October Wow!

Wow! October was a long and busy month.  I know it is a looooong post but if you make it to the end there will be a treat for you. :)

Math

With our math times I try to incorporate as much hands on as I can. I believe that Kindergarten students learn best by doing, however there is a lot of modeling that happens before they can do on their own!

One thing we are working on is sorting objects in two different ways (shape and then size, or color and then number of sides). We started this activity by going on a leaf hunt. Each child brought a leaf inside and then we discussed ways we could sort the leaves: color, size, number of points, ripped/whole, shape. After this discussion we glued our leaves into color and size sorts.  You can sort at home using silverware, their toys, or their clothes!

 

 

 

During the first trimester we have been working on number identification through 20 and ordering numbers through 20. During one math session the students worked with a partner to put their number cards in order 0-20. Then we worked on number identification multiple ways. I called out a number, asked for a number that was one more or one less, and I clapped a number that they then had to find.  You can work on this at home by finding and reading number in the house, have your child put magnet numbers in order, or give them a number to type into your cell phone.

 

 

The last math activity (that I took a picture of!) was using spiders to measure classroom objects. The students not only worked on measuring, but also on writing their number correctly.

Reading

Our inquiry project for our Lead21 unit (Homes and Families) is comparing how homes are alike and different.

We started by looking through home books and text coding things we thought were a “wow!” or that made us wonder something.

 

In order to answer this question we have also been looking at books that show homes around the world and talking about how they are the same or different from our homes here in Ankeny.

 

Finally (for those of you who made it to the end of this post!) I have uploaded a video of the students reading their Lead21 poem for the week. We practice this poem every day and this was our first time performing for another class. It turns into a bit of a round at the end, but that is probably because we were lined up in front of another class.

Enjoy!