Welcome back everyone! I can’t believe how fast summer flew by and the new school year is in session again. Thanks so much for those who came to “Meet the Teacher Night.” It was wonderful seeing the returning students and parents and meeting all of our new families. The first month was filled with lessons on respect, friendship, family, and all about ourselves.
The first week the classroom was full of laughter and excitement. During our line time we discussed the rules of the classroom: that we will always respect each other, we will try our best, we are a team, we learn from our mistakes, we create, and we will always celebrate each others successes. Throughout this month the children have been praising one another during work time and helping each other when they see someone using a word the wrong way. It has been a pleasure seeing and hearing the children remembering all of the rules we have gone over. Also, during the first week I have been introducing different words little by little to the children. I want the children to feel comfortable and have an understanding of the different words when they are using them. Also, Ms. Ame started a Kindness Club for our classroom. Each week she has been sending home different things that the children and their families could do together that show an act of kindness. This is such a special thing for the children to be working on this whole year, and I cant wait to see and hear everything the children have been doing!
Using the word “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “I’m sorry” were the lessons we learned while we were discussing the topic of respect. For the first lesson, we lead a discussion about when we should say “please” and why it is important to use it. The children then created a word poem based on each letter within the word “please”. Throughout the week, the children created word poems and sentences while using the other kindness words. The children have been working hard practicing using our kindness words.
The second week we focused on friendship. We started out by discussing the meaning of being a good friend and what qualities are in a good friend. We then read the book Do You Want To Be My Friend? By Eric Carle. The children discussed the mouse’s’ search for a good friend and what qualities were in each friend. After the story the children were able to create a friendship chian. The second lesson was called The Good Friends Chart. We read a friendship book and then brain stormed together about all the qualities of a good friend and what that means. Ella said, “ I want someone who is nice.”Oliver then said, “ I want someone who is funny,” and Teagan said, “I want someone who will listen to me.” After everyone shared their qualities we placed our answers on the chart paper. Throughout the week the children learned how playing together can foster friendships and build a community. The children then had so much fun creating a friendship quilt. Also during our friendship week we learned many songs about friendship . On the last day, our class created a “Friendship Web.” The children were able to discuss what friends should sound like when they are together, how it feels when friends are together, what it looks like when friends are together, and the qualities in a friend.
The third week we discussed “All About Me.” We started out by reading the book I’m Special Because. We then talked about the differences and similarities in everyone’s appearance. We then created a graph about hair and eye color. The children were able to go around the room and see who had brown, black, red, or blonde hair. They did the same for eye color. The children were then able to see how everyone’s appearance is not the same. The next lesson the children created a bar graph about everyone’s birthday. I read the book On The Day You Were Born. We talked about how everyone’s birthday is different and that makes us unique and special. The children then decorated their own birthday cupcake. Throughout the week the children did an activity called “ my fingerprints are unique” The children learned about how everyone on the world has different prints and that’s one of the reasons why we are so special. We also went on a name hunt and sang songs about how special we are!
The last week was all about our families. We first lead a discussion on what they think a family is. Natalie said, “ My mommy and daddy.” Ella said, “My sister, mommy and daddy.” Matthew said “ My dad, mom, Oliver, and Andrew.” During the week we discussed how not all families are the same, the different houses & places families live, the traditions families celebrate, and the special things that we love doing with our family. During this week the children and families created their own family trees. On the last day, the children were able to stand up at line time and share their family tree among their friends. It was so wonderful to see the children and their parents work and come together to create something so awesome!
Again, this has been such a wonderful first month back to school. I look forward to the upcoming months with all of you as we head into fall and winter.
Academic Enrichment (Kindergarten students | Group lesson with Mr. John)
Let’s travel around the world! This past month we trekked around the world. We learned where, and fun facts about the seven continents. I made sure that out kindergartners knew “Central America” was not a continent, but part of North America. We learned about the cardinal directions including N.E., S.E., N.W,, and NW. My K Kids know where the Equator and Prime Meridian are, and how the divide the Earth into hemispheres.
We took a closer look at North America (because we live there). We identified the bodies of water that surround our continent (Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Hudson Bay, Gulf of Mexico, and The Great Lakes (H.O.M.E.S). We then learned many fun facts about the state of Ohio and what are Ohio’s surrounding states, their nickname, and their abbreviation. We ended learning about all the places we live. Our galaxy, our solar system, planet, hemisphere, continent, country, state, county, city and out street address.