This week my class started their cooking classes. Every Tuesday afternoon we will be baking or cooking a treat for the class. This gives students in small groups an opportunity to be part of the cooking process, help measure ingredients and feel proud of what they have accomplished. Each week a parent volunteer and I will be taking a group of students and baking or cooking something of the class. I look forward to the learning that will take place along this process.
On Thursday I started a unit on coins. I did not realize how hard it would be to explain the different value of each coin to students. The first lesson was a coin sorting activity but I learned that the students need lots more practice recognizing the coins so I will have stations planned for them next week so that they will get more information about each coin and I can have more one-on-one time with them.
My SA invited me to a workshop at the Delta Manor on Thursday night, it was a workshop on oral language in the primary grades sponsored by the Barbra Jarvis Foundation. I am glad that I tagged along because I learned some very useful information and great activities to use in the classroom. This was one of the more practical workshops I have been in thus far and I am already going to use what I learned next week! It was nice to discuss my new learnings with my SA because she has so much advice that she can give me when I am teaching these new ideas.
Cooking is so much fun for K students and such wonderful learning!
It does sometimes surprise us how unfamiliar coins are to young students and how their value is something that is not easy to understand. It makes sense that the first step is coin recognition!!!
Oral language development is key in kindergarten and grade one and how we talk to and ask questions of students is so important. The workshop you attended provided valuable tools for you to apply now and take with you as you enter the profession.