Hands-on learning

Most of the learning we do can't be brought home; we do lots of hands-on activities that make learning fun. Here's a look at just a few of them ...

These number lines are simple -- just a bead strung along a pipe cleaner taped to a colorful number line -- but they help students begin to achieve "number sense," a better understanding of numbers' connections to each other and ways to apply this knowledge. We partnered up and had fun moving the bead from number to number and noting which numbers came before or after the assigned figure. This particular activity also addresses multiple learning styles, primarily visual and kinesthetic learners.

Mrs. Shepard and Mrs. Viall both have a lot of homemade learning games, including these which asked the students to match upper- and lowercase letters or beginning sounds.

Working with clothespins also helps strengthen fine motor skills!

This simple letter treasure hunt was fun too, and you can easily duplicate it at home. We wrote upper and lowercase letters onto a large poster, but you could use paper. Call out a random letter and have your child locate it. They can cover it with a small object (we used decorative erasers) or circle it with a pencil or marker.

 

Even our substitute teachers excel at hands-on learning ... check out these fun activities Mrs. Shepard's sub brought in last week!

This key activity was the students' favorite! They had to find the corresponding lowercase letter, the key attached to which would open the lock! How cool is that? Anyone want to donate a bunch of padlocks and keys to K5? 😉

Super scientists

We had a blast last week conducting our very first science experiment! Science is one of Mrs. Viall's favorite things to teach, because it's all about trying new things and learning from our experiences! Plus, it's just fun to get our hands wet or messy sometimes! The purpose of our first lesson was to teach the students about making a prediction and then conducting tests to see if our predictions were correct. Behold, our float/sink test!

First the students were shown a series of everyday objects -- paper clips, pencils, pennies, etc. We filled out scientific "logs" showing whether we thought the object would sink or float, and we discussed one of the most important aspects of making a prediction: Our prediction may be different from our friend's ... and that's OK!

Raise your hand if you think the eraser will float.

Next came the fun part. We headed outside to test each object and record the results, noting that in this case our results would all be the same since we were watching the same experiment. Each student got a turn dropping one item into the water.

The results ...

Finally, I gave the students three minutes to run around the playground and find one object from nature. We conducted a final experiment to see if our rocks, branches, pinecones, and leaves would sink or float. 

Some of us just couldn't contain our excitement (or our disappointment) when our predictions were right or wrong.

A correct prediction ...

... and an incorrect one!

Science -- and kindergarten -- is SO MUCH FUN!

Self-portraits

One of the fun things we do at the beginning of kindergarten is to draw self-portraits. At this age, art skills are all over the place, which is fine, but we really encourage the students to make their portrait look as similar to themselves as they can -- we even give them little mirrors to look at!  This ties in with our Bible lessons on how God made each of us unique and special, and if we try to be anyone but ourselves, we're doing Him (and us!) a disservice!

At the end of the day, after our pictures are complete, we play a fun game. The teacher holds up one picture, and the class tries to guess who drew it. There were lots of laughs as we revealed each child's self-portrait. What do you think?

"Millions of people all over the place, but I'm the only one with my special face!"