Duck Update and Recycled Puppet Making!

Hello Parents,

What a crazy few weeks we have had. Our ducks hatched and I don't think the kids could have loved them more. They became a special part of our classroom :) We also had the wonderful opportunity this week to make our recycled puppets with Artist in Residence Kelly. This was a super fun chance for kids to make a puppet based on one of Eric Carle's animals from his Brown Bear book. Check it out:

Ducks!!

This week students were really able to see duck personalities come out. The kids wanted to watch them every moment of the day so they didn't miss them playing in their water, stretching their legs or wings, and of course running around our pen. On two different days this week the students got to watch the ducks swim. The first time was in a small pool on our carpet. I told them that we were watching them so we could draw a picture. When we were sitting around the pool I had a student ask if they could get their writing journal so they could start drawing while they watched the ducks. Before you knew if kids were writing 2 and 3 sentences about what the ducks were doing in the water! It was such a cool moment that really showed me how ready they are for first grade! 

Puppet Making

This week students got a glimpse into the world of puppetry. First we explained to students that we were going to make puppets based on Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle. Once they picked their animal they were able to go shopping for the pieces to resemble their animal. Kelly (the art teacher) was great in teaching them that they might have to use their imagination and that these puppets weren't going to look exactly like their animal and that was ok.

After students picked their parts, the next session students did a variation of paper mache with glue and torn paper to make their puppets the right color. The torn paper method is how Eric Carle actually illustrates his books which was a fun connection for the students.

After they had glued on their paper onto their bodies students were ready to assemble the parts. Kelly explained to students that if we glued all the parts together they wouldn't be puppets, they would be statues! She showed them that when the legs, arms and heads move them they become puppets who can talk and tell stories.

The students had so much fun making these puppets and they turned out so great!

Art Show at the High School

On Friday we were also able to walk over to the high school to see the art display high school students had put together. It was great because the kindergartners got to see the high schoolers doing their art live at the school and see various art forms as well. The kids were so excited to take art as a class when they get to high school!

The students see a High Schoolers clay animals that she made. She told students they took 4 hours each to make!

It is crazy to think that this week is one of our last full weeks of schools before we get ready for summer. 16 days left!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Playing in Soil, Shape Hunt and Duck Writing

Hi Parents! I'm so sorry it has been such a long time since I posted a blog. It has been a busy few weeks and from now until summer it is going to stay busy! 

Soil Sensory Table

Our sensory table is a favorite for choice time, but it has been extra popular this week as I added soil, fake plants and gardening tools the wrap up our plants unit. Students are able to get dirty, practicing planting and make some beautiful potted creations! They have become so invested they asked for popsicle sticks to make a fence (which I suggested could be planter boxes) and then they decided we should get some rocks to decorate with too.

Students digging in the soil.

A potted plant creation that a student made.

 Ducks Are Coming!

We have 7 days until our ducks are supposed to hatch! With that being said we have been learning and discovering all about ducks and preparing for when they hatch. In class we have looked inside of the eggs through candling to see the ducks moving and growing. Now we have changed the conversation to what will the ducks need when they hatch for us to take care of them. Here is some student writing about what the ducks will need. Their writing blows me away every time! We wrote the beginning "Our ducks are hatching in 8 days" together and the students did the rest! With some help of course ;) but they are becoming authors and it is wonderful to see!

Our ducks are hatching in 8 days. I think the ducks will need food and water.

Our ducks are hatching in 8 days. I think the ducks will need a heat lamp and a pond.

Shapes!

We are finishing off our math this year with shapes and measurement. First with students we talked about how shapes are a part of everything! Every object has a shape and we name those shapes to notice things that look the same and different. We did a hunt for shapes on our playground, you wouldn't believe how many shapes we found! Then in small groups students were assigned a shape and had to hunt for objects in magazines. This was a great team building exercise that made my heart melt. Students from one group would say "Hey I have a square for the square group." or "Here I cut out a circle for your group!" They were helping each other out and did some great work. Here are some pictures:

A student draws the circles and squares she found on the playground.

A student draws the half circle and triangles that she sees on the swing.

A student cuts out the bottom of a sink for a cylinder.

Students cut out a circle.

Two of the finished posters.

The next blog will probably have a few pictures of baby ducks! Or maybe a lot of pictures... no promises :)

Thanks for keeping up with all our fun in Kindergarten!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Community Helpers Walking Field Trip

This week we wrapped up our community helpers unit by visiting 3 sites of community helpers! We visited the Orchid Clinic, the Eagle Fern Veterinary Hospital and Harvest Market. The kids loved it and were able to make great connections to what we learned! (I blurred out children's faces to protect their identities)

Orchid Clinic

On Tuesday we set off to see the Orchid Clinic. While at the clinic we talked about prevention of sickness and how doctors can help you when you are sick too. The kids got to check each other's ears and eyes (with help of course!) and they even got to listen to each others hearts and take each other's blood pressures! It was so adorable seeing the kids being the doctors! I know they enjoyed it too!

A student listens to a students pulse as they check her blood pressure.

A student listens to a peers heart.

A student looks in her dad's mouth!

Eagle Fern Veterinary Hospital

After going to see doctors that take care of people the students were so excited to see a doctor for animals! The students learned about taking care of their pets teeth, got to see how and where they take an animals x-ray as well as meeting the clinic cat pickles, a dog and a goat! 

Students meeting Pickles, the office cat!

The students getting to see the X-Ray station and looking at an X-Ray of a pregnant dog!

A student pets a goat!

Harvest Market

Finally we got to visit Thriftway, which is the one we talked about most! Students got to see where the produce came from (some came from out of the country!), they got to see how the workers at Thriftway stock the shelves, the back storage areas where they get deliveries and they got to see a truck delivering chips. It was great for the students to see all the pieces that come together to provide the grocery store with food for them to buy. Students even got to try their hand at checking out food! It was a fun end to our field trips!

The students hearing about where the fruit and vegetables come from.

A student scans a water at a check stand at Thrifway.

It was such a great week and a wonderful way to wrap up our unit. These next two weeks we will be finishing up our plants unit, and begin our adventure hatching Ducklings!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Leprechaun Week!

This week was all about Leprechauns! From our leprechaun poem, to leprechaun math and of course our leprechaun traps that we constructed it was a fun filled week for sure!

Leprechaun Math

This week in math we have started dabbling in measurement. Learning where to start and end when measuring an object and then learning the importance of telling people what you used to measure an object with. Our measurement this week was St. Patrick's themed in that students were measuring how tall leprechauns are! It was so fun to see them exploring measuring with different items and problem solving when they didn't fit just so. Great math thinking going on!

Leprechaun Directed Drawing and Writing

This week we did a directed drawing of a leprechaun that turned out so great! Of course we started in pencil like always, traced the outline with a sharpie and then this week we used watercolors to paint a rainbow in the background. In addition to drawing our leprechauns we got to brainstorm what we would do if we were leprechauns! The students came up with some hilarious ideas like paint people's faces green, make a mess, and take all the gold! I was thoroughly impressed!

I would paint my dog house green.

I would have someone make gold bigger.

Leprechaun Traps

Our week culminated in the making of our leprechaun traps. Students were asking all week, when are we going to make the traps and were so excited when the day finally came! First we started out brainstorming ideas to catch leprechauns. Then students got to draw their plan and finally they got to construct their plans into actual traps. Of course no trap is complete without it being covered in green paint and gold glitter!

A student glues his trap.

A student attaches a ladder to her trap.

A student paints his trap green.

While none of our traps were successful in catching a leprechaun, those leprechauns sure did make a mess of our classroom! We spent the first 30 minutes of our day today freaking out over the flipped over tables, the footprints running every which way, and of course the items that were spilled all over our room. It was mornings like this that remind me why Kindergarten is the best :) 

Cheers to our last week before spring break!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

100th Day of School

Well I was going to do a big post about our 100th day of school anyway, but it turns out that was the main part of our week with all the snow days we had! But let me tell you it was a day full of fun and celebration!

We started out the day making our 100th day crowns. Students first got to cut out the main portion of the crown and decorate it how they wanted. Many many gems were used in the process :) Then we filled out the connecting part of the crown with paint dots on our ten frames. It was so great to hear the kids counting by 10s to show me that they did 100 dots!

A student coloring her crown. Notice the gems at the bottom :)

A student makes dots on her ten frame with a q-tip and paint!

The crowns as they dried!

The next activity we did was writing about what students would buy if they had $100 dollars. You can take a look at their writing on Thursday at student led conferences!

After our writing we had our 100th day snack extravaganza! I set out bowls of various snacks around the room and students went around and counted out 10 of each type of snack. They then put those snacks on their 100 chart to keep track. Once they got to 100 snacks they got to eat! Which I think most would argue was the best part :)

A student counts out 10 goldfish crackers

Students count 10 marshmallows

A student lays out his snack on his 100 chart.

Nearly there!

Finally we ended our day making necklaces with 100 beads. I didn't take as many photos of this activity because making 22 necklaces with 100 beads had a few hiccups. Only a few necklaces exploded all over the carpet :) Again the students got to practice their counting, plus once all the colors were on their necklace they could count the groups of colors by 10 to make sure they had 100 beads. It was a lot of fun!

A student puts his beads on his string.

A fun day was had by all. This week will be filled with student preparation for student led conferences. They are so excited to share their learning with you. Remember you can drop by any time between 8:00-12:00pm or 1:00-3:30pm. The conference should take no more than 30 minutes!

Smiles,

Miss Adams

Polar Bears, Heart Art and Reading!

Welcome back parents! Last week we finished our arctic animals unit which freed up some time for a few art projects this week. They turned out so great, so I had to take lots of pictures. Enjoy :)

Polar Bear Directed Drawing

I wanted to do a concluding art project with our arctic animals unit, so we decided to do a directed drawing of a Polar Bear to include in students art portfolios. As with all our directed drawings students follow step by step directions to draw their picture. Then they trace over their lines with sharpie and finally we used oil pastels to color in the background to our pictures. They turned out so beautifully and make a great display in our classroom :)

Heart Glue and Watercolor Art

As a kick off to Valentine's Day students got to do a beautiful art project this week. I printed out a template with lines over the top of a heart. Students used black glue to trace the heart and I helped glue the rest of the lines. Once the glue dried students then used watercolors to make their hearts pop. Students had so much fun making these and they make our hallway ready for Valentine's Day!

Students water coloring their hearts.

Independent Reading

As we inch closer and closer to our 100th day of school students are ready to be independently reading on their own in class. I made color versions of books that I usually send home from their reading groups and put them in blue book boxes for students to practice their reading during our reading centers time. I was blown away by how many students took advantage of those books! I saw so many students reading with a buddy helping each other figure out words they weren't sure of. It warmed my heart to see them working together! I am hoping this independent reading will also help encourage them to share their reading with you at home as well!

A student selects a book to read independently from a book bin.

This week is all about Valentine's and we are gearing up for our 100th day of school! Then before we know it, it will be time for conferences again so students will also be practicing to lead their conferences with you! It should be a fun few weeks coming up!

Smiles,

Miss Adams