Hoppin' Into Junior Kindergarten!

Good afternoon JK parents!

Please bring in your family photo and complete the questionnaire if you have not already done so!  Also, please complete your "All About Me" poster.

Second week has been a success.  We are meshing together as a classroom and becoming a Roycemore family!

Language Arts/Literacy:
The students began writing their names in their sign in books.  We will write in these daily using "Handwriting Without Tears" program, encouraging children's correct tripod grip and letter formation.
We began our "All About Me" theme this week and have been talking about how different we all are, and celebrating those differences!  We have read many books in support of our theme as well as other favorites for the beginning of school including:
Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Splat the Cat Back to School Splat, How About a Hug, A Porcupine Named Fluffy, Elmer, Stephanie's Ponytail, Pirates Go To School, Elmer and Rose, Chrysanthemum.
We have passed around our class frog and talked about our siblings and families and what that means.  We talked about relatives and family that live in our house and in other places.  We also talked about our "school family" or "JK family".

 Meeting our Senior Buddies!

 I wonder if he can tell them apart!

 Illustrating a page in our journals

 Decorating her All About Me paper person

Playing "Don't Wake Daddy!"

Elmer taught us how lovely it is to stand out, and how everyone in his family and herd celebrated the beauty of being different and not afraid to be who you are.

Fine Motor:
The children decorated their Elmer the Elephants with fabric squares and colorful tiles, and added tails.  Gluing and placing these small pieces is excellent practice for their fine motor skills.  We started painting our "All About Me" paper people, choosing the colors of their clothes.  We will add their shoes, facial features, and hair next week!  They are always so proud of this multi-step project, and it provides time for me to chat with each student individually as I assist them with their paper doll.  The children also completed a journal page of their families, dictating which members were represented and what they were doing in the picture.  One of my favorites was one child explaining that their faces were yellow because they have on "sun scream" and are getting ready to go to the beach!  Love.

We began practicing our letter formation in different colored sand trays, using the zoo phonics letters as our guide.  Any letter practice is good, and providing a variety of ways to write makes it fun while learning.  We danced to "Who Let the Letters Out", and are learning the motions that pair with each letter.  Using motions while singing increases retention by 80% and makes learning more meaningful.

Brandon was the first student to present his "All About Me" poster, and share his favorites with the class.  I love learning about all of the students and their families!  Please bring your posters on Tuesday if you have not already completed.  Next week will be our last week of "All About Me" before we move onto another unit of study.

Math and Science:
I measured all of the students as we compared taller and shorter.  We discussed the seasons and have learned a song about Autumn and September.  We are making careful observations as we have our Weather Watcher give us a weather report each morning.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.  I am excited to begin a new week of school on Tuesday!

Ms. Massey