Week 21 in Kindergarten: Reading, Singing, and Growing together!

Dear Family, this week in Kindergarten was full of curiosity, discovery, and

“a-ha” moments as our children explored, questioned, and learned together. Read on to see all the fun we had…

Large Group

Along with our daily large group routines, this week our focus was on learning about the five oceans of the world. We introduced this topic through the fun and catchy song “Five Oceans” by Jack Hartman, which quickly became a class favorite and helped our children remember the ocean names with confidence. Our large group book this week was Me on the Map, a favorite from last semester and a perfect match for what our children are currently learning. Re-reading this familiar story helped them make strong connections between maps, globes, land, and water, and supported their understanding of where oceans and continents fit in our world. Using our large classroom map, small map chart, and globe, our children explored where each ocean is located and how the oceans surround and connect the continents. They took turns pointing, naming, and identifying the oceans while discussing what Earth looks like and the features it has, such as land and water.

“I went to park with my mom and Alex” -Samuel

“They are deep oceans, because they have a lot of water” -Lubono

“Blippi lives in Australia, the small Blippi not the big one” -Leul

“There’s Atlantic Ocean and pacific ocean but Pacific is the largest” -Kian

“It’s 97 today” -Yemariam

“100 is on Wednesday” -Yadon

Literacy

This week, we continued to strengthen our reading and writing skills in fun and meaningful ways. During our first session, our children practiced recalling sight words from our word wall and tracing them, building confidence in recognizing and writing familiar words. Once we saw how well they remembered the words, we made the second session extra special. We prepared simple sentences that started with each child’s name for them to read, enjoy, and rewrite. Seeing their own names in sentences made the activity exciting and personal, and our children were so proud to read what was written about them. It was a joyful way to boost confidence, reading fluency, and writing skills all at once.

“It has everybody’s name” -Leul

“But there’s two Nia Nai’s” -Liyat

“Kian sees a cat. That’s funny” -Kian

“But I don’t have a red ball” -Lubono

“Betselot” - Betselot

Math

We continued exploring numbers in word form this week through fun and interactive matching activities. Our children first practiced on the board, taking turns matching number cards to the correct number words. Once they felt confident, they moved on to a worksheet activity the next day where they drew lines connecting each number to its matching word. These activities helped reinforce number recognition, reading, and focus. We are so proud to share that our children have now added 10 number sight words to their growing vocabulary!

“This is five and this is four but they look the same because they both start with F” -Yadon

“You see you made ABAB pattern with the number cards. Blue green blue green” -Leul

“This is seven” -Samuel

“I match and I finished” -Ismael

“Two is this one?” -Betselot

Science

This week in science, we continued our exploration of living and non-living things through fun activities. After recalling what we learned last week and reviewing how to identify each category, we jumped into a fun and hands on scissor activity. Our children were given worksheets with different objects below, category labels on top, and scissors to work with. They carefully snipped out the pictures and worked together to sort and stick them into the correct groups. Throughout the activity, they asked questions, shared ideas, and discussed their thinking with friends. It was full of teamwork, excitement, and meaningful learning!

“Bee is living thing” -Samuel

“What shoes is not a living thing” -Ismael

“Scissor” -Nai

“We have two trees. Look! Living things” -Yemariam

Art

This week, our art session was both creative and meaningful as it connected beautifully with our ongoing planet Earth lessons. After learning that our planet is about 4.5 billion years old and discovering the seven continents and five oceans, our children were excited to create their own Earth artwork. We took our art activity to our very own Space Center, where each child used white paper and chose three crayons of their choice. Using a small plastic plate from the art room, they traced a large circle to form the shape of the Earth. They colored the background black to represent space, then used blue and green crayons to design the planet itself. Some of our children drew seven small shapes to represent the continents, while others blended blue and green to show the oceans and land in their own way. Each artwork reflected their understanding and imagination, and the results were truly breathtaking. It was wonderful to see how proudly they expressed what they know through art.

“I want to make my circle by myself” -Kian

“Earth is bigger than this paper and also bigger than the classroom” -Lubono

“Look! These are the seven continents and I make all the 5 oceans together cause it’s hard to separate them” -Leul

“I want to use both blue and green crayons and mix them like the map” -Liyat

“Mine is like the map and the globe” -Samuel

Cooperative Game

In preparation for our special celebration next Wednesday, we organized a thrilling t-shirt painting activity that had our children beaming with excitement. A huge thank you to all our parents for providing the t-shirts, which served as the perfect canvas for our young artists. We set up an outdoor painting station, where our children took turns spraying a mixture of water and food coloring onto their t-shirts using spray bottles. As they worked together, laughter and giggles filled the air, creating a joyful atmosphere that fueled their creativity. Each child's imagination ran wild as they designed their own unique masterpiece, experimenting with different colors and techniques. The end result was a stunning collection of vibrant, one of a kind t-shirts that showcased their artistic talents. This engaging activity not only celebrated our 100 day milestone but also fostered creativity, teamwork, and self expression.

Next week’s schedule:

Monday – Math, Literacy

Tuesday – Literacy, Science

Wednesday -Library, Math

Thursday - Science, Music

Friday - Library

Specials:

Monday- Art

Tuesday - Gym

Thursday - Ethiopian center/ clay

Reminders and notes:

• Please make sure that our children are wearing suitable clothes on Monday as we have art class and activities get messy sometimes.

• Every Wednesday and Friday is library day. Our children will be bringing home a book of their choice in their library folder, so please make sure to read the book with them over the weekend. Please return the folder the following Wednesday so they can get a new one.

• Every Tuesday, we have gymnastics, so please ensure that our children come dressed in comfortable and loose fitting sports attire to facilitate their exercise.

• Every Friday, we have football, so please make sure our children wear their football jerseys if they have them, or any comfortable shorts.