Getting Settled

Can I just say how much I look forward to coming to school every day--out of the six years that I've taught, this has been the SMOOTHEST start to the school year. I think part of it is me getting stronger and better at what I do and the other part is the dynamics and make-up of the class. Lots of sweet, caring, unique, and giggling personalities. I already feel SO good about this year, it just makes my heart so happy! 

This week, we started the ABC Letter Bag. Every night, a different student gets the ABC letter bag and an assigned letter. They have to find five things that begin with their designated letter, put them in the bag, then bring it back to school to share with the class. Not only does it help teach phonics (matching beginning letter sounds in words), but it also provides a valuable speaking time for students to talk and for others to listen. 

Sitting like good listeners!

Their facial expressions in this photo get me every time!

Along with the ABC letter bag, we started working in our ABC notebooks where we glue different poems and highlight the letter of the day. 

Bus Safety was last week. The class was able to meet one of our school bus drivers who taught us how to be safe, responsible, and respectful when riding the bus. While not everyone rides a bus to and from school, the class will be riding on one together when we go on field trips throughout the year so it's imperative that we ALL know how to behave on a bus and what to do in case of an emergency. They were such good listeners during her presentation!

We made a special bus snack on Thursday that consisted of graham crackers, Golden Graham cereal, yellow frosting, and mini Oreos, Thank you to those families who were able to donate items. The results were super cute, plus the kids' frosted faces were priceless. 

In math, we talked about where we see numbers and read Annos Counting Book, which is a children's book that depicts different scenes of numbers. 

Here's our class poster of our math drawings.

In science, we explored one of our Outdoor Learning Areas, the boulder garden. We listened in silence for about a minute and talked about the different things we heard. 

We read a book called What is Science? and drew what we are curious to learn about in science.

In social studies, we talked about responsibility and taking care of our things. We also went on a scavenger hunt around our room for different school items. 

Play time is one of the best times for students to socialize and learn how to compromise, share, and get to know one another. 

A few more things..

We have a helper of the day. Some of the highlights of being a helper include: being the line leader, turning off the lights when we're not in the room, moving Leo the Lion clip on our schedule, and doing the math calendar/weather graph.

Here we are getting ready to line up. Who says we have to walk when there are other fun ways to move? 

Bear crawl

Keep bringing those Box Tops in! They help raise money for our school.

Everyone has gotten a chance to use our Smartboard. One of the ways we use it is to sign in at the beginning of the day.

Please continue to initial your name on the calendar and help your child empty out their folder every day. This is a valuable communication piece between home and school. :)

We started Celebrity of the Week where one student is highlighted for the week and gets to bring in/share different things with the class every day. Xavier and Lauren have gotten to be celebrities so far. 

We've also started Adventures with Pete the Cat where Pete gets to go home with a student on Fridays and spends the weekend with him/her. Then they share what they did together over the weekend on Monday.