Holiday Fun!

Today we went to MCPL for "Storyhour Extravaganza", walked through Fountain Square Mall and played at Wonderlab Garden! At MCPL we sang songs, watched short films, and listened to a few short stories. We had a wonderful afternoon. :) 

Skittles Bar Graph

Can you taste the rainbow? 

Our kids did today! This week our math focus skill is graphing. To make graphing exciting for the students I created a lesson involving a tasty little treat! 

To start this activity I demonstrated how to analyze data, complete a bar graph appropriately, etc. Once I felt they were ready to do this activity I gave them each a worksheet, a pencil, an art caddy, and a random handful of Skittles. I think our kids were a bit in shock that I giving them "sweet treats"... especially in the morning. After they completed the worksheet independently, I checked their work and then they were rewarded by eating their Skittles. 

It was shocking how quickly they analyzed their data and completed the bar graph! Haha... They most definitely were motivated by the Skittles!    

Rainbow Nouns

Our language arts focus skill this week is verbs. To introduce this skill I decided I would integrate art with learning what words are verbs. Integrating art into subjects is proven through research to enhance the learning experience. Kids are able to make a personal connection to their work; therefore making it more meaningful and memorable. 

Before creating our "Rainbow Nouns" we made a bubble map of different "I can" words. After we filled the board with verb words, I demonstrated how to complete the project. I then set the kiddos free to complete the project independently. I only required students to have four rainbow strips, but majority went above four- love it when they go above and beyond!! 

Making Reindeer for our Pen Pals!

Tomorrow I will be sending the letters we wrote and reindeer craft to our pen pals. For our pen pals we are partnered up with Ms. Stephanie's friends from TPS. Next Tuesday we will be having them come visit our classroom for a holiday snack and book! :)

The kiddos "showing off" our Kindergarten classroom to their pen pals! They were so proud of themselves. Thank you to Ms. Stephanie and her friends for visiting our classroom! We had a blast! :)

Poem Reading: Week Seventeen

To introduce our new and review old word wall words, I created a short poem! I truly believe poem reading is effective for learning and reviewing words. I have noticed a HUGE difference in our kids reading/writing skills since we started doing these poems weekly. Today I wanted to give a "shout out" to two students who did an AMAZING job reading our poem to the class! CONGRATS you lovely ladies!! 

All About Coins

(1) My Coin Book:

Students received a "My Coin Book" for each coin. Students were asked to label how much the coin was worth, draw an image of the coin, and read a poem on the coin. I "challenged" the kids to also write the president that was on the coin!

(2) Stations:

Students worked in groups of four as they completed all stations. Those stations were coin sorting, coin balancing, and clock time. They all had a great time!! :)

• Coin Sorting: Students had to organize a bucket of random coins into certain sections- penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. 

• Coin Balancing: I put an equal sign in the middle of the white board. Then put an amount on one side and asked the group to figure out another way to equal that amount.

• Clock Time: Students had to ask their partner to make a certain time. 

Playing Outside & Decorating our Holiday Tree