The PLAY!

Well, we read the book.  We read it again.  And again.  And one more time for good measure.  Then we wrote, and wrote and wrote.  Finally a script was ready.  Then we picked roles, and practiced, practiced, practiced!  The kids practiced during choice time, they practiced at home.   We made costumes, props, backdrops.

We invited EVERYONE in the school, and practically EVERYONE came.  The kids performed their play over and over and over.  Then the families came.  Moms and dads and grandparents, aunts and uncles....  We celebrated with party mix, owl cupcakes, cookies, and cheese and crackers.

This was a wonderful day to be a kindergarten teacher.  I am so proud of these kids!

Props!

Today we made props for our play.  The kids made drums, flutes, shields, black clouds and fire darts!  We rehearsed some more and found our marks for where to stand.  Everyone is practicing speaking clearly and with volume.  Ready or not, we'll be performing on Friday.

We also had some fun using a number grid to make a mystery letter.  Everyone helped each other find numbers like 57, 43, and 27.  Our mystery letter was P!  Then we used dice to create addition sentences and graph the sums we came up with.

The class has also started reading books by Leo Lionni.  We love that he is both the author AND the illustrator of his books.  Our first book was titled Swimmy.  The class could make a connection of all the fish working together to the work they are doing on our play. Today we read the book Frederick and learned that everyone can contribute to a group in their own way.

Stay tuned for more play updates.  Remember, the performance for parents is Friday afternoon at 1:30!

Push and Pull with Farm Abby

We put our knowledge of push and pull to real use today with Farm Abby.  We learned how the force of both push and pull are used when operating farm tools.  The kids started cleaning out one of the raised bed gardens to prepare it for spring planting.  

This afternoon we created an experiment to test the strength of different materials when pulling a bucket of blocks.  We practiced pulling using paper, yarn, crayons and rulers.  The kids recorded their results in their experiment notebooks.  

I'm not sure whether we were pushing or pulling when the limbo stick came out, but everyone had a good time celebrating Tropical Day by doing the limbo.  I would have added pictures, but somebody had to hold the limbo stick =).

Experiments

We took mystery materials today and used them to work more with push and pull.  The kids each took a straw and a cotton ball.  They practiced pulling up the cotton ball by inhaling through the straw.  Then they had loads of fun pushing the cotton ball on different surfaces and blowing the cotton ball from different directions.  We would experiment, gather and discuss our findings, then experiment some more.  Our work ended with the students making observations in their experiment notebooks.

We also sorted words by syllables.  Mrs. Keach gave us a graph to create with 1,2,3, and 4 syllable words.  The kids are able to see how many syllables a word has by putting their hand under their chin and then saying the word.  Each time their chin hits their hand is a syllable.  Try it at home with the names of people in your family.

Folks from The First National bank came in to chat with us about money today.  The kids read a poem about change, and then discussed how four pennies is worth less than one nickel, even though there are more coins.  We also were reminded to be safe with money by washing our hands after touching it.  Everyone was excited to receive a change purse and pencil (coming home tomorrow).

Remember tomorrow is Tropical Dress day.  The kids are encouraged to wear tropical clothes and bring in a beach towel for a lunch time picnic.

Push and Pull

After reading about the Three Little Pigs last week the class read a story about a great, big turnip that had to be pulled out of the ground.  This prompted a discussion about pushing and pulling.  We practiced pulling and pushing doors to make them move.  Then we wondered if the Big Bad Wolf "pushed" down houses with his breath, or if he "pulled" down houses.

We have been working on strategies to calm down when things get hectic in the classroom.  Today we all took a river stone and put it on our foreheads with the lights off.  Then the kids just listened quietly to guided stories about balloons floating in the air.  These self soothing activities help students learn to relax even when events around them feel overwhelming.

To decide this we practiced pushing air out of our mouths to make a tissue move, and then pulling air into our mouthes, thus sucking the tissue into our mouths.  Then each child took a small paper cup to experiment with pushing using their exhalations.  We had cups upside down, scuttling across the tables,  and holding bears, legos and unifix cubes.  The children watched their peers and then tried new ideas.  Tomorrow we will craft an experiment using our air to "push" cups around.

This afternoon we worked on our costumes for the class play.  We modeled our designs after those of Gerald McDermott, the author of the story our play is about.  The students talked about warm and cool colors, shapes and lines.  Everyone is interested in making four star work and they are checking out what their peers are doing for ideas.  They are frequently coming to Mrs. Keach and I looking for more input of how to revise their costumes.  What may appear to be mindless coloring is actually creation of a product using geometric concepts.  I can't wait for your to see their completed products.

Connections

Today we went to a Kinderconcert.  The Portland Symphony Orchestra came to Brunswick High School and performed Carnival of the Animals.  Our music teacher Mrs. Drury  has been teaching the  students about this piece of music and the instruments they would see today.  It was so exciting to see the kids connect what they've been learning in music to a real performance.

Connections carried over today in reading groups.  We read our books and then made Text to Self connections about what we read.  A Text to Self connection is made when something you are reading makes you think about something in your life.  We all took turns connecting books about butterflies to monarchs we have seen, rabbits hopping to our grandmother's rabbits, and an owl looking for a friend to our own times of wanting someone to play with.  Text to Self connections are a way to improve our reading comprehension.  We will be talking more about these connections in class.

You can also make Text to Self connections when you are reading at home.  Ask your child what the stories you read make her think of.  I guarantee it will be a great conversation starter.  Have a great night!