We have had fun with the Cat in the Hat, and our "Things", along with that sneaky leprechaun who keeps visiting our room! We have read: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?, The Cat's Quizzer, Horton Hears a Who, One Fish Two Fish, I want my Hat Back, Horris and Morris Join the Chorus, Armadillo Tattletale, Dreams, If I Ran the Circus, Green Eggs and Ham, I Can Lick 30 Tigers, The Pencil, Jennie's Hat, and many stories and non-fiction articles about Dr. Seuss.
We will be having our green eggs and ham breakfast with the K-class tomorrow! I am publishing this before but will post pics later. It's a great way to collaborate with our older friends and become familiar with the workings of the classroom as they will be there in less than six months! We collaborate to ensure a smooth transition and will combine activities now and then to allow them to get to know the K teacher (especially if they did not have her for Pre-K). I was in that classroom all last year for my practicum and student teaching, so am very familiar with the curriculum and routines. It melds nicely with my teaching and facilitates learning to know what is just around the corner for these children.
Math and Science:
We discovered specs on our clovers using magnifying glasses at our sensory table, and discussed different textures as well as different tools to see things that are small or far away, like magnifying glasses, microscopes, and telescopes. We continued our categorizing of different colors and sizes in our math center, and practiced by playing games for counting and writing numbers. We also played number bingo. The children are flipping green eggs and working on their 20's and 30's.
Fine Motor:
The children completed their self portraits for March, using mirrors to study their features. I love using different tools, from pastels to colored pencils, to allow them to replicate their detailed features. We used multicultural paper to match our skin most closely, as we talked about how beautiful all of the different colors of skin are in our classroom! Ensuring that diversity conversations are a part of the curriculum is incredibly important to me. If a child (and their ethnicity) is not represented in the literature, pictures, stories, conversations, activities, etc., they feel invisible or unimportant. This age is a critical time to build awareness of our diverse backgrounds and cultures and celebrate them, building pride in every child and how they view themselves. EQUALLY important to the academics in JK is developing social and emotional skills in a safe and enriching environment. This is the core belief/foundation for a "responsive classroom" from which our classrooms are modeled. This model works cohesively with the gifted model of meeting each child where they are, and ensuring the social and emotional is weighed as heavily as the academic focus. They are inseparable in Early Childhood!
The children made hand print pictures on aquariums for One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and practiced copying words using lower case letters. We talked about our hands and how they are all different colors and sizes but all work in the same way.
Language Arts:
JK completed journal pages about what they would find on their specs. They used inventive spelling and then illustrated their stories. Some reading groups worked on blends and digraphs by filling in missing letters/letter sounds on words as we used Dr. Seuss themed cards for guidance.
Some of the children practiced tracing and writing words in their word books. ANY writing at this age is beneficial. Even if the words they are tracing and writing are not familiar to them, the process of holding a pencil or crayon and working on their fine motor skills and correct letter formation is critical and beneficial. The children always color a picture to accompany the letter on which they are working, and talk to me about the words after they have completed them. This also gives them time to be independent in their work, which is excellent practice and much needed skill for Kindergarten, while allowing me to spend one-on-one or small group time with other children. These word books are a win win, and I will always incorporate them into the JK classroom! They were sent by mistake this year and have been WONDERFUL! We have used free pages for the writing journals I originally ordered, which has also been WONDERFUL!
We practiced rhyming words by choosing between three words and identifying the two words that rhyme. It's easier to teach the difference between alliteration when there are three words and you can point to the differences than merely talking about them.
Spanish class has been such a treat as the children are completing houses using shapes to represent different members of their family, and learning how to talk about their different family members. They are also learning phrases for tenses and the difference in talking about yourself or someone else. The songs and games make it fun to learn!
Our Cat in the Hat's hat has made its way up the entire wall and is now snaking it's way down our very long classroom wall! We will continue filling out our reading strips for awhile, so continue to get more when you have used and returned yours. It's lovely to see all of the books you are reading together at night! Please feel free to bring in any favorites to share with the class. It's nice to learn about your routines at bed time, along with special meals and traditions we all love hearing about. The children are intrigued by what other children do at their homes at night!
Have a lovely weekend!
Ms. Massey
