A Break from the Routine Before Break!

 On the days before Winter Break, Kindergartners participated in some much desired classroom choice time.  Tic- Tac- Toe tournaments ensued and there were several rounds of  a "Hickory Dickory Dock" board game.  Practice with taking turns, cooperation, color and number recognition, and strategy were  goals.  Other friends worked together to create winding train track or magnet structures.  Journal writing and drawing were also favorite past-times.

So, on this particular morning 
Marshall the Math Teacher 
walks in and says....  
then the Kindergartners began getting out measuring tools..... 
and then.......       
(I don't remember-ask Marshall.)  

Our Valentine's Day included love poems, "conversation heart" Bingo, beautiful flowers, and Valentines delivery in the round!  

Math Investigation:  Estimation

Our 100th day of school brought 100 ways to have some fun.  We started by reading two stories, The One Hundredth Day of School and I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words.  The morning math activity included graphing numbers 1-100 and even our names.  We examined patterns created by both.  We then applied another  skill, estimation.  Kindergartners observed a jar of counting cubes then wrote their "best guesses" predicting the total amount of cubes in the jar.   Kindergartners came remarkably close with predictions such as 85 and 100!
We actually counted 95 cubes in all!                          
We also counted our soup cans and discovered that we have 50 cans total.  The kids stated, "We are half way  to our 100 can goal!"  Now that's math application!

            The Kindergartner's Pirate Adventures Continue!

Kindergartners participated in a  scavenger hunt exclusively designed for us by our  5th/6th Grade Buddies!  Ks began with a clue that led us first to the playground area.  We were directed through several tasks by some very kowledgable and very helpful guides Isabel and Aristia.  These "hook-handed" pirates helped us with our first trial with a hungry wolf.  We were then directed by and deviously mislead through the woods by several forest figures doned in various costumes.  We encountered an elf, a double talking soldier, and even awakened a sleeping giant.  At the end of our journey, we  received sufficent bounty for our very fun and tricky morning adventure.

 

                                              
                                    Yoga Fridays with Dom!

Breath is a broom sweeping your insides.
Smooth and slow:  
You pull scattered bits of dream fluff
and heart dust into neat piles.
Short and quick:
You coax shards of broken thoughts out of forgotten corners.
Breath is a broom 
sweeping you fresh.  
 -From Twist:  Yoga Poems by Janet S. Wong

In February It's So Nice Sliding on the Slippery Ice...