning about our "bossy-e" words and are beginning to read and write words that follow this pattern independently.

I have also been working on end-of-year assessments with students one-on-one including one final guided reading benchmark assessment. The growth they have made as readers this year is remarkable!

Getting Ready for First Grade
What a great way to practice getting ready for first grade---eating in the lunchroom. The children were SO excited to bring a lunch to school or order a hot lunch and eat at the tables in the lunchroom. We went over the hot lunch routine as well as some of the lunchroom rules. They had a blast! Next week, the students will have an opportunity to visit a first grade classroom and meet with some of our first grade buddies. Another great way to help prepare our kindergarten friends for next year!

Weekly News (May 4-8)

The children did an amazing job at our Kindergarten Musical. Take a peek at a few of the photos below!

Math

We practiced reading and writing 2-digit numbers this week by rolling 2 dice. For example, we rolled a 2 and a 4 and were able to make the numbers 24 and 42. We talked about which number was larger and reinforced the concept of place value. We also ended our week with a math craft! Using a pipe cleaner and some beads, the children made counting loops. We placed 10 beads on each pipe cleaner and then closed the pipe cleaner to form a loop. The children practiced making "10's Buddies," as we have been calling them, on their loops. For example, they would slide 3 beads to the left of the loop and then 7 to the right side to help them learn that 3 and 7 make a 10. A note came home explaining how to use the loops at home as a learning tool.  

Literacy

During read aloud this week, we reviewed the characteristics of fiction and nonfiction as we read several books about dinosaurs. After reading one story about a boy who tried to persuade his father to get him a dinosaur for a pet, the students thought about what they would do if they had a T-Rex for a pet.

The students also spent some time this week making our Mother's Day books. The children did a fabulous job with their books. I hope you enjoyed them! 

Thank You SO Much!

Thank you all so much for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special! I was so touched by all of the kind words and thoughtful gifts. Each day was such a wonderful surprise! I am so lucky to work with such an amazing group of children and families. Thank you all so much!

Weekly News (Apr. 27-May1)

Hope everyone is out and about enjoying the beautiful spring weather that has finally arrived! I cannot believe May is already here. We've been busy learning and growing in kindergarten!

Math
We took a closer look at place value this week and played a game to help students understand the concept of tens and ones. In our mystery bag filled with popsicle sticks, there were sticks grouped together in bundles of 10 as well as several unbundled sticks. We practiced counting by 10's first and then by 1's to see how many sticks we had altogether. We then practiced writing two-digit numbers.  

The students learned another new game this week called the "Plus and Minus Game!" In this game the children practiced both their addition and subtraction skills, but the major focus of this game was to help the children learn what numbers make a ten, such as 4 and 6, 3 and 7, 2 and 8, etc. This is a game we will play again soon! 

The students also had their first introduction to a number scroll. In first grade, the students will be making their own number scrolls where they practice writing their numbers in order beginning with the number 1 and going up as high as they can go.  Although the students won't be making their scrolls until first grade, we got a jump start by practicing how to write our numbers from 1 up to 110. They did a terrific job with this activity!

Reading Workshop
This week during reading workshop time, we read Big Al and Gilbert in the Deep to help us understand the following ideas:

• Readers use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Readers use all of their senses as they read to help deepen their understanding of a topic.

The class did a great job using context clues while listening to the story Big Al to help them figure out the meaning of the words bulged and grain. They also were able to think about some of the senses they used when listening to Gilbert in the Deep and recorded their ideas with pictures. 

The students continue to do a great job reading from their blue book bins, and they even had some time this week to practice their reading with a buddy. Keep up the great work K-2!

Writing Workshop
It is always so much fun to read about what the children have been up to over the weekend as they work on their "Weekend News" writing. The children continue to gain confidence in themselves as writers each week, and it is getting easier for them to record their ideas on paper and extend their thinking with specific examples and details. We also had a special treat this week. The second graders from Miss O'Sullivan's class came to our room to share their latest writing pieces, which were fantastic! The kindergarteners absolutely LOVED having our 2nd grade friends come in for a visit, and they were very impressed with their stories!

Looking forward to another great week with my kinder friends!!