Just before Thanksgiving we finished our science unit on structure and function.  Students were challenged to design a new and better paint brush.   Students were encouraged to think about what they would like their paintbrush to be able to do (function) and then they drew a picture to match their idea (design).  Once they had a sense of the paintbrush they wanted to create they chose from a variety of materials to begin creating their final product.   Finally they were given an opportunity to try out their brushes.  After testing their paintbrushes and seeing other student's designs  we discussed  changes they might make if they were to build another paintbrush.  This was an extremely fun and engaging task.

We have been playing several math games that involve rolling two dice and finding a total.  These games are a fun way to continue practicing number recognition (after finding the total children need to find the matching numeral on a game board),  counting, and for many children, learning basic math facts.  There is also an opportunity for deeper math thinking and connections, often made intuitively as children play the games multiple times - I hear comments such as "3 and 3 is 6 so 3 and 4 must be seven".

Soon I will send home a list of ideas for working on number sense along with several games that your child could play at home.  Number sense, which is essentially what numbers mean and how they relate to each other, is perhaps the most important math skill we work on in kindergarten.  Developing number sense is critical for fluency and flexibility in math.  In the words of well known author and math educator Marilyn Burns, number sense helps "students come to understand that numbers are meaningful and outcomes are sensible and expected."  Number sense is as important to math as phonemic awareness (knowing letters and their sounds) is to reading.  Both provide a critical foundation for future skills to rest upon. 

During writing students have been working on writing their own words as much as possible.  Some strategies for this include just writing beginning sounds - with spaces between words I can often read what is written.  We have also talked about stretching words - saying them slowly to hear all of the sounds and writing as many as we can.  We have had many discussions about just making an attempt, even if some sounds are missing - with practice children will get better and better at writing, but they have to take the risk.  It is always very exciting for children and me when I can read their writing before they tell me about it.

I want to have a play date with Ansley.

I have a new puppy.

I was out in my store selling tickets with my sister.

I wentt to dance.

For the past few weeks we have been working on our first Project Lead the Way science unit:  Structure and Function - Exploring Design.  We began by talking about the function of various objects and how this connects to their design and structure, for example something that is meant to hold water will need a structure with sides etc.  For our first project we read a version of Jack and the Beanstalk and children were challenged to use pipe cleaners to make their own beanstalk, as tall as possible and strong enough to hold a plastic egg.  This was challenging and led to a great discussion about taking risks, learning from failure, and persevering.  Many students failed in their first attempts and had to begin again, some experienced lots of frustration, and some were not successful in our allotted time frame.  No big deal - real scientists experience these things on a much larger scale all the time!

For our second project we read a version of The Three Little Pigs.  Teams of children were given a bag with either toothpicks (straw), craft sticks (sticks), or little bricks.  Each group also had clay and glue sticks.  Using just the materials they were given each team needed to design and build a house sturdy enough to hold up to the blowing of the big bad wolf (actually a leaf blower).  Again, there were many chances to practice dealing with frustration, persevering, and most importantly, working as a team.  We talked about what makes a good teammate for this kind of challenge.  Children's thoughts included someone who is kind, someone who doesn't give up (perseverance), someone who listens to ideas and is willing to combine ideas (compromise), and someone who works together with their partner.  We will use this list as a reminder of what it means to be a good teammate anytime we are doing group work.