We began our learning about Patriotism with some discussion about the American flag. We wondered why it looks the way it does. By watching the BrainPop Jr. video on American Symbols, our class learned that the flag has 50 stars, to represent the 50 states. The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies (or states) that America began with over 200 years ago. We also learned that the eagle is America's bird, that the Liberty Bell is an important symbol of America, and that the Star Spangled Banner is our national anthem. You can view this video, and play related games, by clicking through this link. We also read a patriotic alphabet book, which introduced us to the Bill of Rights and US Constitution. We discussed that the Bill of Rights protects basic rights that all Americans have. In our classroom, we have basic rights as well, such as the right to be safe and the right to learn without distraction. Some students in our class even picked up on the differences between the original American flag and our current flag. As a class, we realized that the original flag had only 13 stars, because there were only 13 states at the time. What a smart group of kindergarten kids!
In math, we began some discussion of similarities and differences. We also did several activities to practice sorting objects by color.
We used a variety of math manipulatives to practice this skill with peers. Then we practiced making AB repeating patterns using the manipulatives as well.
On Friday, the class used a fun-size pack of M&Ms and the characters from Brown Bear to sort and graph the colors of M&Ms.
We continued practicing and learning each others' names. Using our tearing skills, we tore pieces of paper and glued them onto our names, using ROYGBP rainbow order to fill in the letters.
We also have a new favorite story and song in kindergarten: Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom! Our class watched the video of all the letters being silly trying to climb into the coconut tree. Next week our class will be participating in a Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom letter exchange with other classrooms across the United States. Check back next week to see how we decorate our letter (O), and then package our letters up to mail them to the other classes who are participating. We can't wait to receive the other letters of the alphabet in the mail over the coming weeks! While discussing Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom, the students each created his/her own coconut trees. Everyone had to follow directions carefully to assemble the tree, and then worked with an adult to find the letters of his/her name and glue those into the coconut tree.
We also began practicing identifying and producing rhyming pairs. Check under the "Educational Games" tab for a fun and kid-friendly rhyming game to practice at home!
Check back next week to see as we further discuss American rights, decorate our letter O's, sort objects in other ways, write "I am" sentences, practice rhyming words, and read books by this month's author, David Shannon.
Thank you for the work you do! Daniel comes home every day and tells me about what he learned and then plays his own "school". He even made his own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree at home. Thank you for inspiring their learning!
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