Classroom News

I can hardly believe all we have accomplished recently!  Here is a little update on what our hard working kindergarten friends have been up to:

Reading Workshop

During reading workshop, we spent time thinking about who we are as readers.  As we explored various genres, we discovered that we are all unique readers who have different interests in books!  Some of us like poetry books, while others enjoy books about animals.  Some of us were excited about dinosaur books, and others love fairy tales.  Identifying these favorites will help us choose books that are a good fit for us, but we learned that it is also important to try different kinds of books to see what else is out there that we may enjoy!

We also learned about the differences between fiction and non-fiction books.  These smart thinking kindergarteners used what they learned to look through a bin of books and determine which ones were fiction and which were non-fiction.  Another reading skill that was introduced is how we use illustrations to help us make meaning of the words as we read.  Finally, we learned that a story has a beginning, middle and an end, which helps us to follow and understand the storyline.

We also introduced the punctuation marks that we see most frequently- the comma, period, exclamation mark, and question mark.  We read together and practiced pausing at commas, stopping at periods, and changing our voices as we read sentences with an exclamation mark or question mark.

Writing Workshop

Now that we have a few pieces of writing in our writing workshop folders, we met with our writing partners to share what we've written so far.  It was so exciting to hear these authors sharing feedback and compliments with one another!  We also added stickers to our writing folders- a red sticker on one side for work that is finished, and a green sticker on the other side for pieces that we are still working on.  We learned that "when you think you're done, you've only just begun", and authors often go back to a piece and add to the pictures, and add to the words to improve their writing!

Math

Our table groups worked together to explore the concept of volume.  We took turns scooping, pouring, and counting to measure how much each container could hold!

Another mathematical concept we worked with was different ways to make patterns.  The pictures above show us working on color patterns.  We also played a fun game where we used body movements to make patterns with our actions!

Next, we worked in cooperative groups to sort coins.  We discovered there are many ways to sort coins!  Students sorted by color, size, thickness, by smooth or rough edges, and by what they found on the tails side of the coin.  

A few weeks ago, we explored the concept of shorter and longer, and this week, we took that a step further as we identified objects around the room that were shorter or taller than we are!  The students drew and labeled an item in the classroom of their choice, and then added it to our chart to show if it was taller, shorter, or about the same size as they are.  

LMC

Computer time in the LMC is always a highlight of our week!  Most recently, we have practiced our click and drag skills with a shape sort, and learned how to login to PebbleGo.  PebbleGo is a fantastic resource we will use to research various topics.  It is very kindergarten friendly, as the text is read aloud to you on each page!  If you would like to check it out at home, feel free to email me and I will send you the login information!

"Me Bag" Sharing

When Nicholas shared his "Me Bag" with the class, we learned so much about him!  We found out that he has a pug named Bruiser, he loves his stuffed bear, spending time with his family, and playing with Legos.  We also enjoyed a visit from his dad as our guest reader, with the story, Mean Jean the Recess Queen!

Sloane was next to share her "Me Bag", and we learned that she wants to be a cowgirl when she grows up!  She also loves dogs, her baby doll Isabelle, and spending time with her family.  Sloane also shared that she moved here from sunny Florida, and her favorite place to visit is Sea World!

Name Centers

During center time the past two weeks, we have really enjoyed exploring one another's names with our name centers!  We matched letter cards and magnetic letters to spell our names, and those of our friends, did name puzzles to reveal a hidden picture, completed an ABC train puzzle, and sorted uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet and put them in order.  

Science

One of our science units this year focuses on weather.  As a part of this year long unit, we will track the weather.  We do this as part of our daily calendar routine, and at the end of each month, we transfer the weather data we collected into our science journals.  We can't wait to see what patterns develop!

Speaking of calendars, in your child's backpack on Friday, they brought home an October calendar and a letter about how to use it at home.  It is a great way to reinforce some of these mathematical concepts we are learning at school!

Thank you for all of your support at home!