Testing Time

Each week I test the students individually to see how the students are keeping up with their skills.  They are unable to do a written test of course, so I use flashcards, toys and manipulatives.  This gives me a good idea of what skills need more practice and it also helps the family know what to work on as well.  Today I did testing as part of center time.

Center Time

After I give reading and phonics instruction we break into smaller groups to work on the skills.  I work with one group and they move from center to center after the timer sounds.  Here they are working in their groups.

We have been working on shapes and how they can
fit together to make things we see in our environment.

These kids are practicing making letters with these
magnetic pieces.

A substitute teacher was here today helping with Title
Reading.  This group is working on matching uppercase
and lowercase letters as well as naming the letters.

Working in small groups is a valuable lesson as it teaches
students to get along, share and cooperate.  That is
something that all people need to be better at in this world.

Pledge of Allegiance

Each morning the "star" for the day holds the flag while
we say the Pledge of Allegiance.  After that we sing a
patriotic song.  I teach them about eight patriotic songs
throughout the school year.  They know "This Land is
Your Land".  Have you heard your child sing it around
the house?

Our Big Project at the Local Lake

Our Reading vocabulary words,which we call "Amazing Words" for this week are: proud, cooperation, preparation, creation, and guide.  These fit in great for one of our problem-based learning project for this year.  

Today we walked out to the lake in town and met a team of high school students from the Skills USA group and their teacher, Mr. Barker.  We discussed why we would want a bird feeding station at the lake, where it would go and how we would need their help to design and build it.  The kindergartners and I held hands to make a large circle and then we moved to a spot that wouldn't be too close to the road, but would be somewhat close to the trees, so that the birds could fly to cover, if a hawk came after them.  The high school students and Mr. Barker did some measurements and discussed some interesting things about building it.  

Afterwards, the k-kids and I discussed the season of summer, so we could come back and write about it as a class.  It is still summer until September 23rd.  Kindergartners need to know about the seasons for part of their science and math standards.  We noticed some signs of summer: the grass and leaves were green, the weather was hot, the apples were green on the trees and there were many insects around.

This girl found a dead Cicada on the way.

We thought the blue damselflies were cool!

Here they are on the bridge!

We moved our circle to just the right spot.

Here are the kids who cooperated and prepared
a creation that they will be proud of when its completed.

We had to sit at the picnic table to look for
and discuss the signs of summer. 

Homecoming Parade

Snow White was the fairy tale that we chose for the theme.

The beards were so cute and unique!  
A big thank you to Sara W. for making them!

Two of the kids were chosen by the AHS student council 
to be the "small fry" and help with the coronation and 
the parade, so that is why they are not in costume.

2031!  Crazy!  Check out the cute birds that the 
kindergartners colored!

Plant Science Lesson

Kindergartners need to know about living and non-living things.  

They are beginning to learn about plants.  They need to know 

the parts of a plant and how they work.  They also must 

know the needs of a plant.  This morning we pulled up 

some weeds to look at and compare the roots of different plants. 

They thought it was cool.  Before we left I taught them a 

new bird - the Eurasian Collared-Dove.  Wouldn't you know...

we saw about eight of them on our walk.

When we returned to the classroom, we did 
a little plant art work to help them remember the 
parts of a plant and its needs.

The kids loved doing this project and they were so quiet as they worked.  I encouraged them to use the word soil rather than dirt.  We also discussed how people eat the leaves of a plant {lettuce, spinach, etc.}, the stems {celery, rhubarb, asparagus, etc.}, or the roots {carrots, potatoes, onions, peanuts, etc} They were surprised by that!  The kindergarten students were quite focused on the lesson and I think we will be doing more science/art projects in the near future!

David Goes to School

This crazy-looking character is from a book titled, David Goes to School.  I  made a chart to help young students remember what rules David had trouble with.  Getting the rules established early helps classroom behavior for the school year.  It may even help you at home!  It takes some practice however.

Meet Rascal

By now, you probably have heard of Rascal, the raccoon, who visits with the kindergartners every morning.  In fact Rascal has been the class mascot for some 25 years for the kindergartners in our school.  

Rascal is...well...a rascal and gets into a bit of trouble.  He helps the students to learn what is right and wrong.  He also loves the kindergartners and he gives each of them a hug in the morning or a tail whip when he is being a rascal. 

When he visits with the children in the morning he poses questions helps the students learn social skills and manners from him.  He encourages them to try hard in school and to follow the rules.  He is all good!  

Rascal is also very funny!  This week he told the kids that he roasted a marshmallow on his tail.  Also he went swimming at the pool using his tail as a propeller and then dried himself while riding on the ceiling fan. The kids love their morning visit with Rascal!