Math
Hooray for May!!!!! A
tremendous focus in kindergarten math all year long is counting---in many
different ways! We have counted up and counted back down. Most kids are able to
count by 10’s, 5’s, and 2’s, some even by 3’s. Often kindergartners begin to be
able to count even when the objects they’re counting are “concealed” (I may
tell a child, “Here are 4 counters. There are 3 more under this paper. How many
are there all together?” or even “There are 2 counters under this paper, and 7
more under this paper. How many do I have altogether?”) This is the beginning
of mental math! At this time in the year, kids should be able to think very
flexibly about numbers, understanding that 5 is the same as 3+2, or 4+1.
We continue to work on “counting on”. When they are adding two sets of
objects together, we are encouraging them to grab the bigger number (or put
that number in their head), then begin at that number to count on to the
total. (Ex. If they have 5 red chips and 3 yellow chips,
they would grab the 5 and count on the next 3.
They would say, “5…6 – 7 – 8” to arrive at the total.) You
can play some games with your child at home that helps him/her learn and use
this “counting on” skill:
- Roll 2
dice. Grab one number, then “count
on” the number on the 2nd die, rather than counting from 1.
- Roll one
die. Put that number of
manipulatives (beans, cereal, paper clips, pennies, macaroni, etc.) under
a cup. Roll the die again and set
that number of manipulatives outside the cup. “Count on” to get the total of the two.
Writing
Workshop
We concluded our
unit on “How To” books this week. Your
child brought home all their writing pieces.
Hopefully, you had a chance to look at them with your child. We are now beginning our unit on informational
writing. This week we have read a lot of
informational books on animals, insects, vehicles, & seasons. Throughout
this unit, our writers will be encouraged to write a variety of books on areas
of personal expertise. This will provide them repeated opportunities to
practice how to generate ideas and plan the organization of information.
Reading
Workshop
Storyteller
Voice
We
have been practicing using our storyteller voice in during reading workshop. We
are giving the characters personalities by using different voices for different
characters. We are also making our voices
go “up” when we see a question mark and read with excitement when we see an exclamation point.
Word Study
Check out all the fun we had learning during word study this week!
Science
Even though we have concluded our science unit, the learning certainly hasn’t stopped! The little scientists are having a ball finding worms and bugs on our playground!
