Fabulous Friends

Fire Safety Lesson

 The Fire Safety Trailer was at school yesterday! We were able to explore the trailer (replica of a typical home) for fire hazards, talk about each hazard we found, talk about what to do in the event of a fire (crawl low, check the door for heat, find an alternate exit if necessary), practice exiting from a window, and practice calling 911.

Morning Message

An important part of our morning routine is morning meeting. Part of this meeting is a morning message. The message is usually written by the teacher and used to set the stage for the day, practice early literacy skills, and provide a shared reading experience . Today, our kindergarten students and Mrs. Poquette, surprised me with this morning message!

Remember When?

Do you remember when we were this little? Now we look more like first graders!!!!

Free Choice Time!

This was a student-initiated project at the rice table during free choice time. The students spontaneous cooperation and problem solving were incredible. They asked me to take a picture of their completed work to put on the blog. I love that they know what the blog is :)

All-About Books

 The focus of our writing workshop mini-lesson today was an introduction to writing All-About books. To become familiar with All-About books (non-fiction) we looked at The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons. We noticed that this book had the following specific features:

• A big All-About title
• A How-To Page (how to carve a pumpkin)
• Chapters or sections

In this picture we are looking at  books to notice additional features of non-fiction writing that we may want to include in our own writing.

We noticed that non-fiction books often have:

• A table of contents
• An index or word list
• A glossary
• Headings

Here is an example of A Table of Contents

 This book also had a Table of Contents

 

After spending a lot of time exploring some great non-fiction, we were ready to brainstorm a list of our own possible topics. Next time we will work on structuring our own All-About books!

The Pond Game

We started another great Math Work Place today! This one is called The Pond Game. To play students place 5 frogs on the game board, which has lillypads, each with a number from 1 to 10. They then spin the Add & Subtract spinner, add or subtract that many frogs from his/her board, and report how many frogs are in the pond. As with previous Work Places there are many skills associated including:

• count objects using one-to-one correspondence
• read the symbols for addition and subtraction, and numerals to 10
• model addition by joining sets of objects and model subtraction by removing objects from sets for numbers less than 10
• verbally describe mathematical relationships involving addition and subtraction situations

Math Work Places

 Math Work Places* consist of games and activities that extend and enrich children's learning. They consist of games and activities designed for independent use by students working alone, with partners, or in small groups. Most involve use of concrete or visual models. The Work Places provide for choice, collaboration, and cooperation among students. They encourage application and practice of previously taught skills.


*Description taken from Teachers Guide: Getting Started Bridges in Mathematics

 Math Work Places are rotated in and out to correspond with our math lessons. This week we are working with the following Work Places:

Unifix Cube Measuring: At this Work Place students estimate the length of designated objects and then measure the objects using a benchmark of 10 unifix cubes. It addresses the following skills:

• estimating length using a benchmark of 10 unifix cubes
• Measuring with nonstandard units
• Counting quantities to 30 and beyond
• Recording and comparing results

 Fives-Up: This is a partner game in which students search for combinations of dot cards and /or numeral cards that total 5. Skills involved are:

• Read numerals to 5
• Compose and decompose numbers to 5
• Model addition by joining sets
• Verbally describe mathematical relationships involving addition situations
• Use one-to-one-correspondance to count and compare sets of objects

 Race You to 30 cents!: To play this game players spin and count pennies. When you have 10 pennies you can trade for a dime. The first player to get EXACTLY 30 cents wins! This is a great oppourtunity to:

• Recognize pennies and dimes by name and value
• Count and compare quantities from 1-30
• Trade 10 pennies for a dime
• Count by 10's to 30

Count & Compare Unifix Cubes: In this game students compare two cards to see which shows more and less. Then they spin to see who gets to take the cards, the student who has more or less. Playing this game helps us practice:

• Counting quantities from 10-27 using benchmarks of 10's, 5's and 1's
• Comparing sets (more, less or equal)

 Frog Handfuls: In this Work Place students grab a handful of frogs, estimate and record how many they think they have, and then count with ten-frames to find out the actual number. There are many skills to practice with this Work Place including:

• Estimating with 10's, 5's and 1's
• Counting quantities to 20
• Sharing counting strategies
• Comparing sizes
• Writing 2-digit numbers

Frogs & Lillypads: This is a board game that provides students with the opportunity to practice counting on. Students spin the spinner, add the two numerals, and move their pawn to the lillypad if thel illypad has the sum. Relevant skills are:

• Read numerals to 10
• Identify the ordinal positions of objects
• Model addition for numbers less than 10 by joining sets of objects
• Count on to add two numbers

Information complied from Teachers Guide Volume Two, Bridges in Mathematics

Writing Workshop

 During writing workshop we have been writing How-To books. This is our first experience with procedural writing. To write a How-To book, a writer thinks of a topic he or she knows a lot about and would like to teach the reader about. We used special "How-To Topic" paper (as seen in the first and third pictures) to generate a list of possible topics.  After a topic is chosen it is time for "How-To Paper" (picture 2, 3 & 4). This paper is used to plan , sketch,and write the steps in the procedure. When a few books were completed we checked them for clarity by reading them together and trying to follow the steps. While reading and listening we asked ourselves "What's confusing?" to revise our writing.

 This unit of writing is comprised of many mini-lessons. At this time we have completed the following lessons:

1. Introducing How-To books: children discovered that they will be teachers as well as writers when writing How-To books
2. Checking for Clarity: We explored the idea that How-To books should  be clear, the reader should be able to follow the directions
3. Revising Words & Pictures: We read our own and another's directions and then revised our words and pictures accordingly to make sure they were detailed and explicit.

Topics have included how-to:

• Sail a boat
• Mop the floor
• Feed chickens
• Get your ears pierced
• Do a somersault
• Drive a car
• Do a wheelie
• Find a salamander
• Turn on a bike
• Do a donkey-kick
• Surf
• Sew
• Swing

This unit addresses the following common core standard:
K.W.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

A Sunny Day For Science Outside

 We are learning about living and non-living things. Today we went outside to begin an in-depth observation of 4 different trees. We will study these trees over the next few weeks as we discover what  makes something living or non-living. Today was the perfect day for an outside exploration!

So Happy Together!

Kindergarten Garden

 Thanks to he help and dedication of Maia Jensen we were able to plant our garden before vacation.

 We first acted out what happens to seeds when they are planted and then begin to grow. Then we discussed what seeds need to grow. After that the planting started. We worked together to follow the planting directions on each packet to give our seeds the best opportunity for successful growth!

 Planning our approach :)

 Peas were planted at the end with this fence for support as they grow.

 The cooperation and hard work exhibited by our students during this activity was amazing!

Folsom Bike Rodeo

 All Folsom students were given the opportunity to participate in a bike rodeo with the Grand Isle Sheriff Department today. We began by talking about bike safety and then were given the chance to demonstrate or watch safe bike riding.