Thursday, September 26, 2013

Hand Art for the Seasons

 
 With the hectic pace of Kindergarten and keeping up with the standards, we don't want to forget about basic skills such as tracing, cutting, and gluing. These cute art projects add so much to our classroom and the children just love seeing their artwork on the walls. This month we chose an owl. Children are labeling their work and of course adding their own special touches to their pieces. Don't they just make you smile?

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Kindergarten Homework

We have had a few homework projects since the beginning of school. This is one the students love to do. Children were tasked with finding items at home that begin with the first letter of his/her name. Each child was invited to share these items with the class thereby reinforcing the first letter and beginning sound. Here we have "B" sharing her collection of "b" sounds with a book, bubbles, bear, and Buzz Lightyear. Bravo!!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Reader's Workshop: Book Bins and Star Books

Reader's Workshop is the time when students are given the time to "read" the books in their book bins. Each child has a book bin which includes a "Star Book" (Three Billy Goats, Caps for Sale,  or Where the Wild Things Are, etc.) that they have heard several times. They are now able to retell the story by looking at the pictures. The bin also includes an ABC book, a Dr. Seuss book and several Level A books which are simple sight word/picture books. Next wee, children will be bringing home a book from their book bin each night as part of their homework. They will love sharing these books with their family and reinforcing the reading skills and strategies they learned in school.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

We Have "Caps for Sale"!

"Caps for sale...50 cents a cap." This is another one of our "Star Books" that we reread to the children a few times so that they will be able to retell the story using pictures and vocabulary from the book. Here we have our peddler. He has on his own checked cap and then all of the other colored caps for sale. In the story, the monkeys "borrow' the peddler's caps while he takes a nap against a tree. The caps are returned after the monkeys behaving as the peddler throws his own checked cap on the ground in frustration. Children are learning story sequencing, using story language, and vocabulary such as refreshed, disturb, and imitate  when retelling these adventures. Every student is lucky enough to have a copy of a "Star Book" in his/her book bin and it is delightful to hear them "reading" the books daily.
 He feels refreshed after his nap.

Monday, September 9, 2013

The Three Billy Goats Gruff- A Retelling

Being able to retell a story is one of the key ingredients in learning how to read. The children have heard us read The Three Billy Goats Gruff several times during the past few weeks. So much so that they are able to retell it themselves by using handmade stick puppets when doing their own retelling. They share with a friend and decide who is going to be what character and then act out the folktale. Soon they will get their own copy of the book and "read" by using the pictures in the book to help them along. These beginning steps in reading help the child by using one of the first strategies in reading, "Look at the picture." 

Sunday, September 8, 2013

What is Kindergarten About? - The First Two Weeks - Random Pictures -

                                        ABC Puzzles                                           Drawing


                                                    Building with Legos                                                  
                                                                                      
                                                      Working on ABC puzzles together

 
                                                                   Pattern Block Creations
Kindergarten is all about learning, growing, and sharing. We like to have some time set aside every day for the children to have some "down" time. During this self-directed learning time, they have the opportunity to work on puzzles, build with Legos, use Play-doh, draw,  read, or go on the computer. They decide where they want to go and what they want to do. This is very important in the life of a Kindergarten student. They learn to share, take turns, converse with one another and make new friends. This is one of the things that makes Kindergarten so special.
                                                         More from our Animal Visit


Kindergarten Pow Wow 2019

Our tribe this year was the Inuit. Our students learned about the Inuit culture which included their food, housing and shelter. They sang ...