Take A Peek Into Our Week/Ms. Kate/January 11, 2017

Welcome back to school everyone!! Lol I think everyone was so happy to be back! This week was all about hibernation and migration. The kiddos had such a fun time learning about what these two words meant with fun books, special games, and crafts. It’s only Thursday and they have already grasped the concepts!!!

One of our friends has just started learning to read in one of our phonics folders!!! So proud of her!
Our friend here is working on the cards and counters. The purpose of this work is for the child to arrange the numerals in the correct order, to be able to place the proper quantity beneath each numeral, and to use the visual and muscular impression of odd and even numbers.
One of our kindergarteners is working on the small bead frame. This material is more of an abstract way to do the different math operations. This work is leading the children towards pencil to paper work without a material to help them.
The continent map puzzles purpose is to provide the names of the countries/states/provinces of each continent and the bodies of water that surround the continent.

Take A Peek Into Next Week:

Next week we will be learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The children will be doing a variety of activities that will teach how just because our skin color can be different from others we are still the same. We will also talk about his life and how he helped people. Throughout next week we will also talk about Rosa parks. It’s one of my favorite weeks!!


Take A Peek Into Reading Group | December 2017

Our new story Me First by Max Kornell is about a family who is learning about cooperation, and different types of games. This story takes place in a small town and the type of genre is fantasy fiction. These past few weeks the children have been working hard on session 1,and 2. In the first reading the children listened as I read the story, then they were able to share their questions about it. When students share what they wonder about it is the first step to understanding it. In our second reading we read the story aloud again, then we did a few activities that helped them think more deeply about some of the key details from the story. With this activity the children had to think about a situation that happened in the story. The purpose of rereading a selection or story helps us discover new things about a story. I have really seen such a difference in all of our friends thoughts and sharing questions these last few weeks! Super proud of them!!!

 

A Peek At Our Week | Week of December 4th | Ms. Kate’s Class

All week long we learned about Christmas around the world! We had so much fun learning about the different traditions and celebrations in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Together we read books from these countries, created fun holiday crafts from each of these countries, and even learned how to say Merry Christmas in different languages! I think it is so important to teach our children how other countries celebrate different things.

Pink Rhyming: One of our kindergarteners is working on the pink rhyming all by herself for the first time!!! This rhyming work is more advanced then our picture rhyming cards. The children are able to recognize the middle and ending sounds visually as well as sorting them into the different sound categories.
Dynamic Addition with the golden beads: When working on dynamic addition the child is recognizing the process of addition is simply the combining of equal or unequal quantities to form one large quantity. They are also exchanging ten of one hierarchy for one of the next.

 

One of our friends is working on our long cubing chain. The purpose of this work is to practice linear and skip counting. This material is also a preparatory activity for more advanced work in the elementary grades.
This week our children did so amazing on their kindness jar! From the first week of school till now they earned 237 puff balls that filled our entire bucket!!! Way to go! For their much deserved reward we had a special pj day full of treats and rewards!

 

This week I placed clay on our practical life shelf. It was a hit! Using clay is one way our children can use their creative imagination. I love this because it is so open ended and lets the child create anything. One of our friends created dice with the clay and used a fork to create the dots.Using clay helps build their muscles in their hands that will then help with their fine motor skills.
This week was all about Christmas around the world. In this picture the children are cutting out Christmas trees and gluing on sequins. We learned that the Christmas tree first started in Germany and was said that by having one in the house it took away the evil spirits of course some people doesn’t believe this and just go and buy a villa in spain and move there. It then became a world wide tradition. Crafts is a great way for children to grasp the idea or information in a different way. It also helps gain their fine motor skills by cutting, gluing and coloring.

Take A Peek Into Next Week:
The theme for next week is about the importance of giving to others. Together we will talk about the difference between a want vs. a need, making a helping others paper chain, making cookies for the fire fighters, creating bird feeders, and much much more!

Reminders:
Wednesday the 13th is our dress rehearsal at 6pm.

Friday the 15th is our Christmas show at 6pm!

Wednesday the 20th is pj, movie, and show and tell day!!!


Take A Peek Into Our Reading Group | November 30, 2017

This past week we got our new books! The children were super excited! The story we read was called The Three Wishes by Margot Zemach. Our first session we read the story together and then discussed our sharing questions as a class. Our second reading together we listened to the story again, we then read together the highlighted phrases and acted out a scene! Near the end of class the children were able to brainstorm their ideas about what they thought the wife was thinking when the sausages grew on the man’s nose? I love hearing the children listen to each other ideas and then share their own thoughts.


Take A Peek Into Our Reading Group!

Our friends have really enjoyed reading this poem and doing the various lessons every week! This week the children had to draw what they thought Beauty looked like. We discussed the ways the stray cat was described in the poem. The children then talked about The different ways the cat might look like. The other activity was a writing experience. The children had to discuss why they would or would not let the stray in. I love listening to the children’s answers, and seeing them think on their own. I then wrote their answers on the white board and the children then were able to copy down their answers.

New books arrive next week!! They are super excited:)


Take A Peek Into Our Week/Ms.Kate/November 29,2017

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday!! This past week and a half has been super fun and busy! Last week our class was busy preparing for our classroom Thanksgiving Feast. Our class made homemade applesauce, homemade butter, and a yummy chicken casserole. Together we cut and sliced up the veggies we needed, worked hard on measuring out the right ingrediants, and putting everything together. When children are able to help prepare dinner or any meal with their family it gives the child a sense of purpose, understands how much time and love goes into preparing a meal, and gives them a sense of accomplishment. We had a wonderful feast! This week our class focused on winter and what it means. Together we discussed how winter happens, clothes that we would wear during this season, winter storms and blizzards, and how snow is formed, we make sure to let know kids how Todller gear by Mad Coast Clothing is sure to made your kids look their best! I also wanted to say how proud I am of how hard these kiddos have been working on gaining more freedom in the classroom! Way to go!!!!

Here our friends are slicing and chopping up the celery for our chicken casserole. When doing this the children are learning a one step direction, gaining fine motor skills, and feeling the sense of accomplishment.
our final preparation for the feast was making our friendship tablecloth! The children were able to draw their friends, family, or what they were thankful for!
Sand Trays are a creative way to help kids learn to write letters, numbers, shapes, and pre-writing strokes. There are a ton of different ways that writing trays can be set up and used in letter formation. Essentially, a sand tray uses a low container (or TRAY) and a medium that can be moved and shifted for writing. Our friend is working on one of our form drawing booklets that is an introduction to our cursive letters.
One of our kindergarten students is working on their handwriting booklet. This booklet teaches our children the swing letters, as well as the different strokes. This booklet shows the child how to place the cursive letters properly on the lined paper.
The direct aim of flower arranging is to teach the child to cut and arrange flowers. With this lesson the child is working on concentration, order, independence, and teaching them that there is beauty in our world.
I can’t express how much love I have for each and every one of my kiddos in my class! To see them grow in a different way every day, see the love and kindness in their heart, and watch as they grow into their own individual makes my heart melt. So very thankful:)

Take A Peek Into Next Week:

Next week our classroom theme is Christmas around the world. We will be studying how other countries celebrate this holiday, the different traditions of families, and how certain things came to be ( decorating a tree, singing carols, santa, and more)!

 


Take A Peek At Our Week/Ms.Kate/November 16, 2017

This week our friends earned the freedom to go choose a work on their own! I am really happy to see more respect going on in our room. Our friends have Been practicing and using their manners, discussing different ways to can respect each other, and the words we can use that are polite.

One of our kindergarteners is working on our addition finger charts. This work helps the child memorize their math facts, number recognition, numerical order, and also fine motor skills.
Our friends really enjoy tracing their numbers. When tracing they are practicing their fine motor skills, holding a pencil correctly, gain hand eye coordination, and visual discrimination.
Learning how to cut is such an important skill to have. One of our questions in our progress reports asks if they are able to cut with scissors. Did you know that cutting allows a child to build up the tiny muscles in the palm of their hands. It also enhances their hand eye coordination, and encourages them to use their bilateral coordination which is using both sides of the body at the same time while each hand is performing it’s own task.

Take A Peek Into Next Week

We are getting ready for our classroom thanksgiving celebration. On Tuesday our class will be preparing our feast THEMSELVES! It will be a very special day:)


Take A Peek Into Our Week/ Ms. Kate/November 9, 2017

This week our class focused so very hard on respect and what that word truly means. We also worked on grace and courtesy lessons. We spent a lot of time working on a lot of our ground rules for our classroom as well.

 

One of our students is working on the lowercase initial stroke pages we have in our classroom. These strokes help the child at the begining steps for cursive writing. When you think of lowercase letters you notice that all of them start and end the same way. This work helps to prepare them in this way.

 

Another one of our friends is also working on her form drawings. She is tracing the different forms on lined paper. This work also helps prepare them for cursive.

 

When working on the 100 board the children are learning linear counting, and number recognition. Our friend here is also writing out 1 to 100. This helps with fine motor skills, number formation, and also with linear counting.
One of our kindergartener’s is working on static addition with the golden beads. The purpose is for the child to understand that the process of addition is simply the combining of equal or unequal quantities to form one large quantity.

Take A Peek Into Next Week:

Next week we will be focusing on manners, sharing, how to talk to friends, ground rules, and grace and courtesy.


Take A Peek Into Our Week | Ms. Kate | Week of October 30th

This week we learned all about Nutrition. We discussed the importance of exercise, went over My Plate and the foods you need to choose for it, the five food groups, and how to wash our hands the right way with a variety of hands on activities, songs, books, and videos.

The metal insets are used to help with pencil control, to refine hand movements in the preparation for writing. This work also helps with eye-hand coordination.
Today are friend was working on our Vertebrate and Invertebrate cards. These cards teach the child about which animal or insect has a back bone or the ones that do not. It also teaches the child about grouping and  how to place cards in the right category.
Me. Ame made a fun My Plate matching work. My Plate is the current nutritional guide that replaced the food pyramid. This plate shows children the 5 food groups that should be placed on their plate at every meal.
Weaving is such an excellent activity to bring into the classroom. Weaving not only promotes fine motor skills, but helps children learn how to create patterns and work through problems that may encounter while weaving. It can also be a beautiful way to express themselves artistically.

A Peek Into Next Week

Over the next couple of weeks we will be having many lessons on respect, grace and courtesy, kindness, and classroom rules.


Junior Great Books Reading Club | Kindergarten | Week of October 16th-23rd

This week we finished up with Jamaica’s Blue Marker. I really loved these last few classes because the children were really engaged in telling me how they would feel if they were Jamaica and their friend was moving away. I always like to start the class by telling them that we are a little family and they should never be nervous to raise their hand and to say how they feel. I want them to able to speak their mind and to think on their own without being judged.
At the end of each story the children have to rate on how well they shared throughout our meetings. They also have to come together and talk about what they all could do differently during our next reading. I like to write down all of their answers  they give me on our white board so that they are able to copy write in their own booklets.