Short & Sweet

What a wonderful short week we had in K! This week we introduced new centers, enjoyed specials, completed a STEM challenge, and had lots of fun with friends! Next week we will take a deeper dive into the curriculum. Specifically, we are going to begin Math, Fundations, Readers Workshop, and Leader In Me.

Below are some wonderful pictures from the week:

Centers:

This week we introduced new center rotations: Scissors Skills, Dominos, Roll & Color, Letter Hunt, Geoboards and Write the Room: 2-D Shapes.

STEM Challenge: Design a Paper Plate Marble Maze

The students were challenged to create a paper plate marble maze using a paper plate, construction paper, wikki sticks, glue, tape, and scissors. The kids engineered all kinds of cool structures on their paper plates for their marble to go through as they tilted the plate in different directions using their hands!

French with Madame: Colors

Music with Ms. Redmann: Australian Instruments

Art with Ms. Lorenz: Mixing Primary Colors

Recess:

PE with Coach Long & Coach B: Soccer & Noodle Tag

More pictures from the week:

Reminders:

-Picture Day is Tuesday, September 14th

-NO SCHOOL on Thursday, September 16th

Off to a Great Start!

I can't believe our second week of school is in the books! The children had so much fun engaging in many new activities. We were busy this week continuing to practice various routines and procedures. The children are getting very good at navigating around the classroom and throughout the school. There are so many different rules we have to follow and the children are accepting them with grace!

Let's take a closer look at the activities the kids engaged in this week:

Learning Centers:

This week we introduced learning centers! Kindergarten learning centers are one of my favorite components in the classroom, and it is essential for hands-on learning. Why are learning centers so important?

• Learning centers give kindergarteners a sense of satisfaction. They are presented with a task, they follow the steps to complete the task. They are able to take the activity from start to finish and complete it.

• Kindergarten learning centers provide children with confidence. The activities placed in the learning centers are math and literacy concepts that have been previously taught. The students are able to complete the centers independently and their confidence soars!

• Learning centers teach children to be independent. Little learners can become dependent on teacher assistance. Centers allow students an appropriate level of challenge so they can work independently to reach a solution.

• Learning centers also give teachers time to work with small groups and give extra attention to students in a smaller capacity.

Math Game: Roll & Cover

The children learned a new math game for partners - Roll & Cover. To play, the children take turns rolling the dice and covering up the number in their row. The first one to cover their entire row wins! Roll & Cover teaches the kids how to quickly subitize (ability to instantly recognize the number of objects without actually counting them) as well as how to win or lose gracefully. Whether they win or lose we teach the kids to congratulate each other and say, "Good game! Rematch?" Roll & Cover promotes fun skill practice and will become a center activity once the children know how to play them without support.

"The Dot" and Growth Mindset

"The Dot" by Peter Reynolds is an amazing book that teaches students about their own importance as well as growth mindset. In the story, a little girl is frustrated when she cannot draw and her teacher gently guides her to “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.” The book has so many “big ideas” and is a wonderful way to introduce students to the idea of digging deeper into a book and beginning the discussions on growth mindset. After reading the book, I ask the children to tell me what they thought the author wanted us to learn or remember from the text. I then gave each child a piece of paper with a black dot. I asked the students: "What can you turn the dot into?" "Can you make something new?" The kids got very creative and added so many colors and details to their drawings! I saw an octopus, flowers, an apple tree, and a lot of fun designs!

Heggerty Phonemic Awareness

This week we started our daily systematic phonological and phonemic awareness lessons. Phonemic awareness is the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes, and it’s one of the best early predictors for reading success. The lessons are part of our morning meeting and the kids love participating. It's one of my favorite lessons every day!

Math: Write the Room - 2D Shapes

Throughout the year the kids will be engaged in various versions of "write the room." The best part of this activity is that the kids are up and moving! They are actively practicing math skills in a fun and engaging way. The activity requires the students to scan the classroom for the write the room cards, match the number on the card with the recording sheet and then color/circle/write the answer. Write the room will be used in math and in literacy centers, with the skills and rigor building through the year. This week the kids worked on 2D shapes, flat and real life.

STEM Challenge - Build a Raft

Last week the children were challenged to build a boat out of aluminum foil. The kids LOVED that challenge so I knew the students would enjoy a similar challenge. This week I challenged the kids to build a raft and then test its ability to float and hold a little bit of weight. It was exciting to see the children in action designing their rafts and problem solve as the rafts began to sink. There were lots of cheering and groaning as the rafts were tested! The materials used were straws, craft sticks, and masking tape.

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SPECIALS:

PE: Coach Long & Coach B

Coach Long kicked off the week by introducing the kids to a colors game using hula hoops. The kids enjoyed finding the matching colors during this game of speed! In Coach B's class, they played Sharks & Minnows, Red Light/Green Light, and completed many hula hoop challenges!

Library: Ms. Hilda

Ms. Hilda read us two wonderful stories, and then the children checked out a book. Please keep the book for a week and return the following Tuesday. The children are always proud of their book choices and can't wait to look through them!

Music: Ms. Redmann

In music this week the kids learned a new song called "Fuzzy, Buzzy Bumblee." It is a wonderful singing name game that promotes rhythm and pitch.

French: Madame

Art: Ms. Lorenz - "It Looks Like Spilt Milk"

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RECESS:

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FREE CHOICE:

During free choice, the kids get to engage in various activities that include magna-tiles, coloring, blocks, legos, flower garden, marble run, sensory table, pop on's, etc. Free choice is a great chance for the kids to have a choice in their learning and it's a perfect opportunity for the kids to make their own decisions. It might seem pretty basic to us, as adults, but it's incredibly important to the kids. It gives them more ownership over their learning experiences.

MORE PHOTO'S FROM THE WEEK:

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SCHEDULE:

Click here to get directed to our block schedule. The academic blocks are flexible and may be shifted throughout the week.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

We are off to a great start! The kindergarten kids had a wonderful first week! The kids worked hard learning new routines, procedures, and expectations. We are building our classroom community and getting to know one another. To get a better sense of your child's life at school, consider asking specific, but still open-ended questions. The below questions are great afterschool conversation starters and perfect for the ride home!

• Tell me about the best part of your day.

• What was the hardest thing you had to do today?

• Did any of your classmates do anything funny?

• Who did you play with today? What did you play?

• Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?

This week the children got to meet all of their specials teachers!

PE: Coach Long & Coach B

How lucky are the kids to have two PE teachers? This week in PE the kids enjoyed scooter relay races, an obstacle course, a nature scavenger hunt, and various versions of tag!

Music: Ms. Redmann

This week the kindergarten kids got to explore various instrumentals and practiced playing to a steady beat.

Library: Ms. Hilda

Storytime with Ms. Hilda is always so much fun! Ms. Hilda read a few stories and at the end, the children got to check out a book. You are welcome to keep these books at home for a week. Please help your child remember to return their library book every Tuesday so they can check out a new one.

French: Madame

Madame makes learning a new language so much fun! In class this week the kids were engaged with puppets, songs, and movement activities.

Art: Ms. Lorenz

The kids loved exploring watercolor paints and mixing the primary colors!

Recess:

This week we have been enjoying a lot of time at Alexander Park!

Math: FIVEZI

The kindergarten kids were introduced to our first math game! The game is called Fivezi. The most basic way to play is this: each player has 5 dice and you race to see who can roll and get all their dice on the same number first. The kids really enjoyed this game! It was really exciting to hear the kids shout "FIVEZI!" once all their dice were on the same number.

STEM Challenge: Design and build an aluminum foil boat that floats and holds mass.

In kindergarten, the kids participate in weekly STEM challenges. When students are engaged in activities that support STEM learning (activities that merge science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), young children are curious, focused, communicative, and active for over 45 minutes (or longer), and the children have a blast! And all the while, they are learning STEM concepts and applying math to solve problems. This week the children were challenged to create an aluminum foil boat that floats. The second part of the challenge - how many bear counters can it hold before it sinks?

More pictures from the week:

Next week we will continue to work on routines and procedures!

Reminders:

-If you are enrolled in the lunch program, (HandCut Foods) please submit orders by Wednesday at noon for the following week. Also, please make sure your default options are set. If you miss the deadline and the default options are not set, your child will not have a school lunch. If you have any questions please send an email to: help@handcutfoods.com. Also, please talk with your child daily about which lunches they like and dislike. This will help you decide which lunches to order each week!

-Library books are due every Tuesday.

-Thursday is an early dismissal day. Pick up is at 2:00 unless your child goes to EDP.

-Water bottles are sent home every Friday. Please wash and return on Mondays.

-Friday is "pick up in the classroom" day. Please respect the 3:30-3:45 timeslot.

-Thursday, August 2nd is Curriculum Night. More information to come!

-Please check backpacks at the end of each day. If a dirty mask or clothing is sent home, please send an extra to keep your child's cubby fully stocked.

-Please thoroughly read through Darcy's newsletter. This is sent out every Sunday at 7:00 am. It may seem like there is a lot of repetitive information, but there is always new and important information in there as well.

-Please join our private Facebook Page (photos are posted daily): https://www.facebook.com/groups/691488225041580/