Kinder Class

Hello Parents,

Here's some of what we've been up to in kindergarten this past month. There is so much, really. Perhaps this blog will read as too detailed so skip around as you see fit. At least with all of the photos, you can get a quick visual of this delightful little class and all the work/play we do.

We've completed a unit on the solar system. The children watercolored Earths, practiced their five and six pointed stars, made sun prints and sun tea, and simulated asteroids flying through space and crashing into the moon to make craters, and all this while learning and sharing cool facts about the planets and the sun. It's amazing how much one learns about science and nature as a kindergarten teacher. I love researching so I can provide these guys with some answers to their ever astute questions.

Below, the kids hurl objects of various sizes (asteroids) into a tray filled with flour (the moon) to see how the moon's craters formed. The idea that the moon has no weather and no atmosphere and so the craters (and the footsteps of the moonwalkers) are preserved in a way they would not be on the Earth was a fascinating topic of conversation.

Also in science, Kathleen helped the children grow crystals on pipecleaner snowflakes. This involved a lot of practice with cutting, shaping, twisting, tying, knots and bows, as well as good fun mixing and dipping.

In Math, we continued to practice tally marks, and did an inventory of all of the letters in the students' names. This was a great exercise in letter recognition, learning to write first and last names, tracking from left to write, keeping organized when counting, and the kids got to use clipboards which is enough to make anyone feel very official and important.

The children also continued with their number exploration in their Golden Number Books, as we reviewed the numbers 5,6,7 and 8. For 7, we talked about the seven colors in a rainbow and the seven letters in the word 'rainbow' and for 8 we talked about the eight planets in our solar system and drew them, as well as drawing octopuses and spiders, important animals where eight is concerned.

In Language Arts, as well as first and last names, we reviewed the letters "R,r" and "A,a", did some alphabet dot to dots and also looked at letter "Y, y" in the context of the Y shape that forms the trunk of many trees and is the starting point for a spider spinning an orb web. Kathleen had the children write and illustrate a poem book with the beautiful poem "In the Heart of a Seed". This will be coming home soon. They made letter shapes with their bodies in partner groups. see gallery of photos below. My intention had been just to have them make the letter Y but they were inspired and wanted to do many letters. Flexibility and the time to stray from the agenda are two of my favorite things about Orchard -- this is how we get to individualize the learning and feed off the children's interests, rather than just the teacher's or the administrator's or the government's.

We told many timeless tales including The Pancake Mill, The Bremen Town Musicians, and A Midwinter's Tale and read so many great stories too (The Empty Pot, Rikki Tikki Tavi, Ming Lo Moved the Mountain, Ruby's Wish). I finally finished our chapter book, Noddy, and am mulling over what to delve into next. Suggestions welcome. Perhaps the Wizard of Oz or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But I'd love to find something more contemporary, and that I haven't already read to children 100 times!

Once in a while, the kids even complete a worksheet. So mainstream...but, it's such a novelty to them that it's actually exciting! 

Cooking:

Kathleen and the kids made cinnamon rolls and pretzels. These kids are getting a wealth of bread baking experience -- the process of making bread from scratch, growing then grinding the wheat, watching the yeast activate, kneading and pounding, seeing the dough rise, and participating in an hours long start to finish project is so good for the soul. It's easy to forget or not to even realize where our food originates.

Michelle (Zola's mom) helped with bread baking this month, and brought in her sourdough starter to make banana bread with everyone. She also did a healthy smoothie workshop with us. Your kids ALL ate and enjoyed these foods blended in smoothie form: spinach, carrot, goji berries, dragon fruit, frozen cauliflower, almond butter, maca root, along with some standards like banana, raspberries and blueberries. It was a good lesson in not judging food with preconceived notions or with the eyes alone but with taste. I was impressed that everyone tasted everything. 

 Crafts:

The children made pine cone bird feeders. Mickey was the only one who was willing to leave his at school and the chesnut-backed chickadees and juncos had a feast for several days. It was sweet to watch them taking turns to nibble at the peanut butter and bird seed.

The kids sewed their handprinted fabric pouches using sewing hoops to guide their stitching and filled these with hand ground indian corn and dried lavender from the Orchard garden. They sewed little felt gnomes and stuffed these with alpaca wool from our very own alpacas. As a whole, this group of kinders is quite masterful in their sewing capabilities. Notice their even and precise stitching in the projects that come home. This is a great fine motor skill that helps with more academic skills like uniformity in handwriting. It's also calming and meditative to sew and it's the quietest and most focused you'll ever see these children. 

Sewing and stuffing gnomes

Making Valentine's boxes. Lyra looking not so thrilled to be photographed.

Eating Valentine's cookies, decorated with whipped cream, berries, nuts and chocolate sauce. Yum!

Mickey's grandpa actually made these tools for us so we could better wind up the magazine paper into beads.

Mickey's grandparents, Brenda and Jack, came in to show us how to make African paper beads, another focused activity requiring patience and precise fine motor control. It was very rewarding. It is so wonderful to have family members coming in to share their expertise and it really broadens the children's experience in kindergarten. Thank you parent and grandparent helpers. Keep it coming!

Mickey and Bear enjoying the wild hail storm we had last month

Field trip to the Aptos Public Library. Riding the city bus was definitely the highlight.

Animal Care

Watching Eva, our vet, trimming Coco Bella's hooves. We also watched her give the girls their bi-annual shots.

We took our first trip of this year up to the Redwood Grove. It was quite an adventure and the kids are begging to go every day. We will go again soon. This secret spot is up in the woods beyond the gym. Scroll through these photos.

That's it for now. Next entry will be at the end of March. Thank you for reading, if you got this far! Is this blog helpful? Too long? Redundant? Feedback always welcome.