Happy Halloween!

It was a fun and busy Monday in Kindergarten.  This morning we practiced writing the letters e and u and then read the poem "Five Little Pumpkins" and students were given the challenge to work in small groups and build a fence that the five pumpkins (orange ping pong balls) could sit on top of.  Some groups used great teamwork and communicated with one another to plan and build their fence.  Other groups expressed that it was a little difficult to work together because they all had different ideas and it was hard to decide on one but in the end all groups were successful and able to build a "fence" to hold the five little pumpkins.

In Math my friend "Decomposing Monster" came to visit and introduced what it means to decompose numbers.  Students remembered this word from our talk on how food can decompose but today learned that numbers decompose, or break apart into different parts.  When "Decomposing Monster" eats things he breaks them into two separate groups.  We then showed how to decompose the number 5 with cubes and also made an anchor chart with post it notes that matched our cubes.

For Reader's Workshop we listened to two of the Ezra Jack Keats books we've read so far: Peter's Chair and Whistle for Willie.  I also introduced a few new literacy stations: searching for letters with letter wands, illustrating a poem independently by listening to a recording of it on the iPad and sorting names by letters that are in your name and letters that are not.

We then had PE and ended the day by watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and eating a popcorn ball treat!  If you're out Trick or Treating Tonight have a wonderful time and stay warm!

Snow!

It was a wonderful and busy Thursday in Kindergarten.  This morning we read a book with lots of rhyming words, Duck in the Truck and Kindergarteners identified and added their own rhyming words to the read aloud.  We also sorted our names by names that had the letter S in them and letters that did not have the letter S.

After Music with Mrs. Hurley it was time to go to the woods!  We met by the Chestnut Tree again today and practiced staying completely silent for one minute.  Kindergarteners were able to hear the wind, cars driving by, planes overhead and birds.

When we returned from the Woods we listened to the book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and I introduced a project we will be starting next week inspired by this book.  All Kindergarteners will have a chance to make their own leaf creation on paper, we will photograph it, add text and voice to create our own digital book.  Be on the lookout for this next week!

We read another book by Ezra Jack Keats The Snowy Day and then created some paper collages inspired by Keats' books.

Acorn Art and Another Ezra Jack Keats Story!

This morning during play, some students had the chance to use some found acorns to create some art work!  We dipped the acorns in paint and then students dropped the acorn in a bin and rolled it around on a piece of paper to create some cool pieces of art.  This activity will be open for the rest of the week.

  

During Math today we worked on decomposing the number seven.  Using the ten frame and double sided counters we spilled the counters out and discovered that you can make seven in a variety of ways:

5+2

3+4

4+3

3+4

2+5

6+1

1+6

7+0

During Reader's Workshop I read another book by Ezra Jack Keats A Letter to Amy.  Kindergarteners are looking forward to these books about our main character Peter and today we met his friend Amy.  Today we guessed that Peter must be 7 years old because one student noticed 7 candles on Peter's cake!  It always surprises me how observant Kindergarteners are.  

During Reader's Workshop one station I introduced this week was Poems.  We have been engaging in the shared reading of the poem "Ten Red Apples" for about a week now.  Shared reading is an opportunity for all students to read a short, large text together.  This helps build confidence and fluency as readers as it is a repeated activity and all students are able to join in!  This week we started illustrating the poem working on adding pictures to match the words.  Eventually this will become an independent literacy station. 

A very busy day in Kindergarten!

This morning Mrs. Mellencamp visited our classroom and explained that on Friday the new UVM Mascot Rally Cat will be visiting for our community meeting!  In addition to Rally Cat visiting, all classes will also be wearing paper bag hats that we crafted this afternoon as a celebration for reaching 100 Cat Cards and earning a golden ticket.

This morning we also took some time to make self portraits focusing on using our special "skin color" crayons to make our portraits look as realistic as possible.  This art work is now hanging up in our classroom.

During reader's workshop I read another book by Ezra Jack Keats, Whistle for Willie and then we watched a short video to learn more about Ezra Jack Keats and where he got his inspiration for his books. We learned that it was important for him to write books that kids could relate to.  Kindergarten believes that Peter, the main character in many of Keat's books, must be in in K, 1st or 2nd grade because he isn't too tall and likes to play with things they like to play with like blocks and a stuffed alligator!

Learn more about Ezra Jack Keats here:

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/a-movie/

How have our apples changed!?

This morning Kindergarten was eager to check in on our apples.  Our prediction was correct and the apple core that was left out turned the most brown.  Students also noticed that it was mushy and a little bit black.  The whole apple with lemon juice did not change at all and the side of the apple in the water did not change too much but the side out of the water was starting to turn brown.  We look forward to observing how the apples continue to change over time.

In Math we did some more work with ten frames.  Students got their own ten frame and practiced filling it with certain amounts of cubes.  Students noticed that we can both add to and take away from the ten frame to make different combinations of numbers.

For Reader's Workshop we began an author study of Ezra Jack Keat's books.  I explained that the books we will be reading are all about the same person, or main character, named Peter.  Today we read Peter's chair and Kindergarten noticed how Peter changed over the course of the book.  At the beginning he did not want to share his things with his new baby sister and some students described him as mean but once Peter realized he was too big for his baby cradle, chair and crib he changed and decided to help his father paint his favorite chair for his sister.    

Also - this week the PTO is doing their annual pumpkin raffle!  Send your child in with a quarter to vote for their favorite pumpkin, decorated by my Smith teachers and staff.  Here is the Scaredy Squirrel pumpkin I created based on Melanie Watt's books:

Salamanders and Pine cones!

Did you know that Chestnut Trees are threatened to become extinct?  Well Mrs. Spinner and Mr. D's class found one that is producing chestnuts in our very own woods!  Today in the woods we took some time to meet at the Chestnut Tree and talk about how rare it is to find a Chestnut Tree.  Many students enjoyed finding chestnuts on the ground but had to be careful because chestnuts are quite prickly on the outside. 

We discussed how pine cones are able to open and close and watched this short video in our classroom:

We later tested this out by putting pinecones in water.  Students discovered that the pine cones in the cold water closed first and the pine cone in warmer water took longer to close.  We took the pinecones out of the water to dry and will check on Monday to see if the pine cones opened back up!  The pine cones close to protect the seeds inside. 

Apple Scientists!

This morning we conducted our apple experiment!  Kindergarten decided that we would test whether or not adding certain things to apples affects how slowly or quickly the apple will decay.  This experiment came from our read aloud, Pumpkin Jack, yesterday.  Kindergarten decided on apples because we have a lot of leftover apples from snack.  Kindergarten decided to put lemon juice on a cut apple and a whole apple, a cut apple in water, a cut apple in oil and a cut apple in a ziploc bag.  After that we discussed how scientists use what they know to make predictions about what they think will happen to their experiments over time.  Here is a chart of our predictions:

The apples will stay out and we will record the changes we notice over time with both words and photographs.

Mrs. Guilmette visited for Guidance this morning and brought her special breathing buddies with her!  Students had a wonderful time relaxing their bodies and practicing taking big belly breaths.  Mrs, Guilmette taught us that belly breaths can help us calm our bodies when we are angry, sad, or scared.

In Math today I introduced the ten frame.  A ten frame is used to build number sense, help students gain fluency in quickly recognizing 'how many?' and to better understand the strategies of composing and decomposing numbers.  After practicing as a whole group students had a chance to use our new iPad or the computer to play a 10 Frame game:  http://illuminations.nctm.org/activity.aspx?id=3565 which you can access at home.

This afternoon for reader's workshop we read a VERY silly book Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle and all had the opportunity to laugh together.

Our BIG word of the day - decay!

This week we have been talking about the life cycle of a pumpkin!  Yesterday morning we painted pumpkins on paper and later read the book Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington.  Today during Reader's Workshop I read the book Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell.  The boy in the book, Tim, left his carved pumpkin  "Jack" outside.  Kindergarteners predicted that the pumpkin would rot, get mushy, get flat and eventually grow into a new pumpkin.  After reading the book, we learned that another word for rot is decay and that when living things like apples, pumpkins and leaves decay they can either grow a new fruit or vegetable from the seeds or help trees grow with the nutrients in the soil.  This video from Sid the Science Kid taught us more about what happens when things decay:

This video prompted one student to ask: what would happen if we left an apple out to decay?  After eating my apple while Kindergarten was at the library I put the core it in a plastic container for Kindergarten to observe.  This conversation led to questioning what would happen if we put lemon on the apple (from an experiment done in preschool) versus the apple in the open air.  Kindergarten also wondered what would happen to the seeds if we cut the core, put the core in a ziploc bag so air couldn't get in too much or put the apple in water or oil.  Tomorrow we will test out this experiment!  Be on the lookout for change over time.

Happy Monday!

With a midweek day off and me away at a curriculum day, I feel like there are lots of Kindergarten updates!  Last week in the library Ms. Beth read the book Sophie's Squash.  A story of a girl named Sophie who names a squash Bernice after a trip to the farmer's market.  She brings the squash everywhere and refuses to let her mom cook it even after being warned that it will rot.  Ms. Beth brought two squashes into the library and Kindergarten students love to read to our squashes which they named Sophie and Bernice!

In math we have been working hard to write numerals.  This can often be frustrating for students but we have practiced writing our numbers in fun ways!  Today we listened to a number chant and practiced writing numerals in our math journals as we sang along. 

One of our favorite activities during Reader's Workshop has been letter lotto, or bingo.  Students love searching for the called letter and finding it on their bingo board.  This is also an excellent want to practice letter id, letter sounds and thinking of words that begin with that initial sound.  

Play Dough, Number Making and the Letter i

Happy Monday!  The week is off to a wonderful start.  We started our morning with reviewing the letters we have practiced so far: t, b, f, m, n, c, a and r.  Our Fundations phonics unit begins with introducing lowercase letters first, we review the name of the letter, the sound, think of words that start with that letter and practice forming the letters on our special letter writing boards.  Today we talked about the letter i.

Many thanks to one of our kindergartener's Mom who came and helped us make play dough this morning!  This was a first for me too and the play dough came out great.  We especially enjoy the cinnamon scent!

After play dough making and play we ate snack and then it was time for math.  For our Math Journals Kindergarteners were given the task of drawing a creature that had one ear, two heads and three feet.  We came up with some silly creatures.

Our book today was Apples by Gail Gibbons.  We learned that apple trees have been around for over 2 million years - wow!  During Reader' Workshop many kindergarteners worked to be letter detectives and searched for and cut out letters for a co-created alphabet chart.  After PE we finished up Reader's Workshop and then we got a special treat from a secret class who "booed," us.  This mystery class left us a poem, some marshmallow peeps, bubbles and a spider ring.  It is now our job to choose a different class to "boo."

Writing and Woods!

We started our morning with writer's workshop.  We missed writer's workshop yesterday morning due to guidance and kindergarteners were asking to get back to their drawing and writing books today!  Kindergartners are taking on the work of writers and really thinking about what they need to add to their drawings so that the reader will understand their stories.  After writer's workshop it was time for snack and then music with Mrs. Hurley.  After music we went to the woods!  There was a lot of building of wooden houses, a 'campfire,' fairy houses, castles as well as finding some cool things like mushrooms and chestnuts!  We have been very lucky to have such beautiful weather for our journey to the woods.

This afternoon I read the book Nightsong by Ari Berk about a young bat named Chiro setting off into the world for the first time.  I chose this book not only for the story but also for the beautiful illustrations explaining that sometimes when we read books we read them as writers to get ideas for our own books.  After Reader's Workshop we had a lovely afternoon playing and exploring!  I brought out a set of Lincoln Logs I found and many kids enjoyed building log houses with them.  Sometimes the classic toys are the best!

Practicing our Proper Pencil Grip!

This morning we started morning meeting with some laughter and a 'visit' from the Kid President:

After play and snack, Mrs. Guilmette joined us for Guidance where we spent more time talking about our feelings.  This tied in nicely with a new video from our friend Mojo who began to teach us about Empathy. A lot of Kindergarten is spent learning how to empathize and really understand the feelings of others in addition to yourself in order to support one another.  

We brought out our Math Journals again today and practiced writing the numerals 0 and 1.  In order to do this we learned how to properly grip a pencil using the "flip trick" : put it down with the point facing towards you, pinch it with your thumb and pointer finger and "flip" it back towards you.  

After recess and lunch, I read Little Owl's Night and then it was time for Reader's Workshop "Jobs."  We have a new workboard where students are working in groups of four to complete a set of 3 Literacy Centers.  These centers are activities that review a skill and can be completed (almost) independently.  This week students are working on independent reading, partner reading, a letter match game, listening to books on the computer and practicing letter formation with our special letter writing dry erase boards.  Students have really enjoyed this new format for Reader's Workshop.  For this week I will be supporting groups in building independence but this will be time I am able to meet with small groups and work on targeted literacy skills while others work at the centers.  After Reader's Workshop it was time for Art with Mrs. Hawkes and then dismissal. 

Writer's at Work in Kindergarten!

Today was an exciting day full of new routines and procedures!  Kindergarteners got their writing and drawing books this morning and were off to find a quiet spot to begin telling their first story on paper!  Everyone was very excited to begin using these special writing and drawing books.  We talked about how as writers we want to focus on adding details to our drawings so that whoever 'reads' our drawings will know the story.  Kindergarteners worked to use our skin color crayons to find the right color for themselves and other people in their stories.  It is exciting to want to move quickly to the next page but we talked about the importance of focusing on adding details so that the story makes sense to the reader.  We will work in these drawing and writing books, focusing on asking "what do I need to add so that when people read my drawing they know what my story is about," until they are ready to move away from one page stories to booklets.

In Math we also started something new today - math journals!  We will start our math time with an application (or word) problem that we will glue in our math journal.  Today our application problem was: Draw four apples.  Make some of the apples read and some apples green.  Some kindergarteners decided to also write an addition sentence underneath their drawing.  It helps to build concept development when you can make a connection between mathematical thinking and writing.

Homemade Apple Sauce!

We had a surplus of apples left over from our snack so Mrs. Slack was so kind to lend us her crock pot to make apple sauce!  During play some kindergartners helped to cut the apples into slices and add them to our crock pot along with some cinnamon, sugar and water.  We loved the smell of the apple sauce cooking all day and were excited to taste it after PE!


During Math we learned a new math game working on matching dots to numerals.  During Reader's Workshop I read one of my favorite books, The Little Old Lady Who was not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams and then we listened to the song (warning: it is catchy!).

After Reader's Workshop it was time for PE and then finally we ate our apple sauce and I read the book Apples for Everyone!