3D Shapes
This week we talked about the 2D and 3D shapes that we know and the difference between the two. We learned a poem about different 3D shapes in our environment. See Songs and Poems for the Poem. The students went on a 3D shape hunt around the classroom. They found lots of cubes, prisms, spheres, cones and cylinders.
Community
We learned about the different types of communities that we are part of this week. The students decided that community means a group of people coming together. They talked about how they were part of a community where they live, Earl Grey school community and the Kindergarten community. We took advantage of the nice weather and went outside to sketch our school community.
Zoo
What animals need to survive... as told by Kindergarteners:
- Food
- Water
- Nature
- Sleep
- Play and Exercise
- Friends
- Temperature
During our day at the zoo the students looked at the different habitats to see the different things animals had to help them survive. The day after the zoo, we worked in our visual journals to recreate our favorite habitats. The students used different types of paper to recreate the habitat.
- Food
- Water
- Nature
- Sleep
- Play and Exercise
- Friends
- Temperature
During our day at the zoo the students looked at the different habitats to see the different things animals had to help them survive. The day after the zoo, we worked in our visual journals to recreate our favorite habitats. The students used different types of paper to recreate the habitat.
Passion for Glass
Anna from Passion for Glass was in this week to teach the students about how to make art with glass. She talked to them about the safety of working with glass, as well as, how glass is made. She also talked briefly about the process of glass art. The students then quickly got to work. Anna took all of their projects back to her studio and will put them in the kiln to fuse together. We should have the final projects back late next week.
Things to ask:
- How is glass made?
- What is Frit? (frit is tiny pieces of glass that you can sprinkle on your designs to add details)
- Why does she have to put it in the kiln?
Things to ask:
- How is glass made?
- What is Frit? (frit is tiny pieces of glass that you can sprinkle on your designs to add details)
- Why does she have to put it in the kiln?
Addition
We spent some time this week practicing our adding. The students paired up and each had to roll a dice. Once they both had rolled a number they had to say their number PLUS their friends number to figure out what it EQUALS. The classroom was buzzing with math words. Some of the students were able to do mental math to add the numbers together and some counting the dots on the dice.
We also helped our school community out this week by purchasing items at the Gr. 4/5 Garage Sale. They were raising money and awareness for the WWF and red cross. It was great to see the students asking how much something was and searching for the appropriate amount of money.
SOMETHING NEW we have been trying at school: On Fridays at the end of the day we sit in a big circle and we pass around a talking stick. The students are able to say something that they liked about the week OR something they had a hard time with. The students are very considerate with listening to their peers when someone else has the talking stick. This is a great opportunity for them to reflect on their week.
Literacy Work
We started literacy bins in the morning this week. When the students first come into school, they do their morning jobs and then find their name at a literacy center. There are letter centers, word centers, letter sound centers, blending sound centers. The students really enjoyed coming in this week and finding their names to see what they would be working on.
Math Sentences
We have been very busy this week getting ready for Mothers Day and the Volunteer Tea. Although we were swamped with art activities we have also had time to start some new mathematical thinking and reasoning. We have started practicing addition and subtraction sentences. I used the students to model how to create an addition sentence and a 'take away' sentence. For example: I had 2 students pretend playing in the park, then 2 more decided to join, I ended up with 4 students playing in the park. But then one student had to go home, so now I only had 3 students playing in the park. After doing a variety of examples, the students split off into pairs and started creating sentences with their buddies. Some of the stories they came up with were pretty cute.
At Home: You can fit math stories into supper time, play time, story time, driving time etc. Ask your children to try to solve your story. Maybe you have 4 wheels on your car but one tire goes flat. How many good tires do you have left?
At Home: You can fit math stories into supper time, play time, story time, driving time etc. Ask your children to try to solve your story. Maybe you have 4 wheels on your car but one tire goes flat. How many good tires do you have left?
Art Piece
We have been spending a lot of time this week preparing for our Spring Concert next week. We also have continued working on our classroom art piece. Take a look at the progress so far.
We had some special guest visit us this week. HBJs' grandmother came into the classroom Thursday with a wonderful cake to share with the class. Her grandmother owns a bakery school and spends a lot of time creating these beautiful cakes. No wonder HBJ wants to be a baker when she grows up. We also had Abbotsford Junior High School Band come in to perform for the whole school. A lot of students were inspired to start playing an instrument and some were even inspired to become an composer.
Earth Day
We spent this week thinking about ways we can help the Earth and why it is important. The students came up with the following strategies: Reuse water bottles, no littering, recycling, save water and don't cut down trees if you don't have to. We then watched the following video to help us better understand what happens to our recycling after the truck takes it.
Things to ask:
- What happens to cardboard?
- What happens to plastic?
- What happens with the metal or tin cans?
- What happens to cardboard?
- What happens to plastic?
- What happens with the metal or tin cans?
The Sun
We spent some time this week talking and learning about the sun. This is what the students knew before we started learning about it.
What to ask:
- What makes the moon so hot?
- Is the moon a planet or a star?
We watched the video below after talking about what we already know. The students were very engaged and excited to learn that the sun was actually a star.
- What makes the moon so hot?
- Is the moon a planet or a star?
We watched the video below after talking about what we already know. The students were very engaged and excited to learn that the sun was actually a star.
With Earth Day coming up we have started working on our collaborative art piece that was inspired by Claude Monet. We looked at some of his artwork and talked about the types of tools he used to create them. Please ask your child about Monet and his art work (lily pads). We are working together to create our own piece of art work. We started painting newspapers this week. Next week we will cut up the paper into tiny pieces. We will then use those pieces to create the world. Here are some pictures of the first step. Check out next weeks blog for the progress on this art piece.
The Grade One's have been working hard on writing stories. They wrote their stories knowing that Kindergarten was going to be their audience. This week the Grade 1's came in and were broken into little groupings with Kindergarten. The Grade 1's were so proud and Kindergarten is looking forward to writing their own stories next year in grade 1 to share with next year's Kindergarten.
The Moon
This week we jumped in our rocket ships and took off to outer space. With Earth Day coming up this month, I thought there was no better time for us to learn about space. We started this week with talking about the moon. I asked the students what they knew already about the moon. Here is what they had to say:
We then watched this quick video that shows a closer look at the moon. There is a voiceover, but I had it on silent and we just looked and talked about what we saw. One student asked "Why does the moon look so shiny to us?"
Check our bulletin board at school for things we learned about the moon.
Things to ask at home:
- What do you need to make moon dust?
- What planet can you see when you look at the moon?
- What do you need to make moon dust?
- What planet can you see when you look at the moon?
Sneaky Leprechauns
I am sure most of you have heard that we had some visitors last weekend! On Monday, we came back to our classroom left in a complete disaster. We quietly tip-toed around the room to see if we could find the culprit. We had no such luck. But they definitely left evidence.
We also spent some time this week practicing our painting skills. We did a guided drawing of Easter Bunnies, I then had the students practice controlling their paint brushes, by using water color paint on certain parts of their guided drawing. This is really great for students because they quickly learn that they need to go slow with their art work.
Trap Presentations
Mar 5th - 15th
Students have been working hard on their traps over the past couple weeks and we have started presentations! Sharing their traps and their plans to trap a leprechaun is a great opportunity for students to work on their presentation skills, as well as, their abilities to be a good audience member. Students let their audience know when they are done presenting by asking if there are "Any questions, comments or suggestions?" The audience is then given an opportunity to respond to their peers leprechaun traps! Over the next couple weeks I will be posted a photo and a typed version of what the students have said during their presentation. I type out what the students say because it is a form of oral language assessment for me, and also a great opportunity for you to see how your child explains their thinking. Their traps turned out amazing, and their presentations so far have been really great! Instead of students full names I have written them in abbreviated form.
WC Trap
WC Presentation: The leprechaun is going to go in here and then down here and there is a bunch of stuff and then he goes down this one and there is a heavy thing and then he goes down this one and he goes “aaahhhhh” and there is glitter here and it is really hard to do a corner, straight in the box but a tube broke off. And I poked holeson this side, there there and that’s the back and this. And it goes all the way in this trap here and he gets squeezed any comments suggestions or questions.
Student Responses: RG “I really like when he goes in there.” AM “Whats that when he goes inside that box.” GM “I like the part where he falls down the tube.” MK “I like when falls down the tic tak box.”
Student Responses: RG “I really like when he goes in there.” AM “Whats that when he goes inside that box.” GM “I like the part where he falls down the tube.” MK “I like when falls down the tic tak box.”
MD Trap
MD Presentation: So this I the pink so he can climb up but he can’t climb up so he will fall down. He will try to climb up here and when he gets in he trips “Ahhhhh” when he goes in here I’ll pull this up then he can go like ahhhhhhh and then he will trip on this and urrrrr ahhh. Then he will trip on this straw and then he will going going ahhhhh.He will fall here and go down “ahhh” Any questions comments or suggestions
Student Responses: MG “I really like the flowers that are on it” YJ “I like the pink pink and those you cut with the lines” KY “I likethe pink paint” IN “I like the purple flower.” RG “I like the sparkly one” GM “I like the part where he falls down.” AS “Maybe next time you want to put some forks in there.”
Student Responses: MG “I really like the flowers that are on it” YJ “I like the pink pink and those you cut with the lines” KY “I likethe pink paint” IN “I like the purple flower.” RG “I like the sparkly one” GM “I like the part where he falls down.” AS “Maybe next time you want to put some forks in there.”
IN Trap
IN Presentation: Climb up string. He gets in there. For him to climb up. He is going to fall down. Comments or suggestions?
Student Responses: AS “ Can I please see whats inside the box?” RG “Maybe next time you could add some poky things so that he really hurts himself.” AM “He might think everything in there is gold so you might have to stick him to it with some glue.”
Student Responses: AS “ Can I please see whats inside the box?” RG “Maybe next time you could add some poky things so that he really hurts himself.” AM “He might think everything in there is gold so you might have to stick him to it with some glue.”
MR Trap
MR Presentation: So this right here, do you see it, these are something that hangs out that might go out. And see this on top… maybe he’ll get scared. And do you see the star there he might think that this comes and it splatters right to there and then splatters right to there and there and there. Do you see that little red, he might think that is blood, and all that other red stuff he might think that is still blood. See the blue, green yellow red and the red might think those ones are the most dangerous. And do you see whats on the front. I put some more here, The leprechaun might think that is blood, because there is lots more. Any comments or suggestions?
Student Responses: MG “I really like the red on it.” AS “I really like the thing that sticks out the popsicle sticks that stick out." YJ “I like that green stuff that you sticked on the popsicle sticks.” MK “I like the paper human.” MD “I really like the flowers and stars and the red” JB “I like the paper guy up there.”
Student Responses: MG “I really like the red on it.” AS “I really like the thing that sticks out the popsicle sticks that stick out." YJ “I like that green stuff that you sticked on the popsicle sticks.” MK “I like the paper human.” MD “I really like the flowers and stars and the red” JB “I like the paper guy up there.”
AS Trap
AS Presentation: When the leprechaun goes in there and then if Ms. Goodine wants to she can gettwo lids and they can trap it. And there is a little gold thing in there. And then let me see whats inside oooo I glued it… and when that turns around like that, this then it can,, Ms. Goodine can turn it around and when the leprechaun is inside it he will get dizzy and then I can catch it and cook it for dinner. Any questions, suggestions or comments?
Student Responses: MK “I like it when they turn around.” KK “I like that even when he goes inside there he can get trapped by that whole.” WC “I like it when he goes spinning and spinning and spinning.” AM “Your invention kind of looks like a boat” IL “I like it when you cook him and eat him for dinner” CC “I like the red paint the best.” MD “I really like the when he spins spins spins around.”
Student Responses: MK “I like it when they turn around.” KK “I like that even when he goes inside there he can get trapped by that whole.” WC “I like it when he goes spinning and spinning and spinning.” AM “Your invention kind of looks like a boat” IL “I like it when you cook him and eat him for dinner” CC “I like the red paint the best.” MD “I really like the when he spins spins spins around.”
IL Trap
IL Presentation: I made a letter P and put a dot in the middle to freak him out, he’ll think it’s a real P that will walk after him and he is so scared and has so many eyes, he has 13 eyes. I painted this so it is really shiny and he thinks it is gold. I was supposed to paint it yellow but I did not see the yellow paint, so I got a little nose to suck him and he’ll come to this magic door to open and he’ll boost and it’ll blow him so high he will go out this hole. He will get so scared he is hanging and the elastic will pull him all the way to here and then I will glue him up. And there is so much green yearn because to tie him up in here. Any comments, questions or suggestions?
Student Responses: GM “I like did you poke the leprechaun?” MD “I really like when you twist around on the fork.” MK “I like it when he gets blasted through that hole.” HBJ “I like it when he goes through the magic door and goes into the hole." WC “I like it when he umm just goes through the hole.” VT “Whats inside?” AM “I like it when he falls down on the rope.”
Student Responses: GM “I like did you poke the leprechaun?” MD “I really like when you twist around on the fork.” MK “I like it when he gets blasted through that hole.” HBJ “I like it when he goes through the magic door and goes into the hole." WC “I like it when he umm just goes through the hole.” VT “Whats inside?” AM “I like it when he falls down on the rope.”
EH Trap
EH Presentation: So he umm climbs up from here then he comes into here to here then he gets poked by the forks then he comes in the spots that he jumps to this one and then he goes into here and he grabs onto here. Any comments, questions or suggestions?
Student Responses: AD “I love the pink stuff.” MK “I like when he climbs up that” YJ “I like you put those sticks and he can climb on the sticks that was a good strategy.” HBJ “I like how you decorated it.” MD “I really like when he jumps off those sticks.” KK “I like that when he walks up this he almost falls right in.” GM “I like where you put the sticks there.” RG “I really like when he hangs from the ropes” IN “I like the way you put the purple.”
Student Responses: AD “I love the pink stuff.” MK “I like when he climbs up that” YJ “I like you put those sticks and he can climb on the sticks that was a good strategy.” HBJ “I like how you decorated it.” MD “I really like when he jumps off those sticks.” KK “I like that when he walks up this he almost falls right in.” GM “I like where you put the sticks there.” RG “I really like when he hangs from the ropes” IN “I like the way you put the purple.”
MK Trap
MK Presentation: So he will go in here and then the floor will go “pinnnng peewww” and then ewwww pot of gold, then wahhh ouchy”And then he’ll climb up here walk walk walk ooo shiny, red, green green green green, And the shiny stuff in here that you can see later, then he’ll say ooo I want to go in here. It looks like there is soft glue in the bottom but it is actually really hard. And he will say ooooowwww green why can’t I walk. And then he will “ahhhhhhhh” and the door is glued but you can’t really see the glue. Up or he’ll walk walk walk walk walk walk ….wahhh owwwww!!! The glowy is to get him in there and the fork is to get him out. And there is slippery glue that he will try to climb and climb. He’ll think there is more glue then fall! Any questions, comments or suggestions?
Peer responses: KK “I like that he slips off of there” MD “I like when he goes ahhhh” WC “Next time should you add a little bit more glue on the pot of gold.” RG “Can you put next time some gold in there.” AS “I really like the pot of gold” WH “did you forget that yellow tube there.”
Peer responses: KK “I like that he slips off of there” MD “I like when he goes ahhhh” WC “Next time should you add a little bit more glue on the pot of gold.” RG “Can you put next time some gold in there.” AS “I really like the pot of gold” WH “did you forget that yellow tube there.”
VT Trap
VT Presentation: The pink stuff is for balancing on him and he falls. He can get out once he gets inside. And when I open it and then I’ll put him inside it. The stick is for his gold, even though its not and he runs on it. The string is for he sits and then I will grab it and you will see him fall and he will fall. The red stuff is where he can bounce on the sparkling red stuf and then he is going to get stuck again. And there is something inside it. So he can be scared at them. And when he goes right here he can’t go and when he goes here he will get spiked and he will get poked and get out. And he will think this is a real spider even though its fake. And right here is going to be where he goes in and fall. And its white over here and he thinks it’s a nice thing and then he is going to slip. Is there any comments, suggestions or questions?
Peer responses: EH “I like the bat that’s on it” MD “I like when he goes on here and gets prickled.” RG “I like the pink stuff” KY “Why did you put a reindeer there.” YJ “I like that when he falls out and when he sits down and then goes up and put him in the box” GM “Whats the red string for?”
Peer responses: EH “I like the bat that’s on it” MD “I like when he goes on here and gets prickled.” RG “I like the pink stuff” KY “Why did you put a reindeer there.” YJ “I like that when he falls out and when he sits down and then goes up and put him in the box” GM “Whats the red string for?”
CC Trap
CC Presentation: So when I paint some more he will walk on it and get wet feet, and he will run and run and run and splat paint everywhere and run up there. See in there it is wet and he will get stuck. When he falls down there I will open it up and he will get stuck on the glue. I will put more glue on it and drip down and give him a glue shower. See that little thing there that is where the glue is coming from. I need to put some more glue on it to make it more wetter. He will think this paint is gold, I will draw circles and he will think its gold and it will fall down on him. I forgot to decorate the inside. I painted it some sparkles but I thought I forgot. Instead of opening it you can take a peak inside and see how dark it is and the sparkles in there. And this paper they will bounce on and I’ll open it and he will fall down there and get stuck in the glue. Well you know the glue is still wet. See how the fish is black, a little bit of glow there. See it it is on that side. “hot hot its hot in there” it’s got a little crack. Any questions, comments or suggestions?
Student Responses: WC “next time do you want to add some poisonous spray in the box so he thinks its on the gold” KK “Even well I like that even when he climbs up and you have that open and you close it and he’ll be stuck in there.” MK “You could put yellow or gold lava and then he’ll have gold and then he’ll say ooo gold and then he’ll say ooo hot hot.” GM “You should try some like ummm you should scare him with an eyeball.” AD “Maybe you can scare him with ummm you could probably burn him.” IN “What is that green?” RG “I really like when he falls in there.”
Student Responses: WC “next time do you want to add some poisonous spray in the box so he thinks its on the gold” KK “Even well I like that even when he climbs up and you have that open and you close it and he’ll be stuck in there.” MK “You could put yellow or gold lava and then he’ll have gold and then he’ll say ooo gold and then he’ll say ooo hot hot.” GM “You should try some like ummm you should scare him with an eyeball.” AD “Maybe you can scare him with ummm you could probably burn him.” IN “What is that green?” RG “I really like when he falls in there.”
GM trap
GM Presentation: This is my trap right here and these are my forks for trapping my leprechaun, these are where I poke him and trap him. And when you like shiny, I let them have shiny, and when he steals it I’ll go after him and catch him. Any comments, questions or suggestions?
Student Responses: JB “why do you have forks?” AS “Why do you have a little tube inside there?” MK “What about the top?” CC “Why is the white thing on the top of that small box there?” MR “What is that orange thing doing there?” KK “Why do you have that stick thing on that pink thing?” IL “I like your idea with the forks!” MD “I really like that you put some nice red and orange stars!” VT “I like the you built it” AS “You should put a tube to block it”
Student Responses: JB “why do you have forks?” AS “Why do you have a little tube inside there?” MK “What about the top?” CC “Why is the white thing on the top of that small box there?” MR “What is that orange thing doing there?” KK “Why do you have that stick thing on that pink thing?” IL “I like your idea with the forks!” MD “I really like that you put some nice red and orange stars!” VT “I like the you built it” AS “You should put a tube to block it”
WH Trap
WH Presentation: So mostly he climbs up here and he slips and goes over here and “oh I might want to dive in” then he gets stuck and can’t get out. Climb up these (stickers) to get up. He will slip on one of these and fall in there. It’s a sneak a hole and he goes straight down. And this is where he gets squished. And to get him out you have to pull on this yellow thing. And there are little bumps here where he climbs up and then he slips and falls down and hurts himself if he tries to climb up that way. And these are to make him want to come to my trap and he is going to go “ooooo silver and gold… wooowoooo ahhhhh. Oh this is not silver gold, wahhhh. Ouchies.” Metal is in the crack to trick him. And he can go in this secret door and I will close it and trap him if I see him go in. And this string he climbs up and he may want to follow and he will stay here. And if he lets go he will go weeee ahhhhh. And there is cardboard right here and if he wants to go in he will get squished and he will have to climb back off the glue and he will always slip because it is slippery in there. Shiny dots here and he might come to it because its shiny so he might think it is a good idea to go down there and he will be like “ooo ahhh oooo ahhh owwwww.” He will go right where the shiny green string is and he will go down this crack and fall “I can’t live down here, I don’t have enough air” And down here he will get super duper squished and will get squished all the way down. [Had to prompt him to stop] Any comments, suggestions or questions?
Student Responses: MK “I like it when he said ‘ooo I am the best ever…ohhh oh’” KK “I like that when he goes down into that crack he goes ‘ooo this is my spiked.. ahhh’” WC “ I liked the part when ‘im the best… ahhhh’” CC “I like the part that he likes hes on the slippery glue.” GM “Maybe you should actually add some slippery stuff outside” AM “I like your invention, I really like it.” IL “Why was a yellow star there?” MR “Why is that green sparkly thing close to the star?” MD “I really like that the part that he goes in that little ummm long thing.” KK “but he will get out from there.”
Student Responses: MK “I like it when he said ‘ooo I am the best ever…ohhh oh’” KK “I like that when he goes down into that crack he goes ‘ooo this is my spiked.. ahhh’” WC “ I liked the part when ‘im the best… ahhhh’” CC “I like the part that he likes hes on the slippery glue.” GM “Maybe you should actually add some slippery stuff outside” AM “I like your invention, I really like it.” IL “Why was a yellow star there?” MR “Why is that green sparkly thing close to the star?” MD “I really like that the part that he goes in that little ummm long thing.” KK “but he will get out from there.”
Leprechaun Traps
Feb 26th - Mar 2nd
We listened to the book "The Story of the Leprechaun" by Katherine Tegen early in the week to initiate conversations about leprechauns. The students and I engaged in a conversation about leprechauns by discussing what they like, what they look like, how they act, ideas for trapping one. Each student was given a cardboard box. I laid out a variety of building supplies and let the students get to work. Check out the beginning stages of some of their traps.
Conversations at home: Have some conversations with your child at home about their traps and what kind of tools they are using to make their traps. What is their plan to trap a leprechaun?
Conversations at home: Have some conversations with your child at home about their traps and what kind of tools they are using to make their traps. What is their plan to trap a leprechaun?
Pink Shirt Day - We had lots of conversations this week about what it means to be kind this week. We watched the story "Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon" by Patty Lovell. After reading the book we had conversations about Molly and how she dealt with the bully in the story. We talked about some ways that we can be kind to our friends and how we feel when our friends are nice or mean. Please have conversations with your child at home about ways to be kind at home or in the community.
Making Numbers
Feb 20th - 23rd
The students experimented with watercolor numbers this week. They were each given a blank 10-Frame and were asked to think of a number. They then had to create this number using water color. In Kindergarten we spend a lot of time learning about how to represent and think about numbers in a variety of ways; such as, tallies, manipulative, drawings, and art.
This week we have also been watching a lot of the Olympic highlights to count some medals. Sports we have watched so far: some of the figure skating (Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir/Meagan Duhamel and Eric Redford), Bobsleigh (girls), snowboarding slopestyle (Max Parrot and Laurie Blouin), free style skiing (boys). We will continue on with this next week a little even though the Olympics will be done. I would like for them to see a few more sports!
Winter Olympics
Feb 5th - 9th
This week we dove right into the 2018 Winter olympics. We watched some videos about the different sports that are in the winter olympics, and learned that there is A LOT! We spent some time researching Scott Davis and his history in the Winter Olympics. He made a great presentation today about his Olympic experiences. He is an inspiration to all! Next week the students will start tracking how many medals we have won and in what sports. Thanks to some wonderful volunteers their visual journals are all set up and organized. They are very excited to watch some event highlights in class. Check out the video below of Scott Davis's performance in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Good Choices and Poor Choices
We talked about good choices and poor choices at the beginning of the school year, but we spent some time reviewing these this week. The students were in small groups and worked together to sort good choices and poor choices. We talked about why it is important to make good choices always, and that when we make poor choices at schools we are not being respectful of others. We spent some time this week reviewing strategies on what to do if someone is bothering you. Ask your child to share these strategies with you!
Groundhog Day
Be sure to ask your child if we are having an early Spring this year, or 6 more weeks of winter? Below is a link that we watched today as a class to see if Billy the Groundhog saw his shadow or not. I also posted the song (under songs and poems) we learned this week to help us learn about Groundhog Day.
globalnews.ca/news/4002103/albertas-groundhog-day-2018-balzac-billy-predicts-an-early-spring/
globalnews.ca/news/4002103/albertas-groundhog-day-2018-balzac-billy-predicts-an-early-spring/
Leighton Art to Go
Who is Mr. Leighton?
- came to the West Coast because of his employment with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
- Was known to jump off the train to sketch and paint
- Painted scenes of the mountains
What did we learn?
- print-making: transferring art from one medium to another
- texture: what is it and how to capture it
- clay: how to mould it, how to texturize it, tools you can use to texturize it.
Words the students learned:
- print-making
- folding
- texture (rough, smooth, soft, bumpy, hard, wet, dry)
- press
- came to the West Coast because of his employment with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
- Was known to jump off the train to sketch and paint
- Painted scenes of the mountains
What did we learn?
- print-making: transferring art from one medium to another
- texture: what is it and how to capture it
- clay: how to mould it, how to texturize it, tools you can use to texturize it.
Words the students learned:
- print-making
- folding
- texture (rough, smooth, soft, bumpy, hard, wet, dry)
- press
Kananaskis in the Classroom
We had a wonderful presentation from Kananaskis in the classroom this week. Brenden came in and performed an unbelievable one man show about the wetlands with a focus on Beavers. After the presentation the students came up with a list of things that they learned.
What the Kindergarteners took from the presentation:
- We learned about the beavers, muskrats, fish, loons and trees
- We learned how to build a beaver house
- We learned that one person can act an entire show BY THEMSELVES and we call that a one man show
- An adult male beaver is called a BUCK
- An adult female beaver is called a DOE
What the Kindergarteners took from the presentation:
- We learned about the beavers, muskrats, fish, loons and trees
- We learned how to build a beaver house
- We learned that one person can act an entire show BY THEMSELVES and we call that a one man show
- An adult male beaver is called a BUCK
- An adult female beaver is called a DOE
Math Games - This week the students learned the math game 'higher/lower.' With a partner they took turns flipping cards or ten frames to discover who had the higher number and who had the lower number. The amount of math talk that was going on in the room was unbelievable. Feel free to play this game at home with them!
FUN CENTERS
Our numeracy center this week revolved around the students using their fine motor skills to separate pom poms and match the number of pom poms to the number on the frame. Our inquiry center was set up with beads and pipe cleaner and the students were asked to make snowflakes. We learned this week that no two snowflakes are the same.
Snowman
We embraced the cold weather this week and spent the week thinking, talking and making snowmen. We braved the cold Tuesday morning to go outside and build snowmen. Only we quickly figured out that the snow was not the right type of snow. We realized that the snow was not wet sticky snow, and that is what we need in order to build a snowman. We spent some time this week talking about 'How to Build a Snowman.' And since most students have done this plenty of times, they were eager to teach me how to do it. They learned that they needed to be specific with their directions. We are working on a shared 'Expository' writing piece as a class, on how to build a snowman. We will be finishing this up next week. I had a few snowman centers set up for the students this week.
1. Cutting snowmen - a fine motor center where students could practice their cutting. I had different shapes and parts of snowman drawn on paper and they were to cut on the black lines.
2. Making snowmen with numbers - number sense center where students were asked to make snowmen by matching the appropriate numbers.
3. Building snowmen - science/inquiry center - I had marshmallows, pip cleaners and toothpicks out and the students freely created their snowmen.
Below are some pictures of the students participating in these centers.
1. Cutting snowmen - a fine motor center where students could practice their cutting. I had different shapes and parts of snowman drawn on paper and they were to cut on the black lines.
2. Making snowmen with numbers - number sense center where students were asked to make snowmen by matching the appropriate numbers.
3. Building snowmen - science/inquiry center - I had marshmallows, pip cleaners and toothpicks out and the students freely created their snowmen.
Below are some pictures of the students participating in these centers.
We have been talking a lot this week about ME MOMENTS and WE MOMENTS. We had conversations about both in great detail to help us remember who we need to think about in different environments. We talked about when you are all by yourself, that is a me moment because you only need to think about yourself. But when you are around others, that is a we moment, because you need to think about others feelings and thoughts as well.
Things to ask:
- What is a ME moment? Can you give me an example?
- What is a WE moment? Can you give me an example?
We also spent some time this week distinguishing between small problems and big problems, also known as mouse problems and elephant problems. We talked about elephant problems being emergencies, where you need the help of an adult right away. Mouse problems are tiny problems that you should be able to solve all on your own and you do not need an adult to help you. We talked about how sometimes mouse problems can turn into elephant problems but for the most part, mouse problems are just tiny problems and we don't need to be upset or seek help from an adult. An example of a mouse problem would be: a friend that is not sharing something you want to play with, and an elephant problem would be if you feel and hurt yourself.
TEACHER NOTE: this is a great tool for young children because they really start to think about the problem, before running to an adult to solve it for them. Ask you children to give you examples of mouse problems and elephant problems and have conversations about problem solving :)
Things to ask:
- What is a ME moment? Can you give me an example?
- What is a WE moment? Can you give me an example?
We also spent some time this week distinguishing between small problems and big problems, also known as mouse problems and elephant problems. We talked about elephant problems being emergencies, where you need the help of an adult right away. Mouse problems are tiny problems that you should be able to solve all on your own and you do not need an adult to help you. We talked about how sometimes mouse problems can turn into elephant problems but for the most part, mouse problems are just tiny problems and we don't need to be upset or seek help from an adult. An example of a mouse problem would be: a friend that is not sharing something you want to play with, and an elephant problem would be if you feel and hurt yourself.
TEACHER NOTE: this is a great tool for young children because they really start to think about the problem, before running to an adult to solve it for them. Ask you children to give you examples of mouse problems and elephant problems and have conversations about problem solving :)
Little Elves
The costumes have been put away, the gym has been cleared out and cleaned, the risers are back in the music room .... a successful Christmas Concert Season I would say! I am so proud of the students for being so brave and reciting their poem loudly for everyone to hear! There were the stars of the show! Thank you all for coming to watch and if any of you have some videos or photos that you took I would love to have them!
Wednesday morning the students came in to find all of the books I had bought last week spread out on the floor. They were so excited! They were able to spend about 20 minutes going through the books and having conversations about the photos. GM said "I love science books!" as he flipped through the pages of a book about minerals. WC , WH and MK were talking about ways to build new lego people as they were flipping through the pages of a lego building book. MG was impressed by the fairytale books! It was so wonderful seeing their excitement!
Wish List
The school has been given some money for teachers to spend on classroom libraries. But before I can go and buy books I wanted to get the students involved in choosing what books we need in our classroom library. I laid out a bunch of scholastic book orders on the tables and asked the students to go through them and cut out types of books that they would want to have in the classroom. I talked with them before hand about what different types of books could look like (Science books, story books, pokemon books, comic books, books about facts). Then the students went to work. Once they had one cut out they glued it onto our class wish list. I now know that we need more science books and books about PJ Masks and Paw Patrol as those were the common themes.
I went shopping today!
We have been so busy getting ready for our Christmas concert that we have not had a lot of extra time to turn our Christmas trolls story into a little play ourselves. But I know we will be doing lots of plays in the new year within our classroom so that is okay. I set up a science table this week asking the students "Can you make a troll house?" I put out some materials and challenged them to create. IL and IN were using the pictures in the story to help them create their troll hut.
A few things:
Our Christmas concert poem is on the blog, if you have sometime over the weekend please review with your child. All children need to come to school Tuesday and Thursday with dark bottoms and white tops. For all the concerts children need to be dressed in dark bottoms and white tops.
Home Reading - If I have not written letterbook on your orange tracking sheet then your child is on a leveled book. The leveled books will have a little piece of white paper taped onto the back with the level of that book. I love seeing the excitement in the children eyes over their home reading journal entries.
Our Christmas concert poem is on the blog, if you have sometime over the weekend please review with your child. All children need to come to school Tuesday and Thursday with dark bottoms and white tops. For all the concerts children need to be dressed in dark bottoms and white tops.
Home Reading - If I have not written letterbook on your orange tracking sheet then your child is on a leveled book. The leveled books will have a little piece of white paper taped onto the back with the level of that book. I love seeing the excitement in the children eyes over their home reading journal entries.
Morning Bins
Nov 27th - Dec 1st.
We have switched up our Kindergarten routines a bit this week. We have started doing morning bins or books first thing in the morning. When the students do their morning jobs they are then able to pick a bin to play with until it is time for circle time. These bins include some fine motor activities, some literacy activities, some numeracy activities and some creative expression activities. The students have really enjoyed this new routine. I will be switching the bins once every month so that it stays new and exciting for them.
I have been working with a few of the students on creating a story. During center time there were a few boys (WC, WH, MK, CC, JB) at the lego table and the oral language they were using to tell their own story was incredible. So I immediately went over and asked them to start at the beginning. I then wrote down their story. We are working on creating the story to read to the class. This is their story:
There once was a ginormous diving board that was 147 meters up on top of a zombie house (p.s. I tried to encourage haunted house but they were set with a zombie house). Driller was trying to break a strong force field and he eventually tried so hard that he broke through it! Transmogifier has 2 bodies and is very tall! He builds force fields to keep Driller out! All of a sudden, the diving board toppled over because Transmogifier built it so high! There was also a small pool with a crack through it that was really small, that the diving board was attached to. The pool was a zapper that zaps bad guys, like Transmogifier! Then Rinin, ran to the room to cool off. He sometimes will eat lunch before he does that. He is building a house. Ring saw some bad guys and said "Find this commotion!" His friend JB is so powerful! Then he puts on his rocket shoes and blast off! THE END!
There once was a ginormous diving board that was 147 meters up on top of a zombie house (p.s. I tried to encourage haunted house but they were set with a zombie house). Driller was trying to break a strong force field and he eventually tried so hard that he broke through it! Transmogifier has 2 bodies and is very tall! He builds force fields to keep Driller out! All of a sudden, the diving board toppled over because Transmogifier built it so high! There was also a small pool with a crack through it that was really small, that the diving board was attached to. The pool was a zapper that zaps bad guys, like Transmogifier! Then Rinin, ran to the room to cool off. He sometimes will eat lunch before he does that. He is building a house. Ring saw some bad guys and said "Find this commotion!" His friend JB is so powerful! Then he puts on his rocket shoes and blast off! THE END!
Thank You
Thank you all so much for coming to Parent Teacher conferences! It was lovely having the opportunity to sit down and discuss your childs' learning goals.
See if you can find your childs' christmas light patterns? Did they make an AB pattern? Or maybe they made an ABC pattern. Have your child show you how to make a pattern.
Teachers Pet
Nov. 13th-16th
We had a special guest visit out classroom this week and her name was Conductor Sally. She lead us through our in-school field trip on a magical train ride to discover how we are all unique and different. She started with talking with the students and getting them to look at themselves and their peers to see how they were all different on the outside and the inside. She also showed that even though we may be different we do have a lot of similarities with our peers as well. Each student made a poster, about their individual likes, dislikes, interest and appearance. The students really enjoyed the experience of expressing themselves. I will hold on to the posters for awhile, as we can look at each poster and guess which on of our classmates it is. Below are some pictures of their work.
We spent some time this week experimenting with ABC patterns. I typically introduce pattern activities by using the students to create my own pattern and their peers have to guess what it is. For example: I could make a boy girl pattern, hair color, pants and dresses etc. The students love this game. I often make patterns throughout the day in activities or our morning message to see if the students pick up on it. Part of the Kindergarten curriculum is that 'students can identify patterns in their environment.' There are lots of ways you can support this at home by having conversations about patterns in your environment. While you are getting groceries you make a pattern with vegetable colors, sweets and healthy food, cans and boxes etc. Ask your child if they notice what your pattern is. Then have them create a patter. You can do this at supper time with the food you are eating. While they are playing you can make a pattern with their toys. You can ask them to make a pattern as they eat their supper (forkful of potatoes, forkful of broccoli). Below is an example of an AB pattern JB created and and ABC pattern HB created.
Teacher Note: I have updated our Alphabet section and I have created a list of the DOLCH sight words we have done as a class and which ones we have left to do.
Remembrance
Nov. 6th - Nov. 10th
This week we did our first "I see... I think... I wonder..." activity. I had the students look at this picture and I prompted them to think about what they see. I then asked them to look at the picture and I prompted them with the question "What do you think when you look at this picture." We then talked about our wonderings about this picture. We had a whole group discussion about out thoughts and ideas. The students had some great ideas. See our notes below for some of our conversation pieces.
Things to ask: You can try doing this activity with them with this picture or any picture.
Teacher notes: I usually pick pictures that show feelings to help build the students empathy, understanding and appreciation for others.
Things to ask: You can try doing this activity with them with this picture or any picture.
Teacher notes: I usually pick pictures that show feelings to help build the students empathy, understanding and appreciation for others.
As part of our Remembrance Day Assembly all the classes had to make a wreath to lay on the podium. The students started with an outline of a poppy and a red piece of paper. They were then asked to rip the paper and fill in the space of their poppy. They were so excited that they got to rip the paper.
Pumpkin Investigation
Oct. 30th - Nov. 3rd
This week we finished up our pumpkin unit! We spent some time over the past couple weeks exploring the outside, inside and the properties of pumpkins. The students measured pumpkins in small groups and recorded that data in their visual journal. We used cube blocks to measure how high it was and they then recorded that number in their journals.
Things to ask
- What did the outside of the pumpkin look like? What about the inside? (This is a great opportunity to model descriptive words; hard as a rock, silky smooth, teeny tiny bumps etc.)
- How did you make a guess about how many lines were on the pumpkin?
- Can you show me how to measure ...... with your blocks?
- Did the pumpkin sink or float? Why?
Things to ask
- What did the outside of the pumpkin look like? What about the inside? (This is a great opportunity to model descriptive words; hard as a rock, silky smooth, teeny tiny bumps etc.)
- How did you make a guess about how many lines were on the pumpkin?
- Can you show me how to measure ...... with your blocks?
- Did the pumpkin sink or float? Why?
Dolch Sight Words
As a school, we are working towards bettering our school wide literacy skills. Part of my job is to spend some time with my PLC (Professional Learning Cycle) looking at student work and discussing as a grade group where we need to go next. I am part of the K-2 PLC and last week we spent some time looking at the writing samples we did near the beginning of October with our students. As a team we decided that we were going to focus our first cycle (November - December) on Dolch Sight Words for our specific grade. I will be introducing 2 words a week, and we will look at them in our morning messages, we will do some word building activities with these words and we will record these in our visual journals in a variety of ways. Being able to spell and recognize sight words will increase writing abilities and reading fluency! The words we focused on this week were 'too' and 'be.' I had a volunteer in the class this week working with the students in building these words with modeling clay (which is also great for fine motor skills), finding the letters to make the word and painting the word. Below is an example of the painted version.
Things you can do to help:
- When reading to your children point out the words 'too' and 'be' and talk about the sounds that you hear in the word.
- Have them do a word hunt while you are reading the book to them. Ask them to point out the words 'too' and 'be' before you read the page. Once you find them all then read that page and repeat word hunt on the next page.
Things you can do to help:
- When reading to your children point out the words 'too' and 'be' and talk about the sounds that you hear in the word.
- Have them do a word hunt while you are reading the book to them. Ask them to point out the words 'too' and 'be' before you read the page. Once you find them all then read that page and repeat word hunt on the next page.
Pumpkin Carvings
Oct. 23rd - Oct. 27th
Over the past couple weeks we have been talking about pumpkins as a class. We have been investigating pumpkins using our 5 senses. We used our eyes to come up with words to describe what the pumpkin looks like. We used our hands to describe what the pumpkin feels like on the outside and the inside. We used our nostrils to discuss the smell of the pumpkins, and next week we are going to use our tastebuds to taste the pumpkin seeds. Some of the words the students came up with for describing the inside of the pumpkins were: slimy, wet, stiky, "ooe - good." Before we carved the pumpkins, I read the story Pumpkin Heads (which you can find under classroom stories). When the students were done carving I took their picture with the pumpkins as their head. Please be sure to check out the Kindergarten bulletin board for these super cool photos!!
TEACHER NOTE: In Kindergarten when there are 2 o's together we call those the ghostly o's. Ask your child what this sounds like. I get the students to help me spell words to further help build their understanding of letter-letter sound relationships. I help them by giving them the sound, then they tell me what letter I need. I always encourage guessing, and I never correct them if the letter they guess is wrong. This helps build confidence in their work, and will help them develop independent literacy skills in the future. This is also a great opportunity for me to learn how I can help the students in the future with letter sounds/sound blending.
TEACHER NOTE: In Kindergarten when there are 2 o's together we call those the ghostly o's. Ask your child what this sounds like. I get the students to help me spell words to further help build their understanding of letter-letter sound relationships. I help them by giving them the sound, then they tell me what letter I need. I always encourage guessing, and I never correct them if the letter they guess is wrong. This helps build confidence in their work, and will help them develop independent literacy skills in the future. This is also a great opportunity for me to learn how I can help the students in the future with letter sounds/sound blending.
Hands On
We have lots of Halloween spirit here at Earl Grey. We spent some time coming together as a classroom community to decorate our classroom for the upcoming holiday. The students also spent some time sorting a variety of Halloween objects in small groups. Small group work is great for the students because they get to practice their turn-taking skills. In this specific activity they were asked to help me SORT the objects into the groups that they belonged. It was great to see/hear the strategies that they came up with. Some groups sorted by color, some by size and some by object.
Over the Kindergarten year the students will continue to develop their NUMBER SENSE through a variety of ways. One of my favorite circle time games is "make the number." We played this for the first time this week. The students use old egg cartoons that have been transformed into 10 frames. We then roll the smart board interactive dice and the students have to build the number that we rolled. We then spend some time talking about the different ways we made the number.
We started reading buddies this week with the Grade 5 students! Every Friday the students will spend about 20minutes with their grade 5 reading buddy. The Grade 5's had picked out some books, met their buddies and read with them. Watching the Grade 5's with the Kindergarteners made my heart extremely full!
School Wide Writing Prompt
October 10th - 13th
One of our school goals this year, in literacy, is to improve expositional and functional writing (list, newspapers etc.). As a school we decided that "camping" was going to be our topic. In our grade groups (K, 1 and 2 is mine), we decided on a verbal prompt to inspire the students writing, we also showed the students the picture and asked the question "What do you need to bring with you to have a good time camping?" That is all we asked/told the students. They then had to make a list of the things they would need to bring with them. List in Kindergarten look a little different then higher grades. I asked the students to draw pictures of things they would need to bring with them camping in order to have a good time. As I asked this I showed them the picture prompt (which was a picture of a tent in the woods with a fire, lantern and backpack). They then went and independently created their list, by representing their thoughts with drawings. In this type of writing sample, us teachers want to see the students full potential, I was not allowed to support their thinking process, but instead just listen to their ideas. I challenged them to try and add some words to their pictures to give more detail to what they had drawn. This afternoon the teachers got together and looked at the students work. Looking through student work gives us a better idea of how to help and improve our teaching practices. The rest of the year we will teach strategies to students to improve their expositional and functional writing. We will do this type of writing sample again in June so that we can compare the students work and see the areas of growth. Below are a few pictures of some of the students work.
Fall Activities
October 2nd - October 6th
This week we have jumped right into learning/experiencing/talking about Fall! With all the snow on Monday, I figured what better time. This week we put our imaginary science goggles on and used 4 of our senses to see if we could figure out the difference between yellow, green and red apples. We used our eyes, noses, hands and mouths to compare and contrast the different apples. The students were then asked which apple they liked the best. I tallied the results and we discussed which was the class favorite and least favorite. I was very proud of all the students for trying all the apples.
Green IIIIIII 7
Red IIIIIIIIII 10
Yellow IIII 4
Things to ask:
- What color apples did you try?
- What did the ____ apple smell like? What did the ____ apple feel like? What did the ___ look like? What did the ____ apple taste like?
- Which apple was the most popular?
Green IIIIIII 7
Red IIIIIIIIII 10
Yellow IIII 4
Things to ask:
- What color apples did you try?
- What did the ____ apple smell like? What did the ____ apple feel like? What did the ___ look like? What did the ____ apple taste like?
- Which apple was the most popular?
Happy Thanksgiving
I hope you all get a chance to indulge in some Thanksgiving treats! I asked the students to spend some time this weekend thinking about what they are thankful for. I encourage you to have some conversations with them over the weekend about being thankful. We will be doing an activity around this Tuesday. Below is some of the students turkey art work. Gobble, Gobble, Gobble. I love how every child creates incredible unique work.
Coming together as a community.
September 25th - 29th
This week we came together as a classroom and school community to help make our courtyard even more beautiful then it already is. We were given some small plants to plant as a class. Every student helped dig a small hole and every child helped loosen the roots. It will be great to watch our courtyard grow in the spring and summer months.
Terry Fox Run - This week we came together as a class and ran for Terry and his cause. I set up 4 cones as provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario), then the students ran from one cone to another. At each cone they received a mark for running from one province to the next. The students ran for about 15 minutes straight around the field from cone to cone. There were a few Grade 6's that came out to help give the students their marks and run a cool down. One we were all done, we went back into the classroom and counted up all our marks. Overall, the students touched the cones approximately 381 times!!!!! They were very proud of themselves for running to help Terry's cause.
Welcome to Kindergarten
Welcome to Kindergarten at EG Elementary. I will be updating this blog on Friday's so that you and your child can review the learning we have been doing. This is a great way to stay involved and keep up with what is going on in the classroom.