March 2, 2017
Hello Families!
Have you been enjoying the crazy weather we have been having?! I found this picture and thought it was appropriate for this week. 🙂 I checked the forecast and as of right now Monday is supposed to be 50 degrees, but the rest of the week is going to cool down into the 30’s so if you haven’t sent your child’s snow pants and boots back to school please do so on Monday so we can be ready for the week. As usual we will be going outside to play twice a day unless it is actively raining.
This week we have been focusing on math concepts during small group and the children have been incorporating those concepts in their play during work time! At our last parent meeting we talked about number recognition, counting, and shape recognition. This week we focused on two other math concepts; measurement and data analysis.
When young children learn about measurement they develop a basic understanding of units, for example inches and feet. We introduce these terms and model using rulers, but often you will observe children practicing measurement using everyday objects such as blocks or books. The children in these photos were talking about blueprints and creating building with blocks. First they used whiteboards and markers to design their building and then found materials (colored blocks) to complete their work. When they were finished they used their hands to measure and found out that one of the buildings was “two hands tall” while another was “just one hand.”
The other concept we talked about is data analysis which is the concept of recording an event on paper using numbers. The simplest idea of this is keeping score in a game! During small group time we played a game called basket toss using pom pom balls and cups. Children used white boards to keep score of how many pom poms they scored in the cup and out of the cup and then added up their scores to see if they won the game.
A few reminders for next week:
-Spring picture say is Tuesday, March 7th. No money is required Tuesday. The company will print a selection of pictures and you can choose to purchase them at that time or not.
-Kindergarten round-ups are beginning this month. Please make sure to contact your child’s home school for more information!
-Parent Teacher Conferences will be Thursday, March 16th and Wednesday, March 29th. I will be sending home reminders in your child’s folder the week of your conference and the list is available in our classroom at drop off and pick up.
Have a great weekend!
~Mrs. Stortini and Ms. Thabet