Tuesday, January 10, 2016

Let's start at the end! We ended the day with a DANCE PARTY!!! What a fun 10 minutes to dance, smile, sing and get coats and backpacks. It was loud, but oh so much fun!!!

Back to the beginning...

The new sound today was q, Quentin Quail. We learned that in English, Q is always followed by U, so we will practice it that way in out reading and writing.

To be dismissed to color their Quentin Quail picture, they had to read a word that I chose off of this paper. I was so HAPPY with them. They are using their knowledge to read small words, and to fix any mistakes--they are paying close attention to the letters and their order. ;-)

Now that we are doing well writing sounds, I am starting handwriting practice daily as well.

I reread An Orange in January and we dug up details and decided on the main idea of the story.

In math, the kids had fun with a sprint (a timed test to count objects), and comparing numbers on the smartboard.

Reading intervention was a full dose of alphabet review of names, sounds and reading cvc words. More pros.

Math intervention brought out a five-frame that the kids filled with erasers and wrote the number sentences.

And comparing numbers using dominoes.

So fun!

And that brings us back to the dance party. Can't wait til the dance party tomorrow!!!

Monday, January 9, 2017

What can I say? It was another busy and fulfilling day!!!

I read over the weekend an article that was supportive of teaching kindergartners how to read by learning sounds and putting them into words, and not all of the reading to be done by sight (they called it picture reading--not that it is a picture, but it reminds me of when my then 3-year-old could "read" McDonald's, Blockbuster, Dillons).

Reflecting on that article I was so tremendously happy that these wonderful Kinders have a strong foundation of reading/sounds. They proved it by reading color words. Color words are often taught as sight words, but I did not do that at the beginning of the year. So, I pulled the color word flashcards out, and by golly, the kids read them! They could because they know so much about sounds and how the sounds work within words. The reading wasn't fast, but, all I cared about was that they knew the sounds, and knew how to blend them together into a word. Such a success!!!

Moving on...

The directed drawing was of a horn. And look at some of the sentences I got!

More rhyming activities.

A drawing/writing paper that went along with the book I read called An Orange in January.

And math. Comparing numbers. Which is more? Which is less?

We had a tiny celebration of a classmate that had his birthday yesterday, and learned that we will be getting another classmate on Wednesday. We are already excited to meet him, show him around, and help him with our school expectations.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Oh my, another day full of learning!

One of my favorite ways to teach is to give just enough information to the students and then they figure out the new thing. I love to do this especially with our phonics lessons. It is almost like a tease--can you use what you already know and apply it to the new thing that I am presenting today?

They did this today as they learned combination or. Orty Orsen stopped in and we had fun reading and spelling with his sound.

Our kindness lesson today was sorting things we say into "kind" or "unkind." It was a great lesson for all of us, because sometimes we say things that we do not know are unkind or could be unkind.

The rhyming lesson was split into a boy game and a girl game (next week they will have the opportunity to do the other game). The boys played Quiz-Quiz-Trade (and I heard this--I LOVE this game!), and the girls matched rhyming pictures.

We had a couple of extra minutes before lunch, so I taught the kids how to complete a "Sticker Story." They choose a sticker, and then finish the picture. Next they write a sentence (or more) about the picture. When they were finished I had them read it to me, and I was impressed. No pictures, but the papers will come home next week.

In math we counted to 100 by ones and tens, practiced numeral flashcards really fast, and then compared numbers using the words _____ is LESS than ____.

Reading intervention was reading words and figuring out ending sounds, and off to specials (Library to check out new books and PE--thank goodness for a gym to run in since we had 2 inside recesses today).

When they came back some kids worked with numbers again and others worked with Cuissenaire rods. Today was an exploration day, and next week we will dig deeper into math with the rods. I LOVE the rods, because it is a very hands on way to work with numbers.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Happy New Year! It was fabulous to see the kids today and get back into a school swing of things.

We reviewed our sounds, letters and how to write words (say the word, say the sounds, name the letters, write the letters).

We also reviewed our school (classroom, recess, cafeteria, hallway) expectations. They really did well remembering the expectations and following them.

Science was fun with a substitute teacher. And then we talked about kindness. The kids were in groups of 3 (or 4) and came up with a quick skit to show some kindness. It was great to see them talking and creating.

During ELA I read a fairy tale about some trees, and as I told the story the kids acted out parts. I find that this keeps us all engaged and enjoying the story.

A big focus we will have this quarter is recognizing words that rhyme and then giving another word that rhymes with a word. So, they played a game called Quiz-Quiz-Trade to practice rhyming.

Once that was finished they got a different partner and read a little reader that goes along with our reading series. Finding partners is tricky. Today I handed out playing cards, they had to find their match and that was their partner. Totally random, and a fun way to pair up. What amazing readers!!!

Recess is different when we cannot go outside, but they are great about cleaning up one toy before playing with another.

In math we compared numbers to tell which one is more.

For reading intervention the kids played games. I love to use games and add a reading or math focus. Today the kids played Candy Land, but in order to move, they had to read words. Great skills: reading, taking turns, being kind and helpful.

After their specials (computer lab and music--where they earned another green note and then a sticker from Miss Plaggman) we discussed New Year's Eve and possible celebrations: staying up, having a party, eating food. We watched a very short version of the ball dropping in New York City and then it was time for a snack and dismissal. Earlier in the day I read a book about a squirrel who wanted to make a resolution. It is a complex idea, but the kids had fun thinking about resolutions. (Something that they want to improve or a way to help others.)

I'm very excited about all that is in store for the rest of the year!

December 21, 2016

What a fantastic day. Day 81 of Kindergarten. We have learned sooooo much, and today was a party to celebrate (and it is the last day before break).

I loved giving the students a pair of holiday socks. Most chose to wear them.

We watched The Polar Express with Mrs. Weimer's class.

We said good-bye to our friend who is moving to a new town and a new school. Our hearts are full and we are thankful that we had these days with her.

The jolly elf visited school and gave each student a book and a candy cane.

We finished up a little present for the parents.

And celebrated a friend who will have a birthday in a week.

My heart is bursting with the love shown to me today.

I am looking forward to time relaxing and time making plans for next semester. My wish is that you have a safe and magical time these next couple of weeks.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

We've had a couple of very busy days!

On Monday some NHS students came and did lessons with the kinder kids. It was awesome. The lessons were about 45 minutes long, and so full of fun and learning.

The kids learned a new high frequency word--are, and we read a quick story about a tree (we will continue this in January).

Later we were ambitious and did another page in our mindful journal. The cutting was really tricky, so thankfully, we had many adults to help. We were listening for kindness.

In the afternoon, some fourth graders presented a play that they had written. It was very sweet and we enjoyed their performance.

Tuesday was full of Christmas singing with the whole school (The 12 Days of Christmas was my favorite song--each class did actions for a verse-ours was 10 Lords a Leaping), art and a story from Mrs. Wells.

After lunch we met our Buddies. We have been paired with Mrs. Young's class (second graders) and will do activities with them about once a month. Today they worked together to make a snowman by following directions. It was so much fun watching the big kids help the little kids. All I had to do was take photos. (Let's do this again!!!)

Later we did our last page in the mindful journal (seeing kindness). We could have done more, but I think that is enough for now. We will practice more after the break.