In reading group we read the Mo Willems’ book I Am Invited to a Party! In the story, Piggie gets invited to a party and asks Elephant to come with him. They do not know what type of party it is, so they discuss how they should dress. They end up dressing for a fancy, costume, pool party.
After each reading the kindergartners completed different activities. They wrote about what they were wondering about, and what kind of party they would want to go to. Then, they drew what they thought Elephant and Piggie did at the party, and what they would wear if they went to a party.
A Peek Into the Next Weeks
-The students will be reading Waiting is so Hard
-The students will participate in comprehension and evaluative activites.
-The students will participate in discussion about the story.
This week the students learned all about pumpkins and the different parts like: flesh, pulp, stem, seeds and rind. They were able to explore the inside of a pumpkin by digging out the insides and touching the seeds and pulp. The students also created a venn diagram of apples and pumpkins.
A peek into next week: Bats
Kindergarten: Parts of Plants
The students learned the characteristics and parts of trees, flowers, leaves, insects and arachnids by using and working with the puzzles and control charts in the classroom.
This week the students learned all about apples and all the parts that make up an apple like the skin, flesh, core, seeds and stem. The students enjoyed tasting different types of apples: granny smith, red delicious, gala and honey crisp. They also discovered what the inside of an apple looks like and how apples grow. The students even had the chance to do apple stamping and make homemade applesauce.
A peek into next week: Pumpkins
Kindergarten: Parts of Animals (mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and arachnids)
The kindergarten students learned the characteristics and body parts of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish by using and working with the animal puzzles and control charts in the classroom.
These past two weeks, we read the Mo Willems’ book We Are in a Book. In this book the characters figure out they are in a book. They decide that it would be fun to make the readers say words. This amuses them a lot, and they continue to make the reader say words. Gerald finds out that the book is going to end and this makes him sad, so he and Piggie ask to be read again.
After I read aloud to the students, we had discussions about the book, they drew scenes from the story, wrote about what they were wondering during the story, and wrote about how the characters felt in the story. For the last reading, we made puppets and the students acted out the story with their puppets while I read.
A Peek Into the Next Two Weeks
-The students will listen to the Mo Willems’ book I Am Invited to a Party!
-The students will participate in group discussions.
-The students will complete comprehension activities.
This week the students learned that a leaf is one of the most important parts of a plant. They discovered that leaves produce food for the plant through a process called photosynthesis, and that leaves of different plants vary widely in size, shape and color. Also, the students learned the life cycle of a leaf and why leaves change color in the fall. They discovered the different parts of a leaf like: veins, blade, midrib, petiole and stipule.
A peek into next week: Apples
Kindergarten: Biggest (galaxy) to Smallest (person/atom)
This week the kindergarten students started forming an understanding of their relationship to the larger world. They discovered that different places exists within a larger place. They reviewed their place in the universe and geographic location.
A peek into next week: Parts of Animals (mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and arachnids)
Over the past two weeks, we read the book My New Friend Is So Fun. In this book, Elephant and Snake find out that their best friends are playing together. They get worried that their best friends are having more fun together and will forget about them. It ends up that Piggie and Brian Bat (Elephant and Snake’s best friends) were playing best friend games. They decided to draw their best friends, Elephant and Snake. At the end the two main characters are happy their friends are having fun.
After the readings, the kindergartners participated in discussions, writing activities, and drawing activities to aid in comprehension. Once the students are finished with their papers, they share and we discuss their ideas.
A Peek Into the Next Two Weeks
-The students will be listening to the Mo Willems book, We Are in a Book.
-The students will be participating in comprehension and evaluative activities.
-The students will be participating in a craft that goes along with the story.
This past week the students learned about various parts of the human body. They discovered that even though all of the components of the human body work differently, they still manage to work together. They also developed an understanding of the basic functions of the bodies main components.
A peek into next week: Leaves
Kindergarten: Landforms
The past week the kindergarten students learned and explored the difference between a lake, island, bay, peninsula, gulf, cape, isthmus, strait, chain of lakes, and archipelago.
A peek into next week: Biggest (galaxy) to Smallest (person/atom)
This past week the children learned how our five senses help us understand and explore the world around us. They learned that our five senses help us collect information about ourselves and our surroundings. They also learned to identify the five senses: hearing, tasting, smelling, touching and seeing. We discovered that sometimes we use two or more senses at once; and how important it is for our senses to work together. The children had the opportunity to practice using their senses to determine properties of objects and distinguish them from one another.
A peek into next week: Body Parts
Kindergarten: Ohio and surrounding states
This past week the kindergarten students learned where Ohio is located on a map of the USA and the names of all the surrounding states Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan. They also learned different fun facts about Ohio like the state bird is a cardinal and that Ohio’s state flag is the only state flag that isn’t a rectangle.
This week the students learned what they can do when they are angry, happy, sad, frustrated, excited etc. They learned different ways to manage their feelings and emotions. They also practiced how to process, identify and appropriately express their emotions in different scenarios throughout the week.
A peek into next week: Five Senses
Kindergarten: North America
The students learned where Canada, USA and Mexico are located on a map of North America. They also became familiar with and the location of different bodies of water such as: The Hudson Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
A peek into next week: Ohio and surrounding states
For the first two weeks of reading group, the students listened to a Mo Willems book, A Big Guy Took My Ball. The group followed along with me while I read aloud and liked to repeat after me. After each reading, the students completed an activity such as writing about what they were wondering during the story, drawing a scene from the story, and discussing how they would feel if they were the characters.