How do you keep a class of kindergarteners entertained the week before Thanksgiving break while still meeting some of your learning objectives? You go on a scavenger hunt of course! We read the book Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt this week and finished our unit by going on a Noun Hunt. The students have already learned that nouns can be people, places, or things (animals too) but it can be a bit confusing for a five year old to really grasp that concept so we grabbed our clipboards and our Scaredy Squirrel binoculars and went hunting for them. We found nouns everywhere! Many of the students aren’t ready to write out the sounds that they hear in order to spell but we reminded each other that it is important to try and that we can at least write the first sound we hear along with a picture. Our clipboards were full quickly but we made sure to stop by some of the classrooms so that we could write down a few proper nouns with capital letters. Mrs. Tipton was nice enough to even hold up a sign for us. The class had a lot of fun searching around our campus for nouns.
Fall has finally decided to stay at St. James and it was just in time for Pumpkin Week! After reading the book Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell we had our own pumpkin investigations. We measured our pumpkin’s height and circumference then cut into it so that we could see it’s seeds and pulp. The students used sensory words to describe how the pumpkin felt and smelled. The students were able to complete a three dimensional model of the parts of a pumpkin using real pumpkin seeds! They were surprised to learn that you can eat the seed after they are roasted and most of the class was brave enough to give them a try. We made pumpkin patch puddings to eat on Friday. This was the perfect time to practice some phonemic awareness skills since we had just introduced the sound for the letter P! Finally, we completed a watercolor painting of a pumpkin blossom.
Measuring the height of a pumpkin using linking cubes.
Measuring the circumference of a pumpkin.
Pumpkin guts are cold!
What a great start to the year we have had! My kindergarten friends are doing great with their morning routines and are happy to get dropped off every morning. One of the things that they look forward to is our morning work drawers. After they put their things away each student comes in the room to find one of twelve drawers labeled with their name. They pull out that drawer, find a comfortable spot in the classroom and get started on their morning work. These drawers are filled with fun activities that really help to strengthen their fine motor skills. We like to say we are working on our finger muscles! Take a look at our pictures to see how my little friends are really having to use their fingers. They are excited because they think they are playing with their friends. I’m excited because I know how much more capable they are going to be in a few months when we start incorporating more writing work!
Almost everyone has fond memories of show and tell. We had our very first kindergarten show and tell this week and it was a hit. I’ve seen a lot of show and tells in my years of teaching and my favorites are always the ones that let me know a little more about my students. Family pictures, treasured collections, finds from nature, and family pets are just a few of the items we saw this month. The students are excited because they think they are getting a break from their work and they are getting to bring things to school that they normally wouldn’t be allowed to have. But I am excited because through a year’s worth of show and tells I see how much my students are growing in their ability to communicate to an audience. While some children are naturally gifted speakers most tend to get off topic easily or speak too quickly or quietly to hold the interest of their peers. During the first few months I ask them questions to get them to talk meaningfully about their items. Asking these same questions over and over again helps them to know the important information we need to hear. We practice speaking clearly and making eye contact with our audience. The rest of the class has a job too! They must learn to become a good listener. Good communication skills are needed in every aspect of life and Show and Tell is just one of the ways a kindergarten student can learn them!
I love teaching kindergarten Math! We teach so many lessons in hands on ways that the kids love it too. This week the class learned about symmetry. We drew an imaginary line down the middle of our bodies to show how we are symmetrical and looked at lots of pictures of butterflies to see that patterns in nature can be symmetrical too. Then we were able to use pattern blocks to make our own symmetrical designs. They had a great time using their imaginations to give names to their designs.
