Interacting with Books in Kindergarten

Kindergarten students are interacting with books read aloud during reading workshop in a variety of ways. Book or Bell? by Chris Barton and Where's Rodney? by Carmen Bogan and illustrated by our visiting author/illustrator Floyd Cooper are two books read aloud where kindergarten students engaged, acting as the main character. 

 
They were able to describe the main character's emotions through this process and better understand the events in the book. Kindergarten students are learning how to make connections from the book to their own lives. In Where's Rodney? some students connected to going on a field trip, observing ants, climbing rocks, finding a bird's nest and to other elements in the story. Students also experimented with expressive reading and realized how this helped them to understand the story better.  At the end of the book, students engaged in a retelling of the book, and then visualized the part that they wanted to remember forever. Each student then shared this part with a partner. Speaking of partners, kindergarten students have also had the opportunity of reading books with a partner. 

Students in kindergarten are reading in a variety of ways, all of which are just right in kindergarten. Some children are reading a few words, others many words, and some are able to read a book, through the clues in the pictures. Students are also beginning to recognize repeated words in a book. An effective technique for emergent readers in kindergarten is to first read a book to the child, engaging in discussion, making connections, talking about the character, setting, problem and solution.  The adult reader can then reread the book, pointing out any repeated words, running one's finger under sentences, pointing out rhyming words, and then reading chorally or echo reading sentences from the book with the child. The key is to have the reading experience be engaging and fun! 

Fourth Grade Shore Trip

 Fourth grade embarked on their annual trip to Cape Henlopen in Lewes Beach, Delaware during the last week of September. For the students, the trip was not only a chance to explore nature at the shore with classmates and teachers, but it was a journey outside of their comfort zones. Our schedule was jam-packed with activities and adventures that we will not soon forget.

Upon arriving at Cape Henlopen State Park, we were lead through a seining activity with the park guides. The Fourth Grade fished with large nets to catch crabs and small fish. A surprising highlight was catching a Stargazer fish, which can deliver electric shocks! It was the first to have been caught at the park!

Following seining, fourth graders made their way from the bay to the ocean to a hawk watch overlook. From this spot the students found comfortable places to sit and create beautiful watercolor paintings of their surroundings, enjoying the sound of the crashing waves nearby and the last of the bright light of the afternoon. 

That evening after dinner and sunset, we began our full moon lantern ceremony. With their colorful lanterns in tow, students performed their moonlight dances which they had created in Music class with Keisha. Next, in small groups students recited poetry they had memorized about the power and beauty of the ocean. 

The next morning, Fourth Grade was up bright and early. Again we ventured to the hawk watch, overcoming the long walk and the enormous Asian tiger mosquitoes in time to watch the sun rise over the ocean. A few clouds threatened to block our view, but the glimpse we saw was magical. 

Art in the Outdoors

The fourth grade classes have been enjoying the gorgeous weather outside this week during art class. The young artists are beginning a new landscape project and taking inspiration from our beautiful campus.

The fourth grade artists are continuing to explore observational drawing. Looking closely at the world around them, they are stretching themselves as artists, looking to recreate specific details about what they see and being flexible in revising and staying engaged with their drawings. Observational work helps students to be fully present in the moment, to use their sense of wonder and appreciate the beauty that surrounds them.

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Not only did students observe the natural landscape, they even encountered wildlife including squirrels, chipmunks, a frog and a red-tailed hawk. The contour line drawings that they created will be used in an upcoming printmaking project. Stay tuned to hear more about what the fourth graders will be doing with their landscape projects when they are complete!

  

Second graders explore what it means to be a leader.

In second grade, we strive to have each students see themselves as a valued and integral member of our classroom community and see others in the same light. One of the social activities that we introduce in the beginning of second grade is Leader versus Boss. This activity begins with the second graders having a discussion about what they think it means to be a boss. There were multiple responses such as:

      “They do it because a boss likes to be in charge and rule everyone.”

 “Sometimes people boss other people around because they are jealous and they think that they are more important than the other person.”



After we listed our thoughts, one of the second graders raised their hand and noted, “A boss isn’t nice,” which lead us into the conversation of, “How do you feel when someone is a boss to you?” Some second graders noted that:

   “You are unsure of how you feel because the other person was so mean.” 

  “You become angry because they make you feel like you are not an important person.”

  “A boss makes you sometimes feel like you cant tell a teacher because they may tell others that you are a tattle tail.”

After our list of not so good feelings, the second graders all agreed that they cannot and should not be a boss! Which left the question, “Well then, what could we be?” and very proudly a second grader exclaimed “A LEADER!”

Next, we discussed what it meant to be a leader. We all agreed it means:


“When someone doesn’t have enough power you help them."


“Doing the right thing even if the wrong thing looks fun.”


“A leader is someone who does the right thing, listens and is a friend to everyone.”

During this conversation, we talked about how being a leader is not always easy, especially if your friends are not doing the right thing. So we decided to practice what we learned. First Danielle and Mindy acted out two different scenarios and the class held up a paper that said “Leader” or “Boss” depending on what characteristics were being acted out.



Lastly, the second graders came up with their own scenarios for their classmates to discuss. Throughout the rest of the day, the students could be heard saying, “Wow! You are being a leader!” or “Careful, that’s something a boss would do!”





Our hope from this lesson is that our second graders can continue to grow and become leaders throughout our AFS community, where they can inspire the people around them.  

¡Artículos de merienda en primera infancia! / Snack items in Early Childhood

Snack time is an essential part of our Early Childhood curriculum.  It can be a wonderful moment for social interactions as well as learning basic life skills, as the children are encouraged to be self-sufficient by serving and cleaning up after themselves. It is also a great opportunity to introduce and reinforce important concepts such as counting and number sense, creating patterns and groups, sorting, and so much more. So, why not add foreign language to the mix? With that in mind, it made perfect sense to start our youngest learners’ Spanish class experience by introducing the vocabulary for the common items that are provided for snack.

To help initiated the topic of snack, we first read a book by Pat Mora, “Lets Eat! - ¡A comer!” All enjoyed this sweet story with minimal text and colorful watercolor illustrations as we learned some food words such as frijoles (beans), tortillas, queso (cheese), and a few others. 

Afterwards, flashcards for usual snack items offered were introduced. 

Later, to help reinforce the learning, the students were presented with a game, los matamoscas (the flyswatters). In this game the flashcards were placed on the ground and the object was for the students to match the oral command with its corresponding picture by gently swatting the card. What great fun! 

And, as we always end Spanish class, a friend was picked to squeeze a very important friend named La vaca (the cow). Upon squeezing her belly, la vaca states moochas gracias (thank you very much) to which we all respond, de nada (you're welcome).

Vocabulary introduced:

queso - cheese

queso crema – cream cheese

galleta - cracker

galleta graham – graham cracker

manzana roja – red apple

manzana verde – green apple

naranja - orange

banana/platano - banana

rosquilla – bagel

pan pita – Pita bread

pasta de garbanzos – hummus

salsa de soja – soy butter

Fourth Graders Explore the Culture and Traditions of the Lenape

Fourth grade students had the opportunity to travel to Churchville Nature Center to learn through interpretive guides about the life and customs of the local indigenous Lenape people. Through interactive activities, the students experienced first hand what life was like over 500 years ago. 

pounding corn kernels

animal pelts, tools, and weapons

They were instructed in the ways that fire was made, got to see and touch many different species of animal pelts and discovered the skills and weapons that were needed for survival. 

making fire

Students sat in a longhouse and discovered that woman owned the houses and that marriage and divorce happened in a different way than what we are accustomed to now. Students also had the opportunity to try on some clothing.

Upon our return, the students had an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and shared their thoughts. Here are just a few of their comments.


 Liam: "The fire making was really hard because you had to scrape wood or turn wood. It was a lot of work."

Hattie: "It surprised me that it was the woman's job to housekeep and own the house because unfortunately most of the world in ancient times was all 'man of the house' and didn't let women own land."

Lucas: "I liked making the rope. I enjoyed it because you can make a lot of stuff out of it."

Rudy: "If I had to give up modern life, I would miss technology and would be glad to give up global warming."

Radha:" I was surprised by the longhouses because it was more comfortable than I thought it would be."

Stella: "I was surprised by how young they got married because I thought they had a longer lifespan."

Integrating Curricula in kindergarten

In kindergarten, we foster mathematical and literacy skill development in fun and creative ways.  For example, we recently explored the sense of taste during the always popular snack time.   We looked at a diagram that showed the location of the different taste buds on the tongue, and we discussed the link between our senses of smell and taste.

Here are some photos with captions that illustrate the ways we integrate skill development...

“What sound do you hear at the beginning of the word salty?”
“Usually when you see a Y at the end of a word, remember this...  “Sounds like an E, but it’s really a Y!”


“If you have four grapes and you eat one, how many are left?  Turn to a friend and ask them a math question about grapes...”

“Which word says sour, and how did you figure it out?“
Edit
“Dark chocolate is bitter and sweet? Which word says ‘bitter’, and what is the last sound you hear in that word?

...And to put the finishing touches on a fun and delicious lesson…
Grape + potato sticks = grape person 😊