Sorting Attributes

Today in math, we are working on sorting a group of things by attributes. We learned what an attribute was and we talked about how we can sort things by them. I paired up the class in groups of 2 or 3 and I gave them each a box full of different pattern shapes. I asked them to sit with their partner and sort the objects in a few different ways based on attributes. They ALL did a FANTASTIC job sorting the shapes. They came up with a lot of wonderful ideas! They sorted them by: color, size, shape, number of corners, and thick or thin. I was AMAZED with how well they did on this activity and how well they all worked together. They had so much fun in math today!

We have been busy owls in kindergarten this week! I have loved my time meeting with all my small groups to work on reading skills and hearing how much they are all growing as readers! I have also loved the time in those groups too to work on word work! They have all become such wonderful readers and writers! WOW! In literacy, we are continuing to read informational text books about our beautiful country while learning thins that good readers do. They have had so much fun learning about America and connecting it witht their own experiences! In writing, all my kinders are writing three or more really good sentences that have nouns, verbs, and appropriate punctuation. They are doing a great job plugging known heart words in their writing and sounding out unknown words all on their own. I am AMAZED with their writing and many teachers have popped their heads in our classroom to compliment their wonderful writing I have hung in the hall. They can't believe my kinders have written the writing that is hanging outside our classroom. I am SO PROUD OF THEM!! We are plugging right along and learning so incredibly much! I am beyond proud of all my kinder friends!

What a week!!

In social studies this week, I taught the class about "wants versus needs." They learned the meaning of both concepts and we also studied each in great length. A NEED is something people must have to live such as food, shelter and clothing. A WANT is something people like but don't need to live such as toys, new markers, books, or video games. The class did a WONDERFUl job learning both concepts and today we finished the unit where I asked them to draw something they learned they "need" and something they "want." I was so impressed with what ideas they drew and how well they did choosing something that fit into each catergory. Way to go, K-!!

In literacy, we are continuing our theme "Home of the Brave" in HMH. We have been reading non-fiction books about holidays and about the wonderful country we live in. This week, we have read books that have focused on holidays and 4th of July in particular. The class did a great job connecting the information with the book to their own experiences in their lives. We have enjoyed talking about the holidays and ways we celebrate them with our families. Some things we do the same and a lot of my kinder friends have their own traditions with their own families. It's been fun learning about everyone's families and what is important to their family when they celebrate specific holidays! Alongside reading these books, we have also been learning about compouned words, nouns, adjectives and how to define a central idea. I am amazed with how quickly my kindergarten friends learned what a noun and adjective is and how well they can identify them in a story when I read it outloud to them. WOW! We have also continued to identify characters, setting, authors, illustrators, etc. They are learning so much as readers and I am thrilled with how much they are growing as learners!

In math, we are continuing to solidify addition and subtraction. I have even challenged them today with a game that they played with their 5th grade buddies called Addition and Subtraction War. It is the game of War but with addition and subtraction problems. Whoever had the bigger sum or difference got to keep the cards. This was challenging because it was math problems within 20. Not being able to use their fingers was "tricky' so I taught them how to use a handy froggie counter to help them. They LOVED playing this with their buddies and showing off how well they can add and subtract! Way to go, K-1! I asked them to play this game one time at home with their families for added practice. In math, we are also learning place value with identifying how many 10's and 1's are in a given number. They did great learning this concept and counting correctly. Yay, K-1!

In writing, they have all grown SO MUCH!!! When given a writing prompt, they are all writing 3 sentences with ease and are doing a wonderful job remembering to do all the things good writers do. Things such as: starting a sentence with a capital letter, putting finger spaces between words, putting the correct punctuation at the end and writing their sentences the correct way on the lines. Their sentences have such wonderful detail and so do their pictures that they draw to go along with their writing! I have a class of beautiful artists who's drawings can tell a story in themselves! Way to go, K-1! My kinders are truly amazing and each day, I am so excited to see the growth they are all making as learners! It's beyond AMAZING! They are more than ready for first grade already and I am so proud of all of them! They have been working so hard and wow....it sure shows! Have a great long weekend, everyone!

Fun Friday

We had so much fun with Fun Friday today. Along with all the curriculum we normally do in our kindergarten day, I took a short time to do something fun with my kinders. I did a directed draw sunflower with the class and then I taught them how to color it in a specific way with crayons. Last, we used watercolor paints to paint the blue sky in the background. Their sunflowers turned out AMAZING and they were so excited to bring them home to you today! Yay, K-1! They did an excellent job following my step-by-step directions in drawing and coloring the flower. I am so proud of how well they all did!

Time is flying and my kinders are growing more and more each and every day as learners...WOW!!!

In litaracy, the HMH lessons have focused on the theme of "Home of the free and the brave." All of the books have been focused on learning about our country including our presidents and why it is so special. We have also learned why authors write text (their purpose) such as to inform, persuade, or to entertain. With each book we have read together, we have talked about which one fits why the author wrote the book. The book today was called, Presidents' Day. With this book, I asked my kinders to do a reader's response asking if they would like to be president or not and why. I LOVED walking around the classroom as they wrote their responses and drew a picture to go along with it. Many of my kinders decided that they did not want to be a president because it was too big of a job with some BIG decisions they wouldn't want to make. Friends have also shared that they didn't want to be president because they wanted to be other things when they grew up. I am so proud of the thought my kinder friends are putting into their written responses and I am amazed with how well they are sounding out the words they want to write to complete their sentences. Their drawings are outstanding full of detail and can tell a story all by themselves. I am AMAZED with what artists they have all become! Through this unit we have also continued to discuss story elements such as: characters, setting, beginning, middle, and end, central idea of the story, etc. We are learning so much with each literacy lesson and I am truly beyond proud of how much my kinders are growing as literary learners!

In math, our unit has been about skip counting by 10's and counting objects up to 100. We have also been talking about what number comes before or after a given number and have practiced counting up from a number and counting backwards too. They are doing a great job identifying BIG numbers within 100 and being able to tell me how many 10's and 1's make up that number. They all seem to LOVE working with numbers and are doing great with each new math concept we learn together in class. Today I paired up the class and I taught them how to play a game called "Race to 100." In this game, I gave each kinder a game sheet and a dice. They were asked to take turns with their partner rolling a dice and coloring that amount of squares on their gameboard. They kept switching back and forth rolling and coloring until one person reached 100 and won the game. They had so much fun playing with one another and sharing a high five and telling eachother "good game!" when someone reached 100. Great job, K-1!

In social studies, we have been studying economics where we have learned about what city, state, country and world we live in. To help them understand this concept we made a telescope and we put real pictures of where we live on them for reference. This helpd them to understand it even further. The lessons that followed were about learning about other countries and how they are different from where we live. They have different languages, foods, games, and music. My kinders loved learning how to say "hello" in many different languages and hearing music from all over the world. We are enjoying learning about the world!

In structured literacy, we have continued to learn about blends. We have practiced reading and writing words that begin and end with blends. They are doing a great job taking what they have learned from these lessons and implementing them in what they are reading and writing in the classroom. Their writing has impressed me more than I can tell you! They are all writing three or four well thought out sentences that begin with a capital letter and end with punctuation. They are doing a good job plugging in known heart words writing them the correct way and sounding out words they want to write with "brave spelling." I am so proud of all my kinder friends!