More Numeral Writing...

Ready to learn along with us as we work on improving our numeral writing skills? This time we're working on the numerals 6, 7, 8, and 9. Grab a pencil or marker and paper and try it along with our video:

Numeral Dice Toss Game...

Our friends at Manaia Kindergarten wanted to know how we play "Numeral Dice Toss". It's a fun game from the folks at The Center for Innovation in Education...famous for Math Their Way. We played while Mrs. Blakely took pictures.
Shannon explained the game this way:

• Get a dice with a zero
• Get a paper with 0,1,2,3,4 & 5
• Get a pencil and a partner
• You roll the die and whatever number you get, you write it on your paper in the box
• Then it's your partner's turn; he or she gets the die and does the same thing (roll the die and write the number)
• Then he or she gives it back to his or her partner
• Keep going until a person gets a row with numbers up to the top
• Then they win!

Watch our video to see how we play.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanks Shannon for the GREAT description!

Numeral Writing 1-5...

We have been working on learning to write numerals. We practiced writing numerals in the air, on our hands, and on the backs of our friends. That was funny! We also practiced writing numerals on whiteboards. We have a fun game we play called "Numeral Dice Toss". We are getting quite good at these numerals.

Fun With Buttons & Corduroy...

We've spent several days working with buttons. Yes, buttons! We've sorted them, counted them and even made a little book about them. We listened to a story called Corduroy, by Don Freeman. We also watched a video based on the book. We compared the book with the video version. We all agreed both were excellent. Some things we liked about the video include, Corduroy riding on a train, when Lisa came back to the store to get Corduroy, and how she decided to name him.

We finished up our Button Books and took them home to add to our reading libraries.

Maybe you can get some paper and crayons and make your own book about buttons!

You can see a sample of our little book here:

Our Kindergarten Safety Adventure...

Last week we had a special chance to learn about keeping safe at home. A big trailer came to our school filled will all sorts of reminders of how to keep safe. The trailer was sponsored by the Home Safety Council and Lowes. We had fun learning about common household safety hazards and what to do should we find them in our own homes. Rover was the mascot that helped us learn about safety. He has a web site where we can go to experience more safety adventures. Visit Rover at Code Red Rover. Check your home for safety hazards too, be sure to point out hazards to a grown-up.

McDonald's Night...

We had our first No-Cook night of the '08-'09 school year at McDonald's on Tuesday night. The weather was perfect for kids to enjoy the playground area. Thanks to all the families and staff who came out to support our fund-raising efforts. As always, I brought my camera along to capture as many smiling faces as possible!

Learning Letters and Sounds...

In class we are learning the letters and sounds. We are learning a song that helps us too. We have all kinds of books that teach letters and sounds. We have puzzles and games to teach us too. We are also looking for more websites to help us.
We already visit the Alphabet Antics wiki, Inkless Tales, Star Fall and our own ABC Page.
This video makes use of environmental print to help with letter recognition. Enjoy:

Check back later for more alphabet fun!

Back-to-School Picnic...

We had our first family gathering at school on Wednesday. The P.T.O. planned an evening for families to come to school and have dinner, picnic style. Unfortunately, the threat of rain forced us into the gym. But that didn't stop folks from having a good time. Even our new superintendent, Dr. Torres, stopped in for a visit. We look forward to many other family events this school year.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Starting New...

Today was the first day of the '08-'09 school year. It was an exciting day! We're off to a great start! We learned where to deliver the attendance sheet and took a nice tour of the school. We got to see where the music room, computer lab, library, art room and gym are. We worked on our Bubble Gum books and had time to play as well. We're still waiting on all the permission notes before we post any pictures of our new class. We'll tell you that we have a lot more girls than boys this year. (Last year it was way more boys than girls.) We're going to have so much fun learning all sorts of interesting and fun things this year. We can't wait to share what we do!

First day flowers courtesy of Floraltique

20,000 Visitors...

Wow! We started our Kindergarten Blog a little less than a year ago and we have had 20,000 visitors locally and from all over the world. It's almost hard to believe that anyone, outside of our classroom, would be interested in what we do in class. 

Thanks to the many folks who have visited and continue to return to see what is going on with us. Thanks to the parents who have allowed their children to visit and explore our blog on a regular basis. Thanks also to the parents of my students for your trust and allowing me to share your child with the world. Thanks to the many other students across the globe that have visited as well. Thanks to instructors/professors who use our blog as a model for how to blog with young learners and the potential that lies within using Web 2.0 tools with such young students. Thanks to our "Blog Buddies" in New Zealand as well as other classrooms we have come to know through the wonders of blogging. The Kindergarten Tales blog audience has far exceeded anything I could have every imagined in such a short time! I am practically at a loss for words!

In a little over a week, we'll be starting a new school year with two new sets of Kindergartners. Only a few of them know of the blog; but if things go like they did our first year... the students will quickly become excited and involved! I am very excited to see where we will go with it this year as well.

We certainly hope you will continue to check in on us as we share our learning with the world. We look forward to reading your comments and giving you insights to what we do in Kindergarten.

Thanks again!