This morning we had a wonderful treat at Community Dialogue! The 5th graders have been learning about landforms. One group came up with drama to go along with each land form and the other made up a song and dance. It was really great and funny too!
Then, as part of Black History Month, we learned a little bit about Jazz Music from Statesville's own Jim Calabrese. Jim is a Statesville legend in the music industry! He has performed in as well as conducted several bands including the SHS band in the 60's. He told us a lot about music and how important it is to us. He told us that it is as important as food! He also explained to us that music is anything pleasant to a person's ears, meaning that we can all enjoy different things! He told us about New Orleans and the jazz music that is played there. Along with Mrs. Rogers, he played several jazz songs for us on clarinet! It was absolutely wonderful! The kids knew some of the songs and were happy to clap and sing along.
We came back and had snack and then got to work! We read Moose's Loose Tooth and then did our graph of the week. Our graph of the week this week was "How many teeth have you lost?". 5 students have lost 0, 0 have lost 1, 2 have lost 2, and 2 have lost 3 or more. I told the students that we'll remember these numbers and graph it again when we're in First Grade to see how much it changes! I bet them that by then we'll have zero zeros!
This afternoon we'll have ice cream and enjoy The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss on DVD. This goes along with this week's unit of teeth and introduces us to next week's unit- Dr. Seuss!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
TEETH!
This week we've been learning about our teeth. On Monday, we read some sections of The Tooth Book that told us all about teeth. We learned that animals have teeth; some have very strange teeth! We also learned that babies teeth begin growing as soon as they are born :)
We sang "This is the way we brush our teeth " and learned that we should brush our teeth twice a day, once after breakfast and once before bed.
On Thursday, we read another section that told us about healthy things to do for our teeth. We learned what kinds of snacks are healthy and that we shouldn't snack too often. We did a graphic organizer on the Smart Board where each child got to come up and pick a healthy snack for our teeth. Even though a few wanted to put soda on, we all knew that it was not a healthy choice for strong teeth! We learned that teeth need lots of vitamins and minerals to be strong.
Today we watched a video, Tooth Kingdom from http://www.colgate.com/. In the video, the children learn how to fight plaque to have healthy teeth! Then we each wrote "I take care of my teeth by _____." in our journals and drew a picture of something that we did. After drawing, I helped the children fill in their blank. They had great ideas : brushing, flossing, and going to the dentist!
Throughout the week we've been reading the chapter book Pearl Versus The Tooth Fairy. In the story Pearl wants to keep her tooth instead of giving it to the Tooth Fairy, but the Tooth Fairy insists on having it! They go back and forth, but in the end they agree. It was great predicting each day what would happen next and trying to guess if Pearl would give up her tooth or not!
Most everyone decided that they would give the Tooth Fairy their tooth in exchange for a treat!
We sang "This is the way we brush our teeth " and learned that we should brush our teeth twice a day, once after breakfast and once before bed.
On Thursday, we read another section that told us about healthy things to do for our teeth. We learned what kinds of snacks are healthy and that we shouldn't snack too often. We did a graphic organizer on the Smart Board where each child got to come up and pick a healthy snack for our teeth. Even though a few wanted to put soda on, we all knew that it was not a healthy choice for strong teeth! We learned that teeth need lots of vitamins and minerals to be strong.
Today we watched a video, Tooth Kingdom from http://www.colgate.com/. In the video, the children learn how to fight plaque to have healthy teeth! Then we each wrote "I take care of my teeth by _____." in our journals and drew a picture of something that we did. After drawing, I helped the children fill in their blank. They had great ideas : brushing, flossing, and going to the dentist!
Throughout the week we've been reading the chapter book Pearl Versus The Tooth Fairy. In the story Pearl wants to keep her tooth instead of giving it to the Tooth Fairy, but the Tooth Fairy insists on having it! They go back and forth, but in the end they agree. It was great predicting each day what would happen next and trying to guess if Pearl would give up her tooth or not!
Most everyone decided that they would give the Tooth Fairy their tooth in exchange for a treat!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Lerning LOTS in Kindergarten
Today seems like it has flown by in a matter of minutes! We had so many things to do that there didn't seem to be enough time in the day!
Mrs. Mangum is driving the bus for the 2nd grade swimming lessons this week, so instead of missing Science, I decided to continue with what she has been teaching... clouds.
We read the book Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker. This book is a very poetic story about different kinds of clouds. It explains different weather clouds, different seasonal clouds, and even different colored clouds! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and we were able to recall the different kinds of clouds and when we have seen them in our own lives. The children are doing a great job remembering which clouds are dry clouds and which ones bring snow and rain. After reading, we took a trip outside to do some observation. I explained to the children that science is a lot about observation and that observation is going out and seeing things. We spent a few minutes talking about what kinds of clouds we saw and then the children got to work drawing them. When we were finished observing, we came back in and looked at the different clouds in the book to figure out which ones we saw outside. Then the children copied "Today I saw Stratus and Cirrus Clouds. These clouds are flat and wispy" onto their papers.
This was a fun way for us to integrate Science, Art, and handwriting all in one!
Today with our big buddies, we learned about our school's new sister school, the Sayulita School in Mexico. http://www.prosayulita.org/projects.aspx?status=new.
We looked at a power point that Dr. Frey sent us showing what Mexico and the school look like. We discussed how the school looks similar to ours and how it looks different. We also talked about the different things that we have in our school like smart boards, TV's, and computers and the fact that they don't have walls or air condition! The big buddies and little buddies worked together to put together a letter and picture of us and the things we do at school to send to the Sayulita School when Dr. Frey goes to visit later on in March. Each big buddy wrote the letter and the little buddies and big buddies worked together on the pictures. They did an awesome job! These will serve as our introduction to the students at the school.
After lunch, we had the opportunity to go visit the Science Fair at the church. The 3-5 grade students have been working very hard on Science projects over the past few weeks and this was a great opportunity for them to showcase this hard work! The students LOVED the dioramas of the solar system, electricity projects, and volcanoes! It seemed like we were in a museum! The children did an excellent job and I think it was great for our students to get to see the hard work that our older children have done and also to get to see how cool the projects turn out!
We did a lot of fun things today! I really do love when learning can be so fun :)
Mrs. Mangum is driving the bus for the 2nd grade swimming lessons this week, so instead of missing Science, I decided to continue with what she has been teaching... clouds.
We read the book Cloud Dance by Thomas Locker. This book is a very poetic story about different kinds of clouds. It explains different weather clouds, different seasonal clouds, and even different colored clouds! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and we were able to recall the different kinds of clouds and when we have seen them in our own lives. The children are doing a great job remembering which clouds are dry clouds and which ones bring snow and rain. After reading, we took a trip outside to do some observation. I explained to the children that science is a lot about observation and that observation is going out and seeing things. We spent a few minutes talking about what kinds of clouds we saw and then the children got to work drawing them. When we were finished observing, we came back in and looked at the different clouds in the book to figure out which ones we saw outside. Then the children copied "Today I saw Stratus and Cirrus Clouds. These clouds are flat and wispy" onto their papers.
This was a fun way for us to integrate Science, Art, and handwriting all in one!
Today with our big buddies, we learned about our school's new sister school, the Sayulita School in Mexico. http://www.prosayulita.org/projects.aspx?status=new.
We looked at a power point that Dr. Frey sent us showing what Mexico and the school look like. We discussed how the school looks similar to ours and how it looks different. We also talked about the different things that we have in our school like smart boards, TV's, and computers and the fact that they don't have walls or air condition! The big buddies and little buddies worked together to put together a letter and picture of us and the things we do at school to send to the Sayulita School when Dr. Frey goes to visit later on in March. Each big buddy wrote the letter and the little buddies and big buddies worked together on the pictures. They did an awesome job! These will serve as our introduction to the students at the school.
After lunch, we had the opportunity to go visit the Science Fair at the church. The 3-5 grade students have been working very hard on Science projects over the past few weeks and this was a great opportunity for them to showcase this hard work! The students LOVED the dioramas of the solar system, electricity projects, and volcanoes! It seemed like we were in a museum! The children did an excellent job and I think it was great for our students to get to see the hard work that our older children have done and also to get to see how cool the projects turn out!
We did a lot of fun things today! I really do love when learning can be so fun :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Attack of the Germs!!
Apparently the germs are taking over our school! Last week we had students out of our classroom every day because they were sick. One day we had 7 students out, leaving us with only 5 in class. That has to be a record low! It seems like everyone is not quite all better yet, but we have more children today and I'm glad to see some sick friends back with us. I've been Clorox wiping and Lysol-ing EVERYTHING to try and get rid of these germs! I hope everyone gets feeling better and can be back with us later on in the week :)
This week we are studying about our teeth. February is Dental Health month. We will be learning about how to brush and take care of our teeth and also reading some funny tooth stories from Tooth Tales From Around the World.
This Week's Centers:
Technology: Students can learn about going to the dentist at http://www.ada.org/public/games/marty.asp. Students use the smart board to navigate through this tooth adventure!
Art: Draw a picture of the tooth fairy. This allows students to have a little creative and imagination time!
Alphabet: Fishing for Letters. Students take turns fishing out letters to make 3 letter words. After they fish out the letters, they write the words in their journals and sound them out. This activity reinforces handwriting as well as letter sounds.
Listening: At listening this week students are playing a rhyming game on CD. It is a bingo game where the CD calls out a word and the students look on their cards to see if they have a word that rhymes. This is reinforcement to go along with what we have been doing in phonics.
This week we are studying about our teeth. February is Dental Health month. We will be learning about how to brush and take care of our teeth and also reading some funny tooth stories from Tooth Tales From Around the World.
This Week's Centers:
Technology: Students can learn about going to the dentist at http://www.ada.org/public/games/marty.asp. Students use the smart board to navigate through this tooth adventure!
Art: Draw a picture of the tooth fairy. This allows students to have a little creative and imagination time!
Alphabet: Fishing for Letters. Students take turns fishing out letters to make 3 letter words. After they fish out the letters, they write the words in their journals and sound them out. This activity reinforces handwriting as well as letter sounds.
Listening: At listening this week students are playing a rhyming game on CD. It is a bingo game where the CD calls out a word and the students look on their cards to see if they have a word that rhymes. This is reinforcement to go along with what we have been doing in phonics.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Rhyme Time!
Over the weekend, I sent home the Rhyme Time bag with the first student. This is a fun way for us to practice rhyming at home and at school. Students are asked to find something to put into the bag and then fill out the poem with something that rhymes so that we can guess the item using other rhyming words. An example of this would be putting a car in the bag and finishing the rhyme with the word star. This gives the students practice at home by having them think up a word that rhymes with their object and then gives our class the opportunity to explore rhyming when we try to guess words that rhyme :)
Each student will get a chance to bring home the rhyme time bag, pick an object to go in it, and bring it back to school the next day.
I can't wait to see what fun things the kids come up with!!!
Each student will get a chance to bring home the rhyme time bag, pick an object to go in it, and bring it back to school the next day.
I can't wait to see what fun things the kids come up with!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
This Week's Centers:
Math: This week at Math Center students are practicing measuring using inchworms. They have a sheet that has places for four items and then they are to measure them with inchworms, record the number, and draw a picture. The children are measuring a packaged band-aid, a Froggy Book, Crayons, and a dry-erase marker. This is great practice for non-standard measurement and a follow up to the Saxon Math Lesson we did today that focused on measuring using linking cubes.
Writing: This week's Writing Center is something I like to call "sight word detectives". I have placed a newspaper cut-out in each student's journal. Using the "Words We Know" Chart, students have to highlight any sight words and then write them at the bottom. This activity helps students to be able to recognize words outside of isolation. The students have to be sharp to find the sight words mixed in with all the other words!
Games: At Games Center students are playing Trouble. This game helps students practice counting and taking turns. Playing any game is a great way for students to learn how to work together and solve problems!
Technology: This week at Technology Center I am introducing students to typing. One on one students are sitting down with me to type a story. I am introducing functions like "shift" to capitalize and how to use the space bar to make spaces. I am also showing students where to find letters and punctuation. After writing 2-3 sentences, the students will get to test out the different font styles and colors. Then I will show them how to print and after printing they will illustrate their story. This is great practice for spelling since I am only helping them sound out and spell sounds we don't know yet as well as good practice in learning their way around the computer!
Math: This week at Math Center students are practicing measuring using inchworms. They have a sheet that has places for four items and then they are to measure them with inchworms, record the number, and draw a picture. The children are measuring a packaged band-aid, a Froggy Book, Crayons, and a dry-erase marker. This is great practice for non-standard measurement and a follow up to the Saxon Math Lesson we did today that focused on measuring using linking cubes.
Writing: This week's Writing Center is something I like to call "sight word detectives". I have placed a newspaper cut-out in each student's journal. Using the "Words We Know" Chart, students have to highlight any sight words and then write them at the bottom. This activity helps students to be able to recognize words outside of isolation. The students have to be sharp to find the sight words mixed in with all the other words!
Games: At Games Center students are playing Trouble. This game helps students practice counting and taking turns. Playing any game is a great way for students to learn how to work together and solve problems!
Technology: This week at Technology Center I am introducing students to typing. One on one students are sitting down with me to type a story. I am introducing functions like "shift" to capitalize and how to use the space bar to make spaces. I am also showing students where to find letters and punctuation. After writing 2-3 sentences, the students will get to test out the different font styles and colors. Then I will show them how to print and after printing they will illustrate their story. This is great practice for spelling since I am only helping them sound out and spell sounds we don't know yet as well as good practice in learning their way around the computer!
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day was excellent in our Kindergarten class!
Even though we were having a dance in the afternoon, there was still work to do in the morning!
First we had Show-and-tell where we got to each share something that we love. Students brought in favorite stuffed animals, pictures of family, and favorite toys. Students who didn't bring in something were able to share something that they loved.
Then we worked on our Let's Find Out for this week. It was about what animals might say on Valentine's Day. It was silly, but it was cute. For example, a bunny might say "Hoppy Valentine's Day!" Then it showed us how to say "I love you" two different ways in sign language! Ask your children if they can show you at home :)
After this we did our graph of the week. This week's graph was "Do you like Summer, Fall, or Winter best?" I bet you can't guess which one almost all of the children picked.... SUMMER! We discussed each season and the different characteristics of each one and then each child had the chance to come and put their person on the graph and tell what they enjoy about the season that they chose. The season that got the most, Summer, had 10 children choose it. The season that got the least, Fall, had zero children choose it. Winter was in the middle with 1 child and Ms. O choosing it. I guess these guys are looking forward to Summer time!!
Then we had the Valentine's Dance. It was absolutely AMAZING! Everyone had the chance to wear their party clothes to school and they looked picture perfect! We headed over to First ARP where the parents did a fantastic job decorating the church- it looked like the prom! There were also very yummy snacks! The DJ knew exactly what the children wanted to hear! The children danced and danced to Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers! They can really move :) I could tell that everyone had a really fantastic time. Thanks to all of the parents that made this awesome event possible!
Even though we were having a dance in the afternoon, there was still work to do in the morning!
First we had Show-and-tell where we got to each share something that we love. Students brought in favorite stuffed animals, pictures of family, and favorite toys. Students who didn't bring in something were able to share something that they loved.
Then we worked on our Let's Find Out for this week. It was about what animals might say on Valentine's Day. It was silly, but it was cute. For example, a bunny might say "Hoppy Valentine's Day!" Then it showed us how to say "I love you" two different ways in sign language! Ask your children if they can show you at home :)
After this we did our graph of the week. This week's graph was "Do you like Summer, Fall, or Winter best?" I bet you can't guess which one almost all of the children picked.... SUMMER! We discussed each season and the different characteristics of each one and then each child had the chance to come and put their person on the graph and tell what they enjoy about the season that they chose. The season that got the most, Summer, had 10 children choose it. The season that got the least, Fall, had zero children choose it. Winter was in the middle with 1 child and Ms. O choosing it. I guess these guys are looking forward to Summer time!!
Then we had the Valentine's Dance. It was absolutely AMAZING! Everyone had the chance to wear their party clothes to school and they looked picture perfect! We headed over to First ARP where the parents did a fantastic job decorating the church- it looked like the prom! There were also very yummy snacks! The DJ knew exactly what the children wanted to hear! The children danced and danced to Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers! They can really move :) I could tell that everyone had a really fantastic time. Thanks to all of the parents that made this awesome event possible!
Monday, February 9, 2009
This week we are learning about Valentine's Day. We all know that people like to make cards for each other and wear red and pink, but we're going to learn the history behind this day and how it originated.
I introduced the children to the original Alvin and the Chipmunks show last week when we couldn't go outside . They LOVED them! I loved the show as a kid so I wanted to share it with them and it was a hit! They couldn't stop laughing. We have two Valentine's episodes to enjoy later on this week :)
This Week's Centers:
MATH: Students have to look at hearts with different objects on either side, choose which side has the most, and color it red. This is great counting practice as well as identifying which set is larger or smaller.
WRITING: This week's writing prompt is "I wish I could become...". The children have to think about what they would like to become, draw a picture of it, copy the prompt and then I help them finish it and write one more sentence. Since we are still working on letter sounds, I am giving the children the sounds for the letters or telling them how to spell. Once we have all the sounds down, they will start using inventive spelling to spell on their own.
TECHNOLOGY: The students are using the smart board to go on to http://www.starfall.com/ and do some of the sentence and reading games. They start with a Valentine's game that lets them make Valentine sentences as if they were making a Valentine for someone and then they can choose to do some of the other reading games. This website is great for learning to read and I love how it is interactive and will read the words to the children if they can't read them themselves! The sentences or words often have silly pictures/actions that go along with them.
ART: The children are learning about making new colors. They have two hearts to color and then they mix them in the third heart. This is great reading and writing practice because they have to use the color wall to find which colors to mix and then they have to write the color that they have made.
I introduced the children to the original Alvin and the Chipmunks show last week when we couldn't go outside . They LOVED them! I loved the show as a kid so I wanted to share it with them and it was a hit! They couldn't stop laughing. We have two Valentine's episodes to enjoy later on this week :)
This Week's Centers:
MATH: Students have to look at hearts with different objects on either side, choose which side has the most, and color it red. This is great counting practice as well as identifying which set is larger or smaller.
WRITING: This week's writing prompt is "I wish I could become...". The children have to think about what they would like to become, draw a picture of it, copy the prompt and then I help them finish it and write one more sentence. Since we are still working on letter sounds, I am giving the children the sounds for the letters or telling them how to spell. Once we have all the sounds down, they will start using inventive spelling to spell on their own.
TECHNOLOGY: The students are using the smart board to go on to http://www.starfall.com/ and do some of the sentence and reading games. They start with a Valentine's game that lets them make Valentine sentences as if they were making a Valentine for someone and then they can choose to do some of the other reading games. This website is great for learning to read and I love how it is interactive and will read the words to the children if they can't read them themselves! The sentences or words often have silly pictures/actions that go along with them.
ART: The children are learning about making new colors. They have two hearts to color and then they mix them in the third heart. This is great reading and writing practice because they have to use the color wall to find which colors to mix and then they have to write the color that they have made.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Favorite things to do in the snow!
After our pretty snow on Wednesday, we did a graph today of our favorite things to do in the snow.
Before we made our graph, we talked about what season we are in right now and the things that we can do that are specific to Winter. The children brainstormed a list including things like drinking hot chocolate, sledding, ice skating, and making snowmen. One silly girl decided to say that we could go swimming and then immediately said "I said that on purpose, that is summer!". It was great to see that they are beginning to develop an understanding of the different seasons that we have.
After making our list, students got to choose between making snowballs, ice skating, sledding, and building a snowman for our graph. After each child came and put up a person for their choice, we discussed the most (ice skating) and the least (making snowballs). The children did a great job making and reading the graph!
We are going to begin doing a graph every week in Kindergarten. I got the idea from www.kellyskindergarten.com and I think it is fantastic! Each week we will have a topic ranging from seasonal questions like "which Easter egg is the prettiest" to choice questions like "which book is your favorite".
Our school has been focusing on improving math skills this year and by having a weekly graph, we can tie in math practice with a fun activity that the children love to do! They make graphs almost into a contest of whose choice wins!
These graphs help us to practice organizing and understanding data and also ties in with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
Objective 4.01 Collect and organize data as a group activity.
Objective 4.02 Display and describe data with concrete and pictorial graphs as a group activity.
I'm looking forward to implementing this fun strategy in our classroom while learning more about the children's likes and dislikes at the same time!
Before we made our graph, we talked about what season we are in right now and the things that we can do that are specific to Winter. The children brainstormed a list including things like drinking hot chocolate, sledding, ice skating, and making snowmen. One silly girl decided to say that we could go swimming and then immediately said "I said that on purpose, that is summer!". It was great to see that they are beginning to develop an understanding of the different seasons that we have.
After making our list, students got to choose between making snowballs, ice skating, sledding, and building a snowman for our graph. After each child came and put up a person for their choice, we discussed the most (ice skating) and the least (making snowballs). The children did a great job making and reading the graph!
We are going to begin doing a graph every week in Kindergarten. I got the idea from www.kellyskindergarten.com and I think it is fantastic! Each week we will have a topic ranging from seasonal questions like "which Easter egg is the prettiest" to choice questions like "which book is your favorite".
Our school has been focusing on improving math skills this year and by having a weekly graph, we can tie in math practice with a fun activity that the children love to do! They make graphs almost into a contest of whose choice wins!
These graphs help us to practice organizing and understanding data and also ties in with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study:
Objective 4.01 Collect and organize data as a group activity.
Objective 4.02 Display and describe data with concrete and pictorial graphs as a group activity.
I'm looking forward to implementing this fun strategy in our classroom while learning more about the children's likes and dislikes at the same time!
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