Ordering Numbers

Before . . .

. . . meets After :)

Note: The girls in the background of the second photo are NOT injured or sleeping! A group of them were tracing each others' bodies with sidewalk chalk, an extension of an activity we did during our "All About Me" unit at the beginning of the year.

Making Shapes in 1-4

Rectangles, triangles, and diamonds (oh my)!

Here are just a few of the ways we explored 2D shapes throughout the year. Enjoy!

Build-a-shape 

Find-a-shape

Make-a-shape (these became rays on a giant co-created sun)

Combine-a-shape (to make a new shape!)

Jump-a-shape (we did "T-Triangle" jumping jacks: Stand with feet together and arms out to make a "T," then jump your feet apart and put your arms down to form the triangle. Great way to incorporate movement throughout the day!)

Firsts and Bursts

I love "firsts." It's one of my favorite things about teaching very young children.

The first time Alya used, "Help me, please!" without any prompting. The first time Majed strung the sounds S-O-N-Y together to read, "Sony!" on the MP3 player. The first time we had a successful English-only brainstorming session.

No matter how many "firsts" you have, they never get old. Take today: A little boy identified a letter in environmental print for the first time:

"Ms. Emy! Ms. Emy! LOOK! O." 

I was instantly flooded with so much excitement and pride I thought I might burst. (This is frequently true about so much of what my students do!)

Here's the letter on our carpet:

I wrote before about how we tape and walk our letters. Since then, the children have started helping me construct the letters, which has been a great way to work on critical and spacial thinking skills, as well as team work.

The letter "O" love didn't stop there. The same student that identified it on our "Colors" poster during whole group decided to write it out during centers - another amazing first!

Do you see his pink "O's" in the center? And the yellow one to the right?

From across the room he called to show me what he'd done, and when he realized I didn't understand right away, he showed me:

:)

Now, of course, all the children are extra busy finding and writing letters they know (and some they're not so sure about yet!). Not only do I love the "firsts," but the whirlwind domino effect is pretty spectacular, too! Here's to many a few more of these learning bursts as we enter these final weeks of KG1.

More Recycling and Fishing Fun

We explored the concept of recycling in conjunction with our Magnets theme, and they actually complemented each other very well in many ways (just watch this video for proof).

During Numeracy one day, we had a (lighthearted!) can-stacking competition, which the children dedicated themselves to completely. It was a great way to practice counting, as well as comparison words like "tall" and "short".

Earlier in the week we'd gone fishing amidst the trash (including cans, paper, and plastic bottles) using a magnetic pole. We discussed how hard it was to find and catch fish with all the garbage in the way. Removing it from our pond was only the first step; the next day we sorted everything by type to practice proper recycling.

Our magnetic fishing game was a lot more fun without all that trash in the way!

As for the fish . . . they're simply made out of craft foam with paper clips attached. Each is marked with a different number of dot stickers, 1-10. After catching a fish, the children count the number of stickers, then match it to the correct numeral card.

I have several sets of numeral cards; this "counting" version allows the children to self-check when they're working independently.

I'll admit, it surprised me how excited the children were to engage with this activity on their own (and for quite an extended period of time), and it was excellent to watch several of them demonstrate mastery of the task. We've certainly come a long way since September!

Impromptu Book Club

One of my favorite parts of the day is greeting the children as they arrive in the morning. Technically, they're supposed to put their bags away and head straight to the Hall to wait for assembly, but I never mind having them congregate in the classroom for a little while first. It's in those early, unplanned moments that some of the best discoveries and connections take place.

Take last Sunday: I had just pulled a new stack of books on transportation from the library. As the children arrived, a most magical thing happened, and I realized I needed to get my camera, and quick!

Look at that exchange of information! Text referencing! Page turning! Social skill building! Not to mention the looks of pure joy on their faces. As I've said before, I live for these unplanned, authentic moments of learning. Bliss.

Mural Close-Ups

. . . are finally here!

"R" is for "reef" -- on the sandy, sponge-painted ocean floor.

The children cut  and placed the seaweed themselves, too.

Colorful jellyfish floating by.

Our abstract cardboard fish incorporate scraps from a marble painting project earlier in the year, as well as weaving. (They were inspired by these.)

Cute cardboard squid, as seen previously in-process.

Is that a handprint I spy? :)

Making a Mural

We worked together to create a beautiful display for our Under the Sea theme last week.

Using recyclables (cardboard tubes and egg boxes), we painted a bubble-filled background on blue butcher paper . . . 

. . . while others worked to make cardboard squid:

Some of us sponge painted "R" shapes to look like reef. Did you know sponges actually come from the ocean? ;)

Eventually we added some other fun items, including the cool cardboard fish we'd been working on the week before - but not until we'd used them for a little addition practice!

We fished in two separate "ponds," gathering the fish in a basket, then counted our total catch. (The process was similar to what we did here with eggs. This time, however, some children drew out their own addition problems as a way of leaning into that next developmental step.)

Our mural is now hanging in the corridor, and we've been getting lots of compliments on our hard work! As always, pictures of the finished product to come . . . stay tuned :)

Bear Surgery

There was an emergency play dough removal that took place in our classroom the other day. . .

I'm sure the bear's the better for it :)

It amazes me what children come up with. A lab coat from the science center (must've had those masks still in the pockets), a wrench from the magnet station, and a teddy bear from the reading corner turned into something excellent.

I live for the brilliant, unexpected moments like these. Children are so incredible. What an honor to spend my days with these creative little humans.

Press Here Display

Below, some photos of our (beautiful!) completed Press Here collages, now on display outside our classroom.

Color Party

For some reason, last Thursday the children became convinced that we were having a party. Not sure how or where the rumor started, except for that it was a non-uniform day. Before simply telling them "No," that in fact there was no party planned, Abla Salwa turned to Mrs. Emy and said two of the best words on the planet:

Why not?

So we spent the last 30 minutes of the day having a spontaneous Color Party!

We blew up balloons and put on some dance-worthy music (the children LOVE this song!) . . .

. . . and Abla Salwa painted faces . . .

. . . while Mrs. Emy taught about the static electricity that results from rubbing a balloon on your head.

The balloons act like magnets!

 Our party was both a learning experience and a great time.

Such a fun way to end our color theme and welcome the weekend.

Thank you for the idea, children!