Peek at Our Week
September 26-30
MondayWe began Writer's Workshop this week. Children have their own writing folders. We have sung songs like "Learning Letter Sounds", played games with our alphabet linking chart, used many letter-sound games and activities during word work to prepare children to become as independent as possible in sounding out their own words. Each child is at a very different level at the beginning of the year. I emphasize to "sound out the word and write down what you hear". I also emphasize whatever they write down, from one letter to sentences is wonderful! It is most important at this stage that the child feel successful in their kindergarten writing. I do not spell for the children and my hope is that at home you encourage your child in the same way. If I feel as though the child will not remember what they have written, I will write it the "grown-up" way underneath.
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TuesdayIf you saw the short slide show on our home page you saw children engaged in math workshop. We have added some new materials including the 100 boards, bucket of 100 insects, which number will win to 6 which requires the child to trace the number instead of just marking the square. We completed our September math journals and will begin our October journals on Monday. Children have also been working on a shape booklet. As with many of our planned tasks, the book contains math content, but also a question that has the children thinking of connections and of course writing down their ideas. We have continued to work on the following concepts: identifying shapes, introduction of 3-D shapes, sorting and patterning, counting, number identification and correct numeral formation and positional words. I sent home the number rhymes that we use in class to help children remember the numeral formation.
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WednesdayWe have learned more songs this week and I introduced GoNoodle to the children. This site has many wonderful zany songs to get the children up and moving. We found last year when we worked with our third grade buddies that they liked some of the same songs on GoNoodle that we did! We have learned The Scholastic songs to the letters E and F, the "Chicken Dance", the "Hokey-Pokey" and "Learning Letter Sounds". On GoNoodle we sang and danced to "Milkshake", "Pop See Ko" and "Kids Bop Shuffle". We have now played the number game by ones to ten and by tens to one hundred. Ask your child how we play the game. We also have a VERY serious on-going game of Simon Says. The class and I are tied at 6-6. One of the best lines of the week was one little boy saying "I'm going to practice at home". : )
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FridayIt takes many weeks for a class to become a community with a great climate and culture. We use Responsive Classroom to form a kind, positive, calm and welcoming atmosphere. The children are already bonding and making many friends. We have school rules that the third graders made posters for last year and they are hung up around the school. We also have classroom rules that we made together. We are kind and respectful to each other. We keep our hands to ourselves. We use walking feet and we use materials with care. We have talked a great deal about respect and what that means and how that looks in school. We have a quiet spot (NOT a time out spot) which children are asked to use when their bodies are not calm or if they need some time to make better choices. It is up to the individual student when they feel they are ready to rejoin the group.
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