What a whirlwind these last couple of days of school have been!
The first day in EAK had me feeling mentally exhausted by 3pm and for good reason. As a second grade teacher who has begun teaching 4-5 year olds it took me a bit to get adjusted to this age group. There was a lot of shouting out, interrupting, asking "when's playtime" 300 times, and busy bodies - all of which are completely normal for these kiddos.
My class is a unique program where our district offers those who missed the birthday cutoff to enjoy 6 months of "school" before enrolling in full-day kindergarten in the fall. I originally had 20 students, but today am at 18 with a new student starting tomorrow. It's quite a handful to have this many 4-5 year olds without an assistant, but much like the kids...I'm finding my groove and anticipating what my students need. I'm excited to share this year with my students in hopes that their time with me will help develop them socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and if they know how to hold a pencil and write their names by the end I'll consider it a major success.
Here's a tiny peek into some of the fun activities we've done these last two days!
Morning Meeting
- We turn to face each other when greeting.
- We say "good morning, _______" or some other fun variation like "hello" in another language.
- We give a high five, handshake, or some other variation.
- We practice remember each other's names.
I got these different ideas for morning meeting from the Responsive Classroom text, The Morning Meeting Book.
Introducing Center Procedures
Each day I have been slowly introducing my littles to the centers, or "stations" as I call them, and the materials or tools they'll be using in each. Today, which was our second day of school, I introduced them to the Maker Station where I intend to have various art or other STEM activities for them to do once we're ready to run multiple stations at a time.
As a whole group practice I had planned an activity where students decorate a wooden frame (which you can get at Michaels' for $1 each!) using art materials like crayons, markers, glue, and fun sequins and jewels. Another major material I introduced to them was paint! I was a little nervous, but today I had them only working with two colors and Q-Tips for dabbing with. This really kept the mess to a minimum and I was super proud of how well they did!
Skill: fine motor, following directions, process art vs product art, being respectful with art materials, sharing, etc.
To begin, I used the document camera to model how to decorate the outer frame using crayons, markers, and paint with the Q-Tips. I explained how we take care of our art materials and that we use them with a given purpose (and to put tops back on, etc.). They all really seemed to understand and it was demonstrated today by their level of participation and engagement, but also their enthusiasm for "finally" getting to use paint.
I also explained that when using these supplies they are going to be sharing. So, we've really been discussing a lot on being kind with our words and expressing what we want respectfully. Again, I couldn't be more proud of how willing they are to work together and share.
As you can see, I use their table caddies to hold the supplies I've introduced. On the first day I only gave them pencils and today I added crayons, markers, and glue to them - eventually I'll do a lesson on scissors but not yet! I will use the gray trays in centers as a work space for individual students, but for today they held our jewels.
I'm always fascinated with how kids manage to work around each other! Haha!
Through this activity I was able to get a glimpse as to the personality and nature of each of my littles. Some went to town with the supplies given today and others were very meticulous about the placement of each decoration. It's so much fun to sit back and just let students create without any boundaries.
A great story to read before introducing an art center! My kids really enjoyed it and it was great to get to discuss with them how each piece of their artwork has value and that it's important we say kind things about each other. A lovely way to openly discuss both concepts!
Letter A Work
This week I've also tucked in some handwriting and letter recognition into our practice of centers. All week students have been practicing on their pencil grips and working with the letter A. Here's a photo of when I called students up to search for the letter "Aa" in the names of students in class. I did this as a wrap up activity after working together on a practice work page.
Rest Time Procedures
During the last half of the day our class has a rest period of about 20-30 minutes. This gives my littles a chance to quiet and calm their bodies since our program runs a full day.
A couple of tips I've learned along the way for this period have been:
- Request yoga mats to be brought in - they're way more comfy than the hard floor.
- I have a cabinet just for their rest items like blankets and lovies from home. These go home every Friday and come back on Monday.
During this time students may:
- Nap.
- Quietly lay down.
- Read quietly on their mats.
Visualizers
I got this recommendation from a fellow EAK teacher at another school in my district and thought to try it out and absolutely love it! Visualizers on YouTube are 20-30 minute videos of streaming lights and movement that are meant to be mesmerizing to watch. They tend to have club music on them, so I turn the volume off on the video itself and play Pandora classical music in the background.
All in all it's been a pretty great week, but an exhausting one! I can't wait to continue sharing what we've been up to so stay tuned for week 2 next week!
All in all it's been a pretty great week, but an exhausting one! I can't wait to continue sharing what we've been up to so stay tuned for week 2 next week!
