Wow! These first few weeks of kindergarten have flown by, and I am so impressed with how well our kindergarten friends are adjusting to full-day kindergarten. The students have been doing a great job learning our daily routines and classroom expectations, and we are off to a great start!
Arrival
We love starting our day with a soft start so students can move through our morning routine as they arrive at school. Our day begins with students choosing a morning greeting from our "How we like to say HELLO!" chart. Then students follow our morning routine to get unpacked and ready for the day.
Once everyone arrives, we move to the carpet for our morning greeting and our calendar routine. We sing to our "Hello Helper," who helps us count the days we have been in school. Our helper also gets to be our "Line Leader" and "Electrician" for the day!
Reading
This week we learned about the genre of poetry as we read Stephanie Calmenson's Kindergarten Kids. We also learned how to use the pictures and words in a story to help us make meaning as we listened to School Bus by Donald Crews. We learned about the different parts of a book and went on an alphabet scavenger hunt using books from our classroom library too!
This week we learned about the genre of poetry as we read Stephanie Calmenson's Kindergarten Kids. We also learned how to use the pictures and words in a story to help us make meaning as we listened to School Bus by Donald Crews. We learned about the different parts of a book and went on an alphabet scavenger hunt using books from our classroom library too!
Structured Literacy
This week, the structured literacy portion of our new reading programs focused on the following skills:
This week, the structured literacy portion of our new reading programs focused on the following skills:
- Phonological awareness
- Phonics instruction
- Handwriting
Writing
During writing time, the students have been learning how writers select a topic for their writing. They have also been learning about opinion writing. As a class, we have been practicing how to state our opinions on a topic and give a reason that supports our opinion.
During writing time, the students have been learning how writers select a topic for their writing. They have also been learning about opinion writing. As a class, we have been practicing how to state our opinions on a topic and give a reason that supports our opinion.
Grammar
We have also been learning about nouns and verbs during our literacy time. The students have been doing a great job identifying nouns as people, places, and things, and they are understanding that verbs are action words.
We have also been learning about nouns and verbs during our literacy time. The students have been doing a great job identifying nouns as people, places, and things, and they are understanding that verbs are action words.
Centers
We introduced learning centers this week. Students rotated through several centers throughout the week.
Name puzzles
Magnet names
Hair salon scissor practice
ABC puzzles
Social Studies
Our first social studies unit has been focusing on building our classroom community and forming relationships. During our first three lessons, we worked together to answer the following questions:
Our first social studies unit has been focusing on building our classroom community and forming relationships. During our first three lessons, we worked together to answer the following questions:
- How do I get along with others?
- How do I make friends?
- How do I solve problems with others?
Through hands-on activities and class discussions, the class has been doing a great job learning how to be a good friend and how to work through problems when they arise!
RULER
We have begun our social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, which focuses on helping students recognize and understand their emotions so they can learn strategies to help them regulate their emotions as they move throughout their day. As a class, we created a charter that will guide us during the year and remind us of how we want to feel when we are at school--happy, safe, and included. We also introduced the "Mood Meter" to help us begin to understand and label different kinds of emotions.
We have begun our social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, which focuses on helping students recognize and understand their emotions so they can learn strategies to help them regulate their emotions as they move throughout their day. As a class, we created a charter that will guide us during the year and remind us of how we want to feel when we are at school--happy, safe, and included. We also introduced the "Mood Meter" to help us begin to understand and label different kinds of emotions.
We are so happy and fortunate to have a high school intern supporting our class in the afternoons once each week. Miss Drury is a high school senior at Hersey and is looking to pursue a career in education. She has been a positive and welcome addition to our classroom community!
Dance Party Celebration
We were so excited to celebrate filling our "warm and fuzzy" jar by having a dance party on Friday. Check us out in action! I am so proud of the caring and mindful behavior I am seeing at school as we work together to fill each other's buckets! Keep up the great work K-2!
I hope you have a FANTASTIC weekend!
