Kindergarten Learning Opportunities - March 23 - 27

While We Are Away

Update of Suggestions

In our recent days and week we have been inundated with information about the
pandemic, daily changes in what is happening in our day to day world and more. 
On top of it, parents now find themselves home with students and lots of uncertainty.
While we do not know what the longer term expectations are, for the moment, there
are no required at home school expectations.  That said, we want to share with you
some thoughts and guidance.  

Children and adults are generally more at ease when they know what is expected.
Unpredictability may erode our feelings of safety and  leave us feeling anxious.
The vicissitudes of our current times are certainly leaving us all a little unsettled. 

On March 14 we shared a suggested routine schedule.  We realize the vast amount
of information and resources being shared may be a bit overwhelming. With that in mind,
here is some further information to help support you when thinking about how to navigate
each day.

Teachers will make some suggestions of activities for each category listed below. 
Continue to check the tab at the top of the blog as we will update that with general ideas
and suggestions.  The main body of the blog will continue to have a daily read aloud
along with a weekly list of optional assignments.  Our hope is that you will find them
not only useful in terms of an academic connection but also as an asset in terms of
keeping to a routine.  

Summary - 

Each weekend we will push out suggestions for the week ahead.

Daily - We will push out a read aloud with supporting activities.

Kindergarten Learning Opportunities  - March 23 - 27 

Use this as a resource.  Pick and choose to do some or all.  It is totally up to you!

Morning Academic Time ELA Activities  Phonics Read alouds reading comprehension work Writing time	Phonics -  1 -  Practice building and sounding out words Write cvc words and ask children to tap and read. Say cvc words and ask student to tap and write. (CVC= consonant, vowel, consonant) Sample list of words -  lap, lip, rip, rap, rat, mat fit, fat, mat, map, mad, mud mop, map, tap, tab, tub, rub 2 - Say words and have child listen to sounds -     mad, made, hope, hop, pin, pine, coat, cot           Example -which has the short sound - mad or made            - after they tell the short sounding word, ask them to write the short sound word. Which words have long sounds? (How do you know? The vowel says its name in the word.) 3 - Letter hunt - circle the letter Vv and highlight all the words that start with V.  If you can not print it, look for them on the screen. Reading -  Encourage your child to spend some time reading independently Read a book with your child  Discuss the characters and setting Make predictions and ask your child to retell the story. Listen to the posting of read alouds that are available on the internet.  Try this one.   Can you think of an example of something that happens because of something else? Check the blog regularly - we hope to continue to post books read to students by teachers! Writing - Journal every day!  Write about anything.   We recently began book making, perhaps your kindergartner would like to write a story! Need an idea - clip a picture from a magazine and display a picture. Then ask your child to imagine that they are there and to write a story about what is happening. Spring Acrostic After a spring walk, have children write the word spring vertically down the left side of their paper. Can they write a word (or sentence) for each letter that is a sign or symbol of spring?  Spring Poem Fill in the words to create their own poem or a book. SPRING Spring looks like____. Spring smells like ____. Spring sounds like____. Spring feels like ____. Spring tastes like ____. I like spring! Practice those sight words - Try the Exercise with the Alphabet Challenge! Trying  10 - 15 minutes of online resources is also an option - Lexia and/or Raz Kids
Creative Time Fine Motor work Music Dance Art Exercise and Gross Motor	Draw Piggie - Mo Willems character we love! -  Sing with Pine Glen’s Ms. Agati. Find a Go Noodle activity to dance to  Fine Motor - Lego Challenge - Do you have legos - what can you build? Draw a picture but tape the paper to the window so you are working on a vertical surface. Create and Play with Moon Sand - 8 cups of all purpose flour 1 cup baby oil Mix together! 15 Gross Motor At-Home Activities With Painter's Tape
Afternoon Academic Time  Math	Long and Short - Give children a piece of string or yarn. Challenge them to walk around outside and find objects that are "longer" than their string and "shorter" than their string. War - play cards - remove face cards and play war.  When that seems to go well and the responses are quick, give each player 2 decks to draw from.  They will need to add their hand before comparing to see who wins each hand! Write one addition and one subtraction story.  Ask a family member to solve it. Practice those math facts Try ST Math and Symphony for 10 - 15 minutes
Afternoon Academic Time Science and Social Studies	Here is the link to the live stream for chick hatching that will begin on March 23. Remember you can find the chick observation journal template on the Chick blog post. Track the Weather/Date - What is the temperature?  Is it sunny, rainy, cloudy?  What kind of clothes would you need to go outside? You can use the attached weather pictures or you can draw your own!  On Weather Wednesday, Listen to the Check Out the Weather Song.  What color day is today? How many degrees is it? Try the Science Center Challenges -  Create a Rainbow in a Jar Science can be a weighty subject, but it can also be beautiful. This rainbow jar science experiment for kids from Playdough t o Plato is the perfect example. Use it to teach your child the concept of density: Different liquids have different weights, so the heaviest (with more molecules) will sink to the bottom while the lightest (with fewer molecules) will float to the top, resulting in colorful layers. You’ll need multiple materials to make the various solutions—corn syrup, honey, dish soap, olive oil, rubbing alcohol, food coloring—plus a dropper, but it’s well worth the work for the artful result. Taken from  Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden  -  Join in for Home Safari Facebook Live each weekday at 3pm.  They will highlight amazing animals and include an activity you can do from home. Starts Monday, March 16 at 3pm  Ponder this - What  does it mean to be brave.  Here is a link to a story - Jabari Jumps.  Is Jabari brave?  How are you brave?  Think about it and share.

There are many staff who support our kindergarten students and they are available
to support us while we are away from school as well.  Feel free to email any of them
with questions.

Kindergarten Teacher Contacts:

Karen Hoyt -  khoyt@bpsk12.org

Melissa Parnell -  parnell@bpsk12.org

ELL - Karen Kim - kkim@bpsk12.org 

Special Education - Noreen Groom  - groom@bpsk12.org 

Guidance - Alyssa Kendall - akendall@bpsk12.org

Speech and Language - Paige Burke - pburke@bpsk12.org

Physical Therapy - Kim Russell - krussell@bpsk12.org 

Occupational Therapy - Amy Haroutunian - aharoutunian@bpsk12.org 

Teacher Librarian - Rachel Small - rsmall@bpsk12.org

AND finally, for the grown-ups  - 

 Take care of yourselves! 

Try the Calm App for a few minutes each day! 

             When the kids are reading - pick up something interesting to you and enjoy
some quiet reading time.

              When the kids are writing - write - Try to keep a journal for yourself - If you
keep a log of the experiences of these times you will be well prepared when
your child does a history research project on this! (...and they will study this in
history in their future lives!)

   Find the good - Burlington Public Schools has a gratitude post each week
day - Check it out!

P.S. - The Town of Burlington Recreation Department is promoting some fun f
or the week ahead!