It's hard to believe we have finished two months of kindergarten! I guess it's true time flies when you're having fun. Check out some of the fun we've been having...
Counting 1, 2, 3
In Math we have been focusing on developing our counting skills. We practice these skills frequently with routines such as attendance, calendar, question of the day, and the counting jar. In addition to these routines, we have been playing lots of games. These include "Grab and Count", "Roll and Record", and "Build It". Children often play these games in partners or small groups, which also allows for practice with important social skills such as turn taking and agreeing on a shared answer. Check folders for work from these games, and feel free to try them at home!
More to Learn and Expore
Children have enjoyed familiar choices during Learn and Explore, such as Dramatic Play and Computers. We have also added new materials to the project shelf in Art. Children have been making masks, kites, and popsicle stick rafts. Many children have also been learning how to play some of the games in the classroom. Trouble and Operation have been popular choices. Again, these games provide both fun and growth in the area of social skills. Lastly, we have finished painting our Identity Boxes and are beginning assembly!
Stamina and Sight Words
After completing our class chart for Read to Self, this activity has become a job during Reading. Children are learning to build stamina by reading for longer periods on their own. This may mean revisiting a familiar text we've read as a class, or selecting one of the books we've made from a book box.
We have continued to practice letters through our Phonics program, as well as adding new sight words to our repertoire each week. Children practice these words with sight word books and by writing sentences. Some children even got to share their work with our principal, Mrs. Collmer, during a recent visit!
In Writing, children have been filling their folders with stories. We have started to add more words to our stories, and have discussed how to "bubblegum stretch" words we may want to add. It's exciting to see this growth!
Pumpkin, Pumpkin
We have begun to explore pumpkins across all curriculum areas. In Math, we tried our first word problem about different sized pumpkins and made patterns with Jack-O-Lanterns. In Reading, we have been focusing a lot on sequencing. The children learned "5 Little Pumpkins" in Music and completed a project back in the classroom. They developed their fine motor skills while creating their own 5 pumpkins on a gate and worked on ordering the different piece of text from the poem. We also learned a poem about turning a pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. Children made their own version of this poem in puzzle form, again with an emphasis on sequencing the different parts of the poem.
We finished the week by making pumpkin pancakes. The children all helped mix the ingredients, and we used many of our 5 senses during the process; most children gave positive reviews after smelling cinnamon, though there was more disagreement about some of the other ingredients. We were, however, pretty unanimous on the end result. We enjoyed the pumpkin pancakes so much everyone had seconds!
We will talk more about pumpkins and the pumpkin life cycle this week in Discovery. We will also connect our discussions to our big ideas about living and nonliving. Our nature walk this week helped us continue to explore these important concepts. Thanks again to our volunteers for joining! Check out some more pictures from the last two weeks below.
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