It is hard to believe it is the last day of September. Boy time flies when we are having fun. Today we explored the math concept, addition. We created story problems and solved them using our fingers as a way to keep track of the numbers and adding up the total. We then used math manipulatives on Mr. Smarty Pants (our Interwrite Board) to solve similar problems. We were also able to solve addition problems by adding two different types of movements we made with our bodies and came up with the total number of moves we made, i.e. 3 jumping jacks plus 4 mountain climbers equals 7 altogether. We also had a chance to practice the concept of addition by adding two separate drum beats to get the total amount of drum beats altogether. Phew... so many ways to experience addition in one math lesson! We also learned about what an opinion is. During writer's workshop we wrote about the foods we tasted at the PEAS Farm. During this lesson we learned how to use our zoo phonics animal cards we call "zoo charts" to help us sound out words and write the sounds we hear in the words we want to write. After having some time to write we brought our work back to the carpet and shared with our turn and talk partners. Then I introduced the meaning of the word opinion. We formed an opinion about our favorite food we tasted at the farm and shared our opinions with others. We focused on the fact that just because we have different opinions doesn't make others opinions wrong!
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We began our day with movement in the gym with Ms. Cooper's kiddos. Check out some of our kiddos be courageous, moving in front of an audience! Way to go kinder kiddos! Our kiddos have built a special relationship with their big buddy from Mrs. O'Connor's 3rd grade class. Today the big buddies came to our class and got to join in on our choice time. Before heading to Spanish at the end of the day we had a delicious snack of "nature's candy". Yum yum!!!
Hooray! We finally filled our jar full of warm fuzzies (little round fuzzy pom poms). As a class we earn warm fuzzies for following our 3 Be's: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe. Once we fill our jar full of warm fuzzies we get to celebrate our hard work and good choices. This time we had a popcorn party. We had plain air popped popcorn and watched an episode of the math themed PBS show called "Peg Plus Cat". You can catch "Peg Plus Cat" on the PBS Kids Website.
What a beautiful day for a trip to the PEAS Farm up in the Rattlesnake. Our class was split into two groups where we were led around the farm by a PEAS Farm Farmer. Farmer Jason used a sword to slice a pumpkin to pieces so we could feed the pigs. We got to taste test many of the delicious foods they grow at the farm. Their rule is the same as ours in our classroom, "You may not like it but you must try it." Research shows that it could take up to 14 (or more) taste tests before liking a food. We tasted peppers, cauliflower, kale, tomatoes, carrots, and what Jason called "nature's candy"... plums and pears. Every kiddo in my group tasted everything. :-) I was very proud of them! And most the foods were liked by all.
Over the last few days we have been learning different ways to represent numbers. We have used our fingers, math manipulatives, straws for counting the days we have been in school, musical instruments, and making moves with our bodies. Today we used our whiteboards to create scenes that represent a given number.
Granny Sue visited our classroom today while Mrs. Winter stepped out on some business. The kiddos taught Granny Sue all about what kindergarteners do during writer's workshop! They nailed it! We began our day in the gym with our movement friends in Ms. Cooper's class where we focused on moving creatively to the beat of a drum. If the drum beat was fast, our movements were fast. If the drum beat was slow, our movements were slow. When the drum stopped beating we froze IMMEDIATELY and made an interesting shape with our bodies. It was a great activity for practicing our listening skills. Once we got back into our classroom we practiced representing numbers 1-10. So far, we learned that we can use our fingers to represent the quantity of a number as well as use math manipulative to do the same. Today we used musical instruments. One person would call out the number and those of us with instruments would "play" our musical note that many times. For example, if someone call out 7, the person with the drum would bang their drum 7 times. After recess we inducted our new friend to our class into our writing club. She is now officially part of "The Writer's of the Century." Many of us began new teaching stories to start off the week. One of our friends is writing about how to take care of a baby. Super cute! After lunch we listened to the story Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister, online. The screen actors guild does a nice series of children's books called Storyline Online. Today Ernest Borgnine read us our story. I have added a section on my "Videos" page of this website if you would like to listen to the story with your kiddos. Then we had a wonderful afternoon of learning centers, choice time, recess, snack, and finally Spanish. It was a wonderful day in kindergarten!
Look at our friends discovering letters at free play time we call, Choice Time. And some of our other friends enjoying Choice Time in the afternoon. KINDERGARTEN ROCKS!!!
We had our first experience with the district art teacher, Ms. Mitchel. They made Aspen Groves using black on white, white on black, exploring the use of black markers, white crayons, scissors, glue, and construction paper.
We have entered into the writing club. Everyday we take part in Writer's Workshop. We are currently working on writing teaching stories. We all know a lot about things that we can teach others about in our writing. For example, one of our friends is teaching us all about how to grow a garden. We have entered this new club and therefore we named our writing club. After much brainstorming and group discussion we decided to go with the name one of our friends created all on his own, Writers of the Century! I am a pretty proud teacher! Check out all of our writers in action. Most of them didn't even know I was taking their picture. Such a hard working bunch.
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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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