Teddy Bear Day!

We had a wonderful Teddy Bear Picnic!  It was a great celebration of all the hard work the Connected Kinders have done so far this year.  Here is the song/story that inspired the day.

Here are some pictures of our day:

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We did many special games and activities; however, one of the class's favorites was going on a bear hunt! I promised I would put the song on the blog so they could share it with you! Enjoy!

Super Science

This week we did our first science experiment!  Science is so amazing!  The objectives of our first science lesson was to introduce what a scientist is, follow step by step procedures to complete an experiment, make predictions, record our findings, and get EXCITED about science.  Science lesson one was a complete success!

To begin the lesson, we discussed what a scientist is and we watched a power point created by a teacher in Texas on different kinds of scientists in our world.  We found that a scientist is someone who studies the world around them...and we can all be scientists.  Click here to be linked to the power point.

Next was the experiment.  Each scientist pair had a plate of milk with drops of food coloring, a Q-tip, and a small cup with dish soap.  The students were to dip the Q-tip in the soap and then in the food coloring to see what would happen.  Some of the predictions were the plate would explode, the milk would start smoking, and the colors would make a rainbow.  Here is what did happen:

I love the "OOhhh"s and "Ahhhh"s and squeals of delight!  Even Grandma Barb, our classroom's foster grandma and wonderful help, was wowed!  After conducting the experiment a few more times, students drew what happened so we can put the results in our science notebooks.  Look at these great journal entries!

Magnificent Math

This week we focused on two very important Kindergarten Mathematics Standards from the common core.   First, we practice counting objects with 1 to 1 matching.

One way we practiced this important standard was to play a game.  In this game, students had to roll a die.  They counted the dots on the dice and took that many small cubes.  Then, they placed the cubes on the game board.  The game board is filled with crayons and pencils.  The students had to place the cubes with 1 to 1 matching on the crayons and pencils.  The students took turns rolling, counting, and matching until the game board was filled.  The first student to cover all the crayons and pencils was the winner.  Of course, we all won because of all the math practice in this simple game!

Another important objective focus this week was to compare groups of objects and be able to identify which group has more and less.

To practice this common core standard, we again played some different games.  In the first game, students took turns rolling a die and taking that number of connecting cubes (more practice with one to one matching).  Then, when the connecting cubes were gone, the students stacked their cubes to see which player had more.  The games we play in math, not only help us practice academic skills but also help us with important social skills like taking turns, playing fair, and displaying good sportsmanship.  Once a pair of students found out who had the greater number of cubes, the students shook hands and began a new game.

The other comparing game is called "Spill and Compare."  Spill and Compare is a game that students can play by themselves or with a partner.  For this game, students are given 10 two color counters and a small cup.  Then, they shake and spill their cup.  The counters land some with red up and some with yellow.  The students sort by color and line the counters up to determine if they have more red or yellow counters.  Sometimes, the students found they had the same number of red and yellow.  The students recorded the spill on their paper and tried again.  This would be a great game to play at home for extra practice.  Instead of two color counters, you could use pennies and record more heads or tails.

   

Good Press

Another appearance on the news. I am so proud of the Connected Kinders! Click here for a link to the article or watch below.

I Can Read

We have quite a wonderful collection of Environmental Print in our classroom.  Thank you for all your hard work on the homework.  We have been reading our Environmental Print and identifying the letters and sounds we know.  We also made our own I Can Read books.  The students are proud of all that they already know!

We have been playing a partner game in class with the Environmental Print to practice identifying initial sounds.  To play the game, students spin a spinner.  When the spinner lands on a sign, students identify and graph the initial sound.  It is a perfect game for kinders, lots and lots of practice and no real competition.   

The students really enjoyed this game in class, so I am sending a copy home this Wednesday as shared homework.  To make your own spinner, hold a pencil through a paperclip and spin the paperclip.  Play the game for about 15 minutes and send in the graph to show me that you and your child have played.  Feel free to call me if you have any questions on how to play.  Thank you for your continued support.

Counting Books

We have read several different counting books in math this week.  We read Anno's Counting Book, The Gummi Candy Counting Book, Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, and Rooster Off to See the World.  Then, we made our own counting books.  You will find your child's counting book in this week's Wednesday envelope.  They worked very hard on their drawings.  On Friday, we tried using the app Scribble Press to make our own counting ibooks.  The children had to write a number on each page and put that corresponding number of stickers on the page.  We still have some work to do on our ibooks before they are all published; however, here is a link to one that is finished:
Scribble Press: Imagine Create Publish

Amazing App

Letter School is a kid and teacher favorite.  It is an amazing handwriting/phonics app.  The app allows the students to practice forming letters and numbers correctly.  With each letter, students are told the letter name, sound, and a word that begins with that letter.  Next, the students learn to form the letter in three interactive steps: Tap, Trace, and Write.  The app gives immediate and specific feedback.  With it's amazing graphics and brilliant animations the children think they are playing a fun game while they are really getting specific, authentic, guided practice. Incredible!

What I Am

One of our focus words this week was the word "I." Since we are still getting to know each other, we cut out giant "I"s. Then, we decorated the "I"s to tell the class more about us. On the "I" we put our favorite colors, something we can do, foods we like, and a little about our family. Then, the children got to share with each other. The giant "I"s came home last Wednesday in the take home envelopes.

We have been watching and learning an inspiring song called "What I Am."  I love to hear the kids sing along and they have some great dance moves!  Below is the video of this great song:

 I typed up part of the song and we glued it to the back of the "I." Then, the students found all I's in the song and highlighted them. Just like the song says, we are becoming "stronger" readers and writers everyday!

Pete the Cat

Our class is LOVING Pete the Cat books.  Pete the Cat is a delightful, rocking cat that has a terrific attitude...It is all good.  There are three stories about Pete the Cat: one about his favorite pair of shoes, one about school, and the newest one about his four groovy buttons.  The kids love Pete's songs in each story.  The first two books are available in the book orders coming home this week.  The newest book is still in hardcover, I just saw it at Target this weekend.  Click below each book picture to listen to the stories.

Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes

Pete the Cat, Rocking in My School Shoes

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

One of the activities we did with the books was this craft. We made our own Pete the Cats using some of the shapes we have been working on. During the project the students had to cut a circle and identify different sizes of rectangles, triangles, and squares. They also had to follow directions with the placement of the shapes. Each child picked a color for his or her shoes, then wrote "I" in the sentence "I love my ______ shoes." The kids worked very hard and did a great job!

QR Blue Balloon Hunt

On Friday, we read this story about a special blue balloon.  The balloon was indestructible and magically changed shapes.  At the end of the book, the blue balloon had an exciting adventure for the Connected Kinders.  We found a note, just for us, attached to the end of the book.  The note had a QR code with a clue.

The children scanned the code.  Up popped a picture of Mrs. Fleming, our librarian.  Under her picture, it said to find a square.  We walked to the library and found a few blue balloons.  Only one of the balloons was a square.  When we picked up the square balloon, we found another QR code....another clue.  Here it is:

This clue said to find our fifth grade buddy room and a circle.  The QR clues continued, taking the Connected Kinders around the building to important people like Mrs. Crumb our secretary, Mrs. Knutson our counselor, and even Mrs. Wolverton our principal.  At each stop, the children had to identify another shape to find the next clue.

The final clue, led the Connected Kinders back to our classroom where they found a blue bag.  On the bag, there was a note that said:
"You Smarties!  Here is a treat for all your hard work!  Nice job on your shapes and finding your way around Eagle Cliffs. "
And, inside the bag.....

Math

In addition to the sorting and graphing we have been doing in math, this week we also focused on the numbers 0-5.  We practiced counting, matching, identifying, ordering, comparing, and writing these numbers.  We will be having many experiences with counting and exploring number with a variety of materials in order to develop a meaningful sense of number.  Stay tuned for activities you can work on at home with your child.

Learning Through Play

Center time is one of the students' favorite times of the day.  The children love this time because they get to play.  Little do they know, this play is developing many important skills related to their academic and social development.  At each center, the students are in groups of 4.  Center time is filled with social interaction so the children are practicing important social skills like sharing, taking turns, cooperating, using manners, polite conversation, and encouraging others.  They are also learning to handle and clean up classroom materials.

Currently we have five centers going.  Each center is engaging, fun, and enriching.  The Reading Garden is our classroom library.  At this center students enjoy books.  There are a variety of fiction and nonfiction books, books we have read as a class, books we have written as a class, and series books.  Students find a comfy spot and read.  They can read alone or with a friend.

At the puzzle station, students cooperate to put together puzzles.  Puzzles are great for developing spacial relationships and thinking strategies.  The difficult puzzles test perseverance. In the art center, students can create projects using different media like markers, crayons, and paint.  The imagination station is for dramatic play.  This is a great center for developing oral language and creating stories.

 Finally, we have the building center.  Students are building with blocks now.  Through play, students are developing gross and fine motor skills, experimenting with shape, and using problems solving skills.  Just last Friday, I overheard a group of kids talking about how the rhombus wouldn't balance on top but maybe a semi circle would work!  I was thrilled to hear such specific mathematical language. Click on the slideshow below to see the kids in action during center time.

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Daily Data

As part of getting to know each other and thinking like mathematicians, we have been observing, sorting, and collecting data about each other.  Then we report our data findings in different graphs to help us analyze the information.  For instance, we wanted to know more about different eye colors in our room.  We sorted ourselves into blue eyes, brown eyes, and green eyes to make a human graph.  Next, each child made an eye and colored the eye to match their color.  Last, we organized the eyes onto a graph and discussed the results.  One thing we discovered is that most kids had blue eyes in our class.  So far, we collected data and made graphs for boys and girls, age, eye color, and number of letters in our names.

All these graphs were done as a whole group.  We also used the Sid the Science Kid, Science Fair app to practice these concepts independently.  Think statistics are boring? No, no, no. Not with May and her awesome “Chart It!” game. Players organize her miniature stuffed animals, balloon creatures, origami, silly faces, and other cool stuff on a graph by observing shared traits. These traits can include color, shape, orientation, and more. May has seven different collections, each of which has ten items and three graphs or charts.  This app provided lots of engaging practice with sorting, classifying, counting, and graphing.

Reading Rainbow

This summer Reading Rainbow launched an amazing app.  Reading Rainbow was one of my favorite television shows growing up and the app does not disappoint this loyal fan.  With some of the grant money from Tom and Susan Wardell, I have been able to purchase a subscription to Reading Rainbow.  The subscription allows for each student to have access to 100's of books and videos collected by Reading Rainbow.  The students can select books they want read to them and they can go on educational video field trips. But you don't have to take my word for it.... watch the trailer below to see what this app has to offer.
We have had a few Reading Rainbow sessions in class. The kids are so engaged in reading during this time. Their eyes light up as they "turn" through the pages of the digital books. You can here giggles as students listen to funny stories and "WOW"s when the students see and hear something interesting. They are recommending books to each other and are proud of the stickers they have collected for reading books in the app. I'm sure this will be a favorite app all year long.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a great book for learning about letters.  The book is a class favorite and we have read it together many times.  It is such a favorite, that I have 22 copies of the book!  We are able to read along with the audio recording and each child can hold the book and follow along.    

Not only have we read and listened to the book, but we have done many activities surrounding the story.  We worked on identifying and matching capital and lower case letters using the interactive whiteboard.  In one of the lessons, students found a lower case letter and moved it across the coconut tree with the wand.  When the letter went across the tree it turned into the capital letter.  Another one of the interactive whiteboard activities had students match the uppercase and lower case letters.

We made our own Chicka Chicka Trees that are now hanging in the hallway.  The children worked very hard to draw and cut their trees.  The leaves were made without using a tracer!  Each leaf is unique!  After gluing the tree together, the students had to find the letters that are in their name to add to their tree.  We also incorporated math by counting the letters in our names.  We collected the data about the length of every student's name to make a class graph.  We found that the longest name in our class has 8 letters and there are 10 names that have 6 letters in them.