Happy Halloween!!!

Waiting out the Storm...

     We love our recess time in Kindergarten, and for good reason!  Not only is it time for us to get fresh air, take a break, and socialize with friends, but research shows that students perform better academically when they get a chance to take a break.  Research also indicates that classroom behavior improves after some recess.  I feel this is definitely true in our class!  Sometimes though, the weather does not allow us to take a recess outdoors.  This leaves us to figure out how to take a 20 minute break and let our 5 & 6 year olds have a little playtime.  After all, we work VERY hard in our room, we've earned it.  :)  

     Today was one of those days.  This was the view from our room ALL day:

    By the time our recess rolled around this afternoon, we had to make due.  We played some games, worked with blocks, computers, books, art... but, shhh, don't tell them- these "playtime" activities also have many academic benefits as well.

Here are some of our recess activities today:

Exploring Magnets
(science)

Chutes and Ladders
(math practice)

The Ladybug Board Game
Students took turns pulling cards and moving their ladybug that many spaces.
(math/number practice)

Hullaballoo
This is one of my family favories.  The players have to listen for which shape, color, or picture is called next and move to it, usually in a silly way.  It's so much fun, and great practice in color, shapes, and careful listening.

     Just a reminder, we will try to go outside for recess whenever it's possible, so please remember to dress your child for the weather!  :)  Hope you all stay safe and warm during this storm!

-Mrs. H

...some other Halloween "Goodies"

We read a few non-fiction books about bats...

...and wrote sentences on facts we learned.

Shared writing about skeletons...

...and put together our own!

Spooky Math

      Because this week's theme is Halloween, we've had a great time incorporating some Halloween fun into our core subjects!  For math time today, we did this spooky activity:  After reading a funny book about a witch and ten timid ghosts, we responded by making our own haunted house and putting the ghosts in numerical order.  The students loved the story AND practicing their numbers!

How do Pumpkins Grow?

Last month, we learned how apples grow.  Last week, we learned how pumpkins grow.  We compared and contrasted these two fall fruits and sequenced the stages of a growing pumpkin.  Very fun and very fall! :)

Invented Spelling: Why Your Child is Misspelling Words, and Why I am Thrilled About It!

     I have mentioned before that we give the students many opportunities to write.   Since most of them are still getting the hang of their letters, sounds, and fine motor skills, we have been doing a lot of shared writing and copying.  What is so EXCITING is that they are starting to form sentences and words on their own!  Today, we talked about stretching out words to hear their sounds and writing the ones we hear.  After some practice together, I sent them back to their seats to write about their favorite animals.  I was so happy to see them stretching out their words and writing what they heard!  We call this invented or phonetic spelling.  Words aren't always spelled correctly, but that is ok, that comes later. For now, just seeing evidence of their letter sound connections is fabulous!  Check it out!

"I like jrafs."(giraffes)

" I lik tigr." (Tigers)

"I like dogs."

"Snac." (This student was writing that he liked snakes.)

     So cool!  

     To learn more about how your child is writing at this age, here is a great article on the subject:

                                                The Do's and Don'ts of Invented Spelling

   

The Measurement Hunt!

     This week, we started some lessons on linear measurement.  To get excited about the topic, we read this fun story and a silly poem:

     Measuring can be a tough concept!  We begin by focusing on comparing two items and using the words longer, shorter, and equal to.  After a brief discussion, the students were paired up, given a ruler, and the task of hunting down things in our classroom that were longer than, shorter than, and equal to the length of the ruler.  Here are some pictures of "the measurement hunt" in progress:

     They had a lot of fun and did a great job!  

It is Fall! Squirrels and Scarecrows

Squirrels with Cinnamon-Scented Tails

Scarecrow Poem & Pattern Block Tangram Challenge

Working hard...

...and we solved it!

Have a nice, long weekend!  

-Mrs. H :)

Getting "Centered" Around Learning!

     In our classroom, one strategy we use is learning centers.  Learning centers are areas in the classroom where students can work together practicing target concepts.  Planned and set up in advance, they are designed to accommodate the different learning styles and levels of our students.  The students are able to rotate from center to center during this time.  By utilizing learning centers, we keep the students excited and engaged in the concept in which we are focused.  Also, it provides time for the teacher to work with students in small groups as they move around.

    We use learning centers in all of our subject areas.  Take a look at just a bit of what we've been up to during these times!

Connecting Concepts Together

Math Centers (Inventory Bags)

Reading Books with the Teacher

Computer Center- Practicing our Alphabet and Computer Skills

Writing Sentences

Using Play-Doh to Create Words 

Science Center- Exploring Authentic "Fall" Items

Finished Letter S Collage

Searching for our letter of the week in magazine pictures!  (Letter S)

Learning at Recess??

    I am a believer that learning can happen anywhere, but it was still exciting to watch what happened this week on the playground.  As you know, we have been learning about fall and leaves.  One morning, we did a sorting activity that involved cutting and pasting leaves.  The children had to sort the leaves by their shapes:

     They all did a great job on this activity.  Shortly after, it was recess time.  Several excited students came running to me with leaves they found on the playground.  They had found real leaves that they felt they could sort based on the activity we had just done.  So we took them inside and we did:

Awesome!

Math Time: Weekly Round-Up

     I wanted to write a post about one of our math activities for the week.  Well, I could not decide on just one, so I am leaving you with some images of major math minds at work!  Enjoy!

Counting Jar- making our virtual jar match our actual jar

Roll & Record: Rolling, counting, writing numerals, and graphing

Question of the Day: Recording, counting, and analyzing data

Build it!  Drawing a number card and "building it" on a tens frame (Smartboard)

More Build It! (this time with a friend at our seats)

Math can be fun!

Science Time: Exploring, Discovering, and Describing Leaves

     This week we have been discussing all things fall, including leaves!  Today, we read a great informational book called Leaf Jumpers by Carol Gerber.   This book featured many different types of leaves, explaining that they have different shapes, depending on the type of tree.  It also explained why leaves change colors after provided food for the trees during the spring and summer.  

     We decided to expand our knowledge of leaves by exploring some actual Maple tree leaves.  I have been working on getting the students to use describing words in our writing, so this was a wonderful opportunity to incorporate our language arts into our science activity for the day.

Kindergarten exploring the leaves...

...and getting a closer look with magnifying glasses.

  Look at those lines and colors up close!

And finally writing about their scientific discoveries!