Kindergarten at Home - Day 37 - Graphs + Bounce House Recess

Math - Graphs.  Today, we learned about making graphs to help organize and display bits of information.  Graphs help us to see at-a-glace how many of a certain object, shape, or color are in a group without having to count them all over again.  The picture below is the beginning of her very first graph-making experience; she sorted balloons and flowers by color.

For recess today, we went to an indoor inflatable play gym since it has been raining and cold outside the last two days and we haven't had too many opportunities to get some lengthy exercise in.  The play gym has obstacle courses, bounce houses and several slides.  I had coupons, which made the trip to the gym today only $4 total!

Language Arts - Using descriptive color words to describe what we are wearing today.  She was wearing a Sunset Pink and Cloud White shirt, Mud Brown Sweater, and Raspberry leggings.


Educational Technology - Typing: Space Bar, and proper finger placement.


Science - Sense of Hearing.


To end the day, we went to the kids' big half-sister's very last soccer game!  She plays on the Varsity team as a HS Senior, so it could possibly be her very last school soccer game EVER if she doesn't play on a team in college!  It didn't show well in the photo below, but there were actually two rainbows right above the field - the double-rainbow proved to be a good omen because they won the game!

Kindergarten at Home - Days 35 & 36: In the Big Blue Sea

Monday and Tuesday were both similar lesson subject matter, building and reiterating the concepts over two days.
Language Arts: "In the Big Blue Sea" & "Caps of Many Colors" stories - Developing creative writing skills.  We learned about using descriptive words with colors (such as Lemon Yellow, rather than just plain Yellow), and descriptive words for what something might sound like, like Splish and Splash.  In the book, In the Big Blue Sea, there are photographs of vibrantly colored fish and undersea life.  For lunch, I made them a fun underwater scene to fit the lesson theme with their bean patties, veggies and salami... before they ate, they added more veggies and made them swim around like little fish on the plate before being eaten by the big, giant human.
We also had an online Live Lesson on Tuesday with her teacher.  She read the class a story about a bear waking up from hibernation and was so hungry that he ate too much and couldn't fit back into his house for his birthday party.  Then, she asked the class questions, and the kids are able to practice typing in the "chat " box (everyone can see your answer typed in the chat box area).  Usually, the kids dictate to us Learning Coaches/Parents what to type, but sometimes I let her find the next letter on the keyboard to type, and then press the Enter key to publish the comment.

Math: One-to-One Correspondence, Same Number, and one more vs. one less.  Using connecting cubes, crayons, and circle counters, we visually demonstrated one-to-one correspondence (noticing when or if everything has a match, and if any are left over).  This helps with the concept of having one more, or one less.  We also showed same numbers of objects organized in different ways to show that the same number of objects can look different.

Activities - Bouncing a ball: Dribbling with two hands, then try with one hand.  Bouncing a ball to hit a target on the floor, and bouncing a ball so that after it bounces, it hits a target on the wall.

Kindergarten at Home - Day 31 - Presidential Town Hall Debate

Social Studies: Presidential Debate.  Today was the 2012 Town Hall format Presidential Debate.  Although this was not an assignment from the Connections Academy, I feel it is important to start learning about how our country works at a young age.  She knows that the President is Democrat, Barack Obama, and she has heard us talk about Republican Nominee, Mitt Romney.  I also made sure to point out that there are other people we can vote for who were not represented at the Town Hall Debate, such as: Libertarian, Gary Johnson, and Green Party nominee, Jill Stein, and Virgil Goode from the Constitution Party... among others.  I told my daughter about how we get to vote every four years for the President, and that the President may serve two consecutive terms (4 + 4 = 8 years!).  So, Obama can be voted to be President again for 4 more years, or, we can vote a new person to be President if we think Obama (or the current president) didn't do a good job.
She tuned out after about 6 minutes.
Afterwards, we decided to have a debate of our own!  Daddy and the kiddo sat at their mini podeums, while I asked them questions about the important issues, like: "Why do we need to learn how to read?" and, "Should we have candy for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner?"

Then, we read the Bearnstien Bears book "The In Crowd" and I told her that she needs to make her own choices, and not just follow what everyone else is doing, or what you think someone else would do.  In 2008, it was "cool" vote for Barack Obama.  I want her to stand above what is "cool" and make the choice for herself because the candidate represents the issues she believes in. 


Math: Subtraction through eating.  For a snack, I made them fruit and vegetable caterpillars.  We practiced subtration by counting up each of the caterpillar's segments, then I had them eat a certain number and tell me what is left.  We also practiced repeating more complex patterns than in previous days, but I didn't get a picture.

Language Arts: Live Lesson, Dibels Testing & Making Predictions.
We had a Live Lesson today with her teacher online (it works sort of like video conferencing, where all of the students are connected to the teacher and can interact within the virtual classroom).  Her teacher read, "Benny's Pennies" to the whole class, and we did a mini math lesson with the pennies.
After the Live Lesson, my daughter was first on the list to preform her Dibels testing with her teacher over the phone.  Her teacher connected with her over the internet and the telephone to show her letters on the computer and ask her over the phone what sound it makes.  Then, the teacher showed her pictures and asked her which letter-sound the word began with.  This is a required state benchmark test.
Later in the day, we did workbook exercises and practiced making predictions with the book, "I Went Walking."  We went for a walk outside (I forgot my camera) and she made observations about what she saw outside that day.  THE LEAVES ARE FALLING!  Yes, it is officially Fall, and it has been cold and rainy here for most of the last week - booooooo.  So, most of the pictures are taken from our bedroom, where it was warm and cozy!

Kindergarten at Home - Day 27 - Memory

Kindergarten Active Activity: Simon Says, with Patterns!  We went outside and played Simon Says, but we added onto the game by making patterns of movements they had to repeat instead of only doing one command.  Like, "Simon Says: Left hand up, Right hand up, Left leg up, Right leg up" and then they had to repeat that pattern three times in a row.  We added difficulty as they got the hang of the game.

Language Arts: Recalling details from a story.  Practicing listening skills.  We got to do this outside too!  We wanted to get as much outdoor time as possible in today and tomorrow because the rain is coming Friday!

Math and Memory: What's Missing? game.  First, I put shapes out on a tray and had her memorize them in order, then I had her turn around so I could remove one.  While her back was turned, I slid the shapes close together again so that it wouldn't be obvious where the empty hole was.  Then, she had to guess which shape was missing. 

Then, we played the game with multiple objects on the tray, and the kids had to guess which item got taken away.  Oma (grandma) got to do this one with us too.  The kids love when Oma gets to be a part of their lessons!

 Then, my daughter wanted to show me a game she says she made up, where she hid an object under one of three cups, and I had to guess which cup it was under.  Then, I showed her the street-magic game where you put the item under the cup with the other person watching, then mix the cups up to try to follow the object.

Kindergarten at Home - Day 26 - Repeating Patterns

Math: Repeating Patterns.  Both kids enjoyed this activity.  I would create a pattern using connecting cubes, then they were tasked with repeating the pattern.

Art: Sewing a pocket.  We used a simple rectangle of felt and we folded it so it would have a sturdy bottom, then she sewed both sides.  This was an assignment to create a pocket for the activity we'd do tomorrow.

Social Studies: Family and Home.  We made a basic line-drawing family tree, going back to Great Grandparents.  Then, I explained to her how aunts, uncles and cousins are related to us.  Then, she drew a picture of our home and who lives in our household.  She drew a cute picture of the outside of our house, and the four of us humans and our dog are looking out the window, and then our chickens and horse are outside in the yard.

Language Arts: Yielding Your Yy's Youngly, Yet Yearningly.

Kindergarten Activities & Games: Target practice.  Trying to throw a ball into various size "holes".  After she mastered getting the ball into the hole, she had to take three steps back and try again.  [Yes, that is a Cheesehead hat as the middle target!  None of us are official Cheeseheads but the kids love to play with it... it was a souvenir gift from Great Grandpa's trip to Wisconsin]

Kindergarten at Home - Day 25 - Zoo Playdate + Playdough Math

 Had a Playdate at the Zoo today!

We timed it just right and caught the zookeepers feeding and training the Otters!  It was pretty cute to watch because the otters hold their food between their paws in the most adorable way!  The caretakers were training them in a similar way you would with a dog.  They motioned to one side of the pool, and if the otter performed, they got a fish.  Then, they would tap on the water to call the otter forward, and if the otter waited patiently in front of the trainer, they would get a fish.

We got in for free, even though we allowed our zoo membership to lapse, because our friends have a membership that gets guests in for free : )  We really enjoyed our membership because with small kids, it is MUCH more fun to go to the zoo without worrying about seeing everything in one day; you can see a few of the animals, then have a leisurely picnic lunch and play with friends, then see another section of the zoo on the next trip!

Language Arts: Journal Writing.  I explained to my Kindergartner what a journal is, and how it can be great as a memory book, or as a way to write your feelings down on paper.  After showing her that she needs to write the date at the top of the page, I had her dictate to me what she wanted to write in her Journal.  I wrote the letters using a yellow pen, so that my daughter could trace them with her pencil, making her marking the dominate result.  This way, it is easier to see which letters she needs to practice proper formation a little more.   She wrote about her trip to the Zoo today.
Then, we Xactly Xribbled Xx's Xcreaming Xcitedly (ha-ha, I know I cheated there, but each word does have the basic sound X makes! I'm sure I could look up some X words, but I just don't have time right now!)

Math: Addition and Subtraction.  We used play dough to help illustrate the concepts of addition and subtraction visually.  It is easy to see that with addition, you count up everything, and with subtraction, you are taking a certain amount away, and basically counting up what is left.

Kindergarten at Home - Day 24 - Food Groups + Sense of Smell

Lesson 1 - Science: Healthy Eating Habits - The Food Groups.  Meat & Protein, Vegetables, Fruit, Dairy, Grain, Oils (includes nuts, cooking oils and fish).  I separated each food group onto it's own dish/container so it would be easier to see and remember for the kiddos.  We ate Dino Chicken Nuggets (meat/protein), mixed veggies (vegetables), Watermelon (fruit), Milk (dairy), Multi-Grain crackers (grains), and organic nut bar (oils).

Lesson 2 - Math: Cone and Cylinder.  After some workbook exercises, we looked at some objects we had around the house that were a cone-shape (the witch's hat, and the cone on the ice cream cone toy), and a cylinder shape (Pam cooking spray can and a pillar candle).

Lesson 3 - Activities: Testing Sense of Smell.  I blindfolded my little Kindergartner and made her do a blind smell-test to see if she could guess what each item was.  We tried a few more than pictured, but the ones she got right away were: Salsa, Cinnamon, Broccoli, and she guessed Syrup first for the Honey, but got it on the second guess.  We reviewed the five senses, and showed her how if you were blind, you could use other senses to provide clues about your surroundings.

Lesson 4 - Social Studies: I am Unique.  Mommy: "What makes you unique?"  Daughter: "I can roll dough with both my hands at the same time!"  Mommy: "Show me!"  Mommy: "What else makes you unique?" Daughter: "How I twirl when I dance!"

Lesson 5 - Language Arts: Willfully Write Wonderful Ww's When Working With Wabbling Wands

Kindergarten at Home - Day 23 - Kinder-Concert + Movement using Water

Music - Tonight, we went to a free kiddie concert at the McMenamins Kennedy School, with foot-stompin' folk music and story-telling amusement from the Kinder-Queen.  The kids danced and twirled the night away!

Lesson 1 - Activities: Make it Move with Water.  We experimented with three types of water movement - currents under the water, directed spraying to move a floating object, and directed water to spin a wheel...

We floated her flip-flop in a tub filled with water, then turned on the hose underwater to create a whirlpool current, then watched the flip flop move 'round and 'round.

Then, my daughter took the hose out and sprayed the water towards the flip flop to move it in different directions at will.

Lastly, we made a basic pinwheel-style "water wheel" and stuck a pen through the middle.  My daughter held the pen as she sprayed the wheel with the hose - look at it spin!

Lesson 2 - Art: Woven Paper Placemats.  Ahhhh, the classic kindergarten staple, weaving Autumn placemats!  My daughter said she wanted to make it a pattern: orange, orange, brown; orange, orange, brown.

Lesson 3 - Social Studies: I am Important!  A confidence, and self-awareness building exercise. We talked about what makes her feel important, and I wrote down some of her answers around a decorative mirror outline I drew on a piece of paper.  Then, my daughter drew a picture of herself looking up in the air in the mirror - maybe she is feeling confident?

Lesson 4 - Math: Sphere and Cube around the house.  We gathered items from around the house that were good examples of a Sphere and a Cube.  Then, we talked about the difference between a mere square and a three-dimensional cube, and a flat old circle vs. a sphere.

Lesson 5 - Language Arts - Lets try to Victoriously Vamp Vv's, Visualizing Very Valiant Ventures
Story time & crafts at the library!  This morning, we went to a different library than we usually visit for story hour... just needed a change in scenery!  The theme for the story and the craft was caterpillars, since this is the time of year around here that we would see cute little Wooly Bear Caterpillars!