Week 13

Sequence Mural

In reading this week we have been reading "A Bed for the Winter." A dormouse goes to several different places (10 to be exact) to find a home for the winter. We have been discussing First, Next, and Last in the story to understand sequence. In math we learned the ordinal numbers, first through tenth. This was a perfect way to integrate reading into math. We created a Sequence Mural to show where the dormouse went first, second, third...etc. Each student had a "mural partner" and collaborated together to make the animal that happened in that position, (ex. the dormouse went to see the snake ninth.)

Ozzy creating a brown bear for eighth position.

Students working with their "mural partners"

The next we had a cutout dormouse visit all the places on the mural to discuss each position. The students had to opportunity to tell the class which animal they drew and what position it was in on the mural. The students really surprised me and were very proud of their work!
Red + Yellow = Pumpkin Orange!

We have been continuing our Pumpkin Unit. We mixed red and yellow, and to the students surprise they made orange! Each of the pumpkins were unique just like each of the students. Later they cut out the pumpkins and added a stem and curly ribbon vines and added them to the classroom pumpkin patch.

Week 12

PlayDoh Eights

Here is a video from our math group time. This is my group. We make numbers with the playdoh. Making the numbers with playdoh helps the kinesthetic learners feel how to write the numbers. The children love making numbers with the playdoh. Sometimes I will have the students make a certain number of balls with their playdoh. They must then point to each ball and count for me. This helps them learn one to one correspondence.

Week 11 - 100%

A Week in Pictures

Spiders have 8 legs.

First, we glued on 8 legs.... Then wrote#1-#8 on the legs..

Then, we glued on googly eyes. Finally, we counted the legs aloud.

Ordinal Numbers aren't easy. But we can do it! First, Second, Third...

Here Mea and Acelyn are using thier -at word family slider.

cat, mat, pat, sat, hat...

We learn about setting in "Armadillo Orange." The students drew the setting around the Armadillo. Look for the BIG orange and the green trees!

We hung them to show everyone that we know "Where Armadillo is..."

Week 10

Graphing Fall

I feel as though I am getting classroom management down for kindergarten students. I have been learning that smooth transitions from one activity to another are important. I have also been learning that you must be prepared for anything in kindergarten. The students will always keep you on your toes.

This week Neal observed a math lesson on Thursday. We worked on graphing to answer the question "What do we like to do the most in Fall?" They had to options: carving pumpkings, playing football, or playing in the leaves. (See above picture) Students did a great job making this picture graph to determine most and fewest. Thanks for your constructive feedback and encouragement Neal!

One thing I am contonually learning and working on it having meaningful discussion about the concepts that we are learning. I want to be able to ask the students questions about the concepts to challenge their thinking. I like to use "What if..." questions. What if we had one more here.. or one less there.. would the outcome still be the same? These kinds of questions help with the students Depth of Knowledge.

Thanks Mrs. Swann and Mrs. Morris for helping me through this learning process. You are inspiring me to be a teacher who is well prepared!

Week 9

Week was my first full week of teaching reading. I am now at 75% teaching. Teaching reading has been a challenge for me. I try to really mentally prepare the night before for our 90 minute reading block. The Basal Reader is very structured and I think I really like it. It tells me exactly what I have to teach that day. When I am preparing, I mostly think of how I can keep the class activly involved in learning.


Here are some of the questions that I am constantly thinking about:
How am I going to teaching blending of cvc words?

What is my classroom management going to be like during each section of our morning?

How will I transition from one activity to the next?

How will I make sure my lower level students are paying attention and comprehending the concept?

Do I have to be sure to ask them comprehension questions throughout the morning?

What about motivation?

What is going to be a "treasure chest" question?

How will I keep the students attention?

What activity can I do to help these concepts stick in my students heads?


These are all things I have to think about to ensure a productive and positive morning.


This is really a learning process for me. I feel more confident teaching Reading now than I did 2 weeks ago, although everyday is a new challenge. There are some things I am still figuring out and I am constantly reflecting on how I can improve my teaching strategies and classroom management.


I cannot believe there are just 6 weeks left!

CVC sliders I made for our class.

We are working on the -am and -at word families.

Here is one component of our Reading Series:

The trade book "Armadillo Orange" and the song Orange Grove

to the tune of Here Come Peter Cottontail.

Kristin,
I can see you are learning a lot about kindergarten. Your AR research activities sound great - I especially liked the activities you used with Where the Wild Things Dance. I'm sure the kids loved it! Even after your official AR time is complete, do you still plan to do similar activities?
I also like how you add pictures to your blog. They make it interesting to read and give you a feel of what is happening.
I noticed in your blogs you mentioned classroom management. It gets easier given experience -- at least most days. Don't get discouraged and remember they are just five years old.
Mrs. Morris

Week 8

Pattern, Patterns Everywhere

Week 8 was a week of patterns in math class. Above are pictures of my students creating Pattern Placemats. The students were to create their own pattern using color strips. Some made ABAB patterns, others made ABCABC patterns. A few of the students even created AABAAB patterns. I was very impressed with the results. I even laminated them, so they can be used for many years to come on the kitchen table!
The students took their math test at the end of the week. Many did very, very well. The test included patterns and graphing. Many had more trouble with the graphing. But in all, I was very impressed with the scores.

This week I picked up Reading on Wednesday. I was a little nervous to start teaching Reading, because Mrs. Swann does such a good job with it. I felt like I did okay for the first time teaching it. I am still wworking on gaining confidence while I am up front and other teachers are around the room, watching as I teach. I am also still gaining confidence with using "sign and sound" for the phonics part of the lesson. We are blending sounds already! /b/ /a/ /t/. BAT.
I am also still working on the best techniques for classroom management and for keeping the students attention and keeping them involved in learning.
This coming week I am continuing at 75% teaching. I am teaching everything now except afternoon phonics and the unit (Mrs. Swann is doing an Apple Unit). I will be full time by the end of October.