If you are a parent of a Kindergarten student in our classroom, you may have noticed that there was a “100 Days of Kindergarten” celebration last week. You may be asking yourself, “have 100 days of school already passed for this year?” and “why is it so important to acknowledge this milestone?” The answer to the first question is a resounding “yes!”
Since the first day of school the Kindergarteners, along with Ms. Melissa and Ms. Diana, have been keeping a number roll tracking each of the days spent in our afternoon Kindergarten class.
It is relevant as it gives the children a tangible reflection of the passage of time, allowing them the opportunity to recognize the concepts of days, weeks and months. Also, it is such a significant number, that it gives us the chance to immerse the students in the manipulation and identification of what 100 really is.
On the actual 100th day, the children were involved in several “100” themed activities; counting and eating 100 pieces of popcorn, using 100 plastic cups to build different designs, cutting American cheese into the number 100, and collaging the number 100.
Students were also challenged to complete 4 sets of 25 exercises ( 25 jumping jacks, 25 hops, etc.) to make 100.
In the Montessori classroom, we build several early math lessons around number recognition and its one-to-one correspondence (recognizing the symbol and the amount it is representing as the same thing).
After 0-10 is mastered, the teens and then the tens are introduced, which eventually leads to doing the 100 board.
Successfully completing the 100 board is a milestone in our classroom. It is done by sorting all 100 numbers into their corresponding “families” and then placing the tiles in sequential order. Once this standard way is accomplished, students are invited to arrange the titles in various patterns such as backwards, zig zag, and in a spiral.
We look forward to our parent teacher conferences coming up next week. As you enter the classroom, you may notice our “ocean wall.”
This is a science/art project that Ms. Melissa brings to Kindergarten during the month we study oceans. Each of the fish are drawn close to scale, with all of the actual colors and markings done to match the actual animal. As the Kindergarteners learn the names and characteristics of the animals, they will be giving “ocean wall” tours to the younger students.
A special thanks to all of the parents who drove and chaperoned the Kindergarten field trip to Estes McDoniel Elementary School, for a look at their wonderful marine lab.
There is nothing like a real life example to making a lasting impression upon our young students.
We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss day next Wednesday, 3/2. Please feel free to have your child dress up as any Dr. Seuss character. We will be celebrating the creative genius of the author by setting up several arts and crafts projects, and a cooking project in the classroom during the morning.
REMINDERS
Thursday, March 3 is half day dismissal at 11:15 due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.
Friday, March 4th there is no school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.
Spring Break begins on 3/18 with dismissal at 11:15, followed by no school from 3/21-3/25.
No school on 3/28 due to teacher in-service, school resumes on Tuesday, 3/29.
A great big thank you to Austin and Sydney, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.
