Kinder News!: Kinder News (August 22-30)

We did it! We made it through our first full week of kindergarten, and we’re off to a great start! The children have been doing a nice job learning our kindergarten routines, and it’s sweet to see so many new friendships forming. I am really enjoying getting to know each of my new kinder friends, and I am looking forward to a fun and productive year with them! Take a peek below to see what we have been learning during our first days together.

On our first day of kindergarten, we read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, which is a sweet story about a raccoon named Chester who is nervous about going to school until his mother tells him a story about a special “kissing hand.” After placing a kiss in the palm of Chester’s hand, she tells him that he will always have his family in his heart no matter where he goes. After the story, we found a letter from Chester with some clues that sent us on a scavenger hunt around the school. We had fun following the clues and seeing many new places and meeting many new faces. We were also thrilled to find special hearts left for us by Chester!

The children also listened to another Chester story, A Pocketful of Kisses, that helped us learn about sharing, being a good friend, and the importance of trying new things even if they seem challenging. The students also did a great job comparing Chester’s school with Dryden school, and we even made our own "kissing hands!"

We began our calendar routine this week, which helps us practice many math concepts including: counting and identifying numbers; recognizing numbers that come before or after a given number; identifying the days of the week and the months of the year; and introducing the concept of place value.

We also introduced our “Hello Helper” routine. Each day we will have a new helper who will guide us through our calendar routine and act as our line leader for the day. The children always LOVE when it is their turn to be the special helper!

Math

We began our first math unit this week that will focus on learning about the numbers to 5 and identifying similarities and differences between objects. We took a closer look at the numbers 1 and 2 and used our interactive white board to match a pattern of objects. Then partners took turns creating patterns and making a match!

Handwriting and Mat Man

To help ease our way into our handwriting routine, we read the book Al Pha’s Bet, which is a cute story about how the letters of the alphabet ended up in “abc” order. In the story a man name “Al Pha” made a “bet” with himself that he could find the perfect order, and he did! After reading the story, we talked about all the things we will learn about the alphabet including: learning the letter names, learning how to write letters, identifying the sounds for each letter, and using these sounds to read and write words. We also practiced picking up our pencils using a good grip and getting our bodies and our minds ready to write. Then we practiced using our handwriting tools (chalkboards, chalk, sponges, and an eraser) to help us learn and practice writing the numbers 1 and 2 and the uppercase letters E and F.

Kindergarten Routines

We have been getting to know each other and learning many of our kindergarten routines. The children are doing a great job with our beginning of the day routine—taking out our blue folders, getting our supply boxes, and checking our Jolly Phonics homework. It’s always fun to hear the different examples that the children have added to their Jolly Phonics notebooks! We have also been practicing other routines like walking in the hallway, sharing ideas during carpet time, and learning how to use our handwriting tools.

The class was thrilled to spend some time in our interactive play centers too. It was a great opportunity for them to practice cooperative learning skills such as turn-taking, teamwork, and sharing!