Puppets, writing, music and more

This week we focused on more storytelling through the use of puppets to retell the emergent storybooks we are reading. Through the use of puppets that are created students then decided to make their own puppets in the art center. Some of the students created puppets that match the books we are reading while others made their own puppets and stories up to act out.

Here you can see a student created their own puppet to use to tell stories with the use of various art materials. Students also have been using the writing from our writing unit to label their centers and also display no touching signs to remind others  not to touch their work they have created.

The gingerbread boy

Students also this week have been working on a math story called Baby’s Adventure. In this math the students have been listening to a story about a little girl who takes a path around her house to find materials and also chases different animals and insects. Through the use of the words students are able to figure out that the path the baby takes creates shapes. The students are given the story but are not told how to solve the problem, but instead given the language to help them figure out the shapes by showing their thinking in a way that works for them.

Above you can see how four students showed a square or rectangle was one of the shapes created but showed their thinking in a way they could explain and share.

In choice time after we finished exploring our pumpkins we planted the seeds. They have now sprouted and are ready to be transported outside this week in hopes of growing our own pumpkins but as a class we will decide how to come up with a plan to keep the plants safe as the cold weather comes through.

A observes the sprouted plants.

In cooking this week we made pumpkin bread. After we baked the bread we made surveys and tree maps to have the students choose what type they wanted to try with chocolate chips or without. Students made the bread after listening to the Little red Hen.

Students this week also were introduced to musical instruments we have in the classroom. We took them outside and students created their own musical performance!

I just learned that our Donors Choose was funded. This means all of the students will be getting new winter gloves and rain jackets to have when it is wet and gets colder so we can continue to play even when it rains or is cold!

Don’t forget conferences are Thursday. Have a great week ahead!

 

writing is everywhere and a trip to the farm

This past week as we continued our writing study and look at how writing is important and everywhere, students were working on making signs. They were then introduced to card making and taught the importance of why we make cards and what types of cards there are. We also discussed how you need stamps and envelopes to mail cards out. Since it was Halloween many students chose to make Halloween cards.

Students continue to use the signs they have observed to make their own in the classroom. Many students have begun to add signs to the block area to show their work and with Halloween and pumpkins many made signs to show others not to touch our Jack-O-Lantern or other pumpkins we made.

 

Do not touch

This week we also added in new materials to the science center. We added in leaf plates to help students explore different leaves and then used vocabulary cards to help them identify the leaves. We also cooked pumpkin seeds this past week and tried some with salt and then made another type with cinnamon.

 

Students this past week celebrated Halloween not only by having costumes, but also attending our Fall Festival that was held outside on Halloween.

We also worked this past week on a new math unit called Baby’s Adventure. In this new unit students hear about the adventure the child goes on and within the adventure based on the path the child takes the students will figure out how the child made shapes but it is not told to the students.The goal is to help the students make sense of the math by listening to a story and then taking the math they heard, use tools and classroom materials to show their thinking and then figure out the answers on their own. We started with baby going out and the first shape would be a square or a rectangle.

We also took a trip to the Farm on Thursday. Students went on a hay ride, picked a pumpkin, and learned about the animals on the farm and how they help us. They also learned about the parts of  a pumpkin.

 

As a reminder there is no school on Tuesday as it is Election Day.