Presidential election years are always exciting to teach through. While a kindergarten age student might not understand all of the nuances of an election they can understand making an informed decision between two choices. This week we talked about all of the things we can vote for: snacks, indoor/outdoor recess, favorite colors, stories to read, and even what to do with free choice time. The class learned that the majority rules when taking a vote and how to act when your choice isn’t the “winner.” We finished up the week by reading Duck for President and had our very own vote to decide who should run the farm. We filled out our ballots privately so that we weren’t overtly influenced by the votes of others. After everyone had a chance to vote we counted the ballots. The results were in: Duck was the winner in a landslide victory!

The process of teaching kindergarten students to become writers can seem quite daunting. They begin the year unsure of themselves and needing lots of reassurance but by May they are often writing two to three sentences independently! We follow a weekly routine that helps us gain that confidence. On Mondays and Tuesdays we introduce a topic and brainstorm ideas with a graphic organizer. On Wednesdays we put a rough draft down on paper. Right now those rough drafts are usually pictures but a few students have begun to label their work or attempt to write down their thoughts in a sentence frame. Peer editing on Thursdays is my favorite. The class is learning to compliment their partner’s work, then find a way they can make it better. Finally, on Fridays, we present our finished product to the class. I never get tired of watching this process!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. is one of my favorite back to school books. It is a familiar story to most students and has a lot of rhyme, rhythm, and repetitive text that make it perfect for active 5 year olds! We had a wonderful first week back at school diving into this book. The highlight of our week was our STEM challenge on Friday. The students were put into pairs and given a box of materials to make their own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree. It is so fascinating to see how their minds work this early in the year. Many of them don’t know how to work well with a partner yet. We talked about how important it is to listen to and try all ideas. You might just be surprised by which idea works. I loved seeing which students were persistant when one idea didn’t work the way they planned and which students couldn’t seem to move on past their first idea. This activity taught me so much about their learning styles! We will have a different STEM challenge every month so there will be lots of opportunities to put what we learned into action. Eventually, all of the teams were successful at keeping their letters on the “tree” and had a lot of fun trying new ways to solve the problem.

I love winter weather but January in Texas doesn’t usually deliver. So we have to bring all that missing winter goodness inside our classroom. Our January centers have done just that. The students have loved “ice fishing” for their sight words, writing sight words in sparkly snow with icicles, and grabbing cvc “snowballs” to read to a partner. Not only are they meeting goals but they are also working on those important fine motor skills and learning to work as a team. We’ve also been reading one of my favorite winter books, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. The class has been mesmerized by Keats’ collage illustrations. We’ve used Peter’s adventures to help us write opinion sentences about our own favorite snowy day activities. If we can’t have a snowy day in Texas we can read all about them!