Fish Stix anyone?

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This week, our class started learning how to play a new game called Fish Stix. In the game, each player is given 3 sticks, each displays four pictures of various colored fish. The players must take turns matching fish by color and direction. When the child is able to make a match, a player counts the number of matching fish, and then moves their fish token that number of spaces on their scoreboard. The first person that gets all their fish to 10 wins!

This game is good for many age groups. Young students can play by the basic rules while older children can strategize about which move would make the most sense based on their scorecard or which moves will result in more than one match.

Big Body Letters

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This morning, our students got excited about trying to figure out how to make various letters using only their bodies. Not only did the students have to access their knowledge about letters and the shapes we use to represent them, but they had to work cooperatively to move their bodies to make the correct formation. Using directional language, the students (and sometimes the teacher) guided each other to twist, curve, or straighten their bodies so the letter could take shape.

The Cat Sat on a Mat with a Rat

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One of the many skills we are currently working on this time of year is rhyming. During the school year, we spend a lot of time talking about the sounds we hear in words. Students practice these skills as they start to sound out words for what we like to call “kid writing”. As we move through the school year, we begin focusing on the sounds we hear at the end of a word and how some words share the same ending sounds. Sometimes, this can be tricky as many students still focus on words that share the same sound at the beginning of a word such as “ball” and “bat”. The more we practice and show examples of rhyming words, the more the students are able to grasp the concept.

This week, we have been playing a rhyming game that asks the students to find three concrete items that will rhyme with the picture they are given. The students delight in finding rhyming words and placing the toy on their picture card. As teachers, we like this game because it provides the student with an opportunity to physically pick up an object, say the two words out loud, and decided whether or not they rhyme. Having a concrete item to touch, makes the task more meaningful and therefore makes for a stronger connection in the child’s brain.

Another fun way to practice rhyming, on the go, is to give your child a word and see if they can come up with a rhyming word to match it. It could be a real word rhyme such as “cat” and “bat” or it could be a silly rhyme such as “Forst” and “morst”. This game can be played at the grocery market, the car, or while waiting for the doctor. If your child is having trouble coming up with a rhyme, start by giving them an example or using concrete objects such as toys or commonly found objects. What’s most important is that the game should be fun! There is nothing more powerful than a child who learns through play and therefore loves to learn!

 

This Moment

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066Today we played some “hour of code” games with our buddies! For many of our students, this was their first experience working with a computer mouse.

All together, the students wrote 642 lines of code today!

Hour of Code

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Last week, our school participated in a worldwide initiative called The Hour of Code. This project is designed to help promote computer sciences in all classrooms and to spark the curiosity of children while they are young.  It also helps to show children that computer programming can be as simple as playing games.

Our Pre-K students worked with the members of our technology department from the city campus and discussed how robots need instructions or commands in order to do a job. Some robots react to buttons or joysticks, while others use voice and face recognition. When you write code, you need the same ingredients.

We then played a game where one teacher pretended to be a robot that needed instructions from the students on how to build a tower of blocks. Instructions like “build the floor” were not specific enough for the robot to know what to do. The students had to really think about what words they needed to use for the robot to understand. Directions such as “pick up the rectangle block and put it on the floor” gave enough detail for the robot to do his job.

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After our discussion, we broke up into small groups and played an app called Daisy the Dinosaur. The students had to choose different actions for Daisy to do. At first, the students just picked one action at a time, then they began making long lists for Daisy to accomplish. When they felt that the list was complete, the students hit play and watch Daisy perform her silly dance of flips and turn, growing and shrinking.

The students loved the idea that they were in charge of that happened to Daisy, and more importantly, that they were able to do it independently. We encourage you to look into some of the activities that promote computer sciences at home as well http://csedweek.org/learn . Perhaps someday your little one could be the next computer engineer!

WT visits the MAKESHOP

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Today, we traveled with our fourth grade buddies into the city to visit the MAKESHOP at the Children’s Museum. The students were ready and excited to talk about circuits! With a brief review about how circuits work, the children began experimenting with a battery pack equipped with two batteries, two wires, and a motor. The students spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to make the motor run.

Once everyone figured out how to turn their motor on, we got to work building different machines using recycled materials. Our fourth grade buddies helped us pick our materials and decide what type of a contraption to make. Some devices even had switches that allowed the creator to turn the motor on and off whenever they wanted.

With a pinch of experimentation and a ton of creativity, our students made some amazing devices! Each child was permitted to take their machine with them, so when your child gets home, be sure to ask them about what they made and how it works!

Letters, letters everywhere…

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Today, during recess, some of our students decided to make letters of the alphabet using natural materials. The possibilities were endless!

Everyday Challenges

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When we arrived outside for recess this morning, we immediately noticed that something was a bit off. Three of our sand buckets were hanging from a tree. The bottom-most one was within reach and easily retrieved. However, the other two caused a bit of consternation.

2013Sep09_1001How would we ever get the buckets down? Mrs. Pless and I stepped back to observe and let the children take the lead in solving the dilemma.  The first few comments were rather non-committal, “You are as tall as those, Mrs. Forst.”  We didn’t take the bait.  Generally, if it is not a direct, polite request, we ignore the statement or help rephrase it to achieve the desired results.  For instance, if the children had asked, “Mrs. Forst, would you please get the buckets down for us?” I might have done it.  Maybe.

The truth is I’d much rather see the ideas they propose.  Mrs. Pless and I expected someone to pick up a stick and hit the buckets.  (We were practicing our mantra, “Be Safe”, in our heads while overseeing.) Thank goodness that idea did not occur to the children.  Instead, one child quickly hopped onto the tree and began to climb it coconut harvester style, hand over hand with his feet sandwiching the tree.  Mrs. Pless and I certainly didn’t expect that.  Just as we were both getting ready to remind him that we aren’t allowed to climb trees at school, he knocked down the first container.  Bucket one solved.

Now for the second bucket.  The plan worked for the lower of the two buckets, so a couple of children continued to attempt the climb.  Unluckily (or luckily?), the trunk really didn’t lend itself to easy climbing.  Eventually we saw two boys arguing over the first bucket.  As we were about to intercede and mediate a discussion the argument ended.  One of the children firmly grasped the first bucket, arced it over his head, and sent it colliding into the still tree-bound container.  With this added pressure, the final bucket fell free.  All three buckets were successfully saved by four and five year-olds without a single tip from an adult or need for band-aids.

These children showed:

  • Curiosity
  • A willingness to experiment
  • An acceptance of failure
  • Persistence
  • Working Memory
  • Problem Solving Strategies
  • Team work
  • Attention

Draft #3

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It is now March and our story is starting to take shape. Each character now fits into one story that not only has a beginning, middle, and an end but it finally has a plot as well! The story and script is completely written by the students and it quite colorful, to say the least.

Enjoy!

 

(Please note that some students may be missing from this version as they were out due to illnesses)

 

The Three Horses (March 6, 2013)

 

The mean ballerina fairies are having a party under the bridge. (Cl, Ra, So)

Along came the littlest horse (K)

“No one is allowed on our bridge, it’s just for us!” said the mean ballerina fairies.

“Wait for my medium brother. She is much bigger and much juicier.” Said the littlest horse.

And the horse went across the bridge and ate at the grassy hill. (K)

 

When along came two medium sister horses. (Sa and Re)

“You can’t go across our bridge, it’s just for us!” said the fairies. “You have to solve our riddle. What makes scribbles? The second answer is those kind of scissors. Now you may cross.”

And the medium sister horses crosses the bridge.

 

Then came along the big daddy horse.

“You can’t go across our bridge, it’s just for us!” (Fairies)

“What do I have to do then?” (So)

“You have to solve a daddy troll mystery. Who goes into something tall?” (Fairies)

“People in the loft.” said the bid daddy horse and she knocks them over. (So)

 

When along came two Thomas trains. (A and Ev)

“You can’t go across our bridge, it’s just for us!” (Fairies)

“Beep beep!” said the two Thomas trains and they went across the bridge.

 

And the three mean ballerina fairies were trying to figure out what was going on, a rotten egg (J) rolled in and the mean fairies tried to cook it. But the rotten egg rolled away.

And they all came back to have a dance party on the bridge.

 

The End.

A horse is a horse, of course!

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In our study of horses, the children were intrigued to learn that there are many different types.  Once we began to recognize a few of the distinguishing characteristics, the children became curious about our own plastic horses.  We scoured the web for an easy to use guide to help us in our new quest.  Once printed, this image helped us figure out how many bays, palominos, appaloosa, and roans we had in our collection.