Kindergarten Snapshot: A Look at the Afternoon

This afternoon, I took a stroll through Kindergarten. In many of the rooms, the teachers were knee deep in Science Workshop. These are a few highlights from my visit.

In the first room, Science Workshop was in full swing. Students were busy making observations as they circulated through five different stations. Each station focused on a different sense and students excitedly gathered information. The teachers were facilitating instruction as they circulated to each station. I could overhear them asking, "What does it taste like?" "What do you hear?" "What do you think is in the bag by feeling it?" "Why?" The young scientists were eager to make predictions based on their observations and student engagement was high.

In another room, young scientists were busy using balancing scales to measure objects at their table. They were sorting items into two different groups based on the weight of the objects. Students were working nicely in pairs to accomplish their task and the teacher was assisting as she circulated from one pair to the next.

Our young scientists in another room were focused on their sense of smell. They had read a text on the sense of smell, and were in work period drawing things that they could smell. Students' work indicated that they could smell items like flowers and food. The students were eager to share their work with me and really wanted me to photograph their work. :)

In one room, Math Workshop was in session. Young mathematicians were busy creating patterns during work period. When I asked one student to explain their pattern to me, he replied, "I built a blue yellow blue yellow pattern." I asked another student who exclaimed, "I build an A B B A B B A B B pattern." I questioned, "How do you know?" She proudly explained that she had a shape and then two squares, and then the shape and then two squares. Her reply caught the attention of another child at her table who quickly cleared her pattern. I asked her why she cleared her pattern and she said, "I'm going to make mine harder." "Sounds like a great idea to me," I exclaimed, before moving on.


The morning in Kindergarten is packed with ELA: Skills Block, Writers' and Readers' Workshop. Afternoons are generally reserved for Math and Science Workshop. So, I'll visit again soon and give you a snapshot of a Kindergartener's morning.