This morning we completed our Math Stations which we started earlier in the week. The children found many different patterns on the number grid and worked hard to created subtraction equations with double dice. The children who worked with me enjoyed reading, solving, and writing equations to go along with the math story problems.

We reviewed all that we had learned about Bradley and watched Ms. Lewis model how to draw Bradley.  The class then did a fabulous job making his special book. We hope you enjoy the book, Bradley! :-)

During science, the Kindergarten scientists were challenged to make a marble maze with legos. After working in a group of 3 or 4 children, they then tested out their marble maze with a marble! Some were successful the first time while others had to change their plan and try again.  

We started our day with Jason's dad joining us as our Star Reader. He read us a novel explaining the origin of Rock, Paper, Scissors! It was a perfect book to read, as we then played "Rock, Paper, Scissor,, Shoot".  Thank you for joining us this morning!

The Kindergarteners enjoyed our new poem- "There is no "A" in They". They then were asked to write  a sentence that had the word "they". Some even wrote.3 sentences or questions with "they"!

We ended our day outside, rolling balls down slides and hills to review our lessons about force and motion that we did earlier this year. The Kindergarten scientists loved discovering which hills made the balls go faster and which hills/slides/slopes allowed them to knock an object over.

During today's Open Circle we read My Fantastic Elastic Brain. The children were fascinated to learn how much the brain does, without us even thinking about it! We then launched into a discussion about our "smarts" and how we already have many smarts, but are always growing our smarts. The Kindergarteners then began to draw their "smarts" inside a picture of the brain-showing what smarts they already have and which they want to grow, with the help of teachers and friends. It was a very powerful discussion- especially when they found out that teachers are also always growing their smarts!

During Reading Workshop, we talked about "stepping from page to page". WE discussed how each page in a story or non-fiction text is connected to the one before it. They then tried out the strategy of touting each page as they read to remind themselves to make those connections while reading.

We ended our day playing "cross out addition". In pairs, the children rolled 2 dice, added the dots together and crossed out the sum. This was a great way to work on our fluency of adding numbers.

 TToday we worked on a new writing piece, responding to the prompt, " how do I show Loker pride?".  After reading the book Making Friends Is An Art, we brainstormed ways that Kindergarteners show Pride, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Enthusiasm.

During Open Circle, we talked about how cooperation can make us better at something and give us new ideas. We had 3 children role play how to cooperate when using magna tiles. We look forward to seeing our role plays take place in "real life".

During math stations, we continued to review many of the concepts learned thus far.  The children discussed patterns that they notice on the number grid, while continuing to play "BINGO" on the grid. We used double dice this week for subtraction, reminding children to start with the greater number first.  Children worked with me on math story problems and showing their thinking.

Mr. Jones joined us as our Mystery Reader this afternoon! He read The Dot​. We talked about kindness and "paying it forward" .  Thank you for joining us, Mr. Jones!:-)

Today we started to learn about Bradley, our Star of The Week. Bradley did a terrific job sharing his poster and answering questions  from his classmates and teachers. We look forward to guessing your mystery items tomorrow.

During Writer's Workshop, we brainstormed sentence starters so that our journal entries would vary a little bit.Some Kindergarteners challenged themselves to get out of their comfort zone, while others continued to write in a similar way, while adding more details to their writing.

The Kindergarteners practiced their number writing during math today. We wrote on gel boards as well as each others backs to make sure that we are writing our numbers the right way.  We are often noticing that "6", "3", and "2" are often written backwards.

What a busy day today! We started the morning making envelopes for our Wellesley pen pals! They are now ready to be delivered...

We worked on a special project for a celebration coming up this weekend....the Kindergartners had fun thinking about special people in their lives and then getting their hands messy with paint. We hope the projects come home in one piece:-)

We finished up our math stations for the week . The Kindergarteners shared that t hey enjoyed "building a floor" with me at the lesson station and exploring on the number grid. We will continue to review many of the concepts that we have this year during this time, while adding an extra "piece" to each activity ( whether writing the equation or explaining their thinking).

We ended our day writing our special book for Maya. After Ms. Lewis modeled how to best draw Cami, the children drew and wrote all that makes Cami a STAR. We hope you enjoy your special book, Cami! :-)

Cami's family- her sister, Maya, mom and dad all joined us as her Star Reader this morning. They read 2 different Elephant and Piggie books. Thank you so much for joining us! :-)

We received and opened the letters from our Wellesley pen pals today! The Kindergarteners were so excited to find out answers to their questions from their last letters and to then write back. We look forward to our pen pals visiting us at Loker School the first week of June!

We also observed our spring tree during science today and noticed the buds beginning to blossom. I reminded the kIndergarteners about ABCD drawings to be most like a real scientist.

Spring finally feels like it's here! The Kindergarteners are feeling very excited about the warm weather- they have needed a few reminders to focus on what we are doing in class (whether it is eating snack or writing stories), as they see the temptation of the playground right outside our window! :-)

With that said, they did a fabulous job writing during Writer's Workshop and showing that they are , in fact, 5- Star Writers. Whether they wrote a letter (some are in their folders to be delivered), a how-to page, or a book, they are all focused on these same objectives.

We finished our day playing a dice math game. Children worked in pars to roll 2 dice and the to write an equation. This was a good time to review strategies for figuring out the sum, how to write an equation, and to practice writing the numbers the correct way.

The Kindergarteners had such fun playing drums and learning about instruments from Africa with Rhythm Kids this morning. Tom and Dan, who are brothers AND drummers keep the children laughing, entertained and learning all about different ways t o make music.

We also guessed Cami's clues today for her Star of The Week week. Cami had a can, cat, and a cookie in her Mystery Bag.

We started new math stations this afternoon. Children working with me worked on "building a floor" which focuses on number combinations to 10. Others explored the number grid, while others sequenced cups and put them in order from 1-10 and 11-20 in a fun, creative game.  Others worked on addition equations and subtraction equations using double dice!

This morning we started to learn about Cami, our Star of The Week. Cami did a great job sharing her poster as the Kindergarteners added information about Cami to their mind files. We look forward to guessing Cami's clues for her Mystery Bag tomorrow!

During math today, we discussed how to draw and represent a word problem in math. The Kindergartners were each given the same story and had to share their thinking.