Sorting

Yesterday in math we combined classes with Mrs. DeLorbe. She teaches a 6th age math group as well. We talked about sorting. There are many ways to sort- by color, shape, size, touch, sound! We used smores goldfish and animal crackers for this sorting project. First we sorted by color, then shape, then size. It was fun working with new friends in math!

Summer Reading challenge

Each summer the faculty completes required school reading. This summer there were two choices- Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax, M.D., PhD. as well as Girls Will Be Girls written by Joann Deak. Both were fabulous reads, with insightful information regarding childhood growth and development.
In the boys book, I walked away with a ton of valuable information. Sax explains the need for young children to have play time included in their daily regimen. He also explains that most often boys will gravitate towards play that requires building, while girls will gravitate towards games that include coloring and cutting. I thought it would be interesting to break this norm! Every morning the children are allotted playtime after a small project has been completed. This playtime is pretty unstructured, allowing for the children to float between groups and choose their own games. This Friday, however, I told the children that during this playtime the boys would need to do the following: stencil, color, cut, or play with dolls; and vise-versa the girls would need to play with legos or build with blocks. Some of my students were EXTREMELY SKEPTICAL! But let's be honest- if I did not schedule playtime in these areas- the boys/girls may never utilize them! All I have to say is...the students did an absolutely superb job in each area. I witnessed boys stenciling works of art! I witnessed girls building tall towers! YAY, 6D!

Smartboard and Estimation

Today in math we used the Smartboard! We completed a dot-to-dot from 1-50! A clue revealed that the dot-to-dot image would show a shark's friend. Our first thought was that the friend would be an octopus...


...and we guessed correctly!
The second game we played was a fish counting game.

We estimated today in math as well. Our estimation was Twizzlers! Two friends guessed exactly with 13! Afterwards we were able to each eat a Twizzler.


Here is another photo of a friend extending a geoboard pattern!

Photo of Your Family

Sharing is a special time in 6D! If it is our turn to share, we are allowed to sit in the rocking chair and wear a special crown. If we are listening to a friend share, we make sure to sit quietly in a circle on the rug- crisscross applesauce, eyes opened, ears opened, lips closed. Here is a photo of a friend sharing a photo of his family.

Patterns!

In math we talked about patterns! We used our bodies to make patterns: one friend stood tall while the next person squatted. This is called an AB pattern. We continued this pattern until everyone in the room was sitting or squatting. Next we made sound patterns in an ABB pattern. At the end of class we extended patterns using geo boards and rubber bands! This was a challenging activity but we did a nice job! Look at the picture card with the pink outline- this was our initial guide before we extended the pattern.

Listen, Listen, loud and clear!

We have been learning our color words in reading. Yesterday we colored in a color word rainbow! Look at our works of art!

Today we played a game where we had to listen for the beginning sound in a word. First we chose an object from a magic hat. After the object was in our hands we recited this jingle: Listen, listen- loud and clear- what's the first sound that you hear? Then we had to produce the beginning sound of this object. For example, if we chose a fish from the magic hat, we had to produce the F sound. At the end of the game, we paired with a friend whose object had the same beginning sound:

ribbon and rock

plate and paint

domino and doll

book, bandana, balloon, and block

tape and toothpick

6th Age Math

Today was our first ESTIMATION FRIDAY! We learned how to estimate using our eyes, instead of counting with our fingers. Our first estimation objects were cubes. The student with the closest estimation gets a photo taken of them on the blog each week. This friend ESTIMATED EXACTLY- her estimate was 30. Stay tuned for more estimations each week!

6th Age Reading

Yesterday in reading we sequenced the alphabet with a friend! Some friends used alphabet chips or alphabet cards. It was a nice way for us to review the upper and lowercase letters. We have also been talking about the differences between a vowel and a consonant. Can you name all of the VOWELS in the alphabet? Can you name all of the CONSONANTS?

Take a peak at the video below to hear a group of friends reading off the alphabet letters they sequenced together!

6th Age Math

We were able to break the kids down into smaller reading and math groups this week, and it has been fun getting to know my little guys in math. We began in the second chapter- Numbers Through 10, and have practiced our counting skills by listening to counting books and using manipulatives in games. Today I read The M&Ms Counting Book- and we were able to count using (and later eating!) M&Ms! First we made a long set of 12 M&Ms, then broke these 12 into smaller groups of 2, 3, 4, and 6. Then we shaped the candies into a triangle, square, and a circle. Here are some photos of us hard at work!

Today we had a special visitor! Dr. Trusty came to 6D and read us a very funny story called MY SCHOOL'S A ZOO! We liked the pictures on snakes, and enjoyed sharing family stories about our pets at home.


In math we talked about patterns and made 2 patterns with unifix cubes!











We also finished puzzles with friends!

Twins

As many of you may already know, I have a twin sister. Her name is Shannon, and we are fraternal twins, which means we do not look alike. Even though we are twins, we are different in many ways. When we were younger, I liked ballet and Shannon liked to play sports, Shannon's favorite color was purple and mine was pink, Shannon liked to play GIJoe, and I liked to play with dolls. However, we also have many things in common! Shannon and I both liked to color, our favorite icecream flavor is mint chocolate chip, and we enjoy running.
Shannon and I went to school together from preschool through college! We shared a room growing up and always shared a locker. I love my twin!

Did you know there are other teachers at Calvert School with a twin? Mrs. Elliot, Mrs. Williams, and Mr. Shep ALL HAVE A TWIN!
Something special about this year is that there are 4 sets of twins in 6th age- with one of each set in 6D! I definitely thought it was fate that they all landed here in this room :)