Kinder Class
As I mentioned at our Back to School afternoon, this class of children is really starting to feel and work like a family. Everyone seems to be feeling at home, guards are coming down, and relaxing into happy friendships is the order of the day. Consequently, the enthusiasm for school projects is growing and much busy creativity is brewing constantly in our little cottage.
Language Arts: We looked at two new letters in depth, the short and long sounds of the letter "A,a" as in acorns and apples, and "H,h". Some in this group of children are struggling mightily with the fine-motor control, organization of materials, and focus and energy it requires to write. As the weeks progress, I will be allowing these children to go more slowly and get lots of practice while letting others, for whom this kind of work is easier, jump ahead. To this end, centers will work better than whole group instruction, so that I can fully differentiate the learning. If anyone has time, I'd welcome help on Wednesday 2nd period, or Thursday 1st period, so that we can split up into smaller groups.
We fully delved into work on our Halloween skit, Bony Legs. First I told the fairy tale several times and then the children and I have been working to bring the play adaption to life. This is a long-standing Orchard tradition that usually meets with much appreciation at the festival. Children are welcome to come in their Halloween costumes and not dress for their parts. It only adds to the comedy of the whole thing! This week, I will read them an entirely different version of the same story — Natasha’s New Doll, a favorite picture book of mine as a child -- to further emphasize how stories can be retold in all different ways. The children are getting to really live this story and know it inside and out. Bringing it to life on the stage brings in many challenging elements, like remembering lines under the pressure and distraction of having a real audience. It’s not easy to get on stage, especially after your bedtime! We hope you will enjoy the end result. I'm nervous too.
Other Stories: Kathleen has told Little Boy Knight about a boy who finds his inner leader, the tall tale of Johnny Appleseed, a cumulative story called The Apple Cake, a harvest story about kindness and sharing called Hetunka and the Bean Mouse. I have told The Stolen Bread Smells and read another favorite, Sophie's Squash, published recently. I continue to read the original story of Noddy, by Enid Blyton, written in 1949. It's a chapter book, kind of outdated and not very politically correct, but I tone down these elements, and the children really seem to love the story -- it's full of adventure and explores themes of friendship and justice.
Songs: We’ve been singing Halloween songs mostly — Old Mrs. Witch (a call and response song), Dem Bones, and the verse, Five Little Pumpkins which they will into an art piece using clay and twigs later this week. I will also be introducing them to a new circle story focusing on winter.
Math: The children continued work in their "Golden Number Books." We will be following a step-by-step approach to thoroughly examine each number in a way that hopefully has lasting relevance, laying an amazing foundation for more complex number work in the subsequent grades. We will be looking at the numbers both from a mathematical standpoint — how to write each number and recognize it and know what it means, but also we will look at some of the deeper significances of each number. This week for number 2, we marveled at all of the body parts that come in twos (eyes, ears, arms, legs and so forth). For 3, we will talk about triangles and how three dots placed anywhere on a page (except in a straight line) will form a triangle. The number 2 presented quite a challenge for many kids, as it always does. Practice this, as well as 3, 5, and 8, at home with them if you are so inclined. If not, we'll continue practicing in class anyway.
We also did an apple taste test and graphed the results of favorite apples. I started a unit on sorting and classifying items by attributes, so the children came up with categories for all of our acorns (fat, pointy, with/without caps, black, brown, with holes etc.) and then sorted them. I will be extending this important mathematical principle with further sorting work with buttons and other objects. We explored symmetry with pattern blocks and Kathleen had them craft symmetrical butterflies. And of course, we’ve been doing lots of counting, adding and subtracting as we move through our day in the kinder cottage.
Science: We took a break with science but will be doing the classic sink/float lesson in class this week and then moving into an exploration of the senses. The apple taste test was the beginning of this.
Painting: Wet-on-wet watercolor is a unique form of painting where the color moves across the page almost with a mind of its own. This medium is a chance for children to look deeply at color and abstract representations of feelings and of the world around them. It can be hard and frustrating for a young child to feel satisfied with what their hands can produce when compared to the details they notice with their eyes. This kind of painting moves art beyond this and really strikes a chord with some children. We began with looking at the primary colors and are now moving into color mixing in the coming weeks. As with many of the activities we undertake in our small classroom, setting up for painting lesson in this case is not only about painting — the way we move through our space must be very specific and organized in order to prevent traffic jams and so even setting up for painting becomes a fantastic exercise in body control, memory and moving through space mindfully.
Cooking is a fabulous opportunity to delve further into math and science, as well as a tactile experience that most children absolutely love, especially as the end result is something you can eat! Kathleen and the kids have been cooking up a storm lately with cookies for the harvest festival and apple cake for the parent meeting, applesauce and apple muffins for snack time, and I made cinnamon rolls with the kids (Thanks Anya for your invaluable help here).
Handwork: The kids continue to work on embroidering their burlap maple leaves. Next they'll move onto some wet and needle felting. They crafted a torn paper apple tree where they had to let go of the precision of scissors and just rip the paper to resemble a tree and apples. They finished their family collages for more scissor and glue practice, as well as a great exercise in organization, planning how to set things up, how to fit everything, and how to weed out pictures when they didn't fit.
Upcoming Dates:
October 27th, 6-8pm. Halloween Festival. Kids are welcome to come in costume. Don't forget plates, utensils and a mug. Please note, I have a little treat for them at the end of school -- it involves a lollipop. Let me know if this is a problem for your family and I will think of something else.
October 31, Halloween. Kids can come in costume if they want but be sure to send them with clothes to change back in to when they get uncomfortable. If their costume is fragile or you are worried about preserving it for trick or treating, probably best to leave it at home.
November 8th, 3:30-5. Parent Meeting with guest speaker, Anna Rainville. If you come to only one meeting all year, please come to this one. Anna has 30 years experience as an educator and is a specialist in whole body education. She'll be taking about literacy and helping to explain when and how children best learn to read.
November 10th, Veteran's Day. No School.
November 16th, Field Trip to Santa Cruz Natural History Museum, from 10:15 to approximately 1pm. Let me know if you can drive. Permission Slips will be in your parent cubbies soon.
November 17th, Goodwill Fundraiser. Drop your old junk at school starting on Friday and through Sunday. Last year we made $3000 on this easy fundraiser.
November 22nd-26th, Thanksgiving holiday.
