The kindergarten scientists are hard at work!

Science

The kindergarten scientists are hard at work!  What a great week learning about trees and leaves! The super scientists learned the parts of a tree and the function of each part.  They also learned why leaves change color in the autumn.  The class discovered that trees are very important.  They give us shade, clean air, paper, wood, and many other important things.  Trees also provide a home for many different animals. 

 

During the week we also read many books about trees, graphed leaves by color, and did leaf rubbings.   We also found symmetry in our leaves.  We will continue to study trees over the next few weeks.  

We loved meeting with our 3^rd buddies from Miss Mulligan’s class.  We worked together to create fall trees.  Fall is in the air! 

Up & Coming Science…

Our class is beginning a study of wood and paper.  We will be looking at the properties of wood and paper (texture, color, absorbency, flexiblility.etc.) and how different kinds of wood and paper are alike and different.   We will also investigate how wood and paper can be processed as we sand wood, make simulated plywood, paper mache and recycle paper. Then the kindergartners will use what they learned about the properties of materials to construct projects (weaving, taking apart boxes and making sculptures).

Reading Workshop

 

Independent Reading is the heart of the Reading Workshop. This is the time when students practice strategies modeled in our lesson.  It is also a time for students to make their own book choices, practice their reading stamina and have time to read and set independent reading goals.

As the children become more independent, IDR time will allow me to confer with students, teach guided reading lessons or have a small-group lesson on a specific strategy or skill

We are all at different developmental levels of reading.  During our IDR time, we have learned about reading books three different ways.

 

• Reading the words
• Reading the pictures 
• Retelling the story 

 During IDR time we love reading in our “Book Nooks.” Books Nooks are cozy spots to read in our room.  Ask your kindergartner where their cozy reading spot was this week. 


The kids are so excited to read!   As we were reading, one of our kindergartners said, “I want to read more!” ---music to a teacher’s ear!
  

Math

In math we are focusing on those “tricky teens.” (10-19). The Kinder-Kids learned that these numbers all have a 1 in front of them.  We have been learning that this 1 actually stands for “1 group of ten.”  Throughout our week we did many activities with our number cards.  On Tuesday each student was given a number card (O through 22) in which they had to recognize and then tell the class which number they had.  On Wednesday the kids had to put themselves in order from zero to twenty-two.  Not only was this an ordinal number exercise, but it also included the skills of teamwork and problem-solving.  On Thursday we took our numbers and made addition sentences together to see what number they equaled.   We are awesome kindergarten mathematicians!

Our Halloween party was a huge success!  The kids had a wonderful time.  Thanks so much to all who contributed to a great day!  We are going to have a lot of fun writing about our Halloween memories during writing workshop.

 

 

 

 

 

See Think Wonder

We are learning lots in kindergarten!  This week revolved around pumpkins.  We learned about the life cycle of a pumpkin – from seed, to sprout, to vine, to blossom to small green pumpkin, to large orange pumpkin, to jack-o-lantern.  The purpose of this learning was more than just the science concept.  I use the idea of life cycles to teach sequencing to children.  Learning about the order of things is essential when retelling stories and ordering events.  It also helps the children as they learn how writers organize their stories to make sense: telling a beginning, middle, and ending to a story.

Writing Workshop

 

We are working on adding details to our illustrations and labeling our illustrations.  We are working on “stretching out” the word and recording the sounds we hear.  

We have also been working on our drawing skills.  Our lessons help the kindergartners identify lines and shapes so they can accurately draw pictures that represent their thinking during Writing Workshop.

 

Reading Workshop

 

We read many books.  We loved The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything.  We especially liked retelling this story with our flannel board pieces.   We loved singing to the book, Big Pumpkin.  We also had a lot of fun acting out the 5 Little Pumpkins poem with props.  Retelling is an important part of reading comprehension!

 

 

 

 

Math

We played a new math game called “Monster Squeeze.”    It reinforces number relationships and number recognition.   The children have to guess what the mystery number is while using math vocabulary, such as greater than, less than, more than, & fewer.   The children continue guessing the number by using those terms until the monsters squeeze the mystery number.

 We continued to play Top It during Math Workshop.  Top It helps us learn and/or practice our teen numbers.  It also reinforces number relationships.  It is played like the game of War with the numbers 0-20.

 

 

 

 

Science

On Wednesday we went on a nature hunt.  We discovered all the beautiful fall colors around Hill.  We began our study of trees by doing a visible thinking routine called, SEE, THINK, WONDER.   Visible thinking routines promote:

·         Deeper understanding of content

·         Greater motivation for learning

·         Engaged thinkers and learners

 

Please join us in our tree and leaf study by taking your child for “autumn” walks in your neighborhood to observe trees and to compare how they are alike and how they are different. As you discover different kinds of leaves, collect a few of each kind.  Encourage children to use their senses to observe the many fall colors, to smell the leaves, to feel the texture of the leaves and to listen to the crunching sound when they walk through dry leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a spooooky week in kindergarten!

Science 

 It was a spoooooky week in kindergarten!  This week we began learning about the creepy and crawly creatures associated with Halloween.  We started with bats.  I introduced CER (claim, Evidence, Reasoning) this week.  CER provides opportunities for student to process their experiences and communicate their findings through scientific explanations. 

·         Claims are accurate and specific statements:  Bats are different than birds.

·         Evidence is all of the scientific data that supports the claim: 

o    Bats are mammals.

o    Bats are nocturnal

o    Bats hang upside down.

o    Bats are born alive.

·         Reasoning is the explanation that connects your claim to the evidence that supports it.

 

Initially in kindergarten, we provide the scaffolding needed to ensure their responses are thorough and well supported. 

 

 

 

Art/Fine Motor  

The kindergarten artists have been hard at work decorating our centrum.  We marble painted spider webs, made spiders out of our handprints and created black bats to practice our scissor skills.  We also practiced symmetry by making symmetrical bats.  We painted a bat wing on one half of a piece of paper and transferred it to the other half.

Writing Workshop

Our budding authors are now working on our next unit called, Launching Small Moments. This unit builds on the skills and enthusiasm from the oral language unit while introducing students to the world of written language.  When writing or drawing about a small moment, children learn to take the everyday events of their lives and make them into a story. Some students are writing/drawing on a single page.  Some are moving into multiple page booklets.  My goal is to make sure that students can keep themselves engaged as writers!

 

Reading Workshop

In Making Meaning (our reading comprehension program), we are learning routines for “Turn & Talk.”  This is where kindergartners learn to share their opinions about the book and practice their comprehension strategies with a peer.  We are learning what to do when we are the speaker and listener.

We also discussed the differences in a Reader’s interest as well as learning how to handle our classroom books correctly. 

  

 

Math

We graphed our favorite Jack-o-lantern face.  Then we analyzed our data.  The mad face had the least amount of votes.  The happy face had the most.  I encourage you to continue to use the words most, least and equal with your kindergartner.  When counting money, toys, or cars on the road, questions of most and least are good to keep in mind.

 

We also played a new math game called “Give the Next Number.”   We sit in a circle and choose a number to start. Then we begin to count!   Each child gives the next number.  We practiced counting by ones and tens.  As the year progresses, we will play counting by 5’s, 2’s and backwards.

Our patterning skills are progressing!  Your kindergartner has been working on:

·         copying patterns that others have made

·         extending patterns that others have started

·         telling what is missing if part of a pattern is hidden

·         comparing and talking about patterns that arise from their daily experiences

·         Recognizing patterns in the environment - e.g. fence posts: short, tall, short, tall...

Kindergartners are also creating their own easy or complex patterns at various difficulty levels.

 

B is for Blocks and Bones!  We made block skeletons this week. I am always amazed at the kid’s creativity!  When we work with blocks we are …..

·         Learning how to share & cooperate

·         Increasing eye-hand coordination  

·         Strengthening our fingers (fine motor skills)

·         Problem solving & spatial relationships

·         Experimenting with gravity, balance, and geometry

·         Testing our ideas (cause & effect)

·         Using our imaginations to create structures

 

 

Hooray for Letter Vests!

We started using our letter vests this week. We will use them in a wide variety of ways to enhance alphabetic knowledge, phonics, and word wall words.   Ask your kindergartner what letter(s) they wore.

 

 

 

Thank you to Griffin’s dad in Ms. Hartley’s class.    We learned a lot about fire safety!