Technology, Transportation, and Team Work!

Wow! What a busy week we have had this week in Kindergarten! We have been studying about technology in the past and present. We learned how technology is any tool that makes a task easier. We discovered that even a pencil or crayon can be a type of technology. We learned about how in the past people used chalk to write. We enjoyed having an opportunity to go outside and try out this old technology tool. Here are some pictures from our chalk writings.

We also took time to study about how our technology tools have evolved over the years. Some of the items that we talked about included how we used to use candles and now use lightbulbs for lighting, we used to use a broom and rug beater and now use vacuums, and how we used to use a brick oven and now use conventional ovens for cooking. Here are a couple of pictures from our past and present technology sorting game that we played.

In science, we learned about transportation and the way that things move. We enjoyed reading stories about transportation vehicles and learning songs like the "Wheels on the Bus". We learned how buses can move forward and backwards, left and right, and that the windows can go up and down. We also talked about the different ways that fire trucks can move and the sounds that they make. Then, we created our very own shape buses and participated in a guiding drawing of a fire truck. Here are some pictures of our fabulous creations.

Finally, in math we studied the numbers six through ten this week. We talked about how to write these numbers and then played a game called "Snap it!" where we discovered what combinations of numbers make the numbers six through ten. We created a video of our game and took several pictures. We hope that you enjoy getting to see them below. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of our fun week together!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_CGJElEYcj8VHlCN1ZhSWFDVXc/view?usp=sharing

Music Around the World--A Christmas Edition--Week 1--Australia

Welcome to our Music Around the World Club--A Christmas Edition! I am so very excited that your child is joining me in this journey as we travel around the world exploring different countries and their unique music. I have two loves in life—music and children— so I could not be more thrilled to share this experience together with your child. We are going to learn to play instruments and sing songs from different countries. Then, we will share our music with you all on Thursday night, December 1st at 7:00 P.M. Please save this date on your calendar! It is sure to be a night that you will not want to miss! Thank you again for allowing me the privilege to work with your child. I can not wait to share this experience together!

We began our musical tour around the world today by talking about the universal language of music and how it can touch all hearts and help all people. Then, we enjoyed singing "Let It Be Christmas Everywhere" together before flying around the world to Australia. 

The land down under had a lot to offer us! We learned about everything from koala bears to kangaroos and spent a "day in the life" of a girl from Australia on the Time for Kids website. We were also introduced to two of Australia's favorite instruments--bilemas and digeridoos. After listening to one of Australia's traditional songs featuring these instruments, we made our very own bilemas and digeridoos. Boy were they cool too! Finally, we began learning the Australian Christmas song that we are going to perform, Roo Roo the Kangaroo. It is a silly song that will make you giggle and laugh, while allowing you to soak up the unique sounds of the digeridoos and the bilmas. Here is a show of our first day together. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about our first week in Music Around the World!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_CGJElEYcj8OXVTTEUtVVpfTVk/view?usp=sharing

These two special friends of mine made my day by wearing our Find Your Light t-shirts from our Music Around the World club musical from last year! :)

Support our Find Your Light Service Project by purchasing cookies for a quarter! Help us change the world for the better through the art of music! 

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 remove that counter from our line of numbers. Whoever was able to remove all of there counters 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 box 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.