MLK Day

On Monday, we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr!  We read a Weekly Reader, watched a short video, and watched a 2 minute clip of his "I Have A Dream" speech. I also set up centers to get a "kindergarten perspective" about what segregation and exclusion was like.  Don't worry, it only lasted 5 minutes-- but it may have seemed like an eternity for some munchkins!

The centers were fun, and exciting, but only certain people were allowed to play.  In the picture above, the sign says "white socks only.  No colors allowed." I was extra picky, too! Only one child was allowed to decorate a cupcake... 

After a couple minutes, and a few tears later, I pulled the kids to the rug and asked how they felt about not being allowed to play because of their socks, or being a boy, or being a girl, or not wearing jeans.  The class decided that it was silly and not fair.  After we read a book about MLK and Rosa Parks, I decided to tear down the signs so we all could participate in fun play and cup cake decorating!  THE CLASS CHEERED!!!

Although it was a tough 5 minutes of "segregation", I wanted to class to get a small glimpse into what was a reality not-so-long ago.  I was also age-appropriately honest with them on MLK's death, after the question came up in class.  Curiosity is the spice of kindergarten!! 

Melt an Ice Cube

Today for kindergarten time, we conducted an experiment-- what will melt an ice cube faster?  Each child got an ice cube, and used the dice to determine how they would melt the ice cube:

 

It was fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 



The snow has arrived!

In kindergarten, we will be talking about Winter-- so far, we have studied what animals do in the winter and we have compared and contrasted Jan Brett books.  Please take a peek at the pictures below and have your child elaborate any details!

After reading The Mitten by Jan Brett, we made a retelling bag.  First, we practiced retelling the story whole group, then we practiced with a partner.  It was fun to "hybernate" too!

We also enjoyed playing Snowman Squeeze!  The number line will come home by Friday... have fun playing with your child!