The slushy weather might be a nuisance to some, however it was a wonderful surprise for us in Kindergarten today! The kiddos have been inquiring about making a snowman ever since we began going outside for daily outdoor classroom. Although attempted many times, the snow would never stick together!! Finally, today the snow was damp and malleable enough to put one together. Before we set off on our life size art project, we discussed what it means to be a team and work together. We noted that if we all did one job, the snowman wouldn't be made. One of the kiddos suggested that we split up the jobs like going to find rocks for the nose and mouth while others go in search for sticks for the arms. The friends who volunteered to go on the search ventured out, while everyone else worked on building a small, medium and large snowballs for the body! I was so impressed by the kiddos ability to work together to put together our snowman. we shared a common vision and worked well on the group group plan.
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On Friday we had our first show and tell! Every kiddo was tasked to bring an item from home that starts with the letter "n." We sat in a circle and watched our friends present their items. Show and tell is a great opportunity for students to use their oral language. It gives the speaker something to talk about while the rest of the class works on their listening skills, patience and being respectful. The discussions we have over show and tell strengthen the kiddos confidence and social skills. Aside from oral language skills and development, our show and tell also promotes another opportunity for letter sound learning. Check out all the "n" items we brought. I spy a Ninja Turtle, notebook, necklaces and a couple friends whose names start with "N!"
We will continue having show and tell every Friday. Please check the newsletter and Seesaw for reminders as to which letter is the letter of the week! So far in Kindergarten, we have learned that good readers look at the pictures to know what the words are about. This week we were introduced to our newest reading strategy- to sounds words out. We know some of the letter sounds from alphabet time, however, we spiced things up and met squeely ee's!!! Squeely ee's are found in many words like feet, three, and meet. They make a squeeling sound, like a rickety skateboard, when there are two "e's" together. We investigated our poem of the week and found many squeely ee's. The kiddos realized how easy it was to read, once they discovered this strategy!! During book look today, the kiddos were excited to point out squeely ee's and attempt to sound the words out. We also drew them at circle time to practice awareness and recognition! Draw attention to familiar letters and squeely ee's when you read with your kiddo. It is recommended to read for 20 minutes every night to support healthy literacy development.
Recently, I introduced the book “Mix It Up!” to the Kinders. We read the book, explored colors and how they change when they are mixed together. The kiddos found so much joy in this book that we decided embark on a color mixing journey. In lieu of their interests, I gave the kiddos pipettes, jars of water and an ice cube tray. They used the pipettes to transfer colored water it into cubes. Some of the kiddos put more than one colors into the cube and mixed it up to create altercations of the colored water as well as different shades. It has been a lot of fun to sit back and listen to their conversations “Look!! I made teal!” said one students. “How did you do that?” said another. “I think I put blue and more blue with a tiny pit of purple.” “That’s neat.” To further, our exploration, the kiddos were shown a color mixing video and chart to gain a more solid understanding of color combinations. We then took water color paint and made a background for an art project where we used different colors to create new ones! The kiddos really enjoyed this activity and were able to experience color combinations first hand. Stay tuned to see what other color mixing shenanigans we get up to next week!!
Our first stay and play was a blast! It was so much fun watching our kiddos be little leaders while teaching their parents how to "explore" around the classroom. The room was buzzing with chatter and play. Check out all the fun we had by viewing the gallery of pictures below: Thanks to everyone for coming out and seeing what your kiddo does everyday at school. Families are an important part of our classroom and community.
I hope everyone has a great day today and take time remember. This week we started outdoor classroom! Every morning, we go outside for the first 30 minutes of the day to learn and play. This week we have learned how to dress for the weather and discussed safety measures that are essential while playing outside. The kiddos enjoyed going on a playground walk to further their understanding of boundaries. While playing on the playground, the kiddos noticed how the frost covered the entire structure! This was exciting to take a close look at and see the beautiful patterns and designs. Along with the frost, came slippery playground equipment. Some of the kids noticed how slippery the slide was! We took this as a learning opportunity to talk about safety. They had a blast taking turns and watching their friends "fly" on the slide! The kiddos now know not to stand at the bottom of the slide when others are taking their turn down. At Riverheights, we are so lucky to be able to play on our roof. The hills provide many different learning and playing opportunities for the kiddos. We discovered sliding down the hill on our bums was a lot of fun, as long as we went feet first!! Outdoor classroom has been such a positive and fun experience so far. I cannot wait to see how our play changes as the seasons change.
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July 2020
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