Week 38: Kindergarten’s Artistic Evolution - From Bones to Beaming Faces

Dear Family, How have you all been? Are you excited for the annual art auction happening tomorrow? We can’t wait! Our children have been reminiscing about the amazing art projects they've created and have chosen which one they’ll take home. They've already bid on each piece, so we feel like you'll just be there to enjoy the fun and pick the art—the hard work is already done :)! Of course, our weekly lessons and activities have been ongoing as usual, so let’s take a look at what we’ve been up to this week…….

Happy Birthday Abigial! We love you so much!

 Large Group

This week, our large group sessions were all about numbers, and take it from us, it was quite the adventure! We started off by focusing on 3-digit numbers, reviewing how to read them aloud. "Three hundred and forty-five," we'd say, breaking it down step-by-step. Then, we decided to really challenge our little learners and moved on to 4-digit numbers. You should have seen the look of determination on their faces! We began by practicing together, modeling how to read numbers like "one thousand, two hundred and thirty-four." The key, we told them, was to pause after the first three digits, just like they already knew how to do with the 2-digit numbers. Once they got the hang of it, we let our children take turns reading the 4-digit numbers we wrote on the board. Their excitement was palpable as they tackled this new challenge. To our delight, they made it sound effortless, proving just how capable they are. It was a numbers extravaganza that had us all in awe of our talented young mathematicians!

Literacy

Continuing with our comic book adventure, this week we helped our children create their very own comic books filled with unique stories and interpretations. As always, they amazed us with their creations! From titles like “Super Adelene” to “Monster vs. Puppy,” their stories left us all in awe. The illustrations were superb, and the words they chose made their comics look like authentic creations by young authors. After finishing their titles, decorating cover pages, numbering each page, and illustrating their stories, we gathered on a mat. Each child had the chance to read their comic aloud, allowing us to share experiences and appreciate how each story was wonderfully different. It was a fantastic celebration of creativity!

Math

In relation to our large group session, this week our math lessons focused on reading and writing numbers in words. Since we’ve already covered the numbers 1-10, we took the lesson to the next level by learning how to read two-digit numbers. To enhance the lesson, we used two different worksheets: one for reading and writing the numbers, and another for matching the written words with the correct numerical values. Our students performed wonderfully, demonstrating their understanding of the words and confidently reading them aloud.

Science

This week, we had an exciting experimental science session! In our first class, we revisited how liquids can change to solid states using milk and vinegar. By combining these two ingredients, the acid in the vinegar caused the proteins in the milk to coagulate, forming a solid substance. Our children were excited as they explored the texture and consistency of the solid, marveling at how it had transformed right before their eyes. Their joy was infectious as they eagerly pulled out the solid milk from the plastic box where they had mixed the milk and vinegar. For our second science session, we fulfilled our children's repeated request to go worm hunting. Their excitement was palpable, as if it were their first time! They demonstrated how much they had learned from previous experiences, confidently knowing the best spots to find worms. This time, they found even more worms than last time, showcasing their enthusiastic exploration of nature.

Art

This week in art, we made some changes to our last project, the Skeletal Model, as many of the children from our school found it creepy. We sat down to discuss how to make the art friendlier. Our children suggested removing the Q-tips and using a different material. However, when we tried to take them off, the canvas ripped in the center and became unfixable. By the time we got a new canvas, our children had moved on from the skeleton idea. Instead, they decided to stick their self-portraits on the canvas and write whatever they wanted beside their portraits. We tried this approach, and it turned out amazing! We chose this as our ninth and final art project for the auction.

Gymnastics

This week’s gymnastics session was nothing short of fun! After warming up with some stretching and jogging around the new playground, we engaged in two friendly competitive activities. The first activity involved retrieving balls from a pit filled with water. The goal was to collect as many small balls as possible and place them in a box. The child who got the most balls in the box received a cheer from everyone! The second activity was a ball race. We set up a box full of balls on one side and an empty box on the other. The challenge was to run back and forth, placing one ball at a time into the empty box. Our children thoroughly enjoyed both games and had a wonderful time!

Next week’s schedule:

Monday – Math, Literacy

Tuesday – Literacy, Science, gym

Wednesday - Library, Math

Thursday - Science

Friday - Cooperative game

Specials:

Monday- Art

Tuesday - Gym

Thursday - Ethiopian center/ clay

Friday - Football

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 Thursday 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.

We can't wait to see what adventures await us next week! Stay tuned for more.