Kindergarten: Specials Spotlight
Second Quarter 2016-2017
Exploratory Team
PE
Wow, how is the school year already halfway over?! I can’t believe it! Second quarter in P.E. was packed full of great stuff. The kindergarteners learned skills such as catching and throwing objects in a low space and high space (while also using different equipment), rolling, and how to use scooters in different ways. The second quarter was also filled with a few holidays, which means super fun themed activities! Some of the students’ favorite activities this quarter were Scooptastic Race, Pumpkin Patch, bowling in groups, Cone Flip Tag, Scooter Relays, and Feed the Reindeer. I am looking forward to the rest of the school year! Here’s to 2017!
Counselor
We have been so busy and second quarter has flown by. In guidance lessons we have become masters at starting class with a zones of regulation check in. The students start by saying “I feel _______________, I’m in the ____________ zone. This allows the students to identify how they are feeling and if they are focused and ready to learn. This process allows students who are not feeling ready to learn the opportunity to use strategies to help them regain their focus and regulate their emotions. We also spent several weeks learning to have growth mindset. A growth mindset is understanding our brain and how it works. Having a growth mindset helps us to realize we can learn anything with effort, hard work, time and a positive attitude. We also just started our Too Good for Drugs curriculum. We will continue working with this program through third quarter. Each grade level has its own standards. Kindergartners learn what makes a great day as they explore the elements of setting short term goals. The age appropriate, interactive curriculum promotes positive youth development and drug-free living. Tuggles the teddy bear will delight children as he helps them learn how to make healthy choices, identify their feelings and bond positively with peers.
Technology
Music
During the second quarter in Kindergarten, Music class was filled with lots of important skills. While continuing with moving our bodies to the steady beat, students learned to hear phrases that are the same and different, listen for these changes, and then react to them with movement. We worked on using our proper singing voices with some echo songs, played new instruments – the woodblock, and triangle - and we sang lots of new songs. To finish off this quarter, we spent some time learning Winter Holiday songs, including Christmas and Hanukkah, and we sang some Holiday favorites like “Rudolph” and “Jingle Bells” to get ready for the school-wide sing-a-long! I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Break! I’m looking forward to some fabulous music making in 2017!
Art
Library
In our library classes this quarter we continued practicing the use of shelf markers to hold the book’s place when we take it off the shelf and holding the book’s spine when replacing it on the shelf. We talked about the three ways to read a book: reading the words, reading the pictures, and retelling the story. We practiced these different types of reading as a class and also with a partner. We read Bear Gives Thanks and talked about things we can share with others including smiles, kind words, songs, and stories. We talked about the Caldecott Award that is given each year to an illustrator of children’s books. We looked at different art styles illustrators use and identified the difference between medal winners and honor books.