We've had a great week so far in K-1 and K-3! On Monday, we began learning Jolly Phonics where I taught them the letter "Ss" sound. Both classes were so excited to begin learning Jolly Phonics. I taught both classes the letter "Ss" using our Jolly Phonics program through our interactive whiteboard. First we learned about the letter through learning a song and a story. Then I asked them to share some things they heard about in the story that began with the letter "Ss." They came up with some wonderful words! Then, we learned how to write the letter "Ss" with the correct letter formation. In kindergarten, we write our letters and numbers beginning from the top to finishing at the bottom. To practice what we learned, they did the letter "Ss" page in their Jolly Phonics packets where they practiced writing the lowercase "s" on the lines and they got to color the picture that went along with the Jolly Phonics letter story. On the back of the page, they circled pictures on the page that began with the letter "Ss." They all did a great job! Lastly, we glued the letter "Ss" in our Jolly Phonics sound books and we drew 4 things that began with the letter sound. They had so much fun learning Jolly Phonics!
We also began learning math on Monday too where we talked about the numbers 1 and 2 and the meaning of both numbers. We did a worksheet to go along with learning these new concepts for added practice. Both classes had so much fun showing me what they learned in our math lesson that day!
Today, I read the class the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and we did a fun art project to go along with it. Both classes were so excited when I told them I would be reading them this fun children's book and they had so much fun participating in our class discussion as I read the book out loud to them. I was impressed with how well they knew the order of the days of the week and their knowledge of the lifcycle of a butterfly. Great job, K-1 and K-3! When I was done reading the story, we did a following directions art project where we made our own Very Hungry Caterpillars. The head of our caterpillars were red like the one in the story, but the bodies were created by making an AB pattern with their cut out circles. I let them choose what two colors they would like to use for their caterpillar bodies. For this activity, we met as a group on the rug and I would give them a few instructions and they would then do it at their table spots and then we would meet again for a few more instuctions. They would listen to my instructions and complete it on their own until the whole project was finished. For the caterpillar head and body, I gave them cut out construction paper squares. We learned how to use scissors in making a square into a circle. To do that, we cut a little bit off the four corners and we then rounded them out. At first this task seems tricky but with more and more practice, they all got the hang of it! I LOVE doing these projects in kindergarten because it gives my kindergarten friends a lot of practice strengthening their fine motor skills with cutting and drawing and it's also fun to see how their projects all turn out when given the same instructions. When they were done with their projects, they all held them up so proudly and couldn't wait for me to see their finished caterpillars. It was so much fun doing this lesson with both classes today. Here are some pictures of both classes making their caterpillars and one of each class holding up their finished projects.
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| Here's my K-1 friends and their finished caterpillars. |
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| Here's my K-3 friends and their finished caterpillars. |
After we finished making our caterpillars my morning class had LMC (Library) with Mrs. Dufern for the remainder of our kindergarten day. The class was so excited that they would get to check out a book for the first time today and that they get to keep it at home for a week to enjoy reading with their family. K-1 (morning class) will return their library books on Tuesdays. My K-3 (afternoon class) friends will get to have LMC with Mrs. Dufern on Thursday where they will get to check out a book on that day and they will return it on Thursdays. In the afternoon, I was able to teach my kindergarten friends another Jolly Phonics letter since they didn't have LMC today. We learned the letter "Aa" and the sound it makes. They had so much fun learning all about this letter. Ask them to show you the motion we learned for the letter "Ss" and "Aa" sounds. My morning class will be learning the letter "Aa" sound in Jolly Phonics tomorrow.
Both classes are doing wonderful and I am so proud of all the growth they are making as learners, especially with learning the kindergarten routine! They have impressed me more and more each day! Have a wonderful night, everyone and I look forward to another fun day with all my kindergarten friends tomorrow!
** Please remember that tomorrow night (Wednesday) is Curriculum Night. I will be presenting with Mrs. Martens, the other kindergarten teacher, in the Commons from 6:00-6:30pm. I have put together a curriculum night folder for all of you so please make sure you take the folder with your child's name on it when you arrive. I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow night and sharing about all the fun things we will be learning in kindergarten this year!
