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. :)