Hi Kinder-Prep families! Welcome to our class blog!
I know you will enjoy these precious smiles. :)
Here are also a few great pics from Open House. What sweet families we have in this class.
As you know, when students first come into class, we work on name recognition. They find their hook and their name at a tabletop center. These tabletop centers will rotate every couple days, and they work on all kinds of wonderful kinder-prep skills! (lots of strengthening fine-motor muscles, numbers and alphabet practice, sensory play, etc.)
After about 10 minutes of tabletop centers, we clean them up and come to the green carpet for our "Morning Meeting." Here we sing songs, introduce our number and letter of the day, read books, and do our daily calendar routine. We assign classroom jobs for the day... these classroom jobs rotate, and our little guys have just loved being big helpers!
We talk about the weather and decide what the day's weather is....
My "weather" helper helps me fill in "Our Weather Graph" and "Tally Chart". These are math skills we will get to practice each morning. At the beginning of each month, we will take a look at our graphs and what the weather was for the whole month. Then we will erase and start new graphs for the new month!
This past week, we have also taken this time to discuss classroom expectations. I am so proud of these little guys! They have all had a great week and have shown such great effort to stay on "Ready to Learn". We discuss how important it is to listen to our teachers and to do our "Give Me Five" (see below) during carpet time. If we listen to our teachers, all our friends can hear and we will have time to do all the fun things we have planned for the day! :) (at this young age, my goal is for them to just have a physical reminder of expectations. If a child is having a tough time listening, I will have them move their clip to yellow and encourage them to think about their choices. When they are ready and decide to put on their listening ears and/or be kind, they can choose to move their clip back up to "Ready to Learn.":)
We have had a few kiddos be "High Flyers" this week. This is just a fun way to "catch them being good" (extra cleaning, acts of kindness, etc.)
Here is our center rotation chart!! It looks a little overwhelming at first, but it is actually pretty simple. Our class is divided into 6 groups, and we have 6 centers. (1-Learning with Mrs. Jeana
2-Reading Center 3- Crafts with Mrs. Crystal
4 - Independent Work/ Writing Center 5- Sensory Bin and Teacher's choice 6- Playtime!)
We rotate about every 10-15 minutes.
(These groups will start rotating eventually as well so that friendships can develop.)
Learning with Mrs. Jeana is at the front table. Here I will work one on one and in small groups with the kiddos. We will be reviewing and practicing our letters, skills, and numbers of the week here. If one child is waiting or finishes before another, I have extra tabletop centers for him/her to work on while they wait.
The next center in the rotation is the Reading Center. Here we have lots of great books to choose from, especially ones centered on our theme for the week. That big blue bin is filled with thematic books from the New Albany Library! (thanks to Mrs. Ann who works there :)
We also have a listening station in the Reading Center. Each child of each group has been assigned a day of the week. A's listen on Mondays, B's listen on Tuesdays, and C's listen on Wednesdays. So each week every child will get a turn to listen to a book and follow along. This week we listened to Pete the Cat Rockin His School Shoes.
We also have a magnet board in this Reading Center. The girls have especially loved playing with dolls and dressing them.
After the Reading center, students rotate to Crafts with Mrs. Crystal. Here they do a fun activity or craft centered on our theme and/or skills for the week!
This week Mrs. Crystal had the children make a Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom tree. We read the book during Morning Meeting and saw how the whole alphabet tried to climb up the tree. Each child counted the letters in his/her name and decided if there was enough room for those letters to go up the tree! ;)
While waiting for a turn with Mrs. Crystal or when they are finished, they get to play at the play-dough table.
The next center is the Independent Work Center. Here I will have an activity they will complete all by themselves. When they are finished, they walk it to their class mailbox. After that, they can do whatever they like at the writing center. This week they did their independent work, then they drew with the writing stencils and a couple students used a clipboard to "Write the Room." :)
...walking around and writing words they see in the class to write on their paper! so big :)
The next center is Teacher's Choice. Here the students can play in the sensory bin and play on the green carpet with whatever the teachers set out!
During Teacher's Choice, one student from the group gets to paint in the Art center if they choose to. (again... A's on Mondays, B's on Tuesdays, C's on Wednesdays)
And finally the last center (and probably favorite!) is the Playtime Center! Here the kids can use their imaginations in the dramatic play area (cooking, grocery shopping, dress-up, tool set) or they can play with blocks, cars, etc. Such fun. :)
After rotating through half the centers, we take a restroom break and head outside or to the Minds in Motion room.... another highlight of the day. :)
Little guy on top, "Mrs. Jeana, take a picture of us too!" :) LOL. cuties.
After recess, we have snack and finish up our center rotation. We wrap up the day with another carpet time with reading, songs, and/or celebrations. :)
...and we had a birthday boy this past week!! We love birthdays in Kinder-Prep!!
Well, I just can't tell you how proud I am of each and every child in our class!! I have been amazed at their ability to follow directions, listen so well and switch centers. As they get more used to the routine and the center rotation, I know our days will go even more smoothly. They are each so precious, and it is a joy to be their teacher this year. :) Thank you for sharing them with us!! See you all Monday.
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