Today we introduced "You've been busted... Using kind words" notes. Whenever we catch someone using kind words we get to give that person a "You've been busted..." Note. When your kiddos get a note they have been instructed to bring that note home to share with their families, the kind words they were caught using. Many notes were given out this afternoon. Hooray for kindness! I couldn't be more proud of my kinder kiddos. After spending some time in our Outdoor Discovery Core, reading different books about helping our earth and making a list of what we can do to make a change, our kiddos came up with a brilliant plan! They decided they want to create signs about being Earth Savers, hang them around the school, and deliver them to the different classrooms. They also want to do a playground and neighborhood clean up. To top it off, they decided that they want to deliver "How to be an Earth Saver" signs around the neighborhood. Phew! What a great project and all created by 5 & 6 year old minds. SO PROUD! Now to create the time to pull it off. New week... New Inquiry Learning Centers. Professor Fluck visited this afternoon and taught us about two hats and where they come from. He first taught us about a hat from Pakistan called the Baluchi or the Sindhi Cap. It has an opening on the front of the hat that symbolizes having an open-mind. We also learned about the Conical Hat that many countries wear like China, Japan, Korea, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It has a wide brim to provide shade, much like the Sombrero. The Conical Hat is special because it can be dipped in water before wearing and it will help cool down the person who wears it. We decided this hat must be worn in warm climates.
Since 1/3 of Mrs. O'Connor's class was in Helena with the Peace Choir the rest of her class joined us for the second half of our Inquiry Learning Centers. Boy were those big buddies excited to explore! In our classroom we learn kindergarten math concepts through hands on, project based lessons. For example, to learn the concept of addition and subtraction we may create a pretend picnic in the middle of our whole group circle at the carpet. Then we may create and act out story problems using the picnic setting, our imaginations, and our knowledge of addition and subtraction. Most of our math lessons take place in this manner. However, now that we are getting closer to first grade we have been introduced to math workbook pages from our math curriculum. Today our kinder kiddos were introduced to the math strategy of using fingers to solve addition and subtraction problems. It is amazing how much they love these worksheets. I assume because they are a novelty item in my classroom. During our Inquiry Learning Centers Mr. Brown pulled over small groups of kiddos to work on subtraction using modeling clay. Mr. Brown created a number sentence, also known as an equation, and wrote it on a whiteboard, i.e. 4-2=?, and left the answer blank. The kiddos had to make spheres out of the clay and then smash the spheres they had to take away. Then Mr. Brown finished the equation and had the kiddos read the equation. Then they would show the same equation using fingers as a model. Just another way to support their learning from our morning math lesson. Also during our Inquiry Learning Centers my two friends were practicing reading and writing their "popcorn words", or High Frequency Words, by building the words with interesting objects. Mr. C used googly eyes to make the word "of" and Mr. B used centimeter cubes to build the word "here". Pretty cool way to practice reading skills.
"Dramatic Play is an integral part of the developmental learning process by allowing children to develop skills in such areas as abstract thinking, literacy, math, and social studies, in a timely, natural manner. Dramatic play engages children in both life and learning. Its’ real value lies in the fact that it increases their understanding of the world they live in, while it works to develop personal skills that will help them meet with success throughout their lives."
Please visit the Early Childhood News website with the entire article discussing the benefits of Dramatic Play. After reading their book, Miss J and Miss N were so excited. Miss N said, "I can't believe I read this whole book." And Miss J said, "I can't wait to tell my mom!" How precious is that! I love when they discover what they are capable of. We began new Inquiry Learning Centers this afternoon. Professor Fluck came in this afternoon and taught us all about the sombrero and a bit about our neighboring country of Mexico. We learned that some cocoa comes from Mexico. We found it very interesting that cocoa is made from the seeds of large watermelon like fruit. Talking about the process of making chocolates made us crave the delicious treat. We also began the process of creating Spring Windsocks with markers and water colors. We will be adding streamers and putting them together some time this week. |
by Mrs. WinterKindergarten is truly the BEST and that is why I want to share our world with you! Archives
September 2017
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