Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (and Explorations,and Leadership, and Architecture, too!)

This was another busy week for us, but we did have a few days of routine, which was nice.

In math this week, we continued to work on number sense and application - you may notice games and activities based on counting and number combinations - we are building on the skills we have learned earlier and extending them to different problems and more mature concepts now.

We found different ways numbers are expressed in books.

We found different ways to make the number four or five with the Shake and Spill game, and students explored "number sentences!"

We also broadened our skills by practicing seeing sets of numbers, whether it was dots on a card or fingers - students would hold up a card or fingers for a count of one, and the other would try to guess how many it was. This teaches students brains to see groups of numbers and automatically know what it represents.

 For example     is five. We know that without pointing to each dot and counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Our class is beginning to recognize that as well.

We also loved our "10 on the Bed" song that helps us remember how to count down from 10!

There were 10 puppies on the bed, and the little one said 

Move over, Move over!" So they all moved over and 1 fell out. 

There were 9 on the bed... 

8 on the bed... 

7..., 6..., 5..., 4..., 3..., 2..., 

There was 1 on the bed and the little one said 

"I FOUND IT!" (the treat that was hiding)

In reading and writing we worked more on capitals - Miss K would make mistakes in the morning message and students would come and show me what to fix. They got quite good at proof reading by Friday! We used these skills to edit our books, and we practiced reading them so that on Friday, we could share with the Grade 3/4 class. We got to visit their classroom and spend time with our buddies showing our hard work on writing and reading!

 We also worked hard on remembering vowels, practicing long and short sounds, and learning how to use Flippy Dolphin (which is the difference between reading "Rory the T-Rex  was a /h/ /u/ /g/ dinosaur" and "Rory the T-Rex was a huge dinosaur." We practiced our vowels by finding them in words and books in our classroom!

Students also practiced their architecture skills during Explore Time. JA, LA, and GR build crocodiles at the art centre, and KI build me a house!

I read a quote once that I wish I could remember - something about how playing when they are little teaches skills for when they are big. This is so true - in this picture I see planning, spatial awareness, geometry, attention to detail, and the oral communication skills of being able to explain his work to me. The longer I spend with your kindies, the more I appreciate the connections I see happening in their brains as they play. Before teaching, I would have only seen a child and toys. Now I recognize a learner with tools that he is using to understand the world he lives in!

We were also great leaders with an impact this week. I hope you all enjoyed Parent Night as much as I did. 

In addition to Parent Night, we opened our class up for Get Ready, Get Set..., Read, and had some fun learning with Mrs. P. who shared with me after how wonderfully the students interacted and learned with her, even on a mixed-up day. 

We also worked more on our pet project, creating a poster to hang in a pet store encouraging people to choose their pet wisely so that they can have a happy and healthy home (just like Miss Carrots!)

MA also showed us a great example of Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind as she planned for a puppet show. She made a survey of who was coming, signs announcing it, set up her theatre, and gave a great performance!

I would like to leave you with this psalm our class wrote. In studying the life of David, we have seen his deep love for God and the way in which he worshiped, specifically in the Psalms. We wrote our own together (P.S. forgive the messy writing - sometimes my grown up hand can't keep up with their super-fast kindergarten brains!).

We use this as a group prayer now, and today one of our friends had the idea to write a good copy and share with some other classes, so we will see where this takes us!