What an amazing first week of school we had! Some of the highlights are listed below.
Math
Our math center this week was a Pete the Cat game where the children rolled dice and then identified the matching number sheet with Pete, traced and wrote the number and counted with their friends. We will add science and sensory table centers next week.
Music
The students had their first music class with Ms. N on Wednesday. They played a game and practiced finding their spots and were introduced to the morning song they will sing as they begin class each day. Back in our classroom, the children were thrilled to learn the myriad different kinds of music you can make with rhythm sticks! They played fast, slow, loud, soft, over their heads and behind their backs. Music is a daily part of life in JK and even the students that aren't doing flips over singing songs find percussion and other instruments exciting. We also sang our September song and Autumn song.
The students had their first music class with Ms. N on Wednesday. They played a game and practiced finding their spots and were introduced to the morning song they will sing as they begin class each day. Back in our classroom, the children were thrilled to learn the myriad different kinds of music you can make with rhythm sticks! They played fast, slow, loud, soft, over their heads and behind their backs. Music is a daily part of life in JK and even the students that aren't doing flips over singing songs find percussion and other instruments exciting. We also sang our September song and Autumn song.
PE
We also had some fun in PE with hoola hoops, games and exercise working on our gross motor skills with Mr. Linkhart!
Art and Fine Motor
The students glued and glittered apple calendars for September, and glued and decorated pictures of themselves. We also began decorating paper dolls that will be almost life size self portraits. These will hang in the classroom and hallway for the year.
Art and Fine Motor
The students glued and glittered apple calendars for September, and glued and decorated pictures of themselves. We also began decorating paper dolls that will be almost life size self portraits. These will hang in the classroom and hallway for the year.
We learned the classroom jobs this week and how each task is important as part of our JK community. The favorites vary but for the most part include line leader and snack helper. Our first day in the dining hall we were served delicious quesadillas! The children impressed me with their manners and helpfulness.
We practice our counting everywhere we go, including while they are swinging on the tire swing. We will be looking for popcorn words all over the school as we build those early foundations for literacy.
We practice our counting everywhere we go, including while they are swinging on the tire swing. We will be looking for popcorn words all over the school as we build those early foundations for literacy.
We welcome Aeriana's baby sister, who arrived on Tuesday! She was thrilled to learn she would be a big sister as well as being able to ride home with a friend as her mom was at the hospital. We are thrilled to celebrate the new baby! Many of our JK students have younger or baby siblings. It's nice to share stories as well as have their own classroom to call their own as they adjust to being the older child at home.
We will begin show and tell this week. Please bring ONE item from home to share with the class on Friday. Show and tell is a favorite activity of mine as it teaches the students comfort with public speaking, builds confidence in addressing peers, allows them to practice their leadership skills while deciding which student to call on and how to clarify questions, etc.
We will begin show and tell this week. Please bring ONE item from home to share with the class on Friday. Show and tell is a favorite activity of mine as it teaches the students comfort with public speaking, builds confidence in addressing peers, allows them to practice their leadership skills while deciding which student to call on and how to clarify questions, etc.
We will begin reading groups in mid-September, after I have had a chance to begin assessing the students. Students began centers from the first day of school, including fine motor, math, writing center, games and drama. All of our centers throughout the year are multidisciplinary, meaning they overlap and cover different subject areas and skill sets. For example, a math center will help the children with their number recognition and logic along with their fine motor skills as they write numbers and reasoning skills when using dice to match with numbers. The center will also encourage social-emotional development as a game we play will require teaming with a friend to discuss answers and negotiate their next move.
We read many books this week, including I Like Myself, Pete the Cat, Rockin in My School Shoes, The Knight and the Dragon, First Day Hooray, A Teacher for Bear, Skippy Jon Jones, and The Crayon Box that Talked.
We introduced our "All About Me" theme and began discussing the many different likes and dislikes we all share. The children will learn many things about their classmates as they begin presenting their Star Student posters. This helps them feel more comfortable by discussing things that are familiar to them, and allows the students to develop deeper relationships with their friends in learning about them and their families. It's one of my favorite themes of the year and is so much fun!
Have a wonderful Labor Day! I can't wait to see all of "my kiddos" tomorrow!
Ms. Massey
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