On the first day of school, I took "My First Day of Kindergarten" pictures. You'll be getting copies of your own at the end of the school year. Here is a sneak peak at a few...
So adorable! It is a fabulous memory photo.
One of our big focuses this week has been our Class Expectations poster. We have thoroughly been going over Expectation #1 We listen. This has got to be hands-down the most difficult skill for incoming kindergarteners! They are SO excited, have very little self-control, and haven't fully learned yet what it means to wait, raise your hand, and use your whole body to listen. To help remind them, I made a poster showing the 5 different body parts we need to use in order to listen. The students are catching on, and we will continue to utilize the poster to help us with whole body listening. Encourage good listening at home as well!
Along with our Class Expectations, I introduced our 5 Point Scale Voice Volume poster. We use different level of voices depending on where we are in the school building. For example, we use Level 1 in the hallway (no talking at all!). Level 2 is using whisper voices. Level 3 is regular talking. Level 4 is yelling/shouting and can be used outside at recess. Level 5 is only used in emergency situations. We've been practicing and going over what each number means. I make it into a little game and I'll call out a number. Then they show me what it means with their voices. It is amazing how quickly they are picking up on it.
To go along with voice levels and talking, I read an older children's story called Millions of Cats. In the book, there's a refrain that goes "Hundred of cats. Thousands of cats. Millions and billions and trillions of cats!" We said the refrain in all different kinds of voices. This was more of a silly activity, but nonetheless, very fun!
Near the end of the week, I introduced Expectation #2 We use our hands to help. I read a story that discussed what we can do with our hands and then we came up with our OWN ways of how we can use our hands to help. We drew pictures of how we can help others or be kind with our hands and then made it into a class poster that we will hang in the room.
In kindergarten, we do something called Guided Discovery and Modeling. GD is a way for me to introduce materials, areas, or activities to students. I may do this to introduce a learning center, a specific material (like a box of crayons) or a process (such as journal writing or quiet time). Modeling is used when I want to teach a very specific behavior. I model first for the students, and then they model, observe, discuss, and practice the behavior. Some things that I model are how to push in chairs, use the scissors, line up at the door, and wash hands. Guided discovery is more free-based (more than one right way to do it) whereas modeling is specific.
I've been introducing different table materials each day. When the whole class shows me they know how to use them properly, the more materials they get! On Tuesday, we started with crayons at our tables. We discussed what we use crayons for, what can we color on, where it goes in our table bins, etc. Really basic, but important stuff!
The next day, I introduced scissors and I gave them different forms of dotted lines to cut (straight, zig zag, wavy).
After scissors, I introduced glue sticks and we did RAINBOW NAMES! Students had to tear up pieces of colored paper and glue them to the letters of their name. Each letter has a different color from the rainbow. They turned out wonderfully and will be hung up in our room!
Near the end of the week, we worked on a mini school book. We practiced our coloring skills, cut out the pages, and put them in order. This is a simple book that you can have your child read with you at home!
The last material I gave to students this week was PENCILS. We talked about proper grip and how when we form letters and numbers, we need to start high in the sky then go down to the ground (proper stroke). We'll get more in depth with that in the next few weeks.
Along with classroom materials, we've been doing Guided Discoveries with our math manipulatives. Our first GD was with pattern blocks. The kids got to play around with them and use them in different ways.
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| We constructed different things |
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| We can make patterns |
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| We can sort by color |
Other GDs were with our connecting cubes, colored links, crazy connectors, and foam shapes.
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| Connecting cubes |
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| Crazy connectors |
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| Foam shapes |
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| Connecting links |
Socialization is a key skill in kindergarten. Conflict management and knowing how to handle small problems on our own will be something that is regularly talked about and role modeled in our classroom. Right now, the kids are warming up to each other. My goal is to create a "Classroom Family" where we are kind and considerate to each other. Snack time is a great way for students to interact and get to know one another.
Well that is it for this week... PLEASE FOLLOW MY BLOG so you get regular weekly updates on when I write a new post! Lots more to come.
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