Variety is the Spice of Life

A glass half empty view would say this past week was marked by indoor recess, but a glass half full view would focus on the variety of activities that DID happen!  Lets begin with an outdoor playtime where it wasn't so icy... right outside our own back door.

That was a highlight from mid-day on Monday, and here is look at us making winter themed information posters with our big buddies on Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday we really got into sauerkraut with a Farm to School lesson about fermentation.

Later in the week we let Gerald and Piggie take us on a Popcorn Word hunt.  Have a look at how tuned in the children are to spotting Popcorn words as they read.

This chart and accompanying list do a nice job summarizing some recent Math learning.

Now, after all that you might need a break too.  Here's a look at us on Friday doing a guiding relaxation complete with eye pillows.  Well deserved for sure.

Let the Pictures Speak for Themselves

In the last post I mentioned that the class was compiling a list of the reasons why they think Elephant and Piggie books are great for Kindergarten readers- here it is:

And, to show our deep appreciation for Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie we have artistically displayed some of their quotes- talking bubble style!

Turning our attention to the wonders of snow, these photos attempt to capture the magic of making and unfolding your own 6-sided paper snowflake-

Paper snow is pretty fun but what are our favorite things to do in real snow?  Check it out:

And lastly, you may have seen your own kindergartner's "computer painted" self portrait come home in their folder, but here is a look at the display in our room:

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Throughout this past week our class engaged in several activities to help understand  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s monumental contribution to our country. We made mini books about MLK's life and wrote about making the world a better place with our big buddies. With Ms. Garland's class we watched a clip of MLK's famous "I Have A Dream" speech and as a Kindergarten grade level we attended a presentation by some SBHS students and five fifth graders from Orchard. Together, they brought Martin's words "only in the darkness can you see the stars" to life. Mr. White shared a photo of Dr. King with his father and son that inspired one of our classmates to make his own drawing.  Kindergartners connect easily with MLK's messages of using words not violence, standing up for what is fair, persevering for a cause and using words not violence to insure equal rights for all.

Challenging Ourselves and Being Silly Too!

Over several recent Math lessons the class has been working with the concept of "doubles".  We've been arranging quantities "pairwise" on a 10 frame to see if if every cube has a partner.  If so, it's an even number and can be expressed in with a doubles fact (1+1= 2, 2+2=4, but not so with a fact like 1+2=3).  Here is a look at partners playing a game called "Grab Bag Doubles".  You reach in to grab some cubes, arrange them  on a ten frame to see if it is a"doubles number" (the number of cubes in the top row is the same as the number in the bottom row) and if so, you earn a tally.  First partner with 5 tallies wins!

Games make learning fun in math but they are also a great way for us to enjoy being together at Explore time.  Here is a little look at some of the games that have been brought in for this month's Sharing Theme: Pie Face Showdown and Hungry Hippos!

Time Seems to be Slipping Away

There is a lot to catch up on as I missed posting last week.  When we returned from break our book friends Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie burst on the scene to help us with our Reading Super Powers.  You may have read in the newsletter about Pointer Power (touch each word), Partner Power (two heads are better than one) and Sound Power (say each letter's sound to figure out unknown words).  Since then we've added Picture Power (the familiar "what might that say?") and  Re-Read Power (does it make sense?).  Take a look at all these in action.

We've also had fun learning to draw Gerald and Piggie following author/illustrator Mo Willem's directions.  Have a look:

When I asked the class why Elephant and Piggie books are SO great for Kindergarten readers, they has many insightful responses.  Stay tuned to the blog for a future posting of their answers!

Celebrate!

The week before the break was marked by much excitement for the many reasons to celebrate. We had so much fun sharing in our first Candle Day of the year- learning about Hanukkah and playing the driedel game! A popular Explore time activity last week was creating highly decorated fairy and animal homes- thinking about keeping those little creatures warm on the Winter Solstice! In the days before our Winter Workshop we found some time to practice mindful movement with one of our favorite websites- Cosmic Kids.  And finally, Friday came! Have a look at us creating glitter calming jars, picture frames, bookmarks and snacking too at our Winter Workshop.  (Sorry no pictures of creating sachets or bird feeders but many thanks to parent helpers!)

December rushes by in a blink!

It struck me at the very beginning of last week that I missed blogging the weekend before! Apologies for the lag but I will pick up right where we left off.   Below you will see a glimpse of the students in the midst of "step 3" of our story writing process (use pictures and words to give your story a beginning, middle and end).  I hope you can get a sense of the concentration and perseverance that the children brought to this process.  Other important events from the week of 12/11-12/15 included our first session with Ms. Courcelle (tech integration specialist) and the chromebooks!  We've been working on our skills with the track pad- clicking and dragging!  (Some of the games we use to practice are linking to this blog on the right hand side- you can check them out).  Lastly you will see Mr. White reading a great non-fiction book about birds flying south that extended our learning about hibernation, migration and adaptation.  Check out the evented spelling on the white board behind him.