Saturday, October 10, 2020

Back to School - Virtually & In Person

Transitioning from distance learning to in person teaching has been pure exhaustion! So it's time I catch up and share some of the things that we have been doing the past few weeks...

Preparing for In-Person Teaching

Here are some things I prepared on the kids tables for their first day returning back to school from the Zoom life. 

Face shield, face mask, name plate, coloring page, and a printed copy of their sticker board they earned during distance learning. 


Each chair has a chair pocket for the kids to keep their individual supplies: white board name tracer page, white board marker, glue, scissors, play-doh, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, pencils, recess bracelet, tangrams, linking cubes, colored dots for ten frames, pencil sharpener


I also put all of my classroom toys in individual bags so that the kids can still have playtime since they aren't able to share and play together. 

I was so excited to give them a printed copy of their digital sticker boards that they worked hard on earning while on Zoom.

Letter of the Week: Tt

We read "Turkey Trick or Treat" and then disguised our own turkeys in costumes.

We read "Tacky the Penguin" and discussed how everyone is different and special in their own way. We made Tacky or the girl version of Tacky...and then completed the sentence, "I like me. I can ____"

Okay I just recently came across this book and love it! We read "It's a Tiger!" and then did a directed drawing. We then used our word of the week, like, to complete a sentence about something that our tiger likes, "The tiger likes ____"

I couldn't find a book about tools, but I found a super cute kids video explaining different tools and showing how they work and then we made our own tool boxes.

We read "The Tooth Book" by Dr. Seuss. Then created our own mouth full of teeth by spelling our names. We completed a sentence by counting how many teeth spell our names, "I can see ___ teeth".

We read "Ten Little Pumpkins" and then practiced the fun song that goes a long with it. Then we practiced putting numbers 1-10 in order on our cute little project. And I love to finish projects with a writing component so we traced the sentence, "I see 10 pumpkins".

Letter of the Week: Pp

We read "5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate" and then acted it out. The kids had so much fun with this! So we made a project to help them retell the story to their loved ones at home.

We did penny boat experiments to see which boat could hold the most pennies without sinking. We made boats out of: cardboard, aluminum foil, coffee filter, paper plate, and wax paper. The kids took turns putting the pennies in the boats while the rest of the class counted.


Some other P books we read:
"The Little Pea"
"The Three Little Pigs"
"Pete the Cat 5 Little Ducks"
"5 Little Pumpkins"
"Harold and the Purple Crayon"

Letter of the Week: Aa

We focused on our 5 senses for A week so that on Friday we could celebrate with apples! We did this while still distance learning. Every student had an apple and we slowly went through each one of the senses and came up with description words for each of the 5 senses. It was so fun! I showed the kids the secret way to cut an apple to make a star in the middle!


Some A stories we read: 
"Ten Apples on Top"
"Apple Trouble" 
"There's an Alligator Under My Bed"
"Ten Red Apples"


Last Week of Distance Learning

The 2D shape scavenger hunt

The week we focused on Laura Numeroff books.
"If you give a dog a doughnut"
"If you give a moose a muffin"
"If you give a cat a cupcake"
"If you give a pig a party"
    
Math: Position Words

The week we focused on introducing the alphabet and our names.
Some ABC books we read:
"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom"
"Shiver Me Letters"
"K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo"






Saturday, August 22, 2020

Pete the Cat Week (Virtually)

 

Pete the Cat Week

Everyday I have a special reading time at 11:45 for one of my Zoom sessions. I read a story and then try to come up with a game to play with the kids through Zoom and then assign some interactive activity through SeeSaw about the story. This week I focused all on Pete the Cat. I think I might have every Pete book!

We did a directed drawing for Pete! The kids did AMAZING!!! Quiestest Zoom ever!


Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes

We played a game where the kids had to guess which colored shoe Pete was hiding behind. They loved this game so much that we had to play it every day lol Then the kids got to choose anything for their Pete to step in and what color it would change his shoe.


Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes

The kids got to choose anywhere inside or outside their house to rock around! They just had to tell me in their video where they were rocking in their school shoes! It was adorable, because most of them sang! 


Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses

After reading the story I told all the kids to go grab their sunglasses and we took a class Zoom picture. SO CUTE! Then the kids drew a picture of something that makes them happy and recorded a video explaining what makes them feel happy. I loved listening to their responses.


Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

We practiced numbers by moving buttons onto a t shirt. I would pick one student at a time to tell me what color button to move onto the shirt and then we'd count how many buttons their shirt has. Afterwards, they got to decorate their own shirt and buttons. They also recorded themselves reading their sentence.


Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes

We played a game with pretend cupcakes and a baking tray. I'd fill the tray up with 6 cupcakes and then move the camera and take some away, then challenge the kids to tell me how many I stole. Then the kids got to record themselves telling me who they think would steal their cupcakes. A lot of them said that their dad would! lol


Reading Time

Since this was our first full week of school, we started using our district adopted curriculum, Wonders Smart Start Week 1. Our word of the week was, I, so the kids did lots of interactive slides where they had to read to me. I love love love listening to them read! The question of the week is also "What makes you special?" so in one of the slides they recorded themselves telling me what makes them special. Soooooo sweet :)




Saturday, August 15, 2020

1st Week of School! Reveal & Distance Learning

 1st Week of School 2020-2021

This year started with distance learning and with a much more different distance learning approach than what it was in the spring. It's been a huge challenge, but the kids are adorable and make me laugh. I wish the kids could be in the classroom, but I am doing the best I can virtually. Now that I have 3 days of school down, I wanted to share some of the activities we have done so far! Each day we have 3 live Zoom sessions followed by activities on SeeSaw. Right now we virtually meet at 8:15, 10:00, and 11:45. Each session ranges from 25-45 minutes. 

Let me just first start with my classroom reveal! This year my class theme is America! :) 


Here is our kindergarten daily schedule at a glance.



Day 1

Welcome

Attendance with favorite color

1st day selfie

Calendar (add the correct number to show today)

100 Chart (practice counting, show the highest number you counted to)

Place Value (change the number, add a square to show how many days we have been in school)



"Little Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books" Read Aloud

PE Board (choose at least 2 of 4 to complete, circle the 2 you did, color the happy face if you liked it, color the sad face if you weren't a fan)


Day 2

Pledge of Allegiance 

"Howard B. WiggleBottom Learns to Listen" Read Aloud

Good choices vs. Not great choices on Zoom

Circle the good choices and X the not so great choices.

Calendar, 100, Place Value

Explore Shapes (build something!)

"Pigeon Goes to School" Read Aloud

Pretend you are talking to the pigeon and tell him what you are most excited about for school.

PE Board


Day 3

Pledge of Allegiance 

"Chrysanthemum" Read Aloud & Video

Decorate your name and write your name.


Calendar, 100, Place Value

Explore Shapes - Look at the picture and try to build a cat, chicken, or cow

"Elmer" Read Aloud

Color Elmer

Favorite class color graph


PE Board


So that was my first 3 days in a quick summary! Exhausted! :) 


Saturday, May 9, 2020

Distance Learning Week #7 and Week #8

Weekly Focus:
Math - Compose and Decompose Numbers 11-19
Reading/Science - Create your own Bee Book Report
Homework Checklist Week #7



Monday 5/11
Reading - Bees Book Report Page 1
Assignment - After listening to the video, write a complete sentence about bees finishing this sentence... "Bees have ____"
Bee Book Report Template
Read Aloud Bee Video



Math - #1-5
Assignment - For the last problem in the video, write the math sentence and illustrate the base 10. 
Compose/Decompose Base 10 Template
Compose Decompose Numbers 1-5 Video




Tuesday 5/12
Reading - Bees Book Report Page 2
Assignment - After listening to the video, write a complete sentence about bees finishing this sentence... "Bees can ____"
Read Aloud Bee Video



Math - #6-10
Assignment For the last problem in the video, write the math sentence and illustrate the base 10. 
Compose Decompose 6-10 Video



Wednesday 5/13
Reading - Bees Book Report Page 3
Assignment - After listening to the video, write a complete sentence about bees finishing this sentence... "Bees like ____"
Read Aloud Bee Video



Math - #11-15
Assignment - For the last problem in the video, write the math sentence and illustrate the base 10. 
Compose Decompose 11-15 Video



Thursday 5/14
Reading - Bees Book Report Page 4
Assignment - After listening to the video, write a complete sentence about bees finishing this sentence... "Bees are ____"
Read Aloud Bee Video



Math - #16-20
Assignment - For the last problem in the video, write the math sentence and illustrate the base 10. 
Compose Decompose 16-20 Video



Friday 5/15

Reading - Bees Book Report Page 5
Assignment - After listening to the video, write a complete sentence about bees finishing this sentence... "Bees eat ____"
Read Aloud Bee Video



Math - Counting by 10s
Assignment - Write the remaining numbers by 10s to 100.
Counting by 10s Base 10 Video



Week #8

Weekly Focus:
Math - Compose and Decompose Numbers 11-19
Reading/Science - Complete Bee Book Report


Monday 5/18

Reading - Bees Book Report Page 6
Assignment - After listening to the video, write a complete sentence about bees finishing this sentence... "Bees live____"
Read Aloud Bee Video



Math - #1-5
Assignment - Write a math sentence to equal one of the numbers of the day (1-5).
Video 1-5



Tuesday 5/19

Reading - Bees Book Report Cover Page
Assignment - Complete your cover page, record yourself reading your non-fiction bee book report! And send me your video for bonus points!
Teacher Read Aloud Video






Math - #6-10
Assignment - Write a math sentence to equal one of the numbers of the day (6-10).
Video 6-10

Wednesday 5/20

Reading - Read it, Draw it
Assignment - Read the sentence and draw a picture to match.
Sentence Template
Mystery Sentence Video




Math - #11-15
Assignment - Write a math sentence to equal one of the numbers of the day (11-15).
Video 11-15

Thursday 5/2
Reading - The Greedy Bee
Assignment - After listening to The Greedy Bee, Write 4 words that rhyme with "bee".
Bee Rhyming Template
The Greedy Bee Read Aloud




Math - #16-20
Assignment - Write a math sentence to equal one of the numbers of the day (16-20).
Video 16-20



Friday 5/22
Reading - Buzz Bumble to the Rescue
Assignment - After listening to Buzz Bumble to the Rescue, write a sentence to retell the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Buzz Bumble Story Retell Template
Buzz Bumble Read Aloud Video





Math - Count to 100
Assignment - Count to 100 and send me the video for bonus points!