Pumpkins

Getting into the fall spirit, the Kindergarten kids started learning about pumpkins this week.  They created collage jack-o-laterns and also learned and wrote pumpkin facts.  They listened to many stories about the pumpkin growth cycle and drew pictures of the plant cycle.  As they learned the pumpkin cycle, they also thought about other cycles/systems that they know.  It was exciting to hear them describe the human growth cycle, the caterpillar to the butterfly cycle, animal growth cycles, etc.  This will be an ongoing theme in the Kindergarten classroom as they learn more about systems and how things around them are interrelated. 

The K-kids also created patterns using pumpkins and pies and learned to call patterns ABABA, AABBAA, ABCABC, etc.  This concept is also reinforced during calendar time.  Place value was taught this week using groups of tens and ones.  The K-kids used rubber bands to group ten popsicle sticks together and then used the sticks to represent numbers such as 14 (bundle of ten and four ones).  It was a great hands-on way to begin learning about place value and have a solid number sense.  The Kindergarten Kids were introduced to estimation this week and estimated how many "chips" we have in the STAR jar.  We were all blown away with the final count - 261 chips!  We are getting very close to earning a special prize for being safe, trustworthy, appropriate, and respectful!

During Writer's Workshop this week, the K-kids focused on detailed illustrations.  They looked through books that had no words or very few words, and the complex stories were told using very detailed pictures.  The K-kids drew a four page story with a focus on keeping the characters the same throughout but with story "movement" as the story changed.  They did a great job and were very excited to share their detailed illustrations with the class in the share chair!

There were no new WOW words this week.  We spent our WOW word time reviewing words learned.  The kids unscrambled the WOW words and made their own memory match games to play with their friends.  Please continue to help your child find the WOW words in story books and environmental text!

We observed our tree this week and drew detailed science pictures of our observations.  The K-kids added many details of the changing leaves, the blue sky, the grass turning to brown, and the leaves on the ground.  It will be exciting to continue to observe our tree and keep our drawings in a book to share with you at the end of the school year.

Friday was a day to remember as the Kindergarten class went to the pumpkin patch and celebrated kindness with the Lower School!  A big thank you to the parents who were able to help out! I will post pictures of all the fun over the weekend.