Penguins

The K-kids continued to learn about the polar regions this week with a focus on penguins.  They learned that penguins only live in the southern hemisphere, the life cycle of a penguin, how penguins keep warm, and about the different nests that penguins make.  They made a construction paper penguin and wrote a fact they learned.  These are on display in the hallway.  The K-kids also learned that penguins do not fly, but they do hop, waddle, swim, play, eat, etc.  This was a great way to introduce verbs (or action words), and the K-kids helped construct a list of penguin action words.  To extend the lesson, they listened to a fiction story about snowmen that came alive at night.  They completed a fun craft activity by using cotton balls to create snowmen and wrote a sentence about the snowmen "doing something" in the picture.  They were excited to identify the verbs in each other's work!  By the end of the week, the K-kids became South Pole experts and started to create a Venn Diagram to compare the similarities and differences between the North Pole and the South Pole.

The K-kids learned about the different types of penguins and used a tape measure to compare the different heights of the penguins.  They also measured each other and compared the different heights of the K-kids to the penguins and to each other.  They were all definitely taller than the fairy penguin!  During math this week, the K-kids also learned a new game called Teen Frame that reinforced the tens and ones place.  They also played the game "Top-It" and "Bottom-It" in pairs; the games reinforce greater than and less than number sense.  Using a number line is a great starting point for adding and subtracting, and the K-kids loved walking on a huge number line and referring to our growing number line in the classroom.  They also completed different activities in their math journals and helped make estimates for the estimation jar.

Next week we will learn more about polar bears and animals that live in the North Pole.  We will also go to the Nutcracker on Horseback on Thursday and participate in Wassail on Friday afternoon.