Learning to Document in Kindergarten

Something that we wanted to focus on this year that we did not do last year was to teach the kids about documenting their work and observations.

We started by using manipulatives. First we tried having students work together but they were more interested in creating their own things so we made small baggies with manipulatives for students to create with and then document their creation.

 Once we had worked independently with documentation, students started documenting their work in centers. This is still a work in progress but I see many of them using accurate drawings to show what they worked on during their center time.

 We also worked on using our 5 senses to observe. One of the items we looked closely at was sea shells. Students used magnifying glasses to look closely and draw. Then they traced with a black marker and used the correct colors to mimic their shell.

 So far we are pleased with the documentation we are seeing. We can't wait to see what they will do in the future.

Learning About Colors in Kindergarten

Every year we take time at the beginning of the year to learn our colors. We focus on identifying the color, introduce the color words and show students how colors mix together to make new colors. Here are some of the things we did this year.

Color Bulbs- Each time we introduced a new color we learned a song, read books and we made a color bulb. Students loved when we put two colors in the bulb and shook it to make a new color. That's how students learned which primary colors make secondary colors. All the bulbs are hanging from our ceiling.

Painting with Q-Tips- Students painted using Q-Tips to practice their pincer grip. They painted inside the color word and then free hand painted an object that is that color. When we got to secondary colors students had to mix primary colors together to make the new color.

 Color Collages - Each student searched for items at home to bring in and put on our color collages.  Students sorted their objects into color bins. They then worked together to paint the wooden color boards. After they dried students glued the objects on the boards.  All the boards are hanging on our wall with labels for each color and our bulbs.

Shades and Tints - we also talked about how each color can be made darker and lighter by adding black or white to the color. We have a lot of paint swatches around the room that show variations of colors. Students made their own paint color by picking a base color and then adding either black or white to make it lighter or darker. We then put all their paint creations in the art area and students used them during center time to paint with.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear- Keeping with yearly tradition we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. We discussed the characters and their colors and then students made their own page to put in our classroom book.

It's always fun to see the students learn about colors and how they are made!

Community Building in Kindergarten

Ms. West and I teach in a co-teaching kindergarten classroom. We each have a full group of students that we merge together to create one classroom community. We have been teaching in the same classroom now for 3 years... but we knew right away that we would have to teach our students to work together if we wanted this setup to be successful.  Of course we have learned a few things over the years and each group of kids is different. Here are some of the community building concepts we worked on this year. We usually spend a few days to a week on each concept and we finish it all out by creating a classroom peace promise.

Self Control- students learned to use self control by doing the bubble pop activity. Students learned to control themselves while waiting their turn to pop the bubbles. We also read the book Too Loud Lily and Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.

 Kindness- students learned about kindness by doing the tooth paste squeeze. After we read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes students worked in groups to think mean thoughts while squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube. Students then were told to put the toothpaste back in but they couldn't. Much like when we say mean things and can't take our words back.

We also did the apple activity. We used two apples ( and named them ) We left one alone and set in on the table. We called the other one mean names and each time we would drop it or bang in. Once we were finished we cut them open and saw how our mean words bruised the inside of the apple.

 Active Listening - students learned about active listening by doing different following directions activities and also playing this game called Back to Back. Each student works with a partner and sits back to back. They each have the same set of blocks. One student builds and then explains what to do to their partner. They are not allowed to turn around until they are both done to see if they communicated well enough to have the same building.

 Friendship - students also learned about being a friend through many different stories. One of our favorites is My Friend and I about two friends who argue over a toy and break it. They then use a band aid to fix it. Students each put a band aid on themself to remember the story's message.

 Teamwork- students worked on teamwork for a long time and we still use it daily. Their first activity was to put together a puzzle. Each student got a small bag of pieces but they soon realized they couldn't do it because they didn't have all the parts. They then realized all their pieces were supposed to make one large puzzle. We worked on puzzles for a few days. We also did beading to hang above our tables, painted our color blocks and did several loose parts activities to practice working together.

 Peace Promise - our promise took longer to make this year than last but we weren't ready and it shouldn't be rushed. Students gave us a list of things they thought they could do every day. We then compiled it into our promise. Several of our students worked together and painted a background. Each student and teacher that works in our classroom community made a peace sign with their signature and then we put them all together.

Our community is important to us. When we notice that we are struggling with one of the character traits on our peace promise we stop and have a community meeting. It takes a lot of time to keep up with it and be proactive rather than reactive but it's worth it when kids show kindness towards others and love to work together.

Here is our hallway community building web display.