A Native American Visitor

Today Chief Varnado, a genuine Native American, visited our Early Childhood Division. He set up his teepee on the playground and gave the boys and girls a glimpse of the Indian way of life. (And no, he doesn't mind being called an Indian.)

Chief Varnado and his teepee

Animal skins hung overhead.

The classes sat on rugs inside the teepee.

The students were fascinated.

The Indians did not waste any part of the buffalo.

The kids passed around the buffalo horn.

Does it make any sounds?

The chief displayed Indian artifacts.

American Indians had written communication--drawings and symbols.

Chief Varnado shows us the "company spoon."  This oyster shell has a wooden handle.

Cover your ears.  Blowing in this conch produces a thunderous sound.

Now, that's  knife.

Mrs. Reid demonstrates how to grind corn.

 Native Americans didn't have microwaves or stoves. Chief Varnado shows how they lit a fire to cook.

They filled their gourds with water from the rivers.

Catch! This toy is made of a corncob and feathers.

Here's our tribe!

What Are My Students Learning?

Buddy Reading

Game Station

Reading Group

Follow-up to Listening Station

Journal Station

Computer Lab- preparing for CPAA

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Students use the Starfall website to practice using computers.

After a busy day of academics, it's fun to chill out on the Friendship Bench on the playground.

Kindergartners have a short attention span, so as a teacher I have to plan a variety of activities to keep students engaged. I read somewhere that the brain likes a change of activities every 10 minutes, so few activities last longer than 15 minutes, and I spend a lot of time planning a variety of lessons, games, songs, stories, arts and crafts activities, and written assignments. Every day while I'm conducting reading groups, the students are rotating through Literacy Learning Stations such as the Listening Station, Art Station, Buddy Reading, Write the Room, Journal Station, ABC Station, and the like. With all those activities going on all around the room, it's like a three-ring circus (or maybe a five- or six-ring circus.) As I plan these activities, I'm constantly asking myself, "What are my students learning?"  Is the activity reinforcing sight words? Is it giving practice with a skill we're learning, such as ABC order or identifying verbs or reading words? Is it too easy? Is it too frustrating? I'm constantly revising my plans as I get to know my students better, because even the cutest, most clever ideas are worthless if, at the end of the day, the student didn't learn anything. I can find the most adorable craft on Pinterest, and it may even go along with our theme, but if it teaches a skill that my kids mastered months ago, or if deals with a concept that's way above what we're working on, then it's a waste of time.
Student learning is assessed with standardized tests such as the CPAA, with tests that are part of our curriculum, and with individualized tests where I call students to my desk and question them one at a time.  But I also look for those spontaneous sparks that occasionally fly and I hear the students say things like, "I see our sight word!" or "Come see what I wrote!" or "I can read that!" That's when I know learning is taking place, and the three-ring circus was worthwhile after all.

Follow up

The trip to the Pumpkin Patch was more than just an opportunity to take pictures of  adorable, smiling kids having a blast with their friends and family. When we returned to school on Thursday and Friday, we extended the experience with cross-curricular activities that capitalized on the students' excitement about pumpkins. (So parents who sacrificed your time to accompany us on our trip---your time was well-spent!)
On Thursday at Chapel, Mrs. Cathy related Autumn and harvest to God's plan for His creation, so our trip had a spiritual dimension.  In class, we used the pumpkin theme  in English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Art as the students wrote about, painted, weighed, and measured their pumpkins. They made predictions about whether the pumpkin would sink or float. (Two out of sixteen predicted correctly, proving that you can't always judge by outward appearances.)

Here are our little scientists, writers, mathematicians, and artists at work enjoying God's creation.

Pumpkin Patch

 Judging by the expressions of these faces, I'd say that our first field trip of the school year was quite a success.  Though the thermometer registered summer-like temperatures, Mrs. Heather's Pumpkin Patch put us in the mood for Fall. Our students learned how pumpkins grow, selected pumpkins to take home, and expended lots of energy on the numerous activities at the pumpkin patch. The fun continued at Forest Park playground, and the kids showed no signs of slowing down. Here are a few pictures of our gang.

Part of the fun of a field trip is the bus ride.

Mrs. Heather explained how a pumpkin grows.

The gang's all here.

The face-painting booth was a hit!

Another popular activity was the zip line.

Why go through the hay maze when you can walk on top?

Each person picked a perfect pumpkin.

This scarecrow looks familiar!

One little, two little, three little.....

All kind of characters were roaming around.

Our city kids learned farming skills, such as milking the (fake) cow.

Duck races...on your mark, get set, pump that water!

Our friends were on top of the world at Forest Park where we had our picnic lunch.