Friday News Flash!

Wow what a busy first week back! Even though it turned into a 4 day week due to ice it was packed with practicing our routines and schedules, and gearing up for more assessments that we will be doing next week for report cards. This week was essentially a big review in terms of classroom behavior and academics. Here are a few fun new things  we did this week that students really enjoyed:

Writing to our Pen Pals

This week we got letters back from our Pen Pals in Mexico and so we decided to send them letters telling them what we did over winter break. I explained to the kids that in Mexico it doesn't snow and it is probably very hot on Christmas so the kids were eager to share about their experiences in the snow and ice! Not only was this a great time for cultural exploration it was also a wonderful way to ease back into their writing. Here are a few examples that students did:

It was snowing at my house.

I was sliding down the deck.

Snowman Tally Marks

In math we have been practicing using tally marks, which you will see in this weeks homework as well, and we learned a new memory game that involved snowmen and tally marks; what could be more fun?! In this game students set up their cards in a grid and flipped cards over trying to match the snowman's number with the tally marks. Squeals of joy erupted around the room as students found pairs and were so ecstatic to come tell me how many tally marks their card had! We will be continuing our practice around tally marks and number recognition in addition to beginning our study of geometry in the coming weeks.

Two students playing Snowman Tally Marks.

I really gave the kids some perspective this week when I said that we are almost halfway through Kindergarten and so we are working toward becoming First Graders! Their eyes got huge, first in fear, but then in excitement as I told them that now they know how to behave in school and will be allowed to do more older kid activities if they can prove that they are ready to behave like First Graders. It's hard to believe, but these kiddos are growing up fast. These next months they will be changing so much in every way and I am so grateful I get to be a part of it.

Smiles,

Miss Adams