This week was exceptional! Not only did we take our very first field trip, but we also celebrated Halloween with Trunk or Treat and our Halloween Parade. We wrapped up our first unit of inquiry, and student-led conferences are coming up before you know it. It's an exciting time of year to be in kindergarten! For our first field trip, we visited the Buckeye Imagination Museum. The purpose of our field trip was to give the students a chance to practice the IB Learner Profile traits they've been working so hard to master - and they did not disappoint! Before we left, we brainstormed some ideas of how we could show the various traits. Then, after returning to school, we reflected: How were you principled today? Balanced? What did you inquire about? The students wrote and drew their responses, and those books will be available to look at during conferences. The students had an amazing time exploring the Buckeye Imagination Museum, and it was wonderful seeing how creatively their minds work when presented with their own little world. This week also included our Halloween Costume Parade! The students had SUCH a good time, and we even connected it to some academics - students wrote about what Ms. Sycks should be for Halloween, and sounded out some fall words like 'pumpkin.' Although we've had some students out sick, the students who were present had an absolute blast. It's always a good day when you get to have a Halloween dance party!
As we head into next week, students will be preparing to lead their own conferences. This is a wonderful opportunity for the students to be reflective, and helps them to see the progress they've made so far. We're also starting a new unit of inquiry regarding the students' personal histories, so I'm looking forward to getting that started as well. Happy Halloween!
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It's been another full week of kindergarten, and our inquiries continue to grow. Recently, the students have developed an increased interest in dinosaurs, so we've been researching that topic during Genius Hour. We've also been working hard on our letters and sounds, and math this week was full of fun and games! In math this week, we explored the idea of length. During our daily attendance, we graph how many students are present and decide if it looks longer or shorter than the previous day's attendance. This made a great segue into the lesson, and the students were quick to pick up on the concept. To wrap up the lesson, every student got to pick one object from our classroom. We then lined up, shortest to longest, to show off what we'd found. They found some great lengths! Also in math, we've started to develop the concepts of written numerals and one-to-one correspondence with counting. Today, the students got to make their own game boards to practice! Using a pencil and a paper clip as a spinner, the students moved their game piece down the game board from start to finish. Each spin indicated how many spaces to move, so the students got to practice recognizing numerals and counting out that many spaces. Math also made an appearance during centers, during which time the students have the agency to decide what materials to use and how they would like to use them. Without prompting or guidance, several groups of students opted to practice sorting - by both color and shape - and one student used the number rocks to practice one-to-one correspondence, counting, and numeric order. During reading, we utilized our classroom technology to practice our letters and sounds - and move our bodies at the same time! We also worked on our vowels this week, both segmenting and blending CVC words. Students had the opportunity to dictate words, both individually and as a class, and thoroughly enjoyed using the whiteboards and markers as a medium for writing. Moving our bodies didn't stop at reading time. In gym this week, students had the opportunity to do center rotations of different activities. They got to practice hula hooping, ball bouncing, and cone racing. These gross motor skills are so important, so we love to get in some good practice! As no surprise, Genius Hour continues to be a popular time of day. This week, we dug further into our dinosaur investigations by getting out our dinosaur books. For the better part of an hour, the students enjoyed rotating through the different books, looking at the pictures, and discussing what they found. Our collection of dinosaur books includes mostly fictional stories, but some non-fiction as well. It's a fantastic opportunity for the students to compare real knowledge with artistic representation, and the connections they made were amazing! After spending some time looking at dinosaur books, the students had the opportunity to create their own dinosaurs out of Play-Doh. Some chose to make long-necked dinosaurs, while others made the classic T-Rex. A few even included dinosaur eggs, and one student made the baby dinosaur 'hatch' by using the Play-Doh container as an 'egg.' Their creativity and understanding of dinosaur physiology is astounding! The Play-Doh activity was very well-received, so it may make a reappearance near the end of our inquiries. Finally, we welcomed three new students to our class! Everyone has been so caring and helpful, and our new members are settling in wonderfully. We're thrilled to add a few more students to our Wolfpack, and I can't wait to see what discoveries we make together! Autumn is in full swing, and we're taking full advantage of it! This week, we've been applying a lot of the knowledge we've gained so far in new contexts. We've also been enjoying lots of time outdoors, admittedly with a few more layers than before. Still, the students are having a great time exploring nature, playing with their friends, and discovering new learning around every corner. Over the past few weeks, we've been working on sorting in math. We've discussed what an attribute is, and how we can sort objects by different attributes. This week, the students decided to apply this same knowledge during morning play, sorting the toy animals by both color and type. It's always exciting to see the students applying what we've learned! In math this week, we've been discussing shapes. Using the geo-boards and rubber bands, we made various shapes together as a class. We discussed how many sides and angles each shape had, and discussed how we could make the same shape in different sizes and locations on the geo-board. Then, students were able to walk around the room and make the shapes they found. It was a hit! We continued to use shapes during writing, as we delve further into our illustration unit. On this particular day, the students were exploring how shapes can be used to create images. They created spaceships, picture frames, butterflies, houses, cars, and so much more! What can you find? This week, we learned about the letter Vv. We practiced blending CVC words that use the letter Vv, and then read them as well. Some of the words we read included vet, van, and vat. While reading the word van, one student realized they knew a rhyming word - ran! This started an impromptu brainstorm of rhyming words, followed by the creation of our very first class poem. As you can see, the students helped to write our CVC rhyming words and a few of our heart words as well. I Love My Van By: Ms. Sycks' Kindergarten Class I love my van! It is tan. It is driven by a man. It has a fan. I have a van! For our Unit of Inquiry this week, we've been focusing on the Learner Profile trait Reflective. We introduced our stamp system, which helps the students reflect on their work as they turn it in. There are three different colored stamps: the red clock, the blue tree, and the gold star. If a student feels like they need more time with their work or more time with the concept, they'll use the red clock. If a student feels like they're still growing into the concept, they'll choose the blue tree. If a student feels like they've mastered the concept, they'll choose the gold star. Although this system won't be used on all of our work, it will be used at times. Keep an eye out for your students' reflections on their work! We practiced our balance in gym class this week by hopping first with one foot, then with both. We then timed ourselves to see how quickly we could get our whole class to hop from one end of the dots to the other. We beat our time not once, but twice! The students demonstrated excellent teamwork and collaboration, and they supported each other when the hopping got tricky. Despite all the incredible things happening inside our classroom, our favorite place to be is still the great outdoors! Highlights from this week include the discovery of tree roots (which the students very responsibly reburied), creating a new 'wolf den' and 'painting' it with dirt, and making nature stew. Their imagination and ingenuity continues to impress me!
We've had another great week here in kindergarten, and I can't wait to see what next week has in store! Although I've personally been out sick, the learning hasn't stopped here in kindergarten! Over the past week and a half, the students have continued to work hard. Reading groups are becoming more fluid, gross and fine motor skills continue to develop, and recess is still everyone's favorite time of day. Our little learners are just as curious as ever, and the inquiries continue to guide our learning. During centers, the students rotate through computers, ELA shelf, free choice, and teacher table. While at teacher table, they complete their daily reading group. These students are working hard on singing their ABC's while pointing to the letters, as well as mapping out CVC words using rocks and whiteboards. They love it! Some of our groups are even starting to read simple books, and everyone continues to practice their letters and sounds. In gym class, we've been learning how to throw and catch. We watched a video that taught us how to throw overhand and underhand, and how to catch using our 'butterfly hands' and 'fruit basket hands,' Then, we went to the gym to practice our new skills! Here, a student is demonstrating how to throw underhand and catch using their 'fruit basket.' It's hard to believe we're coming to the end of our first unit of inquiry. There are only a few more learner profile traits to discover, and the students are making great connections by using our materials at inquiry table. Student self-portraits are now a part of inquiry table, as we learn more about ourselves and how we can embody the learner profile. A new addition to the playground has made recess more exciting than ever! A new outdoor kitchen appeared on our playground last week, and the students have had a blast using it. The outdoor kitchen is complete with pans and spoons, and the students are encouraged to use the natural materials around them to make 'food.' Despite the new addition, the old playground equipment is getting as much use as ever. The students are finding new ways to use the materials (such as cone hats!), and are demonstrating what it means to be a Risk-Taker by jumping onto the bars. It was amazing to watch them create a line, encourage each other, and take turns without being prompted.
I hope everyone has a restful and relaxing fall break, and I'll see everyone back on October 10th! |
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May 2024
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