Kindergarten Today

A Good Day!

 

 

 

“Today was a good day, Mrs. Maurer!”

Well, duh. We spent an hour at Jump for Heart (trampolines, jump rope, hopscotch, music, snacks), we wrote a story about our activities at Jump for Heart, we made paper plate ducks to finish our pond unit, we went to recess, we had lunch, we played in centers, we read two stories, we painted. No math, no phonics, no social studies…of course it was a good day. J

Marigolds for Mom

We planted marigold seeds so we will have little plants to give to our moms!

 

Butterflies!

"Oh, look! Butterflies!"

"What happened to the other ones?"

"Those two are too tired to come out."

"What is that red stuff?"

"Why do they keep flapping, flapping?"

"What will they eat?"

"They look just like the picture!"

"That one looks funny." (One has a deformed wing.)

"How long can we keep them?"

"I seen one of those at my house!"
 

We have five little beauties and two more expected today.

Waiting...

Problem Solving 101

Yesterday I observed an interesting exercise in problem solving. Three of my girls were painting at the art center and decided they needed some clean water.

Our classroom door is pretty heavy for a kindergartner to handle, but most of my students can open and close it. I usually leave it open, but in the afternoons there is often hall noise and distraction from the returning lunch crowds, so I close the door for about an hour.

H went to the door with the cup of water in her hand and found that she couldn’t open the door. I watched her from my desk and waited to see if she would ask someone for help. No. She returned to the art center and put the cup back on the table. There was a brief discussion and then C picked up the cup. Now C is at least four inches shorter and much lighter than H, so I watched intently to see what she would do.

C went to the door and pulled. Nothing. She put the cup of water on top of the cubbies next to the door, used both hands to pull the door open, braced it with her back, retrieved the cup, and walked out. H wasn’t even watching!!  Oh well, maybe she’ll figure it out next time.

Read an interesting blog post I’ll share here: Teachers and Parents

Waiting for wings!

Our caterpillars arrived Thursday. Here are some of the comments my students made Friday as they observed our new guests:

They're adorable!

Why are they so tiny?

What are those sticking out things?

How many legs do they have?

How many are there? Oh, I see. Six!

What's that yellow stuff? Is it honey?

How many legs do they have?

Oh, I have to order some of those for my house!

Will they be butterflies soon?

How will they get out of their shell after they make it?

Do they have a mouth?

What will they do while we are gone?

Field Trip

Our budgets are being cut, but we managed one nearby field trip! Yeah! This is a "mountain man rendezvous" with lots of demonstrations of early life skills.

I apologize for not taking more photos, and for the poor quality of these, but Tuesday I had cataract surgery and I took these photos through heavy shades.