Orbeez, Patterns, and Kindness

We have learned all about the letter G this week.  We added the words green, go, gopher and goat to our word wall.  We are also on the number 11.  The children had to trace and then write the number 11.  They had to trace the word eleven and then write it themselves.  They went on a number hunt, and had to circle every number 11 they found.  They cut out 11 pennies and pasted them into a piggybank, and drew 11 windows on a building. 

I added orbeez beads to the sensory table, and this has been the most popular center.   They will stay in the table until Christmas break.   

We worked on AB, AAB, and ABC Christmas patterns. Guiding children to understand patterns is a foundational skill in mathematics.  Children begin to identify patterns in their environment at an early age.  As they learn to label patterns by having one name stand for something else, they are creating an algebraic representation.

We put up our Christmas tree, and have been making our own ornaments.  The children painted their own Christmas tree and decorated it with pompoms.  They are very unique and are on display in our windows. 

I absolutely love teaching at St. James and being able to lead the little ones in a daily chapel and the Pledge of Allegiance.  What a great way to get your day started on a positive note!

I have been talking to the students about kindness.  The simple acts of kindness seem to go unnoticed in this world we live in.  The children were given the prompt “I can light up the world with kindness by…..” on a Christmas bulb.  They had to draw of picture of them performing an act of kindness and I transcribed their words onto the picture.   Activities like this are helping their emergent writing and critical thinking skills.  Writing originates from drawing and is supported by make-believe play.  Understanding the mechanics of the writing system has a moderate correlation with reading in the primary grades.