We revisited our five senses chart we made about our Peas Farm trip. Then we used our Zoo Charts to help sound out words to finish our Farm books about what we saw on the farm. When creating our 5 Senses chart we realized that one group got to see the bee boxes at the farm but the other group didn't. Then we wondered why there were bees at the farm. We did some research by borrowing a great bee book from Mrs. Kemmis. We learned a lot from the book. One thing we learned is that the female bees, that do all the work, do a bee dance to communicate with each other. So of course we created our own bee dance. We also learned how to use the internet to do research and how to pick reliable sites. We ended up on a Nat Geo site where we learned about how important bees are to farms. Ask your kiddo about what they learned. Inquiry Centers at their finest! After snack we had some extra time to enjoy some of our favorite classroom books with friends.
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We began our day with a community building activity that allowed us to get to know our new friend. Then we spent much of the day teaching him about how kindergarten at Lewis and Clark works. It was a great way to review our class and school expectations. We ended the day with a delicious birthday treat for Mr. A! Happy Birthday! Today was a full day! We began the day with movement, moving with different parts of our bodies. Some students were even brave enough to dance in small groups in front of their peers! We had a fun time leading with our faces, our elbows, our knees, and other body parts. Ms. Myers and Ms. Devors visited us this morning. They taught the kiddos how to solve kid-sized problems in line through "Stop, Walk, and Talk." If the students experience conflict, they learned to ask the other student to stop, vocalizing what was bothering them ("Please stop tapping my shoulder. It makes me uncomfortable.") If that doesn't work, the student should move to the end of the line. If that still doesn't help, they should ask an adult for help problem-solving. We ended the day with a visit from our Big Buddies. We went out to the ODC to collect more pieces of nature, this time collaborating with our Buddies to make some beautiful nature art. Boy, are these kids creative! We're hoping to display their pieces sometime soon so that everyone can enjoy their hard work.
What a beautiful day for a trip to the farm. We got to taste some of Nature's Candy, learn about the farm, and be entertained by the farmers. It was a fun day at the farm! On Tuesdays and Wednesdays we begin our day inside the classroom looking at various books. After having ample time to explore and/or read our books we find something to share with our class. At this time of year it is most likely they share a letter they found that they know. We all review it together and practice the letter, zoo friend, and sound. Some may share a word they read or maybe even a sentence. We also practice our respectful listening skills while others share. So much learning going on with such a simple, enjoyable activity. After recess our kiddos earned their very first popcorn party. They filled the jar full of warm fuzzies. Warm fuzzies (pom poms) are rewarded for being respectful, responsible, and safe. We accumulate them as a class. Once the red box of warm fuzzies have been transferred to the jar, they earn a warm fuzzy party. Today it was a relaxing popcorn party. I taught them how to make the healthiest popcorn with an air popper. They were mesmerized! AND, they loved the popcorn even without butter or salt. We ate our treat and watched an episode of the pbs educational show "Word World". Way to go kiddos!!! And of course, another successful afternoon of Inquiry centers. We began today with a very special all-school assembly, which included a presentation by renowned Hoop Dancer Terrance Littleton. The kids were mesmerized by his amazing talent, and a few lucky Lewis and Clark kiddos even got to dance with him! What a fun and exciting way to celebrate Native American Heritage Week. After recess, we got to be explorers! The students were given a paper and told to watercolor over it, which revealed their names written in a mysterious white substance. After hypothesizing and thinking through our observations, the kids learned that their names were written in white crayon on their page. Crayon-resist activities are so much fun. We had another great day at our Inquiry Learning Centers. Every student has now had the opportunity to mix primary colors to make secondary colors, and each group collaboratively made a color to put in the windowsill. Other stations were equally as popular and had amazing learning going on. Students were loving listening to the sea shells, and built amazing and thoughtful creations at multiple centers. On Friday we went into the Outdoor Discovery Core to collect natural items of all different colors. Today I asked the students what we should do with our collections. A lot of ideas were shared, such as, take them home, put them back out in the ODC, and make art with them. After discussing all the ideas, we came to consensus on what to do. We decided to make a collaborative art piece using all the collections. We had so many ideas on what to create but all agreed to make a rainbow. Then we had to problem solve what to make with the items that weren't part of the rainbow. One of our kiddos suggested adding details. The white ended up being clouds at the ends of the rainbow, the browns and blacks are trees and bushes on the ground and birds in the sky. There is even a person that made it into our art piece. A little bit of hot glue and we have a masterpiece! We also began a new week of Inquiry Learning Centers. Ask your kiddos about the centers they tried today and what they discovered, created, learned, etc. It's going to be another great week!
After having Spanish first thing this morning we had our first visit from the school counselor, Ms. Myers. She will be visiting our classroom every Friday. We visit the Library every Friday so please be sure your kiddo brings their library book! We got to pick out our Poetry Notebooks today. Every Friday your kiddo will bring their Notebooks home. Please read the poem with them, initial the poem, and have your kiddo bring it back on Monday. In the afternoon we went into the Outdoor Discovery Core with our big buddies and made a color collection of natural items. We had an assembly this afternoon in place of our specials class. We got done super early and we were exhausted! So we ate our snack while watching a short Magic School Bus episode. Miss Krause led a lesson on the book Chrysanthemum. We used a paper heart to show that even if we don't intend for them to, mean words hurt and leave a lasting impact on our hearts. We came up with a list of things we can say or do if we hurt someone else's feelings, and another list of nice things we can say if a friend looks sad. We also had the chance to sit down and look at some good books! It was nice to have a chunk of time devoted solely to exploring our classroom library. I'm sure you have already heard ALL about it, but we had some special guests at the end of our day! Mrs. Schick brought in the kittens they are fostering. There are six, and they were so tiny! We had to be extra-careful, using quiet voices so that we didn't scare their momma, Suki. Mrs. Schick brought Pipsqueak (the smallest kitten) around the circle and every student got to use their finger to gently pet her. Once they are old enough, these babes will need homes. If you are interested in adopting one, you can contact Annie Schick in the FRC at 728-2400 x4355.
We began today with a community building activity where we welcomed each student with a "Good morning!" from the entire class. Everyone had fun greeting their classmates and practicing each others' names. We also had a chance to do the Tip-Toe Song, which we've been enjoying as a special activity. Next, we read a story called Monsters Love Colors, and reviewed the books we've read so far. We were very excited to have Ms. Cooper's class join us for the story. After we read, the students created a cover page to their colors books. They were so creative! It is always fun to have special guests in the room, especially when they are our friends from the playground and movement class. After lunch, we read another book called My Crayons Talk. It's a funny story about a student who make-believes that her crayons can talk! We then worked on our Favorite Color page, which is the last page in our colors book. As always, we had a wonderful time creating and learning at Centers. After Centers, we packed up and went to gym, where we played Lemonade! Today was a very busy and fun day. |
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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