Spiders, Sharks, and Sprouts

Happy Thursday!

This morning brought the surprise of .... a water table!

Before heading to the library, we read and discussed another Eric Carle story, The Very Busy Spider. One point that always comes up is how beautiful the pictures are in Eric Carle's books. We got to practice some animal sounds through this book as well.

Math was all about the number 8. We discussed the various ways to represent the number. Then students works on creating sets of 8. They were asked to count out 8 objects, rearrange them and count them again.

In our Phys. Ed class we worked on the manipulative skills of catching and running and kicking a ball.

For our PWIM class, we 'dove' into our collection of books about sharks, diving, and oceans. First, we sorted fiction from non-fiction books. Then, students each chose a book and were asked to find a 'wonder' or a 'wow', which we marked with post-it notes. Afterwards, each student picked one page in their book that they wanted to share with the class.

Afterwards, we did our shake out for our new poster. The students came up with some great words for us to study! We rounded off our shark discussions with singing and dancing to the song Baby Shark with The Learning Station.

 

We ended the day with Science, which involved observing our bean plants. It was the most exciting day so far; our beans have grown so much in the last two days! Students recorded their observations in their Plant Observation Booklets.

 

I'm curious to see what our beans will look like when we return to school on Monday!

 

Until then, have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the lovely warm weather!

Birds & Bucket Filling

Yesterday, we enjoyed some great new learning experiences!

People from the Sci-Fi program at the University of Saskatchewan came to our school. Our K class joined in with the Grade 1 class to learn all about birds! We learnt about how birds adapt, what wing span is, different bird calls, and areas where certain birds live. Some fun activities included comparing ourselves to different bird spans (including measuring how many students it takes to make up the wing span of the Albatross), using straws as beaks to role play being hummingbirds looking for nectar, and making up our own species of birds using feathers, marshmallows, paper clips, and toothpicks.

 

We then had an early lunch and recess before hopping on the bus to Leroy for an afternoon of Pink Day activities. Most, if not all, of my students had never been on a school bus before, so that journey alone was a learning experience! When we arrived, we had just enough time to participate in 2 of the classroom activities that the SRC had planned. Then, we were treated to a magic show by Steve Harmon which took a positive spin on anti-bullying by focusing on Bucket Filling. It was a great reminder for our class, as we've been learning about bucket filling since the beginning of the school year. It's always great to learn amongst laughter ~ and who doesn't like a bunny and dove magically appearing!?

 

 

 

Some other highlights of the day were that our fish survived the weekend, we've discovered a sprout growing in one of our pots, and (the student's don't know it yet) our sensory bins have been changed to match our PWIM picture! Tomorrow's free choice center time should be very exciting...and wet. :)

Tuesday's Report & a Thursday Preview

A new addition to the classroom generated some excitement first thing in the morning!

 

Another highlight of the morning came with the next story in our Eric Carle author study:" Slowly, Slowly, Slowly" Said the Sloth. As with the other stories, we discussed what made this story special. However, this book in particular really sparked a big discussion about the main character, with lots of questions about sloths. So, since we now have the SmartBoard and it's easy for the students to view what's on the computer screen, I went to Google to search images of sloths (so cute!). Then, we looked up facts about sloths for kids. We also found a video about a sanctuary that assists sloths (again, so cute!). It was a great impromptu mini-inquiry.

 

In math, we talked all about the number 7. Then students worked on making 7 in two sets using snap cubes. They were instructed to pick two different colours, roll a dice, and then choose on colour to snap together that number of cubes. Then, they had to add on the other colour until their snap cube train added up to 7.

 

 

Tuesday was our last day for our construction PWIM picture. Students were read Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and then they did a cut and paste activity to make a picture of  a construction site.

 

 

Afterwards, they did a math activity to match the numeral to the number of construction vehicles.

 

 

I introduced our newest PWIM picture at the end of the day (photo to come). It shows some divers and sharks at the bottom of the ocean. We worked together to come up with some "I wonder" questions. Then, we read a non-fiction book about sharks and a fictional story called Nugget and Fang. The non-fiction book already answered some of our "I wonder"s. We also learnt that the most common belief about sharks, that they eat people, does not happen nearly as often as humans harm sharks! I am really excited for this last PWIM cycle and the students have already showed an interest in ocean animals. The grade 2/3 class just finished a cycle using this same photo, so we may have to invite them to share their knowledge with us!

 

 

 

Tomorrow (Thursday),  I am observing in a different Kindergarten classroom, so the students will be working with the sub. Their learning will include observing their bean seeds and recording those observations, recognizing numerals and sets from 1 to 10, and reviewing what sentences are and then working on a cut/paste/draw activity with a simple sentence. For our Eric Carle study, they will be reading Little Cloud. Hopefully it will be warm enough for them to read the story outside and then take a look up at the sky to have a discussion about clouds and what they see. Then, they will be doing a craft/writing activity revolving around what pictures they see in the clouds. I am excited to hear about how that lesson goes!

 

 

Hopefully the warm weather will continue tomorrow so that the class can enjoy this outdoor learning activity. Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!

 

 

 

Walking, Planting, & Reading

Happy Friday!
I was very excited to be back in the classroom and the feeling appeared to be mutual. I was greeted with many excited voices and stories this morning. We continued working on our mother's day "All About My Mom" books today. Then, we went on a walk with the whole school community and some community members to raise awareness and money for juvenile diabetes.

In the afternoon, students were read a story about Splat the Cat planting a flower. Then, they shared all of their questions regarding what they want to know about plants. They also planted their own bean seeds. To round off the activity, they began their Plant Observation Booklet by predicting what their plant will look like.

 

We also read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which had a lot of connections to a song/video we watched about Herman the Worm! The kids all voted for this story as their favourite Eric Carle book so far.

We also have a new addition to our classroom! (Yet to be named). I hope this one lasts a while :)

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!

While the teacher is away...

Here's one of the tasks that I left for the students while I was away yesterday:

They had to predict where I was! They did this same activity in September and it is so very exciting to see the growth that this project displays when compared to their first try!

K is for Kindergarten

Yesterday was a pretty chilly day, but our adventures kept us warm! Students and staff were treated to yummy smoothies as a healthy snack from the SCC (thank you!).

Before heading to the library, we read one of the newest books in our classroom, Z is for Moose. The kids and I loved it! The storyline was funny, easy for the students to read (except for what was in the speech bubbles), and leant itself to predicting.

 

 

In Math, we discussed stars and read a poem about 7 stars in our Big Math Book from the Math Makes Sense program. Then, students counted out 7 paper stars, found the numeral 7, and glued them onto a paper to make a picture of a starry sky.

 



Our PWIM lessons with Ms. Bergen involved three different word work puzzles. First, students had to find the missing letter in some of the PWIM words. Then, they rotated between 2 centers. The first center involved finding clothes pins with the letters needed to spell a chosen PWIM word. The second center has students putting together paper puzzles to spell the word.

We had a mixture of Science and ELA at the end of the day. We read and discussed our second Eric Carle book, The Tiny Seed. As a group, we filled out the chart where we are recording what is special about each book and the lessons from each Eric Carle book.

Then, we stitched gears to a more scientific perspective, and students each shared what they know about plants. One of the great things about the new Smart Board, is that students can watch their words appear on the screen as I type them. What a great way to combine technology, literacy, and building schema.

The third part of the lesson involved each student choosing a plan from our classroom (luckily we have 7 plants and 7 students!). They had to observe their plant, draw a picture of it, and state what it smells like, feels like, and what it reminds them of. They all did a great job!

 

A finished product:

 

I'm not at school tomorrow, so students will be reading Miss Nelson is Back & predicting where they think I am. We did this activity at the beginning of the school year (after listening to Miss Nelson is Missing), so I am curious to see how their work has progressed!

They will also be working on a Mother's Day activity and a letter sounds activity. In math, they will be working on an activity where they roll a dice, demonstrate they can recognize the number, and then state which number comes before and after. I am sure that they will have a great day and I look forward to our adventures on Friday!

 

Have a happy week!

 

Hello May!

What a wonderful day! We had a visitor in our classroom for most of the day and I am so proud of my student's for how warm and welcoming they receive guests. :)

Our first big 'job' today was to have a discussion about restaurants, including healthy and unhealthy foods that we can order. Then we talked about what happens at a restaurant, proper behavior, and the different jobs involved in running a restaurant. Finally, the real fun came when we role played a restaurant in action! It was great!! Everyone really enjoyed themselves. We even had to call the police when one of the chefs decided to run away with the cash register!

Building schema.

 

Preparing food in the kitchen!

 

This restaurant not only offered a variety of food but also provided money, a cell phone, and a cat!

 

After recess, our guest read the story Something Good by Robert Munsch. The class had a good discussion about feelings and healthy ways to react when we are feeling scared or angry.

Then, we had a quick review of the number six before heading off to gym class.

 

After lunch, we were treated to a tour of the new daycare that is attached to the school. The Kindergarteners did not want to leave! Luckily, they let us stick around to play with their brand new toys for a little while.

 

When we returned to class, we began our author study on Eric Carle. We read A Home For Hermit Crab. Afterwards, we discussed some of the interesting parts of the story. Then students worked on text-to-self connections by thinking about a time when they outgrew something in their life. Their connections ranged from clothes to homes to toys.

 

Our final activity was to predict what the hermit crab's new home would look like after he decorated it.

 

We ended the day with some singing and dancing, followed by our talking circle.

What a joy it is to spend the day amongst creative minds and sweet hearts!

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! :)