Tag Archives: Math

NEWS OF THE WEEK—Jan 7-11

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WELCOME BACK!

Oh, it is good to be back with my kinders.  I missed seeing them each day. 🙂  

We jumped right into learning this week. We talked about setting goals for what we might want to learn or do this coming year and wrote them down.  We added our writing pieces to a fun Happy New Year craft. We thought of goals that we can accomplish at school. For example: to add numbers, to be kind, to learn more popcorn words, to read books, to share.  Our ‘party people’ will come home soon but for now they are decorating the hallway by our room for the first part of January.  Welcome 2019!!

POPCORN WORDS:  WAS    AT      THAT                  We added three more words to our growing list of popcorn words that we are working on identifying in a snap. Many of the kinders noticed right away that “at” is hiding in “that” and that they rhyme. We also talked about how some letters make different sounds like in “was”. We read 2 books using these words and added the books to our blue book bins.  The kinders are doing an amazing job identifying “new” and “old” popcorn words.

WONDERFUL WINTER:  The snow outside was the perfect backdrop for learning inside.  We read another book by Jan Brett (she wrote The Gingerbread Baby) called The Mitten.  This is a great story about animals climbing into a mitten to stay warm.  We used our retelling skills to sequence the order of animals crawling into the mitten. We also enjoyed reading Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont, a fun story about animals climbing into Rover’s doghouse. We made a text to text connection between these two books by noticing that animals climbed into a mitten and a doghouse.

 

MATH:  The kinders are working on telling and solving addition and subtraction stories by using objects or their fingers.  As the kinders are beginning to learn this math skill, manipulatives are helpful in solving these problems. They also are working to see 5-groups for numbers 6-10 (ie: 5 and 2 more = 7) and to tell why that is useful when counting.

 The kinders practiced sorting and classifying objects while giving reasons why they classified the items that way by using pictures of shapes and animals/people. 

During Friday math games, the kinders played a game using paper snowballs, because real snowballs would melt in our room.  The game focused on writing number partner equations and the identifying = and not = symbols. I am sorry about not being able to show you a picture but here are the directions.  Scatter paper snowballs on the floor.  While counting up to 3, have 2 people pick up as many of the snowballs as they can hold in their hands.  Lay and count the number of snowballs each person picked up.  Write out the correct number equation (5+4=9) or write each number and write = or not = between the numbers to compare the numbers.  Ask your kinder….they can show you how to play.

HANDWRITING:  We focused on learning the proper formation of the STRAIGHT AND SLANT letters N,M,K,Z in their booklets and with play dough. The kinders are doing a super job writing letters in isolation but transferring the proper formation during ‘regular’ writing time is not consistent.  Extra encouragement as they write at home is always helpful. 🙂  The kinders were excited to find a paper with their last name added to their pencil box.  I will be exchanging their names on their pencil boxes soon to include their last name. They will begin adding their last name to their papers, working towards writing their full name by memory.  

READING:  We continued working on using our super powers during reading. Readers learn words and practice them so that they can read them in a snap. Paper and a pencil were added to the kinders’ book bins so that they can practice this.  We also added SOUND POWER to our chart.  Readers can’t always rely on using just PICTURE POWER when they encounter an unknown word. They need to make the first letter sound to figure out the word.  For example: Did the author use “rabbit” or “bunny” in the writing.  By seeing a “r” and sounding it out, a reader can say “rabbit”.  

SPLIT LIT:  The kinders worked on writing lower and upper case letters, identifying the middle sound in words and identifying and writing popcorn words during their independent centers.  It is challenging for some kinders to stay focused during this work time so if papers like these come home incomplete, it is likely because they are not using their time wisely.  In the time alloted for each center, the kinders should be able to complete most if not all of of the task.  With Mrs. Rossback, the kinders practiced making more words by taking away “th” from “that” and adding different beginning letters to “at”. (cat, fat, sat, mat, etc).  Have fun at home using your Cat slider to practice this skill.  The kinders read books using whisper phones while I reassessed them on some literacy skills.

WRITING:  We began a new unit about writing Small Moment stories, otherwise known as Personal Narrative. I introduced the kinders to the difference between a “watermelon” story and a “seed” story.  A watermelon story like what happened over winter vacation is too big for us to write. However, seed stories of specific events like opening gifts, visiting family, watching a movie are considered small moment stories. These stories are easier to write. 

  

We started our learning by creating a simple bubble map of the many things we did over vacation…opening gifts, going on a trip, taking down the Christmas tree, playing with friends, visiting family, etc.  We decided to write our first small moment story about “opening gifts” during our book exchange. The kinders practiced telling  what happened first, next and last and stretching those details across their fingers.Then we drew pictures depicting this event. We worked together to stretch out sounds in unknown words and used popcorn words as much as possible.  They did a FANTASTIC job!!  We will begin another new story next week.

MYSTERY READER:  Wednesday afternoon Zander was very surprised to see his grandma.  She read us the classic book Petunia.  It was different to see some pages were black & white and others were colored.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

 Zander turned 6 on Sunday but we celebrated his birthday on Monday.  Thank you for the birthday treat!

 

REMINDERS

*BACKPACK SNACK:  Thank you for remembering to pack TWO quick, healthy backpack snacks each day.

*CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE:  The temperature in our classroom changes daily….sometimes it is warm and sometimes it feels a bit chilly.  Please dress your kinder in layers so that they are comfortable throughout the day.

*OUTSIDE CLOTHES:  Thank you for dressing your child in warm outside winter gear.  Sending an extra pair of mittens or socks inside their backpacks might be helpful and more comfortable to wear later in the day.  

*JANUARY CALENDAR:  The January calendar has been posted under CALENDARS at the top of the blog.  It contains information about specials, birthdays and monthly events.   A paper copy was sent home prior to break.

*TAKE HOME BOOKS PROGRAM:  A schedule has been created and was sent home with those who have volunteered.  This exciting reading program WILL BEGIN MONDAY, JANUARY 21!  Thank you for volunteering and being part of your kinder’s education.  Practice reading the book that will come home on Jan 17 and RETURN THE BOOK INSIDE OF THE BAGGIE ON MONDAY, 1/21.  

UPCOMING DATES:

*Monday, January 14— GYM; Book orders due (online or paper form with a check)

*Tuesday, January 15ART

*Wednesday, January 16STEAM;  LIBRARY Please remember to return your kinder’s book

*Thursday, January 17MUSIC;  TAKE HOME books sent home

*Friday, January 18GYM

*Monday, January 21–return and read TAKE HOME books   

~~~Have a great weekend and welcome back to the school routine!  Stay warm this weekend.  Mrs. Bohl

NEWS OF THE WEEK—Dec. 10-14

What a merry and bright week we had at school.  We had so much fun doing some last minute gingerbread man activities, playing games, singing songs and just learning! 

WRITING:  We wrote a few more books this week too.  We thought of a topic, came up with a patterned sentence, wrote our words and drew detailed pictures.  We learned how to add specific details so that readers can infer more about the story.  Some of the patterns were “____ can fly.”  “It is a ____(color) gift.” I have been so impressed by their hard work!  Hooray for the kinders!! 🙂 Be on the lookout for these books…they will come home next week.  The kinders are very observant as they read books too…they are on the lookout for these fun patterns. 🙂

HANDWRITING:  This week COUNTER CLOCKWISE letters of C,G,S,O,Q,U were spotlighted.  Thank you for practicing at home too.  

MATH:  The kinders explored seeing 5 groups and extra ones to make larger numbers….6-10. by playing a fun game using holiday erasers for practice.  We also told some subtraction stories using the erasers too.  We completed a worksheet to practice teem number building as well as looking for number partners in number sentences.

    

POPCORN WORDS:            WHAT      IT                                                                                  December flash cards will come home next week so you can add them to your collection.  You might want to play Scramble Them Up.   (Use your letter cards to scramble up the letters in popcorn words…and then put the letters in correct order. Example:  okol  is  look)

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE GINGERBREAD MAN?:  Gingy (our mini gingerbread man) sent us a big envelope filled with post cards from his latest destination…..SPAIN.  We learned that they like to play futball (soccer), they speak Spanish, they like to eat churros, snails, olives and more. We had fun trying to count to 10 in Spanish too.  Where will Gingy go next?

READING:  We learned about more superpowers that Super Readers use when reading….SNAP WORD POWER, PARTNER POWER and PICTURE POWER.  Snap word power is when a reader can find words they know, like sight words, and read those words in a snap.  The kinders explored the classroom for words they knew in a snap.  Partner power is when readers help each other when they are reading.  The kinders worked with their reading partner to read a book together, taking turns to point and read to each other while helping each other with words that might be tricky. Picture power is when readers really look at the picture to see if it matches the words written.

SPLIT LIT:  I am reassessing the kinders on the skills that they are working on in small groups. They made great progress. I am so proud of their hard work in learning. We will begin working on new literacy skills in small groups after vacation along with new independent literacy work. We worked as a whole group to practice hearing syllables in Christmas words. If you have time during our break, please continue to use your flash cards to practice identifying sight words.

MYSTERY READER:  Parker literally jumped up and screamed when his mom stepped into the room.  She read Mooseltoe because she loves Christmas.  What a fun story!

REMINDERS

*WINTER GEAR: Please send appropriate winter gear with your child each day even if there is not any snow.  It keeps them warm when playing outside.  An extra pair of socks, mittens or gloves might be a good idea to keep inside their backpacks if their original pair gets wet.  Please take time this weekend to label your kinder’s snow pants and boots if you have not done this.

*BACKPACK SNACK:  Please remember each day to pack TWO quick, healthy snacks for your kinder.

*BOOK EXCHANGE:  Thank you so much for sending in your holiday book exchange wrapped gift. If you would like your kinder to participate, please send a book in next Monday. Please let me know if you have any questions, kbohl@hpseagles.net.

*TAKE HOME BOOK PROGRAM:  I am planning to create a schedule over vacation.  Thank you for volunteering and choosing to be part of this learning. If you still would like to be part of this fun volunteer activity, please email me and I will be happy to include you in the schedule. We will begin this program in January.  It is so exciting to see our kinders become readers.

*HOLIDAY PARTY:  Thank you so much for your donations.  Please send in ALL non-editable donations to school by Monday, Dec 17. Food items can be dropped off in the morning.  Party volunteers can arrive at 1:30pm to set up.  Please be respectful of Mrs. Reagan’s request……Due to the large number of parent volunteers attending class parties with in the school, Mrs. Reagan has limited the parent attendees to ONLY those volunteering. You MUST have completed a background check if you wish to volunteer. Thank you for understanding.  Click on this link to see who is scheduled to volunteer.  

UPCOMING DATES

*Monday, Dec. 17–-MUSIC;  ALL non-food party donations are due

*Tuesday, Dec. 18—GYM; Celebrate Jacob’s birthday  

*Wednesday, December 19–-ART; LIBRARYDon’t forget to return your kinder’s book! Grinch Day—-wear Green, or dress like Grinch characters. We will learn how to make our heart grow!

*Thursday, Dec 20–-STEAM;  Holiday Party  It will be held from 2:00-3:00pm.  Thank you for being part of our second class party. Parent volunteers can arrive at 1:30 for set up.  Food donations should arrive in the morning.  Celebrate Carter’s birthday

*Friday, December 21–MUSIC; Polar Express Day…wear pj’s!  Come to school wearing your cozy pajamas.  Wear boots and snow pants for outside play but slipper shoes are welcome inside of school.  NO STOCKING FEET ARE ALLOWED. NO STUFFED ANIMALS OR BLANKETS.  Thank you! Be prepared for a fun day of learning.  

*Monday, December 23 – Friday, January 5:  NO SCHOOL, Holiday Break.  School resumes on Monday, January 7!  

~~Have a great weekend!   Mrs. Bohl

 

WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK—-April 9-13

Welcome back to school!!  I hope that you had a wonderful, relaxing and refreshing spring break. Mr. Bohl and I enjoyed playing at the beach and pool everyday in Florida with our entire family  (6 adults and a 16 month old).  We had wonderful, warm, sunny weather….it was hard to return home to Michigan weather. I hope that you enjoyed time with your family as well.  The kinders had a lot of fun telling each other about what they did.  Playdates, going to Rebounders, going to the movie theater, visiting grandparents, staying in a hotel and so much more was shared.  

Take a peek at what we did in kindergarten! 🙂

MATH:  This week we revisited how we sort objects by shape, size, color, etc.  Check out the Bonkers for Buttons book that came home. We also practiced identifying number partners and writing the matching equations.  Friday math centers focused on these math skills.  

   Domino Dots

   Unifix  cube partners

   Finding out the unknown partner

   Lima bean shake

READER’S WORKSHOP:  We began a new unit called CHARACTER ROUND UP.  In the unit we will dig deeper into our learning about characters by looking at how they look, what they say and do, comparing characters and more. The kinders are amazing me with their knowledge as readers. 

The first graders in Mrs. Woodring’s class joined us for a time of partner reading on Thursday.  It was so fun to see how some of my former kinders have grown and it gave this year’s kinders a peek into what they will reading next year.  Thank you for stopping by. 

                   

WRITER’S WORKSHOP:  This month the kinders will be learning about another writing genre….HOW TO….  We started our learning by creating a list of things the kinders thought they are experts at doing, such as holding a hockey stick, opening a banana, playing Gaga Ball. 

We first told the steps over our fingers, next we wrote the words, then we drew detailed pictures and finally we read our story.  This week we created two How to books….How to read a book and How to get a snack. 

    

 I am so very proud of the growth and ability they have developed as writers!

SCIENCE….IT ROCKS!: We worked together to list facts that we knew about soil prior to spring break.  This week we read more informational books about soil and created charts like “Where we can find soil” and “Ways we use soil”.

  

To better understand the layers of soil we did a fun experiment.  Soil was put into a glass jar, water was add and shaken around, and then the waiting began.  After a bit we were able to see the layers of rocks, sand, silt, clay and humus.  Can you see the layers?

     

Before we investigated our personal baggies of soil, we sorted pictures of things found in soil by minerals, plants and animals.  We had fun using magnifying glasses to look closely at our soil to find roots, silt, worms, leaves and record our findings on a paper.  

      

Finally we learned how some types of soil are made through wind, rain, ice coming into contact with rocks.  Have your child show and explain the  flow map that they took home today.  

POPCORN WORDS:       HIM          JUMP                                                                         Please, please keep practicing at home!  The kinders are becoming fabulous readers!

  We celebrated with Peyton and who turned 6 on Monday. Thank you so much for the birthday treats

NOTES TO MOM AND DAD

*OUTSIDE SHOES:  THANK YOU for sending your child in outside shoes or boots on spring days.The playground is very muddy and we are working hard to keep our classroom floor clean.  Please remember that…..OUTSIDE SHOES CAN NOT BE WORN IN THE GYM AS MUD AND DIRT GETS ON THE GYM FLOOR.  PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU KINDER HAS GYM SHOES TO WEAR THAT ARE NOT THEIR OUTSIDE SHOES.  Thank you!

*BACKPACK SNACK:  Please remember to send TWO daily healthy snackS for your kinder, as we take a moment to refuel each day. Many kinders are coming to school with snacks. Thank you.

*TAKE HOME books:  Please help your child to remember to return their book baggie EACH Monday, Tuesday and Thursday so that they are consistent with their read aloud practice and are able to check out new books each time to build their reading experiences.  Don’t forget to sign the parent sheet and include comments or observations you feel may be helpful.

*KOOL KINDER & THE GUESSING JAR: We have begun another round of being the Kool Kinder.  Your kinder  will be bringing home the “Guessing Jar.” Their job is to fill the jar with a mystery number (1-50) of objects (marshmallows, erasers, etc.) for our class to guess the quantity the next day.  The items back home with him/her the same day.  We have counted seashells, marbles, beads, chocolate candy this week.

UPCOMING DATES

*MONDAY, APRIL 16: STEAMreading TAKE HOME BOOKS; BOOK ORDERS DUE; celebrating Caleb’s birthday

*TUESDAY, APRIL 17: GYM;  reading TAKE HOME BOOKS; ROCK COLLECTIONS DUE

*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18: MUSIC;  HOMEWORK DUE….math and literacy;  LIBRARY: Please return your kinder’s book.  

*THURSDAY, APRIL 19: ART; reading TAKE HOME BOOKS and Rainbow word lists

*FRIDAY, APRIL 20: STEAMPopcorn Friday; Earth Day celebration

*WEDNESDAY, MAY 9…Spring Field Trip to Hemlock Crossing Nature Center & Hagar Park.  An orange note will be coming home Monday containing volunteer information.  All parents (and younger siblings) are welcome to join us at Hagar Park for a picnic lunch and playtime. Please send back the the bottom portion of the orange note so that I know of your plans.

~~~Have a  great weekend.  Mrs. Bohl