This week the kindergarteners have been busy learning about plants. We started by reviewing living and non-living things. Then we identified the different things a plant needs to survive- sunlight, water, air, and soil. After creating a flip book identifying the needs, we started an experiment to see if we are right. We planted some grass seeds in 3 different cups. We are eliminating one of the needs in each of the cups (water, sunlight, and soil). We are going to see what happens. We also made a glove garden. We are going to try to sprout some seed in a plastic glove. We put five different seeds in a (plastic serving) glove with a cotton ball that was dunked in water. Then we tied it shut and hung it in the window. We also wrote about a garden. After deciding what kind of garden we wanted to plant (vegetable or flower), we had to tell why and what we would plant. We ended the week by eating some soil/dirt. We made some pudding and then added some crushed graham crackers and Oreos as the layers of soil. As a final touch, we added a worm before we got to give it a try. When we were done, we gathered and analyzed some data about our favorite parts.
Monday:
No School - Easter Break
Tuesday:
Happy Easter! We found out that Easter is celebrated for 8 days and that the season of Easter is 50 days long. It is longer that Lent! In Religion, we reviewed what happened to Jesus during Holy Week and the special celebration of Easter. Then we completed our religion worksheet finding different words in the story and drawing a picture.
In reading, we were introduced to new sight words, this & were. After reviewing all of our sight words, we read through our new emergent reader, Planting a Garden. Before we read our story, we reviewed “ing”. Then as we read through the story, we identified words that ended in “ing”. We also worked on identifying the different kinds of sentences. Then we completed our sight word worksheets.
Next we reviewed the characteristics of a living and non-living thing. A thing is living if it needs air, food and water, & grows and changes. We watched as Cookie Monster interviewed a rock to see if it was a living thing. Then we completed a worksheet classifying items as living or non-living. We also determined all of the different things a plant needs to grow- sunlight, water, air & soil. We created a little flip chart to help us remember. Ms. Torborg had the chart ready. We had to color the words for the front (What do plants need?). Then under each section we had to answer the question with a picture and words. After creating a flip book identifying the needs, we started an experiment to see if we are right. We planted some grass seeds in 4 different cups. We are eliminating one of the needs in 3 of the cups (water, sunlight, and soil). We are going to see what happens.
Wednesday:
We started reading by reviewing adjectives, describing words. Then we were introduced to our next writing project, In My Garden. We had to write a story about a garden. First, we had to state what kind of garden we wanted to have, a vegetable or flower garden. Then we had to tell why. Finally, we had to write about what would be in our garden. As we wrote our story, we tried to use descriptive words to tell about the objects in our garden or how we would use them. In my garden... I would plant big, juicy tomatoes. When we were done writing our story, we drew a picture of our garden. We also reviewed the /ch/. After watching a short video, we completed a ch worksheet.
In math, we reviewed number bonds. Decomposing “big” numbers into two smaller and finding the “big” number from the sum of two small numbers. Today we learned how to turn our number bond into an addition sentence once we have figured out all of the circles. After working out several problems, we completed a number bond worksheet.
Thursday:
In reading, we reviewed the ch digraph and complete ch worksheet. Then we started in on our snack.
We made our own snack today. We made soil and boy was it good. We started by taking about the different layers in soil/dirt. The bottom layer is bedrock or big rocks. For this layer, we slightly crushed 2 Oreo cookies and poured them into the bottom of a cup. The next layer was subsoil. For this layer, we made chocolate pudding. First, we put a 1/4 cup of milk and a heaping tablespoon of chocolate pudding in a baby food jar. Then we had to shake it up really good. When we opened it we had pudding. We put it in a cup as the next layer. Next we crushed a graham cracker and added it to the top (top soil). The final touch was a gummy worm! After we were done eating our snack, we completed a worksheet collecting data from our friends and answering questions about it.
We also created our own glove garden. We are trying to sprout several different kinds of seeds. We started with a plastic glove. Ms. Torborg already labeled each finger with the different kinds of seeds. In each finger, we had to put a cotton ball that was dunked into water. Then we placed the seeds in the finger with the cotton ball. We placed a watermelon, green bean, corn, pea, and pumpkin seeds in our garden. Most of us already knew what each seed looked like. After our seeds were in place, Ms. Torborg added a little air and closed the top. Then she hung them up in the window.
In math, we worked with number bonds again. First we reviewed all of the ways we have worked with number bonds. Today our lesson was about figuring out how to find the missing number bond if given the big number and one little number. We started with a problem on the board. Together we talked about what we know and what is missing. Then we worked together to figure out the missing information using a number bond and counters. Finally we completed a number bond worksheet. We could use our template and counters if we needed to.
Friday:
Ms. Torborg was gone today. Mrs. Barrick was our substitute teacher.
In reading, we several books about Earth day and then discussed different ways we could help the Earth. We also reviewed our short vowel sounds and then completed a worksheet.
In math, we were introduced to a new game, Dice Subtraction. It is similar to Dice Addition. After directions, we gathered our supplies. Each person needed their counters, a tens frame, and two dice. To play, each person rolls their dice, subtractions the smaller number from the bigger number, and announces their number sentence and answer. The person with the smaller number gets to add a counter to their tens frame. If the numbers are the same, each person gets to add a counter to their tens frame. Then they each roll again. The player that fills their tens frame first wins.