Scientists Use Their Five Senses

Last week we learned all about the Five Senses. We did some testing and experimenting with using our senses on Friday! Take a look at what we worked on...

Taste Test!!
During the taste test Scientists not only used their sense of taste, but also touch and hearing!!

Ask your learner what he/she discovered!

Using our sense of smell to decide whether or not we liked various scents. Ask your scientist which scent he or she liked and didn't like!

Scientists also used texture mats to create rubbings. The rubbings had the texture from the mats below!

Ask your child about how they used these objects to practice using their sense of hearing.

All of these items required careful observations using our sense of sight. Some involved color, color mixing, reflections, and movement.

Your learners know that they are SCIENTISTS!

Math Centers Week of October 15

Yesterday we started math centers to support our learning from the past two weeks. These centers will carry over into next week as well.

Mathematicians explore numbers, counting and recording. These thinkers are graphing tiles to match the numeral in each row. They then record their graphs on paper to bring home and share with you!

Mathematicians take their study of geometry further by putting shapes together to make new shapes and designs!

Mathematicians work with partners to sort and record.

Mathematicians practice "Subitizing"! Subitize is the ability to tell the number of objects in a set, quickly, without counting. These thinkers organize the cards under the matching numeral. They then recorded the variety of ways each card represented different numbers of dots.

Ask your child about their work as it comes home. There really is thinking behind all of it!

Mathematicians study shapes!

Most of our mathematicians know all of their basic shapes (rectangle, triangle, square, circle). Some still confuse them, most commonly rectangle and triangle. We have been working hard to study various attributes of shapes to help identify them. Ask your child to explain the differences between triangles, rectangles and squares. We then moved on to look for these shapes in the world around us. We searched through magazines to find items shaped like triangles and rectangles. Try doing this at home! It sure was fun!

Writing Workshop

Our writers have been taking their first steps into Writer's Workshop! Writer's Workshop is a time in our day when we work on recording our ideas on paper to become authors! Your learner will learn to write a variety of genres. We are starting with personal narratives, writing stories about something that really happened to them. This is one of the things these thinkers love to do! Take a look as your writer tries out our very special writing pens...

Sorting and Recording

Today in math we extended on our learning from last week. Many children were able to sort. In kindergarten we learn that things can be sorted by multiple attributes! Items can be sorted by color and shape and size! For example; red, big, triangles; red, big, squares; red, little, triangles and red, little, squares. Usually children pick one attribute (sorting into piles of matching color only or shape only) with witch to sort. This helps to build and extend on what they already know.

 We took our learning one step further today by recording how and what we sorted. I love watching these mathematicians make their thinking visible!!

Ask your child how he/she sorted today!

WE ARE MATHEMATICIANS!

WE CAN SORT!

Thinking and Learning Time Week of October 1

More fine motor pin punching while continuing name study

I see my friends.... 

Students look closely at friends pictures and names to create a little book. Ask him or her to share with you!

In word study our thinkers work to build and match friends names.

Our scientists focused on color words to create a little book about leaves. Have your readers read you these little books as they come home. It's a good idea to save them somewhere special for him/her to practice reading and build confidence!!

Enjoy sharing these pictures with your child to encourage conversations about their learning at home.

More Sunflower Study

On Friday our scientists worked together in small groups to look more closely at the part of the sunflower. As the parent helpers recorded what our learners noticed, they started to discovered that each part served a purpose. This type of thinking leads us into our study of "Structure and Function"
Take a look...

After sharing our noticings we took the big ideas about each part and recorded our thinking.

This is what we came up with!!

The sunflower head is large to hold all of the seeds.

The stem is thick to hold the large head up and to carry enough water to the flower for it to survive.

The root ball is large to hold the heavy plant in place and to get enough water to help the plan survive.

Every part serves a purpose!!

Ask your child about the small sunflowers and why the parts are different.