First Week of School

It is a new beginning, a new first week, and a new 2014-2015 school year! Even though it is exciting, it is also tiring. I have a total of 20 students. Some of them are more excited than others, but none of them cried on the fist day of school.  So, it was a great start! After the second day, two students cried because they missed their mom, and one more cried because she was sleepy. The first two or threes weeks of school are the hardest for those 5 and 6 year olds.

At this time, the kindergarteners are learning to follow rules, follow directions, and setting routines. They were introduced to the classroom mascot (stuffed raccoon) which they adore now.  I know that as time passes by, it will be easier for them to get used to kinder.

Here are pictures of some of the activities we did during this week.

 Chester the Raccoon with The Kissing Hand book in Spanish.

We read the book The Kissing Hand, and then students met Chester the Raccon. We talked about students' feelings during the first day of school. Most of the students were happy to be at school; a few were sad, and scared. As you can see, Chester has an IOWA t-shirt. That is because our school is part of the program No Excuses University, and our classroom adopted The University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes!

                                     

Spanish Kissing Hand Poem.

I introduced the Kissing Hand Poem in Spanish to the students, and we read it several times. The students handprinted their little left hand with paint. We let it dry, and then they glued a little red heart. We practiced reading the poem every day, and on Thursday they took it home to share with their parents.

Manipulating different materials.

We practice with different materials, how to get them, how to use them, how to put them away, and clean our work area. Students love to learn how to use manipulatives!

Read to Self

During this week, we also learned about Good-Fit Books, the 3 Ways of Reading, and started with Read to Self. We are now working on building stamina  in order to introduce the other components of the  Daily 5.

We did much more, but it was hard to take pictures of all the activities during the day. For now, this is all I have. See you soon!