Water, Water Everywhere!

This week was all about rivers, lakes, and just water! On Monday we did a science experiment with things that float and things that sink. The students predicted what the objects would do, then put in data for what actually happened! Tuesday was about the water cycle. We had a demonstration with a crock pot to show how water goes up to clouds (the lid), and then drips down. The students then made a living model!

Thursday we talked about the critters that live in water. We then picked our favorites and wrote about them. Most liked the snail, but a few liked the tadpole because "it is cute".

Along with learning about water, we have been learning more and more letter blends! This week we focused on fl, tr, sl, and pl. We also payed special attention to telling the difference between a "b" and "d". There two little tricks to help with this. B is bat before ball, and D is doorknob before door. We also had so me fun practice by writing in cool whip, YUM!

In math we have just finished early learning about fractions, and focused on probability! We made spinners to practice this concept!

Between lessons, the students are always working hard (and having fun!) in the free time area. There they can read, look at books, and do different activities set out every week. I love taking pictures of learning in action!

Little School on the Prairie

Between snow days last week and Monday off this week, we have had two very short weeks! Throughout these weeks we have spent times learning about the prairie. Last Thursday we learned about Native Americans that lived on prairies a long time ago. We discussed their culture, and some differences in their lifestyle from ours. The students then built little tepees, and drew Native American symbols on them (and made up some of their own!).

This week we learned about pioneers that use to live on the prairie. We even made our own homemade butter! It was delicious! The students also worked together to make a Venn diagram about the differences between living in pioneer times and now. Though we found many differences, the students also realized that their were many similarities like a families, animals, and church!

We also learned about prairie dogs that live on prairies. We read a hilarious book called The Great Fuzz Frenzy about silly prairie dogs finding a tennis ball! The students made their own fuzzy prairie dogs and wrote a sentence about them.

Besides all the fun prairie learning, we are continuing to learn letter blends in phonics. These past two weeks we talked about mp, nd, and st. The students have also been practicing hearing the ending sounds in words. It's amazing how many words the students can read now! Our word wall is full!

In math we have begun to learn about halves, thirds, and fourths. This has been a fun concept to learn! Another new thing we learned these past few weeks is tying shoes! The students have picked up quickly on this! We'll work on this for a few more weeks! If you tie shoes at home and hear about mountains and tepees, then they're probably singing our shoe tying rhyme...

Build a tepee, come inside. Close it tight so we can hide. Make a mountain, around we go. Here's my arrow, here's my bow!

Next week we're moving on to another part of the world, rivers! Can't wait to see everyone at parent/teacher conferences on Friday!

The Students Went Over the Mountain

Can you believe that it's January already! So sorry for the lack of post in December, between Christmas break and me being gone a week it was a very hectic time! It was really nice to come back and see my students again! 

We started some BIG stuff this week by learning about mountains! On Monday we discussed mountains and hiking. We then built our own mountains using Play-Doh.. One Tuesday the students were very excited to learn about volcanoes! We even had a model volcano that exploded. The students then worked together to write a story about the volcano. Here is what they wrote...

Volcano

We learned about volcanoes. 

Mrs. Tonner put vinegar, food coloring, and baking soda the middle of the volcano.

It erupted!

The volcano puffed up and was bubbly.

It sounded like cream soda

On Thursday we learned about panning for gold in the mountains. The student panned for their own gold, and found some gold chocolate nuggets! They then wrote and drew pictures about what they would do if they found real gold. Some answers were to buy a pet bird, four-wheeler, pony castle, and a tractor. 

In phonics we have begun to learn about letter blends This week we read words beginning with br, gr, st, sp. This means that there are some 5 letter words we are working on, like "stand", "grands", and "still".

In math we are diving deeper and deeper into adding skills. We are now adding money, and writing the problems vertically!

Next week we will continue to learn about places around the country by learning about rivers! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from KA Kindergarten to you! We had fun making thankfulness turkeys, preparing a thanksgiving feast, and of course eating! Have a blessed Thanksgiving break!

The Creepy Crawly Things!

This week we learned all about different insects, YUCK! On Monday we learned about ants and how they work together. We did a little role planning as we pretended to be ants leaving a trail from their ant hill.

Getting the treat and leaving the trail

Tuesday was all about bees. Even though we all agreed that we would like bees to stay far away from us, we also learned how important they are. Not only do they make delicious honey, but they help flowers grow. We saw had this worked hands on by "flying" flower to flower and leaving marks to symbolize pollination. This activity is always a favorite!

Drinking the nectar, AKA apple juice 

On Thursday we read and learned about butterflies. We learned about how they go from eggs, to caterpillars, make cocoons, and finally become butterflies. We made a chart using noodles to help us see the life cycle of a butterfly. 

In phonics we have been learning more and more sounds! This week was about "v" and "f". Sometimes they can be easy to mix up! We also read a story book about Christmas (already!). 

In math we started to learn my favorite math concept to teach, addition! The students have been adding everything in sight!

Next week is Thanksgiving! Hope to see you all at the feast on Tuesday! Have a wonderful weekend!

   

Lions and Sheep and Donkeys. Oh My!

This is the first week of our new unit (my favorite!), animals! This week was all about animals that are in the Bible. We had a lot of fun talking about different animals and where they can be found in different Bible stories.

Of course when talking about different Bible animals, you have to talk about Noah's Ark! Beyond that, we thought about what it would be like to live in an animal filled ark for 40 days! The overall feeling, STINKY! We also made hand print animals on Monday.

Tuesday was picture day, and there was so much excitement! Everyone did a wonderful job giving their best smile! We also talked about sheep on Tuesday , and different Bible stories that we can be found in.It was amazing to see kindergartners perspectives of Jesus being our Shepard. We also had a special guest come in and talk about the sheep that they own. All the students even got to bring home their own wool!

Since Wednesday was Veteran's day, we also discussed thanking veterans. We spent some time writing thank you's to Veterans, and making poppies to help us remember Veterans day.

 Thursday we talked about lions in the Bible! I've decided that if a lion came into our classroom, I don't know who would have the louder roar, the lion or my students! We made a fun lion craft.

In phonics we have been busy learning to sound out more and more words. This week we focused on "m" and began to learn "o". Our reading book was about Moses this week, and the student's were excited to read a story they knew!

In math we are growing an understanding of 30's and ten and ones place. The students are getting quick with counting, and growing in number recognition.  

I hope everyone has a fun weekend! Try not to get swept away with all this wind!

Back to Bible Times

To finish off our book unit, we have talked about Bible stories this week. On Monday we talked about Queen Esther and the bravery she had. We then did a little pretending and acted like Kings and Queens with out scepters and made good rules for our kingdom!

On Tuesday we talked about the story of the spies and Rahab. We discussed what it meant to be a spy, and wrote secret messages together using white crayons and paint. It was fun to be sneaky for a day! For snack time we made houses out of graham crackers and used Twizzlers for the the red rope. It was a hit!

Thursday was all about Elisha and the widow, the miracle where God multiplied oil. We discussed what oil was and it's many uses now and in Bible times. We did a little experiment showing how oil can't mix with water. Miss Susan from the library also came today, which is always a treat!

In phonics we have be continuing to learn our letters. This week was all about the letter "l". We learned many new words that start with "l" and also talker about the endings "ill" and "ell". We've been continuing to read, and the books are definitely getting harder! But, the students have shown that they're up to the task! Any reading at home is always beneficial though!

Finishing our time unit, we have moved into talking about 30 number family. We also started a new concept of ten's and one's columns. It's neat to see math foundations forming.

For a craft this week we made and painted our own clay pots. After HOURS of cooking, I think they're finally hard enough to take home! I can't wait to hear what all they put in their bowls!

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend!