Music Around the World--A Christmas Edition--Week 2--Africa

We had so much fun in our Music Around the World Class today! We began our afternoon by reviewing our songs from last week. Ask your child to sing "Let it Be Christmas Everywhere" and "Roo, Roo the Kangaroo" for you! We are really working hard to learn the words for these two songs.  After a quick review, we jumped into learning all about our new country of the day--Africa!

We were introduced to some special places from Africa and learned about animals and instruments that are unique to this country. Then, we were in for a fabulous treat--a visit from a real musician, Mr. Mark! Mr. Mark taught us about some of Africa's favorite instruments--drums! He played several different types of drums for us. We loved them all! Then, we enjoyed some traditional African music from the African Children's Choir. We were so inspired by these musical experiences that we decided to create our own African instruments--drums, shakers, and tamborines. Finally, we learned our own rousing rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" complete with African drums, shakers, and tamborines! Here is a show of our afternoon! Check it out and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. We have also included some pictures from another great day! We hope that you enjoy them! Today was so much fun! We can't wait until next week! :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_CGJElEYcj8dmE2WUdWRGJhSnc/view?usp=sharing

Northeast Texas Children's Museum

We were blessed this week to have the opportunity to visit the Northeast Texas Children's Museum in Commerce, Texas. During our stay, we learned about bubbles, solid/liquids/gases, animals on the farm, and healthy foods. Then, we were treated to a plethora of learning stations where we played, explored, and observed our world around us. If you ever get the chance to visit this children's museum, take it...you will be glad you did! :)

Here is a show and some pictures of our fun day! Leave us a comment and let us know what you think! :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_CGJElEYcj8SzlQbHR4ZU9uaXc/view?usp=sharing

I Can Sort! I Can Sort! I Can Sort, Sort, Sort!

We have been sorting away in Kindergarten this week! We learned about what it means to sort an item and how you can sort objects in many different ways. For example, you can sort by size, shape, or color. Throughout the week, we sang a sorting song to help us remember all of the different ways that you can sort. We also participated in sorting stations where we were able to try out various sorting rules. Check out our pictures below of our fun station activities, and don't forget to listen to our sorting song. It is sure to have your singing along! :)

Comparing Numbers 1-5

In math this week, we played many different games that allowed us to compare the numbers one through five. We began our week by playing Roll and Record where we would roll a dice and count how many dots we had. Then, we would record that number in our graph and race to see which number made it to the top first. This game gave us the opportunity to practice counting and writing our numbers one to five. After that, we participated in a game called Face Off. In this game, we rolled a dice and counted the number of dots that we got. Then, we had to place that counter on the correct number in our line of numbers. Whoever was able to place all of their counters in the correct spot first was the winner. Finally, we learned about the different combinations of numbers that can add up to a larger number, while playing Toss the Chips. We discovered that 2+2=4 and 4+1=5. Please ask us about these games at home, while you enjoy looking at our pictures and videos from our fun week together!

Properties: A Study of Similarities and Differences

This week we completed a study of attributes or characteristics of an item. We practiced describing an item and finding the similarities and differences between items. You can view our ball description activity where we used describing words to talk about different types of balls. We made a tree map of their properties. Then, we participated in a mystery box game where the students had to reach into a bag without looking and choose an item. Then, the children paired up and told how their item was similar/different from their friend's item. Finally,  I have included a picture of our attribute train activity where our students had to find a shape and tell how it was similar to the shape that the student had laid down before them. They could find it to be similar in color, size, thickness, shape, etc.

Nouns

We have been studying nouns this week in Kindergarten. We have learned that a noun is a person, place, or thing. We participated in a movement game where we sorted ourselves into three categories around the room based on what picture we had pulled from a noun pile. Then, we had the opportunity to go around the school and find items that were nouns. Finally, we were able to show what we had learned about nouns by making our very own tree map for people, places, and things. We hope you enjoy our pictures from our noun activities.