Today in kindergarten, our day began with a literacy lesson learning all about open and closed syllables. In kindergarten? YES and the kids did great learning it! They did such a wonderful job during the lesson making sure to ask questions on the content they didn't understand. We went through examples of each kind slowly to ensure they were able to identify if a syllable was open or closed and were able to explain why too. I was so impressed! When I finished the whole group lesson, they went to their seats and I gave them a worksheet that allowed them to show me what htey learned in the lesson. I asked them to sort a group of words in whether they were open or closed syllables. They did great learning this challenging concept for the first time and I was SO PROUD of them!

In the afternoon, I did a social studies lesson with the class on the Lunar New Year since it was today. We learned all about this fun celebration and the traditions that go along with it. We made paper dragon puppets which they all LOVED making. They couldn't wait to take them home to show you! We learned that in the parade, the longer the dragon is.. the more luck it would bring everyone! We had a great discussion talking about all the neat traditions they have on this "special" day and the meaning behind each one. Did you know they clean their houses the day before the Lunar New Year to sweep out all the bad luck they might have in their houses from the year before? It was so much fun learning about the Lunar New Year today. We also learned that this year is the year of the snake. We learned about the meaning behind why it's the year of the snake and they got to color a page with that as well. In math, we are learning about teen numbers and place value. They are learning how to show me the amount of teen numbers on ten frames and learning how to explain how many groups of 10 or ones are in each number. I am impressed with all they are learning in math! Way to go, K-1!

We have been learning a lot!

What a busy last two days in K-1! In math, we are learning about teen numbers such as the amount, place value, showing it on ten frames, etc. They have become teen number experts this week and are doing great recognizing those "tricky" teens alot quicker now! In literacy, we have been reading some information text books and talking about the features in those specific genre. This week the books we have read focused on how to make your bodies strong and healthy that are free from germs and how to take care of it by what we eat, exercising and getting enough rest. The class has LOVED reading these boooks and we have had a lot of wonderful discussions reading them together! Another way we can keep our bodies healthy is by self-regulating our emotions as well so I have also been doing a lot of lessons with the class on social-emotional learning as well. They are all going together so nicely where we have had some great, meaningful discussions! I have LOVED these past literacy lessons! I have continued to meet with guided reading groups where I meet two groups two days of the week. I LOVE this time with my kindergarten friends where I get to know them all individually as learners and teaching them some important skills that good readers do. I also get to work with them in a small group during this time to do some "word work" where we are learning how to write words and work on those "tricky" digraphs. They have amazed me with how much they are growing as readers and writers! In writing, we have continued to work on writing two or more complete sentences where our sentences start with a capital letter, have finger spaces, and have a complete thought that makes sense. They have been doing a fantastic job writing sentences on their own and plugging in known "heart words" in their writing and sounding out the words they want to write with their brave spelling! Their illustrations that they draw with their sentences too have come such a long way as well where their pictures tell a story in itself with all their wonderful detail. They are using "realistic" colors and labeling them too. I am SO PROUD of how much growth they are all making! WOW! In social studies, we have started a new unit this week about history and learning about themselves as individuals. This social studies unit is pairing nicely with our literacy lessons. The class has been doing a WONDERFUL job the past few weeks with listening, following directions, and trying their very best! We have a sweet little class family where everyone looks out for one another and they treat eachother with such kindness. I have a WONDERFUL class and I am enjoying each and every day with them! They blow me away with how much they have learned!!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!

Today was such a fun day in K-1! We learned all about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in honor of having the day off from school this coming Monday due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We watched a Brainpop Jr. movie and I read them a book to learn all about him and why we have a "special' holiday in honor of him and all his hard work. To go along with all we learned, we made a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. TLC project. I am SO proud of what AMAZING listeners all my kindergarten friends were and their projects turned out absolutely amazing! Here are some pictures of the class with their adorable Martin Luther King, Jr. projects and some making them in the classroom. Yes....they had to take some silly photos too!

Have a great long weekend everyone and enjoy the extra day off this weekend! I will look forward to seeing my kindergartne friends on Tuesday!

What a week in K-1!

We have had quite a busy week in K-1! We had MAP testing this week in both reading and math. Boy, my kindergarten friends blew me away with how well they did! They did OUTSTANDING!! Way to go, K-1! The highlight of our week was meeting with Mrs. Muhr's class for our 5th grade buddy time. My kindergarten friends LOVED meeting their buddies and doing a few activities. We did a "get to know you" activity and they also had the opportunity to show off what good readers they are by reading their book bag books. SO much fun!

In math, we have begun a new book with new concepts that focus on the learning all about the teen numbers 10-20. We are learning all about the quantity, how to write the numbers the correct way and understanding how many 10's and 1's are in each number by showing the amount on ten frames and doing many hands on activities. We have also begun learning addition as well. They are learning how to add small numbers within 10 and how to write an addition sentence correctly such as: 2+4=6. They have loved learning these new math concepts and picking them up quickly!

In literacy, we are focusing on those tricky digraphs and learning how to read and write words that have them within the word. We have also been doing a lot of activities where my kindergarten friends are reading sentences and matching pictures that go along with the sentence. They are reading for content instead of stopping to sound out each word. The more we practice these skills, the more fluent they are becoming as readers and writers. We have also learned some new "heart words" and we have added them to our heart word ring. We have been doing a lot of activities to practice these new words so they become automatic when seeing them.In writing, we have been working on being illustrators where I ask them to draw a picture to a writing prompt. Then I ask them to write one or two sentences that go along with their picture using their own "brave spelling." They are doing a WONDERFUL job writing sentences on their own and I am so proud of how much growth they have made in the last few weeks. We have been talking a lot about what good writers do and plugging those skills into their own writing.

We have begun guided reading groups this week. I have four groups and in each group we practice specific heart words, learn some reading strategies that "good readers" do, read a book together and talk about the book to ensure they are reading for comprehension. When we finish all that, we do some "word work" where the kids get to work with me in writing words. All these activities help my kindergarten friends to grow tremendously as readers and writers. I LOVE this time with my kindergarten friends because I get to meet with them in a smaller setting and really get to know each and every one of my friends as readers and writers. This helps me to see what they are doing well and what I can help them learn more about.

In SEL, we have been talking a lot about feelings and how to self-regulate our feelings with specific strategies. We have read many books that go along with these lessons which has helped us to have a lot of wonderful discussions as a class. They are doing great using these strategies in day to day interactions with their classmates and their time at school. In social studies, we have been talking about holidays and we will be talking a lot about one in length tomorrow and why we have Monday off from school next week. We will be learning all about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and we will be making a fun project to go along with all we learned. We are learning so much and I couldn't be more proud of all of their growth! They are doing AMAZING!!