Saturday, March 24, 2012
I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. This week in literacy, we have been discussing the different components of a book, specifically the characters and setting in a story. My hopes is that the children will apply this knowledge to the books they are writing and ask themselves if they have these different components in their story. When reading with your child at home, ask them who the characters were and what the setting was in the story to work on their comprehension skills. I have also been working with the students on how to access a reading book or math game on the Ipad independently. They really enjoy using the Ipad for a variety of things, so it is very important that they develop a sense of independence when on it. It hasn't taken them long to feel comfortable using it and accessing what they want... imagine that! We did a heart word activity that I must share because the students enjoyed it so much! They all taped a heart word on their forehead. They had a sheet with all the students names and then 15 heart words. They had to draw a line from a classmate's name to the heart word that was on their forehead. With process of elimination, the children had to guess which word was on their head. It was very fun and engaging!
Bella draws a line from Kaydence's name to the word "please." They couldn't wait to see what word they had!
In math, the children have showed an even deeper interest in maps, for they created a map of both their classroom and school. The objective of these activities was to enrich the children's understanding of measurement, distances, and spatial relationships. Next week: treasure maps! The children are still exploring the meaning of "half." We have looked at paper cut in half, food divided in half, and even a half a cup of water vs. a cup of water. Incorporating our vet center, we talked about the needs of the animals and how if you give a dog too little or too much food, it would not be good for them. The dog bowl, dog food, and measuring cups were put in the office, and the children have been taking good care of the animals by giving them the right amount of food.
In science, the investigation with weather is still occurring, however from it, an interest of water has been heavily expressed. To expand more on their wondering about the interaction between rain and different types of land, the children went outside with their science buckets, spray bottles, and clip boards to experiment with the different types of land surrounding their school. The buckets of water represented a heavy downpour, and the spray bottles represented a light rain. How many buckets of water will it take for the grass to stop soaking it up and for it to form a puddle? How about using the spray bottle? How many sprays did it take until a puddle formed? The children discovered it was faster for a puddle to form when they sprayed the water directly on a patch of dirt and no grass. When Alexis was putting grass on the dirt around the tree, Marlo exclaimed, "Remember we couldn't make a puddle with grass, so go get dirt!" They also poured water on the asphalt, and we watched throughout the day as the water disappeared and evaporated.
Bella and Nathan count how many sprays of water it takes to make a tiny puddle.
"I am thinking we won't have to spray as many times if we are over on the parking lot. Let's go!" (Bella D.)
-Alexis, Bella, Sophia, and Jordan explore the idea of evaporation.
The children already have ants in their pants because they are so excited for spring break! Hopefully the visit with COSI will help! Have a great rest of the weekend!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
I am LUCKY to have a class like I do!
Besides soaking up this warm weather, I hope everyone is finding time to put down the "to-do" list and spend the weekend with family and friends.
The children had a big week, for they worked hard planning out their leprechaun traps. Before they got started, they each explored their materials, and made a plan of how they were going to build the trap that would support catching the leprechaun. The designs and ideas that the children came up with far surpassed my expectations. For example, J'Lyn added feathers on the top of her trap so that when the leprechaun jumped up on the box, the feathers would tickle him, which would result in him falling in. I asked Jordan why he was working so hard making holes all around his trap and he responded by saying "Well, these are air holes and there needs to be a lot so the leprechaun can breathe." Marlo decided she would make a ramp leading up to her trap, where as Nathan made a door. As a finishing touch, many of the students decided to add the Irish flag on top, which they found what it looked like through research on the Ipad.
Below (Top Left): Isabella M's leprechaun trap complete with swinging door, the Irish flag, an upstairs, and a sign that says "Come Leprechaun."
Below (Top Right): Melania's trap- she had a difficult time trying to make her flag more sturdy. She problem solved and realized that if she puts a something heavier, such a popsicle stick, to the back of the flag, it would give it more support.
Below (Bottom Left): Andrews note to the leprechaun- "Mr. Leprechaun Please come into your new house."
The students also enjoyed making a healthy version of the shamrock shake. They mixed all the ingredients together to make a liquid mixture. It was interesting to see that 5 out of the 15 students did like the shake, for when we added the bananas, they did not like the texture of it. That led into a great discussion about texture, as well as that it is okay for everyone to not like something, for we all have different taste buds. They were curious about that concept, and I for see a new investigation in the near future!
The students were introduced to the -ay spelling pattern, which they did quite well with. When we were brainstorming words that have the -ay pattern in them, Nathan raised his hand and said "How about play!" What a great beginning! Writing books is still very popular with the children. They are even incorporating different components of books, such as the dedication page. Isabella M. dedicated her book about cats to her mom. If you find your child creating a book at home, please encourage them to remember to write the title, author, and illustrator on the cover page.
In math, the students built models of 3-Dimensional shapes (cube and rectangular prism) using toothpicks and marshmallows. In order for them to be sturdy, the marshmallows had to be stale. Instead of making the marshmallows stale on my own, I decided to include the children in this process. Why do you think the marshmallows need to be hard? What does it mean when foods go stale? Can you think of other foods that might go stale if you leave them out? When the marshmallows were finally ready, the children built their models of the 3-Dimensional shapes, as well as the 2 dimensional shapes that make up the cube and rectangular prism. We have also been focusing on skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s orally. I taught them a faster way to skip count- using calculators! It was like magic for them to see this occur on a calculator.
If you have not sent back your conference sheet back to me, please do so I can accommodate your schedule the best that I can. Have a safe and fun weekend!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Technology and Movies
It's Mr. Tom checking in. I just wanted to share what we did in Technology Class this week. We explored how computers are used to create the visual effects we see in movies and TV shows. Specifically, we learned about the use of GREEN SCREENS, and how computers are used to replace the backgrounds on images and make it look like the actors are in any environment they can imagine. It's one thing to talk about it, but it's much easier to comprehend (not to mention WAY more exciting) to try it out ourselves!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Today during lunch, we were trying to predict what President Obama eats for lunch. I asked if they thought he eats the same food we eat during lunch, and if he eats at the same time we do. One child responded "No, he probably eats chicken nuggets or steak and mashed potatoes." It made me laugh, and I thought it would make you smile as well.
We have been doing a lot with 3-dimensional shapes and money these past few weeks. Thank you for helping your child search for 3-dimensional shapes around your home. The other students get so excited when they walk through the classroom door and a shiny new cube is there waiting for them in the shape museum. So far, the children have been introduced to the penny, nickel, and dime. The children have been thinking of great ideas for extra exploration with money. Alexis created a memory money game- she covered coins with paper and the objective was to match two of the same coins together. She taught Andrew how to play, and it was a perfect way to practice coin recognition. Melania, Jordan, and Marlo were all working on creating a bank out of blocks. They created a room where all the coins were kept safe. They counted the money so they knew how much they just in case the money was stolen. J'Lyn, Isabella Ake and Aaliyah worked hard at creating coin rubbing designs. J'Lyn made a "J" with nickels, and we counted how many cents her name was worth. It has been a great week for money! We also talked about what a survey is and how to create and conduct a survey. They thought of a yes or no question and had to go around the classroom to ask other students the question, which also helps with their oral language skills. Did you know that 13 out of 15 students have pets? Or that 15 out of 15 students like nature? One student even came up with the question "Does your dad have a motorcycle?" It was fun for the children to get to know their classmates a little but more.
In art, the children experienced the ways in which cornstarch is transformed from soft, silky powder to slippery, crunchy liquid. In the process, they also observed and reflected on the startling, magical creation of color. Working with the primary colors, the children explored the range of shades those colors can create. Patrick exclaimed, "Hey! It's like we are working at a mixing factory!" The experience with cornstarch and water color deeply engaged the children's senses, and it was extremely hard to get them to clean up because they didn't want to stop!
Above: Jordan, Nathan, Aaliyah, Isabella and J'Lyn invesigate with colors.
Well, our 3rd and final Skype session with Mr. Eric, musician and author of the Pete the Cat books, took place on Tuesday. The children were sad that it was their last time Skyping with Mr. Eric, but we are fortunate enough to have Mr. Eric himself come to GSCELC for the "Rock N Read" concert that will take place in June. Until then, we will dig deeper into his books and learn even more of his entertaining songs. Here is a short glimpse of the session:
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Have a terrific weekend! I am looking forward to Monday :)
Friday, March 2, 2012
This week in Kindergarten, the children have really been focusing on alliteration (repetition of an initial consonant sound, such as Donald Duck.)We made up silly stories using alliteration, one story being about a spider named Sunny and another about Pete the Cat. Did you know that Pete's favorite foods are pepperoni, pie, parsley, and pizza? I had no clue! They also did an activity called "advertisement alliteration." They searched through ads from magazines and chose their favorite thing. They then thought of a word that started with the same letter as what they picked out. For example, Nathan's ad said "Doggy Desk," Jordan's ad said "Man Markers," Alexis' ad said "Cathy Computer's," and Bella Dutton's said "magnificent M&Ms." They had fun sharing what they came up with to the class. Thank you to Jenny Neel for helping out with the activity!
On Monday, the children learned about the French impressionist painter Claude Monet and his work he did with landscapes. Their job was to recreate one of his paintings. When the weather permits, I plan to take the Kindergartners out to the garden to do their own Monet landscape painting. Monet enjoyed doing the same landscape over and over again when it was a different season. I would like to take the children outside at the end of the year to do the same garden view, but they can compare their paintings from March to June.
The children were introduced to the nickel this week. They enjoy learning about money because they have had experience watching you pay with coins. We have learned about the penny and nickel so far, so next time you are paying with coins, try involving your child in the process (unless it is a long line!) We have also been talking about 3-dimensional shapes, specifically the cube, cylinder, and sphere. We have started a 3-D shape museum in our classroom, so if there is something at home your child finds that would be an asset to our collection, don't hesitate to send it in. The kindergartners went on a 3-D shape scavenger hunt today throughout the school. Stocked with their camera's and clip boards, the children took pictures of the different shapes they found and checked off each one they saw. We saw everything from sphere ornaments to a cylinder salt container! It was a great opportunity for the children to leave the classroom and walk around within the walls of their school.
Weather is still a huge focus in our classroom. As I said in my last post, the children have all picked a topic about weather that they are interested in. Weather is being taught using the Project Approach, which builds on natural curiosity, enabling children to interact, question, connect, problem-solve, communicate, reflect, and more. This kind of authentic learning extends beyond the classroom to each student's home, community,and the world. It essentially makes learning the stuff of real life and children active participants in and shapers of their worlds. Many of the children are interested in thunderstorms, but are learning as they research that with thunderstorms, usually comes wind. Thus, they are learning that wind is moving air and comes from the sun. A goal I have for the children is for them to understand that weather changes on a daily basis. This past week has been a perfect example of this, for one day it was 60 degrees, and the next it was 20 degrees! How about the thunderstorm on Wednesday? The children grabbed their clipboards and we investigated the different areas surrounding our school that showed different levels of water. The children were so interested on why there was a "lake" in the parking lot, but not on the grass? This led to an investigative question: Can cement absorb water? Why is there sometimes puddles in the grass? They also were interested with the water that was dripping from the roof to the ground. It is such a fascinating world the children live in, and it is my job to bring their world into the classroom!
Above (left): The children observing the leftover rain on the parking lot.
Above (right): Sophia adding the noise thunder makes to her project about thunderstorms.