An End to October

We wrapped up October with Red Ribbon Week in which the students got to come to school with crazy hair, crazy socks, boots, and jeans.  Our afternoon class really liked the crazy hair day! That same week, the students learned how to tell real from make-believe and we read lots of silly, spooky books about Halloween. In the word work center, the students sorted letters into their matching jack-o-lantern and in math games, the students made picture patterns with attribute blocks. My PM class made some leaf animals and both classes arranged random shapes to create their own monsters. We put these on display out in our hallway just before the Garth Haunted House. 

 

 This past week we celebrated Halloween, can you tell?

 We did some learning, though too!  In math games, the students played a special Halloween edition of Memory. The students had to find number matches that were printed on fun Halloween pictures. In the number work center, the students worked on adding up to ten using our counting bears and ten frames. In word work, the students put together 3 letter (CVC) word puzzles. 

We ended the week by making some beautful turkeys to prepare for our upcoming unit on the first Thanksgiving. The students had to cut out their own feathers and choose what kind of pattern they wanted  and glue them in place. The kiddos enjoyed this activity very much and their terrific turkeys are on display in our hallway!

Busy Busy Busy!

October has turned out to be one busy and exciting month for our kindergarten class. We began the month learning about fire safety and toured the local fire department. Take a look at the cute pics from our first field trip!

After Fall Break, we jumped right into a unit on pumpkins and how they grow. Today we visited Bi Water Farm and got to see what we'd been learning about all week. The students went on a hay ride, found their way through a corn maze and got to pick their own special pumpkin from the patch. Afterwards, the students played on one of the playgrounds, went through a haunted house, and pet/fed the animals at the petting zoo.

 

 We also had a wedding in our classroom this week. The students got to see the letters of the week, Mr. Q and Ms. U get married!

Apples! Patterns! Apples! Patterns!

Riley colored and laced her favorite apple; golden delicious

We continued learning about fall this week with apples as our theme.  The students got to taste a yellow, green, and red apple and we made a graph to show which was their favorite.  We used yarn and laced apples to show each student's favorite asw well. These are on display in our hallway. We wrapped up the week by creating an Apple Dapple cereal necklace, using the 2 colors to create an AB pattern. Some of these necklaces never made it home, it seems the cereal was too scrumptious to resist.  So I made sure to take some pictures before they were devoured. 

Carleigh shows the PM class Apple Taste Test results.

Joe, Sierra, Sabrina, and Keydon are proud of their AB pattern necklaces.

Sara shows off her superstar chart

We finished up our superstar unit this week.  Starting next week, we will begin writing in our journals during the time we used to do superstar.  These journals will remain at the school and at the end of the year, you will get to see just how much your child's writing skills have improved throughout kindergarten.

The PM doing the chair pose with Mr. Marc

We found a new way to have fun during indoor recess this week. We used the website www. adventuretofitness.com and followed along on missions with Mr. Marc. The students follow their guide through fun and active adventures around the world. Their bodies are always in motion and they're learning cool information about the places their 'exploring.'

 Centers were quite fun this week (of course they always are).  In the word work center, students used letter beads to string sight words together.  In the math games center, students played "Race You to 20" with a spinner and unifix cubes. In number work, we practiced number recognition, counting, and our fine motor skills as the students had to clip the right amount of clothespins on number cards. 

Levi makes the sightword 'THE" in the word work center.

Carleigh and Julia race to 20 at the Math Games center.

Allison clips clothespins in the number work center

 

Kaydence and Chelsie listen to stories at the computer center.

Every week the students also go to the computer to listen to children's books.  They get to choose from several categories and some stories are put to song and the illustrations are animated.  Some of their favorites are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 123. We will soon have 2 more student computers in our room so students won't have to share their computer time anymore. 

Next week will bring lots of new activities so be sure to check back to the blog this Friday!



Fun Fridays, Practicing Poetry, and ZUMBA!!!!

Every week of kindergarten brings all kinds of new fun! We started our poem reciting this week and it went great! The students who read their poems to at least 15 people got to visit a 3rd grade classroom and recite it to them. They were super excited to do this and they did a wonderful job! I was so proud. Every week that we have a poem assignment the students will get to visit a new classroom and recite it for them.

 This week we experienced indoor recess for the first time and it totally rocked!  We used the SmartBoard, moved all the tables out of the way, and did Kid Zumba (a dance-exercise program). The students really enjoyed this and danced like no one was watching.  I kind of look forward to rainy days now:)


  

We are going to the computer lab once a week now. Right now the students play on www.starfall.com.  We will take turns on this site, Education City (online program purchased by the school) and, in a few months, www. raz-kids.com.

  Students had fun playing Chicka Chicka 123 (based on the Bill Martin Jr book of the same name) in Math Games center this week.  It's sort of like Bingo but with a spinner and numbers. They got to use a hole puncher in the Number Work center to show numbers 1-10 in a ten frame.  For Fun Friday, we made the first of many fall art projects.  The students painted a tree with beautiful fall colors using a q-tip.The kiddos created some lovely leafy artwork for the classroom and our hallways.    Thanks to all the AM parents who have been lending a hand on Fridays. We GREATLY appreciate it!

The Latest from Room 109

Anna Mae and Brandon playing Quiz Quiz Trade

 We have been busy busy busy these last few weeks.  So much so I haven't had a chance to update our blog!  Here is just a glimpse of whats been happening in classroom 109 for the last 2 weeks.
    We learned a new game to help with our sight words.  It's called Quiz Quiz Trade.  The students hold a sight word card and pair up with a buddy. They read each other's words and then trade cards and find a new buddy.  We will play this most Fun Fridays!

Kasey making and writing sight words

Luke feeding the alligator

Jaiden reading The Yellow Book to himself during Reading time

The students practiced  building and writing their sight words 2 weeks ago in the in the Word Work center. This week they ordered letter cookies by placing them on their matching letter on a cookie tray.  In the math centers, they've been "Feeding the Alligator" to practice determining more and less.  They've also found many different ways to make numbers 1-10 (tally marks, fingers, ten frame dots, and addition stories).

Levi lounging in the reading center

We're getting better and better at reading to ourselves.  The students love to use the whisper-ma-phones and find a comfy spot.  As long as they're reading, I don't care if they're lying down, sitting, or hanging from the rafters!