Hi JK Families!

Our plants are growing and we are journaling our observations!  Thankfully the sun has finally appeared to help them along.

I hope you are able to attend the auction!  Grab your tickets if you have not already done so.  Our room parent Stacey (Jack's mom) has been working hard to complete an amazing animal handprint table with all of the children.  It is fabulous and will be up for auction at the event!  If you are unable to attend, there will be absentee bidding as an option.  Please click link below for details.

www.roycemoreschool.org/scholarshipfundraiser

Math and Science:
The children are continuing their raindrops and clouds center, as they work through different story problems to subtract and add raindrops. We used the Ipads to play math related games and to find plant pictures. 

We completed an experiment on plants and oxygen, asking the questions, "Do plants breathe?"  We took a pole and charted the votes, which were about 50/50.  We then gathered freshly picked leaves (a little hard to find with all of the cold and snow!).  We submerged the leaves in water, and talked about how we know when someone is swimming underwater we can determine if they are breathing.  The children all talked about how bubbles let us know someone is breathing and releasing air as they swim.  We checked back to our plants later and discovered the vases completely filled with tiny bubbles, representing the oxygen released during photosynthesis.  It was a great way to demonstrate plants and their "breathing" (transpiration). 

Fine Motor:
The children used clay to create their own flower.  We talked about how flowers may have many rows of petals, and how most are somewhat symmetrical, but now exactly! We discussed pollination and the importance of insects and the wind to pollinate flowers.  The children used only their hands to mold the clay, and were able to use as much or as little as possible.  I love leaving it up to them regarding scale.  It's fun to see what they choose when the amount is not pre-decided, giving them the freedom to build as large or small as they wish.  We will paint the flowers when they dry and display them for you to see!

We used water colors to paint coffee filters and then made flowers from them, adding stems, leaves, and some even included the roots in their pictures.  We wrote words on the white board labeling the plant parts we were creating. 

The children are working on observation drawings of a daffodil. It's so fun to see the different perspectives when they are drawing.  They are also working on their April self portraits.  We are using mirrors to assist with accurately drawing themselves.  It's amazing the progression that has happened this school year in their abilities to not only manage utensils when creating, but in their awareness of all of the tiny details of their faces and clothing etc. 

Language Arts:
The children are learning to use all different strategies when decoding words.  We have been hunting for words using letter sound knowledge.  Our "Parts of a Plant" pictures is a great exercise for choosing between a few different words that begin with the same letter but have different ending letters.  This week we have been really concentrating on our pencil grip,  and reminding ourselves to grip the pencil with all three fingers (tripod grip). Please remind them as you see them writing to "pinch the pencil". 

One of our centers was the game of "Eye Spy" where they located objects and then wrote them by sounding out the words.  This is but one example of our intentional teaching and children learning as they play! 

Social/Emotional:
We have been working on our word choices in JK, and encouraging positive words.  We don't like to hear, "I can't!"  It's amazing how many, "I can't do it!"'s I heard at the beginning of the winter, regarding zippers.  Every child in JK is able to zip their zipper, and dress themselves for outside with very minimal assistance.  It's sweet when the older kids help us get ready, but we have to remind them that we can do it ourselves and to let us put on our own shoes, coats, and zip our zippers.  The hardest thing to do as an older friend, teacher, or parent, is to let children do all they can do.  It's one of the biggest gifts you can give to them.  They are so proud to do it themselves!  I love seeing the look of achievement and pride.  We are working on our dining hall skills and manners, along with our behavior when eating with a large group of people.

We met with our 5th and 6th grade reading buddies.  It was lovely to have our older friends read to us, and also show them what we know, whether that be letters and letter sounds, popcorn words, or many words and the ability to read fluid sentences.  We are all at different stages and it's so nice to have individual attention from such an amazing class of kids.

We also had 3rd grade reading buddies, and completed "Response to Reading" journal sheets.  They were impressed by how far along the JK has come with their writing! 

We will continue our experiments and study of growing things, and talk about the water cycle next week.

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Massey

Hi JK Families!

We are finally seeing signs of warmer weather, and are so excited to be studying Spring and have even begun growing some grass from seeds in our classroom.  We have been doing yoga in transition times to help us calm our bodies and become focused on the new activity or period.  

Literacy:

We have been writing Spring words in our writing center and talking about letter sounds and blends.  Our reading groups are making their way through our leveled readers, including high frequency word books, paying special attention to the popcorn words we have learned/are learning.

Math/Science:

We are counting and adding and subtracting raindrops from rainclouds in our Math Center, and discussing story problems as we use manipulatives to help us count.  We are counting down numbers too.  The children wrote their numbers after counting raindrops to complete their clouds.  

We are studying plant life and the plant cycle.  We made a chart focusing on the parts of a plant and what a plants needs to grow.  We took turns completing a graphic organizer detailing all of these things.  Each child used a picture or vocabulary word to help complete the chart.  

We love that our centers are informed by STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), or as I like to add, STEAMSL since our centers incorporate Social Studies and Language Arts as well.  It is not uncommon to have most of these components to one center.  We had a challenge as a part of our Engineering/Constructing time this week, as we talked about how we could create a structure to get people and/or water from one side of a river to the other, if our water source was separate from our crops/plants in our fields.  The children rose to the challenge so quickly, and created not only bridges, but also ramps using legos!  I enjoy making even the smallest of tasks a challenge as they "play", always stimulating their play in a way that will encourage growth to their current understanding and ideas.  

Programming or coding awareness is extremely beneficial as they learn to think like a computer programmer.   I also love to have them offer directions within the classroom by telling a classmate to turn a certain direction, or follow a path by giving step by step help.  

Root systems were a topic of conversation.  The children were intrigued to learn that a corn stalk may have roots up to six feet long.  That's taller than many of their parents!  We compared roots to a drinking straw and visualized getting a drink by pouring water on our heads or feet.  They thought that was hilarious!  It helped them understand that watering the leaves of a plant won't help it drink!  (Although, spritzing a fern is helpful to it's health!)

Fine Motor:

The kids made their April calendars as we talked about the Spring weather and changes in the "precipitation" falling from the sky.  It's still water just in a liquid form!  They colored, glued, and used finger prints to paint raindrops.  We finished decorating our flowers for our JK Flower Garden.  Please notice all of their heights as demonstrated by the different flower levels.  They all seemed to have growth spurts over the break!  They looked so tall and grown up when they came back!  

Each child is coloring and labeling the parts of a plant, as they replicate words they find by knowing the first letter sound and finding the corresponding word.  They all presented to the class and named all of the parts of a plant and talked about the differences between plant parts and what plants need to grow as a part of their presentation.  

Language Arts:

We have read many non-fiction and fiction books about planting things and Spring, along with other stories.  We have read Little Green, Arthur's Nose, Bug Off, Willoughby and the Lion, Seed Soil and Sun, In the Small Small Pond, Vegetable Gardens, Gardens Through the Year, Spring Across America, How a Seed Grows, Growing a Garden, Flower Garden, and Me...Jane.

Spanish Class had the children beginning books about themselves, as they practiced their scissor skills by carefully cutting out their faces.  They love singing the song about the animals and acting out the animal behaviors and sounds.  

The children are working toward another pajama party, so hoping by middle of next week we will celebrate their work.  I'll give you notice via email!  

Have a wonderful week!