All on Their Own

 Many blog posts are devoted to themes we are learning about as a class or specific learning experiences that I have planned. In this post I want to highlight some of the innovative choices and projects that the children come up with all on there own.  This happens mainly at Explore Time, but also at Quiet Time and sometimes when it's least expected!  Being able to learn independently as well as from peers is just as important as learning from a teacher!  These pictures celebrate those efforts.

Sometimes learning from other parts of the day finds it's way into the children's free time. Here you can see a classmate making a drawing of a self regulation activity we did called "Be the Pond". 

In this exercise Jamie from Cosmic Kids Yoga talked us through an analogy for returning to calmness- the idea being that we are the pond and the fish that swim by are fleeting feelings.

Math with coins became art at Explore Time!

It's Time to Tap a Tree!

 What makes Vermonters able to put up with Mud Season? ...Maple Syrup!  Yes, it's that time of year and on Friday we tapped a tree in the Orchard woods.  As if on cue, we stepped back in anticipation and saw a few drops of sap dipping off the spile (that's the metal spout that "tapped" into the drilled hole if you didn't know). I'm not sure how much sap we'll collect, but we're going to learn about the process of making syrup and how it's both changed and stayed the same over time. ...And, it's always fun to spend some time in the woods! 

Amazing Animal Month Continues...

 Some of the best learning that happens in Kindergarten (and school in general) is when the children are able to learn from one another.  Our sharing theme this month is providing this type of opportunity.  Have a look at one of our classmates sharing three cool facts about gorillas.

On Friday ALL the children had a chance to take on the role of teacher because that's what the class chose to do for our 100 Apple Core Celebration- "1/2 the day with "kids in charge and 1/2 the day with you was in charge" was how this scheme was explained to me and it went beautifully. Below you will see children leading the morning message routine and explaining activities at the doc cam. 

Two of our favorite animals right not continue to be Gerald the elephant and Piggie the pig. We had a great time creating their likenesses with signature expressions and phrases in talking bubbles.  Below you can see the process but you'll have to revisit the blog next week for a look at the final pieces on display in the hallway.

Animals have been playing a roll in the children's self-directed play as well.  Here you can see an example of a popular choice at Explore Time- making "rides" for the stuffies.

Amazing Amimals Month Kicks Off

 Frequent readers of the blog (or classroom newsletter) might know that every month we share on a theme in our classroom.  March's theme is "Amazing Animals".  To go along with this, our pretend area has become a Vet's office and in Workshop, we have immersed ourselves in Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie books! In this blog post you will see Kindergarteners taking extraordinary care as they examine and treat stuffie pets in the Vet's office and learn to draw Gerald the elephant and Piggie the Pig in Mo Willems' style. What you might not be able to see from the photos, is the care they are showing for one another as they take turns in the pretend area (both trading off roles and rotating through in groups of 3), AND as they negotiate learning to draw step by step but in a whole group!  They are a wonderful crew.

FUNdamentally Friendship

This past Monday brought Valentine festivities which was a great way to launch into the week before break. Anticipation had been in the air for some time because the children have been writing notes to one another in the "Communication Station".  After spending the morning delivering cards to Valentine bags in groups of two and three, we took a break to come to the rug and open up our cards as as whole class.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the children preparing our Friendship [fruit] salad.  It was just a little to much to supervise the handwashing, fruit washing, and fruit cutting while also being a photographer! 

In the afternoon the children learned a new math game which is typical for us on a Monday, BUT in Valentine themed clothing things still felt pretty spirited.

It's easy to see friendship flourishing during Explore Time in the afternoon.  Often classmates ask me to take photos of their collaborative creations.

Later in the week we read and discussed this month's Reading to Raise Anti-Racist selection, The Arabic Quilt by Aya Khalil. This is a powerful story on many levels but our class was particularly taken with how we were able to learn some Arabic words by how they were used in context.  We also loved the idea of a name quilt and enjoyed seeing the colorful patterns that our names made when they were written out on a grid and each letter was assigned it's own color.

A final activity from the week that I wanted to share was creating our February self portraits on chromebooks! Since September, the children have been drawing pictures of themselves each month and building a year's long collection.  Here's a look at some of this work in February.

Growing in SO Many Ways

Looking back over the pictures from this week I was struck by the idea of PROGRESS- how far we've come this year as a class. This week we read an important book about kindness called Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed which tells the story of how one small act of kindness can have a huge effect because it spreads exponentially. As a teacher I feel that it's a hallmark of a caring classroom community when the teacher doesn't have to ask the question, "do you think we could spread kindness like that in our class?" because the children already decided to take it on themselves!  Here's a look into this past week...

These two pictures show us making chains of paper people. They are connected in a way that the spaces between the body's formed hearts! A few friends decided to connect their chain as a circle so the kindness could come full circle like it did in Ordinary Mary!

Above you can see that our pretend area became a Communication Station this week, set up entirely for card/mail making. It's been a lot of fun to have "mail call" at End Meeting.  The choice was so popular that on a few days we opened up the area and took over the whole back of the room with card making.

The academic growth of the past few months is apparent in the children's focus and independence. On the left you can see children self-monitoring which sight words they know and which they are still working on. On the right you can see children applying their skills with pattern blocks to a new activity on the Chromebooks.

A highlight of this whole month has been the video and Zoom book shares with family members. The class is having a super time meeting family members while connecting to books that include some favorites and some exciting new titles. I'm hearing from families that have zoomed what a respectful audience our crew is!

But just so you're clear- We DO set aside time to both chill, and let loose. I will leave you with a look at us doing a favorite movement break- The Triangle Dance, and the hallway outside our room that displays a craft project that has been personalized with writing from their journals.