Highlights from the Week Before April Break

We are all grateful that spring has finally sprung and with that comes Kindergartners looking older and wiser.  In this post you can have a look at the children learning about "word families" with flip books.  Understanding how to read and write words that rhyme because their ending sounds are the same is a great way to build up a bank of sight words.  The children also worked with their big buddies to type out some word families that we turned into a display of  "word flowers" on our back bulletin board to use as a reference.  On another note, we completed our science unit on force and motion by playing with cardboard pinball machines!  If you are not familiar with the Burlington startup that launched  The Pinbox 3000, you should definitely check them out!  Lastly, we learned about dedication, discipline, and strength through a classmate's Candle Day presentation about Taekwando. It was inspirational! 

Garlic, Games, Gizmos and the Great Outdoors

I'm not sure where the title of this post would make sense other than for something connected to a Kindergarten classroom!  The words in the title are key for describing several important events from our week.  
Garlic- because on Monday, when the sun was actually shining, we got out to the garden to plant garden with our buddies.  Maybe the little bulbs will think it's fall?!

Games- because we learned a new math game this week that's helpful in practicing plus and minus 1, 2, and 3.

Gizmos- for all the fun we are having with Lego robotics!  Thanks to Donna MacDonald and some willing parent helpers the children are building models and programming them to move, light up and make sounds with Ipads.

Great Outdoors- is referring to our birding expedition with Julie, a visiting Americorps Science Educator who took us out into the woods with binoculars and an appreciation for our feathered friends.

Firing on All Cylinders!

Some posts have a theme or a focus and some try to capture certain events of the week.  This post is definitely the latter type.  With engaging games, projects and experiments happening across all areas of the curriculum, I with have lots to share at upcoming conferences. For now, I will try to supplement what you may have read in the newsletter with some photos.

On the Science and Tech front... we used our coding skills to draw with Bee Bots and furthered our learning about Force and Motion by experimenting with friction on an inclined plane with some help from our big buddies.

In Literacy the children were extraordinarily focused on creating stories and illustrations in the style of Tomie dePaola...

Above (right) you can see friends acting out a scene from Strega Nona with Popsicle Stick Puppets!

In Math the children are enjoying mixing groups with Ms. Garland's class.  Here you can see friends playing a cooperative game about putting teen numbers in order.

And for continued learning with  Social Skills and Guidance...

The Puppets In Education imparted empowering messages about personal safety and being an upstander.