I can't believe our second week of school is in the books! The children had so much fun engaging in many new activities. We were busy this week continuing to practice various routines and procedures. The children are getting very good at navigating around the classroom and throughout our early childhood cohort. There are so many different rules we have to follow and the children are accepting them with grace!
Let's take a closer look at the activities the kids engaged in this week:
Free Choice
During free choice the kids get to engage in various activities that include magna-tiles, coloring, blocks, legos, etc. Free choice is a great chance for the kids to have a choice in their learning and it's a great opportunity to make their own decisions. It might seem pretty basic to us, as adults, but it's incredibly important to the kids. It gives them more ownership over their learning experiences.
STEM: Foil Boat Challenge!
The children were challenged to design a tin foil boat and then test how many counters it could hold before it sinks. The children were introduced to simple physics while they tested out their engineering skills.
"The Dot" and Growth Mindset
"The Dot" by Peter Reynolds is an amazing book that teaches students about their own importance as well as growth mindset. In the story, a little girl is frustrated when she cannot draw and her teacher gently guides her to “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.” The book has so many “big ideas” and is a wonderful way to introduce students to the idea of digging deeper into a book and beginning the discussions on growth mindset. After reading the book, I ask the children to tell me what they thought the author wanted us to learn or remember from the text. I then gave each child a piece a paper with a black dot. I asked the students: "What can you turn the dot into?" "Can you make something new?" The kids got very creative and added so many colors and details to their drawings! I saw an octopus, flowers, an apple tree, and many fun designs!
Rainbow Name Writing
This activity was fun and allowed the kids to work on a few different skills and also socialize with their table buddy.
Math Expressions
This week we started our math curriculum. In Kindergarten we use Math Expressions. Math Expressions helps children make sense of math by exploring, discussing, and demonstrating their understanding of key concepts. The students were encouraged to work through the workbook at their own pace. The teachers circulated through the room helping to read questions and assist if needed.
Calm Classroom
This week we introduced Calm Classroom. Calm Classroom promotes mindfullness in the classroom and provides skills to students and teachers to create a healthier and more empowered learning environment. The 3-minute scripted techniques focus on breathing, stretching, focusing and relaxation techniques. We begin our morning meeting with Calm Classroom as well as when we get back inside from recess and PE. Calm Classroom helps us relax our bodies and get ready for the next activity.
Heggerty Phonemic Awareness
This week we started our daily systematic phonological and phonemic awareness lessons. Phonemic awareness is the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes, and it’s one of the best early predictors for reading success. The lessons are part of our morning meeting and the kids love participating. It's one of my favorite lessons everyday!
"My Family" Activity
The children each drew a picture of their family and labeled their family members. The kids got a chance to show their picture to the class and tell us about their families.
Art Class with Mr. Matt
In art class, Mr. Matt has been teaching us about different ways we can create a self portrait. This week we drew our self-portrait on cardboard using a black marker and then glued down various lose parts. They turned out great and I am so proud of the kids hard work!
PE Class with Coach Long
Coach Long is great with the kids and really gets them moving! This week the kids participated in many different games and activities that focused on movement. The kids were running, jumping, moving in multiple directions and changing speeds. Coach Long is working on building spatial temporal awareness and locomotor literacy through fun games that are contextualized developmentally.
French Class with Madame
This week in French the kids practiced learning color names and body parts. It was fun singing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in French!
Library with Ms. Hilda
Story time with Ms. Hilda is always so fun. The children love checking out a book every week!
Next week we will continue to build our classroom community and take a deeper dive into curriculum!
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