December Highlights 2016 Kindergarten: Mrs. Auerbach’ s Class
Photo: Mural depicting our version of the GINGERBREAD stories we read
MATH: In December, our focus continued to be on the numbers 10-20. We sequenced numbers, learned to “read” and fill in ten frames (with an emphasis on understanding that “teenage numbers” are made of ten and some more single ones). We practiced counting larger sets of objects using 1:1 correspondence and comparing sets to say which had more or fewer. The next unit of study we began was geometry. So far, we learned about flat shapes and 3-D shapes, “traced the faces” of solid shapes, explored corners and edges (all those Ziploc baggie boxes you sent in sure came in handy), and found shapes in pictures and real life. More to come in January…
LANGUAGE ARTS: Gingerbread was our theme this month and we read a variety of versions of the folk tale The Gingerbread Man, comparing and contrasting the endings, the characters and settings, learning new vocabulary, retelling the stories, learning about sequels, and learning rhymes! Then we made our own gingerbread people out of paper, craft supplies and candy and set them in a snowy scene on a large mural. We tried our hand at rolling, cookie cutting , and decorating NON edible gingerbread boys/girls.
Our list of Word Wall Words continued to grow : you , are (the “star of are”) , my (the “tie of my” ) , come, with , me , is (the “wiz of is”, at (and the whole “_at family) were all added to our list! The children are noticing these words in environmental print all over the place! During Kid Writing, they take turns wearing special “crowns” that advertise the word…ie) the wiz of is crown is a pointy wizard hat. That way, if a writer needs one of these words, the crowns are like a walking dictionary. Our Handwriting Without Tears books are just about half way completed –just two more letters in the upper case and we move on to focus on correctly forming lowercase letters. Our guided reading groups are stepping up to new challenges –just recently moving on to the next level of difficulty. Some groups have started Reader’s Theater-reading scripts so they sound like talking and adding skit/play actions to go with them.
SCIENCE: As winter officially began, we recognized the change of season
with some non-fiction reading, an instructional video, snowflake making , and an identifying the signs of winter activity. We also started our unit of study of the five senses, and doing some hands on exploration. Did you know that our sense of touch works through our skin ( not just on our hands) and sends messages through the nerves to our brain to help us feel temperature, pressure, pain, and texture?
OTHER: A big THANK YOU to all who supported the Coopertown Book Fair and our students’ literacy by purchasing books for our classroom library! Also, a shout out goes to Mrs. Quartermain for bringing us Art in the Classroom to both AM and PM classes, introducing us to Grandma Moses.
As I write this, I am anticipating the happy celebrations we will have together and am wishing you all a very…
HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Reporting Live…
Mrs. Auerbach