March Madness!

March is always a busy month. We're always trying to cram in as much as possible right before spring break!

 

We loved learning all about Groundhog Day. We read a book all about this special day and the infamous animal, the groundhog. We even graphed whether we thought he would see his shadow or not! Too bad his prediction hasn't held true this year :).

In math we focused on the different types of patterns we see. We learned about AB, ABBA, ABC, and AABB patterns. Below is a student who is working on a pattern assessment.

Thought this was too cute to not capture. This was on "wear your favorite team" day. Everyone loves Hester :).

 

 

Presidents' Day "Write the Room"

One of my favorite activities to do right before wrapping up a unit is something called "write the room". This is when the students go around the classroom searching and recording all the different words and pictures that we spent the week learning about. In recognition of Presidents' Day, our class spent the week learning about two of our most influential presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We also learned about all the different American staples (American flag, bald eagle, etc.).

 



"Reading Buddy Fridays" with Ladel the Comfort Dog

2nd grade and pre-k have teamed up this year to start a new program called "reading buddies". The program is designed so students can develop relationships with other children outside their own classroom and to strengthen and develop reading skills (comprehension, voice, fluency, etc.). It is proven through research that the more children are read to, the better readers and writers they become (Fountas and Pinnell are two well-known professors that have researched this finding, find them on Google :)). Ladel is our school's comfort dog from the organization, Lutheran Church Charities. She is a service dog and has traveled all across the country bringing Christ's love to those that are in need. She is great! Enjoy the pictures :).

 

 



Mystery Readers

Every Friday we have a "mystery reader" come in and read to the class. The kids really enjoy a fresh face in the classroom and the creative touch their own mom and dads bring to the world of reading. If you haven't had a chance to come in, feel free to contact me. We would love to have you :). Here are a few of our mystery readers from this year :).

 

Claire, Grace, and Charlie's mom

 Jacob's mom

 Carter's dad

 Jacob's dad

 Terry's mom

 



22 Days of Christmas!

The Christmas excitement started today in the pre-k classroom! Not only is Christmas only 22 days away, but rest time officially ended (probably just as good as Christmas for a few :)). We started our new center groups during the rest time slot. The center games and activities for the month of December include: matching uppercase and lowercase letters, rhyming holiday words, reading responses, the creation of geometric shapes with rubber bands, and writing practice. Below are some pictures from our first day nap free :).

 

Two students are writing their Christmas lists to Santa in the writing center.

 

Students are reading their book of choice and drawing a picture of their favorite part.

 

Three students enjoy playing "Holiday Rhyme Time" while trying to find as many rhyming words and pictures as possible.

 

Below, one student is attempting to match the picture on each Christmas tree with the correct upper and lowercase letter sound.



Fall Fun :)

The pre-k class had a lot of fun this past October and November. We enjoyed learning about weight with the help of a very large pumpkin. We even got to cut it open and interact with the pumpkin at our sensory center! Besides pumpkin "guts" and getting excited for delicious fall foods, here is a peak into what went on behind closed doors:

 

Here are some snapshots of our friends enjoying our classroom pumpkin

 

 

While learning about one to one correspondence, we got to enjoy some pumpkin spice marshmallows (food makes the best math manipulative, of course!)

We had fun writing our letters in the rice trays found in the writing center.

 

Below is a picture of the yellow table making their own "igloo" (for the letter I) out of Styrofoam cups and marshmallows. 

 

Mystery Reader, Barnaby, Fall, Oh My!

We just started our "Mystery Reader" Fridays this month! Our first mystery reader was Lori Olson. The children really enjoyed the suspense and excitement behind the Mystery Reader concept. Below you will find a picture of Mrs. Olson reading a story to the class :).

 

 

 When Cooper soon discovers that the "Mystery Reader" is his mommy :).

 

 When learning about the letter "F", we talked about the season of fall and the things we observe happening to the trees at this time of the year. Below is a picture of some students working on their fall trees with their findings from outside.

 

 The candy corn match-up involves pairing upper and lowercase letters to form a complete candy corn. The class has really enjoyed this center game!

 

 As the peak of pumpkin patch season is upon us, we are starting a new unit in science about weight, using a pumpkin as our weight control. To kick off the new unit, we created our own pumpkins with torn pieces of construction paper and green rice (for the stem!).

 

 Barnaby is extremely busy traveling all over the world! He has visited Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. He has taught us all about the different cultures, languages, and unique characteristics of each country and region. Through Barnaby, the boys and girls are not only learning about maps and developing map skills, but they are also gaining an awareness for the world that is outside of their "own world".