A special thank you to Makiya and Jane for bringing in a caterpillar and chrysalis for our class to observe for the day. We enjoyed our visitor and hope he/she has a good life free in Makiya’s yard.
Some of the kids discovered that the butterfly sequencing work we have for literacy matched the real life caterpillar!
Our kindergarten family picnic is September 23rd at 5:30. All kindergarten families are invited. Please bring a dish to share and chairs or blankets for your family to sit on. We hope to see everyone there! Feel free to RSVP in the comments!
The kids have been industrious this week building their literacy skills. At literacy work time each child can complete activities that enhance their skills as readers and writers. Some of our work includes letter writing, sequencing, reading, beginning sounds, and letter matching. There are also a variety of activities that helps the kids develop their fine motor skills which are essential for writing. Here are a few pictures of the kids working. They are doing a wonderful job learning to focus and concentrate.
We started our first chapter book today…Dinosaurs Before Dark of the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. The kids are already sucked into the magic and mystery of the story!
Here are a few smiles to start your weekend off on a happy note. Enjoy!
Next week we will focus on the following learning goals.
Math:
Identifying 2-D and 3-D shapes
Memorizing student numbers
Counting to 20
Literacy:
Adding details in our pictures
Labeling with letters and words
Stretching out words to spell
Letter names, sounds, and formation of “n” and “m”
Reading habits (finishing books, rereading, paying attention to the story)
Behavior:
Working independently
Using words to solve conflicts
To celebrate earning 50 Behavin’ Ravens, we had a bubble gum party. We chewed gum, tried to blow bubbles, made a graph and sang songs about sticky bubble gum. We also played a math counting game about bubble gum. We had a fun day celebrating our class full of safe, respectful, learners!
One of the most important factors I consider when planning a day of learning for kindergarteners is choice. Montessori education teaches us that individual liberty is essential for each child to develop their own will. A child who can make his or her own choices is then able to choose to follow rules and voluntarily do what adults ask them.
In other words, children need make lots of choices in order to learn to make positive ones.
Every time an adult offers a child choices, they are helping a child become an independent, thinking individual. For young children, adults are responsible for offering a limited number of age appropriate choices.
There are lots of times when it doesn’t seem possible to give children choices. But experience has shown me that there are more choices to offer than we first realize. For example, when the kids sit on the carpet for a whole group activity they choose a safe way to sit: criss cross or with their legs folded to the side. They choose hands in their laps or on their knees.
I love the proud smiles when the kids get their bodies ready to listen- they sit up a little taller knowing they have made a safe choice with their bodies.
Another time of day that is an opportunity for choice is literacy work time. At this time, there are a variety of activities the kids can work on to promote reading, writing, and fine motor skills. The work is on the shelves, in the library tubs, or in book boxes. The children flow from activity to activity at their own pace. This time of day seems like it could be a free-for-all, but is often one of the most focused and meaningful learning times because the kids choose.
This week we are focusing on “t”, “b”, and “f”. We are practicing each letter’s name, sound and formation. Next week we will work on “n” and “m”.
If you follow us on Twitter, more often then not, you see pictures of kids working with math manipulatives. We spend a lot of time exploring manipulatives like counting bears, tiles, Unifix cubes, pattern blocks and geo blocks. Constructivism teaches us that children learn by experiencing something rather than simply being told facts. In other words, kids learn best up to their elbows in dirt, or building with blocks, counting their friends, or turn pages of a book.
