A Hoot of a Kindergarten Class!: week of February 1

Monday was all about Groundhog Day!

We started out our day by making predictions of what we thought happened!

As you can see in the following video and pictures, some of the students were more pleased than others that spring is coming sooner than anticipated... ;)

#happyclassrooms #sorta

ghog2016 from Jaysa Smith on Vimeo.

The students had fun one more time with Polar Bear Math the Room (subtraction facts)!

You can grab this {freebie}, too!

Then, Ms. Kim had a fun, yummy snack ready for us!

Shadow and Not Cookies!

We let out early Monday because of the awful weather system that moved through the south that night.Thankfully, our town was spared but we can't say the same for the areas around us.

Tuesday, we wrote about happened when the Groundhog appeared.

You guys already know we aren't big on "cookie cutter crafts" here at CS, but we couldn't let the holiday slip by without making our own Punxsutawney Phils. ;)

We also learned so great facts about groundhogs, too!

I was also able to finally print our pictures for our 5 Senses of Winter snow globe activity.

And. They. Are. Awesome.

We used instasnow instead of fake snow because, well, we just really like to watch it react with water, to be honest. You can grab the project {here}

We have worked really hard all week on our 10-frames trying to grasp this concept.

Thursday we used stickers. Because stickers rock.

These went home so please be using these to help reinforce this concept with me. :)

Because, as parents, you also rock.

This 10-frame booklet is from Number and Words 0-10 by Debby Head and Libby Pollett of bby Publications at UWA.

The following information came directly from their website. I attended a bby Conference this summer here on campus and Debby's grandson attends the Campus School and even though I knew her before the conference, after attending it just confirmed that she may be one of the most awesome people I have ever met. She has one of those personalities that draws me to her (Have you ever met someone and just knew they were an awesome teacher? That's Debby. I want to be that, too.) and I just want to learn from her (she has so much great stuff in her head, people!) and I want to know her and I don't know...be her best friend. So, Debby, if this blog post ever makes it to you (since you haven't been on pick-up duty in a while) can we be besties? forever? call me?

Debby Head and Libby Pollett have taught a combined total of nearly 50 years in Shelbyville, Kentucky. They taught several grades, but were happiest team-teaching 2nd grade. Debby and Libby founded Head-Pollett Consultants in 1985 to provide workshop training, model teaching and curriculum alignment. In 1994, they founded bby Publications, which has published over 40 of their books. Debby and Libby are known for developing short, enticing routines that provide rich explorations in geometry, place value, time, money and number literacy.

Debby and Libby partnered with the University of West Alabama (UWA) in July 2009, to continue to create new ways to make learning a joyful discovery for both children and teachers. As partners with UWA, Debby and Libby continue to write and consult with schools across the country, assisting these schools in the implementation of local, state and national math standards. As part of its 175-year history, UWA maintains a tradition of excellence in training teachers.

The University of West Alabama (UWA) has served not only as a center for teacher training and higher education for 177 years, but also as a gathering spot for community and cultural events, including symphonic performances, dramatic productions, and outdoor activities. Tracing its beginning to the charter of Livingston Female Academy in 1835, UWA is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the state. The university is located in Livingston in Sumter County, just 20 miles from the Mississippi state line and 57 miles from Tuscaloosa, in Alabama’s Black Belt region.

The students also enjoyed pulling out the bingo dot markers and practicing their patterns for Valentine's Day. It will be here before you know it!

And speaking of, class lists went home in mailboxes today!

Please continue reading with your children every night and when they have mastered their book, send it back and they can choose another book to take home. We are enjoying reading together in the classroom, too! They get excited to read their book to me and choose another one!

We finished our discussion on hibernation today.

To help the students better understand, we did a "Storing Fat for Winter" experiment.

I put a large amount of Crisco in a baggie, flattened the Crisco to a layer in the baggie and sealed the bag. I made enough bags so each student would have one. Then I gave each student a Crisco baggie, placing it flat on their open palm, then placed an ice cube on top.

After I gave each student an ice cube, we reviewed that winter animals hibernate through the winter. We recalled they eat a lot in summer and fall and the fat keeps them warm and nourished. The students felt the Crisco kept them from feeling the cold from the ice just as the animals' fat kept them from feeling the cold of the winter!

All week we learned about migration and hibernation. We wondered:

What is migration? How do animals prepare for migration? Why do animals migrate?

What animals migrate?

What is hibernation? How do animals prepare for hibernation? What animals hibernate?

Here is our summary:

Our Shared Reading book for the week was Our Grandad by Joy Cowley.

They did great illustrating their version on Friday!

To end our migration/hibernation unit, we had PJ Day and a Hibernation Party this afternoon!

After hibernating during quiet time, we drank hot cocoa and had toast in the shape of snowflakes, penguins, trees, mittens, snow hares, and butterflies (they migrate). And watched a movie!