Ornithologists

This week we kicked off our new learning expedition all about Birds!  

We had a visit from our local Backcountry Educational department to help us think about our guiding question:

What makes a bird a bird?

Students rotated between different stations to closely observe different things about birds.

Our local experts brought feathers, beaks, talons and/or feet plus eggs for our ornithologists to closely observe and touch.

Thanks to our opportunity of inquiry and the guidance of our experts we learned that birds have:

1. feathers

2. wings

3. two feet

4. a beak

We also learned that all birds lay eggs!

After our experts left, students had the opportunity to discovery read all kinds of bird books!  We are so excited to become bird experts and teach you all that we are learning!

You can support this learning by:
~getting outside and noticing birds and nests
~reading bird books
~visiting Backcountry Base camp right here in Highlands Ranch

100 Days

This week we celebrated the 100th day of school!  We are so excited to be 100 days smarter.

 In math, we counted to 100 by 10s and 1s.  

Students reflected on themselves as a mathematician.  They used the sentence starter "I am the kind of mathematician who..."

I am the kind of mathematician who does math during math workshop.

I am the kind of mathematician who moves and counts.

I am the kind of mathematician who can count by 1s to 100.

In reading, we set a goal to read 100 books as a crew.  We read 101!  Way to go!

Students reflected on how they have grown as a reader after 100 days.

Students used the sentence starter, "After 100 days, I am the kind of reader who...."

Answers included:

I am the kind of reader who reads a lot.

I am the kind of reader who can read words.

I am the kind of reader who can read longer books because I have been practicing.

Lastly, students reflected on themselves in writing.

I can reflect on how I have grown after 100 days of kindergarten.

Students wrote....

I am kinder.  I can write 3 sentences.  I have made more friends

I can read more books.  I can count to 100.  I can write lowercase letters.

I am so proud of the growth my kindergarten crew has made after 100 days of school!

It's Winter

Winter has arrived and we love the snow!

Thank you for packing weather appropriate clothing to include mittens/gloves, hats, boots, snow pants and a cozy winter coat.

No matter the weather, we work hard to get outside and PLAY!  Our entire crew loves the fresh air and the snow seems magical to this curious, playful, hard working crew!  We work hard to get outside 3 times a day!

Kids only get to be in kindergarten one year of their life so we work hard to experience all that nature and childhood have to offer!

Celebration of Learning

What a special night of celebrating all the important skills we have learned in Kindergarten!

We decided to call our Celebration of Learning, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten".  Students started the night by singing songs about friendship, play and thinking like a scientist.

Then the kindergarten experts took their parents to visit 4 stations where they taught their families 4 important life skills:

Read (for fun and to learn)

Play

Rest

Wonder

Students taught their families the importance of each of these life skills.  Parents had time to play with their kids and learn about our classroom "Play Commitments"

~share

~include others

~take care of materials

~use kind words

In addition, students taught about reading for fun (fiction) and to learn (non-fiction).  They traveled to the art room to do a science experiments when their families got to observe closely and wonder.  

Lastly, parents got to make calm spray (water with lavendar oil) and get their backs rubbed just like we do each day to relax after recess.

The students were so proud to share what important life skills they are learning in kindergarten!

Corduroy The Play!

Our crew was so excited to leave school and head into the city to see the play, Corduroy!

Many of the students had not been on a bus yet, so that just added to the adventure.

We loved traveling to the big city!  Boy it sure is different than the suburbs.  

We were excited to look at the big buildings and notice all of the sounds and sights around.  Students couldn't believe how busy downtown was.

We have been reading lots of Corduroy books and beginning to discuss characters.  The crew loved the book!  

Many students had never been to a theater to see a play so it was such an exciting experience.  The students made me so proud by being great listeners, engaged audience members and crew members who showed all the Habits of Character!  We can't wait for our next field trip!

Adventure Awaits

Our kindie crew hit the paths and traveled to our local Cheese Ranch Park for the purpose of exploring and being in nature!  

I love every opportunity to get these curious kiddos outside.  I loved listening in on their conversations, noticings and inquiries of the world around them.  

The kids didn't need a play ground as they loved having free time to climb, explore and play!  The smiles were huge and the twinkle in each set of eyes reminded me of the beauty and joy of childhood.

The kids loved finding secret areas and squishy mud.  The water is always a magnet for curiosity.  

I feel so honored and trusted to get to guide such curious, amazing thinkers.  

There has already been a request to spend the entire day!  We may just make that happen.

Field Work

What better way to learn about nature than get out in it?

Our crew got to travel out of the classroom to visit Cheese Ranch park.  This week, we began the hard work of "Thinking Like a Scientist".  We learned that scientist:

~observe closely

~ask questions

~use their 5 senses

Our crew loved experiencing nature together.  I love teaching at a school that values experiences to help our curious kindergarteners learn the most.