One of our first themes of the year in Alternative Kindergarten is “Farms,” where students dive into learning about farm animals, farm structures, and the food grown by farmers.
To bring this theme to life, Ms.Taylor from the Benton County Farm Bureau visited our classroom for an Ag in the Classroom lesson. She read a story showing how the various foods grown on a farm transform into the pizza we all love to eat. The students then created a pizza craft. We are excited to welcome Ms. Taylor back throughout the school year for more interactive lessons with both our AK and Kindergarten classes.
Our farm unit was packed with cross-curricular learning, comprised of the following:
● Literacy & Story Elements: We read a mix of fiction and informational books about farms. Using our fiction stories, students practiced recalling the beginning, middle, and end, discussing characters and settings, and identifying the problem and solution.
● Fine Motor & Math: We used cotton swabs to paint specific numbers of spots on cows, as well as used a paintbrush to find letters in pretend mud.
● Phonics & Letter Recognition: We also listened closely for beginning sounds in words, located the corresponding letters, and marked them using paint daubers.
From hands-on science to foundational reading and math, there is all kinds of learning fun happening every day in Alternative Kindergarten.