K Blog 2017-2018, November 15th

The holiday season is fast approaching, and I can tell you from experience that there is no better place to be than in a classroom.  The weather is changing, but our classroom remains warm and comfortable.  The light fades earlier in the day, but the magic of celebrating our communities different cultures and holidays keeps our space bright and beautiful. Last month we had the pleasure of celebrating Diwali with the kindergartners. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year in autumn in the northern hemisphere. We look forward to exploring all of the different traditions of our students, and invite you to share your traditions with us during this beautiful season. 



Whats happening in K?



Readers Workshop

• We have been reading books about Thanksgiving.
• We made a list of ideas about what Readers Workshop should look, feel and sound like. Some of the great ideas the K's offered were "Respect others while they're reading" and "Take care of the books"
• We learned how to choose the "right reading spot" for ourselves.
• During word study we learned about syllables, the letters S,T, and N, and the popcorn words; are, am, at & be.

Math 

• We introduced tally marks and how they can help us keep track of things we are counting.
• We made a quilt using geometric shapes and patterns.
• We explored how to make larger shapes and objects using smaller shapes.

 Writers Workshop

• We discussed being thankful, and wrote about our ideas.
• We collected ideas on worksheets to use later and to help us write. 

Social Studies

• We began a continuing discussion on what a family is. We collected the students ideas on a chart so they could refer back to it. Some of their wonderful ideas were "Families are different" and "Families want you."

Art

In art class we have been finish up our life-size self portraits and exploring with clay! It was with great enthusiasm that the kids discovered their portraits on the walls and made their first pinch pot bowls.

Music

Among other things, the Kindergarten kids have been busy singing their own penned verse of the Hum a Happy Do Re Mi song, which they will be sharing with the lower school on Monday November 13. They have also been having loads of fun experimenting with a variety of slot drums. Super fun!