Kindergarten - November Issue
Our kindergarten teacher explains classroom goals for the month of November.
Activity of the Month: Visit Cooking With Young Children to practise measuring and following instructions.
Cooking up a Storm!
This month, we'll start a cooking centre where children can measure and assemble various recipes. Some will involve cooking but many will not. Each day, two children have a "sharing day". This means they bring something from home to share with the class. For November, we are asking children to bring recipes from home. Children must speak in front of the class, field questions from classmates and answer them. This kind of presentation is one of the outcomes required in the Ontario Language Arts curriculum.
All of the recipes we use in our cooking centre will be assembled into a class cookbook. Each child will have a copy to take home once it is finished. Children will read these cookbooks and use the recipes in them. Reading a variety of print materials is another aspect of the Language Arts curriculum.
Cooking involves many skills, including reading for a purpose, following directions and measuring. Measurement is one of the Mathematics curriculum strands and the changes in materials after mixing and cooking is one aspect of the Science curriculum. The children will have to assemble their materials, measure, count and follow directions. Not only will they enjoy this process, they will also get to eat the results. That probably isn't true of Science experiments in High School!
What will the children do with all the food they make? The plan is to turn our dramatic play area into a "restaurant". This will challenge the children to decide on food prices, create menus, read menus to order food, write down orders, add bills, and make change for the customers.
If you're interested in cooking with your children at home, visit Cooking With Young Children and Kids in the Kitchen.
Mathematics
We will focus on Data Management this month, using a "tooth graph". Each child will have a tooth picture with their name on it, which they place in the column indicating how many teeth they've lost.
Science
We will graph daily temperatures as the days get colder. Children will work with attribute materials and learn how to place them on a grid with, for example, colour on one side and shape on the other. We will also write survey questions about favourite foods and pets, and survey other classes in the school and document the results.
These activities are presented in an integrated way since young learners don't separate their interests and learning into discrete subject areas. "Children learn best when experiences are interconnected and not compartmentalized into subject areas. Hands-on thought provoking experiences engage children's curiosity, motivate the application of skills, and challenge children to think reflectively." (J. Harris Helm & G. Gronland, Linking Assessment and Teaching in the Crucial Early Years)
L. Valentine, Kindergarten
The Bishop Strachan School, Toronto
Kindergarten - November Issue
Our kindergarten teacher explains classroom goals for the month of November.
Activity of the Month: Visit Cooking With Young Children to practise measuring and following instructions.
Cooking up a Storm!
This month, we'll start a cooking centre where children can measure and assemble various recipes. Some will involve cooking but many will not. Each day, two children have a "sharing day". This means they bring something from home to share with the class. For November, we are asking children to bring recipes from home. Children must speak in front of the class, field questions from classmates and answer them. This kind of presentation is one of the outcomes required in the Ontario Language Arts curriculum.
All of the recipes we use in our cooking centre will be assembled into a class cookbook. Each child will have a copy to take home once it is finished. Children will read these cookbooks and use the recipes in them. Reading a variety of print materials is another aspect of the Language Arts curriculum.
Cooking involves many skills, including reading for a purpose, following directions and measuring. Measurement is one of the Mathematics curriculum strands and the changes in materials after mixing and cooking is one aspect of the Science curriculum. The children will have to assemble their materials, measure, count and follow directions. Not only will they enjoy this process, they will also get to eat the results. That probably isn't true of Science experiments in High School!
What will the children do with all the food they make? The plan is to turn our dramatic play area into a "restaurant". This will challenge the children to decide on food prices, create menus, read menus to order food, write down orders, add bills, and make change for the customers.
If you're interested in cooking with your children at home, visit Cooking With Young Children and Kids in the Kitchen.
Mathematics
We will focus on Data Management this month, using a "tooth graph". Each child will have a tooth picture with their name on it, which they place in the column indicating how many teeth they've lost.
Science
We will graph daily temperatures as the days get colder. Children will work with attribute materials and learn how to place them on a grid with, for example, colour on one side and shape on the other. We will also write survey questions about favourite foods and pets, and survey other classes in the school and document the results.
These activities are presented in an integrated way since young learners don't separate their interests and learning into discrete subject areas. "Children learn best when experiences are interconnected and not compartmentalized into subject areas. Hands-on thought provoking experiences engage children's curiosity, motivate the application of skills, and challenge children to think reflectively." (J. Harris Helm & G. Gronland, Linking Assessment and Teaching in the Crucial Early Years)
L. Valentine, Kindergarten
The Bishop Strachan School, Toronto
