Go Cardinals!

Opening Day Spirit!

Hard at Play!

Play is such an important part of learning for our kindergarten kids. It is amazing to see how they use what they know to extend, transfer, and create new learning. Check them out hard at play! 😊

 

Synergize!

This week, we focused on the 6th Habit: Synergize. We worked with our buddies in third grade to create Magnatile structures. We made three large groups of 8-10 students. Each child received 2 Magnatiles, and each child had to use his/her Magnatiles to create a single structure together as a group. It was challenging for them to work together in a large group, but they did it and were so proud of their finished structures.

We have also been very busy as readers and have started using our book boxes for independent reading time. The students choose, or "shop", for books that are appropriate for their individual reading levels. I have loved getting to see each and every one of these smart kiddos as readers!

Morning Meeting

Everyday in kindergarten begins with Morning Meeting. Our class meeting is the way we build and maintain our classroom community. We start by greeting each other, then discussing a social/emotional topic, and closing with a quick activity together. Morning Meeting is designed to:

• Set the tone for respectful learning
• Establish a climate of trust
• Motivate students to feel significant
• Create empathy and encourage collaboration
• Support social, emotional and academic learning

(credit to Edutopia)

This week we talked about compliments during Morning Meeting. We learned what a compliment is and how a compliment can make someone feel. We also discussed how compliments can help build someone's self-esteem and self-worth when the compliment is about someone on the inside, not on the outside (ex: I like your shirt vs. You always make others feel better when they are upset.). 

The kids all thought of compliments about each other that were very meaningful and shared them together in a compliment chain! Some of the kids were surprised by what others thought about them. We have a wonderful classroom community!

How Does a Pendulum Move?

This week in science, we continued learning about motion as we explored pendulums. We set up a simple pendulum at each table. The kids built block towers, explored how pendulums move, and tried to use the pendulums to knock over their towers.

Exploring Force and Motion

We have been learning all about motion and force in science. Last week, we explored with ping pong balls and discovered how air can set objects into motion, pushing them to roll. We also learned about simple machines and how pulling causes an object to set into motion. Our class definitely has some budding scientists!

Celebrating Hearts!

February is American Heart Month, so this week was full of hearts! We spent time with our third grade buddies on Wednesday talking about kindness and the boomerang effect that being kind can have. We talked about random acts of kindness and brainstormed things we can do to be kind. Each child wrote their ideas on hearts. When they complete an act of kindness, they color a heart. When all their hearts are colored, they can turn their page into the library to be featured on our school kindness bulletin board outside the library. We also had fun today making Valentine heart people and wrapped up our day with a very fun Jump Rope for Heart assembly by the Mount Hope Show-Me Jumpers. The kids were amazed! You may have some jump rope tricks happening at your house this weekend, as the kids were all very excited to try the jump roping they saw!