This week the kindergarteners celebrated Veterans Day. We started out the week by describing and defining the special characteristics of a veteran including bravery and patriotism. We explored the different branches of the military comparing how they are alike and different. And we created a class book in which we each wrote a Thank You letter to a veteran. On Thursday, we had a special Veterans Day program. Several veterans joined us for a 21 gun salute and taps. This week we also examined four different American symbols, the American Flag, the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, and the bald eagle. We also explored the Pledge of Allegiance. Did you know the Pledge of Allegiance was first published in a children’s magazine? The author encouraged all students to say it on Columbus Day to show unity. The teachers liked it so much that it became a tradition. Now we recite it at the beginning of every school day. We also took a closer look at the American flag. We read several books about why it looks the way it does, how it has changed, and how to respect the flag. We enjoyed working together to properly fold the flag and creating a picture of us in a camouflage uniform holding an American Flag. We ended the week by celebrating the 50th day of school with a Back to the Fifties Party. We counted to fifty, wrote fifty words, listened to fifties music, and learned a few fifties dances. We ended the day with a Sock Hop and Root Beer Floats!
Monday:
In reading, we were introduced to our new letter and letter sound, Oo. We listened to the o song and then identified words that began with the short o sound. Then we completed our letter o sorting worksheet. We also worked on identifying the difference between letters, words, and sentences. We watched a short video that helped explain the difference. Then Ms. Torborg wrote different items on the chart paper and we had to figure out if they were letters, words, or sentences. After talking about the differences, we completed a worksheet. We had to sort the squares out into different categories, letters, words, or sentences.
This week we are getting ready for Veterans since Veterans Day is on Thursday. Today we started preparing for it. We started by defining a veteran-someone who was or is in the military. Then we talked about the 5 different branches of the military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard). Finally we listed all of the characteristics of a veteran including brave, courageous, and patriotic. We defined bravery and courage as doing something even if you are scared and patriotic as loving your country. We also explored four different American symbols, the American Flag, the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell. We learned a little bit of the history of each symbol by watching a video clip and reading books. Then together we each read through a short book of American symbols.
In religion, we worked on coloring a Thank You picture for a Veteran. We know it is important to say thank you to someone who does something for you. On Thursday, we have some special speakers coming to talk with us about Veterans day. We are making them pictures to say Thank You. This week is National Vocations week. A special time to learn about the different vocations in the church and to pray for more vocations. Today we learned that vocations means God’s call. We talked about how we can hear God talking to or calling us. We heard a story about 2 kids lost in the woods. When they were scared, they heard someone calling their name and then they weren’t scared anymore.
In math, we were introduced to number stories. We found out that there are different kinds of number stories. Today we focused on some, some more (addition). After Ms. Torborg told us a story, we had to determine what kind of story it is. All of our stories today were some, some more. Then we had to draw a picture to tell the stories. When we were done, we were able to answer the question asked at the end of the story. After we completed several different stories, Ms. Torborg added another step. After we determined what kind of story it is, we had to decide what the story was all about or what was the most important part to draw.
We ended the day with a little art project. We created camouflage paper using brown, green, and yellow paint and some pointed rings. We are going to use our paper to create a different picture.
Tuesday:
In reading, we reviewed the difference between words and sentences. We know that sentences have to have space between the words. Today we were introduced to the spaceman. He helps us leaves space in between our words as we create sentences. Then we reviewed our sight words and were introduced to our new sight word, and. Then we read our emergent reader, Veteran’s Day, and completed our sight word worksheet.
We continued our discussion about veterans and veterans day. First, we reviewed the definitions. Then we talked about the different branches. Today we talked about what soldiers/veterans do for us. We decided their main job is to protect our country, so we have freedom. We talked about some of the different freedoms we have like singing about God, picking what school we want to attend, traveling around our country. Then we listened to the story, Veterans: Heroes from our Neighborhood. After talking about veterans, we created a class book. Each page was a letter we wrote to a veteran. We decided that a letter starts with Dear --- and ended with From ---. So we started our letter with Dear Veteran and ended with From and our name. We used our spaceman in between our words. We also drew a little picture on the bottom.
After recess, we reviewed some of the American symbols we talked about yesterday specifically the American flag. After reading Why Are There Stripes on the American Flag?, we examined it. We talked about what it looks like and what the colors and design elements stand for. We even practiced folding the flag. We worked in groups to fold a big flag. We had to make sure that it ended like a triangle with the stars on the outside. Ms. Torborg showed us a special US flag. It flew over the Minnesota Capital building. It was humungous. Together as a class, we worked on folding the flag.
In religion, we continued talking about different Vocations within the church. Today we focused on the role of the priest. We started by talking about all of the different things a priest does. Then we listened to a story about a day in the life of a priest. Finally, we colored a picture of a priest celebrating Mass.
In math, we worked on number stories again. Today we had to figure out the missing number from the story. Sometimes the missing number was the answer at the end, but sometimes the missing number was in the story. We decided the easiest way to solve the problem was to act them out. We worked together to solve several different problems.
Wednesday:
We got out of school early today. It was a scheduled early release day.
We start every morning the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Today we “studied” the Pledge of Allegiance. We say the Pledge everyday so we know the words. Today we talked about what the words mean and why we say them. Started by reading two books about the Pledge of Allegiance. Next, we completed a Pledge of Allegiance worksheet. As we read through the pledge of allegiance, we saw a box with a definition where there is usually a “big” word. We had a separate small sheet with the “big” words on them. Our job was to glue the right “big” word on top of definition.
After recess, we worked on creating an American flag picture. We started by reviewing what the US flag looks like taking a close look at the strips on the flag. Ms. Torborg gave us each a flag outline and 3 squares of paper (red, white, and blue). Our job was to create the flag. The only rule was we could only use the paper and glue. We couldn’t use anything else not even our scissors. We had to tear the paper into pieces and then glue it on the outline. The trick was to get the paper little enough to fit in between the lines. We needed to make sure we had thirteen stripes, starting and ending red. Then we added blue to the square in the corner.
Thursday:
Happy Veteran’s Day! We started our morning by reviewed what Veteran’s Day is and why we celebrate it. We also reviewed the different branches of the military and their jobs.
In reading, we reviewed the letter O. We watched a letter o video, identified words with a short o sound in the beginning, discriminated between words that began with the /short o/. We also completed our letter o worksheet on which we practiced writing capital and lowercase o’s.
After recess, we created a soldier/veteran. We used the camouflage paper we made on Monday. Ms. Torborg traced a several different patterns on it for us. We had to cut them out. There was a hat and shirt. We also cut out a head, some hands, and hair. Then we glued it all together. We attached the flag we made to the bottom. It looks like a solider holding an American flag.
We also continued our conversation about vocations by talking about religious life. We talked about what they do and why it is important. Then we colored a picture of a “Sister” and ‘Brother”.
In the afternoon, we had a special veterans day program. We had 15 veterans from the Litchfield area visit with us to talk about their experiences. We started with a little information about why we celebrate Veterans day. Then we were honored with a 21 gun salute and the playing of taps. To show our respect during this time, we were very quiet and placed our hand on our heart. After identifying who was in each of the different branches of the military, Evelyn in 5th grade reading a short prayer. Then with the help of our 5th grade buddy, we each gave the special Thank You picture we colored to a Veteran along with a treat.
Friday:
Happy 50th Day of School! What an exciting day we had! To celebrate the 50th day of school, we had a Back to the Fifties party!
We started our day off with calendar. There we were able to confirm that indeed it was the 50th day of school. We are half way to 100! We also read through our new emergent reader, Sock Hop. We used the clues in the story to figure out what a sock hop was. Then Ms. Torborg told us that we were going to have one at the end of the day.
We spent our morning and afternoon working on our 50th Day Packet full of different activities. We wrote out all the numbers from 1 to 50, counted by ones, fives, and tens to fifty, and colored the word fifty. We also created patterns (AB, ABB, ABC) on record pictures.
On to reading. We started off by writing fifty words from around the room. They could be any words we wanted. Some of us were on the ball and got it done right away. For others it took a little more motivating. And boy that sure is a lot of words! If we had time left we completed a 50’s word find and jukebox coloring sheet. Finally, we did a little writing. After some brainstorming, we each created a list of things we will be able to do in 50 years.
Next we reviewed the words now and then. Then we looked at a whole bunch of different pictures. We had to decide if they were things that we would use now or if they were from the fifties. We had to place each item in the correct column. After doing the the activities together on the SMARTbaord, we each completed our own worksheet.
Finally it was time for our Root Beer Floats! Before we could have our treat, we did a little science experiment. Does ice cream sink or float? We each had to draw our own conclusion. After we wrote our words, we had to draw a picture of where the ice cream will be in a glass- top or bottom. Next came the fun part, trying it out. First we put some water in a cup. Then we added ice cream. The ice cream stayed on top- It floated. Then we tried the same things with Root Beer. Once again the ice cream floated. We decided to try it one more time. Only this time, we put the ice cream in first. Our results changed. The ice cream didn’t float. It stayed right where it was. After our experiment, we each got to have a Root Beer float!
We finished up our afternoon with a dance party. We learned several different dances like the Hand Jive and the Twist. We also did a couple of Just Dance Fifties songs like Barbara Ann and Lollipop. After learning a few dances, we had a sock hop. We listened to some fifties music as we danced. We also did some fan favorites like the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Pokey!
We decided it was a great day to be in Kindergarten!