"I'm going to be Batman!" said another student proudly.
"This is the best month ever!" another student commented.
Those are the reactions I received after I told the children it was October. They could not be any more excited. We then looked at our blank calendar and marked Halloween so the children were able to see when Halloween was coming :) Oh, the joys of teaching Kindergarten.
When the children walked in Wednesday morning, they were excited to hear that they had brand new seats. I will change seats at the start of each month so the children get to know everyone in the class.
To wrap up the month of September, the children opened up their new science journals and tallied the number of sunny days, rainy days, cloudy days, partly cloudy days, and windy days. We analyzed our data and concluded that during the month of September we had the most sunny days. We also took a look at a picture of the tree outside our classroom (taken on the last day of summer) that I projected on the board. The children noted that the leaves were green and the trunk and branches were brown. We then discussed how the tree would change during the Autumn months. The children were quick to tell me the leaves would change colors and eventually fall off the tree. They are so smart! Next, I sketched our summer tree for the children so they would be able to see the process of drawing only what they see. I didn't add purple to my trunk or black leaves to my tree. I wrote the word "Summer" above my illustration and instructed the children to do the same in their journals. As I walked around, I noticed that each child was really taking their time drawing the branches and neatly coloring their illustration. I told the children to write whatever letters they heard above their drawing to represent "Summer" and many of them just simply wrote an "S." We are really focussing on teaching the children to write the beginning sound at this early stage of writing. This is a very important skill for them to grasp.
During math, we reinforced counting and recognizing numerals 0-10 by playing "Finger Count Fun," we explored pattern blocks by combining small shapes to make larger shapes (i.e. 6 small triangles make one large hexagon), introduced the tens frame, and compared body heights (I will measure the children again at the end of the year to see how much they've grown!)
In Fundations, the children were introduced to letters i and u. We spent a lot of time talking about vowels and how important they are. Ask them to sing the "vowel song" to you :)
During guided reading/literacy centers, the children were introduced to 5 news centers. I also met with two of my five reading groups for the very first time! This is very excited for the children! They each have their own "take home reading folder" that will house all the books we read in class for them to practice reading at home. Inside the folder is a note from me and a reading log so I can see how much reading is done at home. Please note that these folders must come back to school each day so we can use the books during class instruction. I will meet with my remaining three groups on Monday so look out for the reading folders Monday afternoon. Here are some pictures of the centers/reading folders:
- "Me" Books: The children worked on their "Marvelous Me" books by drawing detailed pictures about themselves and writing the first sound they hear underneath.
- Handwriting Practice: Students traced and wrote previously introduced letters on mat as well as colored the pictures that start with each given sound.
- Letter Stamping: Children used letter stamps to correctly identify letters by placing them in the correct spot.
- Tablets: Students traced letters with their fingers to properly form letters.
Reading folder and book
- Before reading I explained that unkind words can and do hurt. They hurt hearts. I explained that as Chrysanthemum (main character) enters school she is bullied by her classmates about her name.
- I then showed the children a large red heart with band-aids with children’s names on it. Every time one of the characters in the book made fun of Chrysanthemum, we crumpled up the paper heart.
- After the story, we tried to smooth out the crumpled heart. I shared that it never is quite the same.
- I wrote on heart "Before you speak, Think and be smart. It's hard to fix A wrinkled heart!"
The children then spent some time writing their names using the correct format and decorated a birthday cake indicating how old they are and their birthday month and day. We will turn this into a class book.
Morning Work: Each day the children complete "morning work." Even if it is not finished, I still send it home with the children. It is your choice if you want to finish it with your child. It does not have to come back to school.
Homework: Homework will be labeled "homework." If it does not have a label, it is optional and does not have to come back to school (i.e. phone number sheet)
Gingerbread Man: We received two postcards already from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Book Fair: Monday, October 6.
Take care!
Miss Visicaro