Monday's Moments

Welcome to a new week in Kindergarten! Today was our 10th day of school. We started off the day, as usual, with our gym class. We're still working on different ways to move by varying our bodies, effort, speed, and space that we're moving within. We returned to our classroom for our morning calendar meeting. I introduced some changes to our daily schedule. To incorporate a longer, uninterrupted free play time during our day we're now that time after lunch recess. Since I told them that the change meant that they get to play longer, I think they were all okay with it. :)

 

So, with that change, after snack we went right into math. I showed them some photos of themselves creating patterns that I printed during the weekend. They're now posted on our math bulletin board. Then, we did a game of "Is it a pattern?", working with different colour patterns that I created. Then, students had a choice of using snap cubes or bears to create a pattern and then represent/re-create it on paper.

 

 

When we were finished, most of the students wanted to keep making different types of patterns.

 

After recess we finished up our math work and then went into Science. Today was all about the sense of smell! I filled 8 small containers with cotton balls that all had a different smell added to them. Students were to use their sense of smell to try and guess what the item was! I had oranges, strawberries, lemon, coffee, peppermint, onion, banana, and vanilla. Someone had pickles in their lunch kit today~ pickle juice would have been a good one too!

I didn't get any photos of this activity in actions, but the above photo is what the containers looked like. Old film containers with holes poked into the lids would work really well for this activity.

 

Afterwards, students had to think of their favourite smell and represent it in their 5 senses booklet. Those who were feeling ready to give it a try also completed the sentence "I smell with my nose" by printing the words "smell" and "nose", which were modelled on the SmartBoard.

 

After lunch we had our free choice time. The two biggest hits were the farm toys and playdough.

Check out the road that was made for the farmers!

 

Today was the first time that they realized that we have playdough in our classroom.

They were very excited!

 

After last recess, our entire school joined together in the gym for a Raider of the Month Assembly. The grade 5/6 classroom shared some videos about self esteem and some words that that they chose to complete the sentence "I am..." Then they handed out their words to someone in the crowd who they felt also exuded those qualities. We were treated to some SRC fundraising and sports news, October birthdays were celebrated, and then the Raider of the Month presentations were completed. One student is chosen from each grade grouping (elementary, middle years, highschool) who stands out through their efforts, whether it is through academics, extra curr, and/or putting our school core values into action. Oh yes, and a new addition to our birthday celebrations is that each student gets to choose a book as a gift!

 

Our day was rounded off with some singing and dancing before it was time to stack chairs and pack up. We anticipated the assembly being a bit longer, so we actually had our talking circle in between our math and science classes. We focused more on sharing the best part of our weekend.

 

They day seemed to fly by! I am sure Wednesday will be here before we know it. :)

 

A Beautiful Season for Learning

What a beautiful autumn day we had today! I heard some students saying in the hallway that it was "too hot" out there.

The farm toys were still a hit today, as were puzzles and lego. This group is definitely hands on and all about building!

The buzz about patterns is building, too. We read a story about patterns and they all did a great job with recognizing and extending patterns. They love to find patterns on their clothes and were excited to find patterns around the classroom today. We played a Pattern Train game today with snap cubes. First, I made different patterns with the cubes and they had to tell me if it was a pattern or not and why. Then, students had their turn to try and make their own patterns. There were 2 colour AB and ABB patterns, plus a 3 colour ABC pattern. Great work!

 

In Science, we continued discussions about the 5 senses. We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, which has such a great pattern for students to follow along with. Students then shared their favourite thing to see, which they also drew in their 5 senses booklets. As a group, we also worked on a 5 senses chart and sorted some pictures to decide which of our senses we would use to observe each object.

 

Last period, students viewed an Alphablocks story before heading to the library. There they listened to the story Bear Feels Scared and each student found two books to sign out and look at while we were in the library. We ended the day with some of our favourite singing and dancing songs (Baby Shark and Herman the Worm are crowd favourites right now), followed by the talking circle and the hustle bustle of getting everyone ready to go home.

 

Another week of Kindergarten has come and gone! Once again~ wishing everyone a fantastic fall weekend!

What can you do to be a good friend?

Welcome to a new week in Kindergarten! We started off the day with a little 'invitation to learn' for students who come into the classroom in the morning with not enough time to go outside for recess, but enough time to spare before getting lined up to go to Phys.Ed. I put out a Mosaic, which is like a pattern puzzle where students can either follow a pre-made guide or create there own. It did spark enough interest that everyone wanted to try it out and one student finished it during their free choice time later in the day.

 

Instead of focusing on a math lesson today, I felt it was more important for us to focus on healthy relationships. Students talked about what makes someone a good friend. The conversation was sparked by two Rainbow Fish books by Marcus Pfister. After the story, students each made their own 'friendship fin' by drawing a picture of something kind that they could do for someone. The fins were placed on a Rainbow Fish and is displayed in the hallway with the question of, "How can you be a good friend?" Hopefully someone will read our work and be inspired to ponder this question and take positive action.

 

Some examples from the fins:

 

We also continued our discussions about the 5 senses today. It was easy to make connections in Science as to how we use our senses to be able to notice changes in our surroundings, as it has become very obvious to us that fall is upon us! The leaves have sure changed quickly in the past week. Our season tree's leaves have changed too!

We used out knowledge of the five senses to create a poem about Fall. Here it is:

 

I think that they did a great job! There was only a few minor suggestions to get them thinking about harvest and Halloween ;)

 

After our fall senses brainstorm, students turned their focus towards the sense of hearing and completed the page about hearing in their 5 senses booklets.

 

Here is an example:

 

We ended off the day with an Alphablocks video and a listening activity. I read the story Bears New Friend and students were asked to respond to the story by sharing if they thought it was a good, okay, or bad story. They also were to draw a picture and tell me what the story was about.

 

We ended the day with a little "treat" for everyone. They've been asking to be able to play with some farm toys that were stored way up high. I was intending to save them for when we were focusing more on farming lessons, but since they were so keen I decided that it needed to come down! I was impressed that they played really well together, even with 7 of them sharing the same toys. What a great way to end the day. :)

Friday Fun

Happy Friday!
This teacher is feeling sleepy this evening, so I'm going to give the highlights of the day, short but sweet style :)
*We had two fire drill practices today!
*Free choice centers today had a lot of builders working with tools in the drama center, a lady serving coffee for their coffee breaks, and we also had some time with lego and puzzle building.

*I pulled out different colouring pages, funky scissors, markers, and paper for early finishers today. I suggested to one student that she write a letter to her sister and that sparked interest in two other students who then wanted to write letters and practice writing some words! Yay!

 

*We read We Share Everything by Robert Munsch and discussed what is good to share and what we should not share. Then the students each thought of something that they could share and we created a class book out of their work:

 

 

 

*While students were looking at books after lunch recess, a student showed me a book and thought it was weird that a police man was on a horse. So, I took to the internet and we checked out some videos of the RCMP magical ride. It was handy for an impromptu lesson on police officers and what their job is. As conversations with 5 year olds can take quick detours, we also ended up looking up dream catchers!

 

*To review the 5 senses we watched a video with a song about them. Then we focused on the sense of touch and began completed a 5 sense book. We worked together to complete the sentence 'I touch with my hands." For the students that were ready, I modelled how to print "touch" and "hands" on the SmartBoard and they gave it a try. Then they were to each draw a picture of something that they like to touch.



 

 

*We also read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin and then played an alphabet game. Students took turns picking magnet letters out of a bag and then they were to use bingo dabbers to 'dab' the letter on their paper. We only had time for each student to get one turn before it was time for the talking circle. 

This is how one hopes the dabbing would go....

and the reality of how it often turns out. We definitely had some colourful fingers by the end (apologies to parents)!

 

So, that was our Friday in a nutshell! I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.



Sharing, Sorting, and Space Invading!!

It seems a bit odd starting off our school week on a Wednesday, but we did so today! During our morning calendar meeting, we were noting how far we have come already; all the way from the number 2 to the number 17!

The students had a special guest this morning~ Mr. Pratchler the Speech and Language Pathologist was back in our room. He taught our class about Space Invader- a 'bad guy' who teaches us about respecting personal space. He also noticed that we're still learning about taking turns when we talk, so he told us that he'll be back next week to talk about Blurt Out Blue! :) As usual, he also brought his very exciting I-pad. He worked through a pottery making program with the students. They were able to take turns choosing different colours and patterns to decorate the pottery that they built on the screen.

 

We had some time before lunch, so we started up with some work out videos. Then, technology played up on us and wouldn't play anymore videos. So, I introduced the alphabet game "I Have, Who Has." I also started a new game for staggering the number of people who go to wash hands before snack. I found some flashcards with a variety of pictures. I was giving hints to the students (such as, it starts with this sound and ends with this sound.. or it rhymes with...etc..) and they had to guess what the picture was of.

 

For math, we also played a sorting game. Students were given a cup filled with a variety of pattern blocks. Then, I placed a picture of each block on the table. Their job was to sort their pattern blocks under the correct pictures. Afterwards I let them explore building with the pattern blocks. I lightly suggested that they try to make patterns, which is exactly what happened. Yay!

 

 

For last period, we went to the library. I read aloud Clark The Shark Dares to Share and then the students went to find books to sign out. We stayed in the library for them to look over their books with one another. Then we returned back to our classroom for our end of the day talking circle. We even had time to sing Baby Shark and be introduced to the video of the silly, catchy tune Herman the Worm!

We'll continue with lessons on sharing and patterns on Friday. :) Until then, take care and dare to share!

Fantastic Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! I was happily surprised this morning as students came into the classroom saying "Teacher, I have a pattern on my clothes!" I asked if any of them found patterns at home and the response was "There aren't any patterns at my house." I told them that patterns are everywhere! So we will see if anyone finds patterns in their homes this weekend. Hopefully they will be on the look out!! The interest in patterns seems to always grow and grow as the first math unit develops.

This morning we did one of my favourite beginning of the year activities that teaches about being kind to one another. We sat in a circle and I read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Students took turns passing around a paper heart. Every time someone in the story said hurtful words to Chrysanthemum, the students were asked to crumple the paper heart. Every time someone was kind, the students tried to smooth the heart. Afterwards we talked about how no matter how much we tried to smooth it out, the heart was still wrinkled. I read to them a mini-poem that was placed in the middle of the heart: "Before you speak think and be smart, it's hard to fix a wrinkled heart." Then we all placed band-aids onto the heart and brainstormed some words that heal. Near the end of the conversation, someone came up with the idea of complimenting each other. Then there was an onslaught of "I like your shirt. I like your shoes." etc..., which also picked up during our talking circle at the end of the day! It makes my heart happy to hear such kind words shared amongst the students. Hopefully this lesson will help to remind them to be kind to one another.

 

This activity took a little longer than anticipated, so Math was shortened a bit. I tried to 'trick' the students with a "Which of these things doesn't belong?" sorting game, but they were just too creative for me! I had chosen one seashell and 3 rocks, expecting the answer to be the obvious- the seashell doesn't belong because the others are rocks! The responses I got was that one was lighter and the others were heavier, one you find near the ocean and the others you don't, one you can hear the ocean in and rocks you can't, the seashell was big and the rocks were smaller. For each of the 3 'games' we played, they came up with answers that surprised (and pleased!) me each time. Awesome!!

 

This afternoon I wanted to do a simple art activity so that I could observe colouring and cutting skills. I had several sheets printed out with shapes to colour and cut out. Then they were to glue their shapes onto a bigger piece of paper. Some students took a bit longer than I had anticipated, so we had some extra free choice center time at the end of the day. As always, there was a lot of learning happening during our play time! Students were working with making patterns, measuring and counting with links and snap cubes, constructing and problem solving with puzzles and dominos, and the  marble run got some attention too. Most of the activities involved team work, which is always great to see. :)

 

It's interesting what different groups are intrigued by. My last year's class never did put this together! This year it appears that I have a lot of creative builders.

 

All in all, today was truly a fantastic Friday! I hope that everyone has a great weekend. As a school division, all staff have a collaborative learning day on Monday. I am excited to learn from other Kindergarten teachers. This also means that we do not have another Kindergarten day until next Wednesday! So, we shall meet again then. :)

 

 

Mr. P comes for a visit!!

Our schedule was a little thrown off today, but that was okay because it was due to a visit from Mr. Pratchler, the Speech and Language Pathologist! He introduced the students to his super cool I-pad. They got to try out different apps and listened to a Slinky Melinky story. Talk about being engaged!

 

Some other highlights from the day included an introductory lesson to sorting and patterns:

 

The student's also started using individual white boards for the first time. I seen a few pictures of families and a race track!

We also played an alphabet recognition came. Students had to find the letters in their name, build their name, and then trace over the letters. We also looked into how many letters each person has in their name.

 

We also had more talks about appropriate behavior and read the stories No David and The ABC's of Bucket Filling. The big hits in free choice centers today were puzzles, the kitchen area (a lot of pies were made!), and the marble run. It was yet another busy busy day in K that seems to fly by. We'll meet back again on Friday!

 

 

A Cold Day In September

Brr!! The weather has taken a chilly turn today. Our weather reporter had to change the weather word from 'warm' to 'cold'! We also had a mini discussion over whether or not it is still Summer or if/when we should change our season tree to Fall. First recess was a bit trying on students, but it appeared that they were having a lot more fun during their other recesses. :)

We began our day with our K/1/2 Phys.Ed. We reviewed some rules for the gym, personal space, and general space before playing some tag games. Free choice centers this morning was focused a lot around the kitchen/drama area and building blocks. I even had a surprise pizza delivered to me:

Me: "What's on this pizza?"
 Student: "What do you like on pizza?"
Me: "I like deluxe- loaded with everyone on it!"
Student: "Well that's what's on it. Plus it comes with a McFlurry and Ketchup!"

Right on!

I received a map of Canada in my mailbox this morning and as I walked into the room and overheard a student pointing to our world map saying, "This is Canada!" to one of his friends, I decided that I had better share the map during our calendar meeting. This group seems very excited and eager to learn what is on maps, so I am looking forward to teaching that Social Studies unit. However, for now we are focusing on school rules and rules that keep us safe. So, today I read David Goes To School and David Gets In Trouble by David Shannon. I also used these stories to show the class how they can read a book by reading the pictures- even if they don't know the words. We also sorted some "yes" and "no" behaviors at school. Then students created a representation with pictures (and some made letters) to show some school rules.

 

 

We also had our first Science lesson today. I read a story about the 5 senses and then introduced Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head to help us continue our learning. We went through what they would need to see, taste, hear, etc... Then, students put together a paper version of a Potato Head and I labelled their creation with their answers to questions such as "What do we use our eyes for?" I think that they turned out great and they are now on display in the hallway!

 

 

 

Another 'first' came at the end of the day. We went to the library, which gave us opportunity to discuss proper behavior in the library. I read aloud the story Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen. Students then chose two books each to sign out and take home until the next Day 5. We looked over our books before returning to the classroom for our end of the day Talking Circle. While it was chilly outside, we definitely kept warm and busy inside today! 3 days in and many more to go. :) I'll meet you back here on Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

Have YOU filled a bucket today?

We made it through our 2nd day! I remembered to take photos of each student today (totally forgot on Tuesday!). The day began with a yummy welcome back pancake breakfast, put on by our SCC (thank you!). Then, students were off to their first K/1/2 gym class. I joined the class for the first few minutes and then left them with the capable hands of Mrs. H- the Grade 1/2 teacher so that I could have my prep. I will be teaching the class on Days 1 and 5. They worked on practicing freezing on the spot with the cue of a whistle, played some Octopus tag, and tried tag games in increasingly smaller general space areas in order to see how hard or easy it was to maintain personal space.

Next up we had our calendar meeting, followed by snack. During free choice centers there was a lot of action in the kitchen, rice table, and even a puppet show broke out! We also had a fix it man on the loose who was measuring everything he could find with a measuring tape.

After recess, we began working on establishing a routine of readings books in the reading area for a few minutes after each recess to get ourselves gathered together. By last period, it was going quite well! I read aloud to them, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? Then, we watched a video of the story How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids and had a discussion about how everyone could fill someone else's bucket. Finally, students represented their ideas on paper. By lunch I was already hearing "He's dipping my bucket! ....They are filling my bucket!" In case you aren't familiar, the main idea is that we all have invisible buckets. When we use kind and caring actions and words, we fill a bucket. If we use unkind and mean actions and words, then we dip buckets.

 

An example of student work.

After lunch recess, I introduced students to something new to our classroom for all of us. I received a package in the mail yesterday that will be the first of many from Little Passport. We were introduced to characters Sam and Sofia, who will be travelling the world and sending us gifts and photos once a month! We received a suitcase, passport, boarding pass, picture of the magic scooter that is going to take them around the world, stickers, and a world map. I am looking forward to where the learning will go from here. I already had one student pointing out different parts of the map and asking me what each place was.

I also had students work with me in pairs on a beginning of the year assessment. Basically, I get them to record any letters, numbers, words, and shapes that they know. We rounded off the day with some singing and dancing and our first Talking Circle. We will end each day with students sharing their thoughts on the day. It is exciting to me to observe them learning to respect and listen to the person who is holding the talking rock.

Looking back at Tuesday's work, I put together a class book that can be viewed online.

 

 

There were a lot of positive feelings on the first day and they appeared to carry over to today. I'm looking forward to  3 day week next week. Until then, I hope that everyone has a great weekend!