Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Into March...

2011 has come and is going quickly. We're almost into the final stretch of the school year. Here's a little glimpse of what we've been doing in Mrs. B's Kindergarten Class:

Literacy Focus: 
  • We've now learned all sounds except for qu, z and y. The students are now gaining awareness of both the letter name and the sound. Click here to see the Letter Sound Song or click here to see the Snowball Fight Song.
  • We also have been viewing Letter Songs during snack time. Click here to view The Letter X Song
  • The focus of the Fairytale Theme has been identifying main parts of a story and retelling a story. If you see puppets in your child's bag, ask them to tell you the story they learned. We have viewed some digital versions of stories at snack time as well: Rumplestiltskin, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs and may be viewing other fairytale related material. 
Numeracy Focus: 
  • We are working on printing the letters 1-10 
  • 1 to 1 counting: assigning a number to each object
  • Identifying the amounts 1-10: counting a number of objects and then understanding that the final number is also the amount that you have
  • Subitizing: recognizing the amounts 1-5 at a glance without counting 
Physical Activity Focus: 
  • We've been focusing on throwing and catching. Ask them if they remember "cleaning the yard" in the gym. We've experimented with throwing and catching in the class with scarves and "snowballs"
  • We've continued doing a daily exercise routine which combines aerobics, dance and yoga. This week they will be introduced to Yoga Adventures. This is where the poses are put into a context or story. Today, the classes took a trip to the Pet Shop. We did the poses (or asanas) dog, cat, rabbit, fish, frog, spider, crab, snake (cobra), crocodile (chattaronga), gerbil (made up by the students) and a few others. Ask them about it and see if they can retell. 
  • We've also been Speed Stacking in the classroom. It's a great in classroom activity that helps increase coordination, concentration, fine motor ability and right-left brain connection.
Online Enrichment: 

There are many online sites that have fun and academic activities for the students to do. If you have a child that enjoys the computer, this may be a good way to focus that time:
  • Starfall: a great introduction to reading simple words, blending and identifying sounds. 
  • PBS Kids: alphabet game and many others
  • Illuminations Math: five frame activities
  • ABC Ya Kindergarten Games: this one has a variety of literacy, spatial and numeracy activities. The students have enjoyed this one during center time.