ANIMAL THEMATIC UNIT

As we wrapped up our unit of study on animals, the children really enjoyed doing research this week. Mostly in the afternoon, we spent time forming questions and looking for the answers in books and on the internet. Students were asking all sorts of questions, such as what certain animal skeletons look like, as well as what animals eat. We also spent time reading nonfiction books to find information that was new to us. They enjoyed writing down their new found knowledge. This type of activity will help us in our writing as we move next week into “All About” books.

ALL ABOUT BOOKS

Next week we will begin to write “All About” books. This is the next section of writing in our unit on Nonfiction writing. Children will be picking a topic of their choice to write one very long, “All About” book. Writing on this one particular topic will last for a few weeks. Children will be encouraged to write about personal experience topics, such as baby brothers or playing basketball. They will also be encouraged to write topics about animals they have been learning about. As we move into jobs and occupations, this topic would also be open to them to write all about a specific career. This type of writing will introduce children to the structure and format of informational books. Children will then be able to sort all the information they have written about with a table of contents.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Miss Nicole began teaching PE class last week. The children really enjoyed their games in the gym. For the next few weeks, she will be focusing on spatial and body awareness activities. Please remember to send your child to school on Fridays in appropriate clothes, and pick them up from the gym.

LEGO AND BLOCK BUILDING

Children enjoyed their time with legos in the block area over the last few weeks. This skill is extremely important as children are working on developing their fine motor skills. Some parents have been asking about weapon play in the classroom, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share our classroom policy. The children are aware of our rule, stating that they may build objects such as “lightsabers” but they may not shoot at anyone or anything with them.

3-D SHAPES

This week our math focus was 3D shapes. Students went on a shape hunt around school just like the one that was sent home this week. We learned the names of 3D shapes as we looked for them and played games with them. Children played a game matching one side of the geo-blocks together. This game taught the children that even if the blocks are different shapes, they can have one side that is exactly the same. They also were given a structure made of connecting cubes, and they had to recreate an identical object. This is great for their emerging visual perception and spatial awareness.

MEASUREMENT

Due to student interest, we re-measured ourselves this week. Students compared their height to their height in the fall. This time we measured how many connecting cubes tall we were. The quote of the week: “We measured that so long ago, it was in the ’60’s” (He was actually trying to explain that the last time we measured, it was when we were in school for about 60 days, but the quote itself is wonderful!!!!)

ACTIVITY TO DO AT HOME

Our children are learning how to create more detailed drawings. I would encourage you to try a self-portrait with your kindergartener. Have them take a seat in front of a large mirror, and use crayons or colored pencils to draw a detailed picture of themselves. Bring it into school to show off their work!

CAREER WEEK

Don’t forget to sign up for career week next week. If a posted time does not work for you, we can figure something else out.