Adding and Subtracting

We are jumping into more complex work in kindergarten math. We played One More One less, where children figured out what the answer would be when they added or subtracted one. Then we played Build It, Change It; one person drew a card and put pennies on the board to match the number and the other person drew a card and changed the pennies to match the second card. Both activities were confusing initially, but the children figured them out with practice. We have been practicing writing numbers and visualizing dots on a ten-frame so we can make a copy.

We are working on our Super Powers in reading. We have learned about pointing power, the power to match the word we are saying to the word on the page. We are paying attention to the first letter and sound in a word to help us match what we are saying to the word we are pointing to. We practiced songs and poems that we are familiar with to learn to match our pointer to what we were saying. We've talked about reread power, where we go back and read again, if our pointing does not match the number of words in a sentence. Next week we will talk about partner power, where our reading partners help us match the print to what we are saying. It's work being a Super Hero!!

We made our own chocolate using cacao powder. We dipped fruit in it and thought it was so delicious that we sent the recipe home with children. That was an alternative to taking home pieces of chocolate dipped fruit to share with our parents.

Some children want to make a play about robots. They are working on costumes, but haven't started work on a script. If they told you to come to assembly to see the play, don't believe them yet. They have a long way to go.

We read a story and talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and how his white friend told him that his parents wouldn't let him play with Martin anymore because he was colored not white. That provoked some thoughtful discussion on skin color and discrimination. The children have good ideas about kindeness that go beyond outrage over the unfairness.