First/Second/Third
Being served at the Kinder Cafe
May and June were filled with lots of learning, student presentations, cool insects, and hints of summer fun!
Language Arts:
The month of May is known for all kinds of silly and unusual holidays . . . we kicked it off with May the 4th be With You, celebrated Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day, and ended with National Flip Flop Day!
May the 4th Be With You
We focused on writing the last 6 weeks of school. Students put their skills to work in journal writing, thank you notes, important letters, yearbook bios, Mothers & Father’s Day poems, and How To Do… Somethings! It was action packed and we had a great time exploring descriptive language, telling stories and incorporating figurative language.
Reading: It was a nail biter… a real cliff hanger . . . we were on the edge of our seats!!!
Please read the last 5 pages of Henry Huggins to your child. We almost made it to the end😊
Science, Garden, and Animals
Cicadas, Dragonflies, Bees and Ants - which is your favorite insect? Have your child share their garden folder with you over the summer. Read their insect books and learn more about these amazing insects!
A Farewell to our Beloved Aurora and Porcupine
Creative Movement:
Stick Dance Duets - exploring silent conversations.
Object Solos – students created a movement phrase based on the properties of an object. Students were given an object in their summer packet, have your child share the process with you over the break. See if you can guess their object based on their movement.
Math:
The students began their formal study of fractions with concrete models and games. They enjoyed playing the games of Cover Up and Uncover with pattern blocks where the yellow hexagon = 1 whole, the red trapezoid = 1/2, the blue rhombus = 1/3, and the green triangle = 1/6. A roll of the fraction die determined which fraction piece to place.
The students became more familiar with the concept of fractions through a variety of activities and investigations. On waffle day, the students made the batter for our waffle iron that sections hearts into fifths. What fun to then eat and record the number of waffle fifths one eats! This activity is a great way for students to have a concrete model for naming fractions and mixed numbers while developing their understanding of fractions. They created fraction kits by folding, cutting, and labeling strips of construction paper, making halves, fourths, eighths, and sixteenths. This became a wonderful tool for noticing patterns, and playing the games of Cover Up and Uncover. As the students practiced telling time, we noticed how time can be named using fractions: half past, quarter after, a quarter of an hour, etc. Our daily graph became a tool for practicing fractions and the vocabulary used to describe and name them.
The first graders practiced their problem solving and cooperative learning skills as they worked with a group to figure the number of tails and feet for 3 chickens and 4 cows. The students drew pictures, used numbers, and presented their findings to the group. We followed up with a similar question involving our animals.
They worked on telling time to the hour, half hour, and beyond with our individual clocks, by playing time bingo, and by writing in and reading the hands on worksheets . The first graders worked on a menu of logic activities with partners that can be played most anywhere. Be sure to check out your child’s summer activity packet.
We enjoyed our final math investigation of Hands and Beans. The students listened to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and then predicted how many fava beans they might be able to hold in one hand. They made predictions and then discovered the actuals by grabbing a handful of beans and then counting them by 2s or 10s. We noticed that even people with smaller hands were able to grab quite a handful!
The second/third graders continued their focus on subtraction through comparison stories, practicing the basic facts with their triangle cards, and solving problems with the base 10 blocks. A number of students were able to transition into subtraction using the standard algorithm. They followed up with the subtraction game of Get to Zero.
The second/third graders ended the year with the logic menu and seemed to enjoy playing the various challenges with a partner. Be sure to check out and enjoy some of the logic games like Your Choice Tic-Tac-Toe!
Beach Day Fun!
PREVENT THE SUMMER SLIDE!