Weekly News (Feb. 1-5)

The days are flying by in Kindergarten. Take a peek at what we have been learning! :)

Math

We played a new 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 also practiced reading, locating, and ordering a series of two-digit numbers. Practice putting these numbers in order by clicking on the picture below.

We revisited number stories this week as well and used our interactive whiteboard to create some of our own addition and subtraction number problems.Then we wrote a number sentence to match. Take a peek at some of our work below.

Literacy

Reading Workshop

This week during reading workshop, we revisited the book How Bees Make Honey to help us learn strategies to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Using some of the strategies from our "S-T-O-P-I-T!" chart, we were able to better understand the meanings of the words--cells, mate, and nectar.

We also read the book Healthy Habits and learned how to identify key details that support the big idea of the text. While listening to the book, the students acted like detectives and used good thinking skills as they worked to figure out how all the facts fit together to support the big idea---keeping our bodies healthy everyday. After examining the table of contents, reading the headings, and thinking about the big idea, the students were able to identify the following habits we should do everyday to stay healthy:

1. eat good foods like fruit, eggs, and nuts and drink plenty of milk and water  
2. clean and protect our skin
3. brush and floss our teeth
4. play hard for exercise
5. get lots of sleep

At the end of the week, we had our first mini-lesson of our nonfiction unit and practiced what we should do when we pick up a book to read. In order to get our mind ready we ask ourselves, "Do I think this book is fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or something else?" We then look closely at the front and back covers, look at the different text features, and take a picture walk to help us get ready to read and learn. We practiced these skills with the nonfiction book What We Wear: Dressing Up Around the World--a book that uses beautiful photographs to show the different ways children dress for school, sports, play, and celebrations all around the world.

All About Me

This week the class loved learning all about Tyler. We learned that Tyler LOVES dinosaurs, and his favorite colors are red, blue, and green. Tyler enjoys watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and he is a big Star Wars fan!

A big thank you to Tyler's mom for coming in to read Snake Alley Band.
It was a huge hit! 

Science

Check out our new science link at the top of our blog post just above the date to find out what we have been learning about Rainbows, Color, and Light.