Let Me Introduce you to the Vowels!

We have officially introduced the entire alphabet! So, now we will dive a little deeper and learn that some letters are vowels and some letters are consonants. (RF.K.3)  We will also be specifically focusing on the vowel A this week.  

Here is a great video to watch at home..

After watching this video, you can use the letter cards in the homework folder to do a vowel/consonant sort.  I was so excited to hear the students using those big words ("vowel!" & "consonant!") today, when sorting magnetic letters!

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We started by remembering that sorting means we put the same things together.  Initially, the students wanted to sort them by color. They even thought that a vowel was a vowel because it was red. I was so impressed by how quickly they applied the song above to this activity; remembering the vowels are a,e, i, o, and u. They also were able to tell me that a vowel has two sounds!

Another simple song you can sing with your student...

Thank you Mrs. Speights! You have a lovely singing voice!

3-D Shapes

This year is the first year we are following the common core standards.  These are national standards and create more of an accountability on what is being taught from state to state.  As a result, some things have changed.  Beginning with shapes!  In the past students were asked to name and construct: square, circle, rectangle, triangle and rhombus. 

With the new standards, students are asked to identify and describe shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres). Standard K.G.3. says students will identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, “flat”) or three-dimensional (“solid”) is what we have been talking about this week.  You can find all of the standards for both Math and English Language Arts if you click here.

So, with the focus on 3-dimensional shapes we introduced the students to this 3-D shapes song! 

Hopefully, your student will come home singing it AND will be able to name a sphere, cylinder, cube and a cone!!

Welcome to Kindergarten...

Hello wonderful blogging world! We are so excited to be here and we can't wait to update you on all the great things that are happening in kindergarten at Clifton Hills Elementary School!! As you can see, we are a dynamic team of six!  Starting on the left... our team of teachers includes: Mrs. Watts, Mrs. Godbout, Ms. Toles, Ms. Hall, Mrs. Rios and Mrs. Speights!!

We will be updating the blog each week. We will focus on four main areas: fun things that have already happened this year, events that are coming up, what we are learning each week as well as things you can do with your student at home!

Please feel free to leave comments below or questions that you might have.  You can also email the kindergarten teachers at: kindergartenches@gmail.com

~Have a wonderful day!~

Guthrie Pumpkin Farm

We spent some time in the classroom studying farm animals and the differences between the city and the country.  In October, we were able to take an up close and personal look at the farm.  All six classes loaded up the buses and took the short drive to Guthrie Pumpkin Farm!

We were able to see baby and adult animals we have been learning about.  We even got to feed a calf!!

We also followed multiple-step instructions through an 'enchanted' maze.

We listened to the farmers talk about what it takes to manage and keep up a farm... it's A LOT of hard work!!

The kids' favorite part of the trip was riding behind the tractor on a hayride to the pumpkin patch where they were able to pick out their own pumpkin to take home! 

The kids had such a great time connecting all the things we were learning in the classroom to real life.  Many students had never seen a farm before, and they loved being able to see their classroom learning come to life!! 

We each were assigned a farm animal to our classroom... somehow they turned out quite funny!

It was a long, fun-filled day of learning!  No field trip is complete without a few sleeping kid shots on the bus ride home... they're precious! 

Being able to connect learning to the world around us is a vital part of the learning process.  We're so thankful for opportunities like this one that allow our students to experience hands-on learning!!