It was another great week!
This week in writing workshop we focused on calling to mind what you want to say and then putting it on the page.  We talked about how writers may not know how to spell a word so they streeetch it out.  This means repeating the word slowly out loud and listening for the sounds that you hear.  We discussed how some letters can be stretched out like a rubber band (m,s,r,l,n) and others snap (k,t,p).  We practiced as a whole group, then the children practiced stretching out words independently for their writing.

We talked about not giving up, even when writing is hard.

In reading workshop we learned about 'Elbow Partners.'  There are times when we are gathered on the rug when children will have an opportunity to share and idea or discuss a question with a partner.  We created an 'Elbow Partners' anchor chart to remind the children of our expectations.  Sometimes they may need to 'lean and tell' their partner the answer to a question that only requires a quick response.  Other times they may need to 'turn and talk' to their partner if it is a discussion question.

We also talked about the parts of a book and what you can find on the front, the title page, and the back.  The children practiced their independent reading stamina and we are up to 5-6 minutes.  The children also practices reading with a partner by taking turns telling what they thought was happening on each page by looking at the pictures.

Great examples of 'Elbow Partners' working together.

This week in math the children practices reading and writing numbers 1-3 and counting groups of 4-5. They also used bingo chips to count out groups of 4 and 5, then put them in different arrangements.  For example: 5 can be arranged as 1+4, 5+0, 2+3, 3+2, 4+1, and 0+5.  This is a precurser to formal addition.
We also worked on reading color words.  The children made apple prints and had to complete the sentence, "My apples are _________."

It was a great second week of kindergarten!
This week in our reading workshop we talked about the expectations, proper book handling, and what it means to be a "Book lover, not a book bully."

 

 We also worked on our reading stamina and what it means to be respectful during reading workshop.  We created an anchor chart with our rules of reader respect.
1. Read quietly
2. Stay in one spot
3. Read the whole time
4. Get started right away

In writing workshop we talked about how we are all writers and that writers put ideas on paper with pictures and words.  Before they begin, writers think about what they would like to write about. We thought of ideas and had a chance to share them before we began writing.  Writers also look back at their writing and see if they can add more.  We practiced looking back and adding to previous pieces.  This included adding detail to pictures, more labels, and even attempting sentences.

 

We worked on the short A sound and created an alligator from the letter A.  This worked on phonological awareness as well as the fine motor skills of cutting and gluing.

In math we worked on one-to-one correspondence, counting and numbering groups of items to five, and reading number words one-five.

It was a great first week of kindergarten!  After only 5 days, the children are already going through the morning routine with very few reminders!
This week we got to know each other, read some fun books, and followed directions to create projects.
We read Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, then created our own class book about how we get ready for kindergarten.  The children were so excited to be authors and illustrators!  Each child will have a chance to take it home to share with their families.

We read First Day Jitters and discussed what things we will learn in kindergarten.  The children then completed the sentence "In kindergarten I want to learn..." and drew a self portrait. 

We also read The night Before Kindergarten and talked about how they were feeling on the night before kindergarten.  We then talked about how they were feeling now since they knew what kindergarten was like.  As the children grew more comfortable with the routine and some of the things we had done so far, they created a project and completed the sentence, "My favorite thing to do at school is..."

We ended our week with a fun book called Pete the Cat: Rocking in my school shoes.  We talked about different things that Pete the cat did at school, and what we do at school.  There were similarities and differences.  Each child then completed the sentence, "I'm ____________ in my school shoes" and created a Pete the Cat project.

We later listened to the song "Rocking in My School Shoes."  

It was a great start to kindergarten!!