Monthly Archives: May 2019

Celebrating the Ones We Love

We had two very special celebrations this month in kindergarten. The first was a delightful Mother’s Day Tea. Students painted tea cups for their moms. They also wrote special books about their moms. Each mom received a handpainted vase and a custom placemat.

Students also made fancy hats!

We didn’t let the rain bother us one bit!

We also celebrated our dads and special men in our lives. Once again, students created special memory books. They also made a picture frame and a special baseball bat.

To add to the fun, we played a game of baseball…loved ones vs. kindergartners! What a blast!

We ended the day with a group picture and a delicious cookie!

Go, team!

 

Fairy Tale Creative Writing Project

We have been enjoying the Fairy Tale unit for more than three weeks now. Students have kept a record of the similarities and differences between fairy tales.

They even compared and contrasted different versions of familiar fairy tales!

Today, students began the process of writing their own fairy tale using our interactive bulletin board.

Students chose a setting card, two character cards, and a problem card. They then organized this information in a story map.

Next, students began writing their fairy tales, making sure to begin with “once upon a time…” They will illustrate their fairy tales as well, ending up with their very own book. Stay tuned for updates on this project next week!

Why I Love Musical Plays!

Musical plays have been a passion of mine since the beginning of my teaching career. In fact, when I was in graduate school, my masters thesis was centered on the importance of musical plays in elementary school classrooms. Team building, language acquisition, critical thinking, public speaking, creativity, and more, are skills involved in the production of a musical play. Each year I look forward to producing a musical play with the kindergarten class. This year was no different. Mrs. Vanetti and I decided to work on a brand new-to-us musical play this year: Character Matters. Character Matters fit into our Swooper Citizens curriculum perfectly.

 

 

Not only do musical plays provide students with opportunities for team building and expressive interactions, but students internalize and remember history, in this case, through active learning. Musical plays help students take their learning to the next level!