Classroom News

Welcome back! I was so excited to see all of my kindergarten friends and hear all about their winter break fun! We have hit the ground running in 2018, and I am looking forward to all we will accomplish together. Some of the highlights of our first two weeks back are below:

Reading Workshop

When we returned from break, we wrapped up our study of fiction books. We focused on making connections, asking questions or wondering as we read, and reading with expression. We identified text signals that help us to make our reading more exciting. 

We also read a special book, The Crayon Box That Talked, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The crayons in the story did not get along, but eventually learned that they each had unique and beautiful qualities that, when joined together, could make amazing pictures that they could not make on their own. 

Next, we switched gears to focus on nonfiction selections. In this unit, we will learn about three different types of nonfiction books- reference, literary nonfiction, and biographies. We began by introducing a chart this week that helps us to organize our learning when reading nonfiction. We worked together as a group to identify things we thought we knew about a topic before reading (the game of soccer in this case), and things we wonder about the topic. As we read, we confirmed what we knew, identified any misconceptions, and recorded new learning and questions that came to mind. 

Finally, we learned about nonfiction text features that we will encounter as we explore various nonfiction texts. Features such as the table of contents, labels, headings, captions, fun facts, and the glossary can help us easily locate important information as we read!

Guided Reading

The assessment window for our Fountas and Pinnell running record assessments is open! Hooray! This is when I read one on one with each student to determine their reading level. Both decoding and comprehension skills are taken into account when determining the best reading level for success for each child.  I have a few more students to finish up with, and once I finish those assessments, we will be able to form our guided reading groups and begin meeting regularly for small group reading instruction. I cannot wait to watch their reading flourish!

Writing Workshop

During writing workshop time, we spent time writing about what fun things we did over winter break, our goals for 2018, and more labeling practice. Labeling is still a concept that we are working to strengthen, and we are working on incorporating the things we have labeled in our picture in our sentence below. This is a wonderful example of a student who has matched her picture and labels to her sentence.

Math

During our current math unit, our focus is on building concrete knowledge and number sense of the numbers 0-20. Through rhymes, whole group activities, and hands on work with math manipulatives, we are building a stronger understanding of one more and one less. We have worked on putting numbers in order, and determining what number is missing if there is one that is not included in the lineup. Another concept we have just introduced is the ten frame. We use ten frames to help us group numbers by fives and tens, and to make a visual representation of a number. 

Science

In addition to our year long study on tracking the weather, we have just started our science unit on motion, called Pushes & Pulls. We learned that various forms of motion have different speeds, directions, and paths. We went on a motion walk around our school to identify everyday examples of motion in the hallways. 

The second hand on a clock moved slowly, in a circle, and smoothly.

 The string on this work in the hallway blew from side to side, slowly, when people walked past.

The custodian's arm moved side to side, up and down, and in circles as he cleaned the glass on the doors.

The birdhouse in the courtyard was swinging, side to side, when the wind blew.

Pro Kids Show Assembly

Thanks to our generous PTA, the students enjoyed a fabulous assembly where magician Tim Hannig entertained and taught them about respect, positive attitudes, and cooperation!

LMC

During LMC, we have continued our weather study by researching the winter season using PebbleGo, and recorded facts about winter clothing, winter sports, winter work, and winter food.

We also had another great coding lesson as we heard the story, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, and used the Bee Bots to put the main events of the story in the correct sequence.

All About Me Weeks

Harper shared our first Me Bag of 2018, and we learned that she loves playing soccer (and scored two goals in one game, and also earned a trophy!), dance recitals, and spending time with her family. She shared special pictures of her getting her first pedicure, going to the daddy daughter dance, her first pony ride, posing with her two little sisters, making s'mores with her Poppy, and a special framed photo of her with her mom! She also shared with us a special box she made for her birthday, and a teddy bear she won when she went bowling with her dad. We loved having Harper's mom join us to read A Bad Case of Stripes!

Next, we learned all about Neve! She shared with us a special stuffed rhino she got when she was five, a seahorse her brother gave to her, and seashells her parents brought back from the beach for her. We learned that she loves dressing up for holidays, including her festive St. Patrick's Day glasses! She also enjoys playing with dolls and My Little Pony toys, num nums, and makeup! We had a blast welcoming Neve's dad in to read the hilarious story, Creepy Pair of Underwear.

Classroom News

What an exciting time we had leading up to Winter Break! I cannot believe we fit it all in, but we worked hard and accomplished so much. Here are a few of the highlights:

Literacy

We wrapped up our reading workshop comparison of gingerbread stories, and during writing workshop, we worked on a couple of pieces about gingerbread. We wrote about what would happen if a gingerbread man jumped out of our ovens, and later wrote about who or what we would run from if we were gingerbread men. I love seeing each child's creativity shine through in their writing ideas. The book Gingerbread Baby lent itself nicely to a summarizing activity where we completed a flip book, identifying the characters, setting, problem, and solution. This was a nice way to conclude our gingerbread study and review the overarching theme of identifying and comparing those story elements across all of the gingerbread stories.

Jolly Phonics is now complete. We have introduced all of the sounds, and will begin applying those sounds to decode words during guided reading groups. When we return from break, I will begin assessing all students to determine their appropriate reading level, and once all of those assessments are complete, guided reading groups will begin! This is when I will meet with small groups of students to do word work, read a short book together to focus on decoding and comprehension skills, and discuss the book as a group. A letter will be coming home to explain guided reading groups a bit more on the first day I meet with each group.

Math

During math, we've been focusing on the idea of same and different. We read the story, The Ugly Duckling, and identified similarities and differences. We also used math manipulatives to practice demonstrating the concept of one more, or one less. Finally, we worked on comparing sets of items and identifying which set had fewer items, and then how many fewer objects there were. This is a concept that is often tricky to grasp, but it was impressive to see these kindergarten mathematicians think through the problems using their manipulatives.

All About Me Week

We loved learning more about Elan last week! We learned that he loves superheroes, and Captain America is his favorite one. We also learned that he loves skateboarding! He shared with us a couple of things that are special to him, including a slingshot he made himself, and a figure in disguise that goes with a dinosaur toy he got for Christmas. We enjoyed having Elan's mom join us to read the story, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend.

Coding

Our kindergarten computer programmers had a fantastic time using the Kodable app to develop their coding skills. I was so impressed with their problem solving approaches and teamwork when they encountered an issue.

Cardboard Challenge

Another special activity we spent time on over the past two weeks was the Cardboard Challenge! We worked in groups to design gingerbread houses out of cardboard. Our first step was to identify what features a gingerbread person might need in a gingerbread house. Next, we worked together to come up with our design on paper to accommodate our gingerbread person's needs. Finally, we moved on to construction! We had 5th grade buddies join us to assist with all of the cutting and taping, and our designs came to life! I was thrilled to see our kindergarten friends giving each person in their group a voice, and including ideas from each person in their designs. We learned important lessons in teamwork and compromise during the building and decorating phase.

Once our gingerbread houses were complete, we carefully transported them to the gym where we held a celebration amongst grade levels. We were able to share our creations with our older peers, and walk around the gym to see all of their cardboard creations! It was such an exciting experience, and the kindergarteners were so proud to show off their hard work.

Winter Wonderland

The PTA, Mrs. Sessler, and Mrs. Beane put on a fabulous Winter Wonderland experience for the students to enjoy on the last day before Winter Break! They made cards for patients at Northwest Community Hospital, and enjoyed playing bingo. They were cozy in their pajamas the whole time, as the excitement for Winter Break was building!

I sincerely hope that everyone has a fantastic break with their families! This is such a sweet group of kindergarteners, and I feel so lucky to spend my days with them! They have already grown and learned so much, and I am eager to see them continue to progress in 2018. I also want to thank you for the sweet cards and gifts for the holidays, you are all to kind! Thank you for sharing your most precious gifts with me- I absolutely love working with them. See you in January!