Daisies are tough little flowers and the fun of footprints and daisies makes this a summer activity not to be missed!
Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters correctly. Each year I have tried through the traditional ways of working on fine motor skills the first half and then formal handwriting sheets the second half of the year. It never worked so this year I tried something new... An inquiry about lines! I asked the kids what kind of lines they knew of. At first they drew straight lines, but then started to expand the types of lines they made! We read some books and watched some videos on YouTube that showed us different lines and also gave them names. I put out provocations for them to explore lines in many different ways and see what they noticed and what connections they made. I put out invitations for them to use lines to make letters, shapes, designs, pictures and numbers: They explored! They are doing activities to build strong finger muscles to help with handwriting and explore lines at the same time! Our clay is quite hard and they have to work it to soften it up. Plus, manipulating the pipe cleaners helps work those fine motor skills! Through this simple inquiry, the kids are much more aware of the different types of lines and how to make them. They are recognizing them in letters, shapes, numbers and pictures. So far, I am seeing an improvement compared to previous years in their names as they try to form the letters the correct way. More are pulling down vertical lines rather than pulling up when making letters but for some this is a hard habit to break! We will keep working on it in developmentally appropriate ways and we will see as the year goes on if this knowledge of lines will help them with the common core standard of writing letters correctly! Here are some other things the kids have been doing in our room during this inquiry! Dots! We celebrated International Dot Day and celebrated creativity! Ken Robinson said that creativity is as important as literacy and I cannot stress enough how true that is! Employers want creative and critical thinkers so these skills need to be emphasized! Here are some pictures of some invitations to be creative and our final display of creativity! In Literacy, we have been focusing on letters and letter sounds. They have been using their names and the names of their friends to help them to recognize letters and their sounds. The invitations at the beginning of the year focused mostly on exploring letters and names. Working lavender into this play-dough also made this a great sensory experience as they used it to explore letters and try to spell their name and friends names. They have been working on the concepts of print as they learn letters and sounds through letter books. They have been practicing starting in the right place, pointing to the words and going in the right direction when they read. When they partner read, one is the reader, the other is the helper so they have to listen and watch closely, then they switch roles. In math we have been exploring numbers counting objects and matching them to the number. We also have been exploring measurement. In math we are also exploring shapes and their properties. In science, they have been working on looking closer, wondering and documenting what they notice. I set out invitations for them to explore and practice these skills. It has been a very full first month! It is amazing how far the kids have come! Stay tuned to find out what the kids are creating for our math area!
We have finally reached the end of the alphabet! Hooray! We kind of did the bare minimum on these last three letters and I hardly took ...
I had the opportunity to share my philosophy and program through a math lens during the Kindergarten Additional Qualification course that I co-facilitate with Joanne Babalis through York University. I appreciated the positive feedback from the participants and welcomed the idea to share some of my presentation with them, as they continue to reflect and inquire about their own math programs. I strive to remain transparent in the sharing of my journey, and I am open to learning and making mistakes along the way. The following are just some ways in which I try to incorporate math into our constantly changing, emerging, and transforming classroom. I hope this post provides a spark of interest, curiosity, and reflection! The Math Area The math area begins with simple and concrete materials to help students explore and investigate mathematics in meaningful ways. Knowing that each student comes with a knowledge of mathematics through real-life experiences, we allow for multiple entry points to meet them at their developmental level. Math Materials As we introduce students to math materials through provocations or focused lessons, we add them to our math area, so that they can access the materials during thinking and learning time. We observe their interactions with the materials and change or move them as needed. Math Provocations We offer students various provocations (invitations to learn) throughout the year, which focus on specific mathematics strands, connect to a specific inquiry, or are based on the emerging interests of the students. Whole-Group Lessons During whole- group lessons, students explore mathematical problems that are connected to their lives. They are able to apply what they know and discover new strategies with their educators and peers. Small-Group Lessons Through mini lessons, we provide guided and explicit learning experiences for our students. They engage in the co-creation of success criteria, so they understand what they need to do in a given task, and they are able to show their learning in a variety of ways. Math Games We engage students in mathematics by playing games that teach early number concepts and strategies. By modelling, practicing, and eventually playing independently during math exploration time, we help to build confidence and foster positive attitudes towards mathematics. Reflecting on Math As much as students need time to explore mathematics, they also need time to reflect on the process. Our focus has been on asking effective questions such as “what worked well?” “how else might you try…?” and “why did you use…?” to give them the opportunity to explain and consolidate their learning. Celebrating Math Developing positive attitudes towards math will have a significant impact on students future success. We share and celebrate math by displaying artifacts, through the use of documentation panels or binders, and during class meetings and knowledge building circles. Math is Everywhere “Math can be seamlessly integrated into children’s ongoing play and activities. But this usually requires a knowledgeable adult who creates a supportive environment and provides challenges, suggestions, tasks, and language.” (Capacity Building Series, 2011)
Into the woods ... in the classroom!
This is a Tuesday " Slice of Life " for Two Writing Teachers . Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching. **...
Educators, need ideas to set up your indoor learning environments for children? Find all the inspiration you need in this blog post!
Provocations can be overwhelming. Let's take a look at some simple ideas for literacy provocations found in a Reggio-Inspired Preschool.
As many of you already know, I am currently embarking on a new learning journey this year. I have started to instruct the York University Kindergarten AQ course and am learning alongside the teachers and early childhood educators who have enrolled. Last week a teacher from my school named Jennifer Tompkins invited us to visit her classroom (which she shares with Mojgan Eslami and Rose Landolfi) during our AQ session. I thought this Friday "On Display" feature would be the perfect opportunity for all of you to share in our classroom tour. Here are some photographs that I captured while I walked around: There are many more photos included on her blog below, and please feel free to also read our short interview about how it all got started! Blog: Thinking and Learning in Room 122 Joanne: Please introduce yourself to our blog visitors and share with us where you are on your journey. Jenn: My name is Jennifer Tompkins, I have been teaching for the past few years in the York Region District School Board. I studied child development at the University of Guelph and did my teaching degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. This is my first year in the Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten program and I am very excited to be working in this area of early childhood education. I am particularly interested in inquiry-based learning and have been blown away by the curiosity of my students in the past month and a half. Children are so curious about the world around them and I am excited to foster that wonder within my classroom. I am only at the beginning of my journey and am excited to continue this learning within the context of our classroom. Joanne: What made you want to begin a blog? What tips do you have for educators who are interested in beginning their own blog? Jenn: I decided to create a blog for a few difference reasons. The most important reason for me, was for the families of my students. I wanted the families to be included in the learning we are doing on a daily basis. Allowing them the option to see the learning being done and how their child has been actively participating in inquiries within our room will give them opportunities to start dialogues with their child at home. It will also give the students ownership over their learning. They can go home and share what they have been doing by either describing a picture or idea they voiced in a class discussion. I also wanted to do one, because it will help keep me accountable in making our learning visible. I was nervous about starting a blog, because I was afraid it wasn’t going to be like all the other ones out there, but what I’ve realized is that there is no ‘perfect’ way to document learning. You have exciting things happening in your classroom, the blog will allow you share the exciting learning that is happening! I am so proud of Jenn, and our whole Early Years team at Bond Lake P.S. Please stay tuned for more posts about our work!
Hi guys! Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week. Here are some of the things we've been up to in our class! 1. CO-CREATED NUMBER POSTERS We finally finished up our co-created number posters! We worked in small groups to write the numeral, the number word, create the number on a ten frame, create the number with our fingers and trace the number formation song. The number formation song is from Dr. Jean's "Numeral Song". You can find it on YouTube here or in this very old blog post! 2. CO-CREATED ALPHABET POSTERS We also co-created alphabet posters like last year! Again, it was originally inspired by this post by Anamaria at Wonders in Kindergarten. We brainstormed things that begin with each letter and either collected them from around the room or I collected them after school. Then we took the photos together and I printed them at home. One of my favourite books to read before we brainstorm ideas for our posters is A B See by Elizabeth Doyle. If you would like the editable template for these posters you can download an editable PowerPoint file by clicking on the link below: 3. WHAT LETTERS CAN YOU FIND? I got this idea from @exploringandlearninginfdk's Instagram account! I put some letters in beans and added a sorting tray and tweezers. I invited students to find letters with the tweezers and put them in the sorting tray. Students were encouraged to identify the letters and if they could, record the letters on the paper. The kids really loved this! 3. SIGHT WORD BOOKLETS We started working on learning sight words this week! Our first sight word was "a". As extra practice, I introduced these sight word booklets for the students to practice with at the writing centre. On the cover, students write their name and colour the sight word. On the second page students trace and print the sight word three times. On the third and fourth page, students trace the sight word in a simple sentence. On the fifth and sixth page (not pictured), students write the sight word in a simple sentence. Maybe it's because I don't put too many worksheet type stuff out but the kids flocked to these booklets! I'm hoping I get the same reaction next week when I add the "I" booklet! If you are interested in these booklets they are available in my TPT store. You can grab it in Sight Word Mini Books Set 1 by clicking here or on the image below: Or you can buy it in the BUNDLE by clicking here or on the image below and save 20%! 4. MAKING LETTERS WITH HWWT I saw this fantastic provocation on Darla's Instagram account (@darlamyersclass) and knew I had to try it! These HWWT wood pieces are great for little hands and for open ended letter exploration! I got these Wood Pieces for Capital Letters from the Handwriting Without Tears website last year. You can find them by clicking here. The letter formation cards are in my TPT store. You can find them by clicking here. 5. ALPHABET SALT TRAY A surprise hit were these salt trays! I had them out last year as well and the kids liked them, but my class this year LOVED them! They loved them so much that I quickly made up a number version for them to play with in the afternoon. The trays are from Dollarama. The rocks are also from Dollarama and I used a white paint pen to write the letters on them. That's it from me this week! I hope you were able to find some things you can try in your classroom! Have a great weekend! - Yukari
Use these STEM Experiments in your classroom to engage your students! Free from The Curriculum Corner and The Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Kindergarten/First Grade When I begin teaching at a new school I like to start with the Elements of Art to get a foundation established bef...
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