Mrs. Smith

Oct 16, 20202 min read

Put First Things First

Habit #3: Put First Things First

This week the kids began to understand that Habit #3 is all about doing the things they have to do before doing the things they want to do. Work first, then play! In the book, "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" by Sean Covey, we read the story, Pokey and the Spelling Test. In this story, we learned how awful it can feel when you procrastinate and put things off, like when Pokey crammed the night before the test. We contrasted that feeling with how good it feels when you are prepared.

3D Scavenger Hunt

The kids participated in a 3D scavenger hunt! The kids used their "owl eyes" to search for things in the classroom that were a cube, rectangular prism, sphere, cylinder, and cone! We then discussed how many faces, vertices, and edges each shape has.

STEM: Design a Musical Instrument out of Recyclables

To begin the activity the kids sketched and labeled their own design in their journals. The children thought about what materials they wanted to use. Then they got to go "shopping" at Ms. Wise's store and pick out what they needed. Some of the choices included: cardboard rolls, dried beans, plastic bottles, rubber bands, small boxes, pipe cleaners, and tape. The children then built their instruments and tested their designs! Did it make the sound you were trying for? Which materials make the best sounds? What improvements did you need to make?

Math:

Our math focus this week was seeing changes in numbers 1-10. During this lesson, we used 5-counter strips and counters. We used the 5-strip wherever we had a five. After we made the numbers 1-10 we discussed the changes in numbers. How many more does each new column have? How is the 8 column the same as the 3 column? How is it different? We discussed how each number increases by one. We also discussed the 5-groups. The students also practiced writing addition equations using the +1 equation. The kids listened to a story and then wrote the equation that goes with it.

Fundations:

The kids really enjoy Fundations! I often hear kids asking "When we are going to do Fundations?" Fundations is great for letter-sound practice, story retelling, correct letter formation, and learning sentence structure.

Recess:

Free Choice:

Art with Mr. Matt:

In Mexico, few holidays go by that do not feature colorful paper banners strung along the streets, decorating the fronts of houses or embellishing schools and classrooms. These cut paper flags are called "papel picado," which literally translates to "perforated paper." In art class this week the kids created their own papel picado banners using construction paper, paint, scissors, glue, and markers! This activity was an artsy introduction to a fun Mexican custom!

PE with Coach Long:

Coach Long always comes up with the most engaging games! This week the kids had a great time working in teams trying to launch their noodle into the opposing sides bucket! This posed a great challenge but the kids were determined to succeed! The kids also competed in noodle tag and participated in mindfulness activities.