We Can...

write our color words! My kinders are so smart that they have figured out that if they look around the room, they will find resources that can help them complete tasks. I have color words posted on the board, on the color wall, and they are also written out on the desk nameplates at each child's area. During 'down time' (which is very rare), the class loves to work with their marker boards (or to draw on the tables with our 'magic markers'). On this particular day, I told the class to work on spelling out the color words. They could sing the songs we have been learning to help them, or they could write from memory, OR they could find something in the room to help them out.

 And this it what it looks like when we clean up, after we use the markers! Baby wipes are wonderful things!!! I even use them to clean my chalk/dry erase board.

2+2=22???

When it is time for the babies to begin adding numbers, they unfortunately revert back to thinking about how the numeral looks. For example, if I make the mistake of saying one and one is...? Instead of one plus one is...? They automatically say, "11!" It makes me remember that the way I phrase my vocabulary is so important in my job. Over the course of the next few weeks, my kindergarteners will be learning how to combine numbers; adding them by way of pictures, manipulatives, numerals, and addition stories. On Friday, we did an activity to introduce them to this new concept.

 We began by using blocks to represent objects in a story: "I had 7 blocks in my drawer. My brother found 2 more blocks in his drawer. How many blocks did we have in all?"

 The next step was to write the number sentence. We began this after we had represented several different scenarios with the blocks. (Magic trick: dry erase markers WILL easily wipe off of student tables with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and they think they are getting to do something spectacular when they get to write on the table!)

The final step of our lesson was to apply what we could now do on paper! They did great! I really love it when they begin transferring all of their newfound knowledge to do 'hard' work...which we sometimes refer to as first grade work...and then they really feel as smart as they are!!!