This morning the math witch paid a visit to our classroom! She took elements from our patterns and put them in her brew... She told us the only way we could get them back is if we solved the magic clue! So away we went, identifying patterns, giving them "names" (the core of the pattern ex: AB) and filling in the missing blanks. We worked together to solve all the magic clues and suddenly the witch came back!! She told us that her brew was somewhere in the room. The kiddos rushed away to find her cauldron. The cauldron was quickly found with "Scaries" (smarties) awaiting inside with a note containing smartie patterns on it. So, as table groups, we sorted our scaries into orange and brown sets and reproduced the patterns from the note. Patterns have never been so tasty! After lunch our classroom came alive with all sorts of creatures!! We walked the parade and had a Halloween Party with music, fun and games. Thanks to everyone who made our day the best! Check out the slideshow from our day: Happy Halloween! Have fun and be safe tonight
0 Comments
In our classroom, we have a "kindness jar" in which we earn gems to put in, for doing kind things, following class instructions and beating small challenges that are presented to us! Each time we earn a gem, we talk about how being kind makes ourselves and others feel. Everytime we work together to fill the jar, we are presented with a small reward such as PJ day! This week our kiddos filled up our first jar and earned a PJ party. The excitement was high in our classroom today :) First thing, we headed to the pit to read a book called, "Llama Llama Red Pajamas" by Anna Dewdney. For anyone unfamiliar with these series, they are fabulous for young children as they present a great sense of rhyme and are a lot of fun to read. They also address common problems to early years kiddos. Once we were done reading, we got out the parachute and had some fun!! We put our stuffies on top and worked together to make all of them fly off. Once all the stuffies were off, we went under the parachute for some tent magic!! At body break, our stuffies accompanied us for guided meditation and some deep breathing exercises. The kiddos used their stuffies as a visual for belly breathing. As they took a deep, belly breath in, their stuffy would rise and when they let the breath out, their stuffy slowly went down. We had a blast and I am so proud of the kiddos for earning a full jar of gems! Our next full jar is going to earn us a movie afternoon.
Happy (fake) Friday!! "Play is the highest form of research" -N. V. Scarfe The kiddos have many opportunities throughout the day to play. This is arguably the most important time of day as the most learning happens during this time! We call is explore time as they interact with their environment with friends. Check out the new centers we have in our classroom this month: Pumpkin construction: the kiddos use a screw driver and screws and insert them into the pumpkin's skin. This is a great fine motor activity as they need to go slowly and hold both the screw driver and the screw! Math locks: each key has a certain number of beads around the ring. The locks have a number written on them. The correct amount of beads with the correct number, cracks the code and opens the lock! 3 way mirror creations: using pattern blocks, the kiddos are invited to make designs while engaging with reflections! Making faces: the kiddos are invited to make faces accompanied with different emotions. Here they are exploring the many ways there is to feel using loose parts! Fidget spinner letters: the kiddos use their fingers to spin the spinner. Whichever letter the arrow is pointing at once it stops, is the letter they are challenged to write on the board! Alphabet match: using letter rocks and clips, we match the upper case letters together. Pipe cleaner numbers: this fine motor activity develops number sense too! The kiddos pick a number and string the appropriate amount of beads onto the pipe cleaner. I have a feeling next week we will be ready for some teen numbers too! First sound sorting baskets: each basket follows a sorting rule. The sorting rule is the sound that the letter in the basket makes. The kiddos sort the objects by initial sound into the basket with the appropriate letter! Name rock writing: at this center, we pick a name rock and write our friends name with chalk on a tiny chalk board. Pumpkin picking: here the kiddos are challenged to pick a number, find it in the sensory back and then represent it in the ten-frame Puppet Theatre: The kiddos have been putting on fabulous shows in our puppet theatre! Our audience have been practicing being great listeners to their friends stories, as well. Halloween sort: at this center, the kiddos make up their own sorting rule in each spot of the sorting tray. Tweezers are added to this center for an added fine motor challenge! Witches brew: at this center, the kiddos create a witches brew by following a recipe card or choosing to create their own! Sorting beads: at this center, the kiddos put their sorting skills to test while they sort the deco-beads and bingo chips into the glass jar with the sorting rule labelled on it! They are challenged to use the tongs to carefully put the beads into the jar tter . Letter creation: using loose parts and letter cards, the kiddos create letters on the mirrors. This is a great pre-writing center that they love playing at! Journal Challenge: this week I introduced the journal challenge that will be renewed weekly! This challenge is a sheet-work activity that the students can choose to do. If they complete the challenge correctly by Friday, they will receive a prize!
For the past few weeks, we have been discussing, experiencing and explore the season of fall. We took a picture in front of our "kindergarten tree" at the front of the school and went on a fall walk to look and to identify signs of fall. Today we explore many different artifacts that our class found from outside, as well as materials like laminated leaves and books from Ms. Kajati. Check out all the fun we had!! Here the kiddos are exploring photos that I took on a bike ride I went on last night! The conversation around the beautiful leaves and different trees was amazing. Some kids were identifying the different colors of leaves and how some trees do not have any! This center has been ever-growing with outside materials from walks and gifts from students at recess! The tray contained many different unique leaves, acorns, pine cones and a sunflower head. The kiddos used magnifying glasses to study the material. We crunched the leaves and discussed adjectives we could use to describe the objects. "The leaves are crunchy!" exclaimed one student. This center was so exciting!! On my fall bike ride last night, I collected many different leaves that were all sizes, shapes and colors. I laminated the leaves and the students loved looking at the leaves up close while feeling the ridges and pattern on each leaf! After we were done exploring, we read a book about the Seasons and drew our observations of a fall tree. We spoke about drawing exactly what we see and using realistic colors. After the kiddos were done drawing and coloring, they glued 4 sparkly maple leaves onto their tree! All week we have been practicing our very first poem in Kindergarten!! We learned our very first reading strategy- to look at the pictures because the pictures are always, always, always about the words. "We See Leaves" was a great poem that everyone enjoyed. Show your kiddo the picture of the poem on Seesaw this weekend and have them read it to you. Happy friday!
We have been so busy in Kindergarten learning new things, playing with newly made friends and having fun! In math, we have been learning to sort. Sorting means we put things into a group to create a set that follows one rule. So far we have learned about sorting by color and size. In the following pictures, our class worked together to sort the buttons by following the rule "big buttons" and "not big buttons." For color, we sorted the colored leaves by "yellow" and "not yellow." Later this week, we will also learn to sort by shape. Once we sorted some of the big buttons out, we explored other ways to sort by size including medium buttons and small buttons. The kiddos too their learning into their own hands by getting together with a partner and sorting the buttons in their own way. Check out oursuper sorters in the next few picture!!! At home tonight, go around with your child and find random objects in the house that you can sort by size or color. Talk about what the sorting rule is and have them place them in the appropriate area. You can also start sorting the objects and have your child guess "your sorting rule" by paying close attention to the characteristics of each object.
Have a wonderful evening :) The few days we have spent some discussing how our families are another way we are unique. After reading "The Family Book" by Todd Parr, kiddos had the opportunity to share their family photo with the class and tell us all about who is in their family. I wish I could have videoed the discussion. It was the first time the kiddos were completely engaged for a lengthy period of time. They were so excited to share and learn.
After the discussion was over, I gave them the chance to wander the room to compare family photos. It was interesting to eavesdrop on the conversations taking place. By the end of the day, it was pretty obvious we all have amazing and unique families! |
Contact Information
message: on Seesaw Archives
July 2020
|