Hoppin' Into Junior Kindergarten!

Good morning JK friends and family!

We have been learning more about manners and kindness and discovering more ways to incorporate our kind ideas into everyday activities!  We practiced setting a table and broke into teams for a table setting contest.  It was cute to see the children sit down for snack later and put their napkins in their laps.  They are loving practicing their manners at the tables!

Centers

Fine motor:  We spent lots of time this week beading bracelets and necklaces for our friends and family!  The children were able to create patterns after sorting the beads into categories.

Math:  We are continuing our number recognition as a class and practicing writing our numbers.  We played a Kindergarten game called "Race to 100" where the children roll dice and count across lines in the same pattern used for reading, to get to 100 first.  They loved playing this with their friends, and were excited to learn they are able to play a game the Kindergarten class enjoys as well!

We visited Kindergarten this week, so the students could get a taste of a day in the life of a Kindergartner.  The children in Mrs. Lowe's class wrote and illustrated a book all about things that are new and fun in their classroom.  Everyone loved hearing about Monster Money earned when they are good listeners and are kind (much like our rainbow building in JK!)  They were also excited to hear that they will have gym everyday in Kindergarten, go to art class, check out books and have library time each week, and visit the Monster Store every Friday!

We have been reading many stories in preparation for Kindergarten, and answering questions about what to expect.

We took a nature hike and had a scavenger hunt around the school and found wonderful items to make leaf people!  The children not only found all of the items for a city and country scavenger hunt, but also found amazing items for their art projects!  It was a nice way to work together to accomplish each groups goal.  The children also enjoyed popcorn al fresco.

The zoo field trip finished off our week, with a wet start but loads of fun!  The big gorilla was a popular favorite, along with feeding the cows.  It's always a treat to have lunch in our classroom and be able to visit with just JK friends in a more peaceful setting.  I had a slideshow of the zoo photos for them to watch as they ate their lunches.  Thank you to our parent chaperones!  You are wonderful!

Our Kindergarten breakfast is fast approaching, on Tuesday, June 6th at 8:40 am in our classroom.  It will be a nice wrap up to display the work from this school year and share a little of our JK learning. Wednesday June 7th will be the last day of school, where we will all visit Sunset Woods Park in Highland Park and play for the day.  I cannot believe it is almost over.  I will be the teacher bawling on the last day, so please bring me tissues and big hugs.  This class has been so amazing and their level of learning this year has been outstanding.  I am so proud to call them "my kids"!

Let me know if you have any last minute ideas for visiting our classroom!  We would love to have you.

Mrs. Massey