Monday, Monday

We had a great day in kindergarten, despite starting off with a fire drill. Thankfully, Mrs. Bakken gave us advance notice, so I was able to take the class out for a practice drill first. The students did extremely well--no tears & no fears!!

We studied the letter Aa today. We started out by comparing the uppercase A to a triangle and the lowercase to the letter C with a line on the side. Students brainstormed words that begin with the /a/ sound. They said alligator, atmosphere (way to go Ian!), apple, and airplane. We made an alligator for our craft.

We played a different version of the name game today. It was called "name web." We passed a ball of yarn around as we said our names, but we each held onto the yarn, creating a giant web. It was very cool! We had great participation during all of the activities. The kids are really getting adjusted to the routines and expectations. I am sooooo proud of them!

Thanks to Mrs. Dwyer for handling all of the mail that went out today in your Monday envelope. Please return the envelope tomorrow morning. If you need to send me a note, the Monday envelope is a great way to do it. I hope that you will look through the book order flyers. If you have any questions about placing an order, please don't hesitate to call or email. See you tomorrow!

End of First Week

Happy Friday! We had a busy day, as usual. We learned The Pledge of Allegiance in sign language, or at least introduced it. The students seemed really worn out today. I think the long school days have caught up and that they will really enjoy some down time this weekend. They were so tired after lunch that I let them lie down on the rug to listen to a story, but the wiggles and talking were making it impossible for anyone to hear. Plan B (a short video) saved the day!

Students make a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree and wanted so badly to take it home, but I asked if I could display them in the hall for a week before it goes home. We've been working for 30 minutes each day on writing, which is mostly drawing thus far. Today, students drew their favorite foods. I learned that several students really love potatoes, pizza, and many of them like fruit. I'm keeping their writing in a folder that I will share with you during conferences (or anytime you request to see it, for that matter).

Thanks to Mrs. Eliason for coming to help during afternoon centers. Everyone wants to work on the computers, but because we only have 2 student computers, some of the students haven't been able to use them yet. It amazes me that students who have never used a computer can get right on and work without any issues.

Thank you for sending me letters about your families. I have enjoyed reading them! I am looking forward to some quiet time this weekend. I hope all of you have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday!

Day 2

Today we added another element that will become part of our regular routine--calendar and Pledge. We learned the days of the week and months of the year (with the macarena dance). I also introduced the sign language alphabet. I like to use a lot of sign language to reinforce concepts, such as over, under, and through and I am especially fond of fingerspelling, as it really helps students remember how to spell words.

The students had music today with Mrs. Summers. It sounded like they were having lots of fun. Mrs. Campbell, the Speech Therapist, pulled students out of the room, one at a time, to administer a brief speech screening. I will share the results with you as they become available.

Lunch went much more smoothly today. The students looked more confident about entering the lunch room and seemed to know where to go. They received a compliment from the lunch helpers for lining up so well.

We used mini whiteboards with dry erase markers to learn to form letters A-F and numbers 1-3. Students earned extra drawing time on the boards because they did so well. We're working really hard to learn the rules and to establish routines, and procedures. I want to try to start "letter a day" next week. I will go through the alphabet, in order, until we know all of the letters, then we will switch to "letter of the week."

I would appreciate it if you would send any notes back to school tucked inside the Monday envelope, or if it can't wait until then, please hand it to me when you drop your child off in the morning. I don't want to miss anything and it's awfully difficult to go through everyone's backpack every day. Thanks! See you in the morning.

First Day

We had a very busy day! We started the day by reading Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. The students noticed a lot of similarities between our classroom and Miss Bindergarten's room. They had fun naming the animals shown on each page and we talked about how funny it would be if their teacher were a dog instead of a human.

We made "pencils" out of cheesesticks for snack (bologna "eraser" and a Bugle for the tip. We learned the dos and don't of the playground (the boundaries, how to slide feet first, what to do when they hear me blow my whistle). Lunch was a little confusing because the students don't know school terminology yet (hot vs. cold lunch) and there was a mix-up with lunchboxes at the end of the day that my daughter, who helped out today, was able to straighten out (I think!).

After lunch, we had some quiet time by watching a 10 minute video of the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (which we later read, as well). Students found the beginning letter of their name on our Chicka Chicka tree and decorated the letter with markers.

I thought the students did really well with lining up, walking quietly in the hallway, and using the bathroom properly. Each day gets better in kindergarten, and the first day is always the most difficult. I'm looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

This afternoon was the mini open house, or orientation. It was so great to meet the students and their families. Thanks so much for bringing your supplies today. It will make things much less chaotic on Wednesday, plus your child won't have to lug so much stuff with them. I had a parent ask about escorting their child into the building on Wednesday morning. It is up to you, but I think it is much easier to separate from your child when I walk them inside. This gives you a chance to say goodbye and then escape. I have found that the parents who come inside with us on the first morning of school have a much harder time getting away.

Thanks to those of you who signed up to volunteer. If you didn't see the sign up sheets, I am still looking for helpers during center time. You don't have to come in every week--it's your free time and I don't want to monopolize all of it. Email me if you're interested.

I am looking forward to a great year and it looks like I have a great group of students and parents to work with. Hurry and get here, Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!