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.  

Learning Independently and In Community

In last week's post I highlighted the concentration and focus that students were bringing to their work- the time was right to  introduce IN SCHOOL book packs much like the leveled books that I send home for practice. The new routine involves students finding a solo space, working their way though on-level books using all their superpowers (see previous post), and logging the titles of books they have read in a reader's notebook. At other times during the day (Quiet Time and Explore) I pull children aside to check in on their fluency and comprehension and add a little note in their log. We are building independence each day!

You've seen what the children are doing independently and now you can have a look at the class meeting "The Marble Challenge" with their big buddies.  This was a hands on experiment connected to our Force and Motion unit in science.  Check out the ways in which children are making the marble: move without using their hands to push it, turn a corner, hit a target and move an object.

Lastly, I wanted to share the lesson on handwashing that Nurse Casani brought to our class.  Through the use of a special lotion and a black light, we were able to practice handwashing techniques that will insure the germs are scrubbed away!

Shining Stars

I think this happens at this point in the year every year but it always amazes me!  Truly, I feel so fortunate to witness this kind of development- I think it's one of the reasons I love Kindergarten so much.  This post is dedicated to children "taking that leap"- seeing themselves as capable and recognizing their own strengths and achievements.  Here you can get a glimpse if one student co-leading the intro to the bowling unit in P.E.

Next, have a look at students self monitoring their popcorn words with word rings- words they are confident with on one side and challenge words on the other.

Here you can see a glimpse of whole group handwriting instruction.

And lastly, some future female mathematicians!  Look at the concentration and focus.

I Love to Read and Olympics Week!

The week before February Break was action packed- literally!  I will take you on a look back at the week's events starting with Friday's Orchard School Winter Olympics in the gym.

Before the ceremonies began, our class was highlighted because of the letters of encouragement we wrote to the US Women's and Men's Nordic Ski Team.  If you haven't already heard (thanks to Mr. White's connections) we sent good luck letters as well as a list of questions and Jessie Diggins- now an olympic gold medalist wrote us back!  Here is a look at the crew holding up their letters while Mrs. Frostman read Jessie's responses.

Here is a look at the speed skating event (note the scarves on the floor) that our two class representatives competed in and a look at one of them with their gold medal.

My fifth grade daughter spent the day with us as a helper and here you can see her working with a student like a big buddy and playing the role of "The Great Boudini" in Mr. White's game of magical mind reading.

On Thursday we read with friends by the light of flashlights at Quiet Time.  Pretty cozy in our jammies!

On Wednesday Officer Kevin was our Guest Reader!  He read a super story about baseball and believing in yourself and answered many questions.

On Tuesday, we had February's Farm to School Lesson and learned about cheddar cheese, where it comes from and how the aging process changes it's flavor.  It all begins with the cow!

Lastly, we began the week with "read with a stuffie" as an I Love to Read Week activity.  You can see from the picture below that our cuddly friends inspired reading and and lots more.

Hard At Work

    In looking back over the last several posts I noticced how many special events and celebrations I've documented.  It's true, we like to "woop it up" in kindergarten and there are so many "firsts". BUT... it's also true that the children are working very hard and building new competencies every day.  This post is dedicated to sharing about some of their recent work in Writing and Math.
    Below you can see three consecutive Morning Message questions or "jobs". They all relate to and build on one another.  You can see us working on representing a combination of five in a picture and an equation.  You can also see us moving on from five by relating a nickel and three pennies to a ten frame with 5 dots on the top 3 on the bottom.

Each day I assist the children in reading the message and send them off to their work spots with a small piece of paper to record their thinking.  The children then tape their papers up and we learn from the variety of responses.

In the pictures above you can see us integrating recent learning in Math and Literacy by doing a written response to the story A Chair For My Mother (upper left).  In this book a family saves coins in a jar for the perfect, comfortable chair- one that a hard working mom can really relax in at the end of a long day.  In the upper right photo, you can see us working on many ways to represent numbers (number bonds, 10 frames, equations...).  In the lower left photo we are doing coin rubbings to make pictures of coin jars and write about what we might want to save for.  And finally, in the lower right, the children are completing a worksheet that involves counting by 5's (or nickels) to add up to different amounts.  Lots of connections- lots of learning!

Friendship is Worth Celebrating

On Monday of last week we worked with our fifth grade buddies to make Valentines for adults in the school who are not classroom teachers.  It was fun working together to send a bit of appreciation to our custodians, cafeteria helpers, guidance counselors, and specials teachers.  On Tuesday we decorated collection bags for our classroom valentines and below you can see us reveling in the "kindness of cards" and having fun with valentine "fortune tellers".  Friendship Salad was delicious but taking photos while chopping fruit was challenging. On Thursday we participated in the science of "glitter explosions" for Logan's Candle Day.  It was a sparkly- bubbly- baking soda and vinegar-y good time.