Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday February 27, 2013
I was exhausted after our long day yesterday! I have to say I was a little heartbroken too by my Indiana Hoosiers loss on Tuesday night =(
The kids once again had a GREAT day today! I think Wednesday is our most difficult day because we have one special in the morning and the rest of the afternoon is spent in the classroom! The kids were great all day and stayed focused!
We had sentence writing practice in the morning for our morning work. It is awesome to see the sentences kids are coming up with on their own! They really are doing a great job. I have contacted some other teachers at Bittersweet and I am going to try and set up a letter writing unit. I want the kids to write letters to other Kindergartners and then have the other class respond. I thought it would be a fun way to get the kids writing more! Will keep you posted on that!
Please continue to work on handwriting and complete sentences each night! 5-10 minutes!
In Fundations we discussed the short i. We started a short i book and finished and read it with a partner after computer lab.
In computer lab the kids worked on Odyssey ABC. You can access that program from home with your child's id number. It is great practice. I encourage you to find any websites to encourage your children to learn while playing any sort of online games.
We had language arts after computer lab. We had read aloud and then worked on finishing our short i books. We also worked on our teeth story packet. Today we addressed recalling the stories events. Students had to think back to the story from yesterday and recall certain things that happened. They did a GREAT job with this! It is all about comprehension when you read or listen to a story so they are on the right track to recalling main events!
After lunch we read aloud from our new Magic Treehouse book #15! The kids enjoy these books a lot!
In math we started with our three minute math. I am having more and more pass this each day which is great! Addition skills are very important! We also did a few pages from our February Math books!
Our main standard being addressed today was subtraction. We discussed different strategies that the kids could use to help them subtract correctly. We discussed putting the bigger number in our heads and counting back the smaller number. Drawing o's for the bigger number and then crossing out how ever many smaller numbers and then counting what was left. We also discussed using our number lines to start at the larger number and count back. This will take a lot of practice but I am confident that all students will catch on just like they have in addition.
Please continue to work on addition and subtraction facts at home! 5-10 minutes each night!
We then had recess and our snack
We completed our February writing sheets for our scrapbooks. The kids wrote their own sentences with little help from me!
We also created our little tooth care books and read them together!
Science was spent discussing yesterdays inquiry and completing science notebook page. Students were to think of two objects from home and what material they are made of. They had to draw the object and write it on the line. This concludes our unit on Physical Science! I will be moving on to Life Sciences starting next week! A lot of Kindergarten Science is just introducing them to basic concepts and topics. I encourage you to do this at home and wherever you go. Just have an open conversation about things such as what is going on in the weather and why, objects and materials, things in nature, etc.. Conversation gets children thinking and asking questions which is great!
Wednesday was a GREAT day and I am looking forward to Thursday!
Mr. Schultz
Wednesday's Activities!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
February 26, 2013
Today was a GREAT Tuesday in Kindergarten! The kids were excellent ALL DAY!!!
We started out our day working on a "What comes next?" worksheet. Students had to complete the number sequences. This was our morning work and students were able to complete this without any assistance! Students were encouraged to draw draw a picture and write a sentence to go along with their picture on the back!
Our morning meeting was great! I have really been encouraging the students to think on their own to tell me what day it is and to explain how they came up with that response. Students are really looking at the calender and thinking about what the day was yesterday and how that helps them figure out the current day. I would encourage you to do this at home as well. Students must know their days of the week in order, and months in order. I am very big on students knowing the day, month, and year. I usually encourage them to write the day, month, and year on all work they turn in to me. It is just good practice and good knowledge to have!
We had an awesome discussion about the weather this morning as well! We talked about the storm that was coming and all about precipitation. We discussed the rain the would turn to ice and then to snow as the temperature drops below 32. If you think of it ask your children this evening what temperature it has to be for snow to fall. We also discussed how snow and ice are the same thing, but the temperature is what makes them look different when they fall!
Fundations time was spent discussing the short e vowel sounds. As I have been saying this week we are really mastering these concepts and I am encouraging students to do all work independently related to the short vowels. Students did a great job today identifying the short e's in a coloring worksheet. I encourage students to say the word out loud and listen for how the e sounds. When the e is alone and trapped in between two consonants it is almost always a short sound. If there is another vowel it says the long e sound.
I was satisfied with today's lesson as we had a discussion about decoding words using the short vowel and long vowel concepts. I wrote several words on the board and then added another vowel to show students just how the entire word changes. Knowing how to identify the short vowels really can help a child with reading and decoding words they do not know.
Language arts time was spent doing a listening and speaking activity. I read a paragraph story about a dentist while students listened. We then had a picture that I asked them to make inferences following the story. I asked questions and students were encouraged to use their knowledge from the story to answer. They did a great job with this activity. The pictures help students comprehend what they read/listen to. We then had to follow directions about coloring certain things in the picture. I was happy with students discussion and listening skills!
Following lunch we had a read aloud and finished our Magic Treehouse book 14! We will start book #15 tomorrow! The kids are so excited to have finished so many chapter books already! The Magic Tree-house series is great for early chapter book reading. If you have older children I would highly recommend them. They are also great for read aloud with your children at home.
Math time we had our 3 minute math test! It is great to see so many children improving and passing these tests! Addition skills are so important and though this process is repetitive that is how a lot of math is. These basic skills will help students tremendously. I cannot stress enough to you the importance of basic math skills! I was with 5th grade during student teaching and it was incredible how students struggled with basic addition/subtraction and multiplication. Those students that did were behind in math and it makes all other math concepts that much more challenging in their future. Please continue to work with basic math skills at home. Push your children to go above and beyond!! We did several pages from our February math books. The kids are all doing their best and trying to solve problems independently and that is great!
We played addition BINGO today! The kids loved it! Their bingo sheets which are included in today's activities had addition problems on them. For example a square would have 2+5 in it. I would say "I am looking for a sum of 7" the students would then look for the correct ways to add to 7. They really did a great job and we had a discussion about all the different number combinations that can add up to one number! We will play addition BINGO in the future!
Our writing time was spent making two of our own sentences. Students were asked to write one sentence with a period for punctuation and one sentence with a question mark for punctuation. The kids are Improving so much in their writing and using skills to sound out and spell better! I am very happy with their progress in writing!
We had inside recess today because of the rain =(
Science today was great! We had an inquiry day where each table had several objects on it. The table groups had to work together to sort the materials into categories (plastic, wood, paper, metal, and cloth) We had discussions about our observations. We then discussed other places and objects that are made out of these materials! The kids really enjoyed this inquiry!
We had art at the end of the day!
.JPG)
Today was GREAT! Please encourage your children this evening and let them know that Mr. Schultz was really impressed with them today! They all worked hard and stayed focused all day!
Please continue working on reading skills, math skills, and writing skills with your children each night! 10 minutes on each subject will really help them go above and beyond! The hard work pays off!
If any extra worksheets or activities are done at home please feel free to send it in with your child so they can receive a bonus sticker to wear all day!
Have a great evening and watch in the morning for delays or cancellation. February is going out like a lion!
Mr. Schultz
In class Activities 2-26
We started out our day working on a "What comes next?" worksheet. Students had to complete the number sequences. This was our morning work and students were able to complete this without any assistance! Students were encouraged to draw draw a picture and write a sentence to go along with their picture on the back!
Our morning meeting was great! I have really been encouraging the students to think on their own to tell me what day it is and to explain how they came up with that response. Students are really looking at the calender and thinking about what the day was yesterday and how that helps them figure out the current day. I would encourage you to do this at home as well. Students must know their days of the week in order, and months in order. I am very big on students knowing the day, month, and year. I usually encourage them to write the day, month, and year on all work they turn in to me. It is just good practice and good knowledge to have!
We had an awesome discussion about the weather this morning as well! We talked about the storm that was coming and all about precipitation. We discussed the rain the would turn to ice and then to snow as the temperature drops below 32. If you think of it ask your children this evening what temperature it has to be for snow to fall. We also discussed how snow and ice are the same thing, but the temperature is what makes them look different when they fall!
Fundations time was spent discussing the short e vowel sounds. As I have been saying this week we are really mastering these concepts and I am encouraging students to do all work independently related to the short vowels. Students did a great job today identifying the short e's in a coloring worksheet. I encourage students to say the word out loud and listen for how the e sounds. When the e is alone and trapped in between two consonants it is almost always a short sound. If there is another vowel it says the long e sound.
I was satisfied with today's lesson as we had a discussion about decoding words using the short vowel and long vowel concepts. I wrote several words on the board and then added another vowel to show students just how the entire word changes. Knowing how to identify the short vowels really can help a child with reading and decoding words they do not know.
Language arts time was spent doing a listening and speaking activity. I read a paragraph story about a dentist while students listened. We then had a picture that I asked them to make inferences following the story. I asked questions and students were encouraged to use their knowledge from the story to answer. They did a great job with this activity. The pictures help students comprehend what they read/listen to. We then had to follow directions about coloring certain things in the picture. I was happy with students discussion and listening skills!
Following lunch we had a read aloud and finished our Magic Treehouse book 14! We will start book #15 tomorrow! The kids are so excited to have finished so many chapter books already! The Magic Tree-house series is great for early chapter book reading. If you have older children I would highly recommend them. They are also great for read aloud with your children at home.
Math time we had our 3 minute math test! It is great to see so many children improving and passing these tests! Addition skills are so important and though this process is repetitive that is how a lot of math is. These basic skills will help students tremendously. I cannot stress enough to you the importance of basic math skills! I was with 5th grade during student teaching and it was incredible how students struggled with basic addition/subtraction and multiplication. Those students that did were behind in math and it makes all other math concepts that much more challenging in their future. Please continue to work with basic math skills at home. Push your children to go above and beyond!! We did several pages from our February math books. The kids are all doing their best and trying to solve problems independently and that is great!
We played addition BINGO today! The kids loved it! Their bingo sheets which are included in today's activities had addition problems on them. For example a square would have 2+5 in it. I would say "I am looking for a sum of 7" the students would then look for the correct ways to add to 7. They really did a great job and we had a discussion about all the different number combinations that can add up to one number! We will play addition BINGO in the future!
Our writing time was spent making two of our own sentences. Students were asked to write one sentence with a period for punctuation and one sentence with a question mark for punctuation. The kids are Improving so much in their writing and using skills to sound out and spell better! I am very happy with their progress in writing!
We had inside recess today because of the rain =(
Science today was great! We had an inquiry day where each table had several objects on it. The table groups had to work together to sort the materials into categories (plastic, wood, paper, metal, and cloth) We had discussions about our observations. We then discussed other places and objects that are made out of these materials! The kids really enjoyed this inquiry!
We had art at the end of the day!
Today was GREAT! Please encourage your children this evening and let them know that Mr. Schultz was really impressed with them today! They all worked hard and stayed focused all day!
Please continue working on reading skills, math skills, and writing skills with your children each night! 10 minutes on each subject will really help them go above and beyond! The hard work pays off!
If any extra worksheets or activities are done at home please feel free to send it in with your child so they can receive a bonus sticker to wear all day!
Have a great evening and watch in the morning for delays or cancellation. February is going out like a lion!
Mr. Schultz
In class Activities 2-26
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday February 25, 2013
We had a great Monday here at school! The kids came in ready for the day!
This morning we wrote two sentences for our morning work. It is great to see the kids get excited about writing their own sentences and each day they are getting better and better at using correct punctuation and capital letters.
Fundations time was great today! We are going to use this week to really finalize and master the short vowel concepts. We have been talking about them for two weeks and now we are moving into work that really applies the short vowels. I am encouraging students to complete the short vowel worksheets on their own this week and to apply the short vowels while in little reading groups.
Centers- two rotations. My groups read leveled readers and worked on sight and challenge words.
After lunch we worked on our little books for the short vowel E. I did not realize I copied front and back so when the kids went to put the pages in order they couldn't! They read them regardless with a partner!
We had music and movement today so the kids were able to run around a little bit which is always a good thing!
Math time today was great! We talked a lot about addition skills. We practiced putting the larger number in our head and then knocking to add up. The kids did a great job with the first addition sheet. We then talked about "sums" Students learned that a sum is just another way of saying the answer. We will be using that vocabulary in math.
We then discussed sorting sums from least to greatest. Together we put several numbers in order from least to greatest. The kids then worked independently on a caterpillar addition worksheet. When they finished finding all the sums they cut them out and put them in order from least to greatest. Then they glued them to another piece of paper. I was very impressed with their hard work and effort today! This is a very challenging concept, but with a little assistance all the kids got it by the end of the day! We spent a lot of time on this but all the kids took hold of the concept!
We will continue to add and put sums in order from least to greatest throughout the week!
This was a great Monday in Kindergarten!
This week in language arts we will be working on reading for comprehension. I have several short stories that we will read together as a class and then answer questions related to the reading. The common CORE standards really hit on students being able to elaborate on what they read. This is very challenging for Kindergarten students and they are not expected to have this concept mastered, but I do want to expose them and introduce it to them.
Fundations we will master our short vowel skills and introduce syllables and words with up to three syllables.
In math we will continue to work on addition skills up to ten. Students are doing a great job with their addition strategies. We will also be working with subtraction. Students are also expected to subtract 0-10. We will focus on subtraction starting on Wednesday. Subtraction is our next big goal to master!
In writing we will continue encouraging students to use complete sentences, punctuation, and capital letters. I am also encouraging students to sound/tap out words for correct spelling. It is important for them to start using the skills they know to sound out and spell words.
It is going to be a great week here! Please pay close attention to the weather for delays on Tuesday and Wednesday!!
Mr. Schultz
Monday in class activities
This morning we wrote two sentences for our morning work. It is great to see the kids get excited about writing their own sentences and each day they are getting better and better at using correct punctuation and capital letters.
Fundations time was great today! We are going to use this week to really finalize and master the short vowel concepts. We have been talking about them for two weeks and now we are moving into work that really applies the short vowels. I am encouraging students to complete the short vowel worksheets on their own this week and to apply the short vowels while in little reading groups.
Centers- two rotations. My groups read leveled readers and worked on sight and challenge words.
After lunch we worked on our little books for the short vowel E. I did not realize I copied front and back so when the kids went to put the pages in order they couldn't! They read them regardless with a partner!
We had music and movement today so the kids were able to run around a little bit which is always a good thing!
Math time today was great! We talked a lot about addition skills. We practiced putting the larger number in our head and then knocking to add up. The kids did a great job with the first addition sheet. We then talked about "sums" Students learned that a sum is just another way of saying the answer. We will be using that vocabulary in math.
We then discussed sorting sums from least to greatest. Together we put several numbers in order from least to greatest. The kids then worked independently on a caterpillar addition worksheet. When they finished finding all the sums they cut them out and put them in order from least to greatest. Then they glued them to another piece of paper. I was very impressed with their hard work and effort today! This is a very challenging concept, but with a little assistance all the kids got it by the end of the day! We spent a lot of time on this but all the kids took hold of the concept!
We will continue to add and put sums in order from least to greatest throughout the week!
This was a great Monday in Kindergarten!
This week in language arts we will be working on reading for comprehension. I have several short stories that we will read together as a class and then answer questions related to the reading. The common CORE standards really hit on students being able to elaborate on what they read. This is very challenging for Kindergarten students and they are not expected to have this concept mastered, but I do want to expose them and introduce it to them.
Fundations we will master our short vowel skills and introduce syllables and words with up to three syllables.
In math we will continue to work on addition skills up to ten. Students are doing a great job with their addition strategies. We will also be working with subtraction. Students are also expected to subtract 0-10. We will focus on subtraction starting on Wednesday. Subtraction is our next big goal to master!
In writing we will continue encouraging students to use complete sentences, punctuation, and capital letters. I am also encouraging students to sound/tap out words for correct spelling. It is important for them to start using the skills they know to sound out and spell words.
It is going to be a great week here! Please pay close attention to the weather for delays on Tuesday and Wednesday!!
Mr. Schultz
Monday in class activities
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday February 22, 2013
Its Friday! We had a mixed up week so today was no different! Instead of our normal 1 hour center time we had two hours to allow us four rotations! The kids did a GREAT job with centers today and all groups were on task and working throughout. I had four groups that went through sight words, higher level words, and reading time. We read from our nonfiction leveled readers and from our science little books! It is great to see the kids improving little by little each week!
Following centers we had our calender, counting, morning meeting time and then lunch!
Following lunch we read aloud from our Magic Treehouse book. We are currently on book #14!
Math followed which was busy reviewing concepts we touched on this week. We did a 3d shape activity, counting by two's, and addition. We had a great discussion during our learning time in the pit about addition strategies and counting by two's!
Fairy Tale Time followed math and I had Mrs. Lord's class. We did an activity with The Cow Jumped over the Moon.
Writing time was spent discussing Abraham Lincoln and the importance of his Presidency. We had an activity that allowed the kids to write down a question they had for Mr. Lincoln. The kids then colored in Abraham Lincolns face and beard and cut and pasted them with a hat and their question. I had some good laughs at some of the scary looking Lincolns! I think some of the kids must have seen Lincoln Vampire Slayer or whatever that movie was called! I will post some of the finished product on this page!
Today was a GREAT day! The kids were all motivated and followed directions throughout the entire day! Please be sure to tell them how pleased I was with their behavior today!!!
Thank you all for the tp and paper towel rolls. We will put them to good use next week sometime when I can fit the activity in!
This was a great week in Kindergarten and I think the kids are all doing a really good job each day!
No Homework sent home this weekend but...
Please remember this weekend to sit down and read with your children! Encourage them to sound/tap out their words. I usually allow them about 5 seconds to try and figure it out on their own and then I will assist them. It is important that they try to put together the word sounds and blends to pronounce challenge words.
Please continue to work on basic addition math facts and number identification flashcards.
Also continue to work on sentence writing at home. Encourage them to write cards to their friends or family. Anything fun and exciting to get them to write using complete sentences with capital letters and correct punctuation. Sight words are also good practice. It would be beneficial to have students write their sight words as well as speak them.
I reminded the kids today that any extra work they do at home and want to bring in to show me will get them a bonus Spongebob sticker!
I hope you all have a GREAT weekend with your children! Get them outside to move around and enjoy the snow!!
I have attached all lesson plans from Wednesday-Friday. As always feel free to print anything for students to work on for extra practice at home!
Mr. Schultz
Wednesday 2-20 Activities
Thursday 2-21 Activities
Friday 2-22 Activities
Following centers we had our calender, counting, morning meeting time and then lunch!
Following lunch we read aloud from our Magic Treehouse book. We are currently on book #14!
Math followed which was busy reviewing concepts we touched on this week. We did a 3d shape activity, counting by two's, and addition. We had a great discussion during our learning time in the pit about addition strategies and counting by two's!
Fairy Tale Time followed math and I had Mrs. Lord's class. We did an activity with The Cow Jumped over the Moon.
Writing time was spent discussing Abraham Lincoln and the importance of his Presidency. We had an activity that allowed the kids to write down a question they had for Mr. Lincoln. The kids then colored in Abraham Lincolns face and beard and cut and pasted them with a hat and their question. I had some good laughs at some of the scary looking Lincolns! I think some of the kids must have seen Lincoln Vampire Slayer or whatever that movie was called! I will post some of the finished product on this page!
Today was a GREAT day! The kids were all motivated and followed directions throughout the entire day! Please be sure to tell them how pleased I was with their behavior today!!!
Thank you all for the tp and paper towel rolls. We will put them to good use next week sometime when I can fit the activity in!
This was a great week in Kindergarten and I think the kids are all doing a really good job each day!
No Homework sent home this weekend but...
Please remember this weekend to sit down and read with your children! Encourage them to sound/tap out their words. I usually allow them about 5 seconds to try and figure it out on their own and then I will assist them. It is important that they try to put together the word sounds and blends to pronounce challenge words.
Please continue to work on basic addition math facts and number identification flashcards.
Also continue to work on sentence writing at home. Encourage them to write cards to their friends or family. Anything fun and exciting to get them to write using complete sentences with capital letters and correct punctuation. Sight words are also good practice. It would be beneficial to have students write their sight words as well as speak them.
I reminded the kids today that any extra work they do at home and want to bring in to show me will get them a bonus Spongebob sticker!
I hope you all have a GREAT weekend with your children! Get them outside to move around and enjoy the snow!!
I have attached all lesson plans from Wednesday-Friday. As always feel free to print anything for students to work on for extra practice at home!
Mr. Schultz
Thursday 2-21 Activities
Friday 2-22 Activities
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thursday!
Sorry I did not blog yesterday or today. I will have a detailed account tomorrow. I have had some health issues with Grandparents so have not sat down to get everything in writing. We have had a couple busy/ fun days! Art smart was yesterday and the kids loved it!
Will have an updated blog entry tomorrow afternoon!
Email if you have any question/concerns!
Thanks!
Joshua Schultz
Will have an updated blog entry tomorrow afternoon!
Email if you have any question/concerns!
Thanks!
Joshua Schultz
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tuesday February 19, 2013
What a great first day back! We had a very busy day today!
This morning we refreshed our math skills during morning work.
Our morning meeting went well. We also used that time to discuss what we did over the 4 day weekend.
Fundations was spent reviewing vowels and consonants and focusing on short vowel i.
Centers time. I used this time to pull students and test them for Mclass math. All students did a great job!
During language arts we discussed Presidents Day and why that is an important holiday to remember! Students enjoyed discussing former Presidents!
After lunch we had math. We had a great discussion about 2d and 3d shapes. Students worked on a 2d shape worksheet. We had some good discussion throughout math today and related our worksheet to language arts and tapping out words and looking for short vowels to sound out the words. It was a really good lesson and discussion! We also had 3 minute math today, I will have those graded and sent home tomorrow. All the kids have been doing a great job on that! We also worked on some addition problems during math.
We then worked on our sentence and illustration for the remainder of the day!
We had art at the end of the day!
The kids did a great job with today being the first day back and our different schedule due to testing. All Mclass testing will be complete tomorrow!
Looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow!
Activities for today!
This morning we refreshed our math skills during morning work.
Our morning meeting went well. We also used that time to discuss what we did over the 4 day weekend.
Fundations was spent reviewing vowels and consonants and focusing on short vowel i.
Centers time. I used this time to pull students and test them for Mclass math. All students did a great job!
During language arts we discussed Presidents Day and why that is an important holiday to remember! Students enjoyed discussing former Presidents!
After lunch we had math. We had a great discussion about 2d and 3d shapes. Students worked on a 2d shape worksheet. We had some good discussion throughout math today and related our worksheet to language arts and tapping out words and looking for short vowels to sound out the words. It was a really good lesson and discussion! We also had 3 minute math today, I will have those graded and sent home tomorrow. All the kids have been doing a great job on that! We also worked on some addition problems during math.
We then worked on our sentence and illustration for the remainder of the day!
We had art at the end of the day!
The kids did a great job with today being the first day back and our different schedule due to testing. All Mclass testing will be complete tomorrow!
Looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow!
Activities for today!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Back to school!!
I hope you all had a great weekend with your children! I had a great break but am excited to get back into the classroom with the kids!
This is a very important week! As you know we started our Mclass 1 minute math testing on the Ipad last week. Our first test was counting to 100 and all students did a great job! The other 3 test are a little more challenging for the kids. We will be completing the missing number test tomorrow On the missing number test students must say what number is missing in a sequence of 3 numbers (12,13,__). I hope to start on larger number test tomorrow or Tuesday. This test the student must simply just point to the larger number between two numbers on the screen (15 / 19). The final test will be number identification. On the number identification test I point to a number between 0-100 and the student must say what number I am pointing to quickly. Please spend 5-10 minutes each evening going over math facts with your children to keep them thinking about them! Also please be sure that your student is getting enough sleep and eating a healthy breakfast before coming to school!
We will be discussing Presidents day and doing some fun activities to honor our Presidents.
We will continue with our short vowel sounds this week. In writing we will be working with forming simple sentences focusing on capital letters and punctuation.
In math we will be focusing on 2d and 3d shapes. We will also work on simple addition facts, missing number, greater than less than, and number identification.
For those that did not get books returned on Thursday I apologize. With the party and testing my day was absolutely crazy and I did not get the books switched out. I will have them sent home tomorrow for you.
As always please continue to spend a few minutes each evening reading, writing, and working on math facts with your children. If you do any extra worksheets or activities at home please have your student bring them in to show me and they will receive a sticker!
Looking forward to seeing the kids back in the classroom tomorrow!!!
Lets make it a great week!
Mr. Schultz
This is a very important week! As you know we started our Mclass 1 minute math testing on the Ipad last week. Our first test was counting to 100 and all students did a great job! The other 3 test are a little more challenging for the kids. We will be completing the missing number test tomorrow On the missing number test students must say what number is missing in a sequence of 3 numbers (12,13,__). I hope to start on larger number test tomorrow or Tuesday. This test the student must simply just point to the larger number between two numbers on the screen (15 / 19). The final test will be number identification. On the number identification test I point to a number between 0-100 and the student must say what number I am pointing to quickly. Please spend 5-10 minutes each evening going over math facts with your children to keep them thinking about them! Also please be sure that your student is getting enough sleep and eating a healthy breakfast before coming to school!
We will be discussing Presidents day and doing some fun activities to honor our Presidents.
We will continue with our short vowel sounds this week. In writing we will be working with forming simple sentences focusing on capital letters and punctuation.
In math we will be focusing on 2d and 3d shapes. We will also work on simple addition facts, missing number, greater than less than, and number identification.
For those that did not get books returned on Thursday I apologize. With the party and testing my day was absolutely crazy and I did not get the books switched out. I will have them sent home tomorrow for you.
As always please continue to spend a few minutes each evening reading, writing, and working on math facts with your children. If you do any extra worksheets or activities at home please have your student bring them in to show me and they will receive a sticker!
Looking forward to seeing the kids back in the classroom tomorrow!!!
Lets make it a great week!
Mr. Schultz
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thursday February 14, 2013
Whew!!! Survived my first holiday party day in Kindergarten!!
We had a GREAT day today! The kids were excellent all day!
This morning we had IMC time and Center time. During centers I started Mclass testing! The kids did GREAT! All students showed a HUGE improvement in their scores! The test today was counting to 100 in under 1 minute. All students made it passed 70 which is the goal! Be sure to tell your children what a great job they are doing!
We had a read aloud before lunch. During the read aloud we made predictions before starting and throughout the story.
After lunch we had time to hand out our valentines which was a lot of fun!
We then had music and movement
After music and movement we had some writing time. Students wrote about four things they love and drew pictures!
Recess was spent outside! Thankfully the rain/snow held off!
Math time was spent sorting, counting, estimating the number of candy hearts in a big bag! The kids loved this activity and they all were actively involved!
The end of the day was our classroom valentines day party! The kids had a great time and spent the end of the day enjoying each other and making crafts! Thanks to the moms that came in to help!!!
This was a great week in kindergarten and it is great to see your children learning and growing each day!!!
I did sent home a little homework packet that is bright green! Please encourage your children to work on it and return it on Tuesday!
Please continue to practice addition and subtract math facts, study sight words, write sentences, and read!!!
Hope the kids get some rest and relaxation over this 4 day weekend! I know I will!
Happy Valentines Day!
Mr. Schultz
Thursdays activities!
Weekend Homework!
We had a GREAT day today! The kids were excellent all day!
This morning we had IMC time and Center time. During centers I started Mclass testing! The kids did GREAT! All students showed a HUGE improvement in their scores! The test today was counting to 100 in under 1 minute. All students made it passed 70 which is the goal! Be sure to tell your children what a great job they are doing!
We had a read aloud before lunch. During the read aloud we made predictions before starting and throughout the story.
After lunch we had time to hand out our valentines which was a lot of fun!
We then had music and movement
After music and movement we had some writing time. Students wrote about four things they love and drew pictures!
Recess was spent outside! Thankfully the rain/snow held off!
Math time was spent sorting, counting, estimating the number of candy hearts in a big bag! The kids loved this activity and they all were actively involved!
The end of the day was our classroom valentines day party! The kids had a great time and spent the end of the day enjoying each other and making crafts! Thanks to the moms that came in to help!!!
This was a great week in kindergarten and it is great to see your children learning and growing each day!!!
I did sent home a little homework packet that is bright green! Please encourage your children to work on it and return it on Tuesday!
Please continue to practice addition and subtract math facts, study sight words, write sentences, and read!!!
Hope the kids get some rest and relaxation over this 4 day weekend! I know I will!
Happy Valentines Day!
Mr. Schultz
Thursdays activities!
Weekend Homework!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wednesday February 13, 2013
We had a wacky Wednesday for sure today! Our schedule was all mixed around because we decided that we wanted to get our center time in today. We usually do not have centers on Wednesdays but decided to do them today because of the 4 day weekend and we did not want to have kids miss a rotation. We had two centers that went well. The students I read with did a great job sounding out their words!
Next we had our computer lab time which was spent on the Odyssey program working on Language Arts skills.
After computer lab we had Math game time! Two of our parent volunteers came in and taught the class a new game. Students played with a partner for about 20 minutes! It was great to see the kids working together during this time!
Today in math we reviewed greater than, less than, and equal to by cutting out little alligator's and placing them in the correct direction with their mouth open toward the bigger number. Students worked on this independently and I will be reviewing them to check students progress with this concept. Next students worked on candy heart addition and subtraction. They worked on this activity independently and I will be reviewing this to check for students understanding of addition and subtraction of numbers 0-5.
I am very impressed with the results from today's 3 minute math! Over half the class passed their test and moved on to the next addition pattern! So much of this activity is getting the routine down and knowing the format. Students are showing improvement each day and its great to see how happy they are when they pass! Please continue to work with students on basic addition/subtraction skills at home!
The next activity we did in math was a heart search. Students were given half a heart that had an addition problem on it. For example half of the heart would say something like 7+3. I hid the other half of their hearts throughout the classroom for the kids to find. The other half would have an answer for example = 10. Each student had a different addition problem and they had to solve it and then find the other half of the heart and put them together on their tables to make a whole heart. The kids loved this activity and they were doing math without even knowing it! After a few rounds with the addition problems we switched to subtraction. Students still need a lot of work with subtraction, but we discussed how to use a number line to solve addition and subtraction. I showed students how to start at a number and then to count back. That is a strategy that Everyday Mathematics really focuses on throughout grades 1-5 in PHM schools. I encourage you to use number lines at home to assist in any math homework. It is a great strategy that students will use throughout their years in Elementary school.
We then had time to finish our science unit and we discussed the vocabulary.
At the end of the day we had fundations and language arts combined. Today we discussed ending sounds, and short vowels. We did not get all our short vowel activities complete and spend tomorrow discussing the short E.
Class as a whole was very chatty today and struggled to listen long enough to follow all directions. This is understandable because of our long day on Wednesday and tomorrow being a holiday, but we need to continue working on self control while in the classroom. Please remind your child to follow all directions and to listen while lessons are being presented. We had a discussion today about appropriate times when to talk to their friends and inappropriate times to talk to friends. As a 5 or 6 year old this is a challenge and I am doing my best to keep students engaged by using activities that involve movement every few minutes. Please encourage your student to "stay on green" all day and to make good choices while at school!
Looking forward to the Valentines Day party tomorrow and all the fun Valentines Day themed activities planned for tomorrow!!
Mr. Schultz
Wednesday Activities (Did not complete all)
Next we had our computer lab time which was spent on the Odyssey program working on Language Arts skills.
After computer lab we had Math game time! Two of our parent volunteers came in and taught the class a new game. Students played with a partner for about 20 minutes! It was great to see the kids working together during this time!
Today in math we reviewed greater than, less than, and equal to by cutting out little alligator's and placing them in the correct direction with their mouth open toward the bigger number. Students worked on this independently and I will be reviewing them to check students progress with this concept. Next students worked on candy heart addition and subtraction. They worked on this activity independently and I will be reviewing this to check for students understanding of addition and subtraction of numbers 0-5.
I am very impressed with the results from today's 3 minute math! Over half the class passed their test and moved on to the next addition pattern! So much of this activity is getting the routine down and knowing the format. Students are showing improvement each day and its great to see how happy they are when they pass! Please continue to work with students on basic addition/subtraction skills at home!
The next activity we did in math was a heart search. Students were given half a heart that had an addition problem on it. For example half of the heart would say something like 7+3. I hid the other half of their hearts throughout the classroom for the kids to find. The other half would have an answer for example = 10. Each student had a different addition problem and they had to solve it and then find the other half of the heart and put them together on their tables to make a whole heart. The kids loved this activity and they were doing math without even knowing it! After a few rounds with the addition problems we switched to subtraction. Students still need a lot of work with subtraction, but we discussed how to use a number line to solve addition and subtraction. I showed students how to start at a number and then to count back. That is a strategy that Everyday Mathematics really focuses on throughout grades 1-5 in PHM schools. I encourage you to use number lines at home to assist in any math homework. It is a great strategy that students will use throughout their years in Elementary school.
We then had time to finish our science unit and we discussed the vocabulary.
At the end of the day we had fundations and language arts combined. Today we discussed ending sounds, and short vowels. We did not get all our short vowel activities complete and spend tomorrow discussing the short E.
Class as a whole was very chatty today and struggled to listen long enough to follow all directions. This is understandable because of our long day on Wednesday and tomorrow being a holiday, but we need to continue working on self control while in the classroom. Please remind your child to follow all directions and to listen while lessons are being presented. We had a discussion today about appropriate times when to talk to their friends and inappropriate times to talk to friends. As a 5 or 6 year old this is a challenge and I am doing my best to keep students engaged by using activities that involve movement every few minutes. Please encourage your student to "stay on green" all day and to make good choices while at school!
Looking forward to the Valentines Day party tomorrow and all the fun Valentines Day themed activities planned for tomorrow!!
Mr. Schultz
Wednesday Activities (Did not complete all)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tuesday February 12, 2013
We had a busy Tuesday! The kids were great today. We had a great morning! The kids came in focused and ready to learn! We started the day with some sentence writing morning work. Student traced a sentence, re-wrote it, and came up with their very own sentence to write on the back. We had some really good sentences! We are focusing on Capitol letters at the beginning and punctuation at the end of the sentence.
We had a great read aloud with good discussion about parts of the story. Students also made predictions throughout the reading.
Fundations was spent discussing short vowels with a focus on the short A. We had a great discussion about the sound the short A makes and ways to identify the short A in a word. We looked at words with 1 vowel that had the short A and words with 2 or more vowel that do not have the short A. While reading at home with your child please point this out (of course there are some exceptions!) Encourage students to think about the sounds and look for the vowels if they get stuck on a word.
Center time we had two rotations. My groups read about animals playing and discussed the parts of the story. We also went over our sight words during this time.
In language arts we discussed the middle sounds of words and how we can break words down into smaller sections to help sound/tap out. This is review but is an important concept for students to know and understand. Students completed two worksheets that encouraged them to find the middle sound which also was always a short vowel sound.
Math was busy! We worked through a math packet that had a little bit of everything! We had addition and subtraction problems, place value, fill in the missing number Mclass review, and a dice game! I just now remembered that we forgot all about our 3 minute math! We will be sure to do that first thing during math tomorrow! Continue working with your child on addition and subtraction of number 0-20. I cannot stress the importance of students learning this facts and being able to identify them quickly. It may seem repetitive while going over flashcards daily, but it is the foundation for all basic math skills. The dice game went very well! Students had to roll a dice and the first roll represented the tens place. The second roll represented the ones place. Students then put the ten and one together to make a two digit number. They did not have time to finish playing the game so I encourage you to play it with your child throughout the week at home. It is fun practice for place value identification.
During our writing time we worked on finding the correct word to fill into a sentence and building a sentence with mixed up words. Students did a great job with this and it took us through the end of the day before art.
We ran out of time for our science activity but we will complete it tomorrow!
Students had art at the end of the day and are working on a valentines day project!
We had a great day and I think are finally settling into the new routine. The biggest thing I have been stressing if for students to closely follow directions so they know exactly what to do on all activities.
Please remember valentines boxes
Also scholastic book fair orders are due next Wednesday! Now is the time to stock up for summer time and they make great Easter gifts!
Continue to read with your child each night, practice writing sentences, and math skills!
Have a great night!
What we worked on in class today!
We had a great read aloud with good discussion about parts of the story. Students also made predictions throughout the reading.
Fundations was spent discussing short vowels with a focus on the short A. We had a great discussion about the sound the short A makes and ways to identify the short A in a word. We looked at words with 1 vowel that had the short A and words with 2 or more vowel that do not have the short A. While reading at home with your child please point this out (of course there are some exceptions!) Encourage students to think about the sounds and look for the vowels if they get stuck on a word.
Center time we had two rotations. My groups read about animals playing and discussed the parts of the story. We also went over our sight words during this time.
In language arts we discussed the middle sounds of words and how we can break words down into smaller sections to help sound/tap out. This is review but is an important concept for students to know and understand. Students completed two worksheets that encouraged them to find the middle sound which also was always a short vowel sound.
Math was busy! We worked through a math packet that had a little bit of everything! We had addition and subtraction problems, place value, fill in the missing number Mclass review, and a dice game! I just now remembered that we forgot all about our 3 minute math! We will be sure to do that first thing during math tomorrow! Continue working with your child on addition and subtraction of number 0-20. I cannot stress the importance of students learning this facts and being able to identify them quickly. It may seem repetitive while going over flashcards daily, but it is the foundation for all basic math skills. The dice game went very well! Students had to roll a dice and the first roll represented the tens place. The second roll represented the ones place. Students then put the ten and one together to make a two digit number. They did not have time to finish playing the game so I encourage you to play it with your child throughout the week at home. It is fun practice for place value identification.
During our writing time we worked on finding the correct word to fill into a sentence and building a sentence with mixed up words. Students did a great job with this and it took us through the end of the day before art.
We ran out of time for our science activity but we will complete it tomorrow!
Students had art at the end of the day and are working on a valentines day project!
We had a great day and I think are finally settling into the new routine. The biggest thing I have been stressing if for students to closely follow directions so they know exactly what to do on all activities.
Please remember valentines boxes
Also scholastic book fair orders are due next Wednesday! Now is the time to stock up for summer time and they make great Easter gifts!
Continue to read with your child each night, practice writing sentences, and math skills!
Have a great night!
What we worked on in class today!
Monday February 11, 2013
Monday February 11, 2013
Welcome to our classroom blog for Mr. Schultz's Prairie Vista Kindergarten! I am going to do my best to update everyday on what we are doing in class. I will also use this to remind parents what is going on in our school as well!
Monday was a great day for learning! We continue to review our vowel's and will be starting in on short vowel sounds on Tuesday! Students are mastering their vowels and identifying them. Students also learned that a consonant is a letter that is not a vowel. We used our mini whiteboards to practice writing sentences and circled vowels. Students then underlined the consonants. I encourage you to work with your student on doing this while practicing writing at home!
We had two centers today and groups that were with me read 2-3 books that are of the fantasy genre. We also worked on sight words and higher level vocabulary words!
In language arts we talked about beginning sounds. This is review but it is something I feel is important to touch back on every now and then to remind students to break the word down to sound/tap it out. We also read a story about a tiger that did not fit in. While reading we discussed beginning, middle, and end. We also made predictions and discussed characters and setting. It is very important that students can break the story down and analyze different parts. These are big strategies in the Common Core standards. You can work on this while reading with your child at home. While fluency is important it is also very important that students are retaining what they read and are able to discuss it.
During our writing time we finished our classroom story. Students discussed and gave ideas for what they wanted the story to be about and I wrote down their thoughts into complete sentences. We have been working on this on and off for a little over a week. Students enjoyed creating their own story and this introduces them to the writing process. They copied what I wrote in their writing journals.
Math was busy today! We had a lesson on place value. In Kindergarten we only discuss tens and ones. Students seem to be catching on quick to this. We will continue with place value activities throughout the week. We also reviewed our base then as that goes along with the importance of identifying place values. We then did a fill in the blank worksheet that had students counting by tens. Students have mastered counting by tens when you start at 0 or 10 but this asked them to start at different numbers like 14, 18 and then count by tens. Many struggled with this, but by the end I think they were catching on. We will continue to review counting starting at a number other than 0.
In science we discussed our inquiry from last week. Students used balance scaled to weigh different objects and compare and contrast them. I am going to try and have students do 1 science inquiry activity each week to give them hands on opportunities. Students completed a page in their science notebooks that asked them to draw an object that was light and one that was heavy. Students appear to have mastered the "light and heavy" concepts taught in this unit.
We were in a rush to get out the door as math and science went over time!
Please remember to work on math facts and reading/writing with your student each night regardless if I send home any homework or not! The extra time and effort will pay off in the long run!
Remember that Valentines Day is this Thursday. Students may bring in their boxes any day We ask that students do not address their valentines to a specific name rather just write who it is from. They need to have one for each student in our class. We have 22. Any candy or treats will be sent home with the kids on Thursday!
Looking forward to a busy Tuesday with the kids!
Mr. Schultz
P.S. Not all blogs will be this long! I woke up at 3:30 this morning so had the time to sit and type a detailed note!!
Remember we have a four day weekend coming up!
Activities completed in class Monday 2/11
Welcome to our classroom blog for Mr. Schultz's Prairie Vista Kindergarten! I am going to do my best to update everyday on what we are doing in class. I will also use this to remind parents what is going on in our school as well!
Monday was a great day for learning! We continue to review our vowel's and will be starting in on short vowel sounds on Tuesday! Students are mastering their vowels and identifying them. Students also learned that a consonant is a letter that is not a vowel. We used our mini whiteboards to practice writing sentences and circled vowels. Students then underlined the consonants. I encourage you to work with your student on doing this while practicing writing at home!
We had two centers today and groups that were with me read 2-3 books that are of the fantasy genre. We also worked on sight words and higher level vocabulary words!
In language arts we talked about beginning sounds. This is review but it is something I feel is important to touch back on every now and then to remind students to break the word down to sound/tap it out. We also read a story about a tiger that did not fit in. While reading we discussed beginning, middle, and end. We also made predictions and discussed characters and setting. It is very important that students can break the story down and analyze different parts. These are big strategies in the Common Core standards. You can work on this while reading with your child at home. While fluency is important it is also very important that students are retaining what they read and are able to discuss it.
During our writing time we finished our classroom story. Students discussed and gave ideas for what they wanted the story to be about and I wrote down their thoughts into complete sentences. We have been working on this on and off for a little over a week. Students enjoyed creating their own story and this introduces them to the writing process. They copied what I wrote in their writing journals.
Math was busy today! We had a lesson on place value. In Kindergarten we only discuss tens and ones. Students seem to be catching on quick to this. We will continue with place value activities throughout the week. We also reviewed our base then as that goes along with the importance of identifying place values. We then did a fill in the blank worksheet that had students counting by tens. Students have mastered counting by tens when you start at 0 or 10 but this asked them to start at different numbers like 14, 18 and then count by tens. Many struggled with this, but by the end I think they were catching on. We will continue to review counting starting at a number other than 0.
In science we discussed our inquiry from last week. Students used balance scaled to weigh different objects and compare and contrast them. I am going to try and have students do 1 science inquiry activity each week to give them hands on opportunities. Students completed a page in their science notebooks that asked them to draw an object that was light and one that was heavy. Students appear to have mastered the "light and heavy" concepts taught in this unit.
We were in a rush to get out the door as math and science went over time!
Please remember to work on math facts and reading/writing with your student each night regardless if I send home any homework or not! The extra time and effort will pay off in the long run!
Remember that Valentines Day is this Thursday. Students may bring in their boxes any day We ask that students do not address their valentines to a specific name rather just write who it is from. They need to have one for each student in our class. We have 22. Any candy or treats will be sent home with the kids on Thursday!
Looking forward to a busy Tuesday with the kids!
Mr. Schultz
P.S. Not all blogs will be this long! I woke up at 3:30 this morning so had the time to sit and type a detailed note!!
Remember we have a four day weekend coming up!
Activities completed in class Monday 2/11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)