One Month Down!!

We have been working very hard on getting our routines in place, getting through our September themes and eating some yummy foods!!  Here is what we have been up to the past couple of weeks!

 The children worked very hard on their Nursery Rhyme booklets!  They came out so cute!!  They worked on a lot of cutting and writing letters while making them!  These are skills the children need a lot of practice with at the beginning of Kindergarten.

 We are moving along in Fundations!  We have learned the letters t, b, f, n, m, i and u.  We work on sky writing the letters, finding the magnets on their magnet board and forming them properly on their white boards.  Any practice at home will be greatly appreciated!!  Alphabet rings will be going home next week to some children to practice the story of each letter.  The children have to say the letter, the picture, then the sound. (t, top, /t/)  They should be practicing these every night!!  Also, I will be sending home a laminated piece of Fundations paper to practice forming letters properly and eventually to write words and sentences on! 

 We have added Word Work and Work on Writing to the Daily 5.  We now have all areas up and running!!  The children have worked hard at building their stamina and we are up to two 10 minute blocks!!  The children are working the whole time, staying in one spot, working quietly and cleaning up their materials quickly.  I am so proud at how quickly we got to 10 minutes!!!  These Playdoh mats were from Kindergarten Lifestyles on TPT, but she only has Sight Word ones available now.

I have been using DeeDee Wills Work On Writing area and the children love it as much as I do!  They are going to become great writers in this area!  I lowered my writing table and they sit on little pillows on the floor!  So engaged, aren't they?!  I love using Deanna Jump's Dab of learning Fun Sampler!  Who doesn't like to use Bingo Dobbers?

Playdoh Dig is my new favorite Word Work center!!!  I can't find it on TPT, but I linked it to Pocket Full of Kinders page.  She has tons of other great products!

The children liked spinning to find letters with this No Prep Apple activity!

 We have finished up exploring our math materials.  We are moving onto counting!  The children had fun making different things out of shapes :)  Here is a train and a person!  They are so creative and beginning to realize that everything is made of different shapes!  They also worked on sorting buttons different ways...by size, shape, number of holes and color.

 Apple time is one of the best parts of September!!  We did this apple craftivity (that still needs to be put together and sent home!!) to show what the inside of an apple looks like. 

 The children helped Mrs. Dunn make applesauce...

 and helped me make apple crisp!

 They were really good cooks!!!  

:

 Applesauce was liked by more kids than the apple crisp.  Maybe we will go with apple cake next year :)

 Lastly, the children have started reading with their 4th grade Reading Buddies on Fridays!!  They get soooo excited for Friday afternoons!  The 4th graders can't wait until the Kinders can read books to them!!!

**PARENTS**

Ways to help at home

• Have your child practice writing their name with only the first letter capital.
• Practice letter identification and the letter sounds-out of order, not in abc order
• Help your child learn how to tie their own shoes.  They will get a Pete the Cat Shoe Tying License!!
• Count with your child by 1s, 5s, and 10s.  Count backwards from 10.
• Say words to your child and have them tell you what the first sound is. (What sound is at the beginning of "door"?)

Please start sending your child to school with a coat every day.  It is very cool on our playground because it it in the shade at the time we go out.  A lot of children have only been wear their shirt or a thin sweatshirt.  Please LABEL your child's coat.  They often forget what they wore to school that morning :)

Don't forget to send in your child's signed permission slip to go to the farm.  They will not be allowed to go if you do not send in a permission slip.

Have a great weekend!

Aimee

September is Off and Running!

We are well into September and we are finally getting into our routine and learning how to follow school rules.  We are working on our fine motor skills, like coloring and cutting.  We also are working on sharing and being Bucket Fillers :)

Here are some of the things we have been working on so far!

We completed this cute First Day of School booklet made by Sara Connell.  It was nice to have the children go home with something to tell their parents about!

 Free Choice time was loved by all.  We worked on sharing our supplies in our classroom and being cooperative!

 Look what finally arrived!!!  I got the iPad from Donors Choose!!!  I am just waiting to get it hooked up to our network and then I can put the kids on it during Daily 5!!  I plan on having them log into amcmouse.com and also read books on it during this time.

 We read about being a Bucket Filler and not a Bucket Dipper in our classroom.  Bucket Fillers make people feel good and happy.  Bucket Dippers make people feel sad inside.  

 Here are the posters we made and hung outside of our classroom to show everyone how we are Bucket Fillers!!

 During Investigations Math, we are exploring our math materials and finding different ways to use them.

 We added these "Color Me Special" pictures to our bulletin board with our best coloring :)

 We have begun our Daily 5 routine and the kids love it!!  These children are doing "Read to Self" in different areas around the room.  

 They all chose a Book Nook and read quietly the WHOLE time and stay in one spot.  We have built our stamina up to 10 minutes so far!!!  I am so proud of all of them!!

 They have also started doing "Read To Someone".  They either take turns reading the same book or read a different book to each other.  We are working on listening to our partner read and showing understanding about what they read to us.

The "Listen To Reading" area is a favorite!!  We are working out the kinks with a working radio, but I think we've got working for now :)

 The children are working on a Nursery Rhyme booklet that they will be taking home soon!

 We have also started Fundations!  We have learned the letters t, b and f.  We are working on forming the letters properly and knowing the sound of each letter.

I cannot believe the improvement in writing that has already happened this month!  Some of the children came to me not knowing even the first letter of the name and are now writing their WHOLE name independently!!!  Keep practicing!!  We will continue to work on our coloring and reduce the amount of scribble we are handing in :)

Please feel free to comment below and also follow me on Bloglovin.com!!

Aimee

We're Back!!!

I am so excited to be back for another year in Kindergarten!!  I have been working all summer to make a few changes to my classroom and get ready for another fun year!!  Mrs. Dunn will be with me again this year, so it will be nice to jump right into our routine!  I am so excited to meet all my new little friends next week!  Here are a few pictures of what I have been up to this summer :)

 

The rest time drawers are ready and labeled for my new friends.  This is where their blanket and stuffy will be stored each day!

 



Free Choice manipulatives are bleached and ready!  We got rid of some old toys and added some new ones!

 



This was one of my summer projects.  I was so excited to make these new seats for my listening center!  Way better than sitting on the bottom of a milk crate!  I think the kids will be fighting to sit on these :)

 



Here is the Library area!  I found an extra laundry basket at home for the kids to sit in during Read to Self time.  I added a cute ribbon to dress it up a bit :)  My milk crate bench is also a favorite area to sit!  Now where did I put that pillowcase??

 



My reading table needs a few more circles stuck to the table!  I use these during reading groups instead of white boards!  They love to "write ON the table"!!

 



This is my new CAFE board!  This will be used during Daily 5 and will help me develop mini lessons for reading.  The children can use the information on this board to help them become better readers!!  I am very excited to introduce this!

 



This area isn't new, but has a new look!  I took the legs out of the table, added a few throw pillows and made it easier to access during Work on Writing!!  I think the kids will also love this area as an alternative way to sit while working!

 



Each table is set with a supply bucket in the middle.  We have crayon boxes for each student, scissors, pencils and glue sticks!  Since we sit at tables, each student has a pocket on the back of their chair that will hold their math and poetry notebooks (another new idea for this year) and all of their Fundations materials.

 

I hope you will enjoy watching what we do throughout the year!  Please join this site on the left of the screen or follow me on bloglovin! (On the top left of the screen)

Have a great school year!!!