One week done. Now would you believe me if I told you that the kindergarten kids are already acting like they've been in kindergarten for two months? We started basic centers (with me rotating the activities, no child rotation just yet!) on the third day! The third day! I am really blown away by how quickly everyone has caught on. Bravo, owlets! I applaud you for a job well done.
And this means - we can start simple grouping tomorrow for reading groups! I'm so excited!
The question at the back of my mind has been this: are my classes getting mysteriously better at following directions each year, or am I getting better at explaining my expectations? I'd like to think it's a combination of the two.
Here's an overview of what my beginning reading groups include: name puzzles and writing, alphabet recognition and matching, text with one-two words per page and nursery rhymes.
Math is pretty similar! Getting the basics down first. Right now we are in the "exploring" manipulatives phase (you know, the "get the playing out of your system before we have to use these for instruction only" period of time). By next week I'd like to begin basic math workstations that focus on counting with one-to-one correspondence, number recognition and matching groups of objects to a corresponding numeral. While the majority of the class is partnered up at a math workstation, I can pull small groups for math to focus on number recognition and writing in more detail.
Going through rules and routines is pretty repetitive; I know the kiddos get tired of hearing me say the same things throughout the day. "Please push your chair in!" "Where should our hands be when we're walking?" "Sit criss-cross applesauce!" But it's worth it when you see how much growth they show so quickly.
We're going to do a fun activity during morning meeting tomorrow to foster our sense of classroom community - using cut up letters to play Scrabble with our names. (Or maybe this is only fun to me because I am obsessed with Scrabble?) Either way, this activity meets several objectives: letter recognition, name spelling, and helping everyone to feel included. I'll post pictures of the finished project!
Owl be teaching you more tomorrow!
-Miss Francis
Dougie is loving kindergarten! He really likes the centers :)
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