On Monday we celebrated Peace Day with a school wide assembly.
First, our entire school made a human peace sign by standing on a giant peace sign that was painted on the field. Next, we gathered in the gym and representatives from each grade level talked about how we could bring peace to the world.

 This week in reading workshop we focused on what we can share with our partner during share time.  We discussed how they can talk about their favorite part in a story and tell why it is their favorite part, they can share something that is interesting or "That's cool" to teach their partner something.  They can share something that they learned from their book, something that makes them say, "I didn't know that!"  They can also share a connection that they have to the book, or a similar experience with, "That's happened to me."
The children have been practicing their reading stamina and are now able to read for 8-9 minutes independently! I am so proud of them! Independent reading is followed by followed by 4 minutes of share time.  They do their independent reading back-to-back with their partner so they don't distract each other, then they turn so that they are knee-to-knee for sharing.

 

The children did a great job staying focused during share time.

At the fine motor station the children had to use a hole punch to punch out black circles that would form the legs of their spiders.

In writing workshop, the children finalized their books and many had a chance to read their books to me so that I was able to write words underneath.  This was a great exercise because as they were reading over their own work, they were able to see things that they wanted to revise or change because it wasn't what they really wanted to say or they wanted to add more words.  We worked on visualizing an idea before beginning to write and many children started a new piece in their writer's notebook.  After only 1 1/2 months of school, it is so exciting to see the growth that is taking place.  Listening to them stretching out words or using our 'useful words' in their writing is so great to watch.

In math this week we worked on comparing and ordering numbers 0-5.  The children used 1:1 correspondence to compare two groups to determine whether one group has more, fewer, or as many as another group.  We practiced ordering numbers 0-5 in sequence, and learned about ordinal numbers through fifth.

This was a quick week in kindergarten!
This week in reading workshop we talked about reading partnerships and how to appropriately interact with each other while sharing books.  The children practiced getting their book boxes and settling quietly in a place where they could read with their buddy.  They practiced sitting elbow to elbow to to take turns reading the the same book and also reading each other their own books.  We also practiced sitting knee to knee and discussing the books that each child is reading.  We discussed staying busy the whole time and how to book share with a friend.  We also worked on our stamina for independent reading.


During writing workshop the children continued to work on their books.  We worked on revising and re-reading to make sure that each page is saying just what they want it to say.  The children have worked hard and are taking great pride in their work.  I have seen wonderful progress in their ability to stretch out words to hear the sounds and determine the letters that are making them.

On Friday the volunteers from the Slingerlands Fire Department came to school to teach us about fire safety.  They donned their gear to show the children that it's a real person inside and not to be afraid if they see a firefighter.

The children even had a chance to see "Firefighter Bonacquist" don all the gear.

 We were lucky to have an opportunity to talk to the firefighters, learn about how they get to the fires, and even sit inside the fire truck.

The children have been working hard at learning our 'useful words' and finding them in books, poems, and other print as well as hearing them while I read aloud.  These are the words that we have so far.  

Reading in bins at the library work stations.

Playing the 'at' family game.

Working on fine motor skills.

Reading poetry from her reader's notebook.

This week in math we learned about the number zero.  We practiced one more, two more, one fewer, and two fewer.  The children worked on ordering, counting, and writing numbers 0-5.

Tracking print with her reading finger.

This week in reading workshop we talked about directionality- how to follow print in a left to right sweep.  We tried to read a big book right to left, but as the children said,"It doesn't make sense." We often talk about how reading has to make sense.  We also talked about reading top to bottom and why that was just as important.  The children practiced using their reading fingers to track the print on the page.  They became detectives to try and find our 'useful words' as they were tracking the print.  They were so excited to share their findings with their elbow partners.

In writing workshop the children began writing their own teaching books to tell all about a topic.  We talked about how writers plan what they want to put on each page before they begin writing.  The children thought of their topics then met with their elbow partners and talked through what they were going to put on each page.  They took their time and were really thinking as they worked.  On Thursday, after the majority of their book was done, they met with their elbow partners to get feedback on how their book was so far. The children were promted to ask questions so that the author would have to think about how they could add more to each page.

Conferring with elbow partners.

Adding more to their books.

Tablet station.

Pocket chart station.

The children are starting to become more independent during work stations.


In Math we continued practicing recognizing numbers 1-5 as well as 1:1 correspondence.  We talked about the words fewer and more and what they mean.  The children had to count the number of objects in a group and then say what one fewer would be and what one more would be.  They also practiced 2 fewer and 2 more.  I have attached a link to let you know how you can help your child learn to write his/her numbers correctly.  This is a skill that we are continually working on.
How we are learning to write our numbers