Love, Mrs. K.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Math, Stations, and Tree Science
We started last week with a math activity where we had to first put all the numbers in order on the floor, then count out gems and put them on the correct number.
Here we are putting our numbers in order. Since a different student was holding each number, we had to work together to figure out whose number came next.
We had to have a discussion about which number is 6 and which is 9.
Whew. That took some thinking! Now we were ready to count out the gems for each number. The students who didn't get to hold a number page got to count out gems for us. Each of these students was given a cup with a number of gems, which they had to count. Then I called for the person with one gem to put his or her cup on the number one, and so on.
Once we thought we had the cups in the right places, we counted to check.
The students liked this activity so much, we had to do it again!
Last week's Math Stations included the following activities:
(Teacher Table - Fine Motor) Lacing Cards
Roll the dice and remove the cube that covers that number. The first person to clear their board wins, but if you roll a number that you've already removed, you lose your turn!
Roll the dice, stack that number of cubes together, and place your stack on the correct number. The first person to fill up their board wins, but if you roll a number you already have, you lose your turn!
Order the numbers and place the correct number of gems, just like we did in the big group.
Computers
Put the puzzle pieces in numerical order to make a picture of a leaf.
Place the correct number of gems on the page, matching with one-to-one correspondence.
Sort attribute links by shape.
Sort bears by their color.
And finally, since we will be observing the tree on our playground all year, and Friday was the last day of summer, we went out to gather bits from the tree and take a class picture. I had to make sure to get the leaves of the tree in the picture, because they will be different the next time we observe it!
Here we are collecting our specimens for closer observation in the classroom.
And when we went back inside, we got out the magnifying glasses again, and inspected our findings.
Please remember that Family Reading Logs for September are due Monday, Oct. 3. I will place the October Log in your child's Parent Pack on Friday so you can begin on Saturday. Our September Awards Assembly will be held next week. Every child who has reached the goal of having at least 30 books read to him or her (and recorded on the Reading Log) will receive an award.
Here we are putting our numbers in order. Since a different student was holding each number, we had to work together to figure out whose number came next.
We had to have a discussion about which number is 6 and which is 9.
Whew. That took some thinking! Now we were ready to count out the gems for each number. The students who didn't get to hold a number page got to count out gems for us. Each of these students was given a cup with a number of gems, which they had to count. Then I called for the person with one gem to put his or her cup on the number one, and so on.
Once we thought we had the cups in the right places, we counted to check.
The students liked this activity so much, we had to do it again!
Last week's Math Stations included the following activities:
(Teacher Table - Fine Motor) Lacing Cards
Roll the dice and remove the cube that covers that number. The first person to clear their board wins, but if you roll a number that you've already removed, you lose your turn!
Roll the dice, stack that number of cubes together, and place your stack on the correct number. The first person to fill up their board wins, but if you roll a number you already have, you lose your turn!
Order the numbers and place the correct number of gems, just like we did in the big group.
Computers
Put the puzzle pieces in numerical order to make a picture of a leaf.
Place the correct number of gems on the page, matching with one-to-one correspondence.
Sort attribute links by shape.
Sort bears by their color.
And finally, since we will be observing the tree on our playground all year, and Friday was the last day of summer, we went out to gather bits from the tree and take a class picture. I had to make sure to get the leaves of the tree in the picture, because they will be different the next time we observe it!
Here we are collecting our specimens for closer observation in the classroom.
And when we went back inside, we got out the magnifying glasses again, and inspected our findings.
Please remember that Family Reading Logs for September are due Monday, Oct. 3. I will place the October Log in your child's Parent Pack on Friday so you can begin on Saturday. Our September Awards Assembly will be held next week. Every child who has reached the goal of having at least 30 books read to him or her (and recorded on the Reading Log) will receive an award.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Our Behavior Chart & Rules
This is a picture of our Behavior Chart.
The colors represent the following:
We recite our whole set of rules once every day, and individual rules as reminders are needed. Following are our classroom rules, so that you might reinforce them at home:
Each student has a frog with their name on it, and every day, every student's frog starts on the color green (Ready to Learn).
In my classroom, I stress not only listening and following directions, but social skills as well, such as helping a classmate, using nice words, and using 'inside' voices. When a student is caught 'making good choices', as we call it, they will be told to move their frog up. This means they can move it up one color from wherever it is presently. Students who end the day in light blue, dark blue, or purple, will receive a quick email note from me congratulating them on their good behavior choices for the day.
However, when a student is found to not be listening, following directions, or is not being nice to their friends, they will be told to move their frog down one color from wherever it is presently. Since every child makes mistakes now and then, I don't believe in "tattling" on the student (and I don't accept their tattling, either!). I will only inform parents if the student ends the day in red. Yellow is meant as "Whoa, slow down and think about your choices!" Orange will be treated as losing 5 minutes of the next recess most of the time. If the student ends the day in red, you will find a note in their Parent Pack that tells briefly what happened. The note will need to be signed and returned to me so I know you have seen it.
A student ending the day in green is not a bad thing at all - in fact, this is perfectly fine! I will only be rewarding special moments of respect so as not to "water down" their attitudes toward their behavior.
I hope this answers any questions you may have when your child comes home and says "I was in green today."
The colors represent the following:
Purple = Outstanding!
Dark Blue = Great Job!
Light Blue = Good Day
Green = Read to Learn
Yellow = Think About It
Orange = Teacher's Choice
Red = Parent Contact
We recite our whole set of rules once every day, and individual rules as reminders are needed. Following are our classroom rules, so that you might reinforce them at home:
Rule #1: Follow Directions Quickly
Rule #2: Raise Your Hand to Speak
Rule #3: Raise Your Hand to Go to the Bathroom
(or otherwise leave the room)
Rule #4: Make Smart Choices
Rule #5: Keep Your Dear Teacher Happy :-)
Rule #6: Criss-Cross Applesauce
(refers to how we sit when in a group on the floor)
Rule #7: Hands and Eyes
(hands in your lap, eyes on the teacher/speaker)
Rule #8: No Pouty Purples - Alright Oranges!
(ask your student about our color kids)
Each student has a frog with their name on it, and every day, every student's frog starts on the color green (Ready to Learn).
In my classroom, I stress not only listening and following directions, but social skills as well, such as helping a classmate, using nice words, and using 'inside' voices. When a student is caught 'making good choices', as we call it, they will be told to move their frog up. This means they can move it up one color from wherever it is presently. Students who end the day in light blue, dark blue, or purple, will receive a quick email note from me congratulating them on their good behavior choices for the day.
However, when a student is found to not be listening, following directions, or is not being nice to their friends, they will be told to move their frog down one color from wherever it is presently. Since every child makes mistakes now and then, I don't believe in "tattling" on the student (and I don't accept their tattling, either!). I will only inform parents if the student ends the day in red. Yellow is meant as "Whoa, slow down and think about your choices!" Orange will be treated as losing 5 minutes of the next recess most of the time. If the student ends the day in red, you will find a note in their Parent Pack that tells briefly what happened. The note will need to be signed and returned to me so I know you have seen it.
A student ending the day in green is not a bad thing at all - in fact, this is perfectly fine! I will only be rewarding special moments of respect so as not to "water down" their attitudes toward their behavior.
I hope this answers any questions you may have when your child comes home and says "I was in green today."
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Week of Sept. 19
This week we are finally moving past rules and procedures and "how to do school" and into actual content.
In Language Arts, we will be learning to read our first "popcorn word", I. We call them popcorn words because they are words that "pop up" in our reading all the time. They are really "high-frequency" or "sight words". By the end of this week, your child should be able to point out and read the word I during your daily family reading time. We are also continuing our introduction to all of the letters of the alphabet. Please begin practicing the letters on the back of your child's Parent Pack folder on a daily basis, if you haven't already, until your child can say the name and sound of every letter without help.
In Math, we are learning about shapes, and reviewing colors. Some of our friends are still getting confused by brown, black, and gray. Please review these with your child, as well.
In Science, we are learning about plants, specifically trees this week (next week will be seeds, and the following week, flowers).
In Social Studies, our focus is on knowing our address and phone number in case of emergency (following on the heels of Careful Corners). Please make sure your child knows his/her address, and a phone number (home or cell) to reach a parent. This is extremely important!
A couple of neat things happened today, that I'd like to share with you.
Every morning, we start the day writing in our journals. At this point, most of the children are drawing (which is fine) or scribbling (uh-oh!). But this morning, Chase decided to make a diagram "like we made before with the circles and words" (a Venn Diagram) - I thought that was pretty awesome!
And Matthew drew "the beginning of Shrek" (the Dreamworks logo):
Finally, today when we were out on the playground for morning recess, the garbage truck came. Now, usually we are inside the classroom when this happens. The garbage truck is the kind that comes along and lifts the dumpster up over the top of the truck to empty it, so you can imagine the noise every couple of days - I have to stop teaching until he's gone. Well, since we were outside today, I didn't want any of the children to get near the truck as he was driving in, so I sent them all up on the ship to watch. And boy, were they fascinated (as they always are in the classroom) - one student pointed out that he dumped water all over "himself" (the truck) as he emptied the dumpster! As he left, we waved, and the driver waved back and honked his horn for us! You can imagine how we were all on cloud nine after that!
When was the last time the garbage truck gave you such joy? :-)
In Language Arts, we will be learning to read our first "popcorn word", I. We call them popcorn words because they are words that "pop up" in our reading all the time. They are really "high-frequency" or "sight words". By the end of this week, your child should be able to point out and read the word I during your daily family reading time. We are also continuing our introduction to all of the letters of the alphabet. Please begin practicing the letters on the back of your child's Parent Pack folder on a daily basis, if you haven't already, until your child can say the name and sound of every letter without help.
In Math, we are learning about shapes, and reviewing colors. Some of our friends are still getting confused by brown, black, and gray. Please review these with your child, as well.
In Science, we are learning about plants, specifically trees this week (next week will be seeds, and the following week, flowers).
In Social Studies, our focus is on knowing our address and phone number in case of emergency (following on the heels of Careful Corners). Please make sure your child knows his/her address, and a phone number (home or cell) to reach a parent. This is extremely important!
A couple of neat things happened today, that I'd like to share with you.
Every morning, we start the day writing in our journals. At this point, most of the children are drawing (which is fine) or scribbling (uh-oh!). But this morning, Chase decided to make a diagram "like we made before with the circles and words" (a Venn Diagram) - I thought that was pretty awesome!
And Matthew drew "the beginning of Shrek" (the Dreamworks logo):
Finally, today when we were out on the playground for morning recess, the garbage truck came. Now, usually we are inside the classroom when this happens. The garbage truck is the kind that comes along and lifts the dumpster up over the top of the truck to empty it, so you can imagine the noise every couple of days - I have to stop teaching until he's gone. Well, since we were outside today, I didn't want any of the children to get near the truck as he was driving in, so I sent them all up on the ship to watch. And boy, were they fascinated (as they always are in the classroom) - one student pointed out that he dumped water all over "himself" (the truck) as he emptied the dumpster! As he left, we waved, and the driver waved back and honked his horn for us! You can imagine how we were all on cloud nine after that!
When was the last time the garbage truck gave you such joy? :-)
Careful Corners
Last week, we celebrated a whole week of safety procedures and learning to stay out of danger. We call this week Careful Corners. We started off by talking a little bit about 9/11. I figured, since it happened before my students were born, that it would be a short little overview of what happened, and we would move on. However, they seemed to know quite a lot more about it than I expected. They all wanted to talk about it, so I drew an ever-so-quick (and crude!) picture on the easel:
Then we had our first "Think-Pair-Share". The students were paired up with the person sitting next to them, and they were instructed to tell their neighbor what they know about 9/11. This gives everyone a chance to talk (which is what they love!), and promotes social skills.
After giving them time to talk to their partner, I asked a few students to share what their partner had told them. Some knew about the heroes - the police and firemen who tried to rescue people from the buildings, and the people who fought with the hijackers. They knew that the "bad guys" came from another country, and they didn't like Americans.
Finally, we moved on to the heart of "Careful Corners" - the assemblies and activities!
Monday, Mrs. Scott, our school nurse, talked about poisons that can be found in your home. Things such as medicine that does not belong to you, cleaners and other things that adults sometimes put in empty drink bottles, and things that may be under your kitchen sink. She also demonstrated the correct way to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze - with your ELBOW! (That's so you don't spread germs when you touch someone with your hands). And she showed us how to wash our hands, getting the soap in between our fingers and under our fingernails, and rinsing and drying well. We even got to practice (all 300 of us in the whole school!) in the restroom. Finally, she helped us remember the number to call if we have an emergency - 9-1-1. We completed a poison safety worksheet, and watched a video about poison safety. At the end of the day, rumor has it that the teachers put on a skit, dressed up as farm animals, to teach the kids about staying away from poisons - "If you don't know what it is, leave it alone!"
Tuesday, we learned all about fire safety. Two firemen from the Piqua Fire Department came and showed us what a fireman who has a full suit on looks like, so we won't be scared if we're ever in a fire and need to be rescued. Their oxygen tank makes them sound funny! They also let us check out the fire truck, and helped us learn how to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" if our clothes catch on fire, and how get down low and crawl under the smoke. They reminded us that at home, we should have an escape plan, and should practice it every so often. We also watched a fire safety video. Then those silly teachers dressed up again to have dinner, but their house caught on fire! Be sure to ask your child who remembered to call 9-1-1 to get the firemen to come and put out the fire!
Wednesday, several of the teachers and Mrs. Henderson were at an inservice, so we didn't have anyone come in, but we talked in our rooms about how to be safe around dogs we don't know. We learned that we should always ask the owner before petting a dog, and that we should "be a tree" or "be a log" if a strange dog comes up to us. (I tell my students it works for bees, too!) We watched a dog safety video, as well.
Thursday, Officer Fogt from the Piqua Police Department came and talked to us about Stranger Danger - being safe around adults you don't know. He reminded us never to go with an adult if you don't know their name, and never to take anything, especially candy, from someone you don't know. We got to check out a Police car (we even got to sit inside!), and we practiced crossing the street safely at the crosswalk. Our class had an extra treat while crossing the street. We pushed the button and waited for the light to change. Just as it changed so we could walk, we heard an ambulance siren a few blocks down. We learned right then to wait until the ambulance passed, so he wouldn't have to stop and wait for us. His siren was really loud, but he waved to us as he passed by! By that time, we had to push the button and wait again, but everyone understood and was patient. And what do you know, those crazy teachers got dressed up again - this time some of them even had crazy hair, and {Mrs. K} had to ride on a SCOOTER!
Friday, we learned about being safe on the school bus. Mr. Ely, PCS's transportation director, and his helper brought "Buster", a remote-control bus to teach us the safety rules. Then we got to take a short ride around the block on the bus and practice our new knowledge. When we got back, we watched a video. And of course, those wacky teachers - man, were they hilarious! - some of them rode on the "Good Bus" and some rode on the "Bad Bus"! We all could tell which one was the Good Bus by the end of the skit!
It was definitely a crazy week! Since half of Nicklin is made up of half-day kindergarten classes, all of our skits and activities take up only a half day. Our class did these activities in the afternoons, which left our mornings free for learning.
We learned this week how to "do" Math Stations - this is the part of the day the kids love, because it feels like they are playing, when in reality they are practicing new learning!
During Math Stations, Mrs. K. assigns partners to work together (usually a boy and a girl, which helps us keep our behavior in check). This week, many of the stations involved "exploration". The students were given a type of manipulative, and were allowed to use it in any appropriate way. We talked about inappropriate ways as throwing them, causing them to break or get lost, and not sharing them. I am proud to say the class as a whole did a fine job treating our neighbors and things with respect!
Then we had our first "Think-Pair-Share". The students were paired up with the person sitting next to them, and they were instructed to tell their neighbor what they know about 9/11. This gives everyone a chance to talk (which is what they love!), and promotes social skills.
After giving them time to talk to their partner, I asked a few students to share what their partner had told them. Some knew about the heroes - the police and firemen who tried to rescue people from the buildings, and the people who fought with the hijackers. They knew that the "bad guys" came from another country, and they didn't like Americans.
Finally, we moved on to the heart of "Careful Corners" - the assemblies and activities!
Monday, Mrs. Scott, our school nurse, talked about poisons that can be found in your home. Things such as medicine that does not belong to you, cleaners and other things that adults sometimes put in empty drink bottles, and things that may be under your kitchen sink. She also demonstrated the correct way to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze - with your ELBOW! (That's so you don't spread germs when you touch someone with your hands). And she showed us how to wash our hands, getting the soap in between our fingers and under our fingernails, and rinsing and drying well. We even got to practice (all 300 of us in the whole school!) in the restroom. Finally, she helped us remember the number to call if we have an emergency - 9-1-1. We completed a poison safety worksheet, and watched a video about poison safety. At the end of the day, rumor has it that the teachers put on a skit, dressed up as farm animals, to teach the kids about staying away from poisons - "If you don't know what it is, leave it alone!"
Tuesday, we learned all about fire safety. Two firemen from the Piqua Fire Department came and showed us what a fireman who has a full suit on looks like, so we won't be scared if we're ever in a fire and need to be rescued. Their oxygen tank makes them sound funny! They also let us check out the fire truck, and helped us learn how to "Stop, Drop, and Roll" if our clothes catch on fire, and how get down low and crawl under the smoke. They reminded us that at home, we should have an escape plan, and should practice it every so often. We also watched a fire safety video. Then those silly teachers dressed up again to have dinner, but their house caught on fire! Be sure to ask your child who remembered to call 9-1-1 to get the firemen to come and put out the fire!
Wednesday, several of the teachers and Mrs. Henderson were at an inservice, so we didn't have anyone come in, but we talked in our rooms about how to be safe around dogs we don't know. We learned that we should always ask the owner before petting a dog, and that we should "be a tree" or "be a log" if a strange dog comes up to us. (I tell my students it works for bees, too!) We watched a dog safety video, as well.
Thursday, Officer Fogt from the Piqua Police Department came and talked to us about Stranger Danger - being safe around adults you don't know. He reminded us never to go with an adult if you don't know their name, and never to take anything, especially candy, from someone you don't know. We got to check out a Police car (we even got to sit inside!), and we practiced crossing the street safely at the crosswalk. Our class had an extra treat while crossing the street. We pushed the button and waited for the light to change. Just as it changed so we could walk, we heard an ambulance siren a few blocks down. We learned right then to wait until the ambulance passed, so he wouldn't have to stop and wait for us. His siren was really loud, but he waved to us as he passed by! By that time, we had to push the button and wait again, but everyone understood and was patient. And what do you know, those crazy teachers got dressed up again - this time some of them even had crazy hair, and {Mrs. K} had to ride on a SCOOTER!
Friday, we learned about being safe on the school bus. Mr. Ely, PCS's transportation director, and his helper brought "Buster", a remote-control bus to teach us the safety rules. Then we got to take a short ride around the block on the bus and practice our new knowledge. When we got back, we watched a video. And of course, those wacky teachers - man, were they hilarious! - some of them rode on the "Good Bus" and some rode on the "Bad Bus"! We all could tell which one was the Good Bus by the end of the skit!
It was definitely a crazy week! Since half of Nicklin is made up of half-day kindergarten classes, all of our skits and activities take up only a half day. Our class did these activities in the afternoons, which left our mornings free for learning.
We learned this week how to "do" Math Stations - this is the part of the day the kids love, because it feels like they are playing, when in reality they are practicing new learning!
During Math Stations, Mrs. K. assigns partners to work together (usually a boy and a girl, which helps us keep our behavior in check). This week, many of the stations involved "exploration". The students were given a type of manipulative, and were allowed to use it in any appropriate way. We talked about inappropriate ways as throwing them, causing them to break or get lost, and not sharing them. I am proud to say the class as a whole did a fine job treating our neighbors and things with respect!
Station #1 had colored squares
Station #2 had linking cubes
Station #3 involved rolling a dice, and placing a fruit on that number card
(note: the dice is in the plastic bowl. This is an idea I recently learned for keeping the dice from going everywhere - they just shake the bowl and lay it upside-down, and you can see right through it!)
Station #4 had shape links
Station #5 consisted of a choice of matching shaped erasers to pictures, one-to-one
or
matching the front and back halves of the characters from Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Station #6 involved sorting our class names by the number of letters they have
Station #7 let us explore geometric shapes
Station #8 is always the computers (this week: http://www.starfall.com)
Station #9 is always "Teacher Table" - this week it was a fine motor activity which had the students building their pincer grasp by placing colored gems to make pictures. Eventually, this station will be for Guided Math groups.
Each partner group works at a station for 10-15 minutes, and we try to get in 3 rotations every day, so that everyone visits every station at least once, and sometimes twice, in a week.
Soon we will start Literacy Groups in the afternoons, which will be organized the same way, but will consist of literacy activities.
Chicka Chicka ... Boom BOOM!
Whew! What a couple of weeks! I had a very busy weekend last weekend,
so I did not get a chance to post then, and last week has been Careful
Corners, which I have been in charge of, so no time to post again. Every evening I intend to go home, have dinner, and then post our happenings. But then family life gets in the way, as it should! So I am staying late at school tonight, determined to get everything caught up!
The week of Sept. 5, we read one of my favorite books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This is a wonderful book about some naughty little letters who climb up in a tree. Be sure to ask your child what happened to them!
After reading the book, I showed the students a bucket of sand, in which I had hidden magnetic letters. The students took turns finding a letter and matching it to the corresponding lowercase letter on the easel.
First, we passed the coconut around to everyone and used our senses of sight, touch, and smell to observe it before we opened it.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the coconut-cracking, since I was doing the cracking! But we found out that coconut milk is clear, not white, as we thought. After tasting it, we discovered that it is sweeter than cow's milk. Some of us liked it, and some didn't - and that's ok!
Then we observed shaved coconut with our magnifying glasses. Since we only have 6 magnifying glasses, we had to take turns.
The next day, we sorted different colors of band-aids by color - this was too easy for most of us! I think next year I'll have to add lots of different shapes and sizes as well.
Finally, we made simple Chicka Boom Glyphs. A glyph is a picture that represents data. Our glyph key is the following:
The week of Sept. 5, we read one of my favorite books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This is a wonderful book about some naughty little letters who climb up in a tree. Be sure to ask your child what happened to them!
After reading the book, I showed the students a bucket of sand, in which I had hidden magnetic letters. The students took turns finding a letter and matching it to the corresponding lowercase letter on the easel.
All done!
The next day, we got a chance to experience a real coconut! I have to confess, even I had not tasted coconut milk until my missions trip this summer. And I had never opened a coconut until this day!
First, we passed the coconut around to everyone and used our senses of sight, touch, and smell to observe it before we opened it.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the coconut-cracking, since I was doing the cracking! But we found out that coconut milk is clear, not white, as we thought. After tasting it, we discovered that it is sweeter than cow's milk. Some of us liked it, and some didn't - and that's ok!
Then we observed shaved coconut with our magnifying glasses. Since we only have 6 magnifying glasses, we had to take turns.
The next day, we sorted different colors of band-aids by color - this was too easy for most of us! I think next year I'll have to add lots of different shapes and sizes as well.
Finally, we made simple Chicka Boom Glyphs. A glyph is a picture that represents data. Our glyph key is the following:
Pink background = I am a girl
Orange background = I am a boy
4 leaves = I liked Chicka Chicka Boom Boom best
5 leaves = I liked Chicka 123 best
# of coconuts = 3 of siblings I have
These glyphs were pretty simple for the beginning of the year. As we go, we will make more involved ones to share with you.
*** I intended for our names to start at the top of the tree and go down, but I did not do a very good job of modeling, so some ended up jumbled up. If your child's letters are jumbled or out of order, you may want to have them practice writing their name (with one capital / rest lowercase, please!) at home, just to make sure they are aware of the order of the letters.
Please enjoy "reading:" our glyphs!
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