Special recognitions- January 21-24

Several of our students have had special recognitions this week! Two were on the morning announcements sharing their dreams like MLK. 

Mrs. Reid and Ms. Wages came to give out Perfect Attendance awards! Way to go for being present every day during the 2nd 9 weeks!! Hip hip hooray!! 

Segmenting syllables

In this 3rd quarter we began segmenting words into syllables, or word parts. When we segment a word we are listening for how many word parts it has. To figure out how many syllables a word has we clap words out, we put our fingers beneath our chins to see how many times our chin drops down, and we also use our robot voices.

To practice segmenting, we brought in our favorite stuffed animals and segmented their names. For example, bear is 1 syllable.

We also brought in our favorite toy to practice segmenting words. Several boys brought in Transformers. We clapped it out and found out it has 3 word parts: trans-for-mer!

Measurement Unit

In January, we began our measurement unit in math. We have learned about weight, capacity, and height so far.

Weight

To begin thinking about weight and what it is we read the book Weight by Marh Counts. 

We learned that when weighing objects we can use scales. Students chose different objects to weigh and compare on the balance. We used the vocabulary words of heavier, lighter, equal to tell about the objects. We passed around different objects for students to feel and think about their weight. We then "weighed" the objects. We found out a block weighs more than a package of M&Ms.

 We found out a can of play-doh was heavier than a marker.

The next day we used a form of nonstandard measurement (bears) to tell how much different objects weighed. We put an object in one side and filled the other side up with bears until both sides were equal.

Then, once the 2 sides were equal we counted the bears to see how much the object "weighed".

We compared the objects and discussed which one weighed more/less and why!

Capacity

To learn about capacity we read Capacity by Matt Counts. 

We learned that capacity is the empty space inside an object. We looked at different containers and talked about their capacities. We chose 3 objects to focus on- a bucket, a coffee mug, a bottle top.

We filled the containers up with bears and compared them, looking at not only the size of the object, but also the amount of bears there were when we poured them out. 

Height

To begin learning about height we read the book Sizes by Math Counts and  lined ourselves up from shortest to tallest.

 We compared pictures of objects using the vocabulary words- shorter, taller, equal. We used another form of nonstandard measurement (cubes) to measure different object's heights. We filled in a recording sheet to match.

Catching up! New Year and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy New Year!! Our first day back we wrote about what we wanted to do this year!

One of our Kindergarten Social Studies standards is learning about national holidays. We learned a lot about Martin Luther King, Jr. We read several books about him and created an anchor chart to help remember what we learned. 

We did a directed drawing of MLK. They turned out so good! 😊

When I first started talking to my students about MLK and how unfair people were treated I did an activity to show them. I gave all the boys candy just because they were boys. I told the girls the couldn't have any just because they were girls. The girls did NOT like it! "That's not nice! That was rude! Girls need candy too! No fair!" were some of the comments I heard from the girls. (Meanwhile, the boys were laughing and eating candy.) At this point, we stopped and talked about how it made the girls feel. I linked that activity to how people were once treated based on the color of their skin. 

We looked at 2 eggs- a brown egg and a white egg. Students made observations about the outside of the eggs and then they predicted what they thought the inside would be like. After cracking them open, we talked about how even though they were different on the outside they were the same on the inside, just like us!

We learned that MLK had a dream and listened to some of his "I have a dream..." speech. We discussed what some of our dreams were and in writing, we wrote about our dreams. 

Christmas Holiday fun- 2 weeks in 1 post!

I have been super busy lately and have not had time to post! So as I am sitting in the doctor's office I figured there was no better time! 

We have learned with gingerbread, elves, the Polar Express, Santa, Christmas Around the World, etc. All of these things make learning our Kindergarten standards so much fun!

 We read the three books: The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Girl, and The Gingerbread Boy. We compared all 3 stories by the characters, the refrain, and the ending of the stories. We worked together to sequence the events from The Gingerbread Man using a Flow Map!

In writing we pretended we were the Gingerbread Man and wrote what we would run away from. One of our parent gifts was making gingerbread cinnamon dough ornaments! We did this as we were working on our writings. We watched Mrs. Edwards mix up the cinnamon dough! 

We were able to watch the 1st graders perform their Beary Merry Holiday musical! They did so good!

         

In Math we worked on comparing numbers the last few weeks- both numbers and amounts. We practiced using the vocabulary words of more, less, and equal to. In the game below students had a number mat and bears. They dropped their bear and read what number it landed on. They then compared the 2 numbers and practiced using the vocabulary words.

During these 2 weeks in Social Studies we looked at Christmas Around the World. We received a suitcase, a boarding pass, and a passport! 

We colored in the country we visited on the suitcase and wrote the name name of the country or continent on the back of the passport! 

For the United States we discussed Santa, the Nativity, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.

We made Santa to decorate our room.

We wrote letters to Santa in writing.

We made Menorahs.

We learned about Christmas in Mexico.

We made poinsettias and wrote about it

in writing!

We learned that in France they put out wooden sabots (shoes) for treats and goodies.

In Germany we learned they make gingerbread men. So we colored and decorated a gingerbread man!

In England we learned the send Christmas cards so we made cards for our parent gift bags!

Teachers and staff and some fun dress up days! One day was Grinch day and we could even wear Whohair! Left to right is Ms. Deal, Mrs. Edwards, and Ms. Rivera.

Our kindergarten team all dressed up! 

One day in writing we "elfed" the kids and gave them elf names! They then wrote about theirself as an elf! Their writings were AWESOME!!

We read the book Santa Got Stuck. After reading it we thought about and wrote what we would do if Santa was stuck in our chimney!

One day was Polar Express day. Students wore their pajamas and slippers to school. 

Kindergarten teachers decorated the library and library entrance like the North Pole.

We had a surprise package straight from the North Pole! It was even ice cold!! BRRR! The package included a letter from Santa, Polar Express tickets, and a bell for each child.

Students received their tickets to board the "train" in the library. Our assistant superintendent, Dr. Ken Greene, came dressed as the conductor to read to us!

He punched our tickets as we went in.

We sequenced the story with picture cards and then drew our own picture with a group to sequence beginning, middle, and end. We also wrote about what we would want as the first gift of Christmas.

On the last day we had our book exchange and class party! Thank you for sending in new, unused books!

We sang Up on The Housetop, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas for our parents and visitors.

We decorated sugar cones like Christmas tree with green frosting and added candies and sprinkles for ornaments.