During the first week of November we talked about food groups. The students learned about the five main food groups; fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, and grains. As a group the children created a food group pyramid and listed a variety of foods in each group. The students also enjoyed sampling a variety of foods.
The second week of November was all about Pilgrims and Indians. The class found out the Pilgrims came from England to our country for religious freedom. We read many books about what the Pilgrims experienced during their journey on the Mayflower and once they landed at Plymouth Rock. They even created their own Mayflower out of their hand prints.
The third week of November was a continuation of Thanksgiving and being thankful. The children shared what their families do for Thanksgiving to learn that we all have our own traditions. We focused more on why the Pilgrims and Indians ate a meal together. Each child shared what they were thankful for to create a classroom thankful turkey. We received responses from mom and dad, to pets, to sandwiches and chickens. We even had someone talk about their pet rat that lived in a metal rat cage. The Harvest Party was a great experience for the students, teachers and families to help understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving and share a meal together. A big thank you goes out to all the parents who brought supplies in and came in to lend a helping hand!
The last week of November we turned our focus to practicing our songs for the Christmas program. The students have been working very hard to memorize the lyrics and motions down right! We are having an exciting time together preparing a wonderful Christmas Program for our families and we can’t wait to show you!
Academic Enrichment Group Time | Kindergarten
The first week of November the kindergartners finished up learning how to tell time down to the minute. I would love it if they continued to wear their watches throughout the rest of the school year! We then learned all about coins and their amounts like pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. We even learned a little song to help remember their names and values. The kindergartners also learned about dollar bills and their amounts. It was fun to watch them compare the dollar bills and coins and figure out different ways to make the same amount of money. The last week of November they learned how to label all the puzzles using the control charts in the classroom. The kids have been working so hard on their handwriting and journaling each day.
Reading Group | Kindergarten
with Ms. Faith
During this last month, we read a Haitian folk tale called, Bouki Cuts Wood. In the story, the main character Bouki, meets a man who he believes is a diviner who can tell the future. Some of the activities the students worked on where drawing pictures based on the story, such as what they thought was the funniest part of the story, or what they would have done to Bouki to make him see that he was alive. The students came up with some great discussion questions for our group time, and we they discussed more in depth questions, like “What should have told Bouki that he was alive?”, and “How did the man know Bouki was going to fall out of the tree?” The kindergartners enjoyed this story, and really got a laugh out of how silly Bouki was. On our last reading of the story, I read the story aloud and the kindergartner would act out the events while I read. They got into character and had a blast bringing the story to life.
For our first science experiment in the month of November we watched a zip-lock bag explode by putting vinegar and water in the bag, then throwing a tissue ball full of baking soda inside and sealing the bag shut. When the vinegar and baking soda mixed we created an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals worked together to create carbon dioxide. The gas needed a lot of room so it started to fill the bag, and kept filling the bag until the bag could no longer hold it anymore and, POP!
We also defied the laws of gravity by turning a full glass of water upside down