Weekly News (Jan. 25-29)

Kindergarten Quote of the Week

"Mrs. Riesing, I really like this learning stuff!"

Here's what we've been up to this week.

Math
This week we took a closer look at two-dimensional shapes as we identified some of the similarities and differences between squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles. We also introduced the terms: corner, side, and angle. Students used these terms to describe and name each shape. We even rotated some of the shapes to see if that made a difference and quickly learned that the name of the shape and features stay the same even if we rotate it in different directions. Later in the week, we used our bodies to make some of our shapes. Awesome teamwork K-2!

Triangle

Square

Rectangle

Oval

Circle

And even a hexagon---impressive!

We also introduced the concept of subtraction this week. Using our interactive whiteboard, we practiced subtracting or "taking away" dragonflies from our jar while playing a game called "Fly, Fly Away!" We recorded our thinking using a number sentence such as 10-7 = 3, and we even learned how to use addition to check our work!

Literacy

Reading Workshop

We continued to explore nonfiction this week. We revisited the book Soccer and used two other books to help us learn even more about nonfiction---Me...Jane and I See a Kookaburra!

While revisiting Soccer, we took a closer look at one of our nonfiction text features--photographs. We learned that nonfiction authors use photographs to show us how things look in our real lives and the details in photos help us better understand the information in the text. We used the chart below to check out some of these details in our Soccer book!

We also learned about the genre of biography this week as we read Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell. As we read McDonnell's beautifully written and illustrated book about the young life of Jane Goodall, we learned that a biography is a nonfiction book written about the life of someone else.

Biographies are nonfiction books written about people.

The class LOVED the last nonfiction book we read this week titled I See a Kookaburra: Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Robin Paige and Steve Jenkins. While exploring unique animals hidden among six different habitats, we practiced asking questions while reading to help us learn!

Writing Workshop
The students spent some time reflecting on their writing this week. They highlighted several aspects of their writing that they were really proud of and set one goal for next week!

Guided Reading
The students continue to do a great job during guided reading and are always eager to get a new book! The students did a great job working independently on different activities throughout the week while I met with groups. During our group time, we work on a variety of early literacy skills, which are tailored to each group's literacy needs. In addition to reading our new book, we review sight words, reinforce letter sounds and patterns, and sometimes even squeeze in a little writing! Keep up the great work K-2!

All About Me
This week we loved learning all about Bohdana and some of her favorite things. One thing that stood out was how much Bohdana LOVES animals! She has her own collection of stuffed animals, and she adores horses. Bohdana loves Rapunzel and the movie Tangled, and she also enjoys swimming. She likes to play with her sister and spend time with her family.

A big thank you to Bohdana's mom for sharing Silverlicious with us.
What a fun story! The class LOVED it!

LMC

As an extension of our nonfiction reading workshop unit, 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!

Ahhh...some fresh winter air!

Thanks for reading!

Weekly News (Jan. 18-22)

For a short week, we sure were busy! Take a peek below to see what we have been learning.

Math
This week the children played a game of "Roll and Record" with two dice! This was a great way for them to practice finding sums and reporting their findings on a graph. Students used a variety of strategies to find their sums including: counting the dots, counting on, and pulling the combinations from memory. Students quickly realized why 0 and 1 were not represented on their graphs, and after recording several of their sums, many children realized that rolling a 6, 7, or 8 was more likely because there were several ways to make those sums! Wow, great thinking K-2!

Jolly Phonics
Now that all the Jolly Phonics sounds have been introduced, please continue to review these sounds with your child regularly. Knowing their sounds well really helps when learning to read and write. I can tell many of the children have been practicing. Keep up the good work!

Literacy
Reading Workshop
This week during reading workshop, we used the book How Bees Make Honey to learn about nonfiction text features. We learned that readers read nonfiction text differently than fiction, and we also learned how authors of nonfiction texts use a variety of text features to organize information and help us understand what is important. After learning about these text features, the students selected their own nonfiction book and found three features to share with the class. They did an amazing job!

A.J. found labels and a caption!

Bohdana found a heading!

Eva found the Table of Contents!

Art Appreciation
The class really enjoyed the art lesson presented by Jeanie's dad this week. The students learned all about the painting The Fifer by French artist Edouard Manet.

Music Class

In music class this week, the children learned the 7 letters of the musical alphabet and played a game with a partner to help learn the order of the alphabet.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly News (Jan. 11-15)

Brrr! It's been a chilly week, but we've been keeping warm in kindergarten!

Math
This week in math we revisited the concept of addition and learned more about the plus sign. We practiced counting groups of objects and joining them together to find the sum or total number of objects. We practiced writing number models to match our number stories using the plus and equal signs, and we learned that when you add objects together the total gets bigger.

We also learned how to trace shapes using a pattern block template. We even used the templates to make our own patterns and create our own designs!

The children were also introduced to the calculator this week. They learned how to read and enter numbers as well as clear out the display. They are eager to use them again soon!

Jolly Phonics
HOORAY! We did it! We learned the last of our Jolly Phonics sounds! The students have now been introduced to all 42 sounds. Many of the children are already using some of the double letter sounds we have learned in their writing and recognizing these sounds while reading. We will continue to review and practice our sounds. Keep up the great work!

These are the sounds we learned this week:

/ue/ as in "barbecue" or "blue"
/er/ as in "sister"
/ar/ as in "bark"

Literacy

Reading Workshop
This week we began our third unit of our Schoolwide literacy program, which focuses on the genre of nonfiction. Throughout this unit, the students will be studying three types of nonfiction--reference, literary, and biography. Children's natural curiosity about the world around them will prompt students to ask questions and learn about a variety of topics throughout our unit. 

During our first lesson, we previewed all of our mentor texts and learned that nonfiction books teach us about real topics such as people, sports, animals, events, holidays, transportation and many other topics. We also looked at the front and back covers of each book, some of the photographs, and previewed the table of contents to understand some of the structures and features of nonfiction. We read a nonfiction book about soccer and filled out a graphic organizer to help us identify what we think we know about soccer as well as what we want to know. Then while reading the book Soccer, we were able to confirm some of our ideas and clear up some of our misconceptions. Then we recorded our new learning and added even more questions!

The children were also thrilled to pick new books for their book boxes this week!

Writing Workshop

During writing workshop, the children continue to make progress stretching out the sounds they hear while trying to record their ideas on paper. We have recently been working to leave spaces between words and to use lowercase letters when writing, with the exception of using capital letters for names and at the beginning of each sentence. It's exciting to see their enthusiasm continue to grow as they are recording their ideas with greater ease and confidence!

Handwriting Practice

We have been using the following guide as we introduce each letter for handwriting instruction. So far we have been practicing all of the letters that begin with what we call a "magic c." The letter "c" forms the foundation for many other letters as you can see below. 

As we practice each letter of the alphabet, we are working on the following skills: correct letter formation; proper placement using the top, bottom, and dashed lines as a guide; and writing letters using a top down approach. We even have a song that we sing to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It", and it goes like this: 

I always start my letters at the top. (At the top!) 


I always start my letters at the top. (At the top!) 


When I write another letter, 
I get better, better, better, 


When I always start my letters at the top. (At the top!)

Social Science

With the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday this upcoming week, we spent a few minutes learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream for peace and equal rights. We watched a BrainPop, Jr. video and discussed what it means to be fair and kind.

LMC
This week in the LMC the children used Pebble Go to do some research about cats after listening to a book about a cat's journey back home. After listening to information on Pebble Go, the children used pictures and words to record some of their new learning using a graphic organizer.

All About Me

This week the class loved learning all about Tara and some of her favorite things. It was easy to see that Tara enjoys learning about animals, especially unique and interesting ones. Her favorite animal is the bison, and she has learned a lot about them! Tara loves to play card games and collect Shopkins. She also loves her sisters and enjoys spending time with her family!

A big thank you to Tara's mom for sharing two great stories today:

Gloria and Officer Buckleand
Elephant and Piggy Share Ice Cream

Thank you for coming in to read!

Go Noodle helped us get our bodies moving this week
when it was too cold to go outside!

Hope everyone enjoys the long weekend! Stay warm!

Love,
Mrs. Riesing :)

Weekly News (Jan. 4-8)

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fun and restful winter vacation. It has been great to see the kiddos again. They have jumped right back into our daily routines, and the new year is off to a fabulous start!

Math
This week we practiced moving forward and backward on the number line to solve number stories that reinforce addition and subtraction concepts. The children also practiced sequencing the numbers from 0-20 and made a set of number cards that they will use next week to play a new math game called Top-It. This is a game similar to the card game "War." Using our set of number cards from 0-20, the children sat side by side, flipped their top card, and compared the two numbers to see who had the higher number. The one with the higher number added both cards to their stack. You can play this game at home using a regular deck of cards, or you can even login to your child's Everyday Math Account to play the online version.

Jolly Phonics
The children were excited to begin learning the sounds from Book 7 this week. This is the last book in the Jolly Phonics program. We learned the following sounds:

/qu/ as in "quack"
/ou/ as in "mouse"
/oi/ as in "oil"

Literacy
Reading Workshop
This week we finished the last few mini lessons of our Fiction Unit. Using the book A Balloon for Isabel and a short story called Camping at Grandma's, the children reviewed and practiced how to pull out key ideas from a text using a story map. We also practiced using the following words to help us retell the major events. We will begin our Nonfiction Unit next week!

Writing Workshop
I had such a fun time reading all about what the students did over winter break. They have continued to grow as writers and were able to write TWO sentences about their winter break adventures! We also wrote about what we like to do in the snow. In the upcoming weeks, we will practice leaving spaces between words, using lower case letters, beginning each sentence with a capital letter, and ending with a period. 

Guided Reading
The children were thrilled to begin meeting in guided reading groups this week, and it was so exciting to hear how much the children enjoy reading their new books at home. Be on the lookout for a new book next week! 

Handwriting and Number Writing Practice
We also began handwriting instruction this week. We learned how to write the letters Cc and Oo and practiced writing the number 1.

Welcome Winter!
Although it was rainy today and the children didn't get to play outside, they did get to go outside on Wednesday, which was a great time for them to practice putting on and taking off their snow gear. We are using the following steps when putting on our gear at school. Any practice you can do at home to practice and reinforce these steps would be so helpful! :)

Have a great weekend!