Kindergarten Online Learning

My Thoughts

There are less than two months to the end of the school year and for the next few weeks I will be sharing my experience of online learning with my kindergarten class.  Navigating the online learning environment has been somewhat of an adventure.  I must confess that I miss the person to person interaction in the physical classroom space. Nevertheless, the students and I have gotten into an online routine that seems to be working.

We have weekly Zoom classes where some student interaction is facilitated through games, stories and other creative expressions.  Students get the chance to share their home learning and participate in weekly Show and Tell. Being in the comfort of their home with parents around, gives students that extra exuberance to share with friends.  Mark you, there are a few of them that still need that prompting to share openly.

It has been fascinating to watch their growth and share in their learning in the online space.  The school year will be completed in this online environment and as much as I would love to be able to see them in the classroom, we will make the most of what technology affords us. 

Math - 2D and 3D Shapes

This term we had a great time exploring 2D and 3D shapes in the environment. Students were taken on a shape walk around the school where they identified different shapes they saw. In the classroom, students used shapes to build various structures.  Our final challenge was to build a shape robot using a mixture of both 2D and 3D shapes. Students were also given an opportunity to present their robots in front of the class as they practiced their oral skills.

Shape Robots

Students created different robots using recycled materials. 

students were also challenged to present their robots to a grade 3 class. At first, they were a little nervous but they were willing to take on the challenge. The grade 3 class was very accommodating and students had fun presenting their work. 

Trip to Forest Valley Outdoor Exploration Centre

Our trip to Forest Valley provided many opportunities for outdoor exploration. The experience provided many hands-on, inquiry-based learning opportunities that fit right into our learning goals. Our tour guides were Danny and Sarah. They gave students a very warm welcome and introduced them to the fun activities we were going to engage in for the day.

Measurement

There were so many beautiful trees in the outdoor space. The students estimated how old the trees were by hugging them. Two hugs meant the tree was 200 years old.

Observing Animal Tracks

Students observed the animal tracks to guess which animal had made a path through the woods. 

Spotting Bird Nests

Students spotted several nests high up in the trees. They had so many questions for our tour guide Danny. 

Building Structures

Students worked together to build several nests for different animals

What a great day of fun and learning at the Forest School!

Playdough Recipe

Our Playdough Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup of salt
• 1 pack of unsweetened Kool-aid
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Directions

Mix flour, salt and Kool-aid in a bowl

Stir in boiling water and oil

Mix items together with a spoon then knead with hands for a few minutes

Store in an airtight container! You're all set

 

Outdoor Play

Play-based learning provides many opportunities for students to learn and explore. Through play, students use their imaginations to indulge in creative and engaging activities. Fall presents so many opportunities for students to enjoy the outdoors. Examining leaves are a great way to incorporate learning outdoors. Here we invited students to compare leaf sizes and group into small, medium and large.

Through outdoor play, students use their imaginations to create make-believe scenarios that they explore with their peers. After a read aloud where characters in the story build a campfire, students made connections to the outdoor by creating their own version of a campfire. 

We have been working on letter names and letter sounds in our class. Here one of my JK students used a stick to make the letter M. I must say he did a great job!

Many opportunities are there for students to observe their surroundings. Rainfall created several puddles outdoors that students had fun exploring. This puddle had a worm moving around. Students were simply fascinated with all the movement and spent quite a bit of time observing the worm and other items in the puddle. 

The benefits of outdoor play cannot be overemphasized. 

• Students get multiple opportunities to engage in inquiry
• Daily physical activity helps to improve students overall health and wellbeing
• The teacher is presented with many scenarios to observe students' social interactions
• Students' creativity and imagination skills are enhanced

Remembrance Day Canada

Kindergartener's Thoughts on Remembrance Day

Today, November 11, is a special day as we pause to reflect on the work of our many hardworking men and women in the armed forces who died in the line of duty. The day is observed as Remembrance Day or more informally Poppy Day. In our classroom, we had a conversation about the meaning of Remembrance Day and students were shown a video summarizing the poppy story.


At school, we had a Remembrance Day assembly where students quoted poems, sang songs and paid tributes by laying wreaths made in the classrooms. It was a solemn assembly and students were in a reflective mode. Our class created a poster for remembrance day with a poppy themed handprint of Flanders Fields. As part of our in-class discussion, students were asked what Remembrance Day meant to them or what the day signifies. Here are a few of their unedited responses:

• "It is when we sing a song."
• "On Remembrance Day we wear poppies on our t'shirts."
• "They were fighting because they were getting old."
• "They were fighting on the field."
• "It means when the people died."
• "People who fought, they fought the bad guys to make us safe."

Poppy themed handprint done by kindergarten class

It was a very interesting conversation with the kindergarten class. It is important that we continue to engage our students in conversations that draw on our history and the significance of main events. Even if we have to break it down so they can make connections. Today our class says thank you to all the members of the armed forces who fought for our freedom. 

We will remember them!

Wreaths made by students at Roywood Public School for Remembrance Day Assembly!

First Week of Kindergarten

The first day of school! So many expectations from all concerned. There were a few tears but mostly nervous little ones who were somewhat anxious to get started. Here are a few things we did during the first week of school. I must say it was a busy start to the year!

1. First Day Photos

Students were pretty excited to have their first-day photo taken with our handmade frame. Watch them pose for the photo! Even the ones who were crying managed to stop the tears for their photo opp!

2.  Outdoor Exploration

During the first week of school, the weather was absolutely amazing for outdoor exploration and play. Students had a great time exploring their surroundings and getting to interact with friends. They had quite a few questions about the insect on the tree. (Excellent opportunity for inquiry)

3. Craft - This Is Me

Students worked on their first-week craft (This is me). This activity provided an opportunity to observe fine motor skills and engage students in conversations about the things they liked doing.  

4. Read Alouds

Students always enjoyed a great read aloud! During the first week, we explored a number of textbooks on the first day of school. Students made great connections to most of the stories. We had some interesting discussions as students wanted to comment on all the connections they made as we explored the books. It was an interactive activity as reading 'Curious George's First Day of School.'

On his first day of school, Curious George had fun mixing colours. Students asked many questions about how to make colours. Based on their questions, we decided to explore mixing colours. The JKs were very excited to see the transformation as they mixed the colours in their hands. 

5. Fun, Fun and More Fun

The most important thing for kindergarteners is to enjoy their learning environment. Our team was more focused on helping to calm nervous students and for them to enjoy the learning experience. We emphasized routines and together we talked about what we want our class to look like. The SKs were encouraged to model good behaviour and making great choices. Lots of reinforcement but we are off to an awesome start!

Whew! What a start to the school year. It has certainly been a busy one but I look forward to sharing our journey and explorations with you.