Well, it looks like we survived the polar vortex! Hopefully Punxsutawney Phil's prediction was right and spring is on its way! Take a peek to see what we have been learning these last few weeks of school.
Math
The students were excited to begin our shape unit which focuses on the features of 2 and 3-dimensional shapes. We first introduced solid 3-dimensional shapes by exploring the following shapes--
spheres, cones, cubes, cylinders, and
pyramids. Then we took a closer look at all of the 3D shapes to see if we could find some "flat shapes" such as squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles. We practiced tracing these 2D shapes and finding examples of these shapes in real life. We even went on a shape hunt in our classroom!
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| Examples of TRIANGLES |
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| Examples of RECTANGLES |
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| Examples of SQUARES |
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| Examples of CIRCLES |
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| Tracing big and small shapes |
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| Following the shape clues to color the picture |
Reading Workshop
Our current reading workshop unit focuses on the amazing world of poetry! We introduced all of our mentor texts for this unit and practiced getting ready to read poetry by using the following steps:
- Read the title of the book and poem.
- Look closely at the illustrations.
- Make predictions.
- Make connections to your own life.
- Think about how the poem makes you feel.
We also learned about the different ways poetry can look and how poets use different features to help us know how the words should sound. Then we made a chart of examples we found in our poetry books.
Writing Workshop
During writing workshop time, we have been focusing on adding detail to our pictures to help us add more detail to our writing. We have also been working hard to stretch out the sounds we hear at the beginning, middle, and end of words. This is still challenging for many students, but they gain more and more confidence each time they write. We are also working to leave spaces between words, to use lowercase letters and to end our sentences with a period. Check out the samples below to see some of these skills in action!
Guided Reading
Thank you so much for your continued support at home working with your children and encouraging them to read their books and practice the items in their book bags. I can tell many students have been practicing their books and sight words. Keep up the great work! A strong foundation of sight words will help students as they move through the guided reading levels. Below is a list of all the sight words that will have been introduced by the end of this week.
Groundhog Day
In honor of Groundhog Day, we made predictions about whether or not Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow on Groundhog Day. After learning more about this holiday and reading
Groundhog Day! by Gail Gibbons, we graphed our predictions. Then we watched Phil as he came out of his hole to see if he saw his shadow. Looks like spring should arrive soon! Keeping our fingers crossed!
Global School Play Day
The children not only LOVED playing on Global Play Day, they also loved the freedom and independence that came along with deciding what and how they wanted to spend their time playing. During our reflection discussion after our Global Play Day, the students really understood how this unstructured playtime was a great opportunity for them to work through challenges, to learn how to compromise, and to strengthen friendships. Take a peek at the videos below to see our play in action!
LMC
It was a milestone moment in the LMC this week! The students learned how to use a shelf marker to help them keep their place while looking for a book to check out on the shelves. Now students can check out a book from any part of the library!
All About Me
We have quite a few "Me Bag" presentations to follow up on! Keep reading to learn more about some of our kinder friends!
The morning class loved learning all about Milena and some of her favorite things. We learned that Milena is an artist at heart. She is very creative and loves to paint and draw. She is also a big fan of Fingerlings, and the class loved the singing bird that she shared with us. Milena also likes to play with Shopkins and spend time with her family. She enjoys going out to eat and ordering fancy drinks that come with an umbrella!
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A perfect read aloud for our artist, Milena.
Thank you so much to her mom for sharing it with us! |
We had a great time learning about Darius as well. We learned that Darius is a big fan of cars and monster trucks. He also likes Transformers and building with Legos. Darius loves the movie The Incredibles, and his favorite holiday is Halloween. Darius is a soccer player, and he also does karate. He enjoys baking and going on fun trips with his family. On one trip, Darius told us how he held a real alligator!
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| Two great stories! Thank you to Darius' family for reading them to us! |
The morning class loved learning all about Maddie too! We learned that Maddie likes to play with Barbies and her LOL Surprise dolls. She also enjoys reading and hanging out with her family, especially her big brother Dominic! Maddie is a big fan of cheese crackers from Trader Joe's, and she likes wearing grape scented lip balm!
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Thank you to Maddie's mom for filling our room with giggles!
Such a fun read aloud! |
There were several "Me Bag" presentations in the afternoon class as well! The class loved Amelia's glittery Minnie ears from Disney, and it was fun to hear all about her latest Disney trip! We also learned that Amelia is a big fan of American Girl dolls and she loves to read. Amelia also enjoys doing ballet, coloring with her favorite color (blue), and spending time with her family!
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A big thank you to Amelia's dad for sharing
some fun Little Critter stories! |
It was fun learning about Khalil and some of his favorite things too! Khalil is a big sports fan who loves to golf and play basketball and soccer. He is a huge Cubs fan and he likes to root for the Swedish National soccer team. Khalil also enjoys playing with his car collection and building with Legos. He likes superheroes and ninjas too. Khalil especially loves to spend time with his family, and he was excited to show us a special rock he found at a light festival on a family trip to San Antonio!
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Thank you to Khalil's mom for sharing a fun Dr. Seuss book
that helped us think about what we might want to be when we grow up! |
We also learned all about Avery's favorite things! We learned that Avery likes to play with her Beanie Boo collection and her LOL Surprise dolls. She also enjoys reading and hanging out with her family, especially her big sister Addison! Avery also enjoys doing ballet, coloring with her favorite color (red), and spending time outside!
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A big thank you to Avery's sister for coming in to read Press Here!
A new class favorite!! |
Thanks for reading!
Have a great week!
