Kindness!

This week in our Scholastic Let's Find Out magazine we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr.  We watched a short video and learned about how he worked very hard to get unfair laws changed and to bring more kindness and peace to the world.  We then read several books about kindness. After reading The Kindness Book, the children each brainstormed what kindness means to them and created heart sun catchers for our classroom window!  Stop by our windows to check them out!

We have been immersed in nonfiction books! We began the week by looking through the books in our library determining which books are fiction and which are nonfiction.  We figured out that non-fiction books are about real things and are used to teach us facts and often have photographs.  Fiction books are stories that are made up and often have drawn illustrations.   We talked about how nonfiction books are used to teach or inform us about a topic. Prior to reading, it's important to consider our background knowledge about the topic and that helps us realize when we have new learning while reading.  We read a book about Polar Bears and stopped every few pages so classmates could share their new learning.  Did you know polar bears can swim up to 90 miles at one time?? We also read a non-fiction book called Wish for a Fish which taught us all about the different zones in the ocean and what creatures live in those zones.  As we read, we listened for important information and asked questions, and thought of "wonderings" about the zones.


During Fundations, we continued practicing our uppercase letter formation with the letters E, F, G, and H. This week we used a new tool to help us practice building words: a magnetic board and letter tiles.  We used the Fundations boards to find letters when I gave a sound and then I tapped out three sounds and the children built the word.  They did a great job listening for the sounds and identifying what letters are needed to make a word. Way to go!

Lastly in math, we have moved into a Geometry unit.  This week, we explored shapes by using pattern blocks.  We made observations about circles, spheres, squares, triangles, trapezoids, hexagons, and the rhombus.  The children were able to notice a variety of attributes of these shapes: sides, corners, and even parallel lines!  I was impressed!  You could ask your child to find some of these shapes in your home!  We also spent some time sorting pattern blocks by shape and then the children learned how to make bar graphs to show how many of each shape they had!

Please make sure to check your child's Friday Folder this weekend.  In his or her folder is a progress report for the first trimester of Kindergarten.  We have finished our narrative writing unit so there are also some writing pieces for your child to share with you too!  Have a wonderful weekend!