Lots to catch up on in K105, we have been very busy!
Nothing Like a Good Book
In Literacy, we have been practicing "Read to Self". This is a time when children find a spot to silently read on their own. We have talked about different ways to read a book, including looking at the pictures, looking for letters we know, or looking at words. Each child has a "book box" where they keep their letter books, word books, and other books they've made. These books provide text children can comfortably and confidently read on their own. They have also explored wordless picture books, alphabet books, and many other texts. We have talked about what "Read to Self" should look and sound like and worked on building "stamina". We've been keeping track of our progress as a group, and soon will be using "Read to Self" as a job during Literacy.
We have also started Book Buddies with Mr. Colombo's third grade class. Each kindergartener is paired with a third grader, who is responsible for picking out books to share from the library. Pairs have been getting to know each other and talked about the kinds of books and subject matter they enjoy. This is a wonderful chance for the kindergarteners to meet older children, gain role models, and enjoy reading in a different form. We will continue this partnership every other Friday throughout the year.
Children also interact with text during Morning Meeting. Each day we read the morning message as a class. We have started learning new greetings in other languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and French. We have also learned our first sight word, "a". We talked about how "a" can be both a letter AND a word, quite tricky!
Letter Learning!
Along with focusing on a new letter each week through our Phonics program, we have been practicing each letter in Handwriting. The children move through different stations, using play dough, paint bags, push pins, and other tools to practice the letters. These stations offer various sensory experiences to help children learn to properly form their letters. They also use a handwriting app called "Letter School" on our classroom iPads; definitely a favorite station!
Buttons and Blocks
In Math, the children have been learning about describing and sorting objects based on their attributes. We began by exploring with a variety of buttons, noticing their shape, color, size, and other characteristics. Children played a button matching game in pairs to reinforce this skill.
We also explored these concepts using "Attribute Blocks". This time, pairs also used spinners and had to find all blocks that matched the given characteristic.
Finally, we've been exploring shape and design using "Pattern Blocks". Children have even recorded their creations using precut shapes. Their designs have been so impressive we decided we needed to display them in the classroom!
More to Explore...
We have added more choices during Learn and Explore. After much anticipation, the classroom computers were opened. Children are using KidPix, a program they are also learning about during Technology.
We've also opened the Dramatic Play Area and the easel, both of which have been popular choices!
Birthday Celebrations
We've celebrated a few more birthdays in K105. The children all enjoy having special visitors come to read stories and creating birthday jars for the birthday boy or girl.
All About Apples
We have been exploring apples as a theme across all areas of learning, including Literacy, Math, and Discovery. We continued our discussion of the five senses, observing how an apple feels, smells, looks, sounds, and tastes. Children enjoyed an apple taste test and voted for their favorite kind of apple. We created a graph of the results, showing we could represent each vote in different ways.
We read many different texts about apples, including Apples Up On Top and Arnold's Apple Tree. We used these texts to initiate a conversation about fiction and non-fiction. We worked on observational drawings of both the outside and inside of apples, and learned how to spell apple using a twist on a familiar tune. Children also learned a great deal about cycles, both how an apple grows from seed to fruit and how an apple tree changes through the seasons. They created different visual representations of these cycles.
To practice identifying numerals and counting, children created apple counting cards. In addition to using these skills to create the cards, we learned a game where children "hid" one number and a partner guessed the missing number. We'll be sending these cards home so you can play too!
Our apple unit concluded with making and tasting applesauce. Children predicted how many seeds would be in their apples and we graphed the final numbers. They also helped to prepare the apples to cook. Thank you again to our parent volunteers for their help with this project! This was a wonderful example of how many connections can be made across different content areas, and how activities can require a variety of different skills. Overall, our apple study was a big success!
Check out more photos from the past weeks below, and stayed tuned for lots more learning in K105!
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