We're here! The kindergarten year has begun and looking back over the course of these two weeks I'm so proud of the work we've begun doing! I have to admit, those first few days were among the most exhausting - from the back to school germs (even knocking me out and needing a sub on day 3!) to training my little kinders to attend to a lesson for longer than 3 minutes...it was a doozy for sure.
However, we kept at it with community building lessons, lots of discussions about being kind kindergartners, and establishing those ever important routines and procedures. Now, as we're heading into week 3 after the Labor Day weekend I'm confident we can achieve even more in our days together. My class are such rockstars!
So, what were we up to these last couple of weeks? Let's take a peek!
Handwriting & Fine Motor
At the beginning of every year I love introducing handwriting activities just to get a feel for where my new students' fine motor control lies. Last year I was very surprised to see that many of them could not hold a pencil correctly or manage with scissors. So, this year I went into it with a similar mindset and prepared for my kiddos to be about the same...and they were. By preparing for this I was able to anticipate the needs of my class and really target those skills early on.
I love
Natalie Lynn's resource for names which autofills the names for you! I printed a class set for each type of activity ahead of time and every day I just pull from the stack. I love introducing these handouts as a whole group first because the kids will already know how to complete them when I place them in centers later on.
Oral Language Storytelling
During our writing block we've launched our writers workshop with oral language storytelling. Another great resource my team and I are using from Natalie Lynn is her writing curriculum. I love the pacing and the bundle comes with lessons and resources all done for you! I love that she begins with oral language and walks students into the writing process first by being inspired about stories and how we can best share them (i.e. using details, BME, etc.). It's especially perfect for my kinders at the beginning of the year because they're not yet ready to put pencil to paper.
These are my kinders learning to share stories by turning and talking. We've been practicing all week on what the behaviors look and sound like. So proud of the conversations I overhear when it's their share time.
Basic Math Concepts & Review
These last two weeks in math have been review of concepts such as patterns and a lot of exploration with math manipulatives. We make sure to discuss the ground rules for using the manipulatives and how they'll be used in their learning throughout the year. So far we've introduced snap cubes (seen above), counting bears, links, and pattern blocks. Giving students the opportunity to explore and play with these items up front acts as a way to "get it out of their system" in terms of playing with them. After these first moments, we then discuss how they become "tools" for learning.
Here you'll see my students practicing their cutting and gluing to sort everyday objects and their matching shape. I love finding ways to sneak more fine motor practice in with the other subjects we're learning.
Pencil box name plates can be found here.
I can't wait to introduce their math interactive journals next week! I want to do more with their notebooks and I have always found success with interactive style notebooks for their learning. They will begin to complete activities that will be glued into their journals vs handing them in.
Dramatic Play/Purposeful Play
I love that my district really values the importance of play as a part of the kindergarten curriculum. We have a designated time (almost 40-50 mins a day!) dedicated to play and this is where you see a lot of really great things happening. From the oral language development to learning to problem solve on their own, students really have an opportunity to utilize all that they're learning in this play time.
This year I brought in my own collection of cars from when I was a kid into the classroom. I purchased the rug from Ikea and every single day both girls and boys enjoying playing here. I'm so glad I put my old cars to good use (instead of donating them...)!
Another popular play area is, of course, the play kitchen. I plan to change up the kitchen periodically and transform it into various things such as a farmers market, ice cream shop, and even a Starbucks. But, for now it's just a kitchen. But I'm already seeing that students are making it a restaurant...so it gives me the perfect idea for the first dramatic play theme!
"Amazing Work Coming Soon" signs are found here. It's been a real hustle these last couple of weeks but I'm excited about what's to come! Check back for more adventures with me and my class!
